GUESS WHAT??????

I bet some of my faithful readers will know what this pile of stuff indicates????????????

YEP - it's time for Off the Ocean rug conference!!!!  YEAH - yes this is my pile of wool and hooking frame as I was dragging it out last night to pack in the car.  I am going to try to breathe life into a big rug that was designed for me but I did not get off to a good start at a previous OTO camp several years ago.  The teacher I am working with this year has done several wonderful rugs for me and I have been very pleased with the results.  She is also willing to work with my existing wool and just dye a few more colors and try to pull together a cohesive color plan for me.  I am excited !!!!!!!!  I picked her up at the airport this morning and had a nice lunch before I dropped her at the host hotel and dashed back to work to wrap up a few loose ends before checking into the hotel for 4 blissful days of hooking and visiting with my mom and other friends.  A lot of these women I only see once or twice a year so it is a lot of fun.  We had another record low here last night but all the snowbirds scoff at me when I talk about 23 being a record low - but hey folks - it's all relative - that is COLD for NE FL.  I will be taking photos of my project towards the end of camp and probably my mom's accomplishments and some of my other friends.  So next post will be a report on the camp experience this year.

This is a WIP photo of one of my 11 in 2011 Challenge pieces - it is a cowl by designer Debblie Bliss.  I am so pleased with how it coming out - I would say I am about 1/3 or 1/2 done with it - it just gets seamed together to make a big circle which you wear loosely around your shoulders or can pull up over your head the way it is pictured in the DB fall/winter magazine.  The yarn is a limited edition color by Dream in Color and is their chunky weight wool called Groovy and while I hate knitting with big needles (10.5 US) I do love this fabric - there is a slight cable pattern which you can barely see because the yarn is so busy.

The next WIP to show you is my Plymouth Sampler by the Sampler Company - if you also read Jeanne's Willow Tree Stitcher blog you have seen her GORGEOUS finished and framed Plymouth.  I have worked on this occasionally over the past year and it was NOT on my 11 111 in 2011 challenge list however my new 2011 starts are all brown right now and I needed a jolt of color - I also needed something relatively easy to stitch - this is a nice sized piece with lots of great silks - Jean at the Attic did a personal conversion for me when I visited her shop several years ago (er - let's don't say how many years ago!) and it is a mix of NPI and Belle Soie - So I am definitely enjoying some mindless stitching on this piece. 

I am making good progress with my Spanish Mystery sampler and expect to be on target with finishing January's suggested stitching.  If you read the Attic newsletter - you will see the January suggested.

I also made a small start on Elizabeth J M Mears - OMG - WHY WHY DID I choose two gigantimous samplers as SAL's this year.  I can't wait to get into that mock flame stitch section on Elizabeth but I am missing almost all of those NPI colors and need to order them before I can proceed.  Right now I am entering rug hooking heaven and my mind is not on stitching, silks or project goals.

I have been very remiss in rug hooking in 2010 - I had hoped to have 2 big rugs to put in the exhibit - I only had about 10 or 12 hours left on Merrie Halloween plus the binding - I am hanging my head in shame that I did not apply myself more 2 or 3 months ago when the goal could have been attained.  I was sitting at my frame on Sunday - frantically hooking and made great progress and then I thought - you silly goose - you can't finish this rug so just give it up.  Oh well - no need to beat myself up - it didn't happen - now all that is left is to go and have a marvelous time and enjoy my new project and all my friends.

I appreciate your comments and hope you are making great progress on your WIP's and new starts.  Please come back again real soon and enjoy your weekend !