MEMORIAL DAY

Good morning and Happy Memorial Day! 

I hope you all have great plans for today - barbeques beaches and blue skies.  Today is not a holiday in our company so I am "working" today however I will be attending a BBQ at one of the local stores.  That will be a nice break in the day and something special that we don't do every day.

I have been working on a little patriotic piece by Handwork - the America pillow. It is on BOAF Sparrow and done in the called for overdyed cottons. It is so fun to work on something like this - I don't typically do these colors. I've made good progress in the past two days. I think I am going to keep it out this summer and make it my "fun" piece to break to when I am tired of working on my samplers.

I promised a photo of the new persian oriental rug I started last weekend in my workshop.  Here it is - I need to do some tweaking here and there.  I'm not happy with how the larger red flower came out - not enough contrast so I need to add some outlining of a lighter shade of red or perhaps that yellow green. Overall I'm very pleased with how it is coming out.

Here is a closer photo - you can see what I mean about the larger flower needing some enhancement.

I did not say before but this is hooked in a 5 cut and some stems in a 4 cut.  I am proud to say that all the wool except a few pieces came out of my stash cupboard.  I had purchased all the yellow greens from the teacher Eric at a previous workshop so I definitely wanted to put some of that in the rug and I also wanted some of Linda (the workshop director) in the rug so the beigy brown center of the pomegranate is from her lovely wall of wool.

This is a KAL I have been doing on the Madeline Tosh board on Ravelry - only knitters will understand all this jargon.  It was called MADMAY and the object you chose to "knit a long" was supposed to be finished in May to be eligible for the prizes - oh well - it won't be finished in May but I have enjoyed working on it - I need to put on a longer circular needle - that one is getting crowded with stitches so it would not lay flat.  The yarn is MT Pashmina in a color called Wash - the yarn is yummy to work with and I would highly recommend it.  There was as great article in the new Vogue Knitting mag that just came out about the Madeline Tosh company.  Take a read if you are a fan of this awesome hand dyed line out of Texas.

I'm going to leave you to celebrate the day in whatever way you enjoy most.  Whether it be quietly stitching or lounging around the pool, lake or ocean.  It's a day that we Americans should all hold dear to our hearts and always remember those who have given their lives for our freedom. 

HEAVENLY HIAWASSEE

Oh my goodness - the rug hooking workshop I attended this past weekend at The Hookery in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North GA was simply heaven.  It was held at the home of certified rug hooking instructor Linda Bell - her home is perched high up on a hill overlooking Lake Chatuge and with a stunning view of the Blue Ridge mountains.  Linda engaged another national level certified instructor Eric Sandberg to teach an intimate workshop of 14 at her home.  Apparently Linda does a spring and fall workshop every year and invites guest teachers.  She also has classes in her studio that she teaches all during the year.  I was excited to be able to attend and met many nice women.  I learned so much from Eric - his style of teaching is a bit different from most instructors I have taken classes from.  The whole first day was spent learning about the color wheel and how placement and usage of color in your rug could make or break the overall quality and appeal of the piece.  This type of lesson would be applicable to any type of design work - quilting - needlepoint - home decor placement - etc etc. - I had Eric in a 2 day workshop some years ago and he was on the same track but has honed things tremendously and I would say this is a teacher not to be missed.

After the lecture on the color wheel was over - we all took our canvas, wool bags and chairs out to the covered patio just off of Linda's studio which is on the ground floor of her home. One by one Eric called out each student to discuss her canvas and see what wool and colors she brought to contribute to the design.


Some people had everything they needed to make a successful color plan and some he said "go shopping for this, this and this" - Linda had two WALLS of wool and Eric had a whole table full he brought from home.


Here is Eric's table overlooking the covered patio.  Who wouldn't love that view !

This was my view from where I was sitting in the workshop - total bliss - huh?????

Here is a beautiful oriental that Eric is hooking.  The rug will be for sale to the highest bidder when he completes it.  It is 5 ft X 7 ft and is hooked in a 3 cut - it is an old Pearl McGown pattern but I don't remember the name.  His current highest bid is $4500 - a pittance of what this rug should be worth - so if you have $5000 to spend and want this rug - it might could be yours. 

 

 For some reason - I did not take a photo of my persian oriental.  It is a small rug - I think 18" X 30" but a very interesting design and I was pleased with the color plan.  We did not get a lot of hooking done on our actual projects because Eric also gave 2 dye demos and a finishing demo so I guess maybe that is why I did not include any WIP's of the projects in this workshop.

Since I was in a hurry to get a post made before the holiday weekend - I did not take any WIP photos of my needlework or knitting either.  Actually there has not been a lot of progress with my stitching or knitting lately.

So for those of you who are lucky enough to be taking off on a trip for Memorial Day weekend - have a great time.  I have sampler guild on Saturday and we'll probably hang out around the pool and cook out on Sunday - Don't forget to remember all of those who have fought and gave up so much for our freedom in this great country.  America the Beautiful - sing it loud and sing it proud !!!!!!!!

 

ANNUAL RUG GUILD HOOK-IN

WOW - miracles never cease - 2nd post in less than a week.

This one is mostly just photos from the informal exhibit we held at our recent hook in.  The Northeast Florida Rug Hookers hold one hook in every year in May.  We had about 30 hookers there.  Most were guild members but we did have a group from the Ocala guild and the Citrus Belle guild and one friend even came from South Florida. 

I'm going to make this short and sweet - I am on my way to another rug hooking workshop in the Blue Ridge Mountains of NE GA right on the NC border.  Linda Bell is hosting Eric Sandberg at her studio The Hookery for a workshop and he is focusing on wide cut orientals.  YEP - I am starting another oriental - this one will be much smaller than the dreaded albatross I spoke about in a previous post.  I'll have another report from the workshop when I return next week.

So on with the show . . . . . .

This rug is a pictoral hooked by a guild member - Lynn did a great job using a lot of as is wool and it was so much fun to see her work on this rug and be there for the binding and throwing on the floor of a great finished rug.  CONGRATULATIONS Lynn for a beautiful finish.

This is not a very good picture of a beautiful 3 cut rug by Connie Charleson - Connie is a NE FL resident and has been a rug hooker and teacher for well over 50 years.  She is amazing at 88 still teaching - still dyeing - still hooking and still creating patterns.  She said this rug was hooked in 1964 and look at the color retention.

This sunflower is from Connies line of patterns - also hooked with a 3 cut - what a stunning backround.  It was hooked by a student of Connies but I won't say because I am not quite sure who laid it down.

I did not hear whose pictoral this was but it is so pretty.  I think maybe it was by one of the gals from the Ocala guild.

This very beautiful purse/tote was done by one of our guests from the Ocala guild.  What gorgeous colors - I love the crewel type elements in this design.

Sorry but I have no idea who did this lovely street scene.  It is out of focus and I apologize to the hooker.

DF Susan hooked this beautiful Angel Sampler rug - I'm not sure of the cut but I think she used 6,7 and 8 - it was worked at a rug camp in Texas and the design is by Bea Brock as well as the color plan.  I worked on this same design at the hook in but mine is a runner and not as big as this one and my color plan is completely different with a dark stormy night sky.  I will show mine to you soon.

This WIP is done entirely in  a 4 cut by another guest at the hook in.  Michelle does exquisite work and has won many prizes for her rugs at our local rug camp.  I think she said that she did all the dyeing for this rug herself.

Another 3/4 cut beauty - I'm not sure of this guests name but she attends every year and it is always a pleasure to see her beautiful creations.

Another Bea Brock canvas and color plan by a fellow guild member Nancy.  The colors are bold and dramatic and that olive green backround is just perfect.

I think this rug was also done by a guest from the Ocala rug guild.  It is in a 5/6 cut I believe I heard someone say.  Love the scallop border - very pretty in person.

Last but certainly not least - Here's ULYSSES !!!!!!  DF Karen started this darling guy at Ocean rug camp last year.  He makes me smile every time I see him - he is too cute for words.

That's all folks!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BUTTONHOLES AND BUNNIES

Well its been a while since I've made a post.  Thought I would get this done last week but its been crazy busy at work and I am usually able to take a short break to visit blogland.  Nevertheless - here it is almost the end of another busy week.

I am looking forward to our rug hooking guilds annual hook in this Saturday.  We have about 30 members and guests coming.  Our guild members all bring a dish or dessert to share and our guild purchases the main entrees.  Hopefully I'll have some photos of this event to share next post.

In my last post I mentioned going to a needlepoint class down in central florida at Needle Orts.  The class was so much fun and it was good to see Deb the owner again and a few women I knew when I took classes at my beloved Black Sheep in Winter Park.  Those days are gone forever and it has been very hard to get back into needlepoint.  The shop owner was a dear friend and mentor and I enjoyed spending time in her shop - we became close personal friends over the 20 years I patronized her shop.  So now I am tryng to find my way back to needlepoint thanks to the local chapter of EGA which I joined last year.  All those ladies mostly do canvas work and they have inspired me to dust off my NP books and projects and become involved again. 

I don't have much progress to show you on my class piece which is a bunny tree by Ruth Schmuff.  I'm embarrassed to say it took 2 hours to complete that one purple flower I am going to show you.  There is also a bunny next to it that flower that just needs his fluff and bunny #2 will be completed - at this rate - this will be finished in time for Easter 2020 LOL !  Ok - it is fun using all those great fibers - I do miss that about NP.  I also paid a visit to my other new fave NP shop in Savannah last week - the French Knot and stocked up on some silk threads for a canvas I bought from her in the fall.  I'll show you in another post.

The title of this post refers to the fact that every one of these flowers are edged in a buttonhole stitch - that's why it took 2 hours to complete one flower.  It is lovely and I am really enjoying the fibers but getting that butonhole stitch to lay just right is tedious and time consuming.  I'm sure the results are worth the effort.

Is this wool gorgeous or what???  the color is called Poodle Skirt and I found it on my foray to Savannah last week.  This is a gorgeous cowl from the Shibui Luxury book - The Staccato variagated yarn is a wool silk blend and you knit it together with 2  strands of Silk Cloud which is a kid mohair/silk blend - to say it is heavenly is an understatement. I have been in  a huge knitting slump for so many months it's really hard to believe.  However one visit to Wild Fibre and I'm back in the saddle again.  Knitting every night is such a zen thing for me.  Even if I stitch for a couple of hours - stopping and knitting a few rows before bed really seems to relax me and prepare me for a rest ful night.

Is this mermaid pin pillow precious or what !!!  DF Carol  stitched this darling SB piece for me.  She even did the finishing herself and put on that dreamy ruched edging.  The lovely scissors in the photo are KAI scissors from Japan - I had never heard of them before so I was excited to add them to my collection of scissors.  I found some interesting info on the KAI website and would love to order a rotary cutter from them and a pair or fabric scissors even though there is certainly nothing wrong with my little used Gingher fabric scissors.  Carol has made me so many treasured gifts over the years - she knows that I love mermaids.

Look at the perfect fabric she found for the back of the pinpillow.  I think you can see the ruching even better in this shot.

I did not get to make a post for mothers day but we had a great one.  My mom has been wanting an orchid so here is the one I found for her.  What lovely creamy yellow blooms it has - sorry I don't remember the name of the type of orchid.  She also got some pandora earring charms and a new pandora pendant to hang on one of her bracelets.  We love collecting pandora and I still have not shown a photo of the new leather pandora bracelet I got for my birthday.  Next time !

the last photo is the sad progress I have made on my Spanish SAL.  I am not even 1/2 way across this band for April.  I do have a very valid excuse - I am using the Attic's silk conversion for their SAL - on this particular band - the Belle Soie color was so light those golden leaves just faded completely into the backround.  I kept on stitching them until I had about 6 done and was having such a difficult time stitching the leave because I could not see the thread against the linen - URGHHHH - So I found the color that Theresa at SP actually used in her chart (Gloriana Lacquered Gold I think) and did another flower in that silk - OMG - WHAT a huge difference it made - so then there was the dreaded task of pulling out 6 leaves which I could hardly see - I was so scared I was going to pull the linen threads by accident.  That took several sessions because it was just so unpleasant and so unproductive.  AAACCCKKK - Sooooooo - that is my sad story as to why I am behind - very behind on my April assignment.  Plus the lure of the buttonholes and bunnies did not help my plight.  I'm going to keep at it - I really do enjoy stitching on this sampler but I really like forward progress.  Here's hoping all my friends in blog land are making lots of forward progress of their own.

IT'S BUNNY TIME

Well it's been bunny time for a while around my house.  I love bunnies, I have bunnies out all around my house for Spring -  it's amazing how much bunny stuff I have collected over the years. 

I have been around and around the mulberry bush with my Hare Easter rug.  When I started putting in the backround - I was losing the contrast between the lighter bunnies and the too light backround shade - urgghhhh - so I had to get into my stash and I found a lovely medium blue - praying I have enough to finish the backround - once I started getting the backround put back in - I hated how Mommy bunny's dress looked so RIP - I pulled out her dress and rehooked in a  lovely cranberry checked wool - looks great now - then the flower stems were fading into the backround - RIP - those came out and I rehooked in a perky spring green that my mom was using on her bunny rug.  I used a lovely spot dyed wool for the border and plan to put a few more rows of border in - it reminds me of easter eggs.  I'm not hooking the carrot border as I orginally intended - I  have another much bigger bunny rug that does have a carrot border - so that will be quite enough hooking of carrots and bunnies.

Here is my progress to date and I'm sure after Easter I will be less motivated to work on it and will move on to another bunny rug that is my oldest rug WIP and simply must be finished this year.  I think it looks far better than it did and I am quite pleased with the changes I made.  It was worth the ripping and re-doing.

 Next bunny related photo is a canvas class I am taking at a not so LNS tomorrow.  For any NP fans out there - this is a Ruth Schmuff design called Bunny Tree - look closely and you can see the bunnies all over the tree.  She has it finished as a flat stand up and that is what I intend to do with mine - however once again - I'm afraid once April is over the fascination with my bunnies will fade.  I have not done a needlepoint class in years so I am excited about actually attending a real class.

 This lovely finish belongs to my DM - she finished this Vierlande sampler in January.  It is framed in a weathered dark red painted frame.  It looks great with the piece which appeared in a SANQ issue in 2010 and is repro'd by DF Lorraine Mootz.  It is a sampler from her personal collection.  It was an Azalea Sampeler Guild SAL for 2010 but I think only my mom and DF Henri have finished it.  I started it but it will probably never be finished since I can enjoy my moms.

Next is a very cool bracelet that I designed and DF Sharon put together for me.  Sharon is in our rug guild but she does awesome beadwork and we have been collaborating on this bracelet for a while.  She picks up interesting stones that she thinks I will like - LOTS of stones - I could have probably made up 25 bracelets considering all the stash we played with.  It's big and gaudy and I LOVE IT !!!!!! 

What no stitching WIP's - NOPE - I am dreadfully behind on my April assignment on the Spanish Mystery SAL - The April band is very time consuming and after doing 4 of those leaf thingys - I realized that the silk color that was recommended was fading completely into the linen color - urghhh - so I found the original silk color the designer recommended and it looks a million times better and I'm glad I stopped and started over but GEES LOUISE - it seems like all I've done since January is pull stuff out and redo it.  We won't even talk about how my knitting is going.  Let's just say I've been in a huge knitting slump - I almost always knit a few rows on something at night before I go to bed and after I have done some stitching.  I have been trying to focus on that bunny tree class piece this month but even before that - I have drifted out of touch with my knitting.  WHY?   who knows why that happens - I am trying to recapture my knitting mojo by participating in MADMAY on the Madeline Tosh board on ravelry (a great on line knitting community) - the event includes lots of KAL's and several things chosen are on my list of things to do and I have some lovely MT yarns stashed up just waiting to be brought out into the light of day.

So - that's about all that's new in my neck of the woods.  It's awfully hot here in NE FL and dry too - I'm the only one in the office today - everyone else took off for Good Friday and I'll be leaving soon myself.  Wishing you all pretty colored eggs and lots of chocolate bunnies !

Happy Easter !

GIVEAWAY AND GIFTS

Now I can quit saying "I never win anything"  - Did I ever win a great giveway from Joanie over at Joanie's World .  I was so excited to win Joanie's " I'm sick of winter" giveaway.  The box came last week and was I ever over joyed when I saw the hoard of goodies inside the box.  Take a look at what I won.

Sorry for the blur - I think I was shaking a bit I was so excited and trying to get as close as I could.  Of all the lovely stitching projects Joanie showed on her last blog post - this heart just really caught my eye - I loved it so much - imagine my surprise when this was in the box - cleverly mounted on the copper oil can - I have been coveting one of these oil can creations.  To say I am thrilled to have one of my own is an understatement.  Joanie used beautiful fabric - (duh - why didn't I take a photo of the back) that beautifully matches both the stitching and the copper oil can and also used that neat chenille trim for the edging.  It is so prim but yet so elegant too.  I LOVE IT JOANIE!!!!!!!!

 I guess Joanie also knew what a silk hound I am  - she included 3 beautiful skeins of silk to add to my stash and I'm already pondering that red in a mono sampler.  The note cards above are so pretty.

Last but not least - the little bit of winter included in the box.  These snowmen pieces are painted on slate - they are too cute for words.  Even living in NE FL - I still put out snowmen after christmas for a few months until the easter bunnies start coming out to play.

It was serendipitous that I won that giveway from Joanie since this week is also my birthday.  I got a few gifts from friends that I wanted to show you as well.

A beautiful purl ridge cowl from DF Henri along with one of her coveted paper crafted cards.  The color of the cowl is so lovely and the yarn is a beautiful alpaca wool blend - wish we had one more blast of cold air so I could wear my cowl one time before I have to put it away until next fall.

A stunning scarf kit from DF Karen - it also has a silk scarf inside the box and shows several clever ways of entwining the knitted scarf with the silk scarf to create a very unique accessory.  Love the color of the hand dyed yarn and the fiber is a silk blend - OOH LA LA - so soooft.  in the little bag is tiny skeins of yarn made into earrings and a skein of the fingering weight from the same company.  This wonderful gift came packed in a neat Vera Bradley plastic tote but I forgot to get it out for the photo.

Next up is an awesome bundle of textured wools from DF Susan - I was so shocked when I opened this box - this is enough wool to do an entire hooked rug - I can't wait to dig into this bundle and see what "wooley" treasures abound.  My mind is already working on future rugs this wonderful wool could be used in.

So - that is about all for me today - I have been in a real huge knitting slump - I have bought yarn - ordered yarn and plundered thru stashed yarn and projects and still don't feel any excitement.  I downloaded a shawl pattern today which the designer donated all the proceeds to relief efforts in Japan.  I've seen several finished on Ravelry and the project reviews say it's an easy but fun pattern.  Easy and fun sounds appealing but will I really get busy with it ?????

I did sign up for a needlepoint class at a shop several hours away and have been doing some pre-stitching on that canvas.  I have also been working on the Attic Spanish sampler SAL and Elizabeth Savilles.  I also brought Garden Glade out for some fresh air and finished the upper body on the beautiful girl.  I am very drawn to GG and can see myself working on her more but I have to be careful and not abandon Elizabeth or fall behind on my monthly assignments for the Spanish.  Heaven help me - Jean at the Attic announced a summer SAL of a pretty cool looking sampler - resistance is futile!

I certainly hope spring has sprung and your bunnies are hopping.  Easter will be here before you know it.

Thanks for coming by and reading my blog and celebrating life's little joys with me.

SEBRING PART TWO

The landscaping and gardens at the Inn on the Lakes in Sebring FL are gorgeous - they have a full time gardener plus they also grow herbs and tomatoes and a few things for their restaurant.  I showed a lot more photos last year of the gardens - this year I only took a couple.

Here is a touristy shot of my DM in front of the hotel.  We were on our way to Lake Placid to visit an artisan co-op - I had been there before several times but my mom had never been.  Since we had such a beautiful day we thought we'd take the short 20 minute drive.  Lake Placid is supposedly the Caladium capital of the US.  They are also known for having these beautiful huge realistic murals painted on all the building sprinkled around the little town.  So I took mom on a little tour and also took a few shots - some of them were too dark but I think there was at least 20 or 30 huge murals painted by different artists.

This one was of particular interest to me.  My matenal ancestors came from south central GA and my great grandfather owned thousands of acres of pine trees and were into the turpentine business in the early 1900's. this mural was so huge I had to take it in two shots.  Wish you could see the gorgeous detail in this mural.

These are some shots of the rugs being worked on in my class.  These are only a few as there were 14 students in this class and these ladies were sitting in my immediate vacinity.  The first one is morning glories done in a 3 cut by a McGown certified teacher.  It was gorgeous!

This is a mandarin duck - it was awesome seeing this blank canvas come alive and to this point in 4 days.  I thought the color plan was exquisite and I think she plans to change the backround to a mt fugi type landscape - she had some museum quality note cards she was using for inspiration.

This one is called the Naples sampler - the colors are so "florida" and it was fun to watch this one too. Also hooked by another "teacher"

 This cute rug was designed by the woman who was hooking the next rug.  She has a design business (DIGO) and had some lovely canvases for sale in the camp store.  This kitty is in a larger cut but I'm not sure what.  Aren't the textures in the stripes wonderful !

this was probably one of my favorite rugs in the whole class - Do you remember the children's story Little Black Sambo - gosh I am probably giving away my age as it is probably no longer politically correct to call the name of that book as I remember it but anyway - that is the subject of this rug and I think she did an absolutely wonderful job with the color plan and hooking - it was in progress when she came - NO - she did not hook that much in 4 days LOL.

 Gorgeous bright tropical colors are what our teacher seems to love and her students flock to get her brightly colors wool.  This rug was tropcial flowers with this big lizard in the middle.  I think that is our dear teachers foot - good thing she had her pedi LOL

 This is my mom's bunny rug - toooo cute I think - isn't that daddy bunny just darling in his cool clothes.  I love how the  roof came out and the brilliant blue backround with the night sky up above is very appealing in this rug.  I know my mom will enjoy hooking it.

Here is the albatross that I don't even want to claim as my rug.  I HATE this rug - I have ripped out and reworked - re color planned and redone more on this rug than all the rugs I have hooked for the past 12 years - For some reason this rug just doesn't do it for me - I have thrown in the towel and finally given up the ghost - I am DONE DONE DONE with this rug - not a penny more or another minute am I going to waste on this rug.  I feel bad for the designer who is a good friend of mine - she designed the rug for me and I feel bad for the two teachers and another dear friend who is also a teacher who have tried to make me happy with this rug.  It just aint' happenin'  - I had a number of people in my class who loved the rug and could not believe I didn't like it.  If there are any rug hookers out there  - it is for sale - if you are interested let me know.

That is a wrap on Sebring March 2011 - Hope you all have a lovely weekend doing what you love to do.