Thursday, December 29, 2016

Last Rug of 2016

As you can see, it still needs binding, which I'm going to do in a week or so.  Gotta give the fingers a break!  This pattern was adapted from a freebie embroidery pattern, and I think it turned out pretty great. 

I'm now planning some Valentine's Day projects for my Etsy shop which will include punchneedle as well as rug hooking, and maybe even a little knitting.  While 2016 has thrown everybody some hard knocks, it hasn't been so bad, but I'm looking forward to 2017.  It's going to be a great year!

Monday, November 14, 2016

Busy weekend and last show of the year!

Good Monday morning!  So my weekend was full of a little destruction and a lot of creating! 

The destruction part is the beginning of a partially new kitchen thanks to a very slow leak that had been drip, drip, dripping for quite a while.  Once discovered, up came 2/3 of the floor, out came all of the floor cabinets, and even some sheet rock in the ceiling of the mancave!  Once we were over the shock, it has been decided to do a bit of upgrading in the way of new counter tops (out to door went the original dusty rose laminate), a new sink (good-bye stainless-steel, divided original), and a new faucet with a sprayer built in!  Of course Thanksgiving is only two weeks away, so we're in speed up mode!  Pics to come once it's all finished.

The creation part was hours spent in my studio hooking small projects, trying some different wool applique and planning more smalls for my last show of the year.  On December 3 & 4 I will be vending at Whiting Mills in Winsted, CT.  This is a beautiful old mill that now houses multiple artists studios, and the talent in that one building is pretty mind blowing!  They are having an Open Studios weekend then, and have invited some outside artists to set up tables to sell their wares.  I really am over the moon excited about this opportunity because I love spreading the rug hooking bug wherever I can!  😁  I've also been creating some genuine feather trees to display some small Christmas ornaments, and I've got a feeling these trees are my new obsession! 

Here's three, currently without bases.  Once I've got them sorted, I'll post another picture.  My goal this year is to make one that's four feet high.  I just love feather trees, but the vintage ones are just out of my budget!

Hope your week is great, and I'll be posting more pics as the creative juices flow!




Tuesday, November 8, 2016

The New England Fiber Festival!

It is Tuesday morning and I have officially recovered from one of the best weekends I've had in a while!  This past Saturday and Sunday I was one of many great vendors at the New England Fiber Festival in West Springfield, MA.  While I was only able to get pictures of my booth (and my booth mate's English Angora rabbit Frankie), there are pictures all over the internet of the beautiful fiber-y goodness to be had!

My boothmate, Dawn Sotir from Coon Hollow Farm was kind of enough to share her booth with me, and we had a blast!  Next year we might even wear matching outfits! lol!  If you are looking for spinning advice, knitting advice, etc, she's your gal! 

This is Frankie.  He was absolutely the star of our booth!  

The rest of the pictures are of my booth from different angles as well as a couple of my larger rugs.   










This show was just wonderful!  Every person I met was so gracious and kind, and of course could chat about anything fibery  at the drop of a hat! lol  If you ever want to find a group of people that will always get along, look for the fiber people! 

I am sending a wave out to everybody that came by the booth and stopped to chat.  Talking to other rug hookers, from beginners to experts, is really wonderful and brought home that we all need more meet-ups!  In the next few weeks I am going to start looking at some dates and places in my area for next year to schedule some hook ins.  I will be sending out an email to let everybody know what is up and take any suggestions!

Saturday, July 2, 2016

My First Penny Rug!

Here she is! This was great fun to do!  Keep in mind,  this is my first,  so all you experts will see my newbie mistakes. I choose to ignore them...lol! Of course any feedback is much appreciated.

Now,  off to start a small hooked pillow. My hook and wool is calling,  pictures to follow.

Friday, June 24, 2016

ATHA Quiet Corner Hook-in

At least a year since my last post, that's pretty bad!  Well, I'm going to just jump in and see how it goes!

Last weekend I was a vendor at the ATHA Quiet Corner Hook-in in Woodstock, CT.  We were in a beautiful building right on the Woodstock Fairgrounds, and we had a beautiful day!  First off, let me just say that our hosts, the ladies from this ATHA chapter were absolutely wonderful!  Multiple people offering help with unloading, set up, tear down, and car loading.  They were organized and had supplied wonderful snacks and drinks and made sure that somebody would walk around and make sure us vendors got any needed breaks from our tables.  I may have missed a few of the ladies, but here's a couple of pics!



Once it struck 9am, the hookers were already either hooking or shopping!  My table was next to the Yankee Peddlar booth, and it was Marie's daughter who was manning the booth.  I am horrible with names (I think it was Tanya), but she was really the best next door neighbor to spend the day with!  Chatty, helpful, and had some great stories!

 The colors of wool in her booth drew hookers like a magnet! 

One of the other vendors was none other but the sister team from The Paisley Studio.
 Sarah and Barb are truly wonderful people and talented artists.  It's always a treat to be able to catch up and chat about rug hooking and fiber-y stuff in general! 

Our next vendor had her booth on the other side of me, and oh what a talented artist this woman is!  I have had limited experience with hooking with yarns, but seeing her rugs, I might be a convert!! (once I get rid of ALL my wool)!  Mill River Rugs owned by Margaret Array.  I wish I had taken a few pics of her displayed rugs!


 If there was an award for most colorful booth, I think this next vendor would have been a serious contender!  Fluff & Peachy Bean Designs, owned by Nancy D. Jewett was pretty cool!  She was my one purchase that day (besides my "I'd Rather Be Hooking")!  I bought three skeins of sari silk that are gorgeous!



The last vendor I was able to take pictures of was Woolen Memories.  I'm afraid I didn't get the owner's name, but did get a cute picture of them ready for hookers!!



I think there was one booth way up front that I missed, and I really hope I got everybody's name correct! lol

Lastly, I have a few pictures of the rugs that were exhibited. Please excuse the poor quality, but it's the best an amateur photographer can do with a phone cam!









Hopefully they will make this at least a once a year thing because it was a complete joy to hang out and talk wool, rugs, and even a bit about a new weaving technique for making jewelry called Kumihimo.  Yes, this is on my learn to do list!!

Lastly, because I promised someone (Hi Sarah)! I would start a penny rug because, Hello!  Multiple rolls of wool in my house that can be used for more than hooking!!  Here's the pennies all cut out and I've got four, four-layer pennies already stitched.



Once I get home, I'll post a picture of the completed pennies.  It is very apparent that I'm a beginner, but it is great fun, and easy to do while watching tv!

Til next time, and hopefully sooner than a year later -
Thanks for visiting!!
~Naomi

Samplermaker