Sleigh Bells Ring!

Oh for a ride in a one horse open sleigh!  So far, eleven days before Christmas,  here in northern Wisconsin we aren't seeing sleigh rides, snowmen or snowball fights!  In fact it's pouring down rain as I write this post!  Never have I experienced a winter quite like this!  Our lawns are still green for pete's sake!!   Sooooooo... what's a girl to do but go on Pinterest and find pretty pictures of horses and snow and those sleigh bells a ring jing jingling their happy music to provide a little Christmas spirit!

What a NORMAL winter would look like in Wisconsin! 

Sometimes it's what we don't have and long for that inspires us! 

I've been hookin' a little....

on a new design that's been playin' around in my head for a time.

So I must go turn on the Christmas tunes and finish this up... and oh, the rain has turned into a wintry mix now...

Let those Sleigh Bells Ring!!

Cathy G

Our Dec. 2nd Tues. Hook-in!

Our jolly band of hookers met here this past Tuesday again! Oh my.. what creative, lovely and inspiring works of hand to feast the eyes!  Our dear Nancy was working on this stitchery....

.... I can't tell you how much I LOVE it!  Done on toweling and she plans to finish it as a pillow! The design is by Beth Ritter at Wellington House Designs.  She sells her patterns on Etsy.  Click  Here to purchase one for yourself! 

And would you look at our dear sweet Mya!  Remember when she was just starting this hit and miss rug last month?  She drew it up herself and it is her first rug!  She had it all done AND can you believe she love hooking so much she hooked the chair pad as well! After a quick lesson in binding she was anxious to start on her next rug!  Do you think she's hooked!!  LOL!

The studio was buzzing with activity!  Everyone was working so hard, chatting, sharing we almost forgot to eat our lunch!  But NO WAY would we have forgotten for long! All the goodies including homemade sauerkraut, spinach quiche, an awesome crab dip, jello dish, fresh shrimp, sliced venison sausage and more refueled our bellies for more hooking in the afternoon!

Janet is our newest hooker to join our group! She's working on her very first rug! She wants to learn wool appliqué as well so Cathy G. better get going on some more kits for these ladies! Lol!   It warms my heart so to see their hands at work and wanting more!  

Oh and Lisa! She joined Lori Brechlin's challenge on FaceBook too! The rug she designed using the motifs provided is so awesome! It is going to cover a fireboard in front of an antique mantle in her home! The wools she's chosen are to "dye" for!! But Lisa... you must get to hooking and stress not about the wools now! LOL!  We tend to overthink at times our choices of wool before we get too much background hooked only to see that it will look great once we get more hooked! I can't wait to see more of Lisa's rug hooked!!

Oh to Dance with Flowers and to see this wonderful wool appliqué (pattern from Heart to Hand) that Pat is working on!  Is this gorgeous or what!  You can tell that Pat is a very talented stitcher and she's excellent at rug hooking too!  How lucky we all are to have these talented ladies as part of our group! We help each other and I've heard it said time and time again how much we all learn and are encouraged by each other!

Cindy working on one of her many rugs she has going! Making good progress on her Polly Minnick patriotic rug!  This is going to be a beauty when done!  Cindy is so good at helping new rug hookers get started! She has mentored Louise ( pictured below) with her first rug and drives the hour and a half it takes to get here, providing a ride for others who live near her! Such a blessing it is to have her  part of our group and always so generous and kind! I can't tell you enough how blessed I am to have this circle of friends to hook with and meet together here each month!

I didn't get photos of all our hooker's this time.... it gets pretty busy for me ringing up sales, helping pick out wools and keeping the coffee pot full!  LOL!  So be ready Celeste and Sharon and Debbie for next month!  They are working on some projects you won't want to miss! 

Max gets tired after greeting each and everyone, sniffing around in their bags and being his usual little snoopy self!  He finally gets worn out and retreats to the living room sofa. 

Yes we're all blessed and then some  to have another hook-in day to look forward to!

Cathy G

Collecting Christmas~ Come Tour Gail's House!

If you liked touring my friend Gail's house at Halloween, well you'll be singing Christmas carols when you see  her home now all decked out for Christmas!  Every nook and cranny is FILLED with fun, unique and hard to find vintage and antique items that has taken years and years to find and collect!

Gail made the comment when my friend Sue and I stepped inside her door today that we might think she could be considered a hoarder!  Well we assured her we'd be happy to step in and take some of her wonderful things off her hands should she decide to clean out!  LOL!

We had so much fun looking and admiring each little treasure!  So please take your time and search the many photos... I'm sure something will bring back memories of the Christmases in your childhood! 

A real tree graces the antique harvest table in Gail's kitchen! 

Gail admits she has a thing for those old little pointy Christmas bulbs! 

I WANT that vintage wool cap!  How cool is that! 

Putting an old wooden trencher bowl to use holding goodies!

Did I mention she has a weakness for those old pointy colorful bulbs! LOL!

We recalled a day a few years ago when Gail and I were together at an antique dealers house and he had this cool sled for sale.  Gail couldn't make up her mind if she wanted to purchase this sled... a few miles down the road we turned around and went back... I am so glad she got it!  It's PERFECT and a stunning piece on her coffee table in the living room!

Sweet little vintage brush wreaths displayed in the laundry room!  

I love how Gail uses all the old vintage store display pieces to keep her collections organized and visually easy to view!  She has a super eye and talent for display!

I love the old little red metal scooter and it's in near mint condition!  So perfect tucked in the laundry room.... waiting for Santa perhaps? 

This little cardboard cookie box with string handle sure brought back memories for me!  How 'bout you? What caught your eye in this merriest of Christmas collections? 

 

Thank you Gail for once again letting me photogragh your home and share it with my readers!

Merry Christmas to all! 

Cathy G

Snow Storm Fizzles and Challenge Rug Sizzles!

Well the six inches of snow we were supposed to get last night REALLY fizzled out!  Darn ( not really... tee hee)!  But for those who depend on it for a living and love it to play in I send my condolences!

There's a scant one inch or so on the ground and it's 34 degrees ouside making things slushy and wet. So weird for December in the north woods of Wisconsin.

I'll take it!

In other news here in the household... the scraggly tree has been banned to the deck! ALREADY you may be asking?  Yep... I'm not a fan of sweeping little tiny pine needles up every other minute and I particularly don't like them sticking in my socks... I can still see it very nicely though and I think it prefers being outside where an occasional bird or two may land to peck at it's branches. We are both happier in our respective habitats! 

Well... as for my challenge rug sizzling...  I just thought it made a catchy title for this post!  But it really is moving along and if sizzling fits the way I feel when I'm hooking away I guess it's a fitting adjective! 

Sitting under this long rug while hooking has been keeping me quite toasty on these cold winter evenings.  Not to the point of sizzling but I will miss it when I'm done hooking it!  I drag it out into the living room and all the wool strips etc. so I can watch a little HGTV in the evenings!

This is all there is left to hook!  Thank goodness as I'm getting pretty sick of those reruns!  But HEY! My favorite show Fixer Upper is ALL NEW TONIGHT!  

Do you watch?  

Can't wait!  

Cathy G

Our Tuesday Hook-in for November and Some Chit Chat!

Being so busy with our Christmas Show this past week I didn't get a chance to post the pictures of our second Tuesday of the month Hook-in here at Red House Wool Studio!

Sherry is a brand new rug hooker!  I LOVE her hair don't you!  When I was a young girl I always wanted red hair!  Just like Sherry's!

She took right off on her first rug!

This is Mya!  She is brand new to rug hooking also!  She plans to hook a rug similar to my hit and miss square one you see on the table!  She took right off as well!  I know these girls are going to be wonderful rug hookers!  Diving right in and learning to  pull those first few loops is all it takes!

Remember Tammi? A few posts back I introduced her as she was working on her third or fourth rug! Turns out she is a FABULOUS applique'er! Look at the stitches on this wonderful pieced mat by Primitive Gatherings!  I could stare at it all day long!

Many of you know Pat... a most talented  rug hooker... she's working on my Merry Christmas design doing such beautiful work!  She brought this Halloween rug that she had framed!  It is wonderful and a design by Jody Aman and available on the Need'l Love website. We love spending a few minutes when everyone arrives for a bit of show and tell! 

Had to show you my little scraggly Christmas tree!  I LOVE them very sparse and with a few little red berries ( fake ones that I added)!  My friend Lisa cut this one along the ditch for our Christmas show and it was left over so I rescued it!   It's just the kind of tree I wanted! 

So it will be a very busy few weeks now before Christmas and the end of the year!  Can you believe it?!  I'll be another year older in December too... Old enought to retire! Yikes! I can't decide if I should sign up for Social Security as being self-employed for many of my working years I sure won't get a big check! But maybe it's time.... 

Happy Thanksgiving Dear Friends!

Cathy G

Our Vintage Antiques Christmas Show photos!

My friend Roxy hams it up for the camera!  This past weekend was a whirlwind of packing, loading, unloading, setting up and tearing down!  I'm still recuperating from the constant motion and excitement of doing this show with my friends Roxy, Sue and Lisa! Here are a few snaps as we are setting up and some of the show before the crowds showed up Friday morning!  It was a total and complete success!! Buyers came from near and far!  

Are we doing it again next year?  LOL!!  Ask me again next year... for I must concentrate on my next show in March... the Quilt Event at St. Joseph's School!  

I hope you enjoy the photos!  Here is a link to a video also! https://www.facebook.com/cathy.greschner/videos/10206341198027291/?l=5163110517955378768

Lisa is a trouper and pushed herself to the limit with a bad back!  She finally put her back brace on. 

Dave and Sue did some heavy lifting!  

Our centerpiece of the show!  This wonderful early sleigh!  It sold to an antiques dealer on the second day of the show! 

I'd like to thank all my friends and family and neighbors for coming out and making our show a tremendous success!!  It was a wonderful two days and I hope you are all enjoying your purchases! 

Thank you from all of us!

Roxy, Lisa, Sue and Cathy