Second Tuesday of the Month March Hook-In at Red House Wool Studio

And what a great day it was!  Lots and lots of projects to share and admire! 

Celeste is having so much fun with her rug she adapted from designs in Rebekah Smith's Wool Applique' Folk Art book! 

Look closer at the wools she used in the background!  Each square different! LOVE the colors in this rug! So warm and inviting!  Great job Celeste!

Nancy is showing her wool applique' blocks while Holly looks on! 

The design is from the new Wool Works magazine.

Love the colors  she chose! This is going to be gorgeous when completed! 

Allow me to introduce a newcomer to our group!  You may remember Rhonda from a few posts back! She took a wool applique' class here when we did the bunny pillow from Rebekah Smiths Wool Applique' Folk art Book.  Rhonda does these wonderful crochet bags and decided to add the wool folk art blocks to the front of them!  Wow!  How awesome they are!  What an eye for color this lady has!  She has hooked a mat from a pattern from Kathy at Red Barn Rugs also.  Rhonda certainly has a gift for handwork and design!  Hairdresser by trade but I think she should consider a career in rug and applique' design don't you!! I am so glad she has decided to join our group!  She's an inspiration to all of us!

More of her work!

She always puts her own touch on a pattern! Love the addition of the flower on the bunny!

It was a very very busy day for me today! I didn't get much of a chance to snap more photos!  The time just flies and soon everyone is heading out the door with their new woolens and supplies!

I am so blessed to have such an enthusiastic and supportive group!

I'm back to the drawing board working on a new rug design.

Put my last effort away and have learned from it I think!

This design stuff is not for the faint hearted... we all have inherited gifts and talents it just takes a lot of practice to bring them out!

So practice I must!

After seeing all the beautiful projects today I just have to get back on that bandwagon and keep trying!

Thank you all for the kind words of encouragement & suggestions! 

 I truly appreciate each and every comment! 

Stay safe and warm if you live near the blizzard in the east and southeast!

I hear you are getting clobbered!! 

Been there haven't we my friends here in WI!

The sun is shining and very little snow on the ground here.... oh and I just spotted a robin hopping in the front yard!

Cathy G

Disenchanted...

Trying to be a little kind to myself here.  What I really mean is I'm very disappointed in my latest rug I designed.

I had high hopes.

I struggled with the design, the colors, the wool choices.

  Rug measures 16 by 28.  I hooked it in two days after finally admitting to myself I didn't like it.

Figured I had so much hooked ( over half) that I just wanted to get it over with!

I'll say I did enjoy pulling some loops though as it's been quite some time since I've hooked. 

Debated whether or not to go public with it.  But decided to swallow my pride. 

I know what "they" ( the analysts) have said, you need to make art ( rugs) even if they're bad.

We learn and grow through this experience.

Maybe so... I wouldn't want to make too many rugs I don't like. The backing and wool aren't as cheap as watercolors and paper! 

It's not that I don't have other rugs I've made that don't exactly flip my switch.

We all have made them... right?

It's just that I had this vision... was all excited and just couldn't quite pull it off!

So now what?

I think I will get out my dye pots!

How bad can one screw up dyeing wool?  

There's always a need for antique black background colors.

Cathy G

Hacked on FaceBook!

What a fiasco this past week!   One day ( can't remember which one at this point) I started getting messages on my phone and email that my friends and family were receiving messages from a scammer that was posing as me!   It was apparent that my FaceBook account had been taken over by some low slime somewhere and was being used to try and deceive my friends into getting involved in a money making scheme!

Thank goodness most people are aware of this kind of thing going on as some have had their own accounts hacked.

Changing my password a couple of times didn't seem to remedy the situation.

To make a long story short, I spent a couple of days (grrrrrrr) trying to get it all straightend out.  I ended up closing my accounts and starting over with new ones.

One thing I learned and which isn't a surprising fact at all.... there is not a phone number available on FaceBook that you can just pick up and call for assistance!

Nope,  you're only hope is to click your little fingers off on the keyboard and follow countless instructions and basically end up fixing the problem yourself.

Patience wearing thin... almost came close to closing the damned account for good.... but it just rubbed me the wrong way to let some sleezy hacker win the battle!

If you were friends with me prior on FaceBook and wish to remain so, send me a new friend request.

I've updated the FaceBook link on my side bar here too.

The new name for my Red House Wool Studio account is Red House Wool Studio2

The wool applique' piece I'm working on is a pattern by Cheri Payne called Old Wool Hare!  What fun to piece this one together! 

My days have been busy.. painting the bathroom, cleaning and sorting, customers in the studio, and this weekend I have two lovely ladies 

coming for a beginning rug hooking class!  They are sisters!

It makes my heart glad... to once again be teaching and sharing my love for rug hooking...

even though I haven't pulled one single loop myself for weeks...sigh...

Let's hope that changes real quick!

Cathy G