How can it be Thursday?

It's been a crazy week with company for the first two days and then an unscheduled trip yesterday. And now it is Thursday. Rather than waiting till next Monday, I decided that I have a few things to share.

My Noro sweater is all knit and I am sharing a picture of it before the second sleeve was done. As I was sewing up the seam of the first sleeve, I remembered some jersey fabric in my stash that I was pretty sure had a bunch of the same colours in it. I figured it would look fantastic, or just be overkill.
But when I draped the fabric inside the sweater, voila. Amazing how they do go together - and what are the chances that I would have bought that fabric months and months before choosing the yarn for the sweater.

Now that the other sleeve is finished, I will get busy making something out of the fabric. Some kind of top that will be fun to wear with the sweater. It won't be as long as the draped fabric, so perhaps a little easier on the eyes.

On the hooking front, as I gear up for the next set of workshops, I have been doing a few little mats from photos. And since I want to be able to demonstrate a number of topics that the students are choosing, I did this little landscape. It is only 5 x 6.5", so truly a little sketch. It has yet to be cleaned up and pressed and I can see a little part on the right side that needs to be adjusted. But it's fun to see what detail you can get into something this small with a #6 cut. I think I captured that sparkle on the lake that I love so much.

I saw on April De Connick's blog that she is doing little sketches as well and turning them into  hooked books. What a great idea. Go for a little visit and you will see how great her images are. Plus she is generous enough to share all her tips for creating the books.

I want to do few more before the next workshop. I must confess to finding them a bit addictive. And they are so quick and easy to do, you don't mind parting with them one little bit.

School is Definitely Back

Well my September brain is back in and seems to be working. Quite a change from the lazy days of August and July and June and ......

My students are back in the studio - yippee. Only three of my six were able to make the first class, but just as well since there was a brand new project to be planned and a big "do over" for another student whose pattern was NOT on grid. She drew it herself and used a ruler and measured everything, but did not grid with a pencil line first. Such a great lesson to share with those who made it to class. That won't be happening again!!!

My first workshop took place on the weekend. Despite the incredibly LONG drive to get there in the pouring rain, and staying in my sister's empty house (while she was at the cottage), the workshop was a complete success!!

There were 10 in attendance. The topic was Colour. And the attendees were quite a group, many of whom have been hooking since the 1960's and 70's. I left like a rookie beside many of them. But my new perspective on Colour was greatly appreciated and everyone was engaged throughout the day. Even those who chose not to do the "hands on" part of the program.

I was asked to present some of my work at the beginning of the day, based on the question "What excites you in the fiber art world?" Well, since the answer was EVERYTHING, I had quite a few things to share.

Here is a picture of the group (minus one who had to leave early).

The facility was the Burlington Arts Centre and these lucky women have this huge room dedicated to rug hooking. They share with the Quilters, but most of the cupboards and supplies there are related to hooking, including a huge supply cupboard/store and a washer and dryer and all the equipment you could wish for for their dyeing days. Wow!!

The room was light and bright. The entire centre was filled with light and it had full-time studios for potters and glass blowers and weavers and painters. I didn't get to check out the gift shop before heading back home, but will do that next time.

The lesson was about using an image you love as a starting point for a colour plan.  Here is a very interesting image that someone brought and the colours they pulled from it.

A few people started moving their colours around on 1" grids.

Others just jumped directly into their projects.

And several others simply pulled their colours from the wonderful selection brought by vendor Ruth Emerson to the workshop. They will start their projects in their own time. It was a nice, relaxed day and I really enjoyed meeting this enthusiastic group.


It is wonderful to be back in the loop - no pun intended - and I am looking forward to a busy fall, filled with lots of hooking and knitting and all things cozy.

Background Finished.

And I must confess, it was one of the most entertaining backgrounds I have ever hooked. I guess changing colours with each strip kept it interesting. I couldn't wait to see what the different sections of negative space would look like. Nothing boring about it!

A little chippie sneaked into the upper left hand corner yesterday morning. It was looking empty and I realized that I had forsaken him for those fish - so I was happy he arrived. And then I took my hooking outside and finished all the rest of it. It was a glorious Labour Day, with a perfect breeze and I got to see and hear all the goings on, while sitting there in hooking heaven.

I went back to my Magdalena book to plan my finish, and it seems that a simple whip is all that she did - if that. So I will trim and roll and whip as time permits in the next while.

Today, my September brain is being re-inserted. You know the one you use for organizing work, teaching, traveling and all the things that you haven't used for most of the summer. I think incoming company, grocery lists and LCBO requirements use a totally different part. I sure hope the kick start works, because my Inbox filled all weekend - I guess everyone is feeling the same. Time to get back to "life".

Anyway, hope everyone had a great weekend. Here's to a smooth re-entry for all of us into the real world.