Rain, Rain, Go Away.....

I feel as tho the rug on my frame should be this one.  Actually I've admired this design and isn't in my stash yet.  

Just about a month ago there was a similar weather scenerio here with lots of rain and me in the middle of a moat.  Well it has been raining for the last 3 days off an on and sometimes heavy non-stop downpours. The local weather channel said Seaford received over 10" of rain yesterday and thru the night.

Early this morning I took photos out back but the photos turned out too dark so not useable.  But the photo and video of the entrance of the development did turn out in better daylight.  

For this still photo below I'm standing at the mailbox house on the 'drive IN' side of the development.  Looking across the road there is a home which has a stream surrounding the house so the water is flowing down the road and across the other side of the road into that neighbor's stream.

I'm sure when he purchased the land he and his wife thought 'what a lovely serene place we have to build a home'.   But a lot of his trees have given way from storms and across the road obstructing traffic and causing unsuspected danger in the dark.  Not his fault, just the problems with nature.

I've never taken or posted a video before so not sure how this is going to turn out.  Obviously there's no chance of me becoming a movie director or film artist.  But I'm okay with a hook in my hand.

So let's see if my neighbor's video will copy okay for me since mine doesn't seem to work for me.

Hope you are all safe and dry.

Saundra

My Camp Rug....Finally

Yeah, I know you are all anxious to see what I hooked and while it isn't finished, did want to get more hooked beyond what was accomplished at Cape May.  

That said, since being home I've had a couple very large patterns to draw for someone not to mention the normal un-fun duties to perform when returning from having all that fun.  So here ya go.

There's so much to talk about this design and hope I don't forget anything.  First, my teacher was Kris Miller and this is a design offered by Spruce Ridge Studios from the art work of Lori Brechlin named Do Goode Be Nice.  

So, let me tell you about my journey hooking the pattern.  Must admit I was concerned hooking the witches hand/fingers and also considered not hooking the words, particularly the "Be Good" word bubble.  But Kris gave me the confidence and suggestions to pull it off.  And pull it off I did.  Kris even said (with tongue in cheek)...."you nailed it!" referring to the dark red fingernails of the uptown Goode Witch.

The green wool for the witch face was purchased last year at Cape May from Kris when I was searching for the perfect wool for this pattern so saved it and took it back to Cape May.

For my Goode Witch's hair I chose red.  Reason is that was the wool hooked on the witch in Nantucket Broom Ride which was part of a 'get well' card/package sent me by my friend Barb Carroll.  Here is Nantucket Broom Ride for those who may have missed my previous posting about this time last year.  Thanks Barb, cannot imagine a witch with any other color hair now.

Nantucket Broom Ride is another pattern offered by Spruce Ridge Studios and from the artwork of Lori Brechlin.

Okay, back to hooking on the Goode Witch as I'm excited to have it finished and used in October on my harvest table.

Have a great evening, please be kind to one another and happy hooking.

Saundra

Throw Down of Rugs and Featuring Teachers

Last week at Rugs by the Sea there were 4 teachers; Lucille Festa, Diane Stoffel, Jen Manuell and Kris Miller.  Am happy to say that I've enjoyed classes with 3 of these teachers but have not had the pleasure to enjoy Jen Manuell as a teacher yet.  

There were numerous 'in progress' rugs so I'll try to identify those were in each of the teachers' classes.  That said.... sometimes the area gets crowded around rugs so then it requires me to move from one section (teacher) to another section so my photos may not be in order. Which means I'll just try to identify the teacher's strengths she offers to identify her students.

It was tough determining Lucille's and Kris' students rugs unless I saw them being hooked in the class.  Here is a little info on each of the teachers which was provided in the registration packet to assist people in choosing a teacher.

Lucille Festa:
"A history Buff and long time antique collection, Lucille incorporates folk art and Americana images into many of her designs.  Using plaids, checks, tweeds and herringbones, over-dyed and as is, she works to achieve soft and mellow colorations that have the look of being old but not worn.  Her goal is to create a unique wide-cut hooked rug what is aesthetically pleasing to hand down to the next generation."

Kris Miller:
"Join Kris to explore soft colors, subtle value changes and beautiful textures. Kris has to recent publications The Grand Finale and Introduction to Rug Hooking.  She offers a wide selection of patterns designed by her and other featured artists.  

Diane Stoffel:
In her first career Diane was an art teacher and is an accredited McGowan teacher.  She never stops moving and leads her students to beautifully crafted colorful rugs.  She is comfortable working with all types of patterns and offers "tweaks" that will set your rug apart from the rest."  I can definitely attest to that!  My Shadow girl was hooked in her class and she wouldn't rest until Shadow's eye was spot on!

Jen Manuell:
MARRAKESH EXPRESS, taking inspiration from Moroccan Boucherouite rugs Jen has developed simple tribal motifs that can be intentionally asymmetrical and perfectly imperfect.  Jen is a master of improv hooking using The Matrix Method. She has been teaching 10 years in Canada, the US and England.

The following rugs were either in Lucille's or Kris' class.  Enjoy the throw down.

Goat Hill, below, was being hooked by my pal Deb.

In case you're wondering, the next two rugs below had a lot hooked before coming to camp and hooked by Pam Brune.

Rebecca Erb was hooking this sheep and look at that awesome ear. Someone inquired as to the designer and it is by Karla Gerard and a paper pattern for this can be purchased on eBay.

My friend Shari is hooking the rug below.

The #9.5 wide cut below is being hooked by Dawn Hiemstra.  Not sure who was hooking the other rugs but while standing there admiring this beauty it was Dawn who came to retrieve it.  Awesome look and think this and the sheep by Rebecca were my favorites. 

Welll, okay, I love this lion too but am NOT going to hook it in a narrow cut.  This was being hooked in Diane's class.

The boat below is being hooked in Diane Stoffel's class and the woman is replicating a painting she brought to class.

Don't know who was hooking the family below but was again in Diane's class.  You can't see it in the photo but the sunglasses used a shiny wool which appeared to be just like sunglasses.  I wanted to inquire what wool she used as one had a blue tint and the other brown.

This photo below is being hooked by Cheri Reid, who else, and she is doing an awesome job as usual.  As beautiful as it is I still have no desire to hook a narrow cut.

 

The rugs below were being hooked in Jen's class.  

The rugs are very interesting and I see more of a native American flair to them in my opinion.

Of the rugs being hooked in Jen's class, the rug below was my favorite because of the more primitive look.  What surprised me is that it was being hooked by my friend Lynne Fowler who usually hooks rugs which require very precise and narrow cut wool.  This one she used lots of scraps and textures.  

There were rugs in progress which I didn't get a chance to photo.. So if any of you readers were at Cape May last week and want to send me a photo of your rug I'd be happy to post it.

Hope you enjoyed the show. Yeah..... didn't post a picture of mine yet, as I want to get a little more hooked on it.

Saundra