Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Rock Creek Hook-In in Lenexa, Kansas

It's been over a week since I had the good fortune to attend Marilyn Schmidt's Rock Creek Hook In in Lenexa, Kansas, and I'm still processing all I learned there!

First, I was extremely lucky to attend the show with none other than the fabulous Katie Lane from Townsend.  We had a nice drive there together, and made our first stop at Black Sheep Wool in Liberty, MO.  If you haven't had a chance to visit Rhonda Manley's shop and you are able, stop reading now and head over!

Marty and Rhonda Manley of Black Sheep Wool, and me. 
No one told Marty to wear his purple shirt that day.

I wish I would've taken more pictures of the studio - the front room has a gorgeous huge window, with patterns hanging all over the place.  The back room has The Great Wall of Wool, in every color you can imagine, and it's warm and homey.  Here is a picture of Sherri Barnhill cutting wool for her project - on a Bee Line Townsend cutter, of course!

Look at all of that wool!

I didn't get many pictures of the inside,
but I did manage to get a picture of the Black Sheep Wool cat,
 who seemed a little miffed at having to be outside.

Sherri's GORGEOUS rug at Black Sheep Wool.

Rhonda Manley's lovely wool flower pins, ready to go to the Hook In.
I am now the lucky owner of one of these!  Yay me!

Our stop at Black Sheep Wool was short, but the Manley's were busy finishing up a workshop in the studio with a group of fun attendees, and trying to get their things ready for the Hook-In the next day, so Katie and I got back in my van and headed out for dinner and the hotel.  We spent the next few hours working on our projects in the room, which was terrific because Katie gave me some great tips.

I hadn't pulled out my unfelted wool yet on Bucky Bee, and Katie took a look at my work so far.  She pointed out that my loops were too short, and they were too tightly packed, so I was glad she saw the project before I pulled it all out.  I started over on Bucky Bee, and it went much smoother from that point on.  I couldn't believe two hours went by and I hardly noticed! 

The next morning, we were up at 6 a.m. it was off to the Lenexa Community Center!  Black Sheep Wool, as one of our distributors, was the official sales location for Bee Line Townsend, but we brought inventory to hand out as Rhonda and Marty sold it.  Here is my brave minivan, midway through the unpacking:
Boxes of cutters and cassettes ready for hooking!

We had a very busy day, Katie catching up with everyone she hadn't seen in a year, and me meeting everyone I've talked with on the phone at Bee Line Townsend.  Here is a recap of the day:

Julie posing at the BLT booth.


Katie showing off the new cutters.


Rhonda and Marty, working their magic at the Black Sheep Wool booth.


Martha Reeder, another one of our distributors, busy in the Going Gray booth.

Me and Patty from Saltbox Primitive Woolens, also a distributor.

Lots of hooking going on!
What did I learn that day?  Among many other things,
NEVER WEAR BLACK PANTS TO A WOOL PARTY!
It was loads of fun, thanks to Marilyn Schmidt for organizing a great event, and it was fun meeting so many of our customers!

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