Sauder Pictures, Part 2

Yesterday I posted a bunch of pictures from Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week, but I didn't want to do too many for fear they wouldn't load on the site, so in the words of Walter Cronkite, here is The Rest of The Story:

I am a HUGE fan of dogs, and I plan to someday hook my Standard Poodle, George.  Whenever I see hooked dogs, I always stop and take note. 

This Bassett Hound was so full of joy!  The photo doesn't even come close to capturing the essence of this great dog.  The subtle variations in the sky in the background were terrific.

Right below the Bassett was this spunky Airdale.  The colors in this rug were amazingly vibrant, and I love how the red background was hooked.

Right around the corner was this fun pup, I'm assuming a Maltese maybe?  This one attracted me because my George is an apricot poodle, so he is very creamy, and I'm a fan of the Warhol prints with the great color silkscreen.  This rug captures what I picture doing with George.

"What cute dog is going to be a rug someday?  Huh?  Is it you George? Yes it is!"

This rug is really big - I can't even get my head around how much work goes into these pieces!  I'm still learning the rudimentary steps in rug hooking, but I told my husband it's like 3D chess - you make one move and it affects things on three other layers.  Your color choice, your cut choice, your loop height, your hooking direction...it seems to be equally freeing and restricting to think about all of these choices!

These rugs were hooked by Patty Yoder, and they are all very large rugs.  Again, the time and effort into these beautiful pieces is staggering.  The sheep in the middle is another inspiration for my George rug, because he rather looks like a sheep.  I love the guy standing next to the cow in the barn.

The center part of the exhibit was a large collection of rugs hooked by Magdalena Briner Eby, and the interpretation rugs designed and hooked by the talented Evelyn Lawrence.  There were books for sale about this collection, written by Evelyn Lawrence and Kathy Wright, which I purchased.  It's a fascinating history lesson on the time and on a rug hooking pioneer.  You can get a copy by contacting Kathy Wright at Traditions by Wright & Co, at 859-745-5740.  It's worth every penny.

My favorite part of the show?  When Samuel Dorr, son of Terry, with Dorr Mill Store, took the microphone to sing the closing song he wrote, "Somewhere Over the Selvage", to the tune of "Over the Rainbow".  It was a real show-stopper, literally.  He ended to a standing ovation.  What a fun week.  We are just a temporary booth at Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week, so we haven't been invited yet to next year's show, but I will be there either way.  It is a show that is not to be missed.

Sauder Village Recap

Just today, I turned in my expense report for Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week, which is a little bit shameful because I left for Archbold, Ohio on Tuesday, August 16.  I gave it to the Bee Line Accounts Payable person, Celeste, and said "But I got it in under a month, right?"  I don't think she was impressed.  SO, it is only fitting that I am posting my recap of Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week a month later as well.  I am nothing if not consistent.

I'm going to post a whole slew of pictures, and I was so overwhelmed by the whole thing that I didn't think to write down the names of the designers and hookers, a definite rookie mistake!  Please accept my apologies for not crediting the artists, and know that I took a picture because I love your work.

The Bee Line - Townsend Booth. 

We were lucky enough to have the picture of Erie Sauder,

which is good luck!  (Or at least that is my story from now on.)

The t-shirts we had for sale.  I need to get these on our website!

With Ruth Weber, of Sheep Thrills, one of our fabulous distributors!

Looking in the front door of the exhibition hall

at these beautiful rugs!

I believe these people were in Jenny Rupp's exhibit.

One of my favorite pieces.  This is definitely one of Jenny Rupp's.

These rugs were in the theme challenge.



This guy was amazing.  His cheeks were so apple-like,

 and the variation in color and pile were terrific.

This clock was so quirky and cute.

More sheep in a pastoral scene.

Love this piece from Nola Heidbreder - she dyed the linen

and hooked in the fish and lilies, so pretty.

I'll post more pictures tomorrow so I don't crash your computer with all of these photos downloading!

It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Hello all! 

It has been over a month since I blogged, and I am quite remiss in that this rookie hooker has learned a TON in the last month!

I have finished my pumpkin top, but need to sew the back on.  I know another hooker, one of our Bee Line-Townsend cutter customers, who has made a virtual pumpkin patch from the Wicked Wool kit.  Jo Wick is the creater of the fabuloso pumpkins here:

And these:

And my favorite:

Seeing Jo's adorable pumpkins all done is a GREAT motivator for me to get my rear in gear and get hooking!  I have a few episodes of Project Runway to catch up on, so maybe it's time to start the DVR and get some pumpkins on the vine.

I love how Jo personalized these pumpkins with using the sticks as stems.  The pattern from Wicked Wool comes like this:

And your canvas is truly blank, so you can hook it however you like.  I'm going to finish off the backs of my pumpkins (I AM, really!), and try to do a few more, and then I am going to try to put ears on it and make a black cat head.  Beth Kovich at Wicked Wool has a bunch of variations on the pumpkins on her website - http://www.wickedwool.com/ - where you can also purchase the pumpkin kit.

So I'm off to make The Great Pumpkin.  I went to Sauder Village last month and LOVED IT, and I learned so much.  I'll be posting about Sauder and some of the amazing rugs I saw on Wednesday.

Have a great week, hookers!