Fun in Nebraska

Hello all!

I haven't done much hooking lately, as my hooking space is in my basement at home, which currently looks like this:

We are finishing the basement , and there is now an egress window where that dryer vent hose goes through the plywood window, and all the walls and ceiling are down and the mess relatively cleaned up, so there is progress, but my little studio room tucked in the corner that used to look like this:

Is now covered in a layer of dust because the egress window guy came and I didn't shut my door.  All of my lovely wool, which is now filling those cube shelves, is covered in dust as well.  *sigh* 

One of the best things about my job as Marketing Specialist for the Bee Line-Townsend cutters is my chance to travel to hook-ins and shows.  Two weeks ago I was supposed to go to the Autumn Valley Hook-In in Stillwater, Minnesota, but my lovely teen was asked to Homecoming for the first time, so I had to fulfill my role as Annoying Picture Mom.  I certainly did miss seeing everyone in Stillwater, though!

Last weekend I drove to Valley, Nebraska to attend Janice Lee's Eastern Nebraska Hook-In.  It was fun and really informative, as there were terrific presentations throughout the day.  Great talks by Janice about sheared mats, Kathleen Salak's hooked dolls, and Carol Oslage's baskets, all great, but I was really taken by Jan Goos' Halloween pattern:

(Used with permission from www.goosnest.com)

She did this as both a hooked rug and as a wool wall hanging.  It was interesting to see it in both incarnations, and it is so fun and festive!

A rug I stared at a LOT and wish I would've taken a photo of was being hooked by a young woman at the table in front of my booth.  I believe the pattern was called "My Pal" and it was a dog in the middle, which she was hooking in a primitive style and beige and tan wool.  The background was originally drawn with primitive, irregular rectangle shapes in it, but the hooker was hooking the background in large spirals in varying shades of blue, which to me was reminiscient of Van Gogh's "Starry Night".

Picture this without the yellow and white.

The hook-in was a great deal of fun.  Here is the event just as it was opening and people started their rounds around the vendors:



Here is the crowd when Jan Goos started speaking:

Here is a nifty idea for carrying cassettes without damage - this is an old Crystal Light container:

The good times kept rolling when I visited Janice Lee's shop the next day.  It is a really cool place:

It's even better on the inside...

Here's a close-up of that fantastic horse rug on the table - I love the four-leaf clover in the horseshoe in the middle:

And here is the lovely Janice Lee herself, in the middle of her Queendom:

What oh what should I purchase from Janice's candy shop?  When I was at Sauder, I saw all of the amazing Magdelena Briner Eby rugs and Evelyn Lawrence's interpretations of them.  I also bought the book on Magdelena's rugs by Evelyn and Kathy Wright.  So it only made sense that this was the pattern that was to come home with me:

It's called Magdelena's Animal Purse, from Woolley Fox via Janice Lee. 

I can't wait to start it!

This week I'll be traveling to the ATHA Biennial in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  If you're at the show, be sure to come over to the Bee Line - Townsend booth and say hi!

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.