DYEING, HOOKING AND PRACTICING MY SOCIAL SKILLS

I have been hosting the second Wednesday at my house with vaccinated people. It has been fun getting to see eveyone. I am terrible at taking pictures, however. I usually have about 12 people show up. I make them lunch and they bring  other dishes to serve. In October we had a salad-potluck. Our annual rug show was cancelled so we were able to meet. The salads wre delicious.

In August I attended Sauder Village again. It is always a great show. I took a class with Carolyn Twigg on primitives with color. I designed and hooked this rug pretty fast.

I bought a Michele Palmer design for Halloween. I love her needle punch designs and coloring so I had to have this one.

I took a few classes from TIGHR and enjoyed all of them. One of the classes was on making a bog. I call it wetlands or marsh.  I made one and lost it in my studio and then I made another. Two months later I found the first one.  We were sent a kit with all kinds of embellishments to add to our bog.I liked the caribo hair. I also enjoyed using some stitch on the bog. Fun!

Tour of the Studio

How I sort myleftover wool.

This studio was made for me when we remodeled our garage. It is across the covered driveway of my house so very convenient. This is a typical showing as I have many projects going on at one time. It is on the second floor of my garage. WE have views of Hood Canal and the Olympic Mountains.

Boxes are used for selling wool when I vend. Husband made them for me to haul around the dyed wool.




My dyeing area.

1. 

My vew on a rainy day.

This is Carol's showing of one of my patterns called "Chic'o'evil". She lived on a chicken farm.

My Cancer Journey Rug

Studio Tour

This is my studio across the covered driveway from my house. It is on top of the garage which holds no cars, just junk. My kids will be so happy when I pass. I am just kidding. I have apologized many times about the amount of stuff we have collected over the years. They are just as bad, I think. This was remodled just for me and I am such a lucky person.

New project for 2021

I  have started a big rug for an area i my house. I used an Orphaned Wool pattern for the middle and I am designing the rest of the 115" by 60" rug. I could ot find background I wanted so dyed recycled wool. Here are some pictures of the rug in progress.

I wrote an article for RHM about hooking birdhouses.  This is the birdhouse I submitted and some of the others I have created.  

I finished a McGown pillow project of fine shading and fingering taught my the famous Tanya Graham.

Other projects I have worked on during Covid

I made four alphabet pillows. There are 14 inches square and were fun to color plan and hook.

I made a Covid rug starting with an image from the artist, Wyeth.  I then making a stuffed mask with wrapped wires; cutting letters from labels for words and adding them to leather; using a tie-printed piece of wool for the top; and embroidied and stuffed covid pieces sewn down on the rug.

I took an on-line class on botnical printing on wool. Learned about the process but I have a lot to practice.

I finished a rug I started many years ago because I could not get inspiration. This year I used nylons for the skin and it worked well. I had finished the fish many years ago so I did their clothes and added some glitter threads for the earrings. I did change the faces and shoes. I like it now. I just need to finish the edges.

I found some abandoned bee hive pieces and used those for the centers of sunflowers. I did make sure all prospectie bees were gone.

I have a bucket with a top in which I keep wool year. I found a pattern at Wooly Mason so I finished that one up for the top to this bucket.

I finished up another McGown workshop project called Lima.

A FEW PROJECTS I AM FINISHING OR ARE ON THE SHELVES TO HOOK

This is one I reeived from Melissa Patticini from Honey Bee Hive Rugs celerating the 10th annivesary of North Central teachers workshop. It was easy to do and I changed my mind a few times but really wanted to do a no-thought project. I am grateful and feel very lucky.

This is a pattern from Kim Nixon and I changed it and put it on a stool I had sitting around.

This is an oriental rug which I started at my fist rug camp The Star of Texas. It was held in 2003 in Fredericksbug, Texas. My teacher was Jenny Benjamin.

This is an example of dyeing with silk ties. They are the perfect recyin projet and easy to do. It is always amazing to me how the images are identifal to the tie

New project finished

My friend, Janet Smith, wrote a poem about the mother orca who carried who dead baby for days around here in the Pacific Northwest. I interpreted the poem into a hooking project. I wanted to try painting wool and then using a texture medium you sew on the wool and then iron it. The material puffs up. I like the results. The projects were to be shown for a month of Bainbridge Island but, of course, it was cancelled.

PILLOWS

I finished these two pillows which I started while spending time in Mexico.

The frog is from Visions of Ewe. I bought the pattern while taking a class ast Sauder Rug Hooking. The other pillow is the horses and it already had the two pieces for the pillow so I used leftover worms to hook it.

THE QUEEN OF RUG HOOKING BEING TAUGHT AT SAUDER VILLAGE

I am teaching a retreat on the Queen of Rug Hooking at Sauder Village this August. I am showing many embellishments and problem solving ideas with her. We will be using different materials to manipulate her structure. I did not think of just using her as a wall hanging so if you are interested in learning the applications without the 3-d ,I will be glad to accommodate that option. I will show you my work in progress as well as the finished product. I hope you can join me at Sauder.Sorry for the threads etc. I was not going to share this photo when I took it. Loose threads and lint is a no - no.

She has a bustle which opens for storage. I used sari silk ribbon, fur, polar fleece, this puff material, ribbons, faux shirret, fringe, velvet, beads, and made hooks for her. Isculpted some of her with a doll needle. She was fun to experiment on.

She was vacationing in Mexico so that is where the pictures were taken.

I am also teaching a one day class on making birds. Here are some in a cage I made and some who got out.

 They are a quick and easy project. The legs take a little time and some skill.

4 x 6 picture for framing practice

I used scapes to hook this picture of Seattle. I then used black mateial and a metal frame I had. I glued the matrial on the back and over the front. I then cut out apiece of the material to cover the front an then sewed it onto the first material. It turned out well and I use a frame I would nothave used.

RECENT HOOKED PIECES

Class taken in Nova Scotia in June. Modigliani inspired.

Update on Monday, August 26, 2019 at 1:19PM by Michele Wise

I tried too many times on my pear still life to hook it with scraps and I really need to dye a swatch to finish it.  I took a class at Sauder.

2nd WEDNESDAYS AT MY HOUSE

Merri working on her autumn pomogranet piece.

Wool Applique

Nani's finished piece

Crocheted rag rug by Carol Moon

 Cheryl's Peter Rabbit rug

Judi's face rug

Joyce's Santa rug

Debbie's sheep rug

Dye Class

Rockaway Camp 2018

Here are some rugs from the show.

Laura Pierce

Louise Jenkins

Lynne Powell

Lynne Howard- sideways teapot

Marina Palo was in my class last year and wanted to hook a structure for her egg.

My classroom which is located next to the cafeteria. It is a good classroom but does not have the best lighting.

Good class an we had a good time.

CATCHING UP WITH THIS NEWSLETTER AND LIFE

I had a very busy year in 2017 teaching and catching up with projects at home and in the hooking world. I have hosted and continue to host hooking at my house every second Wednesday of the month. I am so busy on those days I get very little hooking done and forget to take pictures. I am going to start this thread with July, 2018 and go back to February, which was the last time I reported.  

Teacher workshop in Eugene, Oregon, was very pleasant. I had a show and tell of a footstool I did. It is a Kim Nixon pattern called Goddess. I changed the face and made her more mature with white hair. I put more lines in the tulips. On the end tulip I made a center in it and added more lines  I found a skirt I had for my inspiration for the flowers. I think I channeled the 1970's for this pattern.

I also taught a class in architecture and perspective. Laura Pierce did the patterns. I had the log cabin or settlers cabin. It is an actual cabin in the Appalachian mountains. I changed it up a little by making it a cabin found in the Olympic Forest. I added the words and a couple fir trees in the background. I also hooked it like a poster. I had my husband make a frame for it. I ended up liking it.

Here are other three that went with the day's instruction. They all turned out well. That is because there are talented people at Western.

I did finish my daisy pattern from last year's workshop. I did struggle with it but it is always good because the learning curve is healthier.

Here are pictures of the group in May and June at my house.

Last time we saw Linda who moved to California.

Judi's portrait.

Katie and Carol are making crochet rugs from sheets, etc.

Cheryl finished her granddaughter's rug but this was the progress. I forgot to take a picture of the finished piece.

These are 3-D stuffed and hooked front and back piece I made this last year.

They are all available as patterns.

Took a small jewelry class ast the Barn.

 

New Projects Near Being Finished

I made these little wool animals and they needed somewhere to live so I punched with yarn, the little hut.

Commissioned piece for Patti Chapman

My BIG rug I inherited from Fran Reiter. I think it is about 6 x9' and is an Edith O'Neill pattern. Learned from this one and still need to tweak it.

Puritan Frame and Stand for Sale

This frame was my little sister's and she died a year ago so I am going to sell the frame and stand for $$100 if anyone is interested. Grippers are in medium shape. I replaced one or two of them.

January Gathering at My House

Had two new people join us. Robin and Jan. Jan is working on a rug she has had for quite some time and Robin is brand new working on a hit and miss.

Nani completed a rug!

Judi's rug progress

Jan's work in progress.

Nani braiding

Merri's bunny

The group

OCTOBER REITER RETREAT AT GOLDBAR, WA.

The third week of October brought together mostly rug hookers to Camp Huston where we hooked, slept, ate, visited and started again the next morning. I only took a few photos of the rug show because I forgot to take pictures.Not sure who did this rug- no label present

Kathy Earl

Eileen Brayton

Joy Anderson

Katie Knoelke

Lorraine Owens

Maureen Towner

Prairie Harvest-Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

I traveled to Edmonton to teach "Zentangles" to a group of talented ladies. I had a great time. Here are some of my class and their original designs.

Here is just a taste of the rugs in the show. I thought I would be able to see the tags so I could put the name with the rug but I cannot read the tags. There are a few I know who hooked the pieces.

I think this was Shirley's trip rug.

This is a Cec rug. You can tell by the colors. She has a distinct style.

Laura's rug.

Holly's nursing hat and goose.

Michale Freeman fish.

Lots of wonderscapes.

Cec again.

Loved the teapots that Holly's class was making.