It would seem that our weather is cooperating for our flight on Friday---since we are flying through Denver I've kept a close watch on it as well, and although it is snowing there now Friday appears to be sunny---that is a good thing.

I started wrapping the presents that are going in the checked baggage---having never flown at christmas I thought that was okay---but not according to the TSA---I am not going to unwrap them---if they have to then so be it---I will rewrap them after I get there.  Nothing is large or dangerous so hopefully all will be well.

I did finish my Kilim.  Here it is---it is 17 by 37 inches and designed by Jane Flynn.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas, or whatever holiday they celebrate and a  Happy New Year!

Anita

Holiday Gathering 2011 part 2

Two posts in two days!

Yesterday morning I went for a run retracing my route that I ran the day I lost my earring hoping to miraculously find it---it was a long run that day and I had called my husband to pick me up at the Starbucks---a grande mocha light frapacinno has only 140 calories and tastes great after a long run---unfortunately he had gone out and wasn't available to pick me up so  I had an even longer run than I had planned to get back home as I had a dr. appointment that I had to make it to and no moola with me to get my frappacinno...I got home an hour and twenty minutes after i left home.  No I didn't find my earring.

After my doctor's appointment I went to old downtown Overland Park.  I went to Penzey's and got some new spices and to the Tasteful Olive and got a fig balsamic vinegar and a sesame oil---they have it set up where you can taste the oils and vinegars and come up with your own pairings...fun but my tastebuds got very confused.  I used both last night in a dish I made for supper---chicken with japanese eggplant, tomatoes, onion, capers, red pepper and used the balsamic---yummy!  Served it over whole wheat penne pasta.  I love to play in the kitchen  occasionally---I say I cook like I dye---a little of this and a little of that. I get bored with putting meals on the table so every once in a while when I have the time I like to pretend that i am on the "Chopped" show and have to create a dish---I don't give myself as many strange foods as they get but it is funk to see what I can do given 3 or 4 main ingredients.

Well here are some more pictures from the party.

 This is a pattern hooked by Anne---I think it is a Nola Heidbreder pattern but Anne redrew many of the animals---I remember how hard we worked to come up with a color for the background---I think this one works!

 Another fun rug by Anne---a Primitive Grace pattern

A  very fun Woolley Fox chicken pattern hooked by Bonnie---I like the "halo effect" around the chickens

More chickens hooked by Mary Lynn ---drawing a blank on the pattern name, duh!

 Lots of fun Christmas pieces mostly hooked by Karen---she has been busy!

 Perry hooked this Bea Brock pattern, Birds of a Feather, an ambitious project---great job!

One of the highlights of the day was Marie telling us her story as hooked in this family rug.  The rug chronicles her life from childhood to present day---what a treasure this is!!!

Well, that is it for now---while not all the rugs this will give you a sampling of what was there.

I am so proud of their accomplishments and am looking forward to 2012 with  many more rugs and good times with all of them.

This next week will bring preparations for traveling  to California---not looking forward to flying at Christmas but have been checking the  weather and it looks like things are going to be good weather wise---keeping my fingers crossed.  I have never flown anywhere for Christmas, so this is a first.

Peace, joy and happiness to all.  Enjoy your family and friends---see you again in 2012!

Holiday Gathering 2011

Yesterday brought the 15th Annual Holiday Gathering.  We had a great time and fortunately the weather cooperated this year with temperatures near 60.  Our party was held at Mimi's house---thank you Mimi!

Everyone brought some great food along with their recipe so that we can put a cookbook together.  We also do a show and tell of current projects and a rug show.  I didn't get pictures of the show and tells but took pictures of the rug show.

Here is the finished picture of the project I gave everyone for their gift.  The sheep is hooked into the wool.  I finished the edge of my pillow by inserting strips and the edge with a hemostat tool---works great!

Here we all are gathered on the steps at Mimi's.

And now for some pictures:

This is a picture of our guild rug which is being raffled off---proceeds benefitting the Spiva Art Center in Joplin MO which was devastated by the tornado earlier this year.  Anyone interested can contact me---$5.00 for one ticket and $10 for three.  We sold quite a few tickets yesterday---It is a large rug---about 38 by 50.  It will be given away on February 25th at the Lenexa hook-in.


There were lots of geometric patterns this year---

 Star Geometric hooked by Peggy

Pinwheel  Quilt---about 34" by 58" hooked by Jo Ann---I did a smaller version of this earlier in the year when I worked out the pattern---much more impressive in the larger size!

 Two Kilim pillows hooked by Kate

This is the  same pattern as the pillows hooked as a runner---I didn't get the binding finished but I used the opportunity to give a little finishing lesson on how I did the binding.  At the top of the picture is a glimpse of a bird nest hooked for me by my good friend Jody---I had to bring it to share with the group.  Love it Jody!!!

 A great way to use up leftovers!

 

Cheltonham, a Martina Lesar pattern hooked by Kate

 Another scrap rug hooked by Marie

A great wall hanging hooked by Phyllis

This next group of pictures will show the popularity of some 

Susan Quicksall rug patterns.

 This is Amy's Crazy Horse runner in two parts---too big to get in one picture!

 Crazy Horse rug hooked by Cheryl

 Crazy Horse rug hooked by Wanda

 Seed Basket hooked by Sally---love the tongues!

Amy's Floral pillows---found the perfect wool for the pillow backs!

That's it for today---will post more pictures tomorrow!

What a wonderful group of very talented ladies---I am very thankful for the great year I have had with them and hope everyone enjoys the holidays!!!

checking in

Well it is a busy time of the year---lots of parties and holiday cheer!
We had our Rug Hooking guild Christmas party on Saturday and I forgot my camera, but I will have pictures thanks to Karen later this week.  Wednesday is my party for my students---I am so looking forward to it.  We will be having a rug show so there will be more pictures to come.

We went to a party last night and have another one on Saturday night---so much fun this time of year.  Our neighborhood Bunco party is next week.

Today has been a day of finding things and losing things.  I found my hooked braided mat which has been missing for some time but unfortunately I lost my earring again---more prayers to St. Anthony---if I don't find it this time I am not replacing it.  Still hopeful, but not holding my breath.  I hope I didn't lose it when I was running this morning.  Between yesterday and today I have run over 11 miles---no way to trace it back!

I am getting excited about my trip to California to see my daughter at Christmas...we are going to be going to Grass Valley, Bodega Bay and Oakland.  I am also going to get to see my sister who will be joining us in Bodega Bay.

I am looking forward to getting my hair cut and colored tomorrow---I am past due!

I am almost finished with my Kilim---just another hour or less of hooking time---planned to do it tonight but got distracted.

I promise some great pictures after the party on Wednesday---looks like the weather is going to cooperate this year---no snow!  yeah!!!!

Where has the time gone

It is hard to believe that two weeks have gone by since I last posted.  Thanksgiving has come and gone---it was a quiet one this year.  Last week my husband and two friends who were newly certified to scuba dive went to Cozumel which left me home alone...I thought I would be able to get so much done but actually I took the opportunity to be lazy and get some much needed down time, so I hooked a lot, watched TV, went for runs, and did whatever I felt like doing.  On Thursday a good friend came to visit and we played some more.  We went to the River Bottoms ( Good Juju and Bottoms Up to name a few) on Friday and did some antique and vintage shopping---we hooked and several nice dinners that I cooked and just enjoyed ourselves some more.  Late Saturday night Doug came home, and it wasn't until after the Chiefs game on Sunday that I finally set myself in motion to get the studio ready for Mondays classes.  Into hight gear and now I think I am back on track.  Lots more to do today for classes tomorrow.  These are my final two home classes for the year as next Wednesday is our end of the year party---a big celebration and fun day---we do a pot luck, show and tell of current projects and a rug show---I'll be posting pictures of their work.

Here is the Kilim that I have been hooking.  I started it at Teacher's workshop in November---it is a #4-6 cut.  I have enjoyed hooked it---hope to finish it before the Party next Wednesday---no promises.

Qashqui, designed by Jane Flynn---this is the first picture that I have seen of it---looking at a digital image is a good way of seeing things you might want to correct and I see a few, but overall am very pleased with it.  Yesterday i was looking on Etsy and there were some wonderful pillows and coasted that were made out of old Kilims being sold by someone in Turkey.  They were really nice and it was interesting to see the colors.  Etsy in a fun way to shop for interesting handmade and vintage items for Christmas.  I found several of my gifts this way.

When I looked out the front door this morning this is what I saw---white stuff!  It is still coming down but very lightly.  I am not a big fan of the white stuff.  The trash can in the neighbors driveway reminds me it is trash day.

Well I guess that is it for this morning---have a happy and healthy week!

Is it possible that I am allergic to running

Well again after my race my allergies started acting up---sneezing, runny nose and watery eyes.  I have taken zyrtec and put antihistamine drops in my eyes trying to catch it faster this time.  Is it possible that I could be allergic to running---I googled it and read about a histamine release that can happen when you run fast.  I hope it clears up faster this time.

But I am happy to report that I beat last years results and also beat my fastest 5K that I have ever ran---I finished in 28:44 which was 2 seconds better than my fastest time.  I placed first out of eleven in my age group and 42 out of 277 women---so I was very happy, runny nose and all.  It was quite chilly this morning.  I think that I might see a nap in my future this afternoon.  My dear husband went back to his truck to keep warm while I was running and missed me at the finish line---he got back a couple of minutes too late.

I am watching "Chopped" on TV---at Teacher's workshop the trainees did a skit based on the show---it was sure funny.

Here are two version of Early Frost that were brought back to Teacher's workshop this year---I taught this piece a year ago at workshop ---it is always a great to have pieces that you have taught come back.

I think that I might get some hooking done today...what to work on....hmmmmmm!

Happy holidays!

Anita

Framing today

Here are a couple of pieces that I framed today.

The first one is a floral that I started a couple of years ago---I have posted a picture in the past but now it is framed and looks much better.  I ordered these frames on ebay---

                   

Silver Fire-Burned Distressed Wood Picture Frame-Exotic Item Id: 350320993847 End time: Nov-10-11 17:35:20 PST Seller: tabby7 (32888) 99.7% Positive Feedback Member since Jul-10-98 in United States Location: MO, United States Listing Status: This message was sent while the listing was closed.

Here are more items from this seller

the quality and service has been great---highly recommend!

The next picture is a piece hooked by Betty Laine that was auctioned off during our teacher's workshop for the scholarship fund.  It was hooked into verel so I stretched it over foam core covered with cotton batting so it would be slightly padded.  Betty holds a special place in my heart and I miss her---now I have a little something to remember her by.

Today is my friend Carolyn's birthday---dinner out tonight to celebrate but making it a short night as I am running in another race tomorrow morning.  Fortunately this one will not be as hilly as the last one was and I have hight hopes of beating my last year's time of 29:29.

Well I got to go clean up there big mess I made downstairs!

Happy holidays!

Over the hump

Well another busy week...fortunately my allergy flare up got better---the eye doctor confirmed that it was an allergy---I guess to something in the park where I ran.

I had home classes on Monday and Wednesday and Tuesday was spent trying to get all my new wool put away which necessitated moving a lot of stuff around in the storage room---it was a disaster, but now is much more organized.  I also put together kits for my students for the Holiday Gathering.  We are having our 14th annual Holiday Gathering on the 14th of December.  It is the highlight of our year---everyone brings a dish, their recipe which we put into a cookbook, a show and tell (current project) as well as their completed rugs for the year for a rug show.  I am very fortunate to have a wonderful student who volunteers her lovely home for our event.  Thanks Mimi!  I always put together a kit---can't post a picture of it yet---can't spoil the surprise but will post it in December.  I have my sample hooked but not finished.

Today I an headed to Greenwood for a class in my shop.  As an added treat we are having lunch at the Greenwood Tearoom before class---a great place to have lunch if you are in the area.

At Bunco last night I was the Biggest Loser and got my money back.

It is hard to believe Thanksgiving is only a week away.  I have much to be thankful for---my faith, my health, my family, my friends, my love of rug hooking, to name a few.

I am running another race this weekend, the Gobbler Grind.  This will be my fourth time to run this race.  I wonder what color the shirts will be this year---so far I have yellow, turquoise, and dark green---an interesting color combination.  Maybe someday I will have to hook a rug from some of my running shirts---this idea is whirling around in my head---hmmm!  I think that I  have something here---I'll keep you posted if I decide to do it.

Okay time to post some pictures and then off to get the day going---much to do.

These two photos show how much the draught has affected Texas---when I took the photo that this mat was hooked from the water level was much higher---the other picture shows how this area looked this year while we were at workshop.

I was very fortunate to get to see this piece of art in person...hooked by Cheryl Bollenbach---it was truly the kind of piece that stays with you---the sculpted details of this piece is so incredible that it gives me goosebumps---I am proud to have Cheryl as part of our  teacher's workshop at South Central.  In an earlier post I shows a closeup of a piece of this that I took laying on the floor.  I am blown away by her talent!

This is the State Line Rug Hooker's guild rug---raffle tickets are being sold and the rug will be given away at the Lenexa Hook-in in February.  The proceeds are being given to the Spiva Art Center in Joplin, Mo to help them rebuild after the tornado.  Contact me if you would like to purchase tickets for this great cause.  Each square is a 12 inches so it a big rug!

Time to run!

back from South Central McGown Teacher's workshop

I returned home from Texas Friday night---another great teacher's workshop.  The workshop is held at Prothro on Lake Texoma.  It is a wonderful facility near Pottsboro Texas.  It is a week packed with lots of learning, teaching, and friendships.  If you are interested in becoming a McGown certified teacher and attending South Central,  please contact me ---anitahooksrugs@yahoo.com and visit the McGown teacher's website.

http://www.mcgownteachersworkshop.com/

On day one I was in a kilim class working on a pattern called Qashqai---here is a picture of Diana's finished piece.  She had made hers into a two sided bag---it was lovely!  Not sure yet what mine will be.

This is a rosemalling piece called Millie that I started on day 2---not very typical colors for rose malling but I like how it is developing.

On the way to Texas we stopped at a western store near Gainsville I bought a pair of Cowboy boots---I love them  They are Ariat's and were very comfortable.

On Wednesday I taught a sky class adapted from a photo I took last year at Prothro.  I donated the piece to Prothro for their cross wall.  Here it the piece:

On Thursday I taught a dye class---what fun we had in the dye pots.  Below are the trainees and juniors showing  the fruits of their labor.

Here are a few pictures from the rug show.

Hooked by Floss Stillman

Hooked by Cheryl Bollenbach---the cover of our workshop report!

Close up detail of the hands on an original piece by Cheryl---totally awesome!

Floral Chairpad that I finished from a  class taught two hears ago by Diana Giesinger.

I would really like to post more but I am beat.  I ran in a race yesterday  morning  and afterwards I think I got some kind of allergy attack---watery swollen red eye, running nose and sneezes---not fun.

Here I am finishing the race---small race but was a killer, hilly race---finished second in women over 40---not many over 40 there but I finished in 31:13---not bad considering how hilly it was.

More pictures of the Greenwood Christmas Open House

Yesterday I went to Greenwood to work for the Christmas Open House.  Here are some pictures of several of the booths in the shop.  If you are in the area it continues Saturday and Sunday and then again next weekend.  Happy shopping!  I took some more things out to the shop yesterday from my house.  I need to do more of that...clean out time!

All the booths looked very festive and a good time was had by all.

Come shop!

Greenwood Mercantile

Greenwood Mo

816-537-7033