Survival

Well I survived the cold weather yesterday at The Gobbler Grind half marathon---it was 13 degrees at race time.  They started the race 15 minutes late- which was enough time standing there waiting for it to start to get cold fingertips and toes---which meant a not too pleasant start to the run however it got better as the miles went by...finished the race in 2 hours and 22 minutes---about 3 minutes slower than my last race but I came in first place in my age group---only three of us were crazy enough to do it.  I actually felt pretty good afterwards---came home and took a warm shower, ate some pancakes, watched the Chiefs game and took a nap on the couch.

So far so good today except for waking up at 3 o'clock and not being able to get back to sleep.  Today is my last day of home classes for the year.  I will still have an Open Studio day on Dec. 4th and the end of the year party on the 11th.  We always do a potluck lunch, show and tell and rug show.  This year I am also asking everyone to bring their first rug...that should be fun.

I am looking forward to preparing Thanksgiving dinner---and setting the table---I plan to use some of what I have collected for Sarah's wedding reception for the table---will post a picture.

This picture shows the finish that I am putting on the K. Gerard rug that I hooked---this is a wool plaid that I cut on the bias---it is not pressed yet so it will lay a little flatter.  I am pleased with it!  I will post the complete photo when I finish---getting close.

Gotta go finish getting ready for class.

New postings on Etsy---Cupboard door Patterns

Well I finally had my hubby put my Cupboard  Door patterns in the Etsy store---you can find it by following this link---

http://www.etsy.com/shop/anitahooks?ref=search_shop_redirect

                                       these are just a few of the designs---check them out!


If you place an Etsy order between now and December first send me an e-mail after placing your order and I will send you a little present with your order---don't you love surprises?


Tomorrow is the Gobbler Grind half marathon---picked up my race packet today---it is going to be frigid in the morning---I have heard as low as 8 and as high as 13---brrrrrr!  I don't think I have ever run in weather that cold---it is going to be interesting.

Home from St. Louis and other stuff

I had a great weekend workshop last Friday-Sunday at Nola's studio on the Hill.  This was my last workshop of 2013 and was a great way to finish off the year.  Nola's studio is located in The Hill area which always means a trip to Skif---it did not disappoint as I found a wonderful new sweater;

These are a couple of shots of Skif  that I took on my morning run on Saturday---a great area to run in and got to stop at Shaw's for a wonderful latte!

The photos taken at the workshop are from my phone which was found as we started packing up to leave---thanks Pam!

Barb worked on this fun primitive mermaid---this is one of Nolas's patterns---fun and colorful just like Barb!

Amy was working on this pattern called Perfect garden ---a great pattern to use a great variety of wools---and that is one cute cat!

Sisters Terry and Bette worked on these Challenge pieces---what fun!  Terry's on the top was hooked with a variety of colorful wools and Bette's was hooked with Tapestry yarn---to get the texture for the roof she braided three yarns together  then hooked it in.

Although it would appear that Susie didn't get much hooked---you would be wrong---she worked on two other pieces which were in progress and then decided to have me  design a Paisley for her---so here is Paisley for Susie---a new pattern!  Thanks Susie!  Susie does catering in Indiana so it was fun getting ideas from her for my daughter's wedding reception---good ideas!!!

Dana is a beautiful hooker and worked on this Susan Quicksall design "Vines and Flowers"---starting with a teal textured background---this is what we came up with---it is going to be a beautiful rug!

Jeanette was going to work on a turkey but the backing the pattern was on would not accommodate a wide cut so we switched gears staying with a fall theme and she chose this pattern of Nola's---lovely fall leaves and acorns---starting with a bold chartreuse wool for the background this is where we went---check out that great paisley vein!

Pam chose this Janice Johnson Fraktur pattern---reminds me a bit of Comstock---one of my favorite designs.  It is coming together beautifully with lots of great textures and some paisley.  She is thinking about adding a border down the two sides of some tongues which I thin we really frame the piece.  Pam and I go way back to my early teaching days at Lazy Hill's in Texas so it was fun to catch up again after all these years.

 Kathleen chose this Karla Gerard pattern called Blue Bird---it was fun to try to make it look like her painting but I have some work to do to recreate the background color---think I know what I am going to do so will keep you posted on how it comes out.

Paula chose this Navaho runner from Red barn rugs---I love how it is turning out---she worked hard to get the whole color plan done---not afraid to keep moving to new areas.

Sandy was working on this fun witch in flight pattern---it will have a mix of dark tealy blue wools in the sky---hard to see the outline around the witch in the photo but is was a fun spot dye---we went through several different background ideas before deciding on this one.

When I got home and started unpacking and cleaning up the studio for todays home classes I got the but to rearrange---will see what happens this morning---only have classes today and next Monday and then the party for the end of the year at Mimi's.

I got my love of rearranging furniture from my Mom---and speaking of that it is my intent to get back to working on "mom" and maybe finishing it my the end of the year.  Although I am going to need to get started on the wedding rug for my daughter's June wedding,  Sarah loves honeysuckle so this is what I came up with.

This is it awaiting her approval on the colors---seeing it here in the photo I may need to re-space the names and or date,

Here is an update on the finish I decided on for the edge of the Karla Gerard paisley rug---wool fabric binding cut on the bias---I like it!

One final note---I am running a half marathon on Sunday and it is going to be cold---maybe as cold as 10 to 15 degrees at race time---I hope they are wrong.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Anita