~ Wednesday Morning Musings ~

 Hello Friends and Folk!

...and a happy chilly almost-Christmas Wednesday to you all ~

I am HOOKING! 

oh yes I am ~ finally, the wool dust isn't bothering my eyes and nose 

as much as it was post-recent-surgeries..

woot woot!

i'm sure you all know how much I love purple ~ anything...

a color that has been my very favorite since childhood.

 

i thought i would draw up a chairpad design 

~ and use up some of my many purple wools in it. 

I cannot tell you how different colors look to me now! 

I am amazed and surprised at color now, even more so than ever before ~

since I'm not taking any chances with the wool dust though, i'm trying to keep it to a minimum by simply hand-cutting my strips using spring-loaded Fiskar scissors...

hand cutting one strip at a time, while hooking is a slow, but peaceful way of working too ~

 as well as keeps my worm baskets from overflowing from too many cut but not used strips!

some of my strips are 8's {1/4"}, some are smaller or larger.

some are 6's up to 8's all in one strip! ha!

~ but just look at the old-fashioned way they hook up:

 I am diligently working on a slew of new rug designs

 for the upcoming Woolwright's Spring Hook In

click above for more info

my favorite chair, in my favorite spot in our Keeping Room

is where you will be finding me ~ snug as a bug hooking a rug!

 OH! and, come join the woolly-fun over at my

Out of Hand Rug Hookers group on Facebook!

{click on the photo of Santa & Deer}

rug in photo above hooked by sweet Saundra Porter of Woodland Junction ~ her blog is listed on my sidebar 🖤

Have yourself a Merry & Creative Day my Friends,

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

🐑

~ Cozy Autumn Farmhouse ~

 Greetings Friends & Folk!

~ and a happy most-beautiful Autumn October-ish day to you all...

it is a perfect day for hooking in my keeping room...

working on a new design called 

"Holly Olde Santa"  

{ from Notforgotten Farm™}

the late morning sun slips through my shutters next to my working chair ~

I've done a tiny bit of decorating for Autumn, 

~ but will be bringing more of my Halloweenies out soon... 

I think I might work in some of my hand spun wool yarn

to this fellow's beard and brow:

 

Last night I had posted to my members on my 

Out of Hand Rug Hookers Group {FB}  

to kindly share their collections of antique/vintage rug hooks...

here are a few of mine:

the Joan Moshimer hook from Kennebunkport, Maine 

was the very first hook I stared with over 30 years ago ~

I don't use bent hooks, 

but I do grab them for my collection when I see them while I'm shopping "oot & aboot" 

{if Joan doesn't spot them first!}

I do switch between hooks to keep my hand from getting too tired...

my ergo steel hook that Peter makes is my favorite, but I also use a miller ball

~  and an antique hook too.

{I keep them in my sliding lid needle box}

here is a different angle of the keeping room ~

 

my favorite Pumpkin guy

made by Becky Carney of A Wing and a Prayer ~ 

{{ you can find Becky on PFATT and Early Work Mercantile }}

and a small chalkware black cat from Misi Axel of Gable House Goods....

more goodies live in my Witches Cupboard all year long...

 

 Well my friends, my hook is calling me ~

time to get back to work!

Hoping your day is filled with wonderful Autumn Goodness!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ A Beautiful Challenge ~

Happy Good Friday Morning to you all ~

oh the weather is beautiful ~ high 70's and sunny, with a bit of an easterly wind 

blowing away the last remnants of Winter...

I wanted to share with you a group challenge that was presented to me back in February of this year ~

I was contacted by a member that wrote:

Hello, Lori -

I am involved with a group of rug hookers at our county Senior Center in Geauga County, Ohio.  Someone found your pattern with a bunny in a basket on Pinterest. The accompanying blog stated that you had provided the pattern as a freebie in the past. 

Our rug hooking group wants to use an adaptation of your pattern as a group challenge. I wanted to let you know, because I hadn't seen the free offer myself, and I don't like to infringe on copyrights. So the bottom line here is -- do we have your permission to use your original pattern as a basis for multiple copies of an adaptation? When the pieces are done, most of the gals would like to enter them at our county fair next Labor Day weekend, and possibly submit a photo (or many photos) to ATHA magazine, with credit to you as designer, of course - if it is okay with you.

I enjoy your Pinterest boards - especially the craft-related and Halloween boards. Such unusual pins, and right up my alley :-)

Thank you for your free offerings, too. You are a very talented and generous lady.

Sincerely,

Marie Williams

Well of course I was honored to be thought of 

and so happy that they wanted to hook one of my freebies :) so I gave them permission to go!

I just received their loverly photos of their finished challenge pieces yesterday:

Hi Lori -

Just in time for Easter ---

Here are the finished pieces from our Bunny-in-a-Basket Challenge. These were completed by members of our county's Senior Center rug hooking class. Each of the gals put her own spin on the project and it was a joy to see the results!  I am attaching photos of the projects that were completed. There are three that are still works-in-progress, and I will send those along as they are done. 

Beth used applique techniques with hers, Linda used a punchneedle and yarn, and Bonnie made a pillow. The basic bunny reminded me of 'speak no evil', so I added 'hear no evil and see no evil' to make the group complete. 

Thank you again for providing your pattern and allowing us to use it in our challenge! We had a wonderful time :-) 

Happy Easter!

Marie

 

and Here are the results of their hard work and talent:

this one is Beth's ~

here is Bonnie's ~

this is Judy's ~

here is Linda's ~

this one was done by Lois ~

and here is Marie's ~

aren't they all so pretty & different!

I love to see other folks' finishes of my designs ~

 

 Thank you Marie & Girls for allowing me to be a part of your group challenge!

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori

~ A Celebration ~

My beloved 

Out of Hand Rug Hookers group  

on Facebook ~ has reached it's milestone 5,000 member mark!!

I would like to express my thanks to the members for their support ~

this group is very active in sharing their love of rug hooking/rug punching...

we have a strong foundation built on not only our love of wool,

but it is a place to visit to learn, share and grow in a like-minded, on-line community.

Where we share our rugs & projects...the stories behind them and their inspiration.

we share our lives and loves, and sometimes dislikes too!

we care about the rug hooking community and help to keep the art of rug hooking

 alive and well within it's cyber-walls ~

 

Thank you also to my fellow-admin., 

Lisanne Miller who shares with us new & wonderful things almost daily,

and my ever-helpful and talented moderator, Sandi Lucero for putting up with me!

the Out of Hand Rug Hookers group

~ I would like to invite my readers here

 to click on the photo above and request to join us,

and become a part of an amazing group of folks ~

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ Tombstone Sheep ~

~ Good Morning Friends & Folk ~ 

Happy Wednesday to you!

there are a lot of you out there who are expecting another bout of Winter weather...

stay safe, warm & dry and remember that Spring is only 13 days away!

a fat little Robin resting in our black walnut tree ~

I finished hooking/punching my 'Tombstone Sheep' rug last night...YAY!

I say hook/punch, because I hooked the motifs with 1/4 inch wool strips

{lamb, basket, vines, leaves & flowers}

then turned it over and punched the entire background with my #10 Oxford punch 

and hand dyed wool yarn called 'Big Sky' from Ali Strebel Designs.

{click HERE to see all of her wool yarn}

I really love how it came out ~

what do you think?

 

 

so much beautiful texture with the yarn loops mingling with the wool loops ~

it was fun to work on this way!

I just have to bind it, then label it.

It will be available as a pattern on linen, or a paper pattern and PDF as well very soon ~

🐑

 

On to the next!!!

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ A Wee Bit Punchy ~

Hello Friends & Folk!

So with all of the needle-punching going on here,

I have decided that I  must rug punch...or, punch a rug.

I have my Oxford #10 & #14 rug punch needles

{my very favorite sizes, small for detail & larger for backgrounds}

I have also {of course} been perusing auction sites and Pinterest

for inspiration as to what to draw up...

I'm thinking a floral/geometric will be my choice!

I will be using both wool strips and heavy wool yarns for the rug, 

and will show you my progress as I go ~ 

{first I have to draw it up!}

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here are a few snaps of some I have found on-line 

~ that may whet your appetite to begin a punched rug too:

Simple and Bold

ok, not so 'floral-y', but I love him...

those hearts & stripes!

I love everything about this one ~

Just plain Gorgeous & I love the Urn & Willow!

a very Happy rug indeed ~ :)

the background on this one....

Soft, soft soft....

a great Scrappy rug!

〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰〰

Our little shop here at the Farm will be OPEN TODAY 10:00 - 4:00

despite the torrential rain predicted today! 

if you're in the neighborhood stop in and warm up by the woodstove ~

bring your work in progress and come create with me ~

I'll be working on my Tombstone Sheep rug today! {already in progress} 

 

Blessings from the Farm 

~ Lori

~ A Little Fishy ~

Yesterday I made this:

I've toyed with the idea for a while...

~ well, for a year almost to be precise.

For a long time I've worn my favorite hook around my neck,

as Peter drilled a hole in it for me to slide a length of hemp or ribbon through the wooden handle....

but

I wanted to make a wearable pocket to hold my hook instead ~

and then got to thinkin'...

how about a fish to hold my hook?

{ terribly corny pun intended of course }

and this is what came from that ~

a Big Mouth Fish!

and I enjoyed using a plethora of different textiles to hook him with

like heavy weight wool yarn, light weight yarn, beautiful Fair Trade silk sari ribbon, 

~ shiny, crinkly rayon ribbon and of course, some wool strips.

{{ in a rainbow of colors I might add }}

 :)

I chose an equally fun cotton fabric from my stash for the backing...

one I've used before as a lining for another hooked purse.

~ just plain fun!

it's comfy to wear too ~ 

and can hold a couple of my hooks in that big mouth of his!

I just listed the pattern for my fishy little friend in our Etsy shop ~
click HERE for the Paper/Mailed pattern
or
click HERE for the Digital/PDF download

and of course I would LOVE to see your version of this!!

Have a creative Sunday my sweet friends ~

Blessings from the Farm

 ~ Lori