Long time since you've heard from me, I know. But my life is busy. Let me show you something of what has kept me so busy. I'm selling my  hand-dyed wool at a new shop called Fabrics Galore and Quilting Store, in Blairsville, GA. The owner, Patricia, tells me that it's time to put out the new colors for fall and Christmas. So I spent some quality time in my dye kitchen, brewing up some appropriate colors. Here's a photo of the inventory I'll be taking to the store this weekend.

That Flower Pin Class

Spring has sprung, supposedly. After my wool flower pin class was cancelled, I went to Mexico for 3 weeks, hoping that by the time I returned, the trees would be blooming and the freezing weather would be gone for the year. Well, the trees were blooming, but the freezing weather has been a bit slow to disappear. I was able to teach that wool flower pin class to four students who had never hooked before. Their results were wonderful! Here's a photo of their flower pins.

Mother Nature is doing it to us again! Making it impossible to do what we planned to do. It's called winter and it's definitely not my favorite season. That wool flower pin class I talked about did not happen today, as it was icy in these mountains, and too treacherous to go out and have fun playing with wool. So we've rescheduled the class to March 16, by which time we hope it will be SPRING in these mountains.
More on my schedule: a weekend workshop with Anne Eastwood on May 15-17, here at the Hookery. Anne is a certified McGown teacher and specializes in teaching mammoth flowers, hooked with hand-torn, dip-dyed wool. Another of her specialties is creative stitchery in your hooking. She is also an excellent braiding teacher and can show you how to braid around your hooked pieces. If you're interested in attending, contact me at LBhookery@gmail.com and I'll send you the info on this class.
Also at the Hookery this year, we will have Capri Boyle Jones on September 11-13. She will teach her "Painterly In A Pinch" class and we hope to learn to put that painterly touch into our hooking.  If you look in Celebrations XXIII, you'll see her still life entitled Endurance, and you'll know why we'd all like to learn how to do that. Email me and I'll send you the info.
As long as I'm talking about my schedule for this year, I need to let you know that I'll be teaching a weekend class at John C Campbell Folk School on July 10-12. The class will concentrate on small hooked items such as mug rugs, ornaments and wool flower pins, as we have only a limited amount of time for learning. Contact the school for registration info or contact me and I'll put you in touch with them. If you've never attended the Folk School, you're in for a real treat. The place is amazing! It's just overflowing with creativity and it's addictive. It's located in Brasstown, NC, just half an hour from the Hookery. Aren't I lucky to live so close!

2915 is well underway and so it's time to talk about this year's workshops here at the Hookery.
Anne Eastwood is coming from Florida, May 15-17, to teach just about anything you'd like to learn. Her specialties are wide-cut mammoth flowers, done with hand-torn, dip-dyed wool, and creative stitchery for your hooking. She can also teach you how to braid, or to braid around a rug. Anne loves orientals and geometrics. She's a McGown certified teacher, qualified to teach any project you choose.
In September we'll have Capri Boyle Jones here, also from Florida. My students and I were amazed by her Endurance, published in Celebrations XXIII. We all want to learn to get that painterly look that she has in her hooking. Thus, her class will be entitled Painterly In A Pinch. Dates for this workshop are September 11-13.
If you're interested in either or both of these workshops, contact me and I'll send you the info you need.

Upcoming event! I'll be teaching a 3-hour class on how to make a brightly colored wool flower pin that you can wear on a jacket, blouse or sweater, or pin on a hat or purse. It even has a hair clip so that you can decorate your hair with it. The class will happen at Artworks in Hiawassee, GA on Monday, February 16, 2015, from 1 till 4 pm. Cost will be $20 with  $10 supply fee. Sign up by phone to Artworks at 706-896-0932 with your credit card. Sign up soon as the class is limited to 6 students.

It was a fun time at The Hookery today, with 12 quilter/appliquers visiting. They came to shop for bits of pretty-colored wool for their new projects, and were thrilled when they found my baskets of small pieces at a very reasonable price. They dug through those baskets and made piles and looked for other goodies they might use in the future. They found applique kits all ready made up for them and other goodies that made them happy shoppers. Each went home with a bag or two filled with their finds. The Hookery looked a bit like a bomb had gone off, but a few minutes of clean-up had it back to normal. "All's well that ends well", and it did!

piedmont workshop

Today was Rose Day for the Piedmont Rug Hookers in Chapel Hill, NC. Eighteen students who usually hook with wide cuts ventured into the world of fine shading. Their project for the day was to hook a rose. And they all did just that, and beautifully! I was the teacher and I'm proud of the results achieved in just a few hours. Hurrah for them!