So Much to Share!

I have been crazy busy here this year. I have taken part i a national advertising event through Rug Hooking Magazine with many other vendors and businesses. It’s a year long promotion and I am happy to be part of it. I went to Eureka Springs Arkansas and vended. The event was lovely.The weather was unseasonably warm and the whole event was a delight. I met many new friends. I have added this Hook-In to my yearly calendar and look forward to going again. After that I attended the Brown County Hook-in in Nashville IN and worked on my Four Season’s Barn Rug I started in January at Eureka Springs. I always seem to travel with totes filled with ‘worms’ from other projects and they are shared with all my hooking friends who graciously added excess project worms they didn’t plan to use. My rug was drawn by Susan Kreuger. She draws wonderful primitives and adaption patterns. I fell in love with her barn patterns and wanted to create a rug with four of my favorites. I asked her if she could draw them out and add a window pane border around the barns which i used to create a barnwood look. Each barn is a different season and a different barn from Susan’s varied patterns. I loved them all and wanted to have one rug so we worked it out. I hooked the entire rug using leftovers from other projects that I have done along with the donated worms of my friends. Brown County was a wonderful retreat and I look forward to it every year. This year I decided to pursue my McGown Teacher Certification and Jyl Robbins agreed to be my sponsor. Its a 4 year process. I attended the first of my teachers workshops In Dubuque Iowa. It was a week to remember. I met teachers who had already achieved their McGown Certification and those who were in process. I learned so much and have the homework to show for it. Right after that I left to attend the May Eureka Springs Hook-In which was another week long event. I didn’t make it there on time. The van I use to drive to shows broke down in Cedar Rapids and I spent three days while it was being repaired. It was no fun. The repair was ridiculously expensive and has affected progress on other pursuits. The best I can say about this was I was able to stay with family while I waited and the repair shop had it fixed and out in three days. I believe its a time record considering the vehicle was a diesel. I’m going to make a hooked mat for the repair shop. Before I left for Iowa and Arkansas I completed my Four Seasons Rug and was able to show it off. I was away for about 14 days total. Needless to say I was tired when I returned. Since I’ve been home I’ve been preparing for the July Searsport Event. The first week of July I’m going to be at the Seiberling demonstrating weaving then onward to the Howard County Fair to do more of the same. Right after its on to South Carolina. The shop is super close to being completed. I know I keep saying that but with everything else going on its amazing that it’s so close to completion. The van repair was a setback and has effected completion but in the grand scheme it could have been worse. I get the privilege of hearing from people how its been five years but I have a life outside of the business and its all been done at our own expense as funds have become available. The building has been a challenge. It’s over 100 years old with lots of unexpected surprises of its own. We are in the home stretch as far as the basement area is concerned though. It’s looking great and I cannot wait to tell the world its done and have our first stage grand opening. Until then I’m vending and teaching away from the building. I have an off site location to teach. I’m vending and life goes on.