Rudi

He landed in the snow this morning!

There is still quite a bit of snow in our shady backyard, so this was the perfect backdrop.

Hooked in mainly #8 strips he rises to the occasion, measuring glorious 21 x 18" and thus being the largest mat I have hooked so far.

He will be a Christmas wall hanging and I will probably get him out of storage in September and keep him up until pool season, LOL.

But... isn't he adorable?

coming in for landing

Can you imagine my delight when on Sunday I went out to the garage to check the yarn stash for a suitable match for the binding and found this little treasure?

It almost looks as if it was dyed in the same dye bath with the wool for the antlers!

Took me about three hours to do my stitching all the way around, but now Rudi is blocking! I'll give him until tomorrow to rest, then you'll get to see him in all his off-seasonal glory.

Until then, just one more shot with sweet Ikie, okay?!

Happy Tuesday, friends!

for the love of wool

Does this ever happen to you, that you have to laugh about yourself? It sure is what I am doing right now!

I knew this was going to happen... I should have been working on Rudi's edge. My teacher-guru-mentor-hero-friend Cathy showed me a new-to-me technique, beading, and it was coming along nicely. The girlie was very approving, too!

But then there was Valentine's Day and the day after that I took a class with Cathy and started...well, I bet you guessed it - a heart!

I am still learning, so this was again an interesting process, seeing what the red checkered fabric would look like once it is hooked.

What will it be? It's a surprise for a certain girl in this household, who has a small collection of hearts. So, psssst! I will show you soon.

I have also been knitting. This has been a bit of a procrastinated project, that should have been done earlier since I will be teaching a class for it:

I have named it the Uber Earflap Hat, because it has such a nice fit that covers your head where it should and looks nice, too. I will teach this class at the Yarn Store at Nob Hill (here on Facebook) on Wednesday, Feb 29 from 11.00 to 1.30.

If you fell in love with the hat and cannot live without knitting it: I designed the hat and have the copyright for this pattern. It will be available for sale at the yarn store at Nob Hill after I have taught the class. You can also purchase it from me for $ 3.-, just pop me an email!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

fanclub

If you are allergic to cats you might click away at this point, because it is all about my furry friends today.

They do share my passion for all things wooly and sure look adorable in the fluff!

Munchkin and Ike take turns with their naps in the pile of dyed roving on the couch.

Ike never fails to find new wooly nap spots - skeins of yarn in the studio in this case!

And then there is hooking - looks like an almost finished hooked mat is irresistible.

Lots of floor space, but it's got to be the mat!

The mat is on the frame? Who cares - let's get on it!

You get a glimpse of Rudi - I am working on the border now and I am getting close to the end - patience, my friends, picture will follow when I am done.

The other day I got a treasure chest in the mail. Well, actually it was a package from my friend Ulrike with belated birthday gifts (lots of wonderful wooly goodies!) and again the furry guys were all over it.

Silly Ike even stole one of the cute little mohair chicks - I guess he took it for a mouse!

Last, but not least some hooking without cats! Here is my eye of New Mexico.

You may remember that I am working on a response rug project with my friend Amy in Virginia. When I had completed the addition to her mat, I had to start a mat that will be mine in the end. (Finally I can talk about this here because she has received the package with this.)

I wanted to incorporate something about New Mexico, because we both not only share a love for rug hooking, but for the Land of Enchantment as well. We see New Mexico with similar love, through similar eyes, this is how my idea evolved. I am very happy with the result.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

colors and loops

This is what I have been spending my time with. I have dyed loads of spinning fibers for the yarn store at Nob Hill. Didn't my bathroom look pretty?

The first load has already been delivered, mainly rambouillet fine wool, and there will be some more mystery roving coming, that I still need to bundle up and label.

Ike always enjoys when the fibers are out. He picks a napping spot right on top of the fluff. Always.

Dyeing the fibers brought me to another UFO, which slept in the closet since last Christmas season, yep, twenty-ten.

Somehow this is a repeating pattern in my life... I get to a holiday and wish I had started hooking a holiday theme early enough to be done by then, but I have not! I had started Rudolf about 2 weeks before Christmas and put him away when I took down the Christmas decorations, nose and face only were done.

I have decided to finish him now and dyed the purple and blueish white woolens for him.

Last night Lewis asked me, why Rudi's antlers are purple, choosing his words quite carefully (he did not want me to be offended and/or think that he doesn't like it). I told him I chose an unexpected color to add that extra interest. - That he asked showed that it is doing its purpose, right?!

Rudi will be ready next Christmas. Maybe I will hook a little Valentines mat in March?