Bad Ass Jack

3 Days in a row, blogging!!!!  Beate will be so proud of me.
Here is another in the fall event pattern series.  This guy is one I drew a few years ago.  I call him BAD ASS JACK (can I get in trouble for blogging that word?)  if so, we can just call him BAD JACK.

Bad Jack is 14x14 and hooks up in a skinny instant.  I used Sweet Potato Pie for the pumpkin, Spunky Monkey for the background and  one of my favorites, Moose on the Loose for the tree.  The green were just pulled from my noodles bin.

I think this would make a great pillow and Sandy and I are going to try that tomorrow.  Did I mention that Sandy has agreed to give a little tutorial on making a rug into a pillow at the hook-in event.  She will do a demo at 2pm on Saturday.  Thank you Sandy.  I know how much you hate public speaking.  But you do such a beautiful job we will all appreciate it soooooooo much.

Maybe I will have another done for tomorrow.  Who knows.  I think it is time for a Christmas pillow!

Janice

More fall patterns

As promised, here are two more of the patterns for the fall Hook-In event here at The Rug Hooking Store on Oct 2 and 3.  These patterns are $48 each and all you need to do is call or write me, to reserve your pattern.  janicelee@me.com  or 402-359-2699

On top is I"M MELTING.  As you can see The Wicked Witch of the West pushed Dorothy too far.  Splashed with water, all that is left is her hat and her own green self melting out underneath  You can see her castle with the rising pumpkin moon, all for Halloween fun.  This pattern is 15 x 17.

Below is 4 PUMPKINS 4 SALE.  Please note 2 ghosts floating thru the sky.  Leave off the little faces and you have 2 clouds, if you prefer.  This pattern is 14X14 and the perfect size for a little mat or holiday pillow.

Want to see more?  Check back tomorrow.  I am on a blogging roll…2 days in a row.

Janice

Hook- In Weekend

The Omaha Hook-In will be coming up Friday October 2 from 9-4 at St Robert Bellarmine Church, 120 and Pacific.  As you know, I no longer 'do' hook-ins, but this should be a fun one to attend.  After the hook-in, you are all invited to the store for a fun weekend of hooking.  We will hook until 10pm on Friday night and then start up again on Saturday from 9 to 6.  There will be food, a drawing for $100 Gift Certificate from The Rug Hooking Store and much more.

I have been drawing up fun fall patterns that will be available at our special hook-in weekend.  I will show the first two today and will show more tomorrow.  There will be about 8 of these small, easy to complete patterns.  I have hooked up 5 of them, so far, and they go quickly.

The top pattern is called LONG LEAN JACK.  The pattern is 12x15.  I picked a poisony green, mustard gold, violet, orange and black for the striped background.  It went so quickly, I almost completed it during 3 episodes of Breaking Bad, my latest binge watching addiction.  I am thinking I will make him into a pillow, perfect for Halloween decorating.

The bottom pattern is 15x15 and I call it SIMPLY SUNFLOWER.  This was fun to hook!  I used three golds of very different values.  The center on the sunflower was done with a gold that was over dyed over a dark black and white texture.  I alternated that with a rich golden brown, in a higglety pigglety style to get the chunky look of the sunflower center.

These patterns will be $48 each.  I have already started a list for people who want a pattern or patterns.  I will have them all ready by our hook-in  weekend event on Oct 2 and 3.   Call or write to order!  Janice at 402-359-2699 or janicelee@me.com

More soon,
Janice

Hooked Houses

Dear Blog Followers…..
I should be admonished for not blogging more regularly.  And although I have a million different excuses, like there was another pot of wool that needed to be dyed or Blue needed some attention, there really is no excuse.  I could promise to be better about my blogging, but no one would believe it at this time.

However, I have made some nice rugs lately and thought you might like to see them.  The top photo shows a Lori Brechlin design from Kris Miller's Spruce Ridge Studio.  Kris was here teaching a class in June and this was my class project.   I love the sunflowers and outhouse and the bright blue door.  All of Kris' patterns are great and I have a zillion of them here in the store to choose from .

The bottom rug is the second of the rugs I color planned with Maggie Bonanomi when she was here in May.  The first was the floral with the bunting shown in my last blog.  This HIDDEN HOUSE pattern is a charmer.  We strayed from my usual color palette and went with chrysanthemum and pink mums, persimmon and sittin' pretty.  The greens were blue greens, yellow greens, poisony greens all mixed together.  I used Maggie's method of tearing each strip wide, then hand cutting it in half.  It gives such a uniquely primative look and I actually find the hand cutting sort of relaxing.  Who KNEW?  I whined and complained about it enough when we first started, but grew to LOVE it.

It has been pointed out to me that I do whine and complain a lot when doing something new or difficult.  This became most immediately apparent during the July Diane Stoffel class.  I did the hardest rug I have ever tackled.  And….according to all who attended, whined thru most of the first two days.  Was that me?  Yes, I guess it was.  I will try to blog soon to show you the difficult little devil of a rug.  It is all done now, and looking at it, I think….what was so hard.   With Diane Stoffel standing next to you, everything seems doable.

Did you hear we are having a 3 day hooking weekend starting tomorrow.  This is FREE to all, we will potluck lunch and finish our unfinished projects, to get ready for more of the wonderful classes we have coming up this fall.

Pris Buttler is here for the annual MASTER CLASS this September.  Then I will do my yearly HEIRLOOM RUG CLASS in October.  The Hook-In Weekend will be Oct 3 and 4, with lots of great hooking here at the store after the Omaha hook-in is over.   Then Oct 31 Nov 1 and 2, Diane Stoffel will be here to teach, along with Pris Buttler for the RETREAT, then Nov 13,14,15 Donna Hrkman and Ali Strebel will be here for their RETREAT weekend.  Contact me if you are interested in signing up for any classes.  We bring in fantastic teachers every month.

All for now.  There is wool on the stove, better go.
Janice

Class/Kisses

Our Maggie Bonanomi class last month was terrific.
We loved Maggie, we loved her patterns, her color style and her unique hooking technique.  I tried to follow everything she recommended and the rug to the right is the result.  I love it!

She brought many one of a kind patterns and we all went nuts over them.  Some people had her help them color plan 3 or 4 rugs.  I got her help color planning 2 patterns and bought 5 more for the future and to have here at the store.

I love the bunting on the urn of flowers.  The colors are so soft, faded and worn looking.  Just like an old flag should be.  Of course, I have lots of wool here in the store that Maggie likes to use!  She picked Persimmon for the red, Grease Monkey for the blue and a textured birch bark for the white.  Gloriously dirty and old looking.

The flowers were a mixture of marmalade, dijon and pumpkin pie.  The background was a mixture of textured and mottled Spunkey Monkeys.  It made for a wonderful faded, dark blacky brown background.  The urn was Itty Bitty Moose, another favorite here at the store.  Loved it, loved the class, loved Maggie.  She is coming back next year for a 2 day rug hooking class and a 1 day appliqué class with an original pattern drawn just for us!  Can't wait.  Thanks again Maggie.

Now in case you have been wondering what Blue and I have been up to.....we just finished our therapy dog training class, 10 weeks with Domesti-Pups.  Saturday was the big testing day and the Blue dog passed with flying colors.  He already had his Canine Good Citizen rating, but had to take it again along with the advanced Community Canine test too.  Of course he is a genius and he and I take our higher education very seriously.  We start 3 months of supervised therapy visits in nursing homes and then in the fall, we will also be in the
'reading pups' program, where we will  be assigned  several students at our local elementary school who need help with their reading.  They say reading to a friendly canine listener can make reading fun and something to look forward to, for the young reader who may be struggling.  Blue and I can't wait for our first assignments.  We plan to work with 3 kids, every 6-8 week session.  

In the picture, Blue is giving me a big slurpy kiss for being his best friend and driving him around to all his fun classes.  We start Rally class tonight and have agility on Wednesday.  He is agile.....I am not....but there is much to be learned in every class.

See you soon,
Janice

Maggie Bonanomi is coming!

Exciting news!  Maggie Bonanomi is coming for a 2 day class next week, Friday and Saturday May 15 and 16.  Maggie will bring along her patterns for you to choose from and color plan from wool here at the store.  I know all her favorite colors and there will be plenty to choose from.

If you don't know Maggie, you are in for a treat.  She has a really beautiful color sense and her style is primitive.  She has wonderful books out and promises to bring along some of those too.   Her creativity is endless and the ideas will flow, I guarantee that.

The two day class is $185.  Please contact me if you would like to attend.  It will be a fun time for sure!

Email me at janicelee@me.com or call at 402-359-2699 for more information.

Soon….

Janice

Finish Your Projects Weekend

Guess what we are doing next weekend, April 17,18,19??   We are having a FINISH YOUR PROJECTS weekend here at the store.  Join us to finish up some of your projects, and get ready for some new ones!  The weekend is only $50, Carl will make us lunch and we will have a relaxing 3 days of rug hooking, chatting and fun!   We have room for a few more…..so going us!!!!!

You may have been wondering what the Blue man has been up to lately, and frankly, he has been very busy.  A few weeks ago, we started a Competitive Obedience class at Companion Dog Club in Omaha.  The teacher is awesome and we are really enjoying that class.

Last night we started classes for Blue to be a certified therapy dog, thru Domesti-Pups.  After classes and testing, he will do a 3 month trial visiting nursing homes and assisted living facilities.  When he graduates he will be ready to go for nursing home visits several times s month.  Blue is already my official theatre dog and store dog, this will be a new adventure for us.  Blue loves children and old people (after all, his mom is an official old person, difficult to admit but true, haha).

Blue loves going to these classes as much as I do.  I think he knows he is pretty awesome and always a well behaved boy.  I have learned so much in the competitive obedience classes.  I had no idea of the detail and nuance expected of these dogs.  But Blue is a game guy and tries his best at everything.  I couldn't ask for a better dog.

See you soon….
Janice and Blue