Admiration

A few weeks ago I got a tip from a friend who called to tell me I just had to sneak away to see one of the homes in the Historical Home Show!  "She does that really cool thing you do with wool - you know not the crocheting, but whatever that other thing you do with the little tiny strips..."  Did she mean Rug Hooking? Well let's just say that I was so happy that I dropped everything for a minute to go have a look.

It was the home of Sharon Verdine and her artist husband, Ernie.  (I had just been admiring his work in the Gallery the day before so I was thrilled to get to meet him and see Sharon again!)  I had met Sharon at a rug hooking meeting last fall. WHAT TALENT!!

 

Their home is charming and I heard over and over again comments like, "This is my very favorite of all of the homes I have seen!"  "They have really put life back into this home not only decorating, but living the beautiful, simple, artistic life that once was so long ago." I couldn't agree more! It was exquisite, every square inch! When you first walked in, you were greeted with this cute little chicken rug.  Seeing that rug on the floor - I knew this woman was not only a very accomplished rug hooker - but prolific in her work. She makes rugs for not only the art, but for the utilitarian purpose they were intended for........once upon a time!  Sharon warmly visited with everyone...she is a gem!

 Charm around every corner...and the sweet light coming through the windows.  

It was magical.

Her hooked rugs and projects are right at home in every room. 

 Her studio had such a peaceful calm to to it.  

Her collection of antique pieces were very artfully displayed and warmly and lovingly used.

 I could move into this wonderful home quite easily and be very much at home here!

What a coincidence that I had just visited the newly opened Logan Fine Arts Gallery the day before and had been admiring Ernie's work there! I love his style and the rich color pallet he paints from. He has a blog here.  I "borrowed the photos of him painting from a fairly recent article about him  in the Herald Journal.  What a delight to meet him and see his studio. 

These two are certainly living the dream.  I am very happy for them and their content lifestyle.
Hopefully we can all follow our hearts!  Thanks for opening up your beautiful home to us, Verdines!!

:: :: :: 

 So on to a little business...
I want to thank everyone for their support in the Open House we held last Saturday.  It was such a beautiful day and so fun to see everyone.  Leslie was so generous in sharing her beautiful wool projects.  I sure love all of you lovely ladies!!  In order to promote this little blog, which will soon serve as a place of updates and class schedules - we are having a little contest!  

I realize that social media isn't everyone's thing - and some of us aren't as handy on the computer as others... but we (gently persuaded by my loving daughters...) have decided it is a fun and easy way to reach a lot of people and get updates out in a colorful way.  Like us on facebook or follow us on the blog.  Leave a comment about what you love about working with wool - hand stitching - your favorite project...etc, and we will have a drawing for two delightful prizes!

This contest will run for one week...Drawing will be held at 9 pm October 9th! 
(I'll post the winners Wednesday morning)

 Eighteen 6" x 8" pieces of yummy fall wool pieces ~ perfect for small projects and applique!

and

Three strips (8" x 16") of the gorgeous new hand dyed silk/rayon velvet!  Great to add into wool projects for beautiful shimmer and a pretty texture...not to mention the amazing silky hand it has!

 Also, if you purchased a pattern/kit for Stacked Jacks - you may have gotten one with out an important piece of the pattern.  A few were missing the page for the larger stacked jacks pillow pattern pieces.  I can that to you if you email me your address.  Sorry for the error and inconvenience. 

We had dye cut pieces for you to take home and create a cute little Pinterst-Inspired bookmark.  For your reference and inspiration...here is the photo we were inspired by.  Hope to see everyone soon!  we'd love to see what YOU have created!  Happy Stitching!

Trunk Show

Yesterday I was invited to share a trunk show at My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe in their newly opened Attic.  What fun it was!  The store is adorable and they have done such a beautiful job with the space upstairs in "The Attic".  It will be a great place for them to host events and functions and I'm really happy for them. After jibber-jabbing for a while about how I became interested in wool, a little chat about dying and felting wool, and showing a few of my creations, we got to work making some cute little mason jar lid covers. The ladies are a blast to be with! As much as I enjoyed the morning, the big treat for me was stepping in the room next door to see the group of rug hookers from the valley and some of their beautiful rugs! Rug hooking was my first love affair with wool and seeing all of their amazing rugs gave me a shot in the arm! I can't wait to pull out my frame and start stripping and hooking again!

I hope your spring is as beautiful as ours is here in Cache Valley!