Major Minor...or Minor Major?

I had a little bit more to show you from the Berlin hook-in, but I had a scheduled minor procedure on Wednesday that turned kinda major. I will save you all the gory details, but I have a 2 inch incision with two layers of 20+ stitches. Yikes! Needless to say, I haven't been doing much. Thursday and Friday I was on vicodin and in lots of pain, but starting Friday I was just on ibuprofen. Thank goodness. I don't like taking heavy drugs. I managed to go to work the Friday evening, only because I have a desk job and don't have to move around. I'm still very stiff and a little sore, and need helping getting undressed, showering, etc., because I can't raise my left arm higher than my shoulder. I was not expecting this at all! I went in for a minor procedure and it turned it 1-1/2 hours and lots of stitches, lol.

I also dragged myself to Hartville yesterday with my hooking buddy Kimberlee for a lovely hook-in with Marilyn Willmore in a beautiful shop called Pine Tree Gift Shop. I will post pictures later this week. We had a great time and ate way too much. It was a good day. :)

~Michelle

Berlin, Ohio, Hook-In...Part 2

The moment you have been waiting for....The Rug Show! So much talent in one room. Amazing! The lighting was great, but I only had my cell phone to take pictures. Here we go!

This was my favorite of the show. My husband swore it was a quilt when I showed him the picture. Unfortunately this was the first photo I took in the show and I forgot to take a photo of the label so I don't know the designer or hooker.

Hooked by Annelle Muller - Adapted from Maggie Bononami

Flag/Summer Hooked by Teri Hedrick - Designed by Donna Bennett/Crows on the Ledge

"Never Enough Wool" Hooked by Stacie Sidie - Designed by New Earth Design.
This is one of my favorites and hopefully someday I will hook it too.

"Isobel" Hooked and Designed by Karen Detrick.
Not my favorite colors, but I love sheep and swirls, so this is one of my favs too!
How the colors fade from dark to light throughout each swirl is so neat!

"Folk Art Rug" Hooked by Joy Troyer, designer unknown.
I loved this one too. Reminds me of a quilt.

"Flag" Hooked by Norma Wagner - Designed by Polly Minick

"All American Proddy Sheep" Hooked by Debra Pavlock - Designed by Alice Fraizer.
Such a fun rug! I've never seen a rug edged with proddy too.

Here is a different view of the Proddy Sheep so you can see the different textures. Debra even hooked the sheep's head a little higher and with a fun textured wool to give more dimension. Love the bell!

Hooked by Nancy Roshon.
Sorry about the weird blur across the bottom. The only label on this rug was the hooker's name.
I know I've seen this rug before so if you know the designer please let me know so that I can give them credit.

"Acorn" Hooked by Shari Stout - Designer not listed

"Three Flowers" Hooked by Julie McCoy - Designed by Primitive Grace

"Five Sheep" Hooked by Dianne Wright - Designed by Melody Hoops

"Pomegranates" Hooked by Dianne Wright - Designed by Edith O'Neil

Weren't the rugs beautiful?!?! I didn't take photos of all of them. I wasn't sure how I was going to remember all of the names and didn't want to write them all down as that would take me forever, so I snapped a photo of the rug and then took a close-up of the label with enough of the rug showing so that I could make sure to know which label went with it, though the name of the pattern helps too. So that's my tip for you the next time you are at a rug show. : )

The featured artist was Sibyl Osicka. She does fine cut work. Her rugs almost look like paintings! We are at different ends of the rug hooking spectrum (I love primitive), but I can admire the talent that's for sure!

I have a few more pictures to show you tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoyed the rugs. : )

~Michelle

Berlin, Ohio, Hook-In....Part 1

Yay! I went to my first large hook-in event Saturday, April 21st. It was so much fun! I went with my friend Kimberlee who I met at the local library hook-in that is held once a month. We have been hooking, dyeing, and thrift store shopping ever since we met. : )  I also got to meet online friend Alice Fraizer from Folk Art Primitives. The day flew by so fast that we didn't get to say much more than "hello" to each other, but it was nice meeting face-to-face.

So this happens to everyone, right?

The night before (yes, super procrastinator here) I was trying to get a simple flag pattern drawn out so I would have something to work on. Nope, haven't finished that darn cardinal rug and it's giving me fits so I decided to start something new. Made sense to me. : )  The minute I put the linen down the animals think they have a new place to sleep. Seriously?

Okay, on to the hook-in!

There were six vendors there: Mad Hen Primitives, The Shepherd's Wool, Spruce Ridge Studios, Perennial Blessings, Crows on the Ledge, and The Rug Bug. I believe 11 were on the list to come, but the weather hasn't been great and I know things happen. I bought my favorite magazine (Primitive Quilts and Projects) from Mad Hen Primitives, I have two patterns on my wish list from Crows on the Ledge, and bought some dyes to play with and wool for my flag project from Spruce Ridge. Boy did the money go fast! I did come home with some because while my husband was very sweet and gave me money to spend, I just couldn't spend it all. I'm a saver, he is a spender. : )

Mad Hen Primitives

Spruce Ridge Studios




Crows on the Ledge. Don't tell Kimberlee that she is in the corner of this pic!

I can't remember whose booth is here in the front, but the other side was Marlene Troyer's booth. She had some adorable kitties stitched that I so wanted to take home with me. I passed this time, but I know where to find her! She works at Country Craft Cupboard.



The Shepherd's Wool. Beautiful wools!



The Rug Bug. Have you ever seen so much wool?!?

Here was my view of the room. There were about 115 hookers in attendance.


This is Deb. She had on the cutest pin! She said that her father is a wood turner so he made mini rug hooks for her and then she embroidered her name onto wool to make a penny rug. Some of the ladies at her table had them on as well. I wish I would've gotten her phone number. So cute!

Deb and her cute pin.

 This is my hooking buddy Kimberlee : )  She always wears a cute apron with a sheep pin to keep her clothes lint-free while hooking. Gotta be stylish that girl.

Kimberlee

The event was held from 10-3 and then we went shopping in Berlin after. The event technically was held in Walnut Creek, just down the road, but who is really checking. : )

Okay that's it for Part 1. I will post photos from the Rug Show Room tomorrow.

~Michelle

Online Scrapbook Shop and FREE Shipping Through Monday!

Are you a scrapbooker or a paper crafter? There is a new on-line scrapbook store for you to shop!

Ginger Snap Scraps is a brand new, on-line scrapbook store run by stay at home mom, Cori Wagner. The store has many popular brands such as Cricut, Copic, My Mind's Eye, Echo Park, Peachy Keen and many more of your favorites! All Cricut cartridges are $35 and under all the time! You can shop the store now by going to www.gingersnapscraps.com

Shipping at Ginger Snap Scraps is $5 flat rate shipping to the US and $10 flat rate shipping to Canada. *Due to expensive shipping rates, we can not ship any 12x12 paper to Canada.  Shipping to military bases is always free, as a thank you for your service to our country. Help support small business and stay-at-home moms! Cori would like to offer all of you free shipping to her store!  Use the coupon code MM4 at checkout for free shipping on your order-good for US and Canada!

Outlet Sale Today and Contest!

This will be a different post than you are used to seeing here. I am a consultant with Thirty-One Gifts and I love their products! I wanted to let you all know that there is an outlet sale today starting at 9 am and running through the 20th, but only while supplies last. Products are discounted 50-80%. I have no idea what is going to be there as it's always a surprise, but I've never been dissatisfied with any of my purchases. There will be a link on my Thirty-One Gifts website at 9am which will take you directly to the Outlet Sale. If you can't get in right away, try again in a few minutes. The outlet sales are extremely popular and traffic is usually very high to the website. www.thirtyoneoutlet.com/72315 will take you directly there.

One of the neat things about Thirty-One is that for just $7 you can personalize most of their products. Here are some examples and how I use them:

Large Utility Tote

I use the Large Utility Tote to haul my rug hooking supplies to and from hooking events. It holds my frame, Bliss cutter, wool, and sometimes my cat Cinnamon. : )

Zipper Pouch

I use the Zipper Pouch to hold small stitching projects when I have somewhere to go and sit for a while; doctor's appointments, my son's sporting events, etc.

Lunch Thermal

Picnic Thermal

I use the thermal tote every day going to work. Sometimes I even use the Picnic Thermal if I have a lot of yummy things to take. It's a long day working until 2am and I need snacks to avoid hitting up the vending machines!

I love, love, love this bag. I have 3 Organizing Utility Totes! I have one to keep my Thirty-One paperwork organized, one I use as my work bag, and I have another one in the backseat of my car for all of the stuff that seems to accumulate. I have one customer who uses it as her cleaning supply bag as she has two bathrooms on separate floors and she doesn't want to purchase double the supplies. She just grabs her bag and off she goes! My mom uses one for her crochet projects. She keeps a ball of yarn in each outside pocket when she has multiple colors for one project.

April 2012 Monthly Special

There are also monthly specials with Thirty-One Gifts and the April special is: For every $31 you spend (pre tax and shipping), you can buy a purse at 50% off!  Unfortunately Outlet Sale purchases cannot be combined with regular Thirty-One purchases.

Everyone who orders either from the Outlet Sale or makes a purchase from my website in April will go into a drawing to win a Zipper Pouch in your choice of pattern and personalization! If you have any upcoming weddings, graduations, birthdays, or other celebration to buy for, I highly recommend Thirty-One. The Picnic Thermal personalized with "The Smiths est.2012" is a popular wedding gift. An Organizing Utility Tote would be perfect for the graduate.

I wouldn't recommend Thirty-One Gifts if I didn't love them and use at least 5 products every day (a purse, wallet, wristlet key fob, mini zipper pouches in my purse to stay organized, and a thermal tote).

I hope you don't find this post too 'commercial.' I guess it's no different than anyone posting what they have for sale, except I didn't make the totes. : )

Thank you so much for your support. : )  Please email me or leave a comment if you have any questions.

Michelle

Contest Winner- My Stitchery

I was so excited to win Valerie's contest over at The Wooden Acorn. I actually won something. Yay! She was so sweet to add a few goodies to the package as well. Thanks Valerie! : )

I got right to work on this project...something I usually don't do. I'm a big hoarder of craft projects. I'm trying not to do that anymore. I finished it within a week of getting the package in the mail, but it took me forever to actually finish it by getting it in a frame.

Well here is my interpretation of the pattern by Buttermilk Basin. I used 100% wool for this project.



I actually have plans to stitch another one of these for by my front door. I rearranged furniture in that room a bit and now need a few things on the wall that you see when first entering, and I think it will look great there.

~Michelle