Getting help from the dogs...

So yes over the winter I did try to hook a few projects after being idle in December-February with our little visitor (Snoopy), I honestly did try to hook but with 2 dogs on my lap, made it hard ...  Cooper on left (my dog) and Snoopy to right (Mom and Dad's puppy)... Believe it or not Cooper was up first LOL.

 

Wake up call...

I had wool and wanted to use with a combination of yarn and some chiffon like material for a tidbit of colour on a rooster's tail ... ended up at 24"x21" in size.  Not yet finished as I may make it into a pillow.

Starting out... I had some lovely yarn and fabric to pull in for tail feathers...

 close-up showing tail

Motivated by Karla Gerard whimsical folk art

I am motivated --- found some lovely fun patterns to hook... colourful, whimsical and room to make changes for my own adaptation.  Google ART by Karla G (Karla Gerard) 

I ordered 2 patterns, the wool that Mom (Sybil) and I hand painted will be for 1 of the patterns :-) 
http://stores.ebay.com/Art-By-Karla-G

Can hardly wait!!!

BlueJeanGeometric

I wanted to use some blue wool and I liked the wool (plaid) I picked up from Karen Kaiser at Chantry Rug hooking school.

Just have to finish the back... tack down the edges. 
26"x16"...

Measurements Conversion - Hooked for trivet or oven mitt

Ok ever not have measurements conversion chart handy - well that day is gone!  I made an oversized trivet for our table with conversion measurements on it :-) never to be lost again!

Size is about 8" by 24"
great way to use up wool
--- why not give as a gift to a baker you know - can also work as oven mitt - just fold over - put a backing on the back and allow your hand to slide into a pocket.

neglected hooking

Well whoa is me, I have neglected both my blogging and my hooking as I diverted time to work (who wants to do that) and to family time (we all like that) ... So back at it... I did slow down on projects so only a few to show.  I finished a few doing the whipping, not my favorite part.

This past weekend, I was at Mom's (of course being Mother's Day - nice brunch to go with the visit). :_)

Mom and I 'painted' wool for a sky I am going to hook but I have to buy the pattern first and paypal is giving me a hard time with security (not a bad thing eh)?

Once I get the pattern ordered, I will post my hooked version of this :-)

Chantry … days gone by (maybe 1999?)

Found some old pictures from Chantry days at the Anglican Church - not sure of the date though and the date on the camera had  a year of 1999 but that may have been default on the camera, will have to check with Sybil …

 

 

 

This was one of the first of my own design, Edith Dunlop so patiently helped me design it off a plate… then I returned home to ummm conceive our first son Michael so this is his rug!  That was in the fall of 1992… about the 2nd or 3rd year of the school? 

Donating hand bags for women's shelters this year

Just donated 46 hand-bags to 11th Annual Gift Basket drive - for women's shelters around Toronto and area.  Mine is such a small piece but I never tire at giving what I can to help make it a better place for those who can't…  I work with my Mom on some of these and we share in the creations :-)

Headed up by Shelley Porritt and Jodi Binning, last year they managed to get an amazing 1800 gift baskets out to women.  WOW! 

www.annualbasketdrive.ca

Chantry 2010 (Pix of Karen Kaiser; Marge Bruin; Patti Armstrong)

Chantry 2010  (Pix of Karen Kaiser; Marge Bruin; Patti Armstrong - missing 1 teacher pix sorry)

Lovely week with karen teaching various techniques on a sampler… lots of fun.  Borders, design our own paisley from scratch with family numbers, a lot more effective than hooking with plaid wool in my opinion.  Not sure who's work these are below but just lovely...

Patti Armstrong was here as a new teacher - beautiful work )not done with wool at all!)  Again I loved the flowers on her bell-pull so snapped a few as you can see the details. 

Marge Bruin had an Open Class beside us… I loved her teaching rug with the flowers so snapped several :-) beautiful!

Chantry 2011 - My Pillow Tessellation Complete YAY!

Chantry 2011 - My Tessellation - Colour mapped to go in our living room with my other pillows and the Emily Carr's I hooked.  Turned out ok (a nice surprise) :_)

The tessellation was from a triangle, I then cut out on one side the tip to halfway an almost half circle then put that on outside of the same side of the triangle … on 3 sides you get the same result and can fit like a jigsaw puzzle.  With this design the biggest challenge was doing the 3 triangles in 3 colours so one touched the other… the colours did not exactly cooperate and repeat in a flowing colour scheme.  The middle was from a plaid orange over-dyed by Karen Kaiser I picked up during the class.  Nice touch Ingrid…

18" x 18" with black backside and 2 buttons

next up - hmmmm not sure… :-)

Look close and you will see in our living room some other home-made things… Find the stained glass pillow with sunflowers (Linda Sullivan's class), the photo with the butterfly by my Dad, 3 Halloween Punched coasters, a punch sunset from the class by Sybil Mercer (aka Mom), a totem pole (framed by Sybil & Don aka Mom & Dad)… + the infamous Emily Carr's centre piece to the room!