Hooking and Spinning

Saturday was the annual Hook-In in Yellow Springs, WV. It was fabulous! It was my first year attending and I had a fabulous time! There were many of fabulous rugs and wall hangings to inspire me.

There were five different vendors providing lots of gorgeous wools and tools to meet any rug hooking needs! The hosts served a fabulous lunch and provided great morning snacks - I think we all gained about 10 pounds in one day! Everything I needed was in one place - wool, inspiration, and food I'm definitely adding this to my yearly excursions!











On the left are the creations made in answer to the ATHA "Go Red!" challenge. All of them were very creative and beautifully made. These creations definitely give new meaning to the phrase, "Seeing red". (Be sure to double click on the photo for a closer view - I love all the different interpretations of "Go Red!"


Many of the attendees displayed their recent finished objects. They were fantastic! Each one was an incredible work of art. Some projects were made in 3-D...others in very fine strips of wool. I was amazed at the beauty and level of detail in each of the projects! These are just a few examples...the level of detail is just astounding! (Be sure to double click on the photos for an "up close" look!)














This little guy is hopefully going to be one of our guild projects next year. Hopefully the artist will be available for a workshop! I think he's absolutely adorable!






My friend, Jerry, was at the Hook-in as well...vending her lovely hand-dyed wools. Her sister is a new rug hooker was there both to help Jerry as well as get in some hooking herself. This really makes me wish that I had an inspiring and talented older sister - especially one with such an eye for design and color!











In addition to vending and chatting, Jerry showed us a technique she just learned for making "flowers". I love learning new techniques! I made great headway on my sheep wall hanging. It's a Jerry original as well. I love her patterns as well as her wools. The animals in her patterns have a lot of personality and her wools are gorgeous. I'll post a picture of my progress soon!

On the spinning front, I had nearly finished plying the Targhee Friday evening...my goal had been to complete it BEFORE the Hook-In. I really wanted to have that sense of accomplishment that you get when you complete a project. Sigh. I did finally finish it on Saturday evening...just in time to start a new project when I joined the Centreville Spinners on Sunday.

I love the colors! I had decided NOT to Navajo ply the yarn, but instead let the colors fall where they may as I plied the yarn. These colors play well together, so the overall effect was lovely. In natural light, it's a bit more purple than it shows here. I'm thinking that this yarn will be perfect for a multi-directional scarf. Perhaps the one featured on the cover of "Spin-Off" a few months ago?

I finally started spinning the Merino for my Blue Ridge Spinners and Weavers spinning challenge. I have four 4 oz. balls of roving - teal-green, blue, purple and pink. I finished the pink ball this evening (sorry...no picture yet). Four ounces down, twelve to go! Once I get it all spun, the real challenge begins - what to make with the four different colors. I have until October, so hopefully, I'll find the perfect project!