New Beginnings 2012

the last day of 2011 leaves behind very loving memories of my fur buddy Roby (so greatly missed), great vacation trips with my Mom and my sister Lorraine (now the rug hooker), a beautiful holiday in PEI with my husband and Roby (his last), literally a new lease on life and an awareness of how important one's health is, nice family gatherings, finding new friends, some really good reads, a new direction for Fully Wooly Primitives, creativity with Island Cottage Needlearts, new found passion for rug hooking and so much more. It's been a couple of introspective days looking back at 2011. 

As to 2012, no one ever knows what the next day will hold let alone the next year. I do know that we will be getting a new addition to our furry children, that I will be focusing on my rug hooking for the next year, that I am launching a new series of patterns for Island Cottage Needlearts that is so exciting, that I will be going on my PEI holiday, that I will be listening to my body more than ever, that I will be meeting new people, that I will expand my creativity and that I will with an open mind, look, hear and taste the world around me. This is what I hope for 2012....


The paintings you see are from a wonderful artist Karla Gerard who I absolutely love. I will be making these available on my website. There will be about 20 of them that have been adapted for rug hooking. These will be drawn on linen and available in the shop starting next week... all a part of the direction I want to take Fully Wooly Primitives, which is All About The Wool.


Happy New Year everyone!.. many thanks to all my readers and customers who read my blog and drop by the website. Drive safe...g'nite. Joni

My Sister is a Hooker - of Rugs!

I am using it as a chairpad

Close up of wonky house

Introducing some yarn bits for texture

That is a rug hooker! She has asked me in the past few months to show her how to hook rugs. I took her to Deanne Fitzgerald's studio in Nova Scotia this past fall on our way to PEI. She walked in and she was hooked. She bought her first canvas ( Wonky House and Lupins) and some skeins of yarn. I have enough of a wool stash that she could raid mine. Then I took her to the Green Mountain show in Vermont and she bought another pattern. Next I will have her designing her own.


She hooked that first pattern so fast! She called me a week before Christmas as to how to finish it. I wondered why the rush, but she came over and we went through a couple of methods. 


On Christmas Day when I opened my gift from her it was HER first rug that I received. I was so touched. We had a sisterly hugfest, a few tears and an understanding that went beyond words...as the men looked on scratching their heads :). So now I have my first rug gift. I have always given mine away or sold them so I have few of mine on hand. Now we know what to give each other as gifts - rug hooking STUFF! Always nice to have a fellow hooker in the family...What did I give her for Christmas?.. well another pattern of course and a pair of offset scissors LOL


Have a great day...Joni

Merry Christmas to All

Wood Carving by Douglas Purdy

Wishing all my on line friends a very Merry Christmas. May you enjoy the holidays with family and friends. May you bathe in the spirit of love and kindness, enjoy much laughter and stay safe! Thank you to all my customers for their continued support, it is so appreciated. 
with fondness, Joni & Peter and the fur babies.

White, Cold & Snug as a Bug

Finally, we have our white Christmas. Never too late! The snow was gently falling yesterday and it was cold enough that it just stuck to everything. I was in the kitchen baking, Papa was playing Pioneer Trail and the fur babies were playing on their new toy. Noogs certainly let it be known that this was his toy, lording it over the other fur baby, Pixie. Don't worry she got in her fair share!

The baking is all done, except for some last minute frosting. Now time to package the goodies and send them their way. It's amazing what a little snow can do to get you in the spirit. It blankets the landscape, coats the trees (now they are in their proper garb), mutes the sound of everyday life and brightens the evening with a glow. Ok but after Christmas you can melt away happily... not likely....Have a great day .. Joni

Mimir - Owl Series

So I started a series of  owl rugs. There will be three (maybe more) in the series and this is the first of the little guys.. His name is Mimir. He is about 7" x 10". Lots of fun to do. Sometimes you just need a little project ( LOL) at this time of the year in the hustle and bustle of everything else.

All the different wools I used.

A hand dyed blue roving for his chest.

Some yarn bits for around hid eyes to highlight them

His wings were highlighted with yarn too.

I'll be offering these as patterns on my website in the new year.

Have a great day...Joni 

If You Like Mocha!

Espresso Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

These cookies were easy to make and used a method I had never tried before. You put all the dough in a plastic bag (gallon size) roll it, refrigerate it, cut it, then bake. It's got espresso in it and I used dark chocolate with toffee bits. Now I have to tell you I do not drink coffee as I am not fond of it, but love the smell of it and the taste of it in baked cookies. Here is the link to download the recipe if you want to try your hand at these!
Have a great evening...

Blog Giveaway Update

Well I have not heard from the winner of the calendar and it has been a week. I'll give her until Friday to contact me and if not I am going to draw another name on Saturday. So Annie C. if you can drop me a line that would be great and I can get this off to you. Have a great day everyone....Joni

Family and Baking

It's been a busy few days as it always seems before Christmas, for a lot of you too I am sure! Mom's birthday was celebrated on the weekend and the family got together at Madison's for a lunch get together. There were 13 of us and it was nice to see everyone. This is not the entire family - I don't even know how many we are - easily 25 - I guess... and no I am not in the picture.

I have been baking up a storm. I managed to take a picture of my specialty (meaning I make it every Christmas), they all seem to like these cream cheese pastries. Here is the link for the recipe if you want to download it.. I also baked some chocolate espresso cookies but the picture did not take on that one. Will try again before they are all eaten. It would be kind of nice if we had some snow though - it certainly would make it more like Christmas. I hope it will not be a green Christmas. That will be a first in a long long time! More baking scheduled for this week. 


I have been doing some rug hooking. I am doing a series of owls.. Why owls I don't know! I think I was inspired by a calendar that was done by my cousin Susan Black (Etsy Shop), and thought I would try my hand at sketching some designs. They are pretty simple and not very big. Can't seem to handle too many big projects these days. Yesterday I got my proddy tool. I looked at it and said "Now What". I had no clue as to how this thing worked. With the help of a friend I have mastered it LOL. I am going to Proddy the edge of a snowman rug (aka pillow)...We'll just see how that turns out. 


I am a little slow in posting/pictures as I am without glasses right now - broken - no spare - bad news. So working half blind...at least I have my sunglasses to drive with. Hopefully get them today.. so that has slowed me down. Off to do some more baking.. Have a great day! Joni 

Rugs I want to Make

Today I just thought I would look at some rugs that have been made and are available as patterns. These are some of the ones I would like to make. They are made by some of the talented hookers that bought patterns from Woolley Fox.

January Sheep

Source: woolleyfox.com via Joni on Pinterest

Olde Floral

Source: woolleyfox.com via Joni on Pinterest

Ligonier Cats

Source: woolleyfox.com via Joni on Pinterest

Dog

Source: woolleyfox.com via Joni on Pinterest

Aunt Tillie's Garden

Source: woolleyfox.com via Joni on Pinterest

1830 Farm Animals

Source: woolleyfox.com via Joni on Pinterest

G'nite all....Joni

Blog Giveaway

 December 13th Announcement: The winner of the blog giveaway is Annie C.. I sent you a message through Google so if you could contact me with your address that would be great! Congratulations and thank you everyone for having participated. Merry Christmas!


To start off the holiday season I thought I would have a giveaway. I have never done one of these before but thought I would start with a calendar for 2012. I think everyone uses calendars unless you are really high tech and only use digital media. Me - I like to have a paper calendar especially ones that mean something to me.


Deanne Fitzgerald's new 2012 rug hooking calendar is beautiful...

This calendar is filled with beautiful images of Deanne's rugs and her writings. Each month there is a diary entry and an image. This 11 by 17 (opened) calendar has plenty of room in the large squares to keep your notes, and appointments.



This is how it will work.. very simply either become a follower (you can find the link on the left hand side further down the page) or leave a comment for one chance. If you add a comment and become a follower you get two chances. If you are already a follower and add a comment you get two chances. Your name is automatically entered once if you are already a follower. Please note that the comment must be added to this posting and it can be on anything that interests you.


The draw will be held on December 12th, where a name will be randomly pulled. I'll get that mailed off to you right away so you can have it for the start of the year. Make sure to check the blog post on the 13th for the winner's name. I will need your e-mail address for your physical address. Thanks!


Good luck everyone!

Wooly Bundles

Holiday Medley Wooly Bundle

I will be listing bundles in the next week. These are assortments of hand dyed wools and AS IS wool off the bolt. They are unique bundles in that I do not repeat the colours, so they are one of a kind. These are available on my website Fully Wooly Primitives.


Tomorrow is Cyber Monday - for me it is a day where I realize " Oh Boy better get stuff ordered so that it gets here for THE DAY". As I am having sales all month on my website, tomorrow will be another week of sales but these will be at 25% off for Cyber Monday. I'll announce tomorrow what they will be. So drop in and see if there is something you would like to have. It will be for one week only. Then a new sale starts December 5th on other items.


Off to gather more wools for bundles...g'nite Joni

Getting Ready...

Hubby has gone up north into the mountains this weekend for the annual men's get together. So the first thing I did was flip through cookbooks and checked my list not once but twice for cookie recipes for the annual seasonal bake-a-thon. I used to make about 20 different baked things each Christmas but in recent years that number has dropped significantly. Now we are down to about six! So I cleaned out the baking pantry, inventoried what I had and I am all set for next week's start.


This year I will be making the annual cream cheese pastries. They are a favourite of the family and I usually do 4 different flavours - chocolate, pistachio, hazelnut and almond. So rich and buttery! The others will be: 
- shortbread made with tiny cookie cutters and then dipped in dark chocolate
- shortbread peppermint chocolate cookie with vanilla creme icing and candy cane sprinkles
- white snowballs with walnuts
- and a gingerbread cookie or square with some lemon icing and gingerbread men sprinkles. 
I found this great site "Sweet Estelle Baking Supplies" on Etsy that sells these cool sprinkles and I am going to give them a whirl.


Hopefully I will get these recipes onto my website as I complete them. It seems that all I have there are "sweeties"..love my sweets!


So what are you baking this Christmas? Any family traditions?

Snowflake

This is what I am working on right now. It will be a pillow with a prodded fringe. I'm almost done and then I will be working on a rug that will be the companion piece. I love snowmen! I rarely do Santa Claus as a theme. I guess snowmen can stay out all winter. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving dinner and now with tummies full are enjoying happy times with family. So who is going shopping tomorrow?  LOL
Those who are - have fun....g'nite Joni

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends! Have a safe and wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends!
Cheers...Joni

Creativity

I thought I would share this with you. Sometimes you just get stuck! This said it all very simply. 29 Ways to stay creative. Thanks Susan!

Dyeing the Season

I am off to the Vermont Rug Hooking show at Shelburne today, but had to put together something to work on while there. So a quick sketch and a selection of wool and I am ready to be inspired! No snow here - YET!!! So had to design something with a snowman to get me in the mood. This one will be a pillow with a prodded edge - more on that in a later post.

Also got the dye pots out yesterday and dyed up some seasonal colours. Hard to tell but each colour has four different textures to the dye run. I think I may have to go darker with the patterns. The picture really does not show the subtle change in textures. To me  it is always an exercise in experimentation. Sometimes you never know what you may get from the dye pot. That is the adventure in the whole process! Off to pack....Have a great weekend. Joni 

Dye Heaven

What a perfect start to the day when I went to mailbox and this wonderful sampling of beautiful dyed wools was there. I saw a couple of pieces of wool fabric that was dyed using this one colour that I fell in love with -  Verdigris Wash. A beautiful soft green/blue that will make a perfect background for a rug I am planning. Needless to say I had to find out where this colour came from. Susan Quicksall from Holly Hill Designs was the creator of this hue. I ordered her dye book and the samples and now I am ready to dye. 

Well first I have to get the dyes as these formulas use Pro-Chem which I have never used before. Lucky for me I am off to the Vermont rug hooking show this weekend and I am sure I will find my dyes there. I know what I will be doing next week when I get back home. The pots will be simmering and a rainbow of colours will be hanging from my portable clothesline and the neighbours will be wondering - "What is that woman up to now?". I will stand by my kitchen window gazing at this display of  luscious colour and drink it all in - one of the best parts of dyeing wool.


Have a great evening...Joni

Buttonwood Farm Kits

Hi, I just received the Buttonwood Book by Maggie Bonanomi. There are some amazing wool projects in this one. She always provides a project for hooking, wool applique and lots of needlework. I have a few on my Wool Bucket List. You can find the book on my website with an option to open it up for a peek of the great projects! Along with this I received two wool applique kits to make two of the projects - a wonderful prim wool bird pillow and a gorgeous floral hearth rug.

Kit for the wool applique hearth rug.

Kit for the wool applique bird pillow.

Have a wonderful afternoon. Enjoying a cup of tea (David's tea for the day - O Christmas Tree - dark chocolate, zesty orange peel and pu'erh tea) on this cold rainy fall day. Happy Hooking, Joni

Catch the Wind

In the chilly hours and minutes,

Of uncertainty, I want to be,
In the warm hold of your loving mind.

To feel you all around me,
And to take your hand, along the sand,
Ah, but I may as well try and catch the wind.

When sundown pales the sky,
I wanna hide a while, behind your smile,
And everywhere I'd look, your eyes I'd find.

For me to love you now,
Would be the sweetest thing, 'twould make me sing,
Ah, but I may as well, try and catch the wind.

When rain has hung the leaves with tears,
I want you near, to kill my fears
To help me to leave all my blues behind.

For standin' in your heart,
Is where I want to be, and I long to be,
Ah, but I may as well, try and catch the wind.

   ---------------------Donovan
Heard this song tonight and remembered what a great song it was and still is. So glad I am part of that generation!

Morning Tea with David

The air is crisp, the light is different, there is a smoky woodstove fragrance to the air and it's time to break out the tea. Of course I have to have my little mini shortbread cookies - very addictive. I usually only drink teas during the fall/winter on a daily basis. The rest of the year, it is how the mood strikes me. Last year I discovered this great tea place called DAVID"S TEA and yes they are Canadian. They do ship all over NA for cheap though.They have the best loose leaf teas. They smell wonderful and are so tantalizing. It's hard not to stop at trying one or two. They just came out with their seasonal teas for the winter so I am going to skip away there and place my order for the new ones! They also have this really great infuser called THE STEEPER. I love it!

This one is the LONG LIFE OOLONG - Organic Shui Xian oolong tea, peach pieces, apricot pieces, almond slices, orange peel, safflower petals, with natural flavouring*. This morning I had the CRANBERRY & PEAR - so sweetly fragrant - Cranberry slices, black tea, pear pieces, apple pieces, flavouring.


OK I could not resist I had to put this picture in of Noogs having his fair share of the cheese pizza. Since Roby's passing the cats have run amok. There is no one to herd them anymore, so they are all over the place. It's not like we have a lot only two and they are oh so cute with their antics!

Oh Dear. I just remembered the apple pie in the oven.
Yikes burnt edges! We'll work around those edges. LOL. Have a great fall day. Happy stitchin' Joni

Fibers in Rug Hooking

 

Malabrigo - Aigua 8

When I was in Ottawa last weeked at the fiber fest I bought some beautiful handpainted wool yarns. Today I decided to hook them up along with some others I had on hand. Sometimes I find it helps to see how you can use them in a project if you actually hook them up on canvas. It was a fun exercise. I am seeing more and more different fibers being used in hooking and I think it adds another dimension to the piece. It is nothing new as ladies of long ago who hooked used what they had on hand. So explore outside the box and see what you come up with - challenge yourselves!



Malabrigo - hooked up - beautiful for sky or sea




Misti Alpaca - Alpaca, merino and bamboo




MIsti Alpaca - doubled up. It has a lovely sheen to it. A little slippery to hook though.

Noro - wool and silk

Noro hooked- This was doubled. A lot of variety in this yarn to pick and choose from



Sari hand dyed - Silk cut into strips

Sari Green - so vivid hooked up

Sari hand dyed Blue silk cut into strips

Beautiful blue to add to my sky or sea