I'd only be exaggerating a little if I said this mug rug hooked itself! It was a fun and easy afternoon project, and it's the sample for an upcoming class I'm teaching at Black Sheep Handworx Studio this October. 

​The design is the Grand Mesa, the world's largest flat-topped mountain. It dominates the landscape here in Grand Junction. The design also includes a river, as our rivers here (the Gunnison and Colorado) play a huge part in our ability to live here. It is a desert, after all!

This mug rug is 4" square, and is part of a kit that will be included in the class. It includes everything you need to get started with rug hooking!

Call or email  to sign up! Contact information can be found here. 

Welcome to August! Are you ready for fall yet? I know I am. We spent (at least) two or three weeks in the hottest days of July with a non-functioning swamp cooler.* Now that it's fixed, I have the air blasting just so I can put on a long-sleeve shirt every now and then and dream of fall.

In July, I managed to finish a machine-knit sweater. I tried it on to make sure it fit, but took absolutely zero photos of it. And I made a SAORI-style table runner...and tons of yarn for Tour de Fleece. But the biggest thing is what you see above! I am now selling rug hooking wool and other supplies over on FiberCrafty!

Rug Hooking/Needlepunch​

• I've dabbled in it before, but now I have a whole bunch of stuff to work with and so little time! Trying to come up with a fun project to kick it off.
• I'm listing lots and lots of wool and other tools on FiberCrafty - it's a project in itself. Be sure to check out my page!

Knitting

• Believe it or not, I finally took my stash sweater out of hibernation. (It needed to sit in a corner and think about what it had done to me!) Part of why I haven't been knitting much has to do with how much my hands can handle (more on that later), but I was also disappointed that it wasn't perfect the first time (even though it started out as an experiment, and I shouldn't have expected perfection.) Anyways, it rested for long enough, and so did my hands, and it was the perfect companion for a short road trip/long car ride at the end of July. I've got another one of those trips coming up soon, and hope to make real progress on the sweater, if not finish it, by the end of August.

Weaving

• I have a SAORI style warp on the Jano. I started out weaving a little bit on it every morning, and then it got too hot/life got in the way, and not much has happened lately. Luckily, it's easy to just go and weave a few inches now and then, so it's almost the perfect thing to have set up all the time. 
• I rescued a loom from a trip to the dumpster....it needs some TLC, starting with a little bit of rust removal. So that's on the list. 

Spinning

• I got the opportunity to try out my Guild's single treadle Schacht Matchless. I'm in love. Right now I'm spinning some CVM that has been languishing in stash. There's quite a bit of it, but I'm hoping that by putting in some good time on the Matchless, I'll be able to actually finish the project.
• A few months ago, I got a blending board. I've done a handful of things on it, but wanted to explore using it for a bigger project. All the fiber is blended, now I just have to spin it!

There are lots of other odds and ends, but I think that's most of it! What are you working on this month?

xx,

​Pamela

*​For all y'all who live somewhere humid, a swamp cooler is an air conditioner that intentionally adds humidity to your air. If you live in a dry climate like I do, it actually works pretty well to cool you off. (And if you grew up in a swampy place like I did, it's pretty alien to you to consider a swamp cooler to be a good thing.)

There's a pattern I've noticed in my creative life. It goes like this:
 
I notice someone doing an odd project, something I've never even heard of before. I think to myself, that's silly. It's so time consuming and what do you even get out of it? Something to put on the wall? Something to put on the floor? Clothes? I have enough of those, thankyouverymuch.
 
Time passes. I notice more people doing that project, whether it’s spinning yarn, weaving, or rug hooking. I keep thinking to myself, I have enough hobbies, and not enough time. No way will I ever do that other craft. Besides, it’s silly.
 
More time passes, and before I know it, I’ve fallen down the rabbit hole of the craft I said I’d never try.
 
This pattern has happened with such regularity that I’ve learned that I should never say never.
 
I used to think spinning yarn was silly. Why spend all that time spinning yarn when you could just buy it? Now I’m a spinner.
 
I used to think weaving was silly. Why spend all that time (and money on expensive equipment) to make fabric? Now I’m a weaver.
 
I used to think rug hooking was silly. Why spend all that time and effort to make another pillow? Now I’m a rug hooker.
 
In all fairness, it’s been a while since I’ve tried something really new. And trying new things is a great way to expand creativity, so I’ve learned to embrace it.

It all started years ago – I blame Kay for picking it up at Rhinebeck or somewhere and blogging about it. This stuff is catching, I tell you. Then this little kit went on sale at the Woolery, and I added it to an order for some other things.
 
When it came in the mail, I quite literally dropped everything and worked on it until it was finished. The yarn was a little bit splitty, there wasn’t quite enough of the white yarn, but I was hooked.
 
For months, I’ve been contemplating how to use scraps, rags, and worn out clothes in a way that works for me. I’ve tried weaving rag rugs and have had some successes (and spectacular failures). Now I’m trying rug hooking on for size.
 
I’ve got a pile of wool scraps that came with my loom. I’m suddenly hooked on rug hooking. And my front hall needs a rug. Seems like fate, don’t you think?

xx,

​Pamela