Asheville Open House - August 13th

I'm having an open house while I'm in Asheville and you are invited.

August 13th, 12 to 4 is the day and time and I'd love to meet you, pour you some homemade lemonade and sit hooking a spell.

If you would like to come email me for the particulars.

I've got some lovely wool, just as pretty as a picture.

These are the ones that didn't make muster and had to be changed.

Imagine.

We take Visa and Mastercard if need be.

write to inquiry@wandaworks.ca

Car Wear - Working Over Old Goods to Make New

What a messed up background, packing is hell on the house hold and truly I don't think I have a blank wall to keep it calm.

This week I've spent lots of great creative energy getting my car clothes ready.

I sourced some fantastic second hand rose clothing to restyle /refit and do up for me to wear traveling.

 Double trouble T shirt skirt and tie trim top

 2X top brought way down to size with a hand dyed silk ribbon weaving and tuck twist.

Grey sparkle top increased in size by splitting the back and inserting trim bottom, adding a metal and cotton mesh trim, you crinkle it and it stays crinkled

Skirt got an added dot bottom , top got a silk tie trim and tucks

 Close up of tie trim

Double twist wrap to keep warm if needed

 Cute polka dot top got a shirring on the side

 2 dresses became one

 Close up of trim

Back view of same dress

 Little peasant dress with wonderful embroidery I'll wear with petticoat OR knit gauchos

Other side of skirt and pieced to enlarge beaded top.

NOTE: These were staged on my tiny dummy, I fill things out a little more voluptuously.

LOL!

Comfort in the car.... I need it.

Our Daily Bread - Preparedness

Our Daily Bread - A State Of Preparedness -  

The Welcome Mat - July 30/20013

• Posted by Wanda Kerr on July 30, 2013 at 7:09am in Uncategorized
• View Discussions

I'm hooking away on my challenge rug in stolen moments. Do you know about the Challenge?

I think the title explains it all:

"I'll Hook With Anything Challenge." Go here to see about it. I see by the letters many are done but you still have time to join in if your are intrigued. I'm trying not to look yet until I get mine done.

I had trouble getting started on it for a couple of reasons.

I had a lot of other things calling screaming my name.

I wasn't ready, pattern not drawn, materials not gathered, a deficit of ideas of what to hook with.

I thought about gathering stuff on my way to Asheville to hook it.  A found source rug.

I thought about how I'd rather shoot myself in the foot.

I thought about what it might be like to hook the bags my cats food comes in, originality!!!

I thought there will be better days for that, saved the washed cat food bags for other inspired madness.

I was only able to think about these things because I was up against many demands.

But I snuck down one night and drew up my pattern and left it on the TABLE on a FRAME with HOOK and SCISSORS atop it.

This is a state of readiness.

Now that the dust has settled I was able to look around my studio for things to hook with I had not tried. Everything my eye touched on was a vanquished hero, already tamed and tested by the fire of my hook. What to do? I plopped down in my Captain Picardesque sewing chair.

The view from this vantage point directed me to new perspectives.

Every time I sew a garment, there are two things that happen. I have leavings from cutting them out, and I have tailings from my serging to sew them up. (Oh, I think there are three things, I get something new to wear ... DUH)

I'm using both tailings and leavings to create my challenge rug.

Of course I love it because I love the fabrics, the cottons are cut on the bias because I sew on the bias a lot of the time and the rest are delightful knit fabrics which are the bomb to hook with.

I made a pile of prospective candidates and laid those on top of the frame and let curiosity do it's trick, I just couldn't wait another minute longer to see what those fabrics might look like hooked up. Sometimes I'm using the right side, sometimes the wrong, but it is all fun!

This state of preparedness let me snatch 45 minutes last night and now it is 2/3 finished.

I believe my project is the land where polka dots are harvested.

How do you employ or enjoy a state of preparedness in your hooking or life in general?

Does it help you get more hooking done?

Excitement Stirs for Hooking

So let's say you already hook with everything but wool flannel, how can the "I'll hook with anything challenge work for you?"

It seems the undercurrent of this "I'll hook with anything challenge " is walk on your wild side.

So for those of you who never or rarely use wool flannel your challenge will be to do so.

It's not so bad! Look at how pretty it can be!

It is a season for exploration, bug bites and campfires.

The wide world of outdoors. See what kind of spirit from this season you can lay down in that project!

Everyone joining in is revved up and excited to get going.

I love thinking of the Go Your Own Way  pattern being turned upside down or on it's end or even cut on thirds, scrambled and reformed. So many things to do with one idea!

I love hooking outside the lines and just plain hooking outside in the good old steam bath air of Wiarton, in the shade of course, with a tall ice filled soda tinkling away beside me and the company of a few good women and men.

I hope you are getting some hooking in!

I just started a little quickie hooking to be published in RHM using wandering wool.

It's owly and spirited. I was inspired by a early grecian owls that looks remarkably woodland artist like. 

The house of invention has many rooms to visit by all cultures but they all visit the same house!

Spirit Owl will soon be the Welcome Mat free pattern of the month.

Nothing like a little pressure!

Oh it feels good to be squeezed in a certain direction, just like a good pair of spanks.

I'll Hook With Anything Challenge

• Posted by Wanda Kerr on July 15, 2013 at 10:33am in Play Day
• Back to Play Day Discussions

This is a teeny, tiny challenge.

With an easy, peasy pattern.

Your job is to use all kinds of stuff to hook it, prove you will hook with anything.

You can add to this simple landscape and make it your own, day or night, dull or bright, you do the colouring.

Try to make a list for us of the many things you included.

This is an 8"x 11" pattern which you can reduce to 4 x 6 if you like.

( this pattern is on the Mat) 

It is called "You can go your own way" Print it out on an 8 x 11 sheet of paper. The paper edge is the edge of the pattern, sorry there was a glitch.

Make of it what you can or wish, abstract it, plant trees or add flying monkeys.

It's your day to play!

Deadline: August 18th, 2013

Join up here if you are in.

This includes you, even if you are not a member of The Mat, for $30 you can take part in this sparky challenge, light a fire under you frame or arse whichever needs it most and get hooking.
If that wasn't enough for your $30 you'll get the wonderful added benefit of all the Mat has to offer for a whole year, new dye formulas, patterns and the presence of many expert hookers with tons to offer, the list is endless, so many wonderful videos and articles archived... it's a hooker's treasure box.

I'll be right there during the challenge to answer questions, offer support and help you if needed during this exciting exploration.

I've hooked with dang near everything possible and some impossible, I've got the street cred.

Let's have some fun!

Petticoat Junction!

I've been having great fun making petticoats aka slips.

They have a rayon skirt and all manner of folderal attached to the bottom.

Beats a tricot binding, riding high static inducing tube any day!

The purple one I made for Janet as a gift.

I overdyed a variety of silk shirts, one striped , one overshot  and silk jacquard and ribbon for the trimmings.

They are so wash and wear and so much fun to wear!

There is a chance!

It is your lucky day perhaps... I have two openings for a student(s) in my classes in Asheville NC.

One available spot in Aug. 8 and 9th class and the Aug. 10 and 11th class.

You can attend both classes if you wish.

We will be working on expanding your use of colour. I will attend to you personally to help you get where you want to go.

 No colour "theory" allowed... just hands on hooking fun!

All you need is a bag of strips and a piece of backing, this class is for building your skills.

You can fly there, take the train or drive. The class is held within walking distance of wonderful varied priced hotels, shops and restaurants in Biltmore Village.

Each class cost $270. 

Half the size of a regular hooking class

Only 8 students per class 

Lunch and beverages provided.

$50 down payment required

Write me if you are up for some good fun in August. 

wlm@bmts.com

This Just in From Onekama

I thought these are perhaps the wisest words a rug hooker can read.

I shot them out to all Mat members along with our weekly lesson in New Skills Monday, Borders and Backgrounds is our topic this week.

I'd like to add, the better informed your decisions are the longer they last.

Be a hooker of strong mind and wide views.

Inspired by Rock

This is a stone sculpture, solid rock, when we look at it, it is difficult to believe it isn't soft and yielding flesh. My material of choice, wool, seems much more malleable by comparison. This only inspires me to do more and explore more with it.

If what we see, and really look at, we can do,  then I only wish to be a better looker.
What an exquisite piece of ass.

Circle of Life Rug/ Manistee Rug School/Trouble shooting in Rug hooking

This is a journal rug, an annual challenge for subscribers on The Welcome Mat. We searched each day in our lives for a circle to appear to us during January The background is from my latest Rug Hooking Magazine column, Lasagna Dyeing. I'll be posting videos here tomorrow for you to try this method, it is a good method for all types of hooking.

All that remains is the finishing of this rug now! It is so unusual that I think it requires a new kind of border.

I'm thinking of an edge of wool circles cut from the remains that are decorated by felting with the leftover strips. There might be some crocheting involved also. 

It is busy days here, I'm getting ready for The Manistee Rug School in Onekema MI.

I'm really looking forward to seeing old friends and making new.

Perhaps one of them will be you!

Happy hooking!

Ps Today on The Welcome Mat I gave a little lesson on trouble shooting , it isn't always the colour you need to fix, sometimes it is the shape!

Standing stones on the right lay down when shaped properly.

Join us there, for only $30 a year you can be in a great rug class all year long, any day you want to!

www.thewelcomemat.ca

Zero Waste

This is a lot of talk right now about zero waste production.
Hooking is very good at using up all parts of the material we buy for it. I also have a embellishing machine which lets me turn even those last little snibbles up into felted pictures, brooches or bookmarks/cards.
Almost anything can be spun into "yarn" once again I can thrift away my heart.
That leaves sewing and incredibly it is very wasteful. Pattern layouts frequently leave great gouts of fabric unused.

I recently got a pretty little piece of fabric from Marcy Tilton and could not get all the yardage I desired. I asked that it be sent ahead anyway and I'm glad I did, I love it.
But this shortage left me puzzling about what to make and how to get the best out of my fabric.
BTW if I want to I can call and know right away if there is the yardage I desire but I'm too lazy and shy to call.

It seems I had about 2.5 yds. of 60" wide knit fabric.

I decided to make a empire dress with bodice and sleeves in one piece.
I used the remainder and cut out two pieces of wide topped A- line skirt.
I pleated this to apply to the bodice. I used a bit of the arc to create a deep sleeve cuff.
 The fabric I cut off the side of the skirt turned into a facing and collar which forms a decorative flower where it meets.

All I had left was the circles I cut out for neck holes, and incredibly small serging trimmings.
If I can think of what to do with this then I will truly be in Zero Waste Heaven.

I plan on wearing it with a nice little black shrug and a corsety belt I made from a skirt leaving. More on that tomorrow!
Yes using up these bit is really turning me on.

I've never had so much fun!

Comedian in Cars Getting Coffee

For a good time.

You might need one and this delivers.