Autumn Oxford Sheep

Each year I try to do a new sheep-y (sheepish?) rug for Rhinebeck, aka the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.  The featured breed this year is the American Oxford, and here is my rendition of one.

Barb and I hope to see you this weekend at the Duchess County Fairgrounds!

10-10-10

Another lovely October day here on the East End.  I am diligently working on finishing stuff for the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival next weekend.  Let's hope the weather stays like this.

Enjoy your day!

The Next Big Thing:

The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival!  

In less than two weeks, my sister Barb and I will head up to beautiful Rhinebeck, New York (yes-- the town in which Chelsea Clinton held her wedding this summer), enjoying the changing leaves along the Hudson River and visiting with our favorite customers.  I've been working hard to get lots of supplies in stock and new rugs and patterns finished in time for the show.  Here's a teaser photo to get you interested in what I'm working on.

A couple of finished things, a couple of unfinished things . . . notice the reverse hooking on the sheep rug?  Ugh.  I am dyeing some new sky this morning.  So much to do, so little time . . .   I hope you'll mark your calender, get your woolies out and your walking shoes on and join us upstate on October 16 and 17, 2010. 

Heading toward Halloween

Fall appeared sometime between Saturday's 80 degree, intensely sunny afternoon and this morning, gray with a cold misty wind.  I love autumn weather and color, but miss the long hours of sunshine the summer provides.  I'm always a little wistful when I wake up to find summer gone . . . 

I have lots to look forward to this fall, though.  My rug hooking guild, the Peconic Ruggers, met on Tuesday evening.  We are going over last minute plans for our biennial rug show which will take place on Halloween weekend this year.  What fun!  Our co-president, Jennifer, who is full of energy and ideas, issued a challenge to us -- a graveyard challenge!  We are to hook tombstone rugs which will then be presented as a graveyard.  How clever is that?  I have been working on a design for a larger rug that is tombstone shaped, which will not be ready for the rug show given the number of shows Barb and I are vending at this fall, but I did make a small mat that I started last Saturday at Hallockville.  I discovered that it is a challenge to make an interesting tombstone, both because of the lack of color and the difficulty of getting great detail with strips of wool.  But here's my first try: 

I used a grayed and heathered lavender wool for the background, but it reads as a flat light gray.  It's not too interesting, so I am trying to think of a way to make a hooked gravestone sing.  Any ideas?  I designed a small stone to be needle punched, which is going to feature orange wool thread.  We'll see how that works.

The other great news about our rug show:  The Wool Street Journal is coming to visit!  Even though we are a tiny guild, Bonnie and her daughter, who runs Gwoolikers, are going to join us for the weekend -- all the way from Colorado!  They will have two tables to sell their wares and I am sure they will bring along their cameras to take pictures for the magazine.  So if you are in the tri-state area, you should join us for Halloween weekend here on the North Fork.  We have lots of great stuff to do -- wineries everywhere you look, art galleries and museums, great restaurants, beaches and walking trails, pumpkin picking and corn mazes, shopping -- all in addition to the rug show. 

There's more!!!!  We will also be hosting a Searsport Rug Hooking Trunk Show that weekend.  So there will be wool and patterns and supplies galore!  Here are the other vendors: 

Barbara Blossey-Chuvalas:  Baskets

Bumble Bee Primitives: Hooking and Needle Punch Supplies & Finished Goods

3 Bags Full: Reclaimed Wool

The Paisley Studio: Rug Hooking Patterns and Antique Hooks

thimblefolk: Hand-dyed Wool and Folk Art

Hope to see you in October!

Pipes and Drums

It is Maritime Festival weekend here in Greenport.  Yesterday was as hot as July here, but Pete and I walked downtown to watch the parade.  It featured several pipe and drum bands, the first of which was the NYPD Emerald Society.  I believe there was a band that came all the way from South Africa as well.  I don't know what it is about bagpipes, but they always make me smile.  Perhaps it is my Irish blood hearkening back to the homeland.  Or maybe it is the rug hooker in me, lusting after all that yardage in those knife-pleated kilts . . . 

Harvest Time at Hallockville

I shared a booth with Barbara the Basket Maker this weekend at the Hallockville Fall Festival.  It wasn't the place to sell expensive hand-hooked rugs and hand-made baskets, but Barbara and I had a good time none the less.  The weather was glorious both days.  We were able to visit with lots of friends and lots of dogs.  It was a canine connoisseur's dream!  We saw three weimaraners, miniature schnauzers, Portuguese water dogs, tons of bichons, maltese, and yorkies, a really regal German shepherd, Darla, a petit chocolate colored Doberman pinscher who couldn;t be loved or petted enough, lots of Jack Russells, golden retrievers, a keeshond who was losing its hair, and a 2 month old Pomeranian Yorkie mix named Foxy, who looked like a little fox.  Our favorite pettable guest, however, was Fraggle, a 4 month old gray French Angora rabbit, who just snuggled up to whoever was holding him and was as soft as soft can be.  Made me want another bunny . . .

It was a lot of work and not much money, but I always have a good time at Hallockville, and I always have a good time with Barbara, so the weekend was worth the effort.  Now I am gearing up for the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, my favorite show of the year, on October 16 and 17.

Here are a few more shots of out booth on Saturday.  We moved the wagon and Barbara's hanging ghoulie on Saturday to open things up a bit.  My sister Barb sent some of her Halloween goodies, as did Barbara's friend Patty from Michigan, who does lovely counted cross stitch.

Great News!

I heard a rumor yesterday and decided to follow it up.  The Townsend Cutter is going back into production.  Here is the email I received this morning:

Bee Line Company is in the process of purchasing the rights to produce the Townsend Cutter product line.  We are currently estimating shipment dates to begin at the beginning of November.  All inquiries that I receive will be added to our contact list to be updated on an actual date when we are able to determine that date.  Bee Line is very excited to begin producing and selling this product that has such a great reputation for quality.  Please feel free to share this news with anyone
else that you feel may wish to be added to the contact list.  They can just drop an email to hr@beeline-co.com.  Thank you for your interest in the Townsend Cutter.

Kerry Dobereiner