finding TREASURE...

Good Day Dear Ones,
These late summer days are perfect for finding treasure...

these gems are nature's gift...
black walnut is my favorite dyestuff...
and today my squirrel friends have shared with me...
they took their portion...for breakfast or perhaps to hide for a winter's day...
and left some magic for my dyepot!
Enjoy this fine day ~ L

Happy New Year...

* ~ * 2014 * ~ *
How can that be???
I hope you all had a lovely holiday... and that your New Year's celebrations will be joyful and safe

It is beyond freezing here on the Northern Prairie...
and I'm happy to stay in were it is cozy and warm!

It is time for my Early Work Mercantile Update...
Meet my friends...Flopsie's the Snow People...
just listed...
Now time for a glass of the bubbly...
Be Well ~ L

September 25th...My Day...Crazy About WOOL

Good day and a Wooly Welcome
to my stop on the Crazy About Wool blog hop
hosted by Denise of Pieced Brain

If you are a new visitor to The Wooly Red Rug…
I hope you will spend some time poking around here on the blog
to learn more about my wool work…studio and website

Before we jump into the wooly craziness…

I want to wish my Mom a Happy 83rd Birthday!!!
She taught me the love of handwork…
…Mommie, I love you more than words can say!

When Denise asked me to be part of the blog hop I wasn’t sure what I was getting into…
But…Crazy About Wool pretty much describes the typical day in my studio!

On the “to-do” list this week is to kit up the second half of of the 2013 Rug Project…Pines to Prairie…
This is Part One…

participants have been working on this since March…
the Part Two kits will go out in the mail in early October
This is the finished 2013 rug…

if you’d like more information about the Annual Rug Projects
Click here or on the link above…below the header

I’m also finishing up on a rug for an article in an upcoming 2014 issue of
Rug Hooking Magazine
…just a peek…

So…now on to a wooly treat for you…
Like many of you Autumn is my favorite time of year…

living here on the Northern Prairie
Apple~Tyme is my absolute favorite season!

So…today I would like to share my Apple Pin Keep pattern with you!

Click this link to download or print the pattern

I hope you have enjoyed your visit today…
Before you hop on…
please leave a comment…
I’ll be drawing 2 Winners on Saturday September 29th
each will receive one of my hand-dyed wooly bundles!

if you are a follower or sign up to follow along here on the blog
please note that in your comment and you’ll receive an extra chance at winning!
Best of luck…and Thank YOU so much for taking the time to visit
♥ Laurie

Hop on and visit these blogs today…
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Chic n Fish
Maria do Carmo (Pieced Brain will be hosting!)
Selina Quilts
Sunshine Quilting
See my previous post for the full week's list of blogs participating in the hop!!!

a little Americana...

being offered at Early Work Mercantile tonight close to Midnight EST

Hope you are enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon ~ L

June...Already?

Hello Friends...
How can it be that another month is coming to an end?
Springtime is busy around here with shows...so I'm glad that Summer is upon us and we can settle back into visiting at the monthly in studio Hooking~Stitching Groups!

Summer often brings travelers through the area...it is always a treat for me to welcome cyber-wooly friends to the studio...ANY day!

Today, I'm finishing up goods for tonight's Early Work Mercantile update...

A variety of Needle Punched Pins and a Hearts and Tulips Hooked Pillow
A few stitches left...hoping to make the MidNight deadline!

Then it's back to working on a few commissioned peices
...with breaks to pull a few weeds!

A BIG Thank You for your comments and generous bids on the We Unite For Oklahoma Auctions. I'm happy my Spring Quilt hooked mat and Wooly Ornament raised a good amount and 100% of it was forwarded to the Red Cross to help those in need in Oklahoma!!!


Hope the sun is shining on YOU ~L

Who comes with Summer to this earth
And owes to June her day of birth,
With ring of Agate on her hand,
Can health, wealth, and long life command

Handwork to HELP those in NEED...

I've joined a group on Facebook...
We Unite For Oklahoma

to auction some of my handwork...

ALL money received will be sent to the Red Cross to help those devastated in Oklahoma...
You can join the group to place a bid...or to list your own items to auction


To me, handwork has always been meditative…each stitch I take or loop I pull is like a prayer. And at times like this…it could not be more true ~ Laurie

Being Thankful...

and I AM SO THANKFUL for ALL of YOU!!!

Shop Small at woolyredrug.com
Receive FREE SHIPPING on ALL orders placed this weekend
November 24th & 25th

Enter coupon code sbs12 at checkout!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season! ~Laurie

Simple Gifts...

Kicking off the Holiday Season...

November 1st...you will find my humble candle keepers on Early Work Mercantile...

If you are in the Minneapolis area...you won't want to miss this annual event...

there you will find a great selection on my needle punched brooches...

and a some of my Hooked Mats...

~Laurie

Happy Halloween...

Quiet Autumn Chill here... Our thoughts and prayers are with ALL on the East Coast... ~L

A Focused Day...

...finishing up on the second half of this year's LJF Rug Project...Grandma's Garden. The year has flown by...again! Just a bit more hooking and then the calculating...the dyeing and the kitting can begin. The kits are due out in October...and I'd really like them off my plate...
as there is much to do before mid-October.... I'll be vending again at The Autumn Valley Hook-In in Stillwater, MN on Saturday October 6th...
this year I will also have finished work available at the Textile Center in the annual Holiday Show and Sale beginning November 1st!
...so planning and focus are my mantras of late...
and today...9-11...of all days is a good one to quitely hook and remember... ~L

Fall is in the air today

...Yay! Just a reminder that there is NO Open Studio Hooking Group tomorrow. Catching up with family stuff in these last few weeks before school starts.
I've also been moving things around in the studio in hopes of making it more comfortable for our gatherings...still cozy...and I'm looking forward to seeing you all in September!
The studio is always open by appointment, so just give a call if you want to come over...the wool room is awesome!
Until then... ~L

Early Work Mercantile Preview ~

The August 1st update is just a few hours away...Won't you please stop by to see what all the talented artists have been up too? I've been working in the garden and reminiscing about days gone by...
~L

in the beginning...

...of a new project...
don't you just love starting something new???
so many possibilities...
sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming...too many choices?!?

I'm starting a new pillow project
...a gift for a family gathering at the end of the month
...I call these memory pillows...
photos, phrases or such...wool...and stitching
AND...I'm obsessed with them;)

I doubt the recipient of this piece reads my ramblings here...
so I will be back soon with pics of my process
...maybe you would like to stitch along! ~L

Early Spring...

We had a 60 degree teaser yesterday here in the north country!!! It was a pleasure to have the windows open while I was steaming up the place with the dyepots!

Tonight at 7pm EST is the March Update at the 1800 House...Please stop by to see all the treasures...29 dealers offering fabulous antiques and hand crafted items!

Back to the dyepots...Have a colorful day! ~L

Grandma Anna lived here...

As promised...pics of this year's LJF Annual Rug Project...Grandma's Garden

A cool, gray Tuesday outside...

a good day spent at the hooking frame and a colorful bowl full...
more pics soon!
Thanks for visiting!!! ~L

A few more loops...

Happy Thursday Dear Friends...
Sunny and bright here today with temps climbing to near 45 today! Tho' they say reality will hit overnite and we'll be lucky to get back to double digits!
Old Chalk Deer is nearly finished...in between dyepots today I will pull the last few loops! My client wanted the colors to be similar to the original picture in Edyth's book "My Red Cape" I've had great fun mixing textures and my hand-dyeds to achieve a really close match.
Hope your day is sunny and bright, too! ~L

On the frame...an update

Old Chalk Deer is coming along nicely!

Another busy week with doctor appointments for my parents...and a few classes here in studio...but I'm hoping to sneak in a few late nights and finish this delightful rug! I've always loved Edyth's designs and think I may need to hook this sweet face again for our home...Ah...the bucket list grows longer!
Wishing you all a wonderful week! ~L

What's Hookin' & January Ramblin'

Happy January to All ~
I'm confused...things seem to be out of sorts...it's been in the mid-teens to low twenties the last few days...we've had a bit of ice and a few snow flakes...it's mostly brown...and oh so dry...This is January?...in Minnesota??? To top it off we are still on Christmas break...oops...that is what we used to call it...excuse me...winter break. Yes, the kids were in school right up to Christmas eve...so they get two full weeks after Christmas off. Husband and son used to be on the same break schedule...not this year...hubby has had to head back to work already.

I have several rugs in progress...a couple commissions and the start of the 2012 annual rug! If you are interested in this year's project rug...Grandma's Garden...I just put a clickable link on the left sidebar...it will take you to the website page that has all the information. I'll post updates of the rug as it progresses...right now it's slow going...I'm taking my parents to doctor appointments several times a week...that's a whole other story!
So for now here is my watercolor sketch...

So I need to back away from the computer and get back to the frame...wishing you all a great week and many blessings! ~L

Happy Holidays...

~Laurie
PS...Happy Anniversary Sweetheart...so good to have you home for the holidays!