Tag: Etsy shop

November 26, 2018

After the vending…

So, vending is over for the year; time to relax. Yeah, if only. Instead, I have LOTS OF WORK here at High on Hooking, both new, old, and some things I’ve been putting off till now.

Rug and mug to be sold on Etsy now that High on Hooking's vending season is over. — **“New Mexico Geometrics”** just went up into the Etsy shop last night! It comes with 4 blue mugs (if you choose), but also has a ring on the back for hanging. It’s 12×12 and hooked with recycled t-shirts!

Filling the Etsy Shop

Unfortunately, because I was so busy getting ready for and then actually doing the vending of October and November, I’ve had little to no time to devote to my Etsy shop. I was even forgetting to take down items that sold “in person.” Finally got around to that just before heading up to Santa Fe for the Fall Fiber Fiesta. In fact, I was in such a tizzy that day, that I initially deleted the wrong rug! With no time to put it back up, I hoped desperately to sell it that weekend. And you know what? Sometimes desperate prayers work! A lovely volunteer bought it. Now, though, I’m in the midst of putting up those items that didn’t sell at various shows. If you know someone who’d like to give a rug a forever home, send them here. There are all kinds of sizes and prices. And remember, every little rug deserves a home!

ATHA Biennial Favors

Because the Adobe Wool Arts Guild (AWAG) here in Albuquerque is so close – out west, eight hours is considered close – the Denver guild putting on next August’s ATHA Biennial asked us if we might help out a bit with an item to be included in the swag bag. We agreed, of course, and now I owe them some hooking. Vending put me behind the other AWAG members who will now laugh at my hurry-up attempts this week at our three-day retreat. See if I make them brownies…

Hooked rug on Anderson frame. Now that vending is finished, I can work on it. — I walk by this poor rug all day long. In the kitchen I try to sit with my back to him, but I can still hear him calling. “You promised we’d be together today…” The truth is that I long to sit and work on him more than any other rug. (But don’t tell that to “Kleeful” below.

The BIG Rug

Still languishing on the Anderson frame, shooting daggers every time I walk through the dining room, which is nothing more than the area next to my kitchen in my open-concept home, is the BIG Boucherouite of which I’ve hooked nothing but some outlining. Working on him is far more imperative now what with Albuquerque’s Fiber Fiesta (not to be confused with Santa Fe’s Fall Fiber Fiesta; ours is MUCH bigger and more educational in nature) right around the corner. Big Boucherouite is to be my primary entry. By the way, anyone, including YOU, can enter multiple pieces of fiber art; there are several categories. We receive stuff from folks all over, even Europe! But the important take-away is that entries are due online by March 1. Check out the Call for Entries here.

Unfinished Projects

You know, before I moved from Massachusetts to New Mexico, I never allowed myself to start a new rug before I finished the one I was working on. That went to crap pretty quickly out here as I started vending and taking annual workshops with AWAG, let alone doing commissions. Mats are always bumping others in my now not so insignificant queue of UFOs. Really, I’m not particularly happy about that, but it seems to be a fact of life these days. One day…

So, you see, vending is over but more work remains. Fortunately, I love my work! Maybe hemming a rug up not so much. But it’s getting colder even here in New Mexico, so the timing’s good. Oh, except for Christmas is in less than a month! Time to de-autumn the house and trim a tree. It never ends…

Dog and stuffed opossum sitting on unfinished hooked rug. — Tynan and his new best friend Opossum (thank you, Nan Huntington!) bring you this week’s “What’s on the frame.” Still working on “Kleeful.” Oddly enough I’m working on its (wide) perimeter before I fully decide on the small inner squares. I figure that it ought to be real fun when I try to hook those center squares what with the heaviness of the t-shirt loops. Not!

Are you like so many of the rug hookers I’ve seen on Facebook and Instagram this week who already have their trees up and their houses looking like Santa’s home up at the North Pole? How? Already? Maybe you’d like to come do my house too…

November 6, 2018

Fall fiber frenzy

Like I mentioned last week, I’m kind of slammed for the next couple of weeks in my own personal Fall fiber frenzy. This Saturday is the High Desert Studio Tour on the east side of Albuquerque. I’ll be at Stop #3 on the map below (if you click, you’ll get a better one) where Dagmar Beinenz-Byrd runs her ZiaWoolz business. Each year she generously offers me space for the event. This year Catherine Wies, another multi-talented Adobe Wool Arts Guild member, will have her wares there too: all kinds of versions of her “Everywoman Tote Bag.” I may have to buy another one to put Dag’s hand-dyed yarn and project bags in. Yeah, I’ll spend more than I’ll ever make. But the goods are all worth it. Plus we have a lot of fun. Stop by!

Meanwhile, I’m busy hooking away for Saturday and next weekend too up in Santa Fe at the Fall Fiber Fiesta. Then there are the meetings: guild (I told you I’m president now, right?); next year’s Fiber Fiesta here in ABQ; the Fiber Arts Council’s Education Committee; the food pantry I deliver to, and Susan’s Legacy. All this with a cold that won’t quit. I swear that between us, Tom and I can incubate it till next spring…

I hate meetings, but they’re a necessary evil for worthy organizations and causes. And if you have any interest in Fiesta or the Fiber Arts Council, click on those links above. Regarding Susan’s Legacy, if you’d like to help women trying to help themselves out of mental health and addiction disorders, see our website. Disclaimer: I’m a Board member, and such troubles have run in my family.

High Desert Studio Tour - part of Fall fiber frenzy — Info on the annual High Desert Studio Tour this Saturday in Albuquerque. More info on the website, **www.highdesertliving.net**. Remember, three of us will be at Stop #3. Follow the purple balloons!

Dog and hooked rugs - Fall fiber frenzy — Tynan ~~whores for a treat~~ brings you this week’s “What’s on the frame?” As you can see, there are actually four little rugs on there right now. I’m low on mug rugs which make excellent and unique gifts for the holidays. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Check out our **Etsy shop**. There may be one or two there right this minute. If not, give a yell and tell me what you need.

Hope to see you this weekend in Albuquerque or next in Santa Fe. Remember: Mention the blog post and get 10% off any rug. It’s part of spreading the gospel of rug hooking and buying handmade this holiday season!

October 1, 2018

Studio time! And an Etsy faux pas?

Studio and guest room — New studio/guest room! Rather, this week it’s a guest room/studio!

The studio is as done as it can be for now which is good because COMPANY ARRIVES TOMORROW! Hence, it will be a guest room starting then rather than a studio. But that’s a good thing. (If I remember to go out tomorrow morning and get some soap and tooth paste.) Not unlike New England – remember, we arrived here just over three years ago from Massachusetts! – this is Albuquerque’s hopping time. No, not for colorful maple leaves and apples, but because it’s Balloon Fiesta time! The party starts Saturday and runs through next weekend.I’ll actually be at the Rail Yards vending on the last day of Fiesta; here’s hoping that some tourists mosey on in and can’t stop themselves from buying some hooked rugs. 🙂 Hey, it can happen. Last year a nice young man from San Francisco did just that very thing.

Hot air balloon in Albuquerque — Albuquerque: the hot air balloon capitol of the United States. Caught this one while I was walking right near my house. The other day I counted 26 up, up, and away!

In the meantime, “Fireworks” was purchased from my Etsy shop. I mention it because 1) I love that rug so it was hard to see it go and 2) I might’ve made a faux pas when I put a pic of the rug up on Instagram and mentioned that it was on its way to its forever home.

Funny story. Etsy tells me the rug is going to a guy in Texas. No problem. We package it up, and my courier, i.e., Tom, takes it to UPS. Off it goes. I put the post up on Instagram. Marketing, I call it. Next thing I know, some woman is responding on Instagram that it must be her rug, that her boyfriend was going to buy it for her, but she told him he should make it a Christmas surprise or one for her December birthday. Huh??? I don’t know her, so I check her profile, and – lo and behold! – she’s from the same Texas city! I tell her that I hope I haven’t ruined the surprise and…that she needs to take a pic of it in its new home. 🙂 Long story longer, the purchaser/boyfriend messages me through Etsy. He’s laughing and confirms the whole thing. So, I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t mention when I sell something??? Nah!

Have a great week all! And if you’re in for some spectacular fall scenery, come on down to Albuquerque and see the balloons!

Tynan dog and hooked rug — Tynan brings you this week’s “What’s on the frame?” The primitive is almost done! Think I need to make some color adjustments, though. Either way, the hooking will be finished tonight. Woohoo! Remember, it’s hooked from recycled t-shirts.

July 10, 2018

What’s on the frames this week

What's on the frames beside the Big Boucherouite and Tynan? — Tynan presents one of the “rugs on the frame” this week. As you can see, I managed to get around the whole perimeter of the **“Big Boucherouite.”** Woohoo! Unfortunately, it has to take a back seat to the rug below. But I’m getting more excited the farther I get with it. Soon color!

Sure, “what’s on the frames this week,” but more like “what’s not happening this week?” Too much stuff is breaking as I get ready to take my first vacation with Tom for the first time in, like, 10 or 11 years! And it’s a good vacation, made more special because it’s the year of our 25th wedding anniversary (long gone by back in January). But more on that another time.

Just take in all these things I have to get done this week :

an acupuncture visit;
a “see you in September” luncheon and group hooking for Mary, a guild member who’s moving back to Wisconsin, but, fortunately, will be back in September for our Sharon Smith workshop (and this winter too, we hope);
some additions to the Etsy shop;
pictures to ready for Judy Taylor’s new project on t-shirt rugs (do you have some to send her?);
finding out how to change the guild‘s ATHA page as it isn’t at all current – BTW, did I tell you that I became AWAG’s president on July 1?;
an Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council Education Committee meeting;
find some GOOD earplugs so that I can sleep when “Snoring Tom” when we go away;
pay my New Mexico gross receipts tax for the first six months of 2018 (the rest the country just calls it a sales tax);
update my inventory after Sunday’s Rail Yards Market – hey, I did really well; some lady bought out almost half of my mug rugs to send here and there for gifts;
send in my applications to Española Valley Fiber Arts Center for the Fall Fiber Fiesta and to Mama’s Minerals for the Sawmill Rocks Fall Festival; and
all the other things you usually have to do just to live – clean, bake, shop, etc., etc.

What's on the frames? A new "Woof" rug. — Look familiar? Yep, it’ll be an almost-clone of **“Woof.”** A lady saw the original in my Etsy shop but didn’t want the OD green background that I hooked in. She prefers a blue-based background. Perfect for last week’s Fourth of July holiday judging by the great pic of her pups that she sent. All SIX! were decked out in red, white, and blue and had American flags. Gotta love the dogs!

I won’t bother you any with any more specifics, but I’ll show you the other rug that’s on the frame this week. How’s your summer going? Busy???

June 25, 2018

Cool da Vinci stuff on a HOT day

da Vinci scuba suit — This scary individual is actually a copy of just one of **da Vinci’s scuba suits**. In 2003, some chick named **Jacquie Cozens** actually attempted a dive in a similar suit. Apparently, she had “limited success,” whatever that means.

The last two weeks of June tend to be the hottest of the summer here in Albuquerque, so Tom and I headed off to the very much air conditioned Museum of Natural History here in town. It was more of a targeted visit; a Leonardo DaVinci show has been ensconced there since February. It’ll be gone by next month, so we saddled up the Accord and headed into Old Town. Thought I’d share a few pics with you, then you won’t have to go yourselves. While it was a nice exhibit and contained a fair bit of info on Leonardo, it wasn’t worth the $22 per person ($20 for seniors!). Maybe if there had been his actual paintings and such rather than digital copies, etc. Still, inspiration and stories were everywhere!

da Vinci painting — **“La Bella Principessa”** was a nice, little portrait. It appears that this baby was holed up in someone’s cellar or collection for centuries before anyone thought that it might’ve been painted by da Vinci. They thought it was by some German dude.

da Vinci notebook page — Okay, this is cool. They had copies of some of da Vinci’s notebooks. This recorded his ideas on a **GIANT horse statue** that he spent years planning for some patron. In the end, he never built it. But the drawing is wild.

da Vinci costumes — Who knew the dude was so into theater? Not only did create sets and such, but he created costumes too. Yes, he took up thread and needle and sewed! Not an interactive exhibit, so I was not able to entice Tom to try on the scarlet cape and tights.

da Vinci crossbow — Have issues with your neighbors whether they be next door, in the next town, Mexico or Canada??? This **giant crossbow** wasn’t available for purchase, but I bet it could do the job for you. Da Vinci was BIG into weaponry.

da Vinci tank — Perhaps you prefer a **tank** for your military needs? Those tubes sticking out of the bottom, which round the whole machine, are the guns.

Because our tickets included it, after perusing the da Vinci exhibit, we thought we’d hang in the planetarium for awhile. One piece of advice in case you happen to catch a show: Bring a parka! Don’t care that it was 98 degrees outside. In the planetarium it was January in Minnesota!

The reality is that this week’s going to be even warmer than last week. Hooh, boy. Guess that means I’ll stay in and hook. What a hardship. Oh, well, there are shows to apply to. And I’ll be loading up the Etsy shop with more goodies too, especially as…I finally sold my first rug there! Woohoo!

dinosaur — How are you keeping cool this summer? Movies like the new Jurassic Park? Museum visits? Lucky enough to live near a beach (like I used to)? Or just holing up in the AC with friends? Share your plans here!