Weather’s beautiful here in Albuquerque this week, even hitting the 70s. Condolences to those still victim to winter’s frigid temperatures. May spring come quickly to you. And if you’re in the ABQ area, remember that the Rio Grande Arts and Crafts Spring Show is this weekend! (Not that I get to go…)
Later!
Tynan
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.
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…
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…
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…
Today is November, the start of the holiday season. Really. I can’t believe it either, but yesterday was Halloween, so it must be true. Which means that I better get a move on. High on Hooking’s got two big events in the coming weeks:
Guess what? I’m not ready for either. There are several rugs in the house here in various states of (in)completion. Yep, I’ve got days of work ahead of me till November 19 comes and I can breathe. (We won’t even talk about how I’m hosting Thanksgiving here and have to plan for that too.)
I might have been further down the road with the rugs I need to still finish, but real life got in the way. Tom, Tynan, and I were gone for just over two weeks driving back east for the first time since moving to New Mexico back in 2015. We’re tired now, having been on the road all that time, moving between Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts to see family and friends. But it was well worth it. There was lobster, colorful foliage, a trip to the beach, and on and on. Tynan even provided a travelogue for our Instagram page for all but one of the days away. If you didn’t see it, pop on over there.
Must head back to the hooking and sewing now. Hope to see you at one of our events this November. Mention the blog and get 10% off any rug.
Tynan here!
So, you know how she went on and on last week about how busy she is? As if the whole world isn’t over-scheduled. (Right, I’m not overly busy at all; dogs are smarter than the average human!) Anyway, this week she’s soooo busy that she told me I had to write the post up and get it out. Clearly, she was afraid to tell you that she’s decided, what with everything going on, including a nice vacation on a riverboat in France!!! – no dogs allowed – she’s about to take her annual summertime blog hiatus for a few weeks. Look for her again sometime mid-August. In the meantime, she insists that she can be reached and “seen” through the Facebook page, Instagram, and email.
I want you all to know that I did her bidding, but I’m not happy. 1) I don’t get to hang in Bordeaux on a riverboat eating goat cheese and drinking wine. 2) They wouldn’t let me explore the cave I found yesterday. See, we went hiking on an obscenely easy trail in the Cibola National Forest on the other side of the Sandias. (Okay, the master’s still babying his gouty toe.)
As usual, I’m leading the way up the mountain. I’m scanning the trail for the usual suspects: bears, bobcats, mountain lions, geckos. Don’t laugh, those little bastards can sneak up on you and scare the shit out of a dog. Anyway, I take a gander to my left and what do I see – no, not a giant gecko, smart-asses – but a cave. Cool! Who knows what kind of snacks might be hidden in there. I adjust course and head for the opening. Cautiously I enter and next thing I know…someone’s got my tail. Damn, I hate that. “Tynan, get your ass out here!”
Turns out it’s an old mine shaft entrance. But who knows who lives in there now? Not that anyone would let me investigate. Chicken shits! They insisted that we take pictures of the cave, but that’s all. Damn. I just want everyone to know that I was willing and brave enough to find out what was in there. Some others…were not.
On that note, I wish you all a good rest of the summer. Like I said, we’ll be back to the blog mid-August. She’ll probably make me write that first one too. I hope that you and your dogs (okay, maybe the cats too) enjoy your vacations even if they’re staycations. And if you’re taking your dogs somewhere cool this summer, PLEASE comment here. It’ll give me more ammunition for next year.
-Tynan