Sunday, October 23, 2011

Classes at the ATHA Biennial ~


Is blogger giving any one else gray hair today?  (Lord knows I don't need any more!)  I tried uploading pictures for at least two hours and could not get them all uploaded.  Hopefully tomorrow I can do better.
My first class was the Berks County Floral, a pattern by Barbara Carroll.  Here is her finished piece.  We began by picking out what color background and basket we wanted to hook.  From there we went to the leaves, flower, tulip and hearts.  We left class with a color plan and wool to complete the piece.  The finished size is 17" x 20".


Hookers hard at work!




Lots of wool choices.

 

Saundra of Woodland Junction had "introduced" me to Shari who lives in Lancaster, home of the 2011 biennial.  She was in both my classes and it was fun getting to know her.  She is a very talented rug hooker and makes the most wonderful early style Santas, elves and dolls which she sells through her website and juried shows.  She accomplished a lot more hooking than I did!


This is all I got done :(  The colors on the top right will be my tulips and the wool at the bottom my hearts.  Unfortunately, no progress will be made on this rug for quite some time.  Too many other pieces need to be hooked first.


My second class was with Maria Barton, from the Star Rug Company.  What a delightful instructor!  If you ever have the opportunity to talk a class from her, do so!
In her class we were hooking a whimsical pumpkin.  In addition to traditional hooking, we were adding rolled circles (quilling), using the beading technique and adding lamb's tongues.
Here is Maria's finished sample.


She had also started these two rugs to show what other color pumpkins could be hooked and some fun embelleshments that could be used.


Two ladies decided to hook purple pumpkins and mine is green.  Unfortunately, I have no additional pics to share this evening since blogger is being a real booger!  Hopefully I can share a few more pics from the class in my next post.
I can't believe the biennial has already come and gone.  I am so happy I decided to go.  The next biennial will be in San Diego, maybe just a little too far for this hooker to travel.
Thanks for stopping by!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

19 comments:

acorn hollow said...

I love the color of your flower rug.
the pumpkin with the buttons is very sweet. You sound like you had a great time.
Cathy

The Eveningstitcher said...

Oh what fun, Lauren!! I love the rugs and Maria Barton is such a sweet person. I have never taken a class from her but I am hoping too one day. Glad you had a such a nice time!!

Kim said...

I'm sooo jealous. Your classes sound wonderful and I love your new projects. (drooling over those tables of wool)

Julia said...

Oh my gosh, that wool is gorgeous and your rug is looking god even though not finished yet. I'm glad that you had some great classes with great teachers.

I find that uploading pictures on my blog seems to take longer than usual. Sometimes it server problems. JB

Kathy (woolfind) said...

I love that basket pattern! Yours will be super when you can get to it!
Love that pumpkin by Maria too. You certainly had a funfilled few days. I'm happy for you :)
Blogger gave me a bit of a time too with all the uploading of the rugs. I was at this desk for quite some time.
Thanks for sharing your pieces with us!!

Cathy G. said...

Lauren,
I love love love your rug and the wool choices! You are one lucky gal to have taken classes from two talented ladies! I couldn't wait if it were me to get that rug finished!! LOL!
Those pumpkin rugs are adorable! So fun and colorful!
If you decide to go to CA for the next biennial please stop by and pick me up!! LOL!
Hugs!
Cathy G

Dog Trot Farm said...

Oh I am sooooo jealous! Beautiful rugs, beautiful wool, lovely ladies and wonderful teachers, can it get any better? I can't wait to see your future photos!!!

TheCrankyCrow said...

Green pumpkin you said? Oh - ok - thought for a minute there you could see me and how JEALOUS I am!!! Seriously - sounds like a positively wonderful time and so glad you had the opportunity of a lifetime. I am truly loving your color plan for the tulip basket rug....and can't wait to see your green PUMPKIN!!! Have a wonderful week ahead! Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

The Barn Door said...

Love the rugs you are doing! Looks like you had lots of fun and wish blogger wasn't being so difficult so we could see more photos!!
Karen

Larkrise garden girl said...

What great wools. How lucky were you to go to those classes!

moosecraft said...

Those are some great looking project rugs! Very inspiring!

Sassafras and Winterberry said...

I wish I was there taking these classes with you! I love all the rugs. The pumpkins look like so much fun to play with. That flower rug is divine. I can't wait to see your finished work! Hugs!

HomeSpunPrims said...

Lauren, I've been enjoying seeing all the wool, rugs and rug hookers you've been posting. Great basket rug! Love your color plan. I'll look forward to seeing it done some day. Maria is a fun person so I can imagine how much fun her classes are. Can't wait to see your green pumpkin. Thanks for sharing. It was almost like being there! hugs, Lori

leLoops said...

Good morning Lauren, It was great meeting you and I am truly happy that I had a chance to speak to you at lunch! Lee

Tamera's Craft Palace said...

What cool stuff!! I love the tulips!!!
glad you had so much fun!!

Unknown said...

What a great time you had. I would love to take from someone with lots of knowledge some time.
I love all the pumpkins.

Alice ~ Folk Art Primitives said...

Lauren ~ love your rug! I'm going to be doing that one at Barb's next week ~ have just been waiting for the pattern to be available after ATHA!! Maria's samples are cute~ can't wait to see yours. Yes, Blogger is a challenge sometimes ~ I often think it's me ~ so glad to hear that it's not!! You've done a great job reporting on the Biennial ~ thanks so much ~ I travelled there thru you and the other gals who have posted ~ hope to see you somewhere soon!

Saundra said...

Love your last blog posts; I'm way behind in reading and posting myself and am now spinning my wheels trying to catch up.

Love the photos of ATHA, Thanks.

Beckyjean said...

Hi Lauren~

Sounds like you had a great time~good for you!! Love all those rugs, but the basket of flowers has to be my favorite!!

Enjoy your day~Becky