Switching mediums!

I have been playing around with paint and paper and this is my latest project. This little canvas is a Christmas gift for a friend. Don't worry friend, it is going to look a lot different when completed and hopefully better. I'll show the different steps along the way in my next post. That is of course if it looks good! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. Maria

Excuse the Cheerios in the picture!

The Finished Tree Skirt

Julie sent me a picture of the completed tree skirt. All she needs to do is bind it. Isn't it great! Thanks to Julie for sharing this awesome finished rug. Maria

Whale rug

This is an antique rug that I have been wanting to hook for a while and never seemed to find the time to hook it. As I've been spending a lot of time in the car lately traveling to hockey games I managed to hook it this past month.
I have an affinity for whales and just loved this antique rug depicting whaling. Somehow, I think those guys in that little boat with the small harpoon didn't stand a chance of catching this massive creature. That's my story anyways.
I still need to tweak the rug a bit and I'm thinking I may add a braided border to the edge. The second picture is of the antique rug. Thanks for stopping by, Maria
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An Almost Finished Rug

I just had to share this "almost finished rug" by Julie from Texas.  Julie had asked to me to design a tree skirt pattern for her for the Star of Texas Camp at Tyler, Texas.  Isn't her tree skirt fantastic? I can't wait to see it finished.  

Keep sending me pictures of those finished or "almost finished rugs" as we all love to see them.  Enjoy the day.  Maria

CYBER SALE!!!!!

If tomorrow is the Monday after Thanksgiving, it must be Star Rug Company's annual Cyber Sale.  All star rug company patterns are 25% off Monday. If you are interested in Kits, I do have a few ready to go and they will be 20% off the prices listed. In stock, I have Garden Rabbit ($175), Atha Pumpkin ($65), Snowguy ($50) and Elfboy ($80).  You can email your order to starrugcompany@sbcglobal.net and put Cyber Sale in the subject line.
Have a great Holiday season.  Maria

What I've been up to.......

Hooking..... Creating new pieces for the creative workshop that Ali Strebel and I are teaching the first weekend of November in Ohio (http://www.alistrebeldesigns.com/pages/CreativeWorkshop.html)  I designed 3 motifs and we will show students different ways to finish the rugs. Both Ali and I have hooked the motifs and don't you know, we each did something different for the finishes for each motif.  Students will certainly get a variety of finishes to choose.  I just love what I've come up with for finishes and Ali's finished projects are wonderful as well. For all you that have signed up, get ready to have some fun with the creative ways to turn ordinary motifs to extraordinary creations. I'll be sure to post pictures after class to inspire you all.   The picture below is an extra pattern for the students to hook.  We'll show them how to turn this into a needle/hook bag to store all their rug hooking supplies.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.  Maria

Arrowhead Rug Camp Pictures

Don't you just love seeing what people are hooking at camp? Here are some pictures from the students in my class at Arrowhead Rug Camp in Duluth, Minnesota. First up is Miss Nancy with her Native American rug. Nancy had a picture of an embroidered piece and let me tell you the hooking had to be small to do this rug justice! And I'm not a fine hooker but Nancy schooled me on the art of fine hooking.

Nancy was a character and kept calling Peggy.. Pegachontas. So when we had show and tell of our rugs, Peggy played the part and surprised Nancy with her rendition of the Native American princess.

This is the other rug Nancy was working on during camp.

Peggy was working on a Magdalena Briner rug.  Isn't is fabulous? 

Here is a closeup of her horse.

 Prudence was also working on the same rug.  Isn't it interesting how two rugs can look so different?  Prudence's rug is awesome as well.

 

Here are few closeups of Prudence's horses.

 

Anne was working on my Lazy Sheep pattern and was playing with directional hooking in the sheep. 

The colors aren't doing justice to this rug.  It is great.

Jackie was working on this flower rug and the colors are just terrific.  The background is a great deep purple and blue.

Love Kathy's rug.  The wools, mainly her stash, were so yummy.  We had a lot of fun playing with textures in this rug. The colors in the rug are much more muted in real life and not so bright.

Mary had started this rug in another workshop so we tweaked a bit.  She changed the background and added several different wools to it to give it more movement and interest.  Also, she added rolled wool circles into the umbrella.  So cute.

Her mother in law, Pat was hooking a rendition of the an antique rug. Pat was having fun hooking with lots of textures.  She would want me to make sure you know that she is changing the bright white in the door.  The left corner of this rug was rather bare so we added the sun to the left corner of the rug. 

Judy drew her version of American Gothic using horses. So Clever!  She was doing the most amazing things with the hair on the horses.  Check out the closeup of pictures. Incredibly creative! Judy is an amazing artist!

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 And last but not least....fitting since this rug featured the hind end of the circus animals...... is Jackie's rug.  Jackie is a fellow Michigander hailing from Traverse City.  This is a fun rug and Jackie was having fun hooking it.

Unfortunately, I missed a few of the rugs in my class.  Dawn was hooking the most amazing lion rug.  Sue was going wild with a Halloween Pattern.  Darlene was hooking a cute little frog rug and Nancy and I were learning about value in the floral rug she was working on.  They were all terrific rugs as well and I'm bummed I missed taking a picture of them.
Thanks for stopping by, Maria

If anyone is interested

in an ATHA Pumpkin Kit or an Elf Boy kit, I have two of each available.  ATHA pumpkin is $65 and Elf Boy is $80.00.  The ATHA kit has instructions on how to make the tongues and wool to do so.  I don't have the sparkly wool  that is in the mouth of the pumpkin.  Can't find the darn stuff anywhere!  If interested shoot me an email with ATHA kit or ELF kit in the subject line. My email address is maria@starrugcompany.com. I'm headed off tomorrow to teach in Minnesota so if you let me know tonight or before 9:30 tomorrow, I'll be able to get them in the mail otherwise it won't be until next Saturday.  Thanks for stopping by.  Maria

Remember this guy?

I've been preparing for my upcoming class at Sauder Village in August.  Alice Strebel sells my patterns at Sauder and I've been making some kits of this guy for her. I've made an extra one for all my blogging pals that won't be able to make it to Sauder.  If interested, I have one available for $190.00 which includes shipping.  The kit includes all the same wool I used in the original.  My email address is maria@starrugcompany.com

I'm off to the Fiber Festival in Charlevoix to see Kris Miller.  Happy Hooking, Maria

WOOL SALE

So like many of you, I HAVE TOO MUCH WOOL, and with shipments of more wool expected soon I have to clear some space.  I'm letting go of some oldies but goodies at bargain basement prices.  It will be on a first email basis. My email is maria@starrugcompany.com

All wool will sell for $10 a yard.  The first wool on the selling block is a fun little plaid that I've used for flowers and stars.  I have about 2 yards left. 

The wool below is a great little plaid that overdyes well.  I have about 4 yards of it left.

This wool is perfect for backgrounds.  I mix it in with dark greens and blacks for an antique look.  I have about 4 yards of it in my stash. 

Another great wool for backgrounds.  It also hooks up great as a horse or house.  I only have two yards of it left. SOLD OUT

This is the perfect wool for hooking trees.  Only about 2 yards of this wool left. SOLD OUT

Just a few more finishes to share

I just love seeing how other hookers interpret my patterns and this one is terrific.  Linda Long hooked my garden rabbit and I love her color palette.  It is soft and wonderful. 

She also hooked my Antique Santa and Reindeer pattern.  This is a super rug as well. Linda is a prolific hooker and completely finished a rug this year in Kris Miller's class.

Marguerite hooked this fun rug while in my class in Fredericksburg in September!  She was so open to trying new things like the fringe for the witches collar.  I loved the wool Marguerite had picked out for the cat face from her private stash.  So this June in Tyler she brought me a half yard of it.  Wasn't that the sweetest thing?  Thank you again Marguerite.  And one other thing about Marguerite, her daughter attended Fredericksburg in September but wasn't a hooker and came to hang out with Marguerite.  Lo and Behold, her daughter is officially a hooker and was in class in Tyler this June.  Love stories like that!

Pati Jane hooked this version of Mister Iggy. It is so soft and muted in color and simply perfect! I'm working on scheduling a class with Pati Jane and Ginger to teach my Altered Rug Hooking class in Oklahoma so stay tuned!

And the last rug for today's post was hooked by Miss Ginger.  Isn't it great?  The colors just make me smile!  Ginger, like Linda Long, is a prolific hooker and hooked Mister Elf in between working on her class project in Kris Miller's class.

Thanks for stopping by, Maria

More finishes

There were several of my rugs at the Tyler rug show so I snapped a few pictures to share.  The first one is my NICK pattern.  This is way different than my rug and I so love Brenda's version of it. It looks like an antique rug to me. Love her corners and the way she outlined the dog in black. Check out the way she finished the rug, crocheted it I think.  Swoon! Now here is the interesting part....this gal's name is Brenda Barton.   I need to meet her and see if our husband's are related.

Helen hooked this rug and had some fun switching up my original pattern (I love it when people make rugs their own!)  She traded my bird for an owl.  As Helen explained to me, "it seemed more natural for an owl to be in the night sky than the bird."  I couldn't agree with her more and love the addition of the owl!  She also changed the rabbit in the lower right corner to a cat.  Perfect.

Janie was in my class and brought her completed Ohio Farmhouse to show me.  I just love the colors she used in this rug.  Check out her grassy area at the bottom.  Love the way she added movement to it

This next rug is Halloween Quartet completed by Judy.  Judy was in my class in Fredericksburg in September and worked on this rug. It's so fun to see these rugs when they are completed. Doesn't this rug just make you smile?

And the last rug for today's post is Karen's rug.  What a wonderful rug this is as well.  I just love the background in this rug (it doesn't show up very well in this picture) but it looks like it is snowing.

I have a few more finished rugs to share so stay tuned.  Happy Fourth of July to everyone!   Maria

tyler class

What a fun class I had in Tyler, Texas earlier this month! Katie and Cynthia sure know how to organize a great camp. If you ever get the chance either in Tyler or Fredericksburg to attend a Star of Texas camp, go for it!  You'll have a great time.

The ladies in my class were some of the sweetest around.  I had the best time and enjoyed spending time with them.  It's funny because when I teach, I always gain so much from my class whether it be  new hooking techniques, good recipes or just life lessons and always walk away feeling blessed and enriched by the class.  And this group of ladies was no exception.
The ladies were working on some fun rugs and here they are:  

Diane LeGros was a speedy little hooker and finished Snowguy and started Tilda.  Aren't they both darling?  Diane was experimenting with Sari Ribbon and making ruffles in Tilda's dress.

Colleen was working on Halloween Hooligans and was a hooking machine.  This is a big rug and she got a heck a lot of it done.

Carolyn asked me to design a rug for her with the words TRICK or TREAT SMELL my FEET or GIVE me SOMETHING GOOD to EAT and you all know I couldn't turn down that request.  It is a big pattern which will be offered on my website once I hook it. It has a couple of new characters in it that are fun: a Devil Girl and Vampire!  Carolyn was doing a great job with this pattern.

Janet was working on a Emma Lou Lais pattern and it was amazing.  She was hooking the fur around the mane of the lion at different heights to give it more dimensions.  I didn't do a great job of getting a good picture but let me just say...wonderful!  

Janie was working on my Blessed Be pattern.  We tweaked the words to fit with her homestead.  My colors are showing up a little too bright but trust me the colors are very pleasing in this rug.  The orange circles at the bottom of the rug were needle felted onto the rug.  Pretty neat, eh?

Jeanne was working on winterwalk and doing a fantastic job.  Can you believe she has been hooking less than 9 months?  I'd be to embarrassed to show my rugs at the 9 month mark!

Julie requested a tree skirt for her pattern so I designed one for her by combining my antique santa pattern, winterwalk pattern and log cabin with deer.  Let me just say, this is going to be fabulous when it is done.  Julie is a terrific hooker and has a great sense of color.

This is Mary's rug and it just makes me smile.  Mary wanted to hook my Happy Jack pattern exactly like   my sample was hooked but I nudged her a little to embellish him and with the help of her buddy Colleen Mary embraced Happy Jack.  Don't you just love the zipper mouth filled with buttons?  And those eyes are perfect for this guy!  Way to work outside of your box Mary!

Closeup of Mary's Mouth.

Kay was working on my Tyler Flower Basket pattern and all I can say is "Ahhh"!  Her color palette was so soft and perfect.  It is going to be spectacular when done!

Barb was working on Grinning Ghouls and having fun with the quilly eyes.  She has this innate sense of color and the colors she puts together are so soft and  wonderful.  Check out what we came up with for her border off to the right side of the rug.  It is going to really make this rug POP!  Barb is an amazing seamstress and makes the most wonderful little bags with wool and penny circles.  They make me smile!

 This is Freda's rug and she is a new hooker as well. Didn't she do a terrific job with this pattern? She tried several techniques in her rugs including hooking with roving (see the Santa beard) and proddy (see the left edge of the rug).  Freda is going to turn this pattern into a pillow and it is going to be just perfect with the proddy fringe.

Unfortunately, I'm missing a few rugs from two of my students, Marsha and Janie.  They left before I could snap pictures of their rugs.
Here is a picture of us all.  Yes, I know I have my eyes closed in this picture but it was good of everyone else so I took a hit for the good of all, LOL!

Ohhhh, see at the bottom of this picture the penny circles. That is one of Barb's creations!She made a pad protector (so she doesn't rub her arms against the grippers of her frame) for her frame out of wool. Wouldn't that be wonderful to look at while hooking your rug?

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be updating in next few days with pictures of the rug show from camp. Maria