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| The calm before the storm |
After going through the Covid plague of 2020, I made myself one promise...I would make sure I wasn't blowing off chances to socialize just because it seemed like "too much bother". What that awful time made me realize was not to take socializing with my community for granted. To that end, I took a leap of faith and went to my first Hook-in.
With an invite, Debbie decided to ride along to the Hook-in with me since she's only about 25 minutes from my house. I'm so glad she did! I'm not sure what I was thinking but that day it dawned on me that if I hadn't had Debbie with me, I wouldn't have known a soul there. Everyone was sitting with their friend groups so Debbie generously had me sit with hers. The ladies were all nice and from my neck of the woods. Here is my new friend Marsha and the lovely project she's working on! (I was watching her work and thought - wow she's so pretty - so I bravely asked to take a picture for my blog)
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| Marsha and her lovely Cowboy |
The Hook-in was held at the Strongsville , Ohio Senior/Rec Center which is a huge and amazing building. We filled the Event Hall with about 100 ladies (and a few men) all sitting at roomy round
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| This is another quilter turned hooker - Pretty right? |
tables. The edges of room were taken up with several vendors. I finally found out how most ladies are buying their wool. Apparently, there are several small business owners that sell wool off the bolt, over dyed wool, and hand dyed wool at these social events. Plus there was all sorts of textile notions, wool yarn and Valdani pearl cotton. Truly there was a LOT of wool there. With Debbie at my side, I got a lesson in wool shopping. Once I got my hands on it, I knew exactly what I wanted. You could feel the different weights just by touch and seeing it in person. I love how once you touched it you can tell what was tight weave, loose weave and just right! I bought some hand dyeds for the background of my current project and a few plaids because they are getting harder and harder to find. Still, I'm sticking to my promise of not letting my wool stash get out of hand. I really think project by project is a good idea.
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| Forgive the darker picture - I took it at night! |
It really was a fun day. We hook a little, shopped a little, had a nice lunch and did a LOT of talking. All for the reasonable price of $35. Oh and I even won a handful of wool as a door prize! It was such a nice time that I wish we would do that with quilters - bring your hand work and come socialize for 6 hrs,
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| Debbie's Door prize - Cigar boxes with pretty Motif's on them |
On this week's Rug Watch...finished up the red grapes and onto the grape leaves....
I remember when these first came out and they were kinda pricey (about $55) so I forego buying them even though doing a Millefiori English paper piece quilt is on my bucket list. So I thought - oh good buy right?! Well apparently, since then, the books have become more rare and English paper piecing more popular, so their prices have gone through the roof. Millefiori Quilts 2 is selling anywhere between $50-$160 right now. (We'll see if that continues because whenever that has happen in the past, a publish on demand option becomes available and the prices drop - but so will the quality of the book itself). These are gorgeous books, and I'm so blessed to have snagged them. I'm taking it as a sign to not put off one of these quilts.
That's me this week...
What Have YouBeen Up to Creatively?
2 comments:
It's so nice you have found a group of 'hookers' to hang out with. It sounds like you had a wonderful day of new friends, fun hooking and great buys. I get together once a month in the afternoon for 4 hours with several quilting friends to work on handwork. We keep it simple, no snacks, just water to drink. It's a fun happy day, lots of talking and lots of stitching. Blessings!
You are living dangerously , another hobby? It sounds like a wonderful time. The work you've shown is so beautiful! Have a great time with a new and lovely creative outlet!
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