Kinderhook Hook in.....and a color class!

Mom and I were invited to join the Kinderhook rug hookers last weekend and they asked if we would give a color class.  We were both a little surprised because we've seen the rugs these ladies have been working on and they are beautiful, they don't need help!  But, we headed down on Thursday afternoon, set up our booth and on Friday morning set off to give a color class.  Mind you, Mom and I teach and assist with color planning on a daily basis in the shop.  I am always willing to sit with a prospective new puncher and the same with Mom and hooking, but we just did not know how we would fill a 6 hour class.  This was our first "official" class, outside of the shop and well, we were nervous.  I had a list of the points we wanted to go over and Mom always says..."you talk" (and she's the chatty one).  Let me say, we had a great time!!!  The 6 hour class went by in a flash.  First off, what a great group of ladies.  So friendly and eager to learn (though they didn't really need help).  Mom and I quickly learned that they knew about color, they just needed confidence.  We asked each lady to go up to our booth and pick her favorite piece of wool.  This helped us to learn more about each person.  Were they primitive or did they like the brights?  A very important question.  We then asked each lady to show us the project they wanted help with.......

What we thought might be personal one on one time became the group of 12 admiring the pattern, and everyone learning what focal point to start with and how you can grow from one piece in the rug.  The ladies followed us as a group as we discussed each pattern that was brought.  Wool was strewn everyone (as it should be when color planning) there were yes's and no's and by the time they all left I think each lady had a direction to go with their rug and learned how we got there.  Thank you ladies for being our first class, it was a wonderful experience and one we are eager to do again.

Then it was on to the hook in on Saturday......

Lots of shopping.....

Good conversation..... 

...and neat and pretty things to see everywhere!  (this was Sandy's antique dish with frog cover.  She uses it to hold her hooks, scissors and then shoves the snippets down through the holes)  Wonderful!

...and then it was on to the rugs.  I love to walk around the room with my camera and I find that there is such a sense of pride, as their should be and the ladies are only too happy to share their beautiful rugs for us all to see.

Betsy's "scaredy cat"....the pattern came home with me...

Marion's booth was beautiful.  Look at the artistry in her fraktur bird rugs.....

Doreen from "Ye Country Mercantile" always has a beautiful booth set up and I love her primitive designs.

 Here's my Antique Horse design, done beautifully. I love the wide cuts this lady uses in all her rugs......I'm embarrassed to say that I can't remember her name.  If you are reading this, please let me know so I can share...

...because, she is also the creator of this absolutely stunning standing wool pillow.  Betsy has been teaching standing wool techniques to the Kinderhook ladies and oh my, I just love the look.  This pillow is a work of art!!

If you have read my blog for awhile, you may remember seeing this rug from last year's post.  This woman was just in the beginning phases of it.  It is a 9 foot runner and she is hooking it in a #3!!!!! All I can say is Wow!

....and so I made my way around the room, admiring everyone's work....

When I got to this rug I stopped in my tracks!!  A 14 foot runner!  Look at the color... and the design!  Oh my!  

Someone is starting our Christmas in New England tree skirt!

I can not convey to you how much we love going to the hook ins.  Yes, we work so hard to fill our booth, run the website and the shop and sometimes it's exhausting, but it is all worth it when you see the ladies come through the door, smiling and hugging those that they have not seen since the last hook in.  There is a sense of "sisterhood" with our fellow hookers that no one else gets and we all know it.  When the ladies come through the door with their smiles and pull out their latest creation with pride or questioning if they've chose the right color, it just fills Mom and I with such a sense of satisfaction. We LOVE what we do!!  I want to thank Betsy Reed and Erica and Eric for inviting us to be part of your hook-in and group.  We so enjoy every minute of it!  See you next year!!
Now we are on to Pennsylvania.  Brandywine Rug Hookers, we will see you soon!

Until next time.....