New Patterns and New Wool!

In my neck of the world, it's turning into a beautiful spring! There's a street in the old part of town called Harrison Boulevard, which is home to hundred-year-old mansions that line both sides of the road for almost two miles. The center of Harrison Boulevard is neatly divided by manicured islands of grass and trees, and down each side grow tulips, bright yellow forsythia and flowering cherry and plum trees. Our town is encircled by rolling foothills, and higher above, by mountainous peaks. Although here in the valley we're getting temperatures of 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit, you can still see snow high above and the area's favorite resort, Bogus Basin, is open and promises powdered slopes for skiers and snowboarders.

With spring bustin' around me, it's hard not to sneak in a stitch or two on one of my new crochet designs for a cute giraffe you can make for your children or grandkids.  Below, you can see the beginnings of his head and fat snout . . .

. . . and then his fat belly to which I will add a loooong neck . . .

The giraffe will have long legs and arms, and the best part is he is all done in single crochet. The pattern will be available soon for only $4.85 in my other Etsy shop, Lollypoppers, and also on my American Pie Website.  I'll keep everyone posted when the pattern is completed!

Coming in May: New Line of Hand-Dyed Wools for Rug Hooking and Wool Applique! I've been working with a fellow designer, Yvonne Buus of Vintage Heart Primitives, who does incredible rug hooking designs. (If you are a rug hooker, you should check out her patterns--you will feel right at home around her beautiful work!)

Yvonne has encouraged me to release my own signature collection of hand-dyed wool that will appear on my website in early May. Most of my collection comes from vintage dye recipes and will be soft, richly colored and consistent. My website will undergo complete reconstruction (which will not please those of you who hate change), and is necessary in order to bring you a great experience when you visit my site. You are going to love the quality and beauty of these hand-dyed wools, and I think you will also like my grand-opening celebration when the wools are released.  More about that later!

Spring is About Turkey Hunting (Uh, Sorta)!  When my hubby and I are done playing in the snow in about a week, we head to the mountains where spring is abundant.  My husband hunts turkeys, which he dearly loves, but I always joke I won't hunt that hard for a piece of bird breast. Instead, I spend my days at the motor home with our two schnauzers, watching the creek run by and photographing hen turkeys that walk into camp. Hen turkeys are safe from hunters, so I get really great pics of the huge birds as they strut past my lawn chair. The best part of my hubby's turkey hunting is I get to spend every weekend for six weeks tending the campfire, eating chips and salsa and working on my hooked rugs, punch needle and wool applique! It is a wonderful time for me, as the hubby comes back to camp around evening, just about the time I am ready to start dinner and build up the fire. It's a wonderful way to spend my weekends, and should result in completion of a few more designs I hope you will like.

Chairman Meow is Almost Finished!  I've posted a couple sneaker pics of my newest rug hooking design, "Chairman Meow", which is loosely based on a grumpy old cat we had for several years. I have the rug about two-thirds complete and hope to release the pattern by the end of this weekend. I love Chairman Meow and think you will enjoy the pattern as much as I do!

Well, I'm headed back to my worktable, and I hope you have a great week.  In the meantime, Happy Stitchin'!  --xoxo, Melanie