In celebration fo Valentines Day

Lorain County HookRug Crafters will be meeting the 7th of February in LaGrange for our bimonthly meeting. Our projecct is a wide cut shaded heart that has been transformed into a small pillow. I incorporated some paisley wool in the border to add a touch of color.

Happy New Year

Life in 2011 has been full. As the eve of a new year is upon us the sauerkraut and pigs in the blanket are baking in the oven, the potatoes pared, homemade applesauce and rolls. The Italian Wedding cake I make every year is cooling, ready to be frosted soon. The kids take turns every year doing the backward toss of a silver dollar into the batter before baking. After dinner we all get to choose which piece we would like, no worries about making the cake look messy, just pick your piece. If you get the coin it is to bring good fortune in the coming year. I made this tradition up.  Our father always made sure we were holding a piece of silver when the clock struck midnight on new years, this meant good fortune for us. Now I am asleep way before midnight so we do the cake thing. As my daughter put it, "this is not the party house on new years mom!" That was the response when I told her she was more than welcome to have her friends here to welcome in the new year.
Western Reserve Guild in Cleveland is welcoming me to teach the first week of January. We are hooking one of two patterns of Deanne Fitzpatricks. I am presenting on thursday highlights from my trips to Nova Scotia to Deanne's shop. What a treat it is to go there.
The following week we start up here in Ashland for a new year of open classes. It will be good to highlight everyone's holiday highlights.
Beginning in March I will offer a two Saturday class on Hooking Samplers.  March24  and April 28. from 11am-4pm each SaturdayWe will use a pattern from Nola. I have a brochure printed up if anyone is interested in joining us in Vermilion, Oh at the Chairmaker and Friends Shop on Liberty St. 216-905-2300. Call to sign up by February 15 and order a pattern.
Norwalk, OH in January we will hook a snowman mat at the Senior Center (130 Shady Lane)
Date Saturday, January 21 at 10am. Contact the center if you would like to join us. 419-668-6245.

THANK YOU

...for all your cards and words of encouragement during this difficult time. This past month has been a whirlwind. I am so grateful for the support from the rug hooking community. You have blessed me greatly. The past few weeks caring for my mother was an incredible honor. Laura and I loved her so and will miss her terribly. But nothing can compare with the glory she is now surrounded with. Being in the presence of Christ her Savior cannot come close to any goodness here on earth. So we look forward to the day we are together again.
As our brother would say," I have failed miserably" when it comes to having class. I am looking forward to our retreat in Zoar this coming weekend as well as teaching class in Ashland next week.
Life has been full but God certainly gives us the grace to muddle through. Hope you are all having fun hooking great works and have not run out of wool. Our leaves are almost all down now with all the wind we have been having. if you are not hooking it is probably because you have a rake in hand.
Laura is coming along nicely with her left arm/hand recovery. She even hooked a bit at the Lakeside retreat. She drew a picture of mom holding a pie and began hooking away. Mom was an exellent pie baker. She even talked about baking a few nights before she died. She talked as if she was virtually making them. Claire tried to get her to make a cherry one for her but Grandma informed her she was just too tired to make anymore and would need help finishing up. We had many warm moments those last few days as her speech became weaker with each new day.  Enclosed is the piece i started when Mom was admitted to hospice. I have to admit I did not have the energy to hook many of those days but almost had to force myself. Mom always thought the only way to get the floor clean was to scrub it on your hands and knees so this Deanne Fitzpatrick pattern was a good reflection piece.
I am going to brighten it up with oranges and red brick like floor as that is the color of linoleum we had in our kitchen growing up. I have come to find that this is good therapy, this hooking. Katie

Well, Laura had her stitches out this past week and now with some therapy we are hoping she will be back to hooking soon. She had her yearly fall down the steps on night a couple of weeks ago. She is now anticipating making treads for her stairs along with the risers.
LKSD is just two weeks away. Zoar will be here before we know it. Get your hooks ready!

The Hookers are BACK!

yeah, they are back. This week was the first week of fall class here in Ashland. Wadsworth will be meeting on Thursday night. Mary started and new crewel pattern after having finished the sunflower with colorful blocks for a border this summer. Hildegard is working on a darling cottage rug with posies that is almost complete. Sandy finished all her fruit minus two squares over the summer. She chose a new pumpkin pattern with  acorns (AKA butterflies according to Hildegard) to start next being in the fall mood. Rosemary has a cute little pig for her granddaughter while Joyce is steady on her crewel runner.
Ruth  has ben making starrisers, Rosas doing a Deanne Fitzpatrick house and water scene. Della is enjoying use of her scraps on a sheep with square/triangle/geometic border , kathy is venturing out on portraits and doing a great job. Alice was new this week working on spiral flowers from an urn that was drawn by Lana Omlor, Great new hooker. Julie  feels an appreciation for  brighter colors and smaller cuts now that she has hooked a primitive. See ladies, even when Iam chattering away and going from one project to the next, I still know what you are up to!
Well (Jack and) Jill went up the hill to fetch something she needed. Jack was fine but Jill (AKA Laura) tumbled down the stairs, didn't break her crown, thank you God but broker her left arm, Was plated and pinned in OR last thursday, Agh!!!! She started with Physical Therapy this week, So now she is a one armed chicken feeder and alpaca herder,  So grateful it was not anything worse. But what an inconvenience in life.Looking to God for the lesson in all of this besides not wearing socks down the very smooth wooden stepa in the dark  when you are half awake.
I guess I am not as good at writing as I once thought. My daughter is taking advanced comp English this year as a senior in high school. She asked for guidance on a subject she was asked to write about. So she wrote one paragraph and I wrote one  and we compared them. Although her wording was pretty simplistic she recieved an 11 th grade status according to the computer. I however received an 8th grade ranking even though I used more complicated words, so I guess I really stink at this writing stuff.  I am humbled. The computer said I had too many run on sentences. Yeowsa! So my apologies for all my run on sentences when I blog. Laura is the English major, not me. I am good at bed pans and birthin babies. Anyway now we have a family joke about mother and her writing that I remind her of when she asks me to evaluate one of her papers.
Thank you for all you cards and notes. For all the hugs and love you show me, I apologize for the tears when you ask about our mother She is holding steady at present. Labwork is still very low. She finished her first week of treatment and now goes back to the doctor every other day this week to monitor her white blood count, red count, and platelets and transfuse accordingly. Dad is a role model for what marriage really is. The love and care he gives her is amazing. Believe me they have their moments but who could ask for better parents in this life, God is good, all the time, yes He is.
Getting ready for Lakeside hooking event in October as well as Zoar. I have four more openings for Zoar, OH. Blessings to all of you, laura, the one armed hooker and I thank you for all your prayers.

Life Is Difficult

This has been a whirlwind few days. Our mother was admitted to the hospital on Thursday last week  and has been diagnosed with leukemia. A breast cancer survivor for seven years we have always breathed a sigh of relief with follow ups with the oncologist. God has been good to bless us with seven wonderful years to share with her since then.  This has been very sudden. I pray He reveals to me who He would like me to reach for Him in "such a time as this". Whether it be here in the hospital, at work, or home. Knowing that we serve a soverign God that is in control of it all is comforting.I tell you this because I ask for your patience this fall. There may be times when I need to be with my family and unable to hold class. I plan on making a contact list with classes so we can have a sort of phone chain which will be very helpful should I need to be away. As for now we go forward with treatment for mom that will hopefully get us through the holidays. Our family is very close so this has been a very emotional time. I covet all your prayers. We have two great retreats lined up for this fall. The October Lakeside event is fast approaching. I will be contacting those attending to give you more information on what to bring, etc. Also the Zoar Retreat still has openings for five. Email me or call me if you would like a brochure. kallman@zoominternet.net  419-685-4490.
Classes begin a week from today September 6 in Vermilion at 4pm
Classes in Wadsworth begin Thursday September 15 at 4pm
Classes in Ashland at my home  September 12 and 13  at 10am
  Fondly, Katie

This weekend on Sat from 10-12pm we will be meeting at the Norwalk Sr Center to make some beautiful flowers learning to shade in wide cuts. Already have 8 signed up for the class so looking forward to meeting some new people and fellowship with the current students there. Our Lakeside retreat is full however I still have openings in the Zoar OH retreat of Hooking a Village. Email me if you would like a brochure.It is a lovely place to have this event.

Also the Chairmaker and Friends Shop is set to open this weekend (on Liberty St,  Vermilion, OH, across from the library). We will start classes Tues September 6 from 4pm-8pm. Come for as long as you like or stay a short time whatever your schedule allows. Classes are $10 for the evening which covers our facility fee and teaching fee. I will have new wools to add to the current stock there for purchase.Bring your current project or join us for our Patriotic themed class.