Hope your Christmas was merry and Christmas Swaps...

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas. I am sorry I have been MIA the last week or so.I just needed some time to get a few gifts ready and a little down time.Christmas day was quite at our house this year.Adam and I went to our grandson's house for lunch and to give him his gifts.Then we came home and kicked back for the rest of the day. My sisters and their hubbies and kids and my Dad are coming this next week to do our Christmas together.It will be wild then.

Here you can see Ryan in his new night shirt and pillow that I made him.He loves these and did not want to take the shirt off.So cute....

This year I was involved in 3 Christmas swaps on-line.One was a rug hooking swap,one was a ornament swap and one was a secret Santa swap with a rug hooking on-line rug hooking group I am part of called Wool Snippets.

Pictured here is the beautiful ornament that I got from ?????Oh no!!!!I can't find the box this came in so I can tell you who I got it from.I love it and wanted to say a BIG thank you...You know who you are ...please let me know.

This hooked Santa face is so cute and he came all the way from Canada.Della thank you so much.He is hanging from the fireplace and looks great.

For the last 4 year I have been part of the secret Santa swap on "Wool Snippets" and this year I almost missed it.I am not getting my daily post so I was late getting my name in.I don't even know where to start telling you about this gift.It came from Rita from Ohio.It was a rug hookers dream with 5 kinds of wool,a sweet little hooked reindeer pin,great hooked tree,washcloths and scubbies,coffee and cover notebook.And that was just to name a few of the things.Thank you so much Rita, I love everything.

I love getting and giving gifts to people I do not know.Making new friends on-line.

Live Deeper,Vicki

Starting to look like Christmas here...

Well, I have my tree up, or should I say trees. I have 3 skinny trees that I am using in a group.Each is decorated diffident but having them stand together makes a whole.I like this look very much and I think I am going to look for more skinny trees.I want a forest now.

I don't think I have told you that I collect baskets.I have about 40 I think.Some of my favorites are the very small ones,so I used them on one of the trees.All the things on the trees are handmade .

Here are a few of the ornaments I hooked a few years ago and are just now getting finished.Anyone else like that,start something and then put it up for years? This is going to be the year that I go through and finish everything I have started in the past.

I sent a few of these off as gifts this week.I really like the stars and I think I will make some more of them.I am trying to make all my gifts this year.I love it when someone makes something just for me.

Live Deeply,

Vicki

"A Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs"

For the last 15 years "Rug Hooking Magazine"has published the finest 30 rugs in a book called "A Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs". Every year I say "this is the year I will enter something in this contest".Well, looks like it may happen this year. I think I have everything I need ready to put my entry in the mail. Entry's must be postmarked by Nov. 30.

I call this rug"Here Comes the Sun". The face has been needle felted with wool roving and the rest of it is hooked.My daughter Amber took these pictures for me.

This is a closeup of some of the hooking.

Here is one eye,everyone that sees this rug up close are surprised by the eyes.

This is a neat view of the face.The rug is 21 1/2" by 18". It will make a great wall hanging.

So now you have seen my entry for the contest.I will seen it off with a kiss tomorrow.Then we will see what the rug hooking world thinks of it.It is so far off anything I have ever seen in the book, but we will see.

To all you hookers at there,"Happy Hooking" and to everyone else "Live Deeply".

God Bless,

Vicki

Butterfly award from Ginger

A big thank you to Ginger or at Primitives by the Light of the Moon for the sweet award she has given me.I love her blog and if you have not been there hop over and give her a read.




The rules are:
1. Put the logo on your blog.
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate 10 other blogs for this award.
4. Add links to those blogs.
5. Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.
6. Give a reason why you consider their blogs cool.

Now for my list...I read new post from each of this great blogs.

Dana of A cat in my lap
Tammy of Skip to my Ewe
Evonne of Out side the Box
Kryna of Pohl Position
Susan of Prim and Proper Folks
Donna of Elm Hollow Primitives
She seeketh wool and flax
Sunnie of Old crow farm
Brenis of That Thing I do..
Lanette of Cottage on Clifford

Birthdays and House Concert...

This week was Adam's birthday.Dang! he is getting old.His Mom is here for a visit and our daughter and grandbaby came out for cake and icecream.Amber made her Dad a cake with no flour because he is allergic to flour.

Friday night Adam's band played a house concert and the Pontica Coffee House is Springdale Ar.This is a great place that started it's life as a Pontica car dealership.It was built by the grandfather of the lady that now runs the coffee house.

The coffee shop is in the part that housed the new cars and they hold the concerts in the back where they used to work on the cars.
By-the-way they make GREAT coffee.


Above is Adam at his best.He and his banjo are like peas and carrots.He has been playing the banjo sense he was 16 and he started playing the mandolin at 3.He can not read music but plays by ear and can play anything with strings.

This is the whole band New Highway: from the left...Karen and Tim Hill,Ken Jones,Adam Hardcastle and Dallas Prouty.
Stateline Bluegrass Band was also there but none of my pictures of them were any good.

New Etsy Shop...

Well I did it! I just started a Etsy shop.I now have three things up for sale.I think I worked out all the bugs so I will be adding things as I get time.

These cute little folkart bunnies are now listed at HardcastleFolkArt please stop by and let me know what you think.The bunnies are needle felted with handdyed wool.

Gone for a few....Calling all full time artist for ?

I am going to be gone for the next few days, so I thought I would leave you a few pictures from around Eureka Springs,Arkansas.It is a beautiful little town.







When I get back I am starting a new chapter in my art.Have you ever wanted something so bad and felt it was right at your finger tips and if you just had that one little push you could reach your goal? I know some of you out there are making a living with your art.Please share your pointers on how to do that.Is there one thing you can put your finger on that helped?If you were to ask me what I wanted most in the world for my life, it would be to stay home and do my art and to be out of debt.If I could do the one to fix the other I would be in hog heaven or should I say hogscald heaven.hehe Please leave your pointers as a comment.

Happy Halloween.....

Happy Halloween to you....I hope you got lots of candy.I have to we had a great time tonight.Adam and went trick-or-treating with our grandson.Eureka Springs is a fun town for that because most everyone get in to it.

I know most of you Nanas out there will not agree with me but,I think this is the curtest boy this here earth.This is my grandson Ryan and tonight he was a cowboy or should I say a sheriff.and he dad dressed up as a jailbird.They were so cute.

Here Ryan and I stand under the giant spider and web that is downtown. He had to shoot the spider a few times before he would stand there with me.Even at that if you look at the picture big you will see he was not to happy about standing there.

Here is the whole gang ready to go trick-or-treating.

This is a shot of Amber as she is putting on her makeup.Are those beautiful eyes or what?

New look?????

I am trying a new look.Let me know what you think.I wish I knew more so I could get just what I wanted.

What a great day...

This past Saturday Adam and I when to the first ever Animal and Fiber Show in Fayetteville,Ar.I was in hog heaven, or should I say sheep heaven.There were hookers,spinners,weavers and knitters.

Here is my booth all set up.It was some much talking to all the people about my work with wool.

One sweet lady brought her giant bunny and she let me hold it.He was sooooo soft, I could have petted him all day.Not a good picture of me( I was out late the night before at the Mad Hatter Ball)

I wish I could remember names better.This lady started spinning so she could stop smoking and it worked.I cought her eatting here but if you look at her wheel,she is spinning silk.

Kathleen from the Rabbit's Lair was set up next to my with rug hooking wool.

Here are a few of the things that had been made by the ladies at the show.

I never did see who was working on this loom.I wish I could have packed in my jeep and brought it home with me.I really want to learn to spin and to weave.Maybe someday...
I learned so much about many kinds of sheep and bunnies and I think the ladies that put it on did a great job.

One more hat..

Doug Stowe from the Wisdom of the Hands blog has the hat he made for the Mad Hatter Ball on his blog.Remember all money raised goes to ESSA Eureka Springs School of the Arts.Be sure to go see Doug's blog and read what he has to say about our hands.

A night for art...Mad Hatter Ball

Victorian Ghost Bride

Victorian Ghost Bride and Lady in Bat Black.

Dana and me.




Pot Head and Joe the Plumber.

Here is Dana in her felted hat, Steve the beer mug and Secret Life of Flies.I wish I had got a closeup of her flies.

Dancing was all the rage...click of the picture and see the whole costume.

Because of the bat rug I made for this night and worked bats into my costume.The bad thing was you can't see them in any of the pictures.I made a bouquet of sticks and little bats.


And my hat had a bat too.

I was lucky to win the bid on a beautiful scarf made by Dana of Calico Cat Press