Just a few of my rugs....

I sure wish I had taken pictures of every rug I have ever made. Unfortunately I made many of them as gifts and never dreamed of taking pictures. I figure I should tell you all how I started hooking rugs... I was one of those lucky folks in northern Colorado to have gotten West Nile Virus back in 2003 when the whole state experienced an outbreak of the nasty virus. Who knew a simple misquito bite could change your whole life ??? I wont bore you with all the details, but lets just say my life has never been the same. I spent almost a month in the hospital and had severe neurotransmitter damage which left me with lots of pain, memory problems, insomnia and a myriad of other "autoimmune disorders". I spent the better part of the last 7 + years trapsing off to one doctor or another while they tried to figure out what treatment to try next. I spent loads of time in bed and you can only read so many books, right ??? So, I decided what better time to learn some new "sedentary" activities then when I am stuck laying around for hours on end. I am a type A personality by nature, so having to retrain myself to slow down had its difficulties, but on the bright side, I have learned lots of cool stuff, like how to hook rugs. I got a book from the library, ordered a kit from the internet which included a hook, dug out my quilting hoop (no, I dont quilt, but I thought I might at one point), raided our closets for any wool fabric and got busy . Here's a picture of that very first project...

 It was a fun project and I was "hooked" from that moment on. I have gotten much better and learned so much since that first project and have made over 25 rugs and pillows since then...from candle mats to a large  4 ft runner (which I didnt take a picture of because I was in a rush to finish for a gift...GRRRR). I have had a few rugs on consignment in some shops  Ligonier, PA which is a darling little colonial town in the Laurel mountains of PA just a short drive east of where I live now.

This is a rug of I have made in several different colors as gifts...some with a family name and year hooked into the border. I just love sheep, so I do lots of crafts with them incorporated.

Well, I guess thats all the rugs I have to show you for today. I have several more that need "finishing"...I dont really enjoy that part of the rug making process, so I have to really motivate myself to get them done. I do love dying my own wool though. I just did my very first batch last week and it turned out so lovely that I cant believe I hadn't tried it earlier.

Oh and I just have to tell you this...Hubby got me the sweetest gift for Christmas...he went to the GW and other local thrift stores and looked through racks and racks of clothing looking for 100% wool items and filled a GIANT box with wool skirts and pants all ready for me to "upcycle" into beautiful rugs...Now wasn't that just too sweet ???

Hey, maybe if I get enough followers I can do my own giveaway ??? What do you all think ??? Maybe my small sheep rug ??? IF someone would be kind enough to tell me the "giveaway basics" I would love to do one...
-Blessings,
  Margie