~Woolkeeper~Part 2

Another thrilling find at Woolkeeper was the trunk show of Horse and Buggy Country designs by Karen Hahn! Wow! Like Kathleen Wall's "Woolkeeper" designs - they are very unique!

Some seem inspired by Pennsylvania Dutch motifs.

All have a wonderful use of color!

Each one was more beautiful than the next.

So hard to pick which designs might come home with me.

I love Karen's unique style.

And of course I adore flowers and nature.

Her crock box was so unique and blew me away! (pattern available)

These photos give you an idea of her stunning style, but what you can't see is...

Her phenomenal stitching! You have to be up close and personal to see the detail!

Woolkeeper carries Horse and Buggy Country patterns and has kitted a few as well. 

Woolkeeper's website is here. 

Horse and Buggy Country also has an Etsy shop that you can find here.

I have one more post of my afternoon in Oswego and I'll share what came home with me...

Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!

~Luke 12:27-28

Blessings, Patti

~Woolkeeper ~ Part 1

 

Are you familiar with Woolkeeper?

Woolkeeper is a wool design company and a wool shop in Oswego, Illinois.

I've been wanting to go there for ages!

Last Saturday I finally did!

 

 

Kathleen Wall is Woolkeeper and a very kind and welcoming soul!

 

When you walk in the door you are greeted by her beautiful original designs!

 

I loved this fun monthly series and the wonderful stands made by a blacksmith.

Woolkeeper carries designs and kits by other designers as well, such as Jan Mott of Crane Designs and Wooly Lady.

She also carries a nice selection of punch needle.

 

Isn't this Woolkeeper design wonderful?! I love the use of color and patterned wool. It's a generous sized table runner with the same design at both ends, but I wanted you to see a close up.

 

I was so struck by this wonderful Winter design, that it took me a while to realize that it was part of a seasonal series of patterns:

 

Each one so pretty and unique!

 

 

Are you familiar with Eweniversity egg patterns?

Woolkeeper carries those too. 

 

 

Kathleen has offered classes for these in the past

and I am really hoping that she will offer them again.

My fingers are crossed ;)

 

Kathleen also has offered classes on penny rugs and variations on that theme.

 

I loved these flower examples and a wool kit for one of the flower pennies is included in my giveaway that is still going on now. You can read about it here.

 

There is more to come on Woolkeeper! Simply too much put in one post!

You can visit Woolkeeper's website here and her blog is here.

 

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life?

~Luke 12:24-25

 

Blessings, Patti

Northwoods, antiques and a little giveaway

 

We did some antiquing on our vacation this year.

( A rainy day and a really cold day helped.)

 

 

I loved this old barn and the treasures that it held.

 

Loved the collection of old bottles

 

and outboard motors

 

and license plates, too.

 

 

This old house sits at the top of a hill in the town of Spooner.

What a grand house it must have been back in the day...

 

Here are the treasures that came home with me.

(And yes, that is Peanut on the right.

He always needs to help when he sees that I am going to take a picture.)

 

I already have ideas for future creations with some of these items.

 

I loved the hexagon shaped sewing basket and the little treasures found inside - including an old hair pin, a Cracker Jack ring with a green heart shaped stone, a calendar reminder of Flag Day (the day we adopted our pups) with a USO flag pin and a Sunday School attendance pin.

Can you believe that the little sewing basket and its treasures was $1?!?

My mom, sister and I always used to say we can't pass up anything for a dollar! 

 

 

It was such a lovely vacation and I like to share that in some small way with you.

 So here is a little giveaway:

 

 

This giveaway is for a fat quarter of pretty butterfly fabric from the quilt show, a fat quarter of the Wisconsin shop hop fabric that I picked up at River's Edge, a little square of plaid wool from  Willow Wood Market, a spool and button hook picked up while antiquing and a little flower penny kit picked up at Woolkeeper - an adventure that I haven't shared yet ;)

Simply leave a comment on this post or send me an email to pgagliardi9@hotmail.com with "Giveaway" in the subject line. Since the most comments that I received from my vacation posts were about the pie in the first post, tell me... What is your favorite kind of pie???

I will pick a random winner on Wednesday, August 17th.

 

Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

~Luke 12:22-23

 

Blessings, Patti 

Hayward Piecemakers Quilt Show

We've been heading up to Hayward, Wisconsin for almost 20 summers now and I have never been there for their local quilt show! This year I was lucky enough to attend!

Such stunning and inspiring work!

So many different styles and colors!

I really loved this one especially after I read the card attached. 

"I started out cutting the first strips all wrong, but I made it work by cutting the remaining strips equally wrong."

And in the end it didn't matter, as it turned out stunning!!!

Love the cardinals in the birch trees!

This one was special too, as the card read,

"I wanted a quilt for my husband's birthday. Seeing that he is my best catch, I wanted a fish design."

So sweet!

This quilt started with some found antique quilt squares. 

The maker then searched out vintage fabrics to complete it.

Lovely results!

I loved how the local nursery supplied pretty flowers to set off the quilts.

This beautiful quilt was raffled off during the show.

I bought my tickets, but didn't win it.

There was also a nice merchant mall. 

Gail of River's Edge was there, but we were so busy chatting, that I forgot to take photos!

I was also thrilled to find a designer who was new to me:

Willow Wood Market

She had many of her own lovely designs as well as some from other designers.

A lot to take in...

And so many that I have never seen before.

I had such a hard time deciding what would go home with me...

Here were my choices:

This Yoko Saito book is fabulous!

Somehow I missed it during my day at River's Edge. I guess there was too much to see and take in. So I was thrilled to see it at Gail's booth at the show. It is expensive, but there are so many wonderful patterns that it is well worth the price. I highly recommend it for Birthday and Christmas lists :)

I was also excited to find these two antique shuttles for $3 at the guild boutique.

And from Willow Wood Market I bought three kits - two were Bonnie's original designs and one was for her take on a Wooden Spool Design. I loved the plaids and textures. Can't wait to get started!

Such a wonderful way to spend part of our final day of vacation. My husband was so sweet and said that he wanted to be sure that I didn't miss it, so he took me there before we headed to his final round of golf. Stopped at a Wisconsin Supper Club for a fish fry and headed out for a final kayak ride.

It was a perfect final day!

I'll have one more vacation post with a little giveaway... coming soon!

 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”

~Luke 10:27

Blessings, Patti

River's Edge Antiques & Quilt Loft

Last year I had the pleasure of visiting Gail Grassel and River's Edge Antiques & Quilt Loft

 (You can read about it here.)

This year I made sure that I had more time to visit so I wouldn't be rushed!

It was a great time to visit as Gail is hosting a trunk show of Crane Designs by Jan Mott!

Where to look first?! So beautiful and inspiring!

I would have loved to bring one of each home ;)

The detail on the four seasons scenes were unbelievable!

I thought that there was so much to see last year, and this year there is even more!

Some of the models are Jan's and some are Gail's, but every one is gorgeous!

And in addition to the wool - the quilts and fabrics are breathtaking as well.

Upstairs in the loft, there is even more.

Including a fabulous selection of Valdani.

I was so lucky to join in the fun with Gail's stitching group and got a sneak peek of Gail's wonderful and generous free wool applique block of the month for August. 

These patterns are free for the given month here or at the Facebook Group "Wool Applique" - if you are a wool lover you will want to join :) 

(Previous months are available for purchase.)

Thank you Gail for such a fun afternoon!

Gail's website can be found here and her Facebook page is here.

And what did I purchase?

Here are my treasures!

I'm thinking that Crane Design's "Faith" will be perfect for Easter!

And look at these sweet fabrics from this year's Wisconsin Shop Hop!

Progress was made on my vacation project at the Stitch In - in between the shopping lol! :)

Next, I'll share the quilt show 

and after that there might be a little giveaway... :)

"You are my refuge and my shield;

    I have put my hope in your word."

~Psalm 119:114

Blessings, Patti