Winter Woolen Workshop

Remember that Saturday Night Live skit by Hanz and Franz.....

"We want to Pump.....you up!"  

 

Well that's how I feel every year when I attend the Winter Woolen Workshop. 

I get all pumped up, excited, and a bit overwhelmed by everything I see, learn, and want to make.

I do believe for as long as I've been blogging, I've been telling you about the Winter Woolen Workshop.  It takes place in two mansions in Kokomo, IN, that are right next door to each other.  They are The Seiberling Mansion and The Elliot House.  

It's always in February.  

And it was yesterday and today (Sunday).   

You missed yesterday, but there is plenty of time to attend today.  Sunday 11-5. 

There is a $15 admission fee.

Here are a few pics I took yesterday.  I kept walking around with my camera, but I kept getting side-tracked and forgetting to take pictures! 

So here I am showing a young lady how to spin.  She loved it!

 There are a lot of demonstrations going on at the Seiberling Mansion.

If you want to learn to quilt, knit, rug hook, bead, embroider, etc, Etc., ETC!....

Click "HERE" to see more details....

I want to show you some pictures of the stuff for sale.

Lots and lots of wool.  This is only one of several booths of wool.  

It's great for rug hooking, rug punch, applique, and sewing.

 Ephemera items, journals, cards, tags, scrapbooking items, bags,

and other fun primitives.  I love the crow!

There is a booth full of yarn, knitting needles, yarn bags, 

and other booths with yarn bowls, and 

rovings.

 Fancy roving, which I think I'll be spinning into thread for embellishing....

 Plus roving for spinning.  Tons and Tons of roving.

 And we got your stitchers...dressmakers....bag makers....

 (see that grayish colored apron to the right.  I bought it right off the mannequin)

 basket makers

and soap makers.

 Here are a few of the rug hooked items.  Some are for sale and some are display only, but the patterns are for sale.

 If I were a rug hooker, I'd make this owl and bunny (only in brown).  But I'm not.  (I made a coaster once - teehee)

 And this is the very photogenic granny bee holding up her beeskep pattern she drew herself!

 This is also another pattern I was drooling over.  Keep in mind, they tell me, you can use an Oxford Rug Punch on these patterns too. 

 One of many booths of rug hook/punch patterns for sale.

 Patti!  What are you doing in this picture!??!!!  She's shopping of course!

 Wool and alpaca socks, mittens, scarves, and stuffed animals for sale

 If you need a supply, a tool, an embellishment.....

 Get it here!  This is one stop shopping for hand made stuff.

 And I forgot to mention painting.  Yes we have a painter amongst us as well.

 If you click on The Granny Bee's page, you will also see that there are classes you can take at this event.  Most of them require pre-registration.  However, I heard one of the teachers tell someone yesterday that she had an extra "kit" and she'd let her take the class even though she didn't pre-register.  So there is a chance you can still take a class.

Now, let me show you my purchases.   (I don't have time to flip this pic!)  I have to get ready to go!
Lots of patterns.  Yes I bought them all!  Well, they were on clearance!

 a piece of over-dyed velvet material, over-dyed silk threads, over-dyed osnaburg (that you can punch needle in, and I do know how to do that!)

 How to books...

This is a journal.  I love the fabric they covered it in.  The lady told me that a friend of hers bought an old rug.  The friend took the rug apart, unrolled all of the fabric, stitched it all together and made a big sheet of fabric and gave it to her.  (her as in the lady with the booth)  She covered this journal with the fabric and no  I didn't need a journal, I just love these colors.

 The paper looks old.

 Rolags...to spin....into thread or yarn.

 Linen apron style dress thingy.  (I'm wearing it today!)

 I don't believe this (below) was hand-made (has a made in china mark on the back of it) but it looks handmade.  Either way, it was not expensive and I bought it.  I'm thinking table runner, pillow, or folding it in half and making a bag.  I love the colors.

All of the stuff I bought came to right under $100.00.  There are some good deals to be had, and the best part...lots of women having fun and laughing (alot) and sharing ideas!

Come by and get pumped up for hand made!

See you there!

Cindy Bee

I'm excited!

Sooo....On December 29, my Vintage Farmhouse friend, Nicki, sent me a text.

She was so excited she was dancing in the parking lot at Burger King. 

 She sent me a picture of a camper that she had just bought.  The weather was horrible and they had a rough time getting it home.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, while she was at a market with her wares, in another state, she texted me her landlord said the camper has to go.
But wait...... things seemed to be working out.  Landlord was apologetic.
Then... last week on facebook Nicki posted that the landlord changed her mind.  WHAT!?!  We were all in a rage.  Beth told me to text her and tell her to buy my old house and move up here!  I did.  We were serious!

Now let's talk about me!
At the beginning of this year, when I made some resolutions (I always do),  one of them was to set up at a couple of markets.
And lately, I've been fretting a bit about all of this stuff I have. Some of it is no longer my style, I'm feeling overwhelmed instead of inspired, but the main thing is we are living in one room in the basement.  And this basement is full and we've started filling up the upstairs.  We thought we could move everything from a house with an upstairs, a main level, and a basement, into just a basement.  No can do peeps!   And My Shug cannot build the rest of this house with stuff in the way.  So, I've been talking about markets with a few of my friends.

Last Wednesday evening when I went to the Granny Bee (stitchery group) meeting, we were talking about the Vintage Farmhouse situation.  Funny how bloggers become friends and you think about them outside of just blogging.  

Two of the GB's kept saying....Cindy, that camper would be perfect for you. Through this entire situation, not once did I think about buying that camper for myself.  Who knows why.  I've talked about getting a camper since we bought this land.  I've even looked for one.

   "Think about it", Beth said..."your nieces would LOVE it."  And I said, "I could sell honey from it!  And maybe set up a couple of markets in my own back yard!"  Marilyn said, "I'd buy it if I had a job!" But then I said, "My Shug will never go for it.  The last thing we need is one more thing to do." As we're talking, I'm sitting in the meeting, secretly texting Nicki questions about the camper.  

But now is not the time.  And that's probably the reason I didn't think of it.

I came home that evening and my Shug and I talked for two hours.   It was so nice...like the good old days before clearing land, building a house, and his sucky work hours.  He is exhausted all the time now.  And to my surprise he said, "have her send you pictures."  I could hardly fall asleep.  I was so excited.  So the next morning, after waiting patiently for an appropriate time, I sent her a text requesting pics.

 My Shug had taken the day off of work, for a couple of appointments, then we were going to work on our house in town.

  After he saw the pics he said if I could find a way to haul it here, I could have it!  

WHAT!?!?!!!  I was standing there staring at him in shock. 

 I was afraid to be happy!  

So I texted her again.  "If I pay full price, could you haul it here?"  Yup!  

I was still afraid to be happy.  

Can we come and see it today?  Yup! 

I was still afraid to be happy!

It really was the last thing I needed to be doing that day.  I had a market to get ready for (set up was the next day) Nicki was in the same market (winter woolen workshop), and her and I both had other stuff going on in our lives. Big stuff.  My Shug found out that he had to have a stress test on Monday.  One hour at a time....my motto this year....one hour at a time.

 So after my Shug's appointment, and after we quickly unloaded the groceries, my Shug, my Dixie Doodle, and I took off to see a camper,

 an hour and a half away.  (I had some stuff in the car already for the Winter Woolen Workshop)

We even had a secret little pact that if he felt like it was too much, he would just say, "it's really too much for us right now".  So I was still afraid to get excited!  But he didn't say so!  He said, "it's fixable, if you want it!"

 

I paid half down, she said they'd deliver it Sunday.   Now let me add here, that all of this time I was feeling a bit bittersweet about the whole thing.  And I apologized to her to the point that she told me to stop apologizing.  I had encouraged her to get this camper from the the beginning.  Back when we were buying dress forms, and she was selling dress forms, and the money was going to be used for the camper.  I had no intentions of ever owning it.  Ever.  I even told her she was one of the most determined people I know, and things will work out.  She told me that she will be sad, but she felt like it was a win/win.  She still gets to visit the camper.  

(Marilyn, Grandma Pedens Porch, and I went together on a booth at the Winter Woolen Workshop)

Friday came and I set up at the Winter Woolen Workshop. 

Saturday came and I sold stuff!  I was excited.  

And more than anything, I was having a blast visiting with people I knew, and haven't seen for awhile.

Sunday Morning came....

and so did the camper!

I was REALLY excited.  I hadn't even seen it in the daylight. 

My Shug asked me if I was excited and I said, "like a kid at an amusement park!"

She dropped it off and we both left because we had to get to the Winter Woolen Workshop.

At the Winter Woolen Workshop some of us were trying to think of a name for her. 

 I kind of wanted it to be names of flowers or herbs.  

 Blossom

Petunia

Lily

Iris

Sprout

Dandelion

HollyHawk (we have a hawk that lives in the woods on our land)

Betty Bee

Chicken Little

The name we ended up with is Coral Belle.  

Thing is...she isn't Coral, 

but Blue Belle just doesn't have the same zing.  

And Belle, instead of bell, because she is the Belle of the ball (land).

What do you think....Coral Belle?  

Coral Belle Camper on Hilltop Farm.

And guess what? Now... I am jumping up and down with excitement!  

When we finish her, she will reside on the edge of the bee yard.  

I'm going to have an open house, 

and markets, 

and sell honey, 

and of course, 

my nieces will love her!

But first, we need to fix her up. 

 When Nicki was texting me the stuff wrong with her,

 I said, "I ain't afraid to seal windows,

 or paint, (she's been primed)

 or of that ceiling.  I'm helping build a house,

 I can fix up a camper!

Cindy Bee

PS.  My Shug had to have a heart cath Monday.  You can imagine how we felt. I kept thinking of Kristi.  My Shug apparently failed the stress test.  I spent Monday at the hospital.  The entire day.  With no yarn, no magazines, no books. It wasn't our plan.  Praise God my Shug did not have any blockages.  His heart is healthy, which is good to know.  But he is stressed, and he is 55 acting like he's 28!  We are done with time deadlines. One of my resolutions was to get the house on the market by March 1.  We are still pushing to have it for sale in March....sometime.  There are more important things in life than time deadlines.  AND  We are post-poning the moving sale until the following weekend.