A whole week of hooking

My annual trip to the Southern McGown Teacher Training started with a two day drive down to Ripley, West Virginia, loaded with the supplies for both Jennifer and I to teach classes. Jennifer was teaching the juniors dying class, unpaid, as the Mcgown teachers philosophy is to give back and teach each other for free. I was doing the teaching required for my accreditation.
I was lucky and taught on the Monday, so I could relax and enjoy the rest of the week. My class went well, I passed, and actually enjoyed it once I had got over the "stage fright" I had experienced all the previous week.
Tuesday we had classes that focused on the colour wheel and the variety of colour plans available. I took the course offered by Claudia Hester Lampley, another senior working towards her accreditation.

Claudia bought plenty of resources,

some luscious dyed wool,

 we painted our own colour wheel and with wool in hand created a living colour wheel and experimented stepping in and out of the human circle to create different colour plans (complimentary, split complimentary etc etc) in a colour version of country dancing.

In the afternoon, while we hooked, Claudia demonstrated the Woolly Mason Jar technique of creating dyes for a colour wheel.

Wednesday I was happy to be able to get into Steve Naftel's class on "Jack in the Green".

According to Steve, Jack is a character from MayDay parades in the UK where participants, usually chimney sweeps for some reason, dressed as trees. Steve had us start with the leaves to get us into the hooking before starting on the, more difficult, face.

He had dyed 3 different dip dyes for the close, middle and far leaves.

In the afternoon we started on the face. Steve's version was a more realistic old man rather than the mask like face on the pattern.

The opportunity to hook a face was the reason I wanted this class and Steve provided instruction and resources to help. I was going for a more androgynous look and younger. It didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned it but I was happy it still looked like a face. The lips were the hardest part and I'm still not sure about the nostrils.

After that intense concentration on Wednesday it was a relief, on Thursday, to work on this whimsical piece.

Melissa Pattacini, who taught the class, had used a variety of techniques to create the sheep. This one used quillies,

this one, buttons and

this one, a fancy stitch pattern from Ingrid Heronimous's book. She also used parachute cord (the vine) and silver fabric (stars) in the piece.

So many buttons .... I just couldn't resist ......

so one of mine is covered with buttons and the other is hooked with quilt batting.

We drove home on Friday and I unpacked, packed and was up to Apps for the J.J. Ruggers Retreat on Saturday morning. I worked on my "Tree Spirit" (Jack in the Green renamed) with the other "fifiers".

Cheryl Krug-Wiltse taught her "Rug on a Rug",

so called because she hooks the rectangles as if they are rugs lying on top of each other.

She helped everyone design and colour plan their own version.

In the other room Susan Clarke bought some magnificent rugs to help her teach how to hook animals.

With a photograph as a guide, Pam was hooking a moose.

As always it was a great weekend of learning, hooking, catching up with friends, snacking and eating (with the addition this year of Cindy's fabulous desserts).