What's New for 2016

This may be the longest gap in blog posting this page has seen in a couple of years, but I've been crazy busy in spite of the blog's dormancy. December had Jen and I feverishly hooking and sewing pillows for holiday orders of our exclusive Beekman 1802 collection, and here in Maine I was in need of several clones to help with the Etsy orders, the studio requests, and most importantly, preparing for a holiday with all of my family at home. As my sons and other precious family members continue to leave to go back to work and college, I confess that I am terribly behind in my work life. Unlike last year this time, however, I'm A-OK with that. Don't get me wrong. I am extremely committed to Parris House Wool Works and to everyone involved with it, from our Tuesday group to our on line customers to my students, mentors, suppliers, teaching venues, teachers...everyone. And that will never change. But about three days in to this two week hiatus, after I had shipped the final Beekman pillows before Christmas, something became very clear to me: everyone needs to take a complete break sometimes. (Yes, yes I am a slow learner...). Having said that, the break is over, 2016 is upon us, and new adventures are in the offing. So what's on the agenda for 2016? Teaching Opportunities/Class Offerings

• This year I will be returning to the Squam Art Workshops for the Spring 2016 session. I could not be more excited! What is completely new this year is that in addition to teaching my beginner class, Modern Heirloom, I am teaching the next level class, Hook What You Love. Maybe some of you are a little weary of my gushing about Squam, but I can't help myself. I love, love, love this venue and everyone involved in it. I highly recommend it to students. It will change your life.

• Through my connection to Squam, I was introduced to Amy Stein, fantabulous founder of Craftwork Somerville just outside of Boston. I love what Amy has created at Craftwork Somerville, a complete maker and learning center for art, craft, and more. This is the wave of the creative future, providing a space where everyone can embrace and develop themselves as creative people, whether that has been their primary focus in life or not. And that makes for such an exciting teaching venue! I will be teaching The Art of Hooking there in March for the first time and am looking forward to the experience and the chance to get down to the Boston area again.

• I will continue to offer classes and workshops through the Maine studio. Please look at (and check back often to) our Classes & Workshops page on the site. The next one coming up is the Beginner Dye Class. There are only spaces for four students and at least one or two are already spoken for, so please sign up early. What is new is that I will be using Eventbrite for class sign ups from here on out (unless you are physically in the studio when you sign up), to make for a consistent sign up experience. You can go to Eventbrite to find our offerings by clicking on the new widget on the right column of our website.

• Beginner Rug Hooking will continue quarterly, but truly, if anyone would like that class at any time it is readily available by appointment as well.

• A new workshop, Yes You Are & Yes You Can, is in the making, and I will announce the date for it as soon as I have it more organized. This workshop came about because I think I have heard, "I am just not talented" and "I really can't even draw a stick figure" about a hundred times each. Well, yes you are talented and yes you can draw something worth hooking and I'm going to show you how. Stay tuned.

• I hope to also continue teaching both rug hooking and soap making at the Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village. Stay tuned for dates.

• I will also continue to seek out the very best and most dynamic guest teachers for the Maine studio, so please stay tuned for new offerings. You may recall that last year we had Mary Delano come to teach a wonderful class on wool applique and Connie Fletcher of Seven Gables Rug Hooking came to teach Me, Myself, & I, which everyone thoroughly loved. More to come!

Shows & Events

• I will be returning to the Sharon Springs Harvest Festival in the fall. What a wonderful experience that is. A quick search of our blog archives will give you more information on this amazing festival in upstate New York founded by the Fabulous Beekman Boys/Beekman 1802 and their fellow business and community members in Sharon Springs.

• I am very excited to announce that I will be involved this year with the Home Garden Flower Show's May Fair at the Fryeburg Fair Grounds in Fryeburg, Maine. This is a huge event, drawing 10,000 visitors or more, in May and I am thrilled to be a part of it. Details to come.

• I plan to make at least one, possibly two, quality pieces to submit to Hooked in the Mountains 2016, sponsored by the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild this October in Essex Junction, VT. This will be the first time I have submitted work for show and I am both excited and nervous about the prospect. If you have never experienced Hooked in the Mountains, now is the time to go. Hundreds of rugs are on display, the variety of which is mind boggling, and there are wonderful vendors from all over the country. Not to be missed.

• Mark your calendars for November 5th, 2016 for our Fourth Annual Paris Hill Hook In. I will have registration materials up for that in a month or so. Remember also that this will be the scene of our drawing for our Maine Medical Center Kidney Transplant Family Assistance Program raffle rug.

• Once again I hope to be vending at some of our local hook ins, including The Keeping Room's Harvest Hook In in the fall in Hampden, Maine and Hooked Treasure's Spring Fever Hook In in Brunswick, Maine.

New Ways to Shop

• This has been in the works for a while with unforeseen circumstances causing a little delay, but very soon you will be able to shop Parris House Wool Works not only on Etsy, but on our own website via our Shopify plug in and on Amazon Handmade. I will announce when these shops are up and running.

Miscellaneous Happenings

• Look for something special from Parris House Wool Works in the 2016 November/December issue of Rug Hooking Magazine. :)

• We are going to try to get both a live/in person and on line book group off the ground called Hooks & Books either this month or next. The first book we're going to read is Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Stay tuned for more information and if you are interested in joining us you might want to order the book now!

• I plan to create a decor and herbal pillow line for our own shops much as we have created one for Beekman 1802. The Beekman 1802 line reflects Josh & Brent's style and brand, which we adore. The Parris House Wool Works line will reflect our own, which is a bit different.

You may have noticed that there's a decided shift in focus toward teaching, events, and finished pieces. This is not accidental. While we will continue to offer the very best quality supplies and materials for our craft, I have discovered that my passion is firmly in the realm of spreading this craft far and wide to new students, followed by actually making pretty and unique things. Success only comes with passion, and while there doesn't seem to be a cookie cutter road map for some of my 2016 goals, I find both the opportunity and unpredictability welcome. That's enough about us! We would love to hear what your plans, goals, and dreams are for the new year, so please feel free to comment here or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest! (Our YouTube channel is still a work in process...) Happy hooking and the happiest of New Years to you! - Beth

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