Vintage Heart's One Year Anniversary

I have told this story before but many of you do not know it. A couple of years ago, for our 25th wedding anniversary my husband surprised me with 365 pounds of wool! It started with an E-bay auction. I spotted an auction for a closet of wool- textures, solids, hand-dyeds- it was all there. A lady in Missouri who had injured her hand and could no longer hook was auctioning off her wool collection. There was one catch- it was a 'pick up' only! I am in Idaho. I considered driving to get it...for about a minute....but I did, indeed, lose a lot of sleep thinking how that that wool would help me make my dream come true- a home business. No sleep for me as I thought on all I could do with those precious pieces that had collected by a sweet older lady in Missouri.
 The morning of the auction it still did not have one single bid. The starting price was $500. Before I left that day, a mysterious bidder appeared. In a jealous exitement, I wondered who she was. Lucky! Lucky! Lucky! Where was she going to put it all? What were her plans for it? I wondered if a group of friends had bid together.
 Oh well, it was a nice thought.
 That evening as my husband and I sat and talked over the days events, I mentioned that that wool had sold. He tried very hard to play innocent. "What wool is that? Are you talking about that piece you were looking at last night?"

Twenty five years of marriage.

I knew that look in his eye!

"You bought it! No, Neil! I am serious! You bought it!!"

"Happy Anniversary," was all he said.

He had arranged with the shipping and receiving department at work to send UPS to the home of the 'retired' rug hooker to pick up 16 large boxes weighing in at 365 pounds of every color, and texture that I could imagine. While we waiting for it's arrival, he built me floor to ceiling shelves in our bedroom. 

So this rug you see, was the first design I came up with when I received my wool. The purples in the lavender sprigs- I was in purple heaven. The reds. The little blue bird. I used a chocolaty background that today I order as 'Espresso' from Double M Sheep and Wool. It's my staple color.

So this particular design is very dear to me as it signifies a starting point to me- the first design. As the months went by and I had other rugs on Ebay, I kept getting asked if I would offer patterns. Never crossed my mind. Eventually during the year, I drew out 'The Woolery' in a pattern and my very first pattern sale happened one year ago, January 26.  In April, Primitive Quilts will be putting out their Summer issue which one of my designs will be featured in. This all started with a 'a few boxes' of wool. 

Neil's name proposal to go with the wool.