Follow the Leader

Also known as 'copy cat'.  Jo Wick posted her dyeing talents on Facebook recently.  It has been years since I dyed using black walnuts so thought it was about time for another.  The nuts are falling now and will soon be rotten or crushed by cars driving thru the development.  Yesterday's gathering provided me with 30 green/brown walnuts.

Above is the wool I started with and almost forgot to take a picture as the wool was being pushed in the pot to soak.  But at the last minute added another small piece of wool which you will see further down.  There was a little over 1 1/2 yards of wool in the pot soaking. 

 I put all 30 whole nuts in a pot of water and simmered.  As dinner time approached decided not to dye then but rather let the pot cool down overnight with the nuts soaking to extract more dye.

Above is what I woke up to and after breakfast took the pot outside to remove the nuts and strain the liquid (below).

There is no  need for a mordant with black walnuts as it will dye EVERYTHING.  I rinsed the wool numerous times until the squeezed wool water came out clear.  Then put the wet wool in my washer to spin out whatever moisture remained.   

Today's results are hanging on the line but tho dry still put them in the dryer with two fluffy towels (used only for wool projects) to fluff up on low. 

I'm not a pink person so have no idea why I purchased that pink wool above.  That is unless it was on sale for $5 per yard and thought I'd find a use for it.  I like the new look better.

Above is a before and after walnut dyeing today.  And yes.......

I also overdyed another piece of that wool using Old Patina.  Above and bottom is the result of the Old Patina recipe so there is just a smidgen of difference.

 Another before and after above.  I liked the pastel yellow/blue plaid thinking it would make a nice soft background and purchased 2 yards.  Just wanted to see how it would turn out with walnut dye.

Above on the left above was dyed with Old Patina and the one on the right from today's walnut dye.  Just a little difference.

That last minute added piece to the pot was the piece of wool on the right.  That piece on the left is the same wool but was from the Old Patina recipe posted on my BLOG.  The reason it is darker is because I was unhappy with the first Old Patina dye job so was dyed twice...thus  it is darker.  But I'm happy with the mellow color of today's walnut dye to the wool on the right so it won't go in a pot later.

 Above left is another 'bargain' just too good to pass up.  But never used it unless it was overdyed ~ too much white showing.  Even after today's walnut dye don't like that light showing thru so would use the darker side.

So the totality of my walnut dyeing for today is above.  OMG, I've still walnut dye in the pot so hopefully I'll get around to using it up soon before it goes bad.  Or perhaps I should freeze some to dab on rugs when hooking and they just need that little bit of ....dirty....for that olden look.

Take advantage of the black walnuts while they are falling.  Happy Sunday and happy hooking.  Weather is about to change.

Saundra

More Old Patina

There was more dye solution left in my small jar (6 tablespoons) so decided to use it up in a pot of water with a tad over 1 yard of wool.  

Above, bottom right are two pieces which had previously been dyed with Old Patina but they weren't to my liking so thought another round of dye might do the trick.

While the above wool was already soaking I decided to add a little more which were parts of a woman's pleated skirt (below).

 The results are below.

For a better comparison below you can see the original plaid and the newly dyed plaid.  Maybe I'll use this wool now.  Seems to me this was part of the many various yards of wool purchased one year at Barb Carroll's when selling wool for $5 per yard.

And below for comparison is the small dyed piece which came from a pastel plaid purchased from Betsy Reed a couple years ago.  Since I don't use much pastel think more of it might make its way into a dye pot as well.

HOWEVER.......look at how it hooks up in the rug below hooked by Bonnie at camp with Barb Carroll in 2010.  The flowers at the top were hooked randomly and think sections of the wool was also used for the leaves on the sides and bottom.  Barb even brought us to her table to show us how it can be used.

So see..... every piece of wool has a happy ending.  Happy Monday everyone.

Saundra

On Your Mark..... Get Ready.....

With one rug bound have started binding the sheep. But I'm really wanting to hook as I've not pulled a loop in days.  Think this is the longest I've gone without hooking.  

Have decided to hook both of these horse mats and put them both on the same linen to conserve linen.  But there is enough between them to have fold back foundation for binding.  As you can see I've sewn some fabric to the top and bottom to be sure there is ample room for the grippers.  The sides are fine.

Will hook the bottom horse first and wanted a dirty background like the original.  So back to my worms and pulled out the mixed whites and since the original antique rug has some red, green and dark colors in the background mixed a few of those in too.  

 Next they are put in an onion bag with the end closed, then went into a dye pot after soaking.  This is a cool way to overdye worms without them getting tangled.  And for drying I have a dryer that has a shelf which can be inserted so the shelf stays stationery yet the tumbler rotates to circulate heat.

I'm using the Old Patina dye recipe which is:

Olde Patina

1/2 t. Khaki Drab (Cushings)

1/8 + 1/16 Golden Brown (Cushings)

1/8 Old Gold  (Cushings)

1/16 t. Dark Gray (Cushings)

1/64 t. Wood Rose (Cushings)

I mixed up the batch in 1 CBW but only used 2 tablespoons of the dye solution in the pot.  The rest I put in a small jar and labeled it to be used when I want something old and dirty for an antique adaptation.

Here is the result of that dye job.  If you recall this recipe was used to dye over worms once before and I had a few left.

The previous dye leftovers are on top and the new batch is below.  They are all mixed in together now.  Funny how the color changed; the top photo looks really yellow but not so in person.

There won't be much progress to show tomorrow as I'm just now getting ready to start on the horse.  So if you have any questions or something you'd like for me to write about tomorrow, leave me a comment.

Hope you have a great evening.

Saundra

Misc. Rug Hooking Chit Chat & Tornado

The last couple days hooking Early Farm Scene realized I was critically close to the end of Old Patina dyed wool.  Luckily there was more solution left so grabbed approximately one yard of cream, white and wheat wool to over-dye.  It is in the dryer now and only hope there will be something to use for the rest of the background.  Since weave and wool content varies it is always a surprise when dyeing.

This is what Early Farm Scene looks like now.  Looking closely you will see a color and slight value difference in background on the left between the tree and black sheep.  That was in the original antique so was able to use some of my olde patina wool from previous dye lots to get that look.

This is the original antique.

The linen I'm hooking on was purchased on ebay for a good price and is not drawn to scale.  Seemed like a great deal on linen (and it was) but now realize if I'm crazy about hooking an adaptation then I should draw it out myself.

Some things I want to change, which was not the fault of the purchased pattern, is pulling out the purple in the top motif (is that a sun or crop area?).  That purple needs to be red.  Also my Cross is unevenly hooked so that must be fixed.  The reset I can deal with.

Now to the tornado. Here in Delaware we get snow storms, hail, flooding, hurricanes, had a couple mild earthquakes and sometimes tornado warnings.  Of all those things it is tornadoes which scare me to death.  

When living in California was terrified of the earthquakes because they had more magnitude than encountered in Maryland and Delaware.  

During the wee hours this morning there was an EF2 tornado touched down between my town of Seaford and neighboring town of Laurel.  On the news it was reported to be about 50 yards wide and the wake of damage traveled 6.2 miles, you can see some pictures by clicking HERE. 

After enduring the two trees blown down with just straight winds last March 2, 2018 this would have been very scary if I'd had my iPad in the bedroom when the warning was announced.

My new Olde Patina dyed wool is in the dryer and hope there is something which will work for the remainder of the background.  But, if not, I'll do what was done before....use what I have.

Saundra

OLDE PATINA DYEING

I have dyed with walnuts, onion skins but this is my favorite recipe to dirty up some bright, white or other colors for that antique look.  I did three pots with different amounts of dye in each pot and didn't stir much as I wanted a mottled look.  Some dye colors absorb faster than others that is why you will see the variance in colors in the wool results.

On the far left 1/2 yard was dyed in a pot using 2 tablespoons of dye, the before at the top, which is obvious.  Will provide the recipe further down in the post.  Seemed a little too dark but will be used in a future rug.

Next pot I only used 1 Tbls. for the 1/2 yard in the middle ~ the top wool is the before, the one just under that is the result from that pot.  The 3rd piece of wool just under was in the third pot along with that wool to the right.  Not sure of amount of wool as I didn't measure it but was less than 1/2 yard so I used a tad less than 1 Tbls. dye.

If you search "Olde Patina dye Recipe" in the box at the top left of  my blog you will see previous dye jobs using this recipe which is in the Beautiful Wool dye book by Laurice Heath.  Here is the recipe:

OLDE PATINA

1/2 t. Khaki Drab (Cushing)

1/8 t. Cushing Old Gold

1/8 + 1/16 Golden Brown Cushing

1/16 t. Dark Gray Cushing

1/64 t. Wood Rose Cushing

pour in 1 cup boiling water and stir.  From that cup I used tablespoons for the dyeing.  FYI, I have dye spoons which includes a 1/64 t. measure.

If you want to see another topic covered in a blog post like antique rugs, Cape May rug camp, etc.  just type the specific word in the box and you will see some old posts regarding the subject.

GOD BLESS AMERICA.

Designed and hooked by Polly Minick

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Back to the Dye Pots

Decided to do a little more dyeing before putting all the supplies away.  Since there was more liquid left of Old Patina recipe thought I'd do more of the uglies.  Actually that white and tan plaid is not ugly, but wanted it toned down to look aged.  So did two pots with different amounts of dye in the pots for different results.

These 4 pieces are the before wool shown on the left (below).

The other 3 pieces on the right you've seen in other photos and is the after dyeing.  Sheesh, I could have put them in the same order, duh,  lol.

Also decided to use up some left over Soldier Blue from the Beautiful Wool dye book, which really looks like a periwinkle.  Wasn't sure what I'd end up with but as it turns out I like it.   On the left is the wool I started with and the right side are the results.  I particularly like the bottom wool results and don't know what I was thinking when buying that one either.

Thankfully there's more of the Soldier Blue dye left so will plan for another dye day.  Probably this weekend since there is going to be MORE RAIN.   Speaking of rain ... the local news said there was already 4-5" of rain this week and yet we'll get more this weekend.

Next time I decide to get the pots out I should plan for the event rather than grabbing wool at the last second and not letting the wool soak long enough.  But won't bore you with this weekend's results.  Am hoping to do an update of Star and Hearts rug.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

HOOK'N STUFF

Last year I attended 3 rug camps ~ Maryland Shores in April, Delmarva Workshop in November, both of which are held at same venue in Ocean City, MD and organized by the same people.  Difference is the April classes started out as McGowan patterns only camp and since primitive and wide cut became popular the Delmarva Workshop was born.  Then September I attended Rugs by the Sea camp in Cape May, NJ.

This year, the only camp I signed up for was Cape May.  But would attend only if I got my one teacher choice... Lucille Festa.  Since the camp has been reduced to only one week was certain I wouldn't get her, thus no stress on choosing a pattern, selecting wool, packing suitcases, loading, yada yada.  

Well guess what; I got her.  So appears that, God willing, I'll be headed to Cape May again this September.  So I've started picking antique rug ideas and right now have two to choose from.  Nope, not gonna show you yet because I'm fickle and just might change my mind.  After all Cape May is still 6 months away.

This morning I put half yard of mixed wool pieces to soak and decided to use a new recipe.  

Was looking for a dirty brown color and what I ended up with was nothing like that.  Thankfully it is pleasing to my eye but not what was expected.  This first photo was taken rather close up and is lighter than it appears in person.

I stepped away and took another photo and this appears darker than in person.  

I have another half yard of wool soaking and tomorrow will use my faithful Old Patina recipe to get more of what I was looking for.  So much for my trying a different dye recipe for something new.

Whatever was I thinking when purchasing that top wool???  However, the other 3 pieces of wool were also in the pot dyed today, those would be the top 3 in the photo above.  

Had planned to also post a photo of my accomplishments on Star and Hearts rug but have been fighting with my computer's USB ports, my printer all of a sudden doesn't want to play nice and still haven't figured out that problem.  Will fight with that issue again tomorrow.

Not even checking my spelling as it is past my bedtime already but wanted to get this post done. 

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

HOMEWORK

In other words, I'm in search of 'the next one'.  As you know I've become unenamoured with my current projects.  So went perusing my favorite sites, my flash drives and also the Magdalena booklet to see what rugs I haven't hooked yet.  There are a couple Magdalena's I haven't yet hooked but passed them by this time.

This is just the auditioning of rugs because maybe tomorrow none of these will float my boat ~ that fickle factor ya know.

I've probably posted this Cottage with apple tree, birds, horse and chicken rug previously.  It  measures 30 x 42 but I wouldn't draw mine that big, said to be circa 1920.

Oh nice!!!!!!  Given the name Wyeth Rose by the auction house, makes  me wonder if one of the Wyeth artists owned it at one time.  The dimensions of the rug are 34.5 x 62.5 and hooked late 19th century.  It would be fun using my 'old patina' overdyed wool and color worms to work this one for sure.

Still stuck in my head from a previous post, is this rug hooked late 19th/early 20th century.  While the original antique measures 32 x 52.5 if I choose this one mine won't be drawn that big.

Oh, and this Deer hooked late 19th /early 20th century is still on that list too.  

For some reason this geometric with horses also appeals to me.  Perhaps the colors?

Unfortunately I've not exhausted my vault of antique rugs so haven't made a decision.  Therefore will trudge along on pulling loops, sewing labels or whatever it takes to make this humdrum feeling pass.

                         

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Antique Rug Show

Saw this rug on an auction site yesterday and it is perfect for the month of October.  A Scarecrow, pumpkins, cornstalks, etc.  Said to  have been hooked early 20th century.  Measures 35 x 68.

This is the back corner of the rug so it was well used and appreciated.

Also documented as a scarce Grenfell Labrador Industries hooked face doll.  I didn't realize Grenfell Industries also made dolls.  The doll is 18" tall.  

Take a good look at the detailed background around the Cat and Dog.  It is intriguing but not sure I'd like hooking that tedious detail.  Sharon Smith's rugs have very interesting backgrounds too and admire her attention to detail but don't think I'd have the patience.

This primitive rug depicting small houses compared to the big flower pot is on my 'to do' list one day.  Looks like before I start it will require some Old Patina and/or black walnut wool dying.

Another early rug is the oval in a rectangle rug with penny circles surrounded by primitive scrolls.  Rug measures 24 x 41.

Native American rural scene measures 18 x 36 from Connecticut.

The auction house named this as ' a Boy in a silk hat'.  It looks more like a train conductor or some such worker.  Has tongues at the top but no photo of what is on the bottom.

They did provide a close up of the top portion of the rug.

Black Horses with hit and miss border said was hooked around 1930.

Folk Art Farm House and animals was hooked circa 1930-40.  EH was the hooker and used tapestry wool yarn..

There are still some rug patterns for sale HERE.  They will be listed on ebay this Saturday.

Saundra