BEFORE and AFTER

Actually there are a couple 'befores' and a couple 'afters'.  Get a cup-o-java or tea as this might be a rather long post about tweaking a rug.  Guess I should start from the very beginning.

A friend gave me a pattern (Golden in the Garden) by Nola Heidbreder so went in search of a hooked example on her web site.

The very first tweaking was turning the Golden into Rottweiler to represent my boy Ben.  Here is the before.

This is the after.  I hooked Ben's facsimile at home before rug camp.  My teacher was someone I'd had classes with before and wanted to concentrate on a more primitive background and flowers vs. the screaming color of the original which is not my color palate. 

Even after hooking Ben I tweaked his head and muzzle a little more. Below is the way the rug looked upon finishing it in 2018.  Yet a couple of those bland colored flowers just didn't suit me.  True they weren't vivid but lacked interest in my opinion.

So yesterday it was finally time for me to do something, anything to add a tad of interest to those bland flowers without have a total makeover.  And this is the new 'after'.  This I can live with.  All I did was outline some flowers and fill in the center of others.

Just look at the variance in photos.  The last photo was taken without a flash on my back porch and has more true colors of the background.  The one above was with a flash and makes the background look yellow.  The background is Irish Eyes which was a favorite background color that Betsy used to sell.

So there you have it, another tweak job by me.  Happy Friday and now I can continue working on Heart Butter Mold and hope it will be done in time for Valentine month.

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Update on the Heart Butter Mold

Still not done hooking Heart Butter Mold by Primitive Heartstrings but getting closer.  Hope it will be done before February to enjoy for Valentines Day.  

Drew mine out measuring 15.5 x 17.5 as I was hoping for it to be a quick finish with no narrow cuts.  Ends up the squiggly lines are hooked in #6 (not my fav) and so far the leaves are mostly #8 and #8.5 with a few #7 thrown in.

If you look closely at the bottom squiggly line you can see I must have been in an intense mood.  The same thing would happen to me when knitting ~ if I was upset or worried my stitches would be tight and smaller.  So will need to pull out loops and get that remedied when I'm chilled.  Most definitely it won't be finished looking like this.

Hmm, wonder if that tenseness occured when catching some of the damn impeachment hearings on TV?????

Just me...Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Wool in Other Forms

Before becoming obsessed with rug hooking I was likewise addicted to knitting.  My very favorite wool yarn to use was Icelandic Lopi.  What was so cool hooking Icelandic sweaters is they use circular needles which makes the knitting quite simple.

For years I tried to teach myself to knit but couldn't get it.  My Icelandic friend said she could teach me how but I challenged her.  Katla said she knitted the European way not the American way.  OMG, she was right, I did learn and went from one project to the other.

Here are only two of the sweaters I knitted over the years, and of course using Icelandic Lopi.  Also knitted a few Aran cable knit sweaters which are around here somewhere.

And two ponchos I knitted, again with Lopi.

From her trips back to Iceland my friend Katla would bring over Lopi which I'd of course pay her for.  Thinking I'd eventually catch that knitting bug again I held onto the Lopi.  Now I realize that's not going to happen so am selling off my supply.

Below are just two photos among the Icelandic Lopi I have listed on eBay  Compare the prices to those on HAND-KNITTING web site.

Didn't accomplish much at all on my rug project yesterday as I was fussing and cussing at my PC and iPad for not being able to sync music.  Went thru all the hoops and hurdles, followed every instruction, deleted some apps then reinstalled them, restarted the PC, made sure the iTunes app was up to date and the iPad was listed in the control panel, yada yada yada.  

My PC still does not recognize my iPad, therefore will not transfer (sync) the music I downloaded to my iPad.  Sadly the Apple store is about two hours away and don't want to make that drive so will just put up with the issue until I can find someone local I trust who may know something about computers ~ I sure don't.

Now am going to pull a few loops.....finally.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Antique Art with Wool

Most, if not all, followers enjoy my posting of antique rugs ~ I also enjoy seeing them again after saving them from the on-line auction house.  First up is this 1800's Geometric from Newburyport, MA which measures 19 x 35.  Is that a repair of a damaged edge or just a large binding?

A floral hearth rug dated 1870 in brown tones measures 29 x 78.  Wish they had posted a frontal photo and indicated it's provenance.  But can only tell you what is available on the auction house site.

A primitive bowl of flowers hooked early 20th century.  

 

Another floral rug dated 1880 measures 23 x 45.  I've said before that blotchy background rugs intrigue me.  So looking at the one below am wondering if all the border was originally very dark but faded.  Or by the time she collected enough textile to finish that lower part this darker textile is what she had?  Oh I'd love to have conversations with some of those ladies.

The Cat and Kittens in the basket is mounted on a frame and said to be hooked between 1887-1899.  It measures 27 x 37.5.

Upon seeing the pattern above it triggered a previously posted antique rug which was only of kittens in a basket.

Giving equal time to dogs, below is a reclining dog which measures 33 x 55.  No other provenance was available on the web site.

Yeah, am sure you'd like to see more.....and I have more but want to save some for a future post.  Happy weekend to you worker bees.  To we oldsters who are retired every day is a weekend.

Happy hooking, stitching, quilting, knitting, etc.

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Heart Butter Mold Update

Accomplished a little more on Primitive Heartstrings design.  It was a pdf pattern which I enlarged to 15.5 x 17.5.  As you can see, the holding line was hooked just outside the exterior drawn line so the finished piece will be a smidgen larger. 

I'm using cuts #8.5, #8 and for the squiggly lines using #6.  The leaves above the heart were hooked with #6 and will probably use some #7 or #8 as well.  Will see what happens as hooking continues.

Early April I have a class with Cindy Irwin so must step up my game on the Cousins rug I want to hook.  Wasn't pleased with my initial try at the drawing on linen so want to redo the sketch of the photo and flip the linen over and redraw the pattern.  It WILL NOT be a narrow cut rug as I plan to hook us in #8 with smaller detail for a hint of an eye, nose, etc.  

Yes I know April is 3 months away but I can only endure so much tension with detail as rug hooking is supposed to be fun and plan to keep it that way.  Have already alerted Cindy that I'm a fickle hooker and may hook it in class or not ~ so plan to take two patterns.  

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Mundane Monday

Yes it was a mundane Monday for sure.  The oil in my van needed changing and had to wait for over an hour before it was completed.  Luckily I carried a whipped edge project with me to work on during the wait since that is also a boring task.

I started hooking this small project, Winter Bloom (designed by Tonya Robey) November 2019 as an in-between project.  The hooking was done quickly but since I hate binding rugs only worked on that in short spurts.  Finally today the whipped yarn edge was completed.

Even the label has been attached which is a photo of the original hooked by Tonya Robey.  

Thankfully this one can now be put to rest.  The Winter Sled still needs its final stitching on the binding but that won't take long when I finally get to it.

Happy Hooking everyone.

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

On the Frame Again

As I'm typing the title of the post the tune of a Willie Nelson song just popped in my head (On the Road Again).  I'll probably hum that tune all evening long now.  A couple years ago I purchased a pdf pattern from Primitive Heartstrings called "Butter Mold" but I refer to it as Heart Butter Mold since it will be my Valentine's project and has 5 hearts on it.  Actually more if you count the ones inside each other.

Since there is no way to improve on perfection will follow Julie's original color plan.  If you wish to start your own Valentine's project click on the hyperlink above and order yours.  You can enlarge it to whatever size you want, do needle punch or hook it.

Okay, want to check the colors I've used so far.  And as expected I'm not happy with the wavy orange gold ~ I want the more mellow gold.  Found two strips of that in my worm bags and went in search for a more substantial piece.  Can't find anymore in my stash but it's no wonder I can find anything in that pile of wool.

So back to the wool room I go for an intervention ~ an emergency search and rescue.....at least am hoping for a rescue of more of the other gold.

Happy Saturday, or at least it was here and felt like spring with temperatures close to 70* Fahrenheit.  Tomorrow is supposed to be an okay day too but the weather in Delaware is so unpredictable we could have snow in two days.

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Winter Sled

....or at least that is what I'm calling it since it didn't have a name.  It is a pattern by W. Cushing and a gift to those who made a purchase during the 2018 Christmas season.  Regular followers know it was a giveaway offered by Cathy of Acorn Hollow and I was the lucky winner.  

Cathy already hooked it and posted it on her blog over a year ago and I fell in love with it.  The rug hooking group she belongs to had a pattern swap and a duplicate was what she received.  Not wanting to hook it again decided to pass it on thru a giveaway.

It is all hooked, just needs to be steamed and bound.  Since it is small shouldn't take long at all.  And now I've got to draw out my next project which is a delightful pattern offered by one of our own blogger friends.  To be presented in a future post.

Yesterday we received rain instead of snow and I was happy with that.  Snow is pretty when inside a warm home but not when one wants to walk or drive in it.

Saundra

First Antique Rug Show of 2020

It's been a while and as I get a lot of positive comments about showing antique rugs thought it was about time.  

Reclining Deer with scrolls and Flowers, no size or provenance was provided.

Birds in a tree dated 1895, measures 33 x 47, a collection of August Knapp sold for $7,995.  Great use of hit and miss using all the colors in the center of the rug.

This rug below is quite interesting.  It is hooked with the straight lines and only change in color provides the design, almost like weaving.  The bird and cat are larger than the house, which leans itself to the naive primitive style.  Measures 23.5 x 38 but no date given.

Cat and Dog early 20th century, measures 22 x 39.5 from the estate of Susan Parrish.

A faded floral with the blotchy background I like, dated 1880 on burlap 23 x 45.

And last is Pootsie.  I adore this rug.  Dog named Pootsie late 19th century measures 23 x 36 and is a shirred rug.    

Here is a close up of Pootsie.

And a close up of a flower.

Hope you enjoyed the mini antique rug show and hope you are pulling a few loops yourself ~ maybe to finish some UFO's for the start of the new year or starting something new.  Happy Hooking.

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

First on the Frame in 2020

November I was concerned that Mighty Whale might not be completely finished in 2019 and would then be a carry-over into 2020.  Happily it was completed and there is a new one on my frame now.  There is a story that goes with it, for you just new to my blog.....

Blogger friend Cathy (Acorn Hollow) posted about a giveaway she was offering in a November blog post.  It was for a pattern she had already hooked and I admired several months ago.  So when her hooking group had a pattern swap she received another one.  Not wanting to hook it again she generously offered it up as a giveaway.  

How lucky I was to be the recipient of that gift.  BTW, as it turns out, the design is by WCushing  and believe it was a gift in 2018 to folks who made a purchase from them pre-holiday season.  I love the design so thanks to Cushing for designing it, thanks to Cathy for hosting the giveaway.

This is what I've accomplished so far and excited to get back to it. 

Already two days into January and the stores are putting their Valentines items on the shelves.  Thankfully I've a plan to hook something with a heart after this one is done.  So, what's on your frame?

Happy hooking.

Saundra