HOW MANY RUGS?

In recent conversations with two blogger friends I mentioned hooking an average of 10 rugs per year.   Of course as a newbie that wasn't my average.  A few years ago I did post the beginning of my rug hooking experiences and you can see 2001-2004 projects HERE.  

Since I'm always looking for something to blog about, this topic may pop up every so often.  It was 2005 which was the first year of hooking 10 pieces. The first one of the year was Fall is Here, a Vermont Folk Art design which I sold in 2007 at a show due to pending divorce.

This next one, Fluted Basket, a design by Karen Kahle, was drawn from the pattern in an issue of Rug Hooking Magazine.  I happened to be working on it while vending and had a request to purchase once it was done.  And so it was sold later.  Always intended to hook another for myself but that hasn't happened.

Stop and Smell the Roses, another by Karen Kahle was my next project and still lives with me.

Oh but I do love bunny rabbits so purchased Sally Kallin's design named Harry.  Harry also still lives with me.

Then drew my own two designs with the intention to sell them when vending.

Since I made primitive dolls, thought it might be fun to hook two zippered bags with a black face and white face on the other side.  I kept one for myself to carry my hooks and tools in for camps and sold one.  Photo is washed out as it was taken on my back deck.

The curled cat rug is one I drew and also sold that year.

I thought Tonya Robey's whimsical Lion was cute so hooked it that year and sold it 2007 at the Lewes Historical Society show.

The last rug hooked that year was an antique adaptation of the well known two roosters.  And yes, sadly I sold this one later, due to my upcoming divorce.

Well, that's it for the year 2005.  Eventually I'll get to the year 2006 when I'm in need of something to post, as I always like to provide something for my followers to read.

Happy hooking on this very windy, cloudy and drizzly day.

Saundra

MY RECRUIT IN TRAINING

My grandson Zach is midway through his Basic Training at Great Lakes, Illinois.  This is my screen shot of a video shared on Facebook by a parent who has someone there too.  My son sent me the video so saved it, of course.

Graduation for his Division is May 28th and I'm not sure where he will go for his avionics training, but perhaps Pensacola, FL.  My son and DIL have already booked a hotel room so they can see him graduate at the Training Command.  

I'm not going as I couldn't do that much travel.  They will be gone a week first heading to PA to pick up some of Cathy's family and continue to IL.  But am sure they will have lots of videos and photos to share with me when they arrive for Graduation.

As I'm typing this I'm still waiting for a service man who said he'd  be here at 8 a.m. and it is now almost 10 a.m.

The not new any longer range hasn't worked properly since the day it was delivered.  The oven loses 20 degrees every 10 minutes.  When first attempting to bake banana nut bread the bread was flat and had to be baked much longer for the inside to not be soggy.  Thought maybe I had old baking powder and baking soda so bought new and tried again later but still flat and soggy.  And my chicken breast took much longer than normal.  

So then I had to methodically study the situation.  Now when baking chicken I set the  temp at 400 instead of 350 and go back and re-set the temp every 10 minutes.   Hopefully today's electrician can figure it out and fix it.

Saundra

JUST ANOTHER RUG SHOW

Another Barbara E. Merry rug has been put up for auction again.  This one was hooked when she was married to John Merry.  Although hard to see, MERRY is hooked above the roof of the home.  If I am recalling correctly, and again hard to see, are the words "Wedding Day" at bottom left and story was that Barbara hooked her wedding dress into the rug.  

Below is an combination applique with hooked or proddy border.  No info on date.

A bowl of flowers hooked 19th century measuring 27 x 54.

Two cats with sun shining on them.  Again, no date but dimensions are 21 x 35.

Deer hooked late 19th century (31.5 x 44.5).

An eagle flying on or with the shield.  

Man's best friend by George Wells 26.5 x 62.

When first seeing Man's best Friend I thought it might be a manufactured rug.  But then I looked at the back which was part of the listing.

Another landscape, and not a BEM,  circa 1890 measuring 33 x 59.

A sulky racer inscribed "Let Her Go".

A variety of animals with a sawtooth border circa 1900's (27 x 43).

Spring tulip and rabbit design with April hooked into the hit and miss background.  Hooked late 19th century (24.5 x 35).  It is still for sale.

And tumbling blocks circa 1900 (26 x 41) also still listed for sale.

That's it for this show.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Saundra

NOW TO THE OTHER EAGLE

I have made a little more progress but you can see I'm still a little timid to draw the feathered legs.  But am working on my bravery while moving closer to that decision time near the bottom.

Critically looking at the rug now, it appears I might have accidently used a #8.5 strip for the 0 because the 25 looks like the #9 I'd planned.  So will reverse hook that and be sure it is hooked in #9.

Seems I might paint myself into a corner again, which happens from time to time when doing my own color planning.  At first I thought there wouldn't be a need for an outline around the shield as I used a lighter brown in that area of the wing.  It is still too close in value.  Plus not sure there will be enough difference in the white end stripes in the bottom part of the shield.  However, I've done a row of white at the eagle's head and the value difference is okay there.  It isn't the same wool but perhaps I'll be okay.   Heck, I'm not submitting it to be juried in a contest the rug is for me until my son pleadingly yanks it out of my hands, lol.

Gonna be another cold weekend so think some sort of homemade soup will be on the menu.  Happy hooking.

Saundra

UNEXPECTED VISITOR

Looking out my bedroom window this morning I had to blink a couple times ~ is that really what I think it is?  There was a beautiful bald eagle at the wooded edge of my property.  The way it was moving told me it was stalking something.  Wanted to grab a camera but didn't want to move away for fear it would fly away and I'd miss another moment.  

Ran to get my iPad in my birthday suit as I'd just gotten out of the shower.  Thought I'd be smart and zoom in on the eagle but all I got was a closeup of the screen on the porch.

So reversed the zoom to get this next photo.  Don't know what the eagle was stalking, but was fun to watch it move toward its prey.  However, the move prevented me from getting a photo of the entire bird.  This is taken from the kitchen thru the back porch and deck.  Didn't go outside  as it would have immediately flown away.  

It may only a speck in this photo but it was a larger than life event for me to see such a magnificent creature in real time vs. some screen.  Shortly after this photo it flew into the woods and landed on a tree.  So am wondering it lives in this area because just flying over my property with the canopy overhead, don't think the eagle would spot a squirrel moving on the ground despite its 'eagle eyes'.

Saundra

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WOULD IT REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

This is what my rug looks like now, with just the claws gripping the olive branch and lightening bolts.

Would it really make any difference if I drew and hooked a bit of the feathered part of the leg in the rug?  

There are some spread eagle images I've seen, including the Seal of the President of the United States.  

Well, I'll be... guess that is where the term "spread eagle" came from, with wings and legs spread far apart.  So would adding the feathers, leg and claw take the attention away from the rest of the rug? 

If you look at the top photo again you can see a little red ink on the right side where I started to draw.  But became timid and questioning my change.  

Thank goodness I made a pot of chili and some rice yesterday as it is cold again and will have some for lunch to warm me up.  Thought it was spring.

Saundra

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IT'S RUG SHOW TIME AGAIN

Not mine, but vintage and antique rugs.  Up first is a horse, circa 1900 with dimensions of 28.5 x 35.5.

Frankly I've many more horse rugs, so here's another.  This one is still listed for sale.  No date provided.

Grey horses, no information on this either.  And I've more horses on my flash drive but will not bore you with more this show.

A naive hooked lion, circa 1890-1930 from Barbara Johnson collection.  Dimensions are 28 x 38.5.

Two cats playing with a red ball of yarn.  Have no info on date or dimensions.

A geometric with pinwheel center hooked early 20th century and from Lancaster county, PA.  Measures 25 x 44.5.

Another geometric, this one measures 27 x 38 but have no date hooked as none was provided by the auction company.

Below is a half oval floral, could be a rug at a doorway or chair pad.  No date or dimensions.

A dog hooked early 20th century measuring 23 x 46.

Wish I had some information on the patriotic rug below.  It is naive and primitive and appears old, but cannot confirm that since there was no information.  Hope some of you are thinking about hooking a patriotic rug in celebration of America's 250th Birthday, it would be such a memorable heirloom for the family.  

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.  It's supposed to rain here all weekend, and have already had rain showers this afternoon once I got the grass cut...or at least most of it.

Saundra

MISC. CHIT CHAT

I've drawn out the plus one but haven't started working on it yet.  At least it is ready when boredom kicks in this time.  This is the cutie I drew.

I have a linen problem ~ I'll either have to start hooking smaller patterns or sell off some of the serged pieces I have.  Each time I draw a pattern for myself I do the percentage of increase and decide which size to hook.  Next thing is check the dimensions of the linen on the quilt rack to see if a suitable size is there.  Or, how much waste I'll have if a larger piece is  used vs. cutting from the bolt.  By cutting from the bolt I'll be adding yet another piece of linen to the collection you see.

Looks like a brand new driveway, doesn't it?  

To say I was impressed with the work these guys did is an understatement.  Being stuck home I was able to sit, hook and watch what was happening outside.  The workers would clean an area, then a supervisor came through to inspect.  A few times the worker came back and concentrated more on the area which was point out.  Then the owner of the company came through to inspect again before it was seal coated.  This was a well spent $1,250.

There were three places which  concerned me at the entrance of the driveway ~  one was where damn moles travelled from one side of the property to other making a divot, which you  can see here.  A couple years ago my son filled it in and it kept collapsing.

Day one after work day was over, I went to see what they had done to that area.  They cut out the entire section, next day they filled it in, then drove the roller over to level it out.  Truth be told, since that is the travelled area known to the moles, a collapse will eventually happen again. 

There was another area which was like a sink hole and they cut that section out too.  I haven't walked thru the wooded area to the end of the property to get an 'after' photo of the area so will wait until tomorrow to check it out.  Based on what I saw from the hooking spot I'm confident it will look good.

The third area was a wide crack but my camera battery quit and didn't get that pic.  I'm still unable to drive anywhere until tomorrow when the driveway should be dry enough.  I didn't want to keep my vehicle parked along the meadow area for two days so decided to stay home.

Wow, what an exciting life I live, right, lol.  But am getting some hooking and binding done.  

Saundra

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ON MY FRAME

Was sure each of you would know what my next rug would be, and Robin nailed it in her comment at the end of that post.  So here it is at this moment.  As you can see from the  beak and head of the Eagle I'm redesigning as I go.  I might want the fluff of hackles on the head...maybe.  Still need to decide if I should  outline around the base of  the Shield with a thin blue row or if using a tad darker value of background color would do the job.  There's plenty of hooking to do while I ponder that situation.

Looking at the rug now am wishing I'd drawn more of the Eagle's tarsometatarsi, which is the part of the leg before the talons and covered with feathers.  Not enough room me thinks; besides people will get the idea what those claws are attached to.  

On Facebook I noticed a couple people have started or completed their America's Birthday rugs.  Previously I posted patriotic antique rugs to provide inspiration and wonder if anyone has decided to join me in this milestone celebration of America.  If you would like to see that post again, you can see it HERE.

The stars are being hooked with an #8.5 cut since I had those strips handy.  Wondered if that would work as well as the #9 cut and it does for this rug.  This technique was taught in a class by Kris Miller and you can see the tutorial blog post HERE.

Hope everyone has a terrific weekend, and wishing you joy in every loop you pull.  Happy hooking.

Saundra

MORE ANTIQUE RUGS

Believe it or not, I see a lot more antique rugs than are posted.  Only ones I save and show are those which are interesting to me.  Okay, now I'm going to eat my words....this next floral would make the most beautiful purse.  Since it was hooked on burlap probably wouldn't hold up under use.  Perhaps that's why someone tacked it onto a wooden frame to secure its beauty.  No date was given and think I found it on eBay.

This cat family (35 x 64) is still for sale.  There have been 2 bids and price is presently at $40.  Auction will end April 30th.

The farm scene below is on the same auction site and measures 29.5 x 40.

Looks like show horses below and was in a previous auction with 3 other rugs.  No information was provided.

Another still up for sale is this Native American encampment 18 x 41 but no date provided.

Since I'm doing Native American rugs, this one below measures 34 x 65 and from the collection of Jack D. Smith.

Naturally every horse gets my attention.  Said to be hooked late 19th to early 20th century.  Love those faded colors.  Something about faded and blotchy backgrounds.

And for the canine folks, there's this beautiful pup but no other information.

That's it for today's show.  Hope you enjoy the weekend coming up and happy hooking, stitching or, as Elaine is probably doing....knitting.

Saundra

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