In a previous post I told you that my next rug was going to be yet another rug with lions. This is one I designed based on a couple different antique rugs where I pulled elements that I liked from each. Yes, the border has some issues where the squares on their ends aren't quite even but then it is supposed to be representative of a primitive antique rug, right? And that just adds to the interest.
The lion on the left will be hooked properly (I think) once I get started. For sure I didn't want it to look like it had four ears but was trying to determine the area for the mane. In the original antiques both lions reminded me of Amish men with full beards which were under their chin and all around the head. Uh, not sure that I want that look in my rug; however, maybe, just maybe I'll change my mind just to stay more closely connected to the antique. It is MY rug after all so can take some creative license to pick and choose what I want from the antique to make my own.
Okay, you've waited long enough and here is the linen I just drew out before Sandy hit full scale. AND, those light spots you see on the backing is where I've put some similar colored paint on my linen (just now) so when it dries it will be the same as the backing and I'll know which was my latest change.
Now, remember this is a work in progress so might make changes on it as I go. This isn't a huge rug as it seems that I like ones which are large enough to use as floor rugs, small enough to hang or put on a chest. Not to mention the fact that it gets hooked faster when it is smaller. I'm having to use my Townsend huge floor frame for the Wee Folk because no way I could use my other frames.
I'm too lazy to take the Wee Folk rug off to take a picture tonight, besides, Ben has been having cabin fever and demanding more time of his mom. So maybe tomorrow I'll finish off the month with a more current picture of my Wee Folk rug.
I'm sorry for all the devastation that New York and New Jersey has encountered. While Delaware and Maryland has encountered some loss also, I feel lucky to have come thru Sandy rather unscathed (tho I still have flood issues, limbs, etc.) but no way could I fathom the destruction issues many others are having right now. My heart goes out to all of you.
Would like to mention that I've had numerous spams from 'anonymous' bloggers so I have disabled them from posting on my blog. Sorry to do that because there are legitimate hookers out there who for some reason wish to not be identified. WHY?" Who the heck knows. I don't mind putting my face and name out there! But because of the numerous spams I'm no longer accepting 'anonymous' posts. SIGH.... but I feel good right now!
Thanks for visiting.
Saundra
Although I've been dividing my time working on an Edward Tulane Rabbit, drawing out an antique adaptation for my next camp and battening down the hatches for this mega storm, I have made a little headway on Wee Folk. Oh and lest we not forget the fact I've done some reverse hooking and had to re-hook that whole area where the red was and replace it with the background color.
It is raining here and the wind has picked up a little but not nearly what we will encounter hours from now. Sure wish Ben could be trained to a litter box as neither he nor I will want to walk in the rain or thrashing trees in this wooded area that I call home. I'll be scared a big limb or tree top will snap off and harm us when the heavier winds and gusts start happening.
Since I have power now thought it best that I post a current picture and update my blog now. I'd considered hooking longer so there would be more progress but better take advantage of power while I have it.
For any of you in the path of this storm, I empathize.... be safe.
Saundra
I have been trying to decide what to hook at my next rug camp and have narrowed it down to something with lions. This will make the fourth lion rug I've hooked. This is the last one I hooked:
The one before that was Rufus, a design by Bev Conway which I hooked in her class.
The one previous to that was a Mad Hen lion rug and unfortunately lost the photo and the rug has been sold so not available for a picture. However, this is a picture of the design I hooked, designed by Tonya (borrowed from her web site).
So now am thinking of doing a antique adaptation of a lion and lioness. There is only two weeks left before camp so I have a lot of preparation to do and I'd better get busy.
What is making matters worse is the FrankenStorm hitting us here on the eastern coast. It is headed directly in my path and within the last 5 years have been flooded out twice. This development has a stream surrounding it which gets run off from a local pond and river just a mile from me.
So will be sketching and using electric resources while I still have them because news is that power outages will occur and probably for days. OY! I've plenty of batteries, candles, water and have propane gas logs for heat in the living room. If worse comes to worse I'll sleep on the sofa and Ben can sleep in the room too.
Keep your fingers crossed that all the preparation is for naught and a miracle happens and the Mother of all Storms goes out to sea.
OH, and I'm making some headway on the Wee Folk and the 'old' rug will be updated tomorrow after I pull a few more loops.
Saundra
Oh man am I a happy hooker now! Or at least more happy than I was a few days ago so won't tuck this rug and wool away to be another UFO just quite yet. I'll work on this baby until I go to my next rug camp.
I've been so busy with appointments and responsibilities that my hooking time on it has taken a slump, that is why you aren't seeing much progress until now, and even then it is minimal. This is how my rug looks now and must admit that I'm much happier with it ~ OH SO MUCH happier with it. Now, could be that I might run another dark blue border around the perimeter once it is hooked but will decide once the rug is done otherwise.
This is what it looked like before. So you tell me which is better.
Obviously this rug won't be done before I go to my next camp in 3 weeks but at least I feel better knowing that it has potential. But now I have to decide what the heck I'm going to hook with Lucille Festa . I sure do enjoy her class because she is the salt of the earth, has a sense of humor much like me and like her primitive style and wool.
However, before I go I must clean this pig sty so that the house and Ben sitter won't think I live in dirt. So that too will take away from my hooking time on the Wee Folk rug.
Thanks for putting up with my thoughts, ranting and raving about the boring recaps of rugs that I work on. Yet I did say that I'd mostly keep my blog about rug hooking related posts.
Have a great day tomorrow; stop and look at the colorful falling leaves, smile and say 'hello' to someone and change their day. I'm sure by doing all that you will have a nicer day yourself. Smiling at someone gives them a boost as well as yourself.
Sigh.......I just gave everyone a smile and woolley hugs. Thanks for stopping by.
Saundra
My small fix was not enough and now I know what to do. Since I was afraid of a radical change from the direction given me on color planning the rug didn't want to just rip out everything at the border line. So thought about keeping the red there and adding spokes and blue. But now, with this picture I know exactly what I need to do.... well, almost. Here is a picture I just took with the minor change. But sometimes it really is best to start with a minimal change and see if it works. However, my quick fix did not fix the problem.
For sure that red is coming out at the top and will be filled in with the background color (I can always dye more wool). After hooking the background color in I'll have a better idea as to whether it should be the blue for the banner line or maybe switch it to red since there will be blue along the rest of the perimeter. Even tho this is primitive nice linen I'm not sure about pulling out and re-hooking numerous times because it will eventually weaken even linen I'm sure. So I'll hold off replacing the blue yet again (was red before if you check back in my blog) so already it has been re hooked twice. But with that going to be the background color will try red for the banner line in a new spot along the way to make a comparison.
Must say I was almost tempted to just put this whole rug and wool aside as I was quite frustrated ~ didn't like what I saw, thought that I had a color plan all ready in place and it wasn't working out. But since I'll start another rug in 3 weeks thought that I'd see it thru because what isn't needed in my house is yet another UFO collecting dust and having negative vibes.
And, in all honesty, while I love love love whimsical and colorful rugs that I see hooked by others, I just don't have that in me to do it justice. I love Gail DuFresne rugs, love her color sense but just cannot pull it off. Even took a class with her asking her to please force me out of my comfort zone. Bless her heart she tried, I finished the rug and sold it at a show, so someone appreciated my piece. Yet, it wasn't me and so desperately wanted to be able to go there. Which means there is no way that I could ever be a McGowan certified teacher because I cannot do bright color.
Okay, for McGowan certification you'd have to do narrow cut and wide cut primitive, I've done narrow cut and know for sure that I CAN do it. But do I like it? Heck no! Here is a picture of my Rotties hooked in #3 and background in #5 and if I could have pulled off a background in #8 to make it look right I'd have done just that.
Yes, I love the cute Wee Folk design and have wanted to hook it for years. But each year I'd choose something else to hook instead. Well now is the time to get this baby done and out of the way. For in November I'll be back to my wide cut, naive, dark primitive old looking rugs!!!!!!
Thanks for stopping by and reading my thoughts.
Saundra
Oh my but I'm having some issues with the Wee Folk rug ~ wasn't sure how many issues until I pulled it off the frame to take a picture for the blog. The one that stuck out even before pulling it off the frame was the two blue half circle at the top. This was supposed to be representative of half of a wheel, that I get. And at camp it was suggested to not put in the separation grid lines but to just have the color changes and alternate the light blue and dark blue. Frankly, I don't like the way it looks right now. Was thinking that maybe I should make the two outer triangles in light blue and make both middle triangles a dark blue and still not have the grid lines. But for sure I do not like what I see right now. I'm open for suggestions.
And the other thing bothering me is that I feel the rug needs another color separating the top red border and the little gold and green triangles and background.
Now, look at the bottom of the rug design for the border. You can see there is a drawn in section between the background and the red border at the bottom which has been hooked in the suggested green. So, maybe I should do a green line separating the red at the top as well. The green was chosen perhaps to carry some of the same colors throughout the rug to make the eye move about and since there was already a lot of blue, she chose green.
Now, it was suggested that the border on top and bottom be red and the end borders (left and right side) be dark blue. Therefore, I could change that green trim to a dark blue to encompass the design with all blue around albeit just in trim inside the red.
I am now updating the blog with two new pictures. Decided that perhaps I should take a picture with the blue and green line at the top and the blue at the side. Not taking the time to hook it but just lay it out for comparison.
Here is the blue separation line at the top and could replace the bottom green with blue to match.
And now is a picture taken with the green at the top since the green is already at the bottom where the red border would be.
So for now think that I will concentrate on hooking the wheels, flags and background and maybe a light bulb will go off to give me direction after I sleep on it. For sure it seems that I need a trim or separation line between the background and the red at the top. And, any input from my knowledgeable hooker pal readers would be welcomed!
Thanks for stopping by and hope you can help me with my dilemma.
Saundra
Oh yeah baby, let's have a peek at some wonderful vintage textile delights that I've stumbled upon just recently. Actually spent time on the computer instead of hooking on my Wee Folk rug. And my intentions were to go upstairs first thing and work a little on my Edward Tulane Rabbit that was started MONTHS ago. But as I always manage to do...... found something else to do instead of working on it.
I've hooked a couple floral rugs and not ready to do another quite yet but thought this was lovely.
And of course this is a real beauty and was the inspiration for the design Primitive Ponies on Woolley Fox.
Here is an antique pictorial applique made around 1840 which I thought was in wonderful condition, it is at the American Folk Art Museum.
This is a soft rug and delicate despite the primitive dark background. It was obviously a wedding rug for the Bride. And I know that I have see the one hooked for the Groom but could not locate that one today.
And and early 20th century room size rug and wonder if it was in a child's room because of the subjects.
Thought this one was nice also, with the birds and rabbits in the corners.
Thanks for stopping by and I've got to get off the computer and do something because soon I need to leave for an appointment.
Saundra
Oh but it feels so good to have this rug finally finished so that now I can give attention to the Wee Folk rug. Frankly I should be paying more attention to house cleaning but hey, it will be dusty tomorrow too.
The final measurements of the rug is 17" x 31.5". When I drew it out decided that it should be a suitable size for a floor rug, small enough to fit on top of a chest or harvest table or even hang. Besides, I've hooked my share of larger rugs thank you.
In the previous post I gave you the steps to the wool covered binding up to the point of hand sewing the corded edge to the last row of hooking. This is what it looked like from the back after the hand stitching had taken place. Oops, I forgot to crop the picture and my table mat is hanging over the end of my harvest table.
Then it required another steaming the foundation down, working with it, particularly the corners, so it would lay nicely. Then another steaming the wool binding so that all layers were being covered. I turned under the raw edge of the wool binding and hand stitched it down all the way around the perimeter of the rug as well as doing a mitered edge in each corner. This is the back of the finished rug.
This is the front of the finished Ducks and Egg Nest and I'm happy with it. Yes, it looks handmade but that is a good thing in my way of thinking. It is, after all, an antique adaptation and want it to look hand crafted and not machine produced.
AHHHH, so now I can work on Wee Folk until I have to get ready for my November rug camp..... uh, or clean house (dang it!). I've also been doing some outside yard work to make it less trouble in the spring. So I haven't been vegetating on the sofa hooking all this time I have also been spending time outside while the weather is still descent. Yet my house is in need of cleaning. But, Ben (my four-legged companion) doesn't seem to mind the rug dust as long as he gets in his play time, mommy time, meals, walks and love'ns.
Thanks for stopping by.
Saundra
I have done several types of rug binding ~ wool yarn wrapped edge with and without cording, Cotton binding tape, cotton pillow ticking as the rug tape, wool strip wrapped edge without cording, and wool covered cord. There are still other techniques that I haven't tried..... the Eaton edge, crochet edge or the braided edge. There are probably more binding edge techniques than those mentioned even. Anyway, I shall attempt to tell you how I do the wool covered cord bound edge; not saying this is the right way, but is how mine is done.
First thing I did after drawing the pattern was to immediately do the two rows of straight stitching and the zig zag stitch all around about 1 1/4" away from where the last row of hooking would be. I find it a lot easier to manipulate a non hooked rug around the sewing machine than a heavy one hard to move around. After it is hooked then all I have to do is trim away the excess and begin the steaming and binding task. You can see it here before it is trimmed.
And here it is trimmed away, notice that I angled the corner so there wouldn't be so much bulk in the corner and could be mitered and tucked more easily.
Next thing I do is cut wool strips 2 1/2" wide and since they have to stitched together you lay them on an angle and stitch across. If you look carefully you can see the white line I drew for the sewing line. You attach all pieces together in this fashion until the length is a smidgen more than enough to go all the way around.
Then you trim the corner away until you have just a 1/4" or so seam edge as can be seen below.
Then you iron the seam open so it is easier and more flat to work with. You will note that because of the angle of the seam (sewn on a bias) when you fold it over to enclose the cording there will not be the bulk of 4 layers of wool because it IS at an angle.
Now it is time to enclose the cording, I put on my zipper foot so that I can get up close and personal to the cord and wool. Oh, and I do pin all the way down a couple inches away from the other pin just to be sure to capture approximately the same amount of wool down the length of the corded binding. It is this side which will be placed next to the foundation edge and the rug top will lay on top but below the cord you see here.
I start the corded edge in the middle of a side rather than a corner. Corners need a little more attention so would not want to add a sharp corner to the other three nicely rounded corners. When I start I pin to secure the spot and then once I get my groove, the pins aren't necessary for me any longer. I hand stitch at the sew line on the cord binding and close to the last row of hooking on the hooked rug foundation and pull the thread snug so it doesn't work away from the rug. You quilters won't have a problem with this because you are used to stitching in the ditch.
Oh, something I forgot to mention is that I roll a piece of scotch tape around both ends of the cording so that it doesn't balloon up in size but is its nice contained and controllable size. Although I have not even gone half way around for the first round of hand stitching, this is how it looks right now.
It will look much nicer once the corners are prepared rather than the pillow effect you see here on the corner, then the binding part and mitering on the back has to be done, and yet another steaming. So come back to see how it looks finished. And this girl wants to get back to hooking on Wee Folk so don't expect the finished rug by tomorrow.
Thanks for stopping by to see what is on my frame and what's 'hookin'. TA TA!
Saundra
Ducks and Egg Nest pattern.......Yup, all hooked. Actually the hooking was completed before Bev got to me for the color planning of my Wee Folk rug because there was so little left of the background to do. However, it still needs to be bound. But have no fear! I have already started the prep for that and it will be a tutorial of sorts in my next blog. It will be bound with a wool covered cord like you see on the edge of a pillow or upholstery. Until then I will give you the latest pictures of that rug as well as the Wee Folk design.
This is the Ducks and Egg Nest and I adore it. Lots of people at Cape May admired it since they had an opportunity to see it as that is what I was hooking the first day of class and students come in and out of rooms seeing what others are doing and to buy wool from teachers.
Yes, there are a few new changes to the We Folk. I hooked a little more of the background and did change out some of the lighter blue wool of the bike handles but still have more wool to replace. When cutting the blue plaid wool for the bike I just reached in and pulled out a strip not giving notice if it was the darker part of the plaid or not. So hopefully there will be enough of that darker stripe in the fat quarter do what I need for the bike body change out.
I'm really anxious to finish binding the Duck rug so I can put it on my harvest table for a couple days before offering it for sale. Actually I haven't done the math on pricing for this yet as it isn't finished and have been busy. Plus I really want to work more on my Wee Folk rug because I have a class with Lucille Festa early November and have to decide what to hook there as well as prepare for yet another rug to hook. So it is important that I get the Duck rug done and more of this one hooked because I'll then have two UFOs tugging at my heart.
HA! Two UFOs..... I have more than that but am mentioning only two because the others kinda like, 'out of sight out of mind'.
Thanks for stopping by and check back to see if I've started binding my Ducks rug.
Saundra
As I'm typing the post title I am humming Willie Nelson's song, "On the Road Again". Oh man have I been waiting to put this rug back on my frame since being home from Cape May about three weeks ago. BUT, I had well over 100 patterns to draw (hey, I gotta support my habit), finished hooking a mat which has since been steamed, bound and shipped as of today) and now I can put the Wee Folk back on my frame.
You won't see a whole lot of achievement since the picture taken at Cape May but at least there is a little. Although I wanted to hook one of the flags before taking a picture figured that two days was long enough for you hooker followers to wait for pictures and information about hooking on a hooking blog. Here it is now and after posting the blog will go cut some wool for a flag to start.
I'm going in so many directions with the rug..... want to hook a flag, want to start the border, want to get more of the background done. Sheesh, enough already Saundra! Chill, take your time, relax and enjoy the journey..... ahhhhhhh, I feel relaxed already.
This is a big honking rug and it will look adorable in the location I have planned.
Okay, so this is how it looked at Cape May when I left.
And, want to talk about the "S" configuration for the background which is a lesson learned from Bev Conway MANY years ago and which I follow 'sometimes', depending on my mood.
Barb is not a believer of the echo or ripple effect of hooking. However, in the right cases it is absolutely the right thing to do (I think). For more primitive naive cases it perfectly okay. UH, I'd LOVE to have opinion's here (Lynne??)!!! A perfect example of a great "S" background is my Rottweiler Memorial rug of precious Shumba and Panzer.
With all that background the ripple effect would have overtaken the beauty of the dog profiles. So for sure I had to do the S design there where there was no noticeable hooking lines.
But I'm still thinking about Wee Folk because it doesn't seem to be that there is all that open background space which would detract from the animal images. Plus, it IS a primitive naive design and that ripple effect just might make the individual critters stand out.; Will see...... stay tuned and see what this rebel hooker decides to do.
It is hard to believe that I have had Ben for a whole year now. I'm as happy (actually happier) today than the first day I brought him home. He was 3 years 7 months then so is now almost 5 years old and just a sweet gentle giant of a boy. He still has a lot of puppy in him but then the bigger the dog the longer it takes for them to mature (this from a vet and Rottweiler owner).
Dr. Lewis also said that Rottweiler's are big babies and this is evident when his huge paws step on an acorn in the driveway and he turns and comes to me with a pitiful look as if to say 'make it stop hurting mommy'. So I rub his 'toe-toes', talk to him to console him and then off we go back on the walk.
Here is a picture of Ben intently watching the squirrels outside and when they get out of eyesight from this window he darts to the guest bedroom to keep a closer eye on them.
Ben likes to play with his toys, particularly the squeaky toys, loves his Kong with the challenge of getting cookies out of the center and also loves his big bone when it is filled with peanut butter. Here he is trying to get those cookies out and if this technique doesn't work he stands up and tosses the Kong so that it bounces on the floor and hopefully something will be jarred loose.
On another note, today I updated my patterns page to post pictures of Melinda's hooked Frost Sheep rug as well as Auntie Peanut which was hooked by Lauren; thanks gals, I'm very proud to post your pieces on my web site .
Thanks for stopping by.
Saundra
Oh my but it was a delight to get a picture of a finished Frost Sheep pattern that I drew for someone. Each time I've sold a design, whether it be a Domestic Zoo, one of the Frost Sheep designs, etc, I always tell them that I'd love to have a picture of their finished piece. You are in for a real treat.
This is Melinda Cole's creative version of the E.S. Frost sheep design, it delightful and has wonderful fall colors in it. Melinda said she used up a lot of her left over woolie worms like women would have done years ago and used cuts #8, #8.5 and #9. It is definitely a happy rug. Double click on the sheep picture and look how the subtle color of the jaw line, face and ears almost makes the face look 3-D, and her similar but different colors of the sheep.
This next picture, a close up of the top right side; I love how she changes the background color and the odds and ends hooked randomly in several areas. If you look at the flower under the bird, it almost looks as tho she used a piece of antique paisley there.
Okay...... this just in from Melinda and she said it is indeed antique paisley and she used it in 3 of her flowers. Now, if I could detect antique paisley in a picture of a rug can you imagine the impact it has on the beauty of this rug in person?
Of course I asked for Melinda's permission to post the pictures and her name and since she should be proud of her work and permission was granted. Seeing her work almost makes me want to hook the piece again.
Thanks for sharing your rug with me Melinda, ya dun good!. I LOVE IT ! ! !
Saundra
Yes it is true, I am dyeing and desperately want to hook on my Wee Folk pattern that was started at Cape May September 9th. And I have been hooking on occasion between drawing patterns but hooking a design as a favor for someone isn't the same as working on what speaks to your heart. Of course I'll do a good job on the one I promised because I want to be proud of any work I do.
I'm sure you've probably been in this spot at some time or other where you had a commissioned rug to do by a certain date, or maybe the person wanted you to use different colors than is your personal favorite. Frankly, I am using colors within box so that isn't the issue, I just want to get back to my Wee Folk because I only had a few days as a teaser.
But this time away and to think about the rug has been useful as I've had time think about my work forward on it. So today, just to have a connection to the rug decided to over dye some more background wool. I'd planned on using wool previously dyed with a recipe from the Beautiful Wool book called High Meadow Green. That has been used in numerous rugs that I've hooked and always seems to be a favorite with teachers when I take it to classes as well.
So before Cape May I over dyed some light textures, some textures with more grey in it as well as some natural wool. Naturally the textures with more grey turned out darker. Seeing what I was providing, Bev suggested that I use the darker for the ground area and use the lighter for the sky area but sorta mingle the two upwards so it would blend in as the light increased into the sky.
In thinking more about it today I decided to over dye more of the light natural flat wool. The main reason is the ground color near the spokes of the bike wheels. If you look under the rabbit (first in line) I hooked a light color nearest the spoke so the spoke would show up, but then the darker texture looks odd in the middle. So DUH, why not over dye more light texture??? Makes sense to me and then I don't have to play games with the values of the wool around the wheels.
In the tote is what I took to Cape May and on the white lid to the right is what I over dyed today. Have no fear, the darker texture to the far left will be used for something, it always is. But at least I can cut a bunch of the other and mix the light textures together with the flat but over dyed natural wool. And I have more of the dye mixed up so if I need more know that it only takes 4 tablespoons for half yard and have some left in a jar if I need it in a hurry.
Thanks for stopping by and soon I'll be posting updates to Wee Folk I hope and would love to bind the beautiful Ducks and Egg Nest rug.....OMG, did it ever turn out beautiful.
Saundra
Oh my but what happened to the last several months which seemed to fly by? And, all too soon it will be the winter holidays. Not sure I'm ready for that yet, but am ready for the cool nights and sunny days of fall.
Okay, I had several fall related pictures to share which were on my flash drive, but the folder which held "Saundra's Stuff " just disappeared last night which may have been due to operator error. So since I still own this rug just did take a picture of an old rug hooked way back in 2003. You can see the Indian Corn that the magnificent crow is picking away at. I LOVE Crows (yeah Te're you do too since you ARE a Crow by name).
This was a pattern that was offered by Rittermer-Hurst in Canada and is a design by Ann Hallet. I just love this rug. This was the pattern taken to Cape May the very first year attending there and it was in a class with the wonderful Patsy Becker. I couldn't wait to take a class with that rug hooking legend. She was not in good health at the time but she was ever vigilant in keeping to her task as a hooking teacher. I recall that was also the first year that I met Dick and George and what fun they were. George is the most wonderful story teller!!!!! He used to post on Rughookers and I miss those elaborate and funny stories.
Dick was also in Patsy's class and remember him as being helpful with the difficulty of language translations with a brand new Japanese visitor and new hooker. He and she were Communicating with hands, and what it takes to make communication with others. I've been in the same situation with other people from different countries and while it is a challenge it is a beautiful way to connect.
The Crow rug has been in front of my kitchen sink on the floor since it was completed in 2003. YES folks, these wool rugs are resilient. Yes, I've spilled things on it and have immediately taken it to the laundry room and washed it with mild soap and water, let it dry and you see how it is after all these years.
Well, I have yet another picture of one of my rugs to add to the NEW folder of 'Saundra's Stuff' which I lost the other day.
So happy you stopped by.
Saundra
