Rug Show Anyone?

I'm oh so close to being finished hooking the sheep rug but not ready yet to post another photo.  Instead decided to entertain you will some
old rugs.

I love this eagle rug with lions and stars below.  Only information available was that it was from Douglassville, PA.  

 

The deer rug below with the chewed up edges is attractive to me but wish I could view the back of the rug to see true colors and if those are trees on the sides or trees and part of house.  Or, maybe she just used what she had to highlight her subject....the mighty buck.

Below is a rug dated 1920 from an estate in Connecticut entitled "Gathering Eggs".

Especially for Kelley, who already knows the primitive shape of cats, here is a framed 1887 piece offered by Garth.

OMG, does this rug below speak Hallow's Eve?  All that is missing is a moon and maybe a pumpkin or two.  Me thinks thinks Me will hook it but October is coming so fast.  But I plan to do a pattern and name it Scardy Cat when the designing is done.

Cannot believe it is Labor Day Weekend coming up.  Where did this year go??  My heart goes out to the people in Texas and Louisiana and this weekend we in Delaware will feel the residual effects of the rain from Harvey as it moves out of their area.

Plus, there is another storm brewing in the Atlantic Ocean named Irma and she is heading this way in perhaps 2 weeks.  Yup, sad to say it might hit the east coast.  Hope it changes it mind.  

Hope you have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend.

Saundra

Have You Any Wool?

Thought I'd give you an update on progress of the rug on my frame.  It took a while for me to find leaf colors for the border which were to my liking but am now happy.  That green had to go.

For those new to my blog, this is a rug design offered by Woolley Fox called Have you Any Wool....the title of my post.  I reshaped the body of the sheep to give an appearance of a skein of yarn and am quite pleased how it turned out.  

I've been asked what the background and border wool is ~ here is a photo.  For the life of me cannot remember the name of either wool or where it was purchased.  But was either  purchased from Betsy or Rebecca.

The background is the lightest section of the plaid wool mixed with some of the lighter textured wool of the same color.  The border was hooked using the darkest section of the plaid.  And thank goodness I have enough to finish the border.

I'm looking forward to finishing this rug, getting it bound then finishing up an adorable design by Kelley.  If you haven't purchased her New-Old Designs pattern book please contact her.  You can check out her blog on the previous link to view some of her designs.

My heart goes out to all those folks living in Texas.

Saundra

LOST and FOUND

A few years ago my computer with WIN07 crashed and along with it went pictures on the hard drive.  Sadly I didn't think ahead so not all my rug photos were saved to a flash drive.  Recently when starting to recreate my list of hooked rugs (also lost in the crash) was unable to find a particular original design I named "Great Escape".

That is until yesterday.  Out of the blue I receive a phone call from a gal I met over 10 years ago while visiting Cape May rug camp.  Caran wanted to know if I was attending camp this year and if so which week. Long story short....she said thru a photo of a fish rug she had on her iPad she was able to track me down.  

Say WHAT??????  Did it have a purple fish in it?  She said it did and sent me the photo.  Who'da thunk it!  Here is the lost picture of the rug ~ it is found again and safely saved to a flash drive.  Below is a photo in bright sunlight on  my deck.

Below is a photo of Great Escape in subdued lighting without a flash on my back porch. 

Here is a photo of the rug in bright sunlight on my deck.  As the colors are not something I could live with in my home sold the rug at an art fair at a beach resort.   

Oddly enough several years later I am to design and hook another rug with bright colors which does live in my house.  The one below I named Ali Katz.

It is fun to see the Great Escape again and it brings back fond memories of the class with Gail DuFresne.  Thanks Caran, for the phone call and hope you enjoy Cape May whichever week you visit.

My heart goes out to all those living in Texas.

Saundra 

Hidden Image

Did you see it?  Did you see a camouflaged hidden image anywhere in this 1920's rug?

Take a look at the tree on the right......  do you see it now?  Here it is enlarged below.  All decked out with the gnome cap too.

Happy Friday to you all.  

Saundra

Some Old Rugs

Below is a nice welcome mat with hearts in all the corners and nice neutral hit and miss border.

Two dogs reclining with a light neutral geometric style background to make it more interesting in appearance and probably more interesting for the person to hook.

Below is a Barbara Merry snow scene and while it may not be real old Barbara is well known.

The auction house said the Welcome rug with cat and dog was hooked in the 1800's.  It is mounted but you can see loose loops at the edge along the black framing.

Below is an early 20th century hooked rug of horses, flowers and pennies.

And here is the backside view for the actual colors before fading or soiling.

Now, on a more folky style of rug but still worthy of viewing IMHO are these next two rugs.  I recently saw this cottage hooked piece on an auction web site and it was immediately endearing to me.

Reason it was so endearing is because it reminded me of a rug at Barb Carroll's former Guest House for rug hookers.  In May 2016 Barb asked me if I'd noticed the newly purchased piece handing on the wall in the bathroom.  Well of course I had and took a picture of it.  Here is that rug.

 

Barb's rug reminds me of a Gnome's cottage and when seeing the one above Barb's was immediately reminded.  Now....... okay you creative folks.  Look at Barb's Gnome cottage rug and let me know if you see a hidden image.

On another note, I do believe I've found my way with the "Have you any Wool" rug.  Will try to hook more so that I can attempt to catch up with Kelley's loops.  

S

Yup...That Green Must Go

Did a smidgen more hooking without pulling out the green just to see the difference.   Now I feel quite comfortable pulling out that green.

Wasn't quite sure how many new colors I could introduce to the rug so thought I'd toss a little dark red in there and it looks great.  

There will be more tweaking than just the two green leaves so stay tuned to see how this ball of yarn sheep turns out.

In case you didn't read it before, this design is called Have you Any Wool and is a design by Carol Endres offered by Woolley Fox.  It measures 23 x 31.

Saundra

Taking A Critical Look

I have flip flopped between 3 projects over the last few weeks and decided to concentrate on just one to get it finished.  The "Have You Any Wool" is a pattern offered by Woolley Fox and put it on hold because of the border.  Sure thought my color planning would work out perfectly but suddenly became undecided.

Looking at the pattern saw the sheep as a skein of yarn so chose to hook the sheep like that. Was totally happy how the sheep turned out so my plan worked even though I know a tail of a sheep is longer than hooked. 

The border is my problem.  Actually am happy with the dark part of the plaid as the border but wasn't sure what to do with the leaves and pennies (flowers).

Seems I boxed myself into a corner with limited color choices for leaf colors.  So guys and gals who visit my blog I thank you for taking the time to visit and comment.  Nothing fake about  me, I tell it like it is and show my true self.  

I love hooking rugs but struggle with color planning like the rest of you....or perhaps some of you.  If only I'd taken this to a class with Barb Carroll she would have fixed my problem in a nano second.

Have a great evening everyone.   

Saundra

Some Old Rugs to Enjoy

Since progress on my three is moving at a snail's pace thought I'd entertain you with some old rugs.  Below is Little Bo Peep which was hooked around 1940

Below is a rug found in Darnstown, PA area and was to have been hooked about 1930.

On the auction site the rug below was named Fisherman's House and hooked 19th century.

This folk art pictorial of the pioneer frontier was said to have been hooked between 1880- 1920.

A stylized swan with hit and miss background and no date given.

Auction house says the Birds in Tree was found in Pennsylvania and hooked about 1890.

I'm hungry already but today is my lucky day (not) as I'm on a liquid diet for my roto rooter main event tomorrow.  So far I've consumed 4 of the required 10 8 ounces of 'the magic potion'.  Guess I won't stray too far from the house today, huh?

Saundra

Movin' On and UFR's

I tend to get bored working on one thing at a time EVEN IF I love what I'm working on.  Presently I have 3 hooking projects going ...otherwise known as UF?  Huh?  Why were they called UFOs?  So I think that this day forward they should be known as UFR's.  Un-Finished Rugs.

Anyway, tucked safely away is my sheep (which I want done before Cape May), Kelley's adorable pumpkin (an October rug), and my grandson's rug which is a Christmas gift.  Yes December is a bit away but must be perfect for my grandson and want it done in good time.

Now I'm getting excited about working on this one for my grandson again.  It has been in the basket for way too long.

Hope you have a great evening.  Frankly I'm on edge as tomorrow is Ben's stay and play test to see if the kennel will accept him so I can attend rug camp at Cape May in September.  

Saundra

Black and Blue

I love this design from the doodles of Kelley Belfast and it was love at first sight.  Doesn't it look like the birdie is whispering into an ear?  Her sketch just cracked me up and knew this was the one I wanted to hook.

Color planning in the beginning was to over-dye wool and cut new strips. But was too excited to begin hooking so decided to use strips from my worm bags. 

Working up close to the rug and under the OTT light some of the colors didn't look right so kept reverse hooking and didn't make much headway on this smallish mat (13.5 x 22.5).  However, looking in the picture here I kinda like what I see; it looks primitive and naive.  So me thinks me will just pull strips and hook randomly. If two dark strips end up next to each other or two lights strips....so be it. At least I'll be working thru my pre-cut wool strips.  

If you would like to purchase Kelley's new/old doodles booklet please contact her at the link above.  If you would like to hook this design or another in her booklet but don't have the resources or skills to do so, contact me and I will draw the design on Dorr Natural Primitive linen. Kelley has given me the authority to draw patterns from her designs.

Happy rainy Saturday.

Saundra

A Little Birdie Told Me

After receiving Kelley's "New/Old Designs" booklet was set on hooking a sunflower after seeing what she was hooking....UNTIL.. thumbing thru her sketches.  When I saw a drawing that spoke to me.  

That drawing was an unusual shaped pumpkin and wee bird.  The stem on the pumpkin looked like an ear to me which the birdie was whispering something into.  That is why I've called this "A Little Birdie Told Me".

This smallish design I drew was meant as a quick hook and measures 13 1/2 x 22 1/2 .  While I had grandiose ideas about over dying wool instead decided to pull from my cut strips.  

Have a great evening everyone and happy hooking.  

Saundra

Get'n Ready

The sheep rug isn't finished but having received Kelley Belfast's latest "New Old Designs" pattern booklet am planning to start another small project.

When Kelly posted her piece on her BLOG my heart was set to hook a sunflower too.  But after thumbing thru the templates and designs of her new booklet had other ideas.  One design just grabbed me. 

So picking some templates have drawn out a nice easy size of a pattern I'm calling "A Little Birdie Told Me".  It is from the art work and doodles of Kelley Belfast but not a sunflower.  At least not this time.

Huh?  You can't see the design?  Dang.... The wool I began pulling has covered it up.  But even the wool choices might change since that blue NEEDS to be put in a pot of dye and mottled.  Plus, there is a choice between the orange which needs a soaking with khaki drab or using the piece to the right which I mottled using a Karen Kahle method. 

So stick around and see what is on my frame next.  Which means I will now have two project floating around.

Have a great evening and hope you are safe from the crazy weather, happy and healthy.

Saundra

Have You Any Wool Pattern

Didn't get to pull any loops on the rug this morning until after lunch. First was 1 1/2 hours of grass cutting before the next monsoon starts this evening.  And then my second shower of the day.

The pattern is from the art work of Carol Endress and a design offered by Woolley Fox.  The pattern measures 23 x 31.

Not a good photo even tho it was with a flash.  I wanted to see if the green leaf color would work or if I should choose another color.

Then took a photo on the back deck with natural light hoping to get a better photo.  Nope, no better.

So I will continue to work on the inside background and finish the leg before working on the border and choosing leaf colors.

When asked what my thoughts were on the shape of the sheep, a couple of you commented it looked like a skein of yarn.  That made my day.  And, yes I understand a sheep tail is longer and fuller but decided to make the sheep appear more like that skein of yarn instead.

Have a great Sunday evening.

Saundra

UPDATE

FYI, there is an update to my blog.  If you look to the right section there is a place for you to send me a message.  I'm thinking this might be a way for those of you who don't know you are a NO-REPLY Blogger to communicate with me.  Guess I won't know until someone tries it. 

You can use that as an opportunity to ask questions about hooking techniques, frames, foundation fabrics, etc.  Some might find this an easier way to communicate with me.  SO, Elaine A...... please try this to see if I can get your message.  

So to continue...... Here is what I've accomplished on Have You Any Wool, which is a pattern by Woolley Fox.

In a previous post showed the wool I'd use.  For the background it would be the lighter part of the plaid. And am using the darker section for the border.  Must admit I'm worried about coming up with a leaf color with the teal.  All will work out I'm sure. I'm a glass half full type of person.

Happy Friday everyone.

Saundra

Have You Any Wool?

Yup, that's the name of the pattern I'm working on.  It is a pattern design by Carol Endress and offered by Woolley Fox except it isn't listed on the web site.  So if you are interested please contact Katie.

Those of you who said the sheep looked like a skein or ball of yarn were correct.  That is exactly what my vision was but wasn't sure I'd be able to pull it off.  The difficulty was the head and the rear due to shape.  But still glad it was good enough that some knew.

Since yesterday have decided on two possible background and border choices.  What makes the decision difficult is having a GREY sheep and BLACK face and legs.  So a light background would conflict with the light grey sheep.  A dark background would loose the legs of the sheep.

OH NO.... what's a hooker to do?  (a little humor here).

So looking thru my humongous stash of wool knew there WAS an answer.  Above is a teal plaid which just might work.  The light teal strip cut for the background would be nice and the darker section for border would work well with adding flowers of any color.

My other thought was a red background and using the black legs and face for the border and using the red for flowers.

So, stay tuned to find out what I decide.  BUT... as always do truly enjoy your input.

Saundra

What Was I Thinking??

That isn't a rhetorical question.  Actually I'd like to know what you thought I was thinking when hooking the sheep.  Just wish the legs were hooked too but I've been tardy enough posting on my blog so decided to go for it without the legs.

The design is called "Have You any Wool" and is a pattern offered by Woolley Fox.  I had a vision but think this one fell short of my expectations, unlike the Gossip rug.  So what do you think I was trying to accomplish here?

Since I took liberties changing the shape of the sheep's body decided to shorten the legs as well.  Now to hook the legs and decide what the heck the background and border colors will be.  Background can't be too dark because of the dark face.  Can't be too light either because of the grey sheep.

As I have a tendency to paint myself in a corner....stick around and see how I work myself out of this mess.

Happy Tuesday all.

Saundra