Various Topics & New Project

After breakfast and with a decent day ahead (no rain!) it was grass cutting time.  With the push mower I cut Ben's back yard.  Yes, I still call it that since my ex put up the fence for sweet boy Ben.  Unlike the other dogs who lived here, Ben liked to wander and look for cars to chase.  

By the time the back yard was cut it was time for lunch.  I made this very delicious salad ~ has a scoop of tuna salad, romaine lettuce, radicchio, strawberries, gourmet medley tomatoes and sliced avocado.  Didn't have any raspberry vinaigrette dressing so used balsamic vinaigrette.  It was as delicious as it looks.

After lunch I started the riding mower and cut the remainder of the lawn AFTER walking around a couple acres picking up pine cones and limbs from yesterday's wind frenzy.  Finally just after 2 p.m. the yard was done, I got cleaned up and could sit to pull a few loops.

You seasoned rug hookers already know this information, so am trying to help the newbies.  Yet it is always fun to read a blog about rug hooking no matter how long one has been hooking.... I get it.

I'm a primitive hooker and one of the basics is to "outline and fill".  That process can be done two ways.  The purpose of that is to keep the motif within the drawn lines.  If you color (hook) outside the lines of the motif it gets bigger and will ruin the intended shape.

Here is the new pattern on my frame.  It is a design by Kelley Belfast called Cat Nap.  I drew mine smaller than the recent order; mine measures 13 x 20.

I outlined the cat inside the drawn lines and will fill.  Later I will put a row of background around the cat to contain those loops.

But there is yet another way of outlining a motif and that is to hook the background around the motif first.  That is exactly what hooker friend Pam Gunn did when she hooked Antique Floral Theorem.  She wanted to be sure there was a good edge to hook the urns against.  Also she would hide her ends rather than having them butt up against the background outline.  

That might be a lesson for another day on how to hide the ends as there are also a couple ways to do that.

In case you are thinking the vases aren't equal in size or shape....you would be right.  The original antique wasn't either.  So when Pam ordered the pattern from me I brought this to her attention as well as the scallops at the top of the urn being wonky.  Pam said to draw it like the antique with all its quirkiness as that is what makes an antique adaptation.

Pam, thanks for your permission to use your rug as an example, and thank you Kelley for allowing me to draw patterns on your behalf.

Oh but my back is killing me ~ with the combination of age, arthritis, degenerative disc disease and scoliosis I'm feeling a little rough.  Think this glass of Cab will help that a little.  Since I don't take pain meds the wine IS my medication 😄.  Now back to pulling a few loops and sipping.

Enjoy your Sunday.  Can't believe it is May 1st in just a couple days.  

Saundra