THIS and THAT

In hooky stuff, here's an update to the Farm Menagerie rug.  Since the last posting I've finished one horse head and sheep on the side facing you.  Am not too impressed with my shabby sheep tho.  Perhaps if I outlined it would make it stand out more.

So you don't have to stand on your head, thought I'd flip the photo to show you the other side.  On this side the cow and bunny were completed.

And the other thing....am hoping mild weather holds out for more of my prolific volunteer cherry tomatoes to ripen.  For my salads I purchase cherry and "Medley" tomatoes.  Sometimes there is a spoiled one in the mix so I toss them on the side of the deck for birds, squirrels to eat or, if  lucky, for something to sprout in the spring.  

This is the first year I've had the yellow 'medley' style tomato grow and have been fortunate to have a few salads with those delicious little fruits.  Here is the hearty plant in all it's glory.

Here is a  close up of almost two ready for plucking.

And a pic of a whole row that could well have been in one of the packages of 'tomatoes on the vine' packages (when ripe).  Can you see them?  If not click on the photo to enlarge.

Obviously not all these green delectables will ripen for harvest, but I have a shower curtain to cover them if frost is eminent.  I'd like them to last as long as possible.  And sadly I didn't water them ~ just imagine what I'd have if I'd cared for them.

Well, back to the hooking frame.  Hope you have a great evening everyone.  Rain and more wind in the forecast.

Saundra

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HORSING AROUND

Recently discovered another horse rug of Dan Patch.  This one has a scallop border and measures 36.5 x 41.5.  If you tap on the photo it should enlarge so you can see the stitching on the edge of the scallops.  It is still listed for sale and has one bid with the present price at $100.

Below is the other Dan Patch rug I found many months ago.  This one was said to be hooked late 19th to early 20th century (27 x 46).  Nice colors and design in this one.

If you don't know anything about the horse you can read about him HERE.  There are even Dan Patch Days events each year in Savage, MN and a Dan Patch Festival in Oxford, IN.  I have never been into harness racing, or any horse racing as far as that goes, but do love all horses.  

Billy, the guy I was dating, had a sister who trained race horses.  So one weekend the family went to Shenandoah Downs to watch a race one of her horses was running.  I am the one with a scarf in the photo below.  Billy is behind me and his parents to the right and left of me.  That is Billy's sister Rebecca holding the reins of the horse.

Dating Billy is my only claim to 5 minutes of fame as he was singer/song writer Billy Graves.  He also stared on CBS as half of a duo known as The Country Lads and were regular performers on the Jimmy Dean show.  Billy is in the front, Dick Flood in the back of the photo below.

Billy also sang solo, probably best known for singing The Shag.

If you search his name you can find recordings of some of his songs.  Just remember those recordings were in the 50's and 60's so the acoustics and arrangements don't have the impact that today's technology provides.

Saundra

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OLDIES BUT GOODIES

Not too many great rugs to be found lately.  Or at least not many which floats my boat.  This one is still listed for sale and was promoted as "a stylized floral".  But I see puppies more than the two blooms, measures 22.5 x 38..  

Here  is a view of the back and while no date was provided as to age, you can see the burlap is brittle and breaking.

Lots of eye stimulation in this stag rug.  Circa 1900 and dimensions are 31 x 45.

Cat, butterflies, acorns, etc., dated 1888 (24.5 x 43.5).

I've had this rug of carriage horses since February 2025 and didn't show it as I was hoping to find a photo of the front.  This is the back and the auction house said it was hooked 19th century (20.5 x 36).

A floral circa 1890 with dimensions of 26 x 28.5.

Not sure whether this is a goose or swan.  I know swans have a longer neck but could the length be hidden in the curvature at the back?  Whatever it is, it's a waterfowl, lol.

Think I've shown this previously but it is, or was up for auction again.  Dated circa 1900 and measures 40 x 43.5, which is a sizeable rug.

A floral and geometric with hit and miss border.  It measures 18 x 36, circa 1920.

Another rug with a hit and miss border is this pot of flowers, circa 1900 (21 x 49.5).

It's raining  leaves outside and will be in the 30's tonight.  Weatherman says it will warm up for the weekend so don't plan to turn on the heat just yet.  Wonder if I can make it until November to turn it on?

Guess I'll go pick up some pinecones and limbs from the heavy winds before I can enjoy happily hooking.

Saundra

LONELY HEARTS CLUB

It has been 2 weeks since the Hearts Hook-along began.  Lauren managed to pull a rabbit out of her hat even with her week of travel, making items to ship for someone's event and other commitments, she managed to whip this up in short order.  Bet she never hooked that fast before.   Lauren drew her pattern a tad larger than mine at 22.5 x 33.

You may have seen Nancy's rug already on her blog.  She completed her rug leaving me in the dust.

Below is a photo of her background wool.

I drew my pattern 20.5 x 30 and am working on two rugs at the same time.  Nothing new for me as I do enjoy having a plus one to work on when boredom sets in.   

Well, that's it for 3 of us, the other 8 participants should be sharing their creativity soon.  So you've lots more to look forward to.

 
Saundra

www.facebook.com/WoodlandJunctionHookedRugs

THE FOX and her DEN

The fox is hooked and so is her den.  Decided to pull a couple loops to suggest a couple kits inside the den.  So it is now time to clean up the mess I've made around myself ...again... and switch back to the Hearts rug. 

Here is a PSA for my readers ~ if you have a PC which cannot be upgraded to WIN11 please do a final 'windows update' to your WIN10 system by Monday 10/13 as the very next day Microsoft discontinues updating the system.  Microsoft says it will still be useable, but just remember to be extremely careful of what you click on.  

I'll continue to use my old WIN10 PC sometimes, since my new WIN11 doesn't have a CD drive so might find it useful by keeping the old PC.  The Norton virus protection won't expire on the old PC until January.

Something I learned which you may also find useful if you can't afford a new WIN 11 computer is the availability of Microsoft patches for the old 1IN 10 operating system.   You can learn more about that HERE.  But don't forget to do your last update on WIN10 this Monday!!!

Happy Hooking.

Saundra 

MY STANDARD FARE

The title is my lame attempt to indicate another antique rug show is about to begin.  There is something about this first rug which really intrigues me.  

It may really just be a folk art pot of flowers, but it reminds me of classic art painting of perhaps a Van Gogh or a Picasso but done with wool.  The auction house said it was hooked 19th century and measures 28 x 30.  I wonder if there is something growing out of the pot or something flowing into the pot?

Here is another rug which I found about the same time, perhaps even hooked by the same person.   A folky style deer 19 x 34.

This next rug has a bold contrasting border for the soft colors of a floating 3 mast Clipper Ship inside.  No date was provided but measurements are 35 x 53.

Running horse hooked early 20th century (30 x 45).

And the auction house provided a photo of a corner of the back.  Notice the nice gold paisley fabric used for the binding.  Also appears to have been hooked on burlap.

There are several other antique rug photos on my flash drive but they aren't floating my boat so won't bother showing them tonight. Besides, there is a fresh pot of homemade chili which is calling me.

Happy Hooking.

Saundra

HEARTS HOOK-ALONG PREVIEW

This a preview of my accomplishments, or lack thereof, of Hearts Hook-Along.  Other participants' works will be forthcoming.  Here is what I've hooked so far ~ just the top part of the border.  Think I'll then put the pattern aside to work a little more on the Farm Menagerie.  Having taken a break from it I'm anxious to work on it again.  Oh, and I'm guessing since we all determined that one critter was a fox perhaps the odd looking blob behind it is a fox hole/den?

Here's  what I've hooked so far and wish I'd been able to complete the corner but it is late in the day and want to do a blog post.

For those participating in this hook along, you can send me photos of your work to my email address.  If you don't know my email address you can use the EMAIL ME location on the right side bar of my blog.

As I'm hooking the border in a hit and miss like the original, I've loads of loose worms all over the place, which makes the switch from pattern to pattern a living nightmare.  But it will give me an opportunity to organize those worms mid-project instead of at the end when it would be worse.

Even tho I really wanted to complete that left corner, I'm looking forward to working on the Farm Menagerie after over a week.

Today I received my wool order from The Wool Studio and have a question for you who purchase from her.  Since her wool is now "TW" (tight weave) do you still wash the wool or use as is?  I've washed some previously and it came out really thick and almost coat weight.  Haven't washed this wool yet, thought I'd like to find out what other people do.  TIA.

Saundra

FARM ANIMALS UPDATE

But before I show you the update, there's a question on one of the animals.  What kind of animal do you think is circled below?  I think it looks more like a fox than a dog.  Yeah, it is bigger than the sheep to the left but dimensions don't matter in primitive hooking.

Okay, now for the update.  Haven't pulled any loops on this since starting the Hearts Hook-along October 1st and am kinda missing it now.  But it is nice to have something else to work on when boredom sets in.

Another chilly morning with inside house temps at 66 and I'm dressed in sweats.  Will be warmer and near 80 by Monday yet it won't last long as winter is inevitable.  

Happy Hooking.

Saundra

MISC. CHIT CHAT

Baby, it's chilly outside.  This morning's wake up was enough incentive for me to check the propane level in the tank for backup heat.  Right now level is good so no need to order yet.  

The nut trees on my property have dropped numerous quantities which makes me think it will be a harsh winter.  Some predictions of a heavy snowfall may be observed in lots of mushroom growth, of which I've seen mounds of about my wooded area and in view from the house.  Oh well, I don't live in Florida so will deal with winter when it gets here.  If you want to learn other signs of harsh and white winter check it out HERE.

Have found a few great old rugs ~ some wonderful and some I'm not so crazy about.  Something about this abstract pot of flowers grabbed my attention right away and I love it.  Circa 1900 and measures 37 x 41.5.

This pinwheel center designed rug is awesome too.  Was hooked mid to late 19th century.   Both of these rugs are still up for auction.

This poor rooster rug has seen lots of wear.  Wish the back side photo had been available to see it's true colors and perhaps identify other motifs.

I have nothing against beavers but they haven't been on my to hook list.  Yet I've recently seen a few beaver rugs.  This one was hooked early 20th century and hails from Quebec (21.5 x 40.5).

Plus two more.

A geometric runner hooked between 1920-30, dimensions of 20 x 39.

Dated 1889, is this lovely rug with flowers and birds in Urn.  

These ducks didn't take a very flattering photo; hooked early 20th century (46 x 60).  Wish whoever took the photo had placed it neatly on the floor instead of having ripples.

Below is a faded dog rug measuring 24 x 44.

This next hooked piece is behind glass.  Why in the world would anyone cover up beautiful work?  You can see reflections of items in the room in the glass which ruins the beauty underneath.

When I first saw the cat rug thought those were bats along the border.  But turns out they were just designs.

More for the feline lovers (specifically for Robin) I'm doubling the pleasure.  No other info on either rug.

That's it for the rug show.  In other rug hooking chit chat, Rugs by the Sea rug camp 2025 began 9/28 thru 10/3, tomorrow.  This is the first time in 22 years I've ever chosen to not attend.  What used to be a thriving and wonderful rug camp has been a total disappointment since the organizational change.  So I decided it was no longer worth my money or time to attend.  Most of the primitive hookers who used to attend have stopped attending also.  What a shame the camp has been run into it's future demise.

Guess I'll go pull a few loops on the Hearts Hook along.  Happy hooking!

Saundra

TOMORROW

Hard to believe tomorrow is October already.  Seems like the last 9 months have zipped by like when I fast forward thru TV commercials.  Yet when I was a teen it seemed like forever for an anticipated event to happen in just a week.  

Anyway, here is the hook along design a few of us will start tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to having a 'plus one' to work on and give me a break from the small critters I've been hooking of late.  Here is some yardage and cannot recall where it was purchased but had been here for years until I found it at the bottom of a shelf.  Finally used it in my reclining sheep rug and still have some left.

Went first to the worm baggie and pulled those left from the sheep rug to start with the outlines.  The dark red stripe from the plaid will be used in the hearts along with an overdyed piece you also see.  As for the rest of the color planning, that will be by the seat of my pants as it always is.

Although I drew what I saw in the original antique below, I just might change the right inside heart to make it more heart shaped.  Could still have it look a little wonky but not as much as in the photo below.  Perhaps the woman who hooked it years ago ran out of the red and filled in with what she had.  You know that old saying, "Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without".

Am looking forward to seeing color choices the other 9 participants will make.  It is always fun to see how other folks hook the same design and just how much color affects the results.  Participants are free to take creative license to make their rug one they will enjoy.

Happy hooking!! 💖

Saundra

FARM MENAGERIE UPDATE

Am still hooking on the farm menagerie rug awaiting the start date of the hook along.  If I didn't have this to work on I'd probably start Hearts and Squares early.

Some of the critters (chicks and rabbits) are so small it is hard to get a good shape hooking them.  For those I'm cutting #8.5 strips in half. Can see I've lost the shape of the horse's face, which is hooked in a wider cut.  Will try to fix that.  And what to do with the house color?  I don't want white.  Maybe a pale yellow but wanted yellow for the star.  And don't really want white for the star either.  Maybe I'll try a log cabin for the house.

After the photo was taken I pulled a few more loops but didn't bother taking another photo since it was the border.  Wasn't sure what color to hook the border with but eventually chose brown. 

Below is the original rug and at first I didn't know what the ladder or blocks were on  the left and right side of the rug.  Then decided it must be a fence.

Nothing monumental in the post, just me working my thought process through you on this format.  Hope everyone has a pleasant day....and happy hooking.

Saundra