GOT DANDELIONS ?

If so, follow the saying "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade".  

I'm not making lemonade, instead will make a dye recipe.  I've never done this before so this is a maiden voyage for me.  To dye half yard of wool it requires 4 cups dandelions.  All I could conjure up from my big yard was 2 1/2 cups.

I put those in a mesh bag you see in the photo just above and under the dandelions, which I've used when doing onion skin dyeing.  Then went back outside to deadhead some daffodils to make up the difference.

The dandelions and daffodils are to soak overnight, will dye tomorrow and show you the results after that.  But tomorrow morning must purchase some alum which is the mordant.  Actually it requires alum and cream of tartar.  I have the latter.  

Hope this isn't a disappointment for both of us and if so I'll not waste my time snapping off dandelion blooms and instead will leave them for the bees.  However, there are still many more buds which will bloom for them.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

FRIDAY FINISH

Finally it's all hooked.  Guess I'll have to get back to my binding ritual watching The Five.  Actually it took me a couple days under a month to hook this rug which I drew 25.5 x 35.

Now my focus will be on hooking an eagle for a spot on the wall along with my step-father's military memorabilia.  Plans are, right now, to hook it in the mix of gold-like colors similar to the original antique seen below.

As usual I'll start by pulling out similar colors from my wool worms to see what works before cutting anything else.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.  It's cloudy with a chance of rain today but temps in the mid 70's.  More rain predicted for tomorrow to join what's already in my nature-made lake out back.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

 

RUG SHOW

A hen with her chicks and basket of eggs.  No date but measures 23 x 41.

This pony hooked late 19th century has an interesting background.  If you look closely you can see 4 scrolls hidden in the randomly hooked hit and miss colors.  (34 x 41)  

A soft floral antique with many hearts hooked in the border.

Hooked between 1890-1920 is this red dog rug from Jordan, Ontario.  That looks like a crochet edge.  Oh, the rug's dimensions are 34 x 40.

Rabbits and horse in excellent shape and nice colors.  As much as I love both animals this isn't a rug I'd be interested in replicating.

Another interesting background which I pondered ~ I wondered if the hooker had this background design in mind from the start.  Because IF those were the limited colors she had did she make a conscious decision to do this vs. a hit and miss background?    Rug measures 25 x 38 and advertised in an old issue of Maine digest.

Bowl of red flowers with no date or size.

I love horses but this one isn't attractive to me.  Actually it is the unappealing bold directional hooked background.  Yet, the first hooked rug of hen and chicks with directional hooking I did find appealing.  If I was to hook this one I'd definitely do a different background.

Last is a cat rug measuring 21.5 x 36 and hooked 20th century but don't know if that is early, mid or late 20th.  

That's the end of this show.  Gonna run the vacuum in the living room and kitchen, prepare lunch of steamed zucchini with pasta sauce then hook some on the deer rug.  Wanna get that dang thing done!

Saundra

www.woodlandjunction primitives.weebly.com