Am Bored ~ So back to my Hooked Pieces

Still no new project on my frame but at least I've started whipping the edge of Flower Power.  Also started tracing out the sketch of the pattern planned but got bored doing that.  To prove just how bored I was ~  pulled out the vacuum and cleaned up my wool room and organized my master paper patterns.  So you know just how un-motivated I am on what to hook next.

The first rug camp each year was usually in May with wonderful teacher and perfect colorist Barb Carroll.  The 2014 class project was Magdalena's Farm and it has the signature bits of purple.  

Rugs by the Sea rug camp is September and hooked a memorial of my departed Shadow.  That class was with Diane Stoffel and I hooked Shadow in #8.  OOPS, I see that the date on the photo for Shadow was 2013.

Which means the rug hooked at Cape May 2014 was Ali Katz, a design I drew and hooked for a class with Ali Strebel.

November class with Betsy Reed in Ocean City, MD was Olde Ducks, another Magdalena design.

The rest of the rugs hooked that year were on my own at home.  One was another Woolley Fox design hooked was the small version of Folk Art Horse.

The Chicken Challenge offered by Woolrights Guild seemed like fun and this was my version with the blotchy background.  Should probably have kept the hit and miss upper corners but I love the faded background of antique rugs.

Just before Halloween I designed and hooked a piece named Mache' Jacks.  Unfortunately I don't own an antique mache'Jack so made the one on the table and hooked the likeness in this mat.  OMG, I love that mat if I must say so myself.

That year I finally finished hooking an antique adaptation started well over 5 years prior.  The original 1890 antique rug in the style below was sometimes referred to as "Waved and Stepped" pattern, according to the Joel and Kate Kopp book.  I named it Granny Geometric since it reminded me of the crochet afghan squares.  But more recently has come to be known as a Zig Zag rug.  Perhaps that is the name given by the woman who most recently drew and hooked it.  

An adaptation of Pot of Flowers antique was a smallish, easy and fast mat to hook.

Was in the mood for another antique adaptation so drew and hooked what I named The Cat's Meow.  This is the rug hanging on the wall of a log cabin over a bed.  It was difficult to get a good view of the rug even tho the owner sent me personal photos.

An antique design haunting me for some time was this adaptation which I call Hearts and Swags and made into pillow form.

For years on my 'to do' list and finally hooked was the antique Santa and Deer adaptation.  I've seen various border designs and did mine plain so as to not take away from the main focus.

I hooked small pieces like a hit and miss circle mat (not shown) and welcomed people to join me.  And designed an adaptation from the Harriet Powers Bible Quilt piece which I named "500 Mile Betts".  After the Cape May rug camp I gave it to my friend Evelyn.

Hopefully something will SOON motivate me to make a choice of design to hook.  But for now will slowly whip Flower Power.

Saundra

Questions from a Newbie and Answers

One of the questions Julie asked was where to hook after the major motif has been hooked.  Usually the major motif is in the center of the design, the largest and focus of the rug.  In this adaptation of an antique which I named "Cat's Meow", if memory serves me, I hooked the cat in the middle, the star and some background around that first.

Then I would have defined and held the outer edge by hooking (in this case) a one row border and working my way in with the heart, flowers and berries, then working background as I made my way along each edge and toward the center.  

But everyone has their own system that works best for them.  There is no right or wrong way.  But sometimes there is a 'best way'.  That is in the instance of 'hooking what is on top first'.

A prime example of 'hooking what is on top first' is Ali Katz.  I hooked the forward green cat first since it is standing in front of the blue cat. Had I hooked the blue cat first the face and shoulder of the green cat would have been distorted.  Therefore I had to hold the body space for that green cat.  Next I would have hooked the blue cat since it was in front or on top of the others.  And followed that theory throughout the rug.  Since background is very boring I try to hook my background around the motifs as I go.

The other question Julie asked was when to hook the border and the worry of loops being pulled out if the hooked section is on the grippers.

Fortunately I have a Snapdragon frame which is great since it has paddles which when flipped tightens the linen on the frame as tight as a drum.  Then when you want to release the pattern you flip the 4 paddles again and just lift off the pattern no problem.  Word of caution here is the paddles have magnets in them.  The Snapdragon frame comes in laptop, floor frame style and too many to mention.  So click on the link above and contact them to see if they can fill your needs or ask questions.  Mine is on a floor frame and mine has wooden paddles which is/was a little cheaper.

But, if budget is limited and cannot afford another frame here is what you do, as I didn't always have a Snapdragon.  What you need to do is grip your pattern and gently pull downward away from the grippers to release those teeth from the holes of the linen.  Do that EASY and then as easily and slowly lift outward and upward on each of the four sides until the linen is free.

I still do use a regular gripper frame and that is what it takes to remove the pattern without causing much pulling out of loops.  Now, that said, there may always be a lump in the back where the loop was teased out a little.  But immediately correct it by pulling the loop or loops back up.

A disclaimer here..... I am not the know all of hooking lessons as I'm self taught and picked up what else from teachers I've had.  But what I do try is help newbies be a little further ahead than I was when there were no blogs to explain things.  

There is still much I need and want to learn.  One thing I'd LOVE to know is how to avoid the ripple of the edge of a rug when there is a triangle design.  Obviously I did something wrong when I hooked this back in the day.

Have a great November 1st; hard to believe we are in the month of Thanksgiving and soon will be Christmas again.  Thankfully, one of my gifts is already hooked and ready for hanging!!!!!!  So glad I started early.

Saundra

Goings On Here

Yesterday I told you of the recent pattern sales.  One was for Domestic Zoo which can be viewed at the top of my blog.  Since it is a popular pattern there is usually always one ready to ship; now need to get another to replace the one just sold.  In the same order was this Ali Katz design which needed to be drawn.  Both shipped yesterday.

Then later in the afternoon yesterday had an order for my Mache' Jacks so Deb can get a head start hooking it to display along with her antique mache' Jacks this October.

Also want to mention half of binding Chum has been done, the worst part, which is the outer edge.  The inside will be a piece of cake and go fast so I set Chum aside for today.  Then pulled a few loops on my son's rug and concentrated on getting the rest of the wording hooked.  Will show you progress tomorrow.

 

And believe it or not have even worked some in the wool room getting yardage a home and rearranging to make the space more work friendly.  Pictures there aren't ready to share yet tho.

 

Tomorrow will also show you a huge rug my gal pal finished binding recently.  It is Magdalena's Animal Parade.  So check back tomorrow to see what else is happening.

 

OH!!!!!!!  I would like a little help from my viewers.  On my side bar is a list of "bloggers who hook".  That is my very favorite place to see what my friends are doing but a lot of people aren't blogging much.  SO, if YOU have a favorite hooking blog you'd like to see on my side bar please send me the link and I'll add it.  OR, if YOU are a hooker who would like me to have your blog on the side bar also please send me your blog link.

 

Have a great evening everyone and life is looking up since my wool room is making progress as is my rug binding.  TA TA.

 

Saundra

 

 

 

 

 

 

Needle Felting an Outline on a Hooked Rug

There is still a little to do on my otherwise completed Ali Katz rug.  That is needle felting the outlines.  It is all bound and I'm not in any hurry to do the needle felting since it actually looks okay as is ~ but I know it isn't 100% finished.

When I had my class with Ali Strebel this past September, my intentions were to hook an outline in a more narrow cut wool between the jaw line and other features of the cats OR use a darker color to show the shape. Here is a close up of the blue cat where you can see the outline of the nose, lip, etc.  I also chose to do needle felting inside the triangles as well as between the colors in the flower petals on the green cat. 

Yes, I could have chosen to use a darker wool on the blue cat as I did on the nose and jaw of the yellow zig zag cat and like on the jaw of the green cat but figured it was a class with Ali and wanted to try some of her techniques.  For the eyes, instead of hooking them I did the quillie eyes (a/k/a 'standing wool circles').

This is a photo of the dyed wool roving I used, the felting needle (just above the business card) and information on how to contact Ali Strebel of Kindred Spirits if you wish to purchase a package of 3 felting needles or wool roving.  You can see a small piece that was pulled off to needle felt a section that still needs to be needle felted.

And this is a cat I will demonstrate on where it is not felted on the left side facing you.

 As I work at the jaw I punch with my right hand as I gently twist and stretch out the fibers of the wool roving to make it thinner.  You can use as much or as little of the roving as you wish.

Below you can see how I needle felted the outline of that side of the cat.  What I have felted needs to be defined a little better but was in a hurry to get pictures and post this on my blog.



 FYI, this pattern does not need to have any needle  felting done to it all, that was my choice instead of hooking an outline.  So it's all up to you.  My friend Renia has purchased the pattern and will hook it at a rug camp next April and I sure hope she shares a picture with me when hers is done.  She may not do needle felting and hers will probably look more crisp than mine.  But hey, I'd never done that technique in a rug before and thought it would be fun.

Have a great Monday.

Saundra

How I Choose Wool for Rug Camp

Actually, I have done my wool selecting differently depending on the rug.  You can start by asking yourself some of these questions:

~Do You want a light or dark background?

When I hooked Magdalena's Farm with Barb Carroll my only request was to have a primitive black background and I didn't care what other colors she chose to put where.  Obviously I was quite happy with the results.  Barb used all of my wool except for the grey horse and she sold me only the amount needed to hook the horse.

This is how I packed wool for that camp. As you can see I took many more colors than needed but look how easy it would be to show the teacher what colors were available. 

I put small pieces on one of those rings you can buy at craft stores.  Think they come in a package of 3 and are used for Dream Catchers.  I put a large safety pin on the piece of wool and put it on the ring.  The wool pieces are usually less than 1/4 yard but will put a little more of that color in a container.  But having that ring, or those rings makes it easier to show the teacher rather than picking up the whole container.

Extra wool in those colors were in a plastic container which also went with me to camp.  I could leave the container in the van and only go there if I needed more than was pinned to the ring. The wool on the rings is in the colorful mesh tote.

~Is your rug for a certain room in the house?

Answering that question might lead you to a color for the main motif or choice in background as well.  Such was the case with my Ali Katz rug.  It was planned for my garden bath and my Jacuzzi tub, sinks, etc. are navy blue so I wanted a dark blue background. 

~ Do you know exactly what colors you want where already?

Again that was the case with Ali Katz because it was adapted from a silk painting I'd done in 1998.  So really the color planning was pretty much done for me, all I had to do is go thru my wool and select the colors.

There are also those times I want to replicate the antique rug and want to do it at home where there are mounds of left over wool strips.  That is what I did with Magdalena's Lollipop Bouquet.  Oh my but I do love this rug.

So for Betsy's class I am taking Magdalena's Olde Ducks pattern that I drew out.  Here are two pictures of the original.  As indicated in the book, it is unknown if the two color pictures were actually two rugs hooked by Magdalena or a picture before and after repairs may have been done, since there are slight differences.

I'm not planning on hooking my Olde Ducks exactly like Magdalena did hers as I don't want my smaller ducks quite that dark.  I'm trying to take a variety of uncut wool and several bags of woolie worms to give the rug an old look.  A lot of my pre-cut strips will remain home and this is the first time I've tried taking just SOME to do an old rug so will be interesting.

Evelyn Lawrence did all the research on Magdalena and has hooked all of her designs.  If you are interested in getting your own copy of Rug Hooking Traditions with Magdalena Briner Eby you can order it from Woolley Fox. 

Have a great Sunday.

Saundra

Whipped Wool Yarn Binding

Well it is that unpleasant chore each of us find ourselves in after enjoying the hooking process. Yup, time to bind the *bleeping* rug.  First thing I did was draw a line 1 1/2" away from the last row of hooking.  Then two rows of straight sewing machine stitches (1/4" apart) were done along that line all round.  Next was one row of zig zag stitch between those two rows of straight stitching.  That extra step connected all three rows together and made it more stable.  After that I trimmed away the excess.

Sorry about the next picture's flash back, but since the camera was close to the subject it is showing up all washed out.  I wanted you to see the corner up close.

Then I rolled the foundation FORWARD and did a running whip stitch using inexpensive thick crochet thread to hold the roll in place.  There is no cord inside as the 1 1/2" foundation rolled makes it quite substantial.  Although it is double work, I find it much easier to whip stitch the edge when it is confined and not fighting to control both the shape of the roll but the wool yarn.

Now to the wool yarn ~ I'm using Halcyon yarn and started whipping at the corner.  Hate hooking the corners because it requires more attention to be sure the area of the curve is covered so sometimes I whip in the same hole (toward the rug) sometimes I move the needle up toward the top to cover an area which shows foundation.  You get a feel for what it needs or if over done.  Sometimes I've even removed a spot of whipping to make it nicer.  Once that corner is turned it is smooth sailing until you get to the next 3 corners.

 

This is the front top left.  Again sorry for the flash back.

And that same corner on the back side. 

Tomorrow afternoon I have a doctor's appointment so I've got a little something to keep me entertained during the waiting room process.  This is when binding a rug becomes more enjoyable ~ when I need something constructive to do during the boring doctor wait.

Have a great evening everyone.

Saundra

COMFORT ZONE

Ahhhh, feels better hooking with colors and designs more in my comfort zone.  Magdalena's Folk Art Horse went back on my frame.  This is what I was working on before attending Cape May rug camp but set it aside.

FYI, the Ali Katz rug has been steamed, all the three rows of pre-sewing around the perimeter of the foundation done in preparation of the wool whipped edge.  I will enjoy the Ali Katz rug and I DO appreciate and admire bright colored rugs others hook; but for some reason it isn't  comforting for me to hook with those colors.  Perhaps I'm just an old soul who lived in a time when those OLD rugs were used. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Saundra

Taming of the Tabby

Or is it the other way around?  Yesterday, since it was time to move the rug on my frame decided to tackle the orange tabby cat again (on the far right).  If you read my previous comments about being frustrated with hooking it then you know that is why I decided to hook background for a while.

So yesterday when the unfinished tabby was staring me in the face decided to pull out orange loops and fill in the triangles with the same hot pink.  Well hey, that didn't look right either.  So I stopped hooking, gathered it up and decided I needed opinions from friends and a little liquid refreshment ~ thankfully it was Friday wine tasting time. 

I will often take hooking projects in progress to wine tasting and the locals and friends have come to expect it.  Besides, they get a kick out of saying, "hooker in the house" when arrive.  After explaining what wool I'd pulled out, the ladies and one male artist said I should put the orange back, hook a line here and fill in with the orange there.  None of the ladies are hookers but they do cross stitch, knit or quilt.  So this is what my rug is looking like now.  It seems calmer (tamed) to me now.

Just a little more border to hook, a little more needle felting to do to define some areas around or on the katz, steaming then whipping the edges.  Thankfully it WILL be done before my next camp in November.  That camp will be with Betsy Reed and will be held at The Dunes hotel in Ocean City, MD.  Then it is back to my beloved primitive hooking as I'll be hooking Magdalena Briner's Olde Ducks with Betsy.

Eventually I'll make a pattern from Ali Katz but need some time away from it first.  Also, the pattern will not include those zig zag borders, it will be more square and just the Katz.  I made mine more rectangular since there is a special place that needed that extra length.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone.

Saundra

Good Katz Bad Kat

Oh my but there is one nasty Kat giving me fits and I'm considering changing the design of it to make it more hooker friendly.  It worked fine when doing the silk painting but when you're painting with wool it makes it a little more dicey.  Uh, unless I were to hook it in a #3 NO thank you!  The problem Kat is the unfinished orange and pink to the far right. 

Yeah, I know there isn't a whole lot of progress.  That is because I get up and walk away and do something else to get a break from trudging on or changing things. 

With the body design and the tail triangles going on I'm afraid it will look like one HOT MESS.  I've re-drawn so many lines on the body to follow that I can no longer figure out the atlas I've drawn.  So ME is thinking that perhaps I'll leave this side of the rug and go finish the polka dot tail of that lovely dark orange kitty on the left and the cutie behind it.

Of course I love the design and can't wait for it to be finished so I can enjoy it.  But now is the first time since starting it that it hasn't been fun.  I'm sure things will change once I start working on the other side.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Sunday. 

Saundra

Another Decision to Make

The border decision was made after I pulled up my big girl panties and went for it.  For those of you just joining, I wanted a companion rug for a silk painting I did in 1998 inspired by Laurel Burch~esque cats to fit in a certain area. 

For the border my initial thoughts were to have diamond shapes, as in the two cats in the middle.  Or perhaps different sized blocks of color used in all the cats.  Yet that would distract from the already busy cats which are the main focus of the rug.  Finally decided what might bring the rug together was use of colors in the two cats in the middle.  I'd use the zig zag shape in the cat to the left and the colors would make the eye circle around the entire rug and pull it all toether.  Hope it works.

But NOW...... need to choose colors for the cat on the top right (see copy of my painting below). OH, I eliminated that yellow cat as seen in the picture below.  It would add to my angst of an already 'out of the box' hooking project for me.  And ....yes..... I'm still having fun.  But to add that small cat in the equasion or those tiny cats at the bottom of this painting would have been a deal breaker.

Here are my choices at hand.  The orange look close in color and value but they really are different wools.  The pink has a lighter side and darker side but the oranges are different wools.

Another choice is the same pink but a different and lighter orange added for selection choice.  Once I look at all this on the computer perhaps it will make it easier for me to choose.  Plus the flash sure does change things doesn't it; seems to make everything brighter.

And yet another option.  This is a brighter pink and eliminated it immediately after seeing this on the monitor ~ just TOO bright!!!  But thought I'd let you see what was pulled for ideas to choose from.

NOW...... Just need to choose.  Meanwhile I'll hook a little more on the border since that is a more boring task.

Have a wonderful evening everyone!!!!!

Saundra

Best Laid Plans of Mice and Rug Hookers

Seems I started out the gate as an over achiever with grandiose ideas for the border of this rug.  And it probably would have ended up as a HOT MESS even if I hadn't gotten frustrated by my math.  This is the undecipherable border with all the dashes for measurements and lines drawn thinking it would be the right one.

Yet, in retrospect decided that would have been too busy a border for the central pattern which are the cats.  So now I want to look at what I've hooked and decide if I want to do two rows of blue or a row beside the blue of the cat color above him.  For sure the bright blue needs to be at the border to bring it all together.  And since those are the two center cats perhaps they should be side by side....OR divided by a row of dark background?  Guess there will be more playing with wool tomorrow.

One thing I know for sure.....the pattern of this I offer will NOT include a border.  It will be for those beauties in the middle.  Besides, the silk painting I did of this in 1998 was only the cats in the middle; I only wanted the extra end borders to fit into a certain part of my garden bath.

 

Must say that I do like Ali's suggestion with the beading at the edges.  This rug will be on the floor but will be with VERY LIMITED walking so that double wool in places around the edge will not pose a problem.

 

Have a great evening and get ready for the temperatures to become fall like.  I'm not ready to turn the heat on so will put on sweat shirts, turtlenecks and sweat pants to keep warm until the dreaded heat.

 

Remember to be kind to one another.  Tis the season coming up with longer lines and frustration.  But just a smile and a fun comment could turn the atmosphere from dark to light.  Life is just too short so let's enjoy it's potential.

 

Saundra

Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda....

Haven't we all been there before where we second guessed ourselves? UH, yeah!!  Well that is what I'm feeling on my rug right now.  Don't get me wrong, I'm happy, but wondering how I could make it better and what I should have done.  This is what the rug looks like now. 

In looking at the photo above I wonder why I didn't put a mouse under the belly of the blue cat... or a yellow dot?   Or maybe I'll end up pulling loops and hooking a circle of a color in a few extra places.

So now it is time to figure out a border treatment.  The area this rug is meant for needed a width larger than the silk painting I did in 1998 so now have to figure out the border for the ends.  OY!

I thought of blocks of color and the beading all around the border.  But am afraid those blocks of color will take away from the beautiful cats inside since they would be so structured.   

So, I've other thoughts rambling inside my grey matter and will practice here and see what I come up with. 

In all honesty it is hard to believe that I'm still hooking a rug so far out of my box.  I believe a lot of that has to do with the inspiration from my teacher at Cape May (first week) Ali Strebel.  Ali, if you're reading this I had a blast and would take a class with you again.  OH!! And I'd want to do the Sampler again the first day too!

Check back to see what damage or progress I've made in my next post.  AND, PLEASE be kind to one another.  Kindness really does go a long way and multiplies. 

Saundra