RUG HOOKING CHIT CHAT

First of all, cannot believe it is September 1st and tomorrow is Labor Day known to all as the official end of summer.  I'll certainly welcome the cooler evenings and warm days of October for sure.

Yesterday I was quite busy cleaning up my rats nest around where I hook in the living room, over dyed some wool that had been soaking for 2 days and enlarged a pattern for my next project.  After all I WILL need something to work on when at rug camp in just 2 weeks.  TWO WEEKS!!!!!  Good grief but time has whizzed by.

Here are 2 quarter yards of wool that had soaked and then grabbed another piece which soaked for an hour or so but didn't get a photo of the before.  Actually, it was soaking when I took a photo of these wet pieces.  

I like having dark options to mix in the background for that delightful blotchy look one sees in antique rugs.  Here is the result of all three pieces of wool.   Since these aren't for my next project I just might pop them back in the pot with another tablespoon or two of the same recipe.  While I don't want a pitch black dark think I'd like it a tad darker than it turned out.  And of course the wool always looks darker when it is wet.

Bird on a Tree Stump is all hooked and am prepping it for wool yarn whipping.  I love, love Ali Strebel's wool yarn and a previous purchase is just perfect for this rug too.  She will variegate dye wool specifically for your rug if you ask.  It might be a couple dollars more than the solid colors but well worth the difference I think.

Now I can't recall which rug I ordered the yarn for but purchased two hanks to have some left for future rugs.

My camp pattern had been drawn months ago so was prepared for that.  But as many of you know I'd not made a decision on a pattern for when the Bird was done.  Yesterday feeling pressure to make a decision I decided to replicate this antique.  Do you think that is a giant vase with flowers or a giant flower with baby blossoms????

Anyway, I enlarged and printed out 12 pieces of paper, trimmed the edges and taped them together (22.5 x 37.5).  I did want a larger pattern but after taping it together it appeared too big and while tracing over the lines to make them darker scratched the whole idea.  So there I was pattern-less still.

Today, again feeling the pressure of needing a pattern fix I spent a couple hours searching thru my flash drives and even pattern books for something to catch my attention, to no avail.  So let it be known I'm a gluten for punishment!!   I enlarged the same line drawing AGAIN to a somewhat smaller size of 20.5 x 35.  Guess I gotta go with it since it seems to be the only design of interest.  Now to put it on linen. 

This evening I'll work on whipping the Bird rug as I want it ready for the rug show at Cape May.  Happy hooking, stitching, reading, knitting (Elaine) or whatever strikes your fancy this holiday weekend.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

DAY 5 of CHRISTMAS THEMED RUGS I'VE HOOKED (edited)

This is a design by Ali Strebel which included both hooking and applique.  Sadly I gave my first ever hooked mitten to someone ~ we were suppose to exchange first hooked pieces.  Well she got mine but I didn't get hers, lol.  But I hooked more of them , gave as gifts or sold.

The edit:  At 4 a.m.  when I woke to go to the bathroom remembered that I have hooked another as did Nancy Kilrain.  Here is mine, which I still own but had a lapse of memory, lol.  I liked hers better and borrowed stole her idea for a braided hanger.  

Julia asked if I hooked the back....no I didn't  hook a back for the pocket, I used a piece of the same off white wool used for hooking the pocket.

And here is Nancy's; I love the direction she hooked the cuff which gives it the impression of a knitted mitten.  And, by the way, Nancy has ressurected/redirected the content of her blog to be more her hooking since her husband seem to be making bird houses.  Drop by for a visit with NANCY.

Here is the booklet from which I got the design; you can see a picture of it on the cover.  Not sure if the booklet is out of print or not since I didn't see it listed on her web site.    Perhaps you might get luck with one listed on eBay.

The temperature has been colder than normal for us here in Delaware but at least (so far) no snow.  Isn't the same for  you in the midwestern states or Canada tho.  You're all welcome to keep all of it.

I've been watching the George and Tammy TV series about the life of George Jones and Tammy Wynette.  I had no idea of the turbulent life they led probably because there was no social media back then and I didn't go to their shows or keep up with the music gossip.  Show is interesting and good music to entertain me while hooking.  Also would like to add that I'm happy I'm not famous with an image to keep.  

Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Binding in Progress

I've made it no secret that I HATE binding rugs.  Blogger friend Robin (Cranky Crow) once said "no wonder you hate binding because you do double the work".  That is because previously I'd roll the foundation forward and secure the roll with heavy cotton thread first then do the final whipping with yarn.  Here is an example.

Well I decided to show her that you can teach old dogs new tricks 😊. (why doesn't the emoji show up in yellow color?)  So this time I'm whipping the edge and moving those clips as I go.  Perhaps I'm not doing double the work but find moving the clips slows down the whipping process and loosens up the edge a tad.

Here is a closer look at the Kindred Spirits wool yarn I'm using and how well it goes with the rug.  As previously mentioned the name of this one is Brown Variegated and it doesn't appear on Ali's web site, only the plain colors do.  So you would need to ask for it and she will even do one-of-a-kind dye works for you.  

Happy Saturday to you all and happy hooking (stitching, quilting, etc.).

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Last Loop Pulled

Yippee, the horse rug is all hooked and steamed.  And just before pulling those last loops I knew how it was going to be bound....with Ali Strebel's dyed wool yarn.  Not knowing if I had enough of the yarn left I measured it to see if there was (that length at the bottom of the rug).  Want to know the formula?  Click HERE to see a previous post on how to determine amount of yarn required.

Well dang, not quite enough left of that color to whip the edge of the horse rug.  I have two other skeins of different colored dyed wool from Ali but the brown variegated is what I thought would match best.  So I ordered two skeins and they arrived yesterday.

If you would like to purchase some wool yarn, patterns, etc., visit Kindred Spirits.   The variegated wool yarn is not shown on her web site, only the solid is so you would need to ask for it.  And it is $20 per skein whereas the solid is $17.  Here are the three colors I have.

Here they are again opened up so you can see the colors better.  Again on the left is the "brown variegated", the middle is "dark multi-variegated"  and on the right is "dark variegated".  I love them all and really want to use up the middle one as the colors would be fun to see develop as I whip.

Ali does custom dyeing and one-of-a-kind dyeing; so if there is something special you need, she's the gal to contact.

I've started working on my new project and will show you my progress in a couple days.  Do you believe tomorrow will be December???  Oh my but life is zooming by in a flash and too fast for me.  It is cloudy, cold and dreary outside so think I'll stay in and play with wool strips.  Perhaps I'll start preparing the horse rug for binding later today.  You all  know how I hate to bind but with interesting wool it makes it a little more fun to see the colors develop.  Perhaps that's the key to turn my feelings about binding around 😁.

Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com 

 

Present and Future Plans

Presently I'm whipping the edge of the Thin Blue Line rug and nearing the end of hooking Magdalena's Rooster, Duck and Horse rug.  But in 23 days and a wake-up I'll be on my way to Cape May 🙏.  

Which means I've got to choose something for my frame next to take me to that place.  One idea is hooking a geometric using selvage edges I  continue to save.  That would be something which could be an on-and-off project at will, until....  

Here are a few hit and miss geometrics I've saved in my "inspirations" file over the years.  This is a rug with great colors from a photo borrowed from Kelley Belfast's stagnant blog.  Just checked the date on my flash drive and it is from 2017.  OMG Kelley I LOVE THIS!!!!!!!

This one below took a lot of concentration me thinks.  It is a Scrappy rug 17.5 x 33 and hooked by Linda Brockheim.

Here is a very cool worm rug hooked by Pamala Gunn.  Good planning as it isn't boring or repetitive and makes the eye move around and enjoy all there is to see.  Pam is the queen of primitive who I aspire to be. 

A hit a miss rug I borrowed from Ali's Blog a few years ago and don't know who hooked it.  A tad more colorful than would work in my house but the design would work IF hooked in my color palate.

Friend Lauren (Rugs and Pugs) drew this long runner using her worms in a hit and miss.  Think she has finished the rug but don't have a photo of it in my file.

Am sure there are other hit and miss rugs I've missed in my quick search so forgive me if I've missed anyone.  AND, if my readers would like to send me photos of their hit and miss rugs I'd LOVE to save and share a photo at some time.

Another idea for my frame is drawing this antique horse rug which I've been avoiding.  I love it but as you can see the photo is askew and IF you've ever tried to do an accurate drawing of a rug like that is exhausting.  So by the time I drew the master pattern, then drew the pattern on linen for Lisa I felt as though I'd already hooked the damn thing.  Yet this beauty still haunts me.

Happy Hooking everyone.  We all need our diversion from reality at the moment and what is better than being creative with hooking a rug?

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Throw Back Thursday (EDITED)

Since I've run into a little glitch while hooking Early Bird I'll do a flash back to Cape May 2014.  Don't worry, I promise to show you the glitch and what I do to fix my problem in my next post.

Stepping back in time to September 2014, Ali Strebel was my teacher that year.   The first task  in the class was doing a sampler of stitches.  Ali handed out pieces of linen to each of us and a few strips of wool in various colors.  I still have my sampler but since it isn't as organized or pretty as my pal Deb's I stole a picture of hers to show, albeit upside down.

Here is Ali demonstrating something but can't tell or remember just what it was.

Notice the gal above in navy blue (Elaine Copeman), she is the one who hooked Bertha at the Beach piece below.  This is a hoot and she did a magnificent job.

Some Ohio gals were there, but sadly not Lauren, and they seemed to love picking on me.  Hey, I'm easy to pick on, what can I say.

A Granny Donaldson rug hooked by Evelyn Lawrence, pattern by Woolley Fox. 

The Give Ye Thanks piece on the left was hooked by pal Deb Nees, a Lori Brechlin design and sold by Spruce Ridge Studio.  

Thanks to friend Joan Strausbaugh I now have a photo of Give Ye Thanks hooked by Janet Reid.  Notice the the Pink Cancer Ribbon on her door.  I believe this was Janet's way of expressing her THANKS for being in remission.

 Below is Button Basket hooked by Rebecca Erb.

Celtic Rabbits hooked by Evelyn Lawrence and design by Lisanne Miller.

A more colorful rug is "Dog Eat Dog World", designer unknown and hooked by Pat Levin.

Bee Head, designed by Bev Conway was hooked by Greta Schneider.

Ruth Hall hooked the 1835 PA Fraktur below.

New England Berry Tree design by Woolley Fox and hooked by Deb.

1830 Eagle hooked by Joan Strausbaugh and designed by Karl Kraft.

You can spot a Cheri Reid hooked rug a mile away.  Here are only three which were in the rug show.  The Red Lion Inn was huge so took two photos so you could enjoy the entirety of it.  The first photo shows the top which was heavily reinforced for it to hang properly .

Last but not least is a photo of some gals enjoying the fine weather hooking on the porch.  Am hoping Cape May will be happening again this September.

I didn't show all the rugs from the show as I've other things to do this afternoon.  Have wasted so much time trying to recover the photos, searching the archives on previous blog posts to find Janet's rug to no avail.  And including trying several times to edit the color changes in this post.  Frustration!!!!!

Again, if anyone has a photo of Janet's Give Ye Thanks rug please send me a copy.  Since Janet is no longer with us I'd like to have that as a fond memory of her struggle.  I believe that rug was her Giving Thanks for being in remission.    

Thank you Joan!!!!!!!  Oh, 'justgail' thank you for your email too but it went into my spam folder since you are a no-reply blogger and I didn't see your message in time.  You CAN fix the no-reply just do a google for those words.

Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

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