Let's Get this Party Started!

Am pleased there are 10 15 participants so far, me being 16th.  Just added one more as Denise B figured out what her problem was with the No-Reply Blogger.  But Linda, unfortunately you are a NO-Reply Blogger so I cannot send you an email or photos.

Someone with forethought asked me what the RULES were for this challenge.... time limit, colors, size, etc.

RULES ~  there aren't any rules except this "challenge" was intended to try and walk in the shoes of Magdalena and other 1800s rug hookers who used what they had.  Heck, if you look at the priceless rugs they produced, survived against all odds and brought big bucks at auction, I'd say they did a great job using what they had.

RULES ~ there is no time limit, just hook at your leisure and send me a photo when you have something to show and share.  Heck, you know me, I might put mine aside and start something else in between.  But bet readers will be interested in seeing how this is going.

RULES ~ You don't have to use the same colors as the original antique.  Use the colors you prefer.  

OH, and there isn't a prize, lol.  This is to be a personal challenge.

In the past, they used red long johns, cotton stockings, calicos, denim, silk if they had it and whatever was left over and not quite worn out.  Probably the only wool used back then would have been from civil war uniforms.

As soon as I chose my design thought these would be what was needed for the mat.

These are cottons....where are those rotary cutters I used to have??  😞  Did have them but guess when I got all fancy and purchased an expensive cutter those were put in a box for the thrift shop.  Well hell, so out came the scissors.  That reddish stripe was a thready piece which would have been nothing but threads had I ripped it.  Thankfully there were lines which I could follow to hand cut.  Those were cut in 1" strips and hooked just fine.  But...

..it seemed too pink to my eye.  The theady stuff is hooked and the brighter red is cotton flannel which rips perfectly.  At first I ripped the flannel at 3/4" and hooked fine but thick.  So eventually ripped in 1/2" strips.   So depending on the textile you're using it will be experiment as you go.

Looking at the photo above that thready porous fabric doesn't look all that pink to me now.  Oh well, I'll still use it in the hit and miss border so it will be used.

Guess by now you know what I've chosen to hook.  I enlarged the Patriotic Shield 250% to the dimensions of 19.5 x 21.  After the piece is hooked plans are to do a black walnut spray to tone it down and age it.

And you will notice the stripes are wonky.  Yup, that is the way the antique looked  after it was well worn and that is the way I'm going to hook it.  

For a recount of our group here is the list I have.  Let me know if I've left anyone out or have your design wrong.

Hearts in Circles

Sheep Under Feet

Tattered Tulip

Lauren

Elaine

Cathy of Acorn Hollow

NMK

Jo Wick

Joan Montgomery

Elizabeth Rice

Pamala Gunn

Patricia Cramer

Magdalena's Pup

Margaret Zenk

Tammy (Babypelk)

4Hearts and Flowers

Sue Swank 

Scrappy Cat

KMKosmider

Denise B

Patriotic Shield

Saundra

Okay gals, if you have any other questions or suggestions please let me know.  Hope we all have fun and experience a little of the people who inspired our love of hooking rugs.

Love to all.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

 

A New Challenge for Me (Us?) UPDATED

Looking thru my antique rug pictures here are a few ideas to throw out for those who may want to take the plunge and delve back in time to the way our foremothers hooked ~ using what they had.  Sorta like 'pot luck hooking', not pot luck cooking, lol.

I've probably given away hundreds of yards of fabric to a church group who makes quilts for the needy.  Recently gave a lot to the local thrift shop along with some patterns but had this idea to challenge myself with cottons, worn flannel, also have some silk clothing I'd previously dismantled for hooking, but never went there.  Add to that a bunch of vintage seam binding I used for dolls and crafts and an idea was born.

This Tattered Tulip has lived a good life and would be easy and let you off the hook quickly.....pun intended 😁.

In keeping with Valentines Day here are Four Hearts and Flowers.

And yet another heart themed mat from the 19th century which would be easy.

One of a few Magdalena Briner Eby rugs I've not yet hooked is this simple Pup design.  It might make a good subject for cottons and other textiles.

For those who prefer felines to canines, here is a scrappy cat rug which is a rather basic design.

There is a rather large American Patriotic design which I could crop and make the subject of a challenge just the Shield part as shown below.

I've provided 6 ideas and that would be way plenty for me to do line drawings for if any of these ideas interest you.  If anyone has an idea they'd like to introduce please send me a picture.  OR, if anyone wants to take on this challenge and work on something entirely different that's great too.  We aren't challenging each other, it is a personal challenge for me to finally hook using alternative textiles.

UPDATE:

So far I've done line drawings of Tattered Tulip, Hearts in Circles and one  unnamed for me which I'll disclose later.  Would love to have more join in on the fun and will do line drawings for those other designs if anyone would be interested.  

I've seen and have posted pictures (when available) of close up views of textiles used, here are just a few.....

Cannot identify which pattern this close up is from as I only identified it as Magdalena's close up.  You can see there is cotton, maybe rayon or silk, and what appears to be cotton knit.  

This is the underside edge of Cora and Bentley, the antique rug previously shown HERE.

And this is the edge of an antique rug which I haven't shown before so its identity will remain anonymous for now.  But you can see the textiles used to hook it quite clearly.   

Okay, this will give you food for thought and think I know which I'll choose already.  Let me know your thoughts of what you'd like to play with.  If there is a design which no one is interested in then I won't do a line drawing of that or those.

Also, feel free to welcome your friends to join in and you'd have a buddy to hook with but then you've got this buddy at a distance when you want me.

'Tis a dreary Saturday here and the rain is freezing on the tree limbs.  The pond has risen once again and will get higher as there will be another week of it to come.

Right now gonna pull the last loops on the Wonky Heart and anticipate my next project.  Hope I didn't get rid of some of the fabric I'm thinking about putting in the mat.  

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com