MY RUG REVIEW of 2025

First I'd like to wish everyone a very happy and healthy 2026.  Now to my rug review which is inflated by one.  That is because the last loops of the rug below weren't hooked until 4 days into January 2025.  So felt guilty adding it to my 2024 count since it wasn't completely hooked in 2024.  The first rug finished January 4th was Magdalena's Animal Parade adaptation.

My next project was another big antique adaptation which I named Animals Great and Small.

The Deer Torsos adaptation was next on the frame.

Then decided to hook one third of a triptych patriotic antique rug, the Eagle section.

Again, another antique design was chosen to hook for my kitchen, the chicken pair with food bowl.  Robin had a lot of fun with my hooking of this one and I did a bit of reverse hooking.

Since Lauren was attending an event where she'd be doing some 'scrappy' hooking I decided to challenge myself too, at home.  Am not too pleased with my puny border design.  I believe the angled hooking directions altered the shape of what used to be a square piece of linen.

Appears that I was following the leader....Lauren, again.  She said her next project was going to be Ezra's Farm, a design by Cinnamon Creek.  So what does a follower do but follow. 😉  I did take some creative license and put a little patriotic flavor in mine.

A birdie told me that daughter-in-law love wished for a snowman rug for Christmas.  Since I'm selfish and only like hooking what I want, the Christmas gift was started in August, plenty of time for me to have it done by Christmas and have time to put it away when not in the mood.  This is my design and was made specifically for my girl Cathy.  The label on the back says just that.   Surprisingly it was finished way before Christmas and was fun to hook.

My next project was an antique adaptation commemorating a personal historical event.  A few of my paternal ancestors came to America (Baltimore in fact) on sailing ship The Ark.  There were originally two ships which sailed together known as The Ark and The Dove.  My family were on the Ark so I hooked that ship's image on the antique rug.  This is my adaptation which hangs on the wall.

Back to the animals ~ another antique adaptation which I named Farm Menagerie.

Then after posting one of my antique rug shows Lauren and I decided to do a hook along with a design I called 'Hearts and Squares' in the blog post.  What started out to be just the pair of us, Lauren thought  it would be more fun with more people.  Turned out 12 people joined and Hearts Hook-along was born.  This is my drab rendition but you can view what 10 of the 12 have accomplished HERE.  

The final hooked and bound rug of 2025 was the Geometric and Floral antique adaptation below.  When designing my adaptation from the original, a couple elements were removed, making it more eye appealing to me.  Someone wanted me to draw a pattern for them but I declined as it was a bear to draw my own.  But boy do I love the rug.

As mentioned in the opening paragraph, the dozen rugs is inflated due to  the first rug which needed 4 more days' hooking into 2025.  Lauren suggested that if the count bothered me that much perhaps I should say only 11.25 rugs were hooked in 2025.  That girl is always thinking.  

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2026.  Remember that happiness must be grown in your own garden.  For me, hooking rugs is the seed.

Saundra

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES

Today was a great day ~ it was warmer than the last 2 weeks and the snow was melting.  There's still some in the shady spots but after tomorrow's expected high of 45, my hope is it will all be gone.

And, I have a new garage door opener.  The cost was $625 installed so decided to only do the side where my vehicle is parked.  The other side is the same age and it will eventually bite the dust but I've other costly expenses coming up in February so chose to not get the other side done.

I've started binding Magdalena's Animal Parade while watching The Five at 5 p.m.  Since I hate binding but enjoy The Five and a glass of vino, figured it would make that bitter pill easier to swallow.  There just may be a friend joining me when she's feeling better.  Won't mention her name as I don't want to put pressure on her as she needs to rest and feel better first.  

Besides, I've more days of work on this long rug.  Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day y'all,😊.

Like Lauren, I've been shredding documents and filled a big black garbage bag full.  Still more old info to shred but those will be for next week's trash.  

I can remember as a kid thinking to myself .... 'I can't wait until I'm an adult and can do whatever I want, no school, no parents or other adults telling me what to do..."  HA! ain't it fun to be an adult?  Oh to be that kid again back in the 50's when life was so much easier and safer.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

ALMOST MADE IT (weather update)

Just 4 days into 2025 and Magdalena's Animal Parade is finally all hooked; not steamed but it is hooked.  If only I'd worked on it a little more each day for the last couple weeks I could have had it finished in 2024.

The rug is so long I couldn't see what was being captured in the photo and I don't stand on chairs or any type ladders any longer unless I have one hand on something to steady me.  Therefore the rug isn't straight.

So next comes the cleanup and have a pattern to draw for someone and my next one.  However, there is that plus one I drew but will need to do the wool clean up before that one can even get started.

Am making vegetable soup and it smells good.  Will certainly be yummy in the tummy when the the winter storm hits.  Last night we did get some rain and a dusting of snow.  The screenshot below shows what is coming.  You can see that Seaford (on the right) is in the 4-8" snowfall area.  What will actually drop, who knows.  I'm ready and hope my power stays on so I can heat up my soup, lol.

WEATHER UPDATE:  The storm has been upgraded and I'm now in  the 6-10" of snow from 4-8.

Below is the previous prediction.  So guess it is the luck of the draw.

Guess I'd better go stir the soup, pour myself a glass of wine and get ready to separate the wooly worms into their proper colored baggies. Have a great Saturday evening.

Saundra

MORE THAN HALFWAY

.. and over the moon happy.  Normally I'd have gotten bored by now and wish I had a 'plus one' to work on .  But am still enjoying pulling loops on Magdalena's Animal Parade.  I didn't draw mine as large as the original (45 x 115) nor the sizes offered by Woolly Fox (33 x 79 and 32 x 96).  I drew this one to a comfortable and workable wide cut size of 20 x 48.

Am using mostly 8.5 wool strips with more narrow for some outlines and dots for eyes.  I've tried to stay close to the original colors but using colors in my stash.  If you'd like to compare to the original colors you can see the original somewhere in a previous blog post HERE.  You will also see Cindy Jeffcoat's rendition which I am in awe of ~ kudos to you Cindy.  You hook everything so well.

It is frigid here in Delaware, yeah, I know not nearly as cold as it is in other states.  But below normal for us here on the eastern shore.  This too will pass, as they say.  Besides, it IS winter.

Saundra

SLOW PROGRESS

At least to me it seems as tho I'm making slow progress.  Perhaps because this is bigger than I normally hook, and I don't care because I'm still having fun.  Yet Jo, Jenny and that whole group of gals hook rugs far larger than this and seem to finish them in less time; plus, they teach.  Guess I need a class in time management 😞  

Tomorrow I must clean downstairs to do a little Christmas decorating.  It won't be elaborate decorating, perhaps my Charlie Brown tree and the feather tree I made, will decide tomorrow.  But like Lauren said, it will do my heart good.  With all the decorating she does her heart must be full.

Heard on local news that Drones have invaded the lower eastern shore, not far from me.  A law enforcement officer whom is very respected said the government officials are saying nothing to him so had no information to provide.  

Enjoy the weekend, it's mighty cold here.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

www.facebook.com/WoodlandJunctionHookedRugs

MAGDALENA'S ANIMAL PARADE UPDATE

Not a lot of progress but some is better than none.  Besides, might as well get used to seeing slow progress as I'm sure this one won't be completed until sometime into 2025.  Sheesh, the new year is  only 32 days away.

For the heck of it thought I'd take a photo with a different camera and I don't see much difference in color.

Although I have a 'plus one' drawn, this rug has kept my interest with so many different motifs.  Maybe when it gets down to just background or binding I'll need something to rejuvenate my mojo.  

Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.facebook.com/WoodlandJunctionHookedRugs

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

JUST THE BEGINNING

Yes, it's at least a start and with the pending weather I'll have plenty of time to pull some loops without feeling guilty for not working in the yard.  Weatherman said with the cold front coming in there will probably be thunder around 10 p.m. when the cold hits the warm like a tone of bricks.  We will get rain but not enough to cause flooding but probably not enough to cure our drought either.  But at least some rain but with some high winds so there will be limbs to pick up after it is over.

Anyway, so far I've just used wool from my woolie worms and will continue to do that until the colors I need aren't handy.

In case you'd like to see the original Magdalena Animal Parade rug here it is below.

Well hell's bells.  The wool I chose is much too bright compared to Magdalelna's, but sure seemed it worked when sitting under the OTT light and checking the photo.  Actually looking at the paper print out as well as the rug on my iPad.  How could I have made such a drastic error in color choices?

So I just might be 'beginning again' tomorrow.  Perhaps the rest of the evening I'll work on binding the Giant Flower rug while I ponder whether to rip out what I've hooked or just decide that it is, after all, an adaptation of an antique.  Hope I'll come to a decision as I "sleep on it".

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

Magdalena's Animal Parade

My friend and rug camp roomie Deb just finished binding this humongous rug.  Magdalena's Animal Parade measures 33 x 79 and am quite sure I'll not be hooking it at that size.  Frankly I think Deb did quite a great job getting that rug hooked in under a year since she has a 'day' job and has hooked other projects between.  Like most of us (uh, me), the binding is always last, but she wanted to take it to Cape May in September for the show so finally bound it. 

And finally my Chum rug is bound.  Yeah, I know...for you new readers looking at this dog with those toes you're a little skeptical I'm sure.  When first drawing this out from the antique did draw regular paws.  However, when Barb saw the antique she suggested that it have the antique folk art toes originally hooked.  And so it was.

Just noticed in the photo above that the lighting in the kitchen made a difference in the coloring on the left and the right sideds.  The very same wools were used for both sides but the left looks more correct in the color than the right.  Interesting.

This is the original antique.

For those of you who may wish to hook this antique rug design I'll offer the pattern in both dog paws and with these toes.  The finished hooked piece measures 18 x 33.  Naturally it was hooked with nothing less than #8.5.

Have a great evening everyone.

Saundra