HAPPY EASTER

Happy Easter to one and all.  Thought I'd show you some theme rugs I've hooked, some mohair bears and cloth rabbits I've made and a stitchery made with the Indygo Junction monthly series.

This is a design by Claire Murray and named Strawberry Patch.  It was a kit I purchased on e-bay when I thought it might be fun to hook with yarn.  Cute design but have no desire to ever hook an entire rug using wool yarn  or any other.  Perhaps using yarn here and there in a rug as embellishment, but not a whole rug.  BTW, this is way too clean and new looking for my tastes.

This pink bear has glass eyes and limbs are jointed using cotter pins.

The rug is a design by Sally Kallin of Pine Island Primitives called Harry.

A cloth painted rabbit made using a pattern by Hickety Pickety, and a hooked Easter egg. 

Another mohair bear made by me.

One of the monthly series quilt blocks designed by Sarah Sporrer, then with Indygo Junction.

Another mohair bear I made when I was gung ho about working with the expensive mohair and making dolls and bears was my 'go to' craft.  That is until I discovered hooking rugs.

And lest I should forget the 36" Edward Tulane rabbit pattern I designed and made several of.  But, I've lost interested in making this time-consuming, but loved rabbit.

Another hooked rug with rabbits is a design by Karen Kahle called, as you can see, Stop and Smell the Roses.

A rabbit design I hooked for someone and she was to finish up the background.  I think the bunny looks rather dapper. 

Almost forgot about this one.  It is a rabbit purse I designed and hooked but sold several years ago.

Well there you have it.....some entertainment eye candy.  Hopefully you thought they were all eye candy.  Have a wonderful happy Easter with family and friends.

Saundra

Having Fun and Hooking Letters

It is such fun to hook something that is fun and no stress.  No, my Long Island Farm isn't completely bound yet and Shadow hasn't been steamed yet.  I just needed to play and have fun working on the Antique Hearts and Swags design started with Betsy in November.  No, don't have a picture to share of that just yet but will do that tomorrow.

For the newbies I already talked about cutters and still owe an episode about frames but that would require a lot of work and already it is after 5 p.m.  However, there is another topic someone has asked me to cover and that is about hooking letters.

No I'm not an expert and normally don't follow the rules anyway.  Usually I just hook my letters in the same size wool strips that I'm using for the rest of the rug.  After the letters are hooked then I do a row of background around the letters to secure them in place.  Once hooked in don't normally pull them out and hook using a different size.    Here is the Crow Sampler by Ali Strebel that I hooked and the letters are in #8.  I did take some creative licence by carrying the circle border all the way around.

Another rug I hooked with letters is Stop and Smell the Roses by Karen Kahle, again hooked in #8.  I really need to tone down that white rabbit on the right and say that every time I post a picture somewhere.

I've heard or read where some hookers will use a thinner wool strip to hook the letters, then hook around those letters with background.  After which they pull out the letters and hook in the designated color using a slightly wider strip.  Hey, I don't care much for ripping out already hooked loops despite what I previously did with my poor Shadow memorial.

My girlfriend Shari hooked this antique adaptation and took the lettering to another level by outlining her letters with yet another color other than background. 

Shari hooked the letters in a red #8.5 wool strips and then outlined them in a #6 wool strip.  UH, I don't think I'd want to do that......once is enough already.  But Shari made quite a great statement in her rug and the words don't get lost.

Letters?  Hey, you can hook a flower stem, right?  That is nothing more than hooking on the line (or inside the lines) whether it be on the straight of grain or an angle.  So if you can hook a flower stem you can hook a letter.  Unless you're doing something special, all you have to do is hook the letters at the same height as you are the rest of your piece.

 

Have a great evening everyone.  And again, please be kind to one another.  Today at the grocery store I had two items and was in a rather long line where the people in front of me had half or full carts full.  It is a small store so at this time only one register was open.  The gentleman in front of me told me to go ahead of him.  I thanked him and said that chivalry isn't dead, and that his momma would be pleased at the great job she did in raising him.

 

Saundra

 



Karen Kahle Designs I've Hooked

There are many rug hookers' designs and style I admire and Karen Kahle is among them.  So far I have only hooked three of her designs but admit to having others stacked up awaiting their turn on my frame.


In a Rug Hooking Magazine a few years ago I went absolutely nuts over this free pattern so generously provided by Karen.  Within a flash the design was enlarged, drawn on linen,  and on my frame in a flash.  Oh but isn't it a delicious piece?

The Small Flowerbox I also adored and like it better than her larger flowerbox design but that is just my personal taste.

And then the Stop and Smell the Roses was special to me as well.  It was a reminder to me that I must take time to stop and smell the roses, plus I liked the antique post card appeal to the colors she chose.  


I know what project I must start next is my Sensational Summer Swap piece which will be due to send late May (uh, think that is when.... I'll have to go thru my old messages).  But that will go fast because it is only an 8" square mat, already have it drawn on linen and will start pulling loops on that soon.  But right now I'm trying to finish stuffing some dolls which I have an order for.  But then what do I want to put on my frame next?  Decisions Decisions.


Now I've a question to my readers.  I do try to keep an interest going on rug hooking and wonder if there is a topic you would like to see me write about.  You can feel free to post your wishes on my blog or you can e-mail me direct at saundra125@comcast.net.

Rugs can get facelifts too

Have you ever hooked a rug and it bugs you every time you walk by it because you know it needs something done to it to make it better?  But, since the rug has been hooked and walked on for years and you have new things to hook you just don't bother doing anything about it?  Well that has happened to me.

This is a pattern by Karen Kahle which I loved and since I was sold by the colors she had in the pattern I tried to hook fairly close to her color palate, that plus the fact I was still timid in doing my own color planning and figured why not just follow her
colors.  So here is how I hooked it and I was happy...... for a while.  As you can see the value in the background and border are too close.  The rug really needed a beauty line or dividing line between the border and the background.  But hey, it was done and I'd moved on to many other rugs and had more patterns on the frames.

But then I realized I'd never be truly happy unless I put that line in.  So I got some #6 wool strips and cornrowed a green that would work between the border and background.  Voila.... mama was happy.  Well, at least happier.

Actually there still is something I'd like to change in the rug but not sure that will be done.  I'd like to change the color of the white rabbit and would make it a little darker, not as dark as the rabbit to the left nor quite as dark as the background so it gets lost.  Hmm, come to think of it maybe it is okay like this after all.

And, the photos were taken with two different cameras, as well as one being on my back porch in natural light and one inside the house with a flash.  So there is a difference in photo color presentation as well.

Now, I have another rug which was hooked in 2005 which needs a similar face lift and perhaps one day I'll take care of that one too.