Penny Circle Mat and Newbie Tidbits

It has been a while since you've seen my penny circle mat since my marathon hooking on the Granny Geometric ~ and oh but it does feel so good to have that geo done.  For those of you who admired the rug and my progress thank you for inquiring about my drawing one out for you.  One thing is for certain...I am DONE with the geometric.  Even tho I drew my own I have no desire to draw the pattern for sale, sorry. 

Last night I hooked a little on the penny circle mat so that there would be a little something to show and this is what it looks like right now.  For those of you just visiting my blog, this was a project to 'de-worm' my wool basket and was hooking it along with the geometric since the worms were already out.

This piece measures 11 x 24; I used the lid of a vitamin bottle to draw the circles which are 2" in diameter. 

And, now for the Newbie Tidbit.  I drew that pattern on a leftover scrap of linen foundation and since there wasn't a sizable margin sewed a piece of cotton fabric along the sides so it would hold on my frame.  You can also see that I decided to make my corners more rounded to be more eye appealing with the circle shapes. 

Tomorrow I plan to write about what you, as the buyer, should expect when you purchase a pattern from someone.  I'm not talking about buying a pattern on e-bay from someone who was downsizing, I'm talking about buying a pattern directly from the source... from me and other people who draw and sell patterns.  I think you'll find this very enlightening and bet I have a lot of readers who aren't even newbies.... bet'cha the count of readers will be astronomical and can't wait to look at the stats after tomorrow.

Have a magnificent evening everyone, even tho the temperatures are going to drop drastically tonight.

Saundra

Circle Rug using just Woolie Worms

A few posts ago I showed pictures of various circle or penny rugs, and  a small mat I started using my woolie worms.  Today my friend Lynne shared a picture of her almost completed 5' x 5' circle rug hooked using ONLY her worms. She is working on the border now so you may as well say it is complete. 

This is quite a beauty, not to mention the time involved and the weight of working with this piece.

OMG, that must have been one huge task to move that rug around, not to mention the time involved in hooking it.  Lynne said she started the rug about 5 years ago.  Those who know Lynne know this was not the only rug on her frame in those 5 years.   

And to think I was complaining about me starting the granny geometric about 10 years ago which is a minuscule rug compared to Lynne's 5x5 rug. 

A question I neglected to ask Lynne is....... do you still have any worms left?  Hopefully she will let me know.

Perhaps tomorrow I'll give you an update on my Granny Geometric.  Finally hooked a couple block but haven't worked on my Penny Mat since it is smaller. 

Have a great evening and please be KIND to one another.

Saundra

Granny Geometric Update

A year ago, if, someone had told me I'd be this far along on the rug I'd never have believed them.  It actually looks like it will really could be completed before going to Woolley Fox rug camp in May. WOOHOO.

For the heck of it I started hooking a third row of border to see if I want two rows or three rows of hooking.  It is hardly noticeable at the bottom because only a couple inches in length was hooked, plus when I was spreading the rug out on the floor for the photo my hand got caught in the wool strip and pulled out some loops.  At first glance it looks like 3 rows would frame it better so just might continue all the way around.

Think I'll continue hooking on this for at least the rest of the evening instead of moving to the penny circle mat. 

Have a great evening everyone.

Saundra

Going Around in Circles

Yup, finally started hooking the penny rugette/mat, the pattern of which was posted the other day.  I'm using only worms in the circles as #8 cuts are no longer my favorite cut to use and I've plenty of them to rid myself of.  For the background and border I have cut some #8.5 to add to the already small collection of wool strips in that size.

Were you wondering which type of penny rug I would hook from all that eye candy I posted?  My plan was to keep you in wonderment as to what my final design would be until now.  Hey, just remember that circles and hit and miss cannot be copyrighted so PLEASE feel free to copy what I've done IF YOU WANT.

Sadly I didn't accomplish nearly as much hooking as I'd hoped but you will get the idea.  Plus, my gentle hooking curves at the corners of the design have taken a life of it's own from what I drew as that was just a guess.  But that is how the hooking took place and is okay since a gentle curve is what I was looking for anyway. Plans are to do at least one more row of border around and perhaps two ~ won't know until my hooking continues.  Sure do like the curved corners tho.

In case you are wondering how I went about hooking this mat, here is a close up.  I first hooked AROUND the circle with the background colors, then drew lines with a felt tip pen to show a general idea to follow for hooking in the colors or bland colors.





I would love to see your rendition if you plan to take on this fun project.  If you have a blog it would be fun to see your post of what you do.  If you DON'T have a blog but would like to share..... I would be excited to have you send me your photo and I'll share it on my blog along with my slow update.

 

Hey, that would be fun to share projects hooked by others ESPECIALLY by newbie hookers.  Gals and Guys.... I was ALSO a NEWBIE hooker.  So whatever questions you have or feelings you have I've also had them.  We all did.  Now I'm wondering if I want to hook on the geometric to post an update tomorrow or continue with the 'going on Circles' rug.

Hugs to all and I'm wondering if winter will EVER END????  Is this the winter that just keeps on giving and giving and giving?  I think so. 

 

Saundra 

 

The Next Mat Reveal

No loops have been pulled yet and probably won't start tonight so that a few more loops can be pulled on the geometric.  But if you recall when I gave you rug shows last month, there were several hooked penny rugs and thought it was a great way to use up more wool worms. 

Particularly since the geo gets boring but while the wool worm stash is out may as well make good use of the source and hook penny rugs.  Also to use up those #8 strips.  Once upon a time I thought the #8 was a wide cut.....that is until I tried my first #8.5 and then the #8 seemed like a #6 sliding on my hook.  My cut size of choice now is #8.5 and #9 so using up all those #8 strips will be wonderful.

This is the smallish mat I drew out this morning.  As you surmised from the picture, my project will be a hooked penny rug.  For reference, the circles measure 2" in diameter and I drew a 1 1/2" border.  So if you would like to join in and play, post on your blog and share, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with....check out the inspirational eye candy further down.

I'm sure that at first glance the picture looks confusing.  First, I used a scrap piece of linen left over from a previous project; I never throw away linen which could be used for something.  And must mention that when I draw a pattern to sell it goes out with an ample margin.  But when I draw something for myself to hook I use what I have and sew on a 'cheater' margin.

Since the pennies are rounded I liked the idea of having rounded corners too, which would lend a softness  to the piece rather than sharp turns.  Hey, who knows I just might change my mind as I get hooking.  You've seen me in action before by pulling out wool and re-hooking.

You probably also noticed that I've done my pre-binding stitching 1" all the way around the design.  Since I know for sure the border won't be larger than the 1 1/2" decided to do the stitching as it is easier to do before it is hooked.  Well since this is a small mat this one wouldn't be a problem like the larger pieces, but still it is all done now and ready to go when it is hooked.

In previous posts I've given you rug shows with hooked penny rugs.  Some of what you're about to see are repeats but fun to look at again all the same.  Perhaps something here will inspire you to draw out your own mini-rugette.

 

Okay guys and gals, there are lots of ideas for you to ponder and draw out your own little mat, chair pad, mug rug, etc.  Circles can't be copyrighted.  I used the top of a dog vitamin container to draw my circles and played by ear as to how much space I wanted between the circles and how large for the border. 

JOIN ME!!!!  Let us all De-Worm.

Have a fantastic weekend!!!

Saundra

Magdalena's Lollipop Bouquet Design

Worked a little more on the Lollipop Bouquet and here is what I've achieved thus far.

Since it was time to move the pattern decided to take a picture and now will start on the left top corner of the rug.  Goodie, goodie gumdrops!!!!!!  When I start on a corner, a holding line, etc. I know it is getting closer to the half way mark.

And tho posted before, here is a picture of the original antique.  And DANG!  In comparing the two there are vast differences in what I see. 

Unfortunately it looks like I tried to stay true to today's lesson of "hook inside the lines so the motif doesn't grow".  It appears that was embedded in my brain because I've too much space between my rows of lollipops (circles).  Oh well, guess it will just have to continue in this fashion since there is too much wool to pull out and change.  But for you folks who want to replicate the rug, tuck that in your cranium.

As previously mentioned, and still true, everything so far are left over worms being used except for the neutral between rows of circles.

In order for me to get a better overall visual of my antique adaptations guess I need to take more pictures more often.  And frankly now that I've noticed the difference it is really bugging me.

Have a great evening everyone, and thanks for those of you who visit and post.

Saundra

Using up Woolie Worms

Some people call them 'worms' some call them 'noodles' and some call them just plain old 'leftovers'.  By whatever name you call them it is very exhilarating to use them up.  Here is what I've accomplished on Lollipop Bouquet and every strip has come out of my worm baggies. 

During this past winter I posted on my blog about taking the time to separate the worms.  Yes, it was boring, and yes even considered stopping and forgetting the whole idea since I'd much rather be hooking than separating worms.  HA, for that matter as much as I hate binding a rug think I'd even have preferred that to color separating the worms. 

But let me tell you it has been a Godsend having the task done.  Since separating them by color I have been hooking and need only a couple more inches or maybe just a couple more strips of a certain color or certain wool.  Ya know what?  I was able to find what I wanted in that color bag of wool and didn't have to cut yet even more wool to make even more worms.

As you look at the above picture you can see that I used a piece of linen which just made the dimensions needed plus a little.  This was left from a pattern drawing, was available to me and I stitched the extra distance on the edge to cover my grippers.  Like my mama used to say, "Waste not want not".

Have a great evening and thanks for dropping by.

Saundra