Could have titled the post "Marrying Wool" or "Taming the Red" but those have certain expectations in mind. Wasn't sure how this was going to turn out so experiment was the best choice of words.
The 1909 Horse antique adaptation has many different red wool motifs and blocks in it. As I'm not so fond of bright red, even tho there is some in the original rug (seen at the bottom of the post) thought I'd tame the brights by using some dark red and neutralizing with some green.
Early in my rughooking adventure wool stash began at the thrift shop (dismantled, washed and dried). Most of that wool was flat as opposed to textures. Yet that flat wool comes in handy even now when hooking an antique adaptation because milled wool for we hooking addicts wasn't available in the 1800s and early 1900s. It was union suits, army uniforms, work clothes and whatever homespun or silk was available.
This morning I gathered a bunch of various red wool and for good measure a little green to hopefully tame the red.
In a pot of water with Ivory detergent (NO bleach) it went on my stove to simmer for well over half an hour but didn't keep track of time so may have been longer. Would just stir and check the water to see how much color was being released.
Once a lot of color had been purged from the wool a good amount of white vinegar was glugged into the pot to set the color. It simmered (not boiled) for a while longer until there was almost no color left in the pot at all.
The pot stayed in a safe place to cool down while I ran my errands. Upon my return home I drained the pot, rinsed and squeezed by hand the wool, filled up the pot with the wool, water and put in my washer to spin the remainder of water out. THEN, into the dryer on LOW with a couple fluffy towels to dry.
Below and on the left side is what wouldn't fit comfortably in the pot. But you can see the color results comparing the right to the left. Seems the green made more of a change than the red. Yet there is also some change in the red as well if you compare the top photo.
Hopefully some of the re-purposed wool will go nicely in 1909 Horse. The original antique can be seen below. BUT, not the bright; eventually there will be use for that somewhere I'm sure.
Can you believe it is March 1st???? Didn't we just get over Christmas? This evening is the calm before the storm. High winds, lots of rain and flooding is supposed to begin sometime during the evening.
Saundra
And thus is the case of my marrying wool. Well, my real marriage didn't work out either come to think of it ;~). I pulled some black wool and some darks and was hoping the black would bleed out enough to be absorbed by the other wool. This is what I started with:
And this is a picture taken in the beginning and could see some bleeding going on so was hopeful.
And this is after the dye had been absorbed but.
This is what I ended up with after removing the black wool. As you can see they were lack lustre results. The wool in the back on the left is an undyed version and the one on the right you can see is only marginally darker. Definitely a waste of my time.
Now, the problem that sometimes happens is the wool fabric for the black skirt, slacks, etc., might have been woven using real natural black sheep wool which would not bleed because it wasn't dyed. So don't know if that was the problem or if I had too much wool and little black to provide the dye. But I wouldn't have known until the wool was rinsed and dried to determine if Cushings dye was the next thing to do. Guess it would have been better for me to just go Cushings in the beginning.
The Wee Folk rug is still waiting for attention and think I'll do the wool covered cord. In the meantime I've put the new rug on my frame and it is fun to be hooking something new.
Saundra
Now that the Lions in the Woods rug is bound it is time for me to start binding Wee Folk. Here it is all done, and in previous posts neglected to let you know the dimensions.... it measures 19 x 35.
I was asked if I hooked up to the cotton binding so that no backing showed. I hook up as close to the cotton binding as I can but stay on a straight of the grain. Since the sewing on of the tape may be a row off in places I still hook on the straight, therefore there may be a narrow area visible.
When I look at the rug sideways on a table you can see a smidgen of backing but that doesn't bother me because I will be looking at the rug from above (if on the floor) or from the front (if on the wall), not the side.
And, if that were to bother the hooker to have a sliver of backing showing, you could always take a very thin angled paint brush and fill in the backing with acrylic craft paint of the same color. You can see I filled in with a brown just for this demonstration.
So you are wondering, is that cheating? Since this rug is NOT being sent to Celebrations or other juried events I think it is just fine. Whether this rug was to be on the floor, on a chest or a wall hanging, it will be viewed from the top or front and not viewed with a critical eye at the edges. And, if you look at the top picture, that is what the person would see and you don't see any backing from that angle.
Today I'm taking a bunch of darks and will be marrying them for a primitive black. This is what I'm starting with, the flash makes it look brighter than it really is.
Check back to see what kind of results I end up with; if it doesn't turn out dark enough with just these wools I may end up having to put a little dye in to help.
Saundra
Always challenging the time clock I designed this pattern a few months ago but didn't have time too hook it then. Matter of fact I sent the pattern drawn on linen to my friend Evelyn Lawrence and told her she could hook it and sell the rug but please send me a picture so I could put the finished piece on my web site to show a hooked version. Evidently she was busy getting ready to teach, for her fun rug camps as well as a show she does in North Penn so it didn't get done by her either.
So, finally I put aside my Wee Folk rug because this has to hurry and get finished so it can be put on my web site as a pattern for sale. Besides, I'd like to put it on one of my tables for Christmas. It is a smallish pattern so should go fast.
Obviously there will be some red and green wool hooked in the design too, and had thought of putting the red for the center Christmas ball with blue and green on either side. Then decided to have the red on one side and green on the other.
And today am going to play in the dye pots and marry some wool ~ goodness knows how the choice of colors of wools are going to turn out but just felt like experimenting and it is a no muss no fuss way to dye. Just pick out as is wool, wrap together, put in a pot of water with some laundry detergent (no bleach) and see how it turns out.
Thanks for dropping by during this busy holiday season..... and be kind to one another.
Saundra
