Follow the Leader

Also known as 'copy cat'.  Jo Wick posted her dyeing talents on Facebook recently.  It has been years since I dyed using black walnuts so thought it was about time for another.  The nuts are falling now and will soon be rotten or crushed by cars driving thru the development.  Yesterday's gathering provided me with 30 green/brown walnuts.

Above is the wool I started with and almost forgot to take a picture as the wool was being pushed in the pot to soak.  But at the last minute added another small piece of wool which you will see further down.  There was a little over 1 1/2 yards of wool in the pot soaking. 

 I put all 30 whole nuts in a pot of water and simmered.  As dinner time approached decided not to dye then but rather let the pot cool down overnight with the nuts soaking to extract more dye.

Above is what I woke up to and after breakfast took the pot outside to remove the nuts and strain the liquid (below).

There is no  need for a mordant with black walnuts as it will dye EVERYTHING.  I rinsed the wool numerous times until the squeezed wool water came out clear.  Then put the wet wool in my washer to spin out whatever moisture remained.   

Today's results are hanging on the line but tho dry still put them in the dryer with two fluffy towels (used only for wool projects) to fluff up on low. 

I'm not a pink person so have no idea why I purchased that pink wool above.  That is unless it was on sale for $5 per yard and thought I'd find a use for it.  I like the new look better.

Above is a before and after walnut dyeing today.  And yes.......

I also overdyed another piece of that wool using Old Patina.  Above and bottom is the result of the Old Patina recipe so there is just a smidgen of difference.

 Another before and after above.  I liked the pastel yellow/blue plaid thinking it would make a nice soft background and purchased 2 yards.  Just wanted to see how it would turn out with walnut dye.

Above on the left above was dyed with Old Patina and the one on the right from today's walnut dye.  Just a little difference.

That last minute added piece to the pot was the piece of wool on the right.  That piece on the left is the same wool but was from the Old Patina recipe posted on my BLOG.  The reason it is darker is because I was unhappy with the first Old Patina dye job so was dyed twice...thus  it is darker.  But I'm happy with the mellow color of today's walnut dye to the wool on the right so it won't go in a pot later.

 Above left is another 'bargain' just too good to pass up.  But never used it unless it was overdyed ~ too much white showing.  Even after today's walnut dye don't like that light showing thru so would use the darker side.

So the totality of my walnut dyeing for today is above.  OMG, I've still walnut dye in the pot so hopefully I'll get around to using it up soon before it goes bad.  Or perhaps I should freeze some to dab on rugs when hooking and they just need that little bit of ....dirty....for that olden look.

Take advantage of the black walnuts while they are falling.  Happy Sunday and happy hooking.  Weather is about to change.

Saundra

Bind Two Rugs..... ✔

Yup, finally completed the binding of the two rugs and just two weeks before Ocean City rug camp.  So there are other priorities now... like house cleaning and pulling wool for the next rug.

Above is my grandson's favorite soccer team and he is a great soccer player himself.   I put in a sleeve on the back for hanging it but he can choose to use it however he wishes.  

Soon there will be two labels on the back of this Christmas gift and will bore you again when that part is accomplished.

The other finally bound rug was On the Loose which was started at Cape May camp last month.  It is a design by Bev Conway and I hooked it in a class with Cammie Bruce.

Now to clean a bit (I hope), organize my wool room and get ready for the next camp.  Unfortunately this is only my second camp this year as I missed camp with Barb Carroll in May.  So am definitely ready to have a good time with like minded folks and see Betsy Reed once again.

Saundra

Birthday Lion

This pattern (designed by Bill Laraway) was started just before leaving for Cape May rug camp last month.  I purchased two patterns and gifted one to Evelyn since she loved it so.

Evelyn finished hers and it appeared in the rug show at Cape May ~ I'm still not done.  Uh, and neither of the other two rugs are completely bound yet either.  Oh MY!

Am now wondering if Birthday Lion will even be done by the time next camp rolls around the beginning of November.  For sure the binding will be done as that is my first priority.  But at least if it isn't finished there will be something for me to work on until Betsy gets to me.

Happy Thursday.

Saundra

Perception ~ Interpretation

As in literature and music, rug hooking is also left to the individual for interpretation.  The other day I posted a photo of a folky homestead with a patriotic theme.  

A seasoned rug hooker friend of mine interpreted the piece as a bird house. Until she said that I'd interpreted the design as a house with garden in front and the grey strip below the house and "Y" shapes as walkway and driveway.  How do you interpret it?

Below  is a pattern called Gossip by Woolley Fox.  Excuse the red drawing as those were my personal changes to the design.  But you can see the images along the sides and bottom.

Back in June before starting hooking the pattern I asked my readers if they saw the images as leaves or feathers.  Frankly either way would be okay as the birds are on tree limbs so leaves would be quite normal.  I decided they should be feathers to go with the birds and the dark on all four sides would act as an inside border of sorts.

However, my friend Deb perceived those shapes as leaves.  Note she followed the original pattern and didn't change the bird shapes as I did.

Deb was inspired by the leaf shapes in the antique Domestic Zoo design, a section of which is posted below so you can see those leaves.  

This rug was hooked by me and if you wish to purchase a pattern click on the link just above.

Since we are talking about interpretation there are several elements in  Domestic Zoo which had me thinking as I was pulling loops.  That made this big rug even more fun and fast to hook since it didn't take long to hook a motif and hook a row of background around.  

In addition to the cats, horse, donkey, birds and snakes I saw apples, a pear, leaves, hearts, bird house and cherries.  So even a busy runner like that is up for interpretation.

Seems to me I had another design in my head as another example but forget what it was now.  Happy hump day.

Saundra

More Old Patina

There was more dye solution left in my small jar (6 tablespoons) so decided to use it up in a pot of water with a tad over 1 yard of wool.  

Above, bottom right are two pieces which had previously been dyed with Old Patina but they weren't to my liking so thought another round of dye might do the trick.

While the above wool was already soaking I decided to add a little more which were parts of a woman's pleated skirt (below).

 The results are below.

For a better comparison below you can see the original plaid and the newly dyed plaid.  Maybe I'll use this wool now.  Seems to me this was part of the many various yards of wool purchased one year at Barb Carroll's when selling wool for $5 per yard.

And below for comparison is the small dyed piece which came from a pastel plaid purchased from Betsy Reed a couple years ago.  Since I don't use much pastel think more of it might make its way into a dye pot as well.

HOWEVER.......look at how it hooks up in the rug below hooked by Bonnie at camp with Barb Carroll in 2010.  The flowers at the top were hooked randomly and think sections of the wool was also used for the leaves on the sides and bottom.  Barb even brought us to her table to show us how it can be used.

So see..... every piece of wool has a happy ending.  Happy Monday everyone.

Saundra

Antique Rug Show

Woe is me.... I'm feeling guilty for being MIA for several days as I bind rugs.  In all honesty, since I've been binge watching the first two seasons of Outlander have noticed my eyes glued to the TV and not binding.  When the series was first advertised on TV I briefly considered watching it.  But I record so much on my DVR wondered where I'd find the time to watch it all.

Stars and Tulips above is from late 19th century the Kellogg collection in Pennsylvania.

Two kittens, late 19th or early 20th century above sadly has a tattered edge.

Three pups which is said to be early 20th century.

The above folky homestead appeals to me, perhaps because of the patriotic look with the stars and the stripes.   The auction site says it is early 19th century but though it has a faded look am wondering if it truly is that old or made to look old.  

The oval Scottie dog above shows little wear so may not really be an antique either.  But I like it.

Above is a Circa 1920 village scene.

The black and brown dog is early 20th century from Delaware, Ohio.

Ah, I can see the use of selvage edges being used for this diamond shaped hit and miss.  I've started collecting them and hope one day to do something with them instead of tossing the in trash.

For you geometric lovers here is one with scrolls and box corners.  I love the faded look of the center and the discoloring of the scrolls at the bottom.  

Happy Sunday to you all.

Saundra

Handy Tools

Recently I purchased a couple inexpensive items which are quite handy for hookers, particularly when traveling to rug camps.  In all honesty I didn't know either existed until Cape May rug camp when my roomie had them.

The first is this TRANYA lightweight portable and chargeable 3-level dimmer light.  

Matter of fact my son used it for light as he was hooking up my TV and assembling the TV stand.

Another very handy item is the surge protector cord which I purchased from Walmart.   Mine came in white, black and pink with 2 usb ports.  However the link I gave you shows 3 usb ports as I couldn't find this one on-line.  

What a great deal, you can plug is your OTT light, charge your cell phone and ipad all at the same time while hooking....or while sleeping.

TGIF everyone.

Saundra

Chaos in the House

There has been chaos here the last two days having an old (won't die) TV pulled out.  Then a temporary delay for a day and finally successful installation of the new HDTV today.  

After my son pulled the TV out of the box is when I realized the old TV stand was not going to work.  That meant checking on line to see what local business had a suitable size stand for the 40" TV and then call to see if they had one in stock.  Luckily Big Lots had one and asked them to take it to the register that someone was on their way to get it.  

Ben wanted to be right in the middle of all the activity and why there WAS chaos in the house.  I tried to block his entry into a part of the living room by propping up the TV box against a rug frame but bully boy shoved his way thru a few times.  He'd step on the stand framing clanking them together, kicked the screws and just couldn't understand what the big deal was for me insisting his staying away.  Thankfully all is good now and calm has restored to our abode.

So now to show an update of my grandson's Christmas gift ~ his favorite Soccer Team logo from Barcelona.  

I can see now the "E" in Barcelona needs to be downsized.  And, the dark burgundy stripes need to be hooked a little closer so the foundation doesn't show.  

**So this is a lesson to be learned...no matter if you follow a hooking rhythm of every three holes for a certain size, it may not work depending on the structure of the wool strip.  Those strips were rather felted and hard.  So I will have to pull out the strips and hook it like a 3, 3, 2, 3, 3, 2, and see how it looks.

Have a great evening.  The rain will begin tonight but I have a great new HDTV to keep me entertained.  Now I can watch Jamie of Outlander in High density and all his glory.  AHHHHH.

Saundra

Rug Camp Jammies

It's no secret that I'm like a little kid each time rug camp rolls around.  Just recently I purchased a new Life is Good tee shirt and as luck would have it yesterday found a cute pair of jammies to go with it.  This will be my nighttime attire when going to camp in November.

In care you are wondering, the brand of the jammies above is called Goodnight Kiss and I purchased them in the store but you could order them on line from Peebles.  They also happen to be on sale.

The cute sheep pj's above were purchased another time as rug camp was approaching.

Am back working on my grandson's rug and should have it finished by the end of this month for sure.  Will give you an update soon.

Saundra

Last Loop Pulled

Yippee... just pulled the last loop on the rug named "On the Loose", a design by Bev Conway.  Those of you who have followed me for a while  know I'm notorious for making changes to patterns.  The original design was just fine but I wanted snow, didn't want the border and added the moon.

Above is a photo with natural lighting and no flash.  The night sky was wool purchased from Cammie Bruce.  Below is a photo taken with a flash and the colors show up much lighter and washed out than in person.

Now it needs to be steamed and bound but the binding will wait and will the be first in the pile.  Next priority is to finish hooking my grandson's Christmas gift; the lion rug I started will just have to wait.

FYI, the finished size of On the Loose is 17 1/2 X 27. 

Happy Saturday.

Saundra

White Pot with Olde Patina

With the recent chatter of people dyeing wool thought I'd pull out my white pot and do more Olde Patina recipe dying.  Since I do a lot of antique adaptations that color really speaks to me and gives more credence to an antique looking rug instead of an off white wool.

Below is the wool I stared with.  There is a little over a yard total of the 4 pieces and I used 6 Tablespoons of the Olde Patina recipe in the pot.  You can get the recipe by clicking the link near the bottom of this post.

The results from today are below and placed in the exact position.  All the wool was placed in the same big pot and in all honesty I was surprised to see the white wool turned out darker than the wool above.  Guess it depends on the fiber content of the wool.

Tho I do love off the bolt textures they sometimes present more of a  white in my rugs when hooked than I want.  Yup, I like the dirty worn look of the rugs from yesteryear.

Since there was only a small amount left from my previous Olde Patina dye day thought it was time to refresh my stash.  On the right side is all that is left from the last time I used the Olde Patina recipe.

What wonderful weather we are having yet the days are getting shorter and the we all know what will come after fall ~ uh, winter.  Have a great evening everyone and please....let's be kind to one another.

Saundra

Which One Was Mine you Ask?

It would be this one.  It is a design by Bev Conway called "On the Loose" and Bev said she IS still doing patterns.  Contact her if you wish to have this or another of her patterns.

Once again I took some creative (?) license to the pattern.  I added the moon, the snow on the ground and trees.  Below is what the trees looked like before class.... no snow marks.  But I WANTED snow.

Ya know how I reverse hook, doubt myself and tell the world about it?  That is what poor Cammie had to deal with when I first started hooking snow in class.  Sweet calm Cammie said, 'looks great...go with it".   The wool for the 'dark sky' was over dyed and purchased from Cammie.

First photo is what it looks like now and wish she was here having a glass of wine with me so I could get her opinion on what I did the with ground snow.

For sure I'd take another class with Cammie who has a fantastic sense of humor and great color sense.  OH!!  not to mention a memorable class on "primitive". 

Saundra