Antique rugs make my heart skip a beat. Here are a few rugs I've recently found and will share whatever information was available on each.
This lovely rug from the 19th Century was described as a Flower Basket with Brackets on dark field which measures 32 x 59. Wow, is so perfect it looks like a painting and would be easy to make into a pattern as the lines are crisp.
Just found this Dog and Cherry Trees rug which had been listed with an auction house and sold for $5,500. Dated late 19th century, it measured 43.5 x 45.5.
This Home Hearth scene is a familiar design for the narrow cut hooker. I've seen some designs with women facing one another having tea with the same windows and fireplace in the background. Wonder if it is a Pearl McGowan design. This one was hooked by Minnie (Nissley) Stehman in 1930 from Ephrata, PA and measures 38 x 68.
A York, PA Flower Mat measures 15 x 16 ~ this is the front.
The colors don't seem to have faded much as you can see from the back.
Flowering Tree, Birds and Deer was hooked early 20th Century and measures 37 x 55. This is the front.
It is secured and backed with part of an American Flag. Before you condemn the person who hooked this rug years ago for not having any respect for the American Flag, think about a couple things.....
First, the person was using what was available. The flag was not being stomped on, not being used in protest and think she meant no disrespect. Perhaps it was a flag of a relative she was preserving along with a part of herself by covering the back of the hooked piece.
Below is a Lion hooked rug. Yes it may be an old design which might look marvelous when hooked with wool, cotton or textiles used back in the day. This looks like it was punched with yarn which might be faster to accomplish but I personally do NOT like the look.
Now compare it to a rug hooked 1880 which appears to be the same design but reversed since it was hooked and not punched. I far prefer wool hooked rugs.
The rug below is a simple design yet that grey and yellow goes well together.
This Dog appears to be carrying an Easter Egg Basket. It was hooked with wool, homespun and maybe even yarn. It measures 17 x 18.
This is the reverse side of the rug.
Can't believe the hurricane season has appeared already with Arthur's winds blowing like crazy the last 3 days. And the Windy Day pattern still on display at the front door on the sofa table.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
Had intended to post an update yesterday but it was grass cutting day and laundry needed to be done. By the time those chores were completed all I wanted to do was sit and hook. And, sad to say I've been a couch potato all day and worked on Early Bird. You'd think I'd be done with it by now but nope.
Early Bird is adapted from the artwork of Lori Brechlin and sold as a rug hooking pattern by Spruce Ridge Studios. This is what it looks like now.
Remember that 'glitch' I spoke about in a previous post? This is what I was referring to ~ the tail feathers. Kris' hooked version starting with brown and ended with black. But I had a space open and since I was already stressed for losing a beautiful photo blew the issue out of proportion and stopped working on it...uh briefly.
When I went back to the rug all I did was rip out the black, moved it up in the space and hooked a bottom row of brown; no big deal Saundra, what was all the fuss about..duh? It was losing the photo of Janet Reid's beautiful rug. But thanks to a friend I've acquired a replacement.
Back to Early Bird....another thing I did was pull out the more intense orange and replaced it with the softer version of the same color. See below when I showed you my options in the beginning of this project.
AND....another thing 😁 I pulled out the yellow beak and replaced it with the textured you see in the first photo.
For those who are wondering, I'm using #8.5 strips except for that white around the eye. I've more work to do before attacking the words as I'd like to get the background done before tackling the bottom.
In a couple days I'll post a photo of my bound Cat's Paw so if any one is working on one and would like me to share it on my blog, please send me a photo. If you would like to start a new project during this 'stay at home' time check out my initial INVITATION.
It was a breezy and cooler Sunday than yesterday but suspect that when the heat is turned on outside it will crank up big time. Hope all of you stay safe and are feeling well.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
Since I've run into a little glitch while hooking Early Bird I'll do a flash back to Cape May 2014. Don't worry, I promise to show you the glitch and what I do to fix my problem in my next post.
Stepping back in time to September 2014, Ali Strebel was my teacher that year. The first task in the class was doing a sampler of stitches. Ali handed out pieces of linen to each of us and a few strips of wool in various colors. I still have my sampler but since it isn't as organized or pretty as my pal Deb's I stole a picture of hers to show, albeit upside down.
Here is Ali demonstrating something but can't tell or remember just what it was.
Notice the gal above in navy blue (Elaine Copeman), she is the one who hooked Bertha at the Beach piece below. This is a hoot and she did a magnificent job.
Some Ohio gals were there, but sadly not Lauren, and they seemed to love picking on me. Hey, I'm easy to pick on, what can I say.
A Granny Donaldson rug hooked by Evelyn Lawrence, pattern by Woolley Fox.
The Give Ye Thanks piece on the left was hooked by pal Deb Nees, a Lori Brechlin design and sold by Spruce Ridge Studio.
Thanks to friend Joan Strausbaugh I now have a photo of Give Ye Thanks hooked by Janet Reid. Notice the the Pink Cancer Ribbon on her door. I believe this was Janet's way of expressing her THANKS for being in remission.
Below is Button Basket hooked by Rebecca Erb.
Celtic Rabbits hooked by Evelyn Lawrence and design by Lisanne Miller.
A more colorful rug is "Dog Eat Dog World", designer unknown and hooked by Pat Levin.
Bee Head, designed by Bev Conway was hooked by Greta Schneider.
Ruth Hall hooked the 1835 PA Fraktur below.
New England Berry Tree design by Woolley Fox and hooked by Deb.
1830 Eagle hooked by Joan Strausbaugh and designed by Karl Kraft.
You can spot a Cheri Reid hooked rug a mile away. Here are only three which were in the rug show. The Red Lion Inn was huge so took two photos so you could enjoy the entirety of it. The first photo shows the top which was heavily reinforced for it to hang properly .
Last but not least is a photo of some gals enjoying the fine weather hooking on the porch. Am hoping Cape May will be happening again this September.
I didn't show all the rugs from the show as I've other things to do this afternoon. Have wasted so much time trying to recover the photos, searching the archives on previous blog posts to find Janet's rug to no avail. And including trying several times to edit the color changes in this post. Frustration!!!!!
Again, if anyone has a photo of Janet's Give Ye Thanks rug please send me a copy. Since Janet is no longer with us I'd like to have that as a fond memory of her struggle. I believe that rug was her Giving Thanks for being in remission.
Thank you Joan!!!!!!! Oh, 'justgail' thank you for your email too but it went into my spam folder since you are a no-reply blogger and I didn't see your message in time. You CAN fix the no-reply just do a google for those words.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
Am happily pulling loops again. It's a good thing I've a hobby (habit) which is creative and entertaining during this self-quarantine period. Cannot image those who have no interests whether it be handiwork, reading, gardening or other form of creativity while being stuck at home.
This is on my frame...Early Bird, a design by Lori Brechlin and sold by Spruce Ridge Studio. Just couldn't find the proper Robin breast color in my stash. But found this orange which had little black threads running thru it and hoped it would work.
But later wondered if this more bland orange would be better. It does have more of a softness to it whereas the first photo has a hard bright color. Yes, they're very similar in color so I'll work elsewhere and think on it before ripping out or continuing.
You know me always second-guessing my choices. Now it is the beak which is too close in value to the background. Perhaps a thin cornrowing of a soft color between them will do the job.
More on the entertainment news.....I subscribe to Comcast cable and Starz used to be part of my lineup until this year. I was NOT willing to spend even more money per year to have that channel so refused. Which meant I was no longer able to record Outlander. BUT, this week during the "Watchathon" I'm able to watch Season 5 for free. So I'll be binge watching a couple episodes every day to get caught up.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
I have many 'favorites', mostly related to memories of camp camaraderie and my teacher. The rug I'm most proud of can't be narrowed down to just one, but rather two.
For those of you who followed my blog for a while it should come as no surprise that one of those rugs is Rottweiler Memorial of my departed Shumba and Panzer. Not only did I capture their likeness but feel their spirit when I look at it.
Another reason I'm proud of that piece is because I'm a wide cut hooker who, at that time, hooked with #8 cut. Now my go to strip size is #8.5 and higher. The Rottweiler Memorial was hooked with #3 strips for the dogs and #5 for the background. Hated the #3 so much I refused to do the background in that size too.
Also I've a sense of pride in accomplishing what I thought impossible of me and proved to the people who said 'wide cut primitive hookers aren't real hookers' ARE real hookers. Now I've nothing to prove to them or me.
Here is the photo from which the pattern was designed.
The other rug I'm quite proud of is one I had no clue how to color plan and was scheduled to hook it in a class with Barb Carroll ~ that is until I had to drop out of class as my ex was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer and could not come take care of my boy Ben. This was about a week before camp and couldn't find a kennel to take a Rottie. Of course I was sad to hear the diagnosis and my missing camp and staying home with Ben was minor compared to the devastating news. In case you're wondering, my ex is still walking and breathing due to his continued healthy lifestyle but does still have cancer; we email often.
That second rug I'm quite proud of is Gossip, a pattern given to me by friend Deb, designed by Bill Laraway, and sold by Woolley Fox. My friend Deb accidentally purchased the same pattern twice and didn't know until organizing her rug hooking closet. Below is the original design.
Deb was working on hers at one of the Barb Carroll camps we attended and I snapped this photo of her work in progress, little did I know that in a year or so I'd have the same pattern. Deb hooked the motifs on the side similar to a Magdalena Briner leaf.
Even tho I could not attend camp with my gal pals I decided to go with my plan on hooking Gossip the week everyone else was having fun with Barb and do the color planning myself. What the hell to do now?
Upon studying the design those tiny shapes other than birds just weren't me and didn't care to hook them like drawn. And, I could go for the leaf look too... or would I???? So it was then it all came together for me! If I hooked that big top bird (think crow) in black and instead of making those side and bottom motifs leaves, what about feathers? Thought was it would provide a very dark framing of sorts.
On my own to color plan and a little re-draw here and there I'm quite pleased with the outcome with having no one else's help. So proved to myself I can (sometimes) color plan on my own successfully.
Notice at the bottom left I hooked a heart ~ that was for my ex who is still in my heart.
A question to you who read my blog ~ do you have a rug you are most proud of? If so I would LOVE for you to share the picture with me.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
The last loop was pulled on Cat's Paw and now needs binding...
~ right after I finish tacking down the binding on Windy Day.
In case you're wondering, the dimensions of Cat''s Paw is 15.5 x 24 and drew it myself. A lot of worms were used in #8 and #8.5. I invited people to join me and it is never too late. Here was that POST.
Windy Day was purchased from W.Cushing and the size I ordered was 12 x 22. Lisanne does offer a larger size if you so desire.
I've pulled wool for my next project but the old mess needs to be tidied up as I seem to make a rat's nest when I hook.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
Recently on FB rug group someone mentioned hating to bind round rugs. To be honest I don't like binding PERIOD. But I find binding a round or oval rug easier than manipulating the mitered corner of a square or rectangular rug.
Were you aware there is a 'gathering thread' on every cotton binding tape? Yup, there is. One edge is a little more rigid than the other and that is the side which has the gathering thread. Sometimes the thread shows itself quickly sometimes it requires gentleness and patience. If you look below you can see how it is gathering.
First I hand sewed the straight (un-gathered) edge of the binding tape close to the last row of hooking then gently pulled on the thread so it would gather. Carefully the gathering was worked around toward the other end.
This is what the previously bound round chair pad looked like after it had been hand sewn around the perimeter of the edge but still needed to be tacked down inside and steamed. Remember this photo is from a previous blog post.
There might be gentle puckering even after steaming but will be a better look than huge lumps as I've seen done by those who don't know about the gathering thread. Of course the edge could always be whipped with yarn if you so choose with no binding tape to worry about.
Another hit and miss round mat I hooked was this spiral one inspired by Karen Kahle.
Here they are together.
Will soon be done with Cat's Paw and anxious to start my new project.
Happy hooking.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com
I've recently finished the sweet design Windy Day and almost finished hooking the Cat's Paw I drew. It's getting almost to panic time as I don't know what to hook next. There are several already drawn patterns in my stash, some PDF patterns I could draw out myself and a couple designs in the making but nothing definitive. Will show you a few of those patterns.
It would be much easier to hook pattern already here ~ One is Early Bird, designed by Lori Brechlin and purchased from Spruce Ridge Studios.
Also have a small version of Mary Comstock's Bed Rug, a pattern on linen by Frontier Homestead.
Two others which would be easy choices are Lori Brechlin's Wool Witch PDF.
Or When Pigs Fly, also in PDF format. Hmm, maybe this one would be more fun in the fall.
Then a design in progress which was started about two weeks ago and I'm frozen in time....the pieces of paper drawings are still laying on top of my table. I've temporarily lost interest in that although I was totally focused for a while. Using a phrase from Lauren "I've the attention span of a gnat".
There are also 15 other already drawn patterns in my stash to choose from which won't require drawing out. I've grass to cut but before that I've limbs and pine cones to pick up after the recent horrid wind. That will give me time to ponder what will go on my frame when the Cat's Paw is done.
Happy sunny Saturday to you and hoping everyone is well and stays safe.
Saundra
www.woodlandjunctionprimities.weebly.com
