SCALLOPED FLOWERS

A few more loops have been pulled on this antique adaptation but still plenty more to do as you can see.  There is a lot more border than background too.  

The antique had several values of light and believe it or not I didn't use the brightest white in my stash.  When the rug is all hooked I'll spray plain water on the front, the back then the front again (spray twice on the front and once in the back).  Since wool naturally repels water you want to be sure it is soaked so it will absorb the walnut mixture better.  I mean that makes sense since we need to pre-soak our wool before putting it in the dye pot for that very reason...to absorb the dye.

Here is a small bottle of Distress It which I purchased a couple years ago from Hooked on Rugs.  Perhaps there is another company who offers a similar product.  Also think you can purchase walnut crystals if you don't have black walnut trees in your area.

Or, if you have walnut stain you've made yourself you can paint it on.  Once I tried putting my saved walnut juice in a spray bottle and there must have been very fine sediment which rendered the spray bottle useless ~ even after I strained it.  So guess I'll have to paint the areas I want to look dirty and age the rug.  

Walnuts usually drop in October and easy to pick up off the ground.  From an earlier blog post during walnut season you can read how I made walnut stain HERE.   Be careful as your hands will also become dyed.  And in other blog posts showed samples of the before and after wool dyed in it, HERE.

OMG, yesterday afternoon the thunderstorm rolled in at lunch time and the temps dropped to the low 50's.  Later the sun did shine which brought the outside temps up to higher 50's.  I've been cold all day as I've refused to turn on the heat and my house was 66* today so had to wear long sleeves inside.  Supposed to be a better weekend tho and after the rain guess there will be a growth spurt and I'll be cutting grass.

Happy Friday and happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

TURTLE CROSSING

Here's an update on the Eastern Box Turtle situation in my yard.  The other evening around dusk I went outside to bring in my bird feeders and noticed this other turtle resident near the trash cans.  I surmised she was laying eggs since the dirt was disturbed around her.

She was in my walk path but left the turtle alone, grabbed the camera to take a photo and dropped a couple morsels of food for her ~ a small piece of radicchio and a piece of walnut.  FYI, young turtles will eat meat during their growth but when they get older they prefer fruit, vegetables and nuts. 

Next morning when returning my filled bird feeder noticed she was gone but left me a present (below).  Those aren't stones, they're turtle eggs and I'd never seen them in the yard before.  Guess she didn't care for my offering of food as she didn't eat the radicchio or walnut. 

Don't know if the eggs are fertilized or not but since Mrs. Turtle didn't cover the eggs and they were in my pathway decided to move them a few feet and behind my daylilies.  I dug a shallow area and lightly covered them.  Hopefully they had been fertilized and no snake or raccoon will find them.  You can learn more about Box Turtle eggs HERE.

Never a dull moment when living in the woods.  There are a couple rabbits I've seen eating together in the front yard.  Think they live under the front porch, their fur is shedding to create nests with I guess.  So the animal life cycle is ongoing and makes me happy to watch it play out.

No rain again last night, still rather cool for June and the haze from the wild fires is still here.

Have been slowly pulling loops on Scalloped Flowers and will show you an update in a day or so.  Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

BROUGHT OUT THE DYE POTS

It has been quite a long time since the dye pots were pulled out.  Not that I didn't want to dye wool but it is such a pain to pull all that crap out, locate the wool you want to change the color of, choose what recipe to use and see if you have those dyes.  I'm always in need/want of primitive black and have lots of unappreciated (ugly) wool which would be suitable for dyeing primitive black.

Sorry I didn't take a photo of the wool before, but this is the after.  Will tell you the plaid on the left was a grey plaid which turned out nicely.  The middle plaid was mostly green & light plaid, on the right was a putrid pink purple plaid which may have been part of a bargain bag purchase.  I love the bargain bags but am not a fan of pinks and certain shades of purple (sorry Barb).

The dye recipe used called for 1/2 yard wool but am sure I was over that since I didn't measure ~ sometimes I just wing it and hope for the best.  Despite that I'm pleased with the results and never expected them to be total flat black anyway.  Plus it is good to have some variation in a primitive black background unless you are a purist.  Here is the recipe used:

Primitive Black  (using Cushing Dye)

1/16 t plumb

1/4 t Khaki Drab

1/4 t Peacock

1/8 t black  over 1 cup boiling water

Since the pots, spoons and measuring cups are out decided to do more primitive black dyeing and will use the wool below.  The wool in the middle is very similar in color to the over dyed piece on the far right in the photo above.  This time I will measure the wool.

Here are the results of the next two pots of primitive black.  I did use up some of the red & blue plaid on the right  and will save the remainder of it for another dye session.  

I've put away all the dye paraphernalia and for now am over the dyeing bug.  Besides I didn't want to root thru my organized shelves of wool so only chose those which were easily retrievable.

Weather still seems to be rather mild for June and no rain here in a while although weatherman said "maybe" will have a little thunder and rain this evening.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

MISC. CHIT CHAT

This is the third sighting of turtles returning to my property this year and the smallest so far.  Turtles usually return to their place of birth.  This time I didn't lift the turtle to check if it was male or female.  And didn't notice color of eyes before it retreated inside it's house.  You can watch this YouTube video to learn more about the Eastern Box Turtle.

Also, after my last blog post noticing Santa looking at me (us) immediately rotated the wire basket to face Santa toward the brick wall.  Just not ready for him yet.

Am still plugging along on the Scalloped Flowers adaptation and once hooked will give it a spray or wash of walnut dye to tone down the white and dirty up other areas.  Was too lazy to take it off the frame.

There is still lots of the pattern to hook.  Believe it or not that white is not the brightest white in my stash.  There needed to be a value difference so this was my choice.

I've got some ugly wool on soak and hoping tomorrow (maybe) I'll do a pot of primitive black dying.  I am always in need of primitive black wool!!!!

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

TIME FOR A RUG CHANGE

Since winter is long gone thought I'd change the rug in front of the fireplace to have a different view when working on a rug.   This happens to be the same design Lauren (Rugs and Pugs) worked on at her last camp, which you can see at the end of her post.  

Oops, I see Santa peeking at me thru the wire basket on the right.  Perhaps the basket should be rotated a tad since there is over 6 months before he is to return.

The last couple days have been VERY hot and humid but a cold front is coming thru so tomorrow will be a more comfortable 73 degrees.  Maybe I'll go outside after breakfast to pull some weeds and thorny vines before weather changes to hot again.

Congratulations to Cathy (Acorn Hollow) on her retirement.  So guess we can look forward to many more posts and new rugs to show us.  But my guess is she will be a social butterfly flitting around doing and visiting all those places she dreamt of when she finally retired.  Happy Retirement Cathy, now every day will feel like a weekend.

Happy Friday and happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

OLD RUG SHOW

Probably my favorite thing to do other than hook is looking at vintage rugs.  And I've collected a few more since my last post.  Cannot remember where I found this early hooked rug with two cabins, apple tree and dog but it is sweet.  No dimensions or date were provided either.

A lovely simple floral basket without date or dimensions I've had on my flash drive since 2022.  I sometimes hold rugs for a while in the event it shows up again with more info.

A recent find is a folk art farm rug dated around 1930.  It measures 36 x 36.

A close up of the whale weathervane.

No date provided but this landscape below is a smallish 12 x 18.  It is  hooked but looks like a water color painting.  If it isn't an antique and someone knows who hooked it please let me know, it is wonderful.

Another recent find is the folk art collage that includes hooking, stitching and applique.  No date or dimensions were provided.

Here is a closer view.

Cats dated between 1868 -1933.

Dog rug with 4 cats measuring 39 x 45 circa 1870.

A close up of top right corner.

I never heard of an Eider duck before and when I googled for info learned they are in the northern coastline regions.  Was hooked early 20th century and measures 20 x 36.

Hen and Rooster hooked early 20th century, 27 x 36.

Below is a closeup view of the back and you can see the plaid textile used to hook the top part of the background.  Am surprised it is in such good shape since the burlap is so loosely woven, old and probably brittle.

Another Nancy Gertrude Scott rug named Home Sweet Home.  It measures 29 x 46.

That's todays rug show.  And in old news, am still having email issues with Outlook.  BUT, I was in contact with the company from whom the software was purchased and they have been trying to help me.  They even sent me the product key for a newer version which didn't work either. 

In new news, I now have my contacts, can send and receive emails in a format which I'm familiar with.  Thanks for the help of the company and their patience with me my new version of Outlook is working.  Happy camper I am!!!

UPDATE:  well that happy dance was short lived.  Went thru all steps, showed it was saved, sent messages from it and then it stopped working and couldn't even find it in computer apps list.  Just can't deal with that crap again today so will hook and deal with the S#!t tomorrow.

NEWER UPDATE:  Yesterday afternoon I did a search for a newer driver for Outlook 2019 on WIN10, ran a Microsoft update then restarted the computer.  After that Outlook seemed to work fine but wanted to wait and see how it was today.  Am happy to say Outlook seems to be working perfectly.  Hope it stays that way.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

OFF THE FRAME

Am wondering if it will stay off the frame as I'm a little frustrated with the wool colors right now.  Could be the frustration is just a runoff of the days of frustration with technology.  More on that at the end of this post.

When working on antique adaptations usually there is both a photo of the original saved on my iPad but also printed paper copy to keep by my side.  My printer doesn't print true color as I see on the iPad.  After using the paper copy when it came time to hook that point ran upstairs to look for a lighter color similar to that on the paper copy.  But it looks out of place.  This is what has been hooked so far and you can see that yellow in the point to the right looks out of place.  

If I continue with the yellow this is how it would look.  If I keep that I'll need to change color in the central flower to match the border.

If I pull out the yellow and go with the tan this is how it would appear.  So I'm at a crossroads....yellow or tan?  Think I'll take the afternoon off from hooking and bind more on the Horse rug.

In case you're wondering, this is the original antique for you to check out the colors so you can decide.  You'll see why I'm in a quandary.  However I will NOT buy more wool nor will I pull out dye pots, will make do with what I have.  Yet I'm leaning toward the softer duller color of the tan vs. the bright of yellow....what say you?

If I didn't have that rug to bind I'd probably be drawing out a small plus one.

OH, the technology frustration....my old Outlook mail server was expired so had to buy another, which ended up being Microsoft 365 Outlook.  Supposedly a more current version of Outlook.  Seems 365 shows constant ads and when I click on the "go ad free" link Microsoft indicates it will be $1.99 per month.  WTF?  If they can provide an ad free email why in the hell don't they just do that??  Am not biting and will probably be reduced to just use my Comcast site for email and screw Microsoft. If any of you out there has Microsoft 365 (which includes Outlook, One Note, etc.) do you receive ads on the side as well as the in box?

 

That wasn't the only issue with 365 ~ my contacts from the old version of Outlook did not sync into the new version tho I tried.  Which means it could be I've lost some of the email address of you who previously contacted me.  If you want me to put your email address in my xfinity contacts please E-MAIL ME so I'll have your address.

ALSO while I am able to send emails from the new 365 Outlook I cannot receive emails.  I HATE technology and don't know how to rectify the situation since I'm technically challenged.

Happy hooking, or in my case happy binding, lol.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

MEMORIAL DAY

Let us not forget those brave men and women who served and gave their life so we may enjoy our freedom.  

And those loyal military K-9s as well.

God Bless America, the military and police who protect and serve every day.

Saundra

Preview of the Center Motif

I have this love/HATE relationship with technology.  Today it was mostly hate but won't belabor it by going into details and getting my BP elevated again as it was with the Comcast interaction.  Miraculously I'm now able to receive and send emails ~ wonder if that has anything to do with my threatening to shut off the home phone, internet, email and mobile?  Ya think?

This is what little I've accomplished so far and I've been working on this for more days than Lauren has been working on hers yet she complains of not accomplishing much.  HA!  She travels 3 hours per day to and fro to camp but accomplished more than I have being at home all day.

Sadly I don't have the same colors that were in the original antique but am using what is in my stash and worms with colors which work together.  Yes I am cutting wool but trying to use what is in my worm bags first.

Am sure I'll still love it when I'm done but refuse to dye wool when there are already so many colors of wool here.  Besides, women before me had to 'make do or do without' and so shall I.

Think I'll begin hooking along the border and start the scalloped edge.  Hope I don't get dizzy, lol....guess y'all think I'm already dizzy, right?

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

RECENTLY FOUND BEM and NGS RUGS

Barbara Merry was prolific hooker whose primitive style was thought to be antique.  I've posted several of her rugs on my blog and if you type her name in the search box they will come up.  I knew her name was Barbara E. Merry but didn't know until recently her middle name was Evelyn, or at least according to the antique auction site info.  

Farm scene with hay wagon, 32 x 39.5.

Here is her Farm Village measuring 35 x 43.

Men sapping trees.

This may have been an adaptation of her barn red home in Maine, a red house winter scene.  It measures 20 x 31.

In previous posts I've mentioned Barbara had a daughter named Nancy who also was a rug hooker.  About the same time finding Barbara's new ones I found these rugs for sale.  For those of you who may not have read my previous posts, as a child Nancy remembers Jamaicans working on her parents' farm, thus the reason she hooks many black people as they were part of her daily life.   

Another of Nancy's earlier rugs and measures 16 x 34.

A row of houses with 2 chickens measuring 28 x 42.  You can see the camouflaged initials of NGS at the bottom right.

This rug below shows Nancy had honed her hooking skills and changed the signage from NGS to N Scott.  Farm children measuring 30 x 36.  

And yet another improved hooking style.  A farmer holding Pitchfork 31 x 37 from the estate of Laura Fisher, NY.

Hope you enjoy my vintage rug posts.  Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

LOOKED and FOUND

That's right, I looked for the next one and found it.   Am sure you will recognize which antique rug it is from the post by clicking HERE. 

The bottom of the Snapdragon frame shows the yoke (ball harness) which prevents the frame from dropping straight down.  The frame came with the regular yoke we're all familiar with but I became frustrated when the frame would suddenly just drop unless the bolt was real tight.  So I contacted the woman from whom I purchased it and she said they had other folks complain and her husband developed this new style.  It works fine and am happy.  Unfortunately I don't see it on the web site for Snapdragon Frames replacement parts but perhaps you could inquire if interested.

As promised, here is a photo of the ice cream parlor table and chairs as I've dug it out from under the heaps of wool.   Guess those are plywood seats but the table top is marble.  

The vintage hooked chair pads I found at a thrift shop years ago.  There is one more chair but is at the vanity in the guest bath.   To the left is a quilt rack holding odd sizes of linen which have already been serged.  When I need/want to draw a small pattern I look there first.  There's another quilt rack which holds larger pieces of linen so when an order comes in that's the first place I look.  Lately I've been drawing my patterns larger than normal so go there to shop for me.

I've made headway in cleaning up the room but there's still more to do.  It just seems so overwhelming and regret letting it get to that state.  Sadly I can't promise it won't ever happen again 😞

Happy hooking.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com

 

RUG HOOKING CHIT CHAT

The last loops on 1911 Horse were pulled and out of necessity with no new rug to hook (yet) have started the binding process.

The rug will be bound using cotton rug binding tape as I don't want an extra row of any color at the edge.  I want the thin dark areas to show as they are since that is how the antique was.  

Below is a fun rug I found on an auction site in 2022.  The info was that it measures 17 x 19 and said to be hooked between 1920-1949.  Am finally posting it now because of an article in the latest ATHA  June/July issue of ATHA Magazine. 

In that issue there is another cat rug Amy hooked with Nola Heidbreder adapted from a famous St. Louis artist Charles Houska.  So perhaps this rug below is an adaptation of his work as well. 

If you received the latest issue of ATHA check out page 59.

This is a preview of the articles in the issue.

I enjoy this magazine as much if not more than RHM.  If you'd like to subscribe and see what other folks in your area are doing you can subscribe to ATHA HERE.

Nancy asked how I hid my ends.  Actually I've done 3 different ways and intended to do those on a piece of linen to show you.  But decided to take the easy way and provide you with a video by Cindy Gay, enjoy.

Hook on folks.

Saundra

www.woodlandjunctionprimitives.weebly.com