Woolly Mammoth Woolens

Two more links (and then I'll stop!)

2012-01-25T13:29:00.003-05:00

Here are two links to some interesting Web sites. The first has to do with color selection.

http://www.colourlovers.com/

"COLOURlovers is a creative community where people from around the world create
and share colors, palettes and patterns, discuss the latest trends and explore colorful
articles... All in the spirit of love."

Lots and lots of pages to explore.

Another great Web page is http://surfacedesign.org. Check it out!

New Online Magazine by Rug Hooking Magazine

2012-01-16T14:39:00.001-05:00

The other day I got an email from Rug Hooking Magazine announcing the first issue of their new online magazine. Went to their Web site, and I took the plunge! Wasn't sure what to expect, but I have to say I was more than pleased with this new venture.

The content was wonderful as were the photos. I particularly liked the fact that within the articles were many links to other sites which gave further information on the topics. Over the next few days, I'd like to point out some of those links that I particularly enjoyed. Here is the first:

http://www.farnsworthmuseum.org/current-exhibitions

This link will take you to the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, Maine. Click on the Beyond Rugs exhibit. When you get to this page click on the white icon with "Beyond Rugs" written on. You will now see what I believe is an online handbook for the exhibit. You'll get pictures of the fiber art and a short blurb about the artist. What a great exhibit. Couldn't believe some of the artwork.

Here is one of the pieces:

Liz Alpert Fay Spontaneous Stripe, 2008 (detail) Hooked New York Times Sunday Magazine covers and rice paper 20 x 18 inches Collection of Len Charlap

You will be amazed at what some of the pieces are hooked with! Enjoy, and check in over the next few days for some more great links!

The Worms are Married!

2012-01-13T14:44:00.000-05:00

As per Julia's suggestion, I took the worms I had gathered from my projects over the years, divided them into two piles. One pile was greens, yellows, browns, and the other had reds, purples, blues. Took the green pile and overdyed them with a blue-green formula. Unfortunately, forgot to take the "before" picture. Here, however, is the "after" photo.

The purple/red mix was overdyed with my Scary Night formula. This is a photo of Scary Night overdyed on natural.

The worms are in the dryer right now, hopefully not clogging things up! They came out in great shades of purples and blues.

Got a lot of wool and binding tape listed on Ebay. Click on the link on the right hand side of the blog to view the auctions.

You never know...

2012-01-09T12:19:00.002-05:00

You just never know what the day is going to bring. Got up normal time on Friday to find my husband sitting on the couch with chest pains. Got dressed in a whirlwind and off to the ER where we found that although he did not have a heart attack, he did need a cardiac catheterization. Turned out there were three blocked arteries, but not blocked enough to send us to Albany (closest place with a medical center) to have a stent put in.

Although I've been through my share of health crises with both my parents, my husband's parents and brothers, you just somehow aren't always prepared for what the day can bring.

It struck me while waiting for him to come out of the procedure how difficult it must be to have a family member chronically ill, how much energy it takes just to go to the hospital every day to visit. And to boot, you have to try to do so with a smile.

We are blessed that the results are hopefully just an eye opener to start living a healthier and less stress-filled life. (At least I hope that's all!) Of course, January is the perfect time to start making some of those changes. I hope that my husband can find the strength to make those changes.

Pancake Dyeing

2012-01-05T15:36:00.002-05:00

I think pancake dyeing is my favorite dyeing method. Layer upon layer of glorious color!

I don't know about you, but I have a private stash of wool that I don't sell. I reserve it for my own rugs. Recently, most of the additions to that stash are wools dyed using the pancake method.

Here is my most recent experiment.

The second piece from the top (these are folded in half) is going into a rug design I've been working on. The main motif is a whimsical bird whose head is going to be red and then the color will feather down (get it?!!) to the dark blue black. The third piece was originally a goldenrod shade. Don't you love the beautiful green that appeared?!?!

I wish my photos were better. I've been experimenting with my camera to get the truest color I can, especially when photographing wool for sale. It is so difficult and tricky with the light you get at different times of the day. Not to mention that the weather conditions can wreak havoc with the light!

Oh well, back to sorting worms.

January is the month for organizing! Right?

2012-01-01T16:51:00.000-05:00

HELP! What do you do with all these worms? How do you organize them? I've got them in tupperware, in cigar boxes, in trays, stuffed in between layers of wool, not to mention that I find them on the windowsill, in the chairs, in the vacuum, etc.

Please tell me your ideas. I'm really trying to organize my supplies, so I don't wind up dyeing colors that I don't need. What works for you? Or is it hopeless!!!????!!!

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T16:10:00.003-05:00

Wishing all of you a very happy and healthy new year! I'm not buying into all the hoopla of 2012 being a scary year, and instead am looking forward to positive things ahead for me and for the world at large.

Tonight is First Night here in my town. We'll be heading off to dinner with friends, then back home to play cards. The city shoots fireworks off in the park near our home, so we'll step out into the cold, enjoy the colors, say goodnight, and be in bed by 12:30. Gone are the days when we were just getting started at midnight! Hope you all enjoy the evening!

Interesting Rug Hooking Web sites

2011-12-29T15:24:00.000-05:00

There are so many blogs and Web sites related to rug hooking. A few years back, I tried to compile a list of all the blogs I could find that dealt with rug hooking. I'm sure by now that number has doubled! So today, although I should be doing other things (!), I surfed the Web a bit and found a few sites I haven't been to before. Check them out! The last one has some very unique patterns.

http://www.hookedrugstudio.com

http://www.londonderryinn.com/111-RUG-HOOKING.html

http://gunmarietextiles.com/rug-hooking-patterns/

Happy Holidays to all!

2011-12-24T08:22:00.002-05:00

Here's hoping you all have a wonderful holiday season and blessings for a peaceful world this new year!

Good Books 2011

2011-12-22T17:34:00.001-05:00

Here are some of favorites from 2011.

The Housekeeper and the Professor
by Yoko Ogawa
We read this in our book club. A wonderful story and quick read.

Loving Frank: A Novel
by Nancy Horan
The very interesting story of Frank Lloyd Wright and his lover Mamah Borthwick Cheney and how their relationship ended in tragedy.

The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy
Another book club selection. I remember reading Jude the Obscure in high school and loving it. The Return of the Native, although difficult reading sometimes due to the archaic English, was a great story.

The Other Side of the Bridge
by Mary Lawson
Our book club selection for March was written by Canadian writer Mary Lawson. Very interesting story that made for lively discussion.

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana
by Anne Rice
Second book in her Christ the Lord series. Easy reading highlights Christ's journey in life ending at the wedding in Cana. I have really enjoyed the two books in this series and look forward to her third. This, and the first book in the series, are the only books I've read by Anne Rice. These books make me want to read more of her work.

We Need to Talk About Kevin tie-in: A Novel (P.S.)
by Lionel Shriver
Although I wouldn't call this a favorite, it is a notable read for me as the book was riveting, although extremely disturbing. A book that looks at the events leading up to a school massacre.

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
by Jamie Ford
A book club selection. Unfortunately, I missed the discussion on this book which I had hoped to participate in. This book looks at the life of a Japanese family taken to an internment camp during WWII told from the perspective of a young Chinese-American boy. I loved it!

The Bookman's Promise
by John Dunning
Part of a series of books about the life of a bookseller. This is the third in the series and did not disappoint. If you are interested in the world of booksellers, you'll enjoy this series.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
by Rebecca Skloot
Again, a book club selection. Although the book centers around the world of cells and medical use of cells, it reads like a story. Fascinating.

Olive Kitteridge
by Elizabeth Strout
I loved, loved, loved this book of short stories tied together by the wonderful character Olive Kitteridge! Easy reading that will have you laughing out loud in parts.

The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
by Diane Setterfield
I thoroughly enjoyed this beautifully written story. When you are looking for something to read on a slow, rainy (or snowy!) afternoon, this is the book to read.

A Patchwork Planet (Fawcett Book)
by Anne Tyler
This was a great little read. Went fast and was a humorous and touching story.

Her Fearful Symmetry
by Audrey Niffenegger
Another book by the author of the Time Traveler's Wife. Although I did not find this book as appealing the Time Traveler's Wife, I did enjoy it and found it hard to put down. A bit weird, but worth the effort.

Room: A Novel
by Emma Donoghue
This book had been on my shelf for a while, and when it became our book club selection, I got right into it. OMG!!! This was a great story. One of those books I couldn't put down. Seemed like I toted it from room to room. Read it!

The Tavern on Maple Street
by Sharon Owens
This is the third book by Irish writer Sharon Owens that I have read. I enjoyed the first two, and this one was just as good. Takes place in a small Northern Ireland town with a great cast of characters. The story takes place in a tavern and kept me smiling as each new customer or employee was introduced.

The School of Essential Ingredients
by Erica Bauermeister
I just finished this book and loved it! Centers around a cooking school and the people who attend the classes. Beautifully written.

There were a lot of others that I read, but these were the best of the bunch.

Rugs in 2011

2011-12-15T15:55:00.001-05:00

Here's what I got hooked this year.

New York Beauty

My childhood home

This rug is nearly finished.


Frogs and Fiddleheads

It doesn't seem like very much when viewed this way. But I need to remember that in between loops were knitting and crocheting projects and binding of rugs. How did you do this year?

Knitting frenzy

2011-12-12T15:47:00.001-05:00

Got the best scarf pattern at our local yarn shop to knit a scarf for my daughter for Christmas. Loved it so much, made another for a grab bag. Next, came a gift for the neighbor, and now it's on to one for my sister. Here is a photo of it in progress.

I love this pattern as it alternates needle size and is never boring. Worked in a worsted weight with size 7 and 9 needles. When you finish you have a scarf with a hole at one end to tuck the scarf into. Cute and ruffly!

2011-12-07T08:33:00.001-05:00

I like Pinterest!. If you never been there, give it a go. Search for anything, and you'll find some kind of photo on your topic often with the link to the original place it appeared on the Web.

I've been looking up Christmas decorating, but a while back I did a search on rug hooking. Here is a small sampling of what I found:

Sorry these photos are not arranged well. This is the best I can do with the Blogger tools.

Zentangles

2011-11-29T16:01:00.001-05:00

Not sure if any of you have heard of these, but I came across them yesterday during a trek through Google. Don't even remember what I had googled first, but somehow I landed on a Web site all about zentangles. Since I've been a doodler from way back (my college notebooks were 2/3 notes and 1/3 doodles), I was fascinated by this art form. At least, I think it is an artform.

Here is what zentangle.com says about zentangles with some samples following:

Our Zentangle method is a way of creating beautiful images from repetitive patterns. It is fun and relaxing. Almost anyone can use it to create beautiful images. It increases focus and creativity, provides artistic satisfaction along with an increased sense of personal well being. The Zentangle method is enjoyed all over this world across a wide range of skills, interests and ages.
We believe that life is an art form and that our Zentangle method is an elegant metaphor for deliberate artistry in life.

Of course, from this site, I went to amazon.com to see if there were any books on the subject. And, to my delight there were several. Here's what I got:

Sad to say, I'm a bookaholic. I guess that's not the worst thing. Enjoy the zentange Web site!

A Frosty Morning

2011-11-26T16:46:00.001-05:00

It was early, and still quite quiet in the neighborhood, when I went outside to take some pictures of a frosty morning. I love when frost settles in on the plants in the gardens and everything glistens. I think that is when the word "glisten" really applies. So, this is a peek at my corner of the world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T09:13:00.001-05:00

A happy Thanksgiving one and all! Enjoy your family and friends and all that yummy food! Looking forward to that sausage stuffing!!!!

Great rug hooking book

2011-11-18T13:55:00.001-05:00

I recently purchased A Lifetime of Rug-Hooking, a book about the rugs of Doris Eaton of Nova Scotia. I bought it through amazon.com and wasn't sure what to expect as there was only a cover photo. But the cover photo alone made me want to see more, so I purchased the book. It is an amazing collection of an amazing artist.

At first I thought that Doris Eaton was just like any of us, an ordinary rug hooker. Not so. She is a trained artist, having attended the Massachusetts School of Art. These rugs are anything but ordinary. Each rug is pictured in color along with a description of the rug. What I really like about her rugs, besides the unique nature of them, is that they are different in the sense that they are not just primitive, or not just fine art florals. They are truly unique. She doesn't seem to be afraid to tackle any kind of design.

The introduction is written by Deanne Fitpatrick, who has a way with words and is always worth reading.

Tell your significant other to get you this for Christmas!

Fun with pancake dyeing!

2011-11-12T09:17:00.001-05:00

I did these pieces a few weeks ago just for fun. Wound up using some of it in my current rug. Here is the formula (all ProChem, except the aqua):

Cup #1: 1/2 Aqua (Cushing)
Cup #2:   1/8 399 + 1/32 370
Cup #3   1/4 813
Cup #4:   1/2 124 + 1/32 106

I have a large rectangular pan that takes an eighth yard piece of wool, so I cut up several pieces using pinks, pink plaids, yellow, natural, goldenrod, light blue, and soaked them in synthrapol. I added a bit of water to the pan—not much as I knew I'd be added approximately four cups of dye. You can always add more water as needed after applying the dye.

I put each piece in one at a time, adding the dyes consecutively across the width of the wool. Each color took up approximately 1/4 of the wool. I used this method each time I added a new piece of wool. I wound up adding six layers, and repeated the process in another pan I had. By the time, I finished the dye was used up. I did add additional water, but not enough to cause the dyes to blend too much. After ten minutes or so I added vinegar to each pan. Simmered the wool for around 40 minutes. Here are the results:

I think if I did this formula again, I'd rethink the aqua. It was overpowered by the other colors, so didn't make a huge impact.

Did You Vote?

2011-11-06T13:54:00.000-05:00

Got the latest Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs XXI books recently. A beautiful selection of rugs. Voting takes place in three categories: Original Rug, Commerical Rug, and Adaptations.

The rugs are all so beautiful. I like that each rug features a photo of the whole rug and then a close-up detail.
Here are a few pics from the book.

At left Free Spirits hooked by Mary Beth Westcott.

At right: Jungle Cat hooked by Cathy Sears.

Below: Mae Morris hooked by Chizuko Hayami (left) and Peace hooked by Grace Collette (right).

These are a few photos I got from amazon.com's Web site. They are not necessarily the rugs I voted for, but a nice sampling. Here is the link to the book.

<br><br><br>And

And don't forget to vote for real on Tuesday!

Wishful Thinking

2011-10-31T16:23:00.000-04:00

I've been looking around my office/hooking studio and have decided that there are too many unfinished projects. I've come to the conclusion that I can't buy any more patterns, draw any more patterns, start anything new until I've finished the projects in progress. Here's what I have to do:

Bind two rugs
Finish this cute little frog rug, a pattern drawn by my sister, artist Marian Ross (shameless plug!).

Finish a large rug featuring multiple cats that I purchased a year ago from Christine Little. I began work on this rug last week and am hooking with mostly yarns. Slow going. It is set up on a cheticamp-type frame in my sewing room, so I don't work on it that often as that room is in the lower level of the house.

Those are the hooking projects. (There are few others, but there is no need to mention those!)

Now on to the knitting projects.

A prayer shawl for my sister--in-law. This is top priority right now as she is beginning cancer treatments soon.
An afghan (in progress) for my Prayer Shawl Ministry group.
A sampler afghan begun for my daughter at least four years ago. The knitting is finished, just needs to be sewn together. What am I waiting for????
A sweater I began knitting for myself a few years back. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

I can't bring myself to mention anything else, so that's the list I'm working with. I don't want to even think about the fact that the holidays are coming! Perhaps that's why I titled this post "wishful thinking!"

Fall Decorating

2011-10-28T09:53:00.006-04:00

I had fun decorating for fall this year. I'm late posting these pictures, and now, with snow on the ground(!), it feels even later.

Latest finished rug

2011-10-24T16:19:00.005-04:00

I say that this is my latest "finished" rug, but the rug is really not complete as it has not been bound yet. The hooking is done, and I am pleased with the results.

This is a rug of the home I grew up in. I was inspired by Deanne Fitzpatrick to put a small face in one of the windows to depict my mom. I always picture her there in her chair watching out her window for one of us to show up and visit. My mother has been gone a number of years now, but I still see her there waiting.

The rug posed some challenges for me as I had never hooked that many trees before. I avoided hooking them at first, but little by little they were filled in, and I came to believe that they were not that hard after all!

Using yarn for the bushes all some posed some problems. Never having used much yarn before, I found out the most important thing about hooking with yarn is that it pulls out easily when caught on gripper strips. I learned this VERY QUICKLY!!! I finally put a small piece of muslin over the gripper strips where the yarn would sit and lifted my rug carefully when moving it. That helped immensely.

All in all, I liked the way the bushes turned out. The yarn was bulky and puffy and the variation in color gave a nice effect. I liked it so much that I'm planning a new rug using only yarn.

I've been looking at photos of rugs hooked with yarn and other fibers and found an interesting video on the Halcyon Yarn Web site. Here is the link:

Rug Hooking With Yarn, Susie Stephenson’s two part video, ready to view

She makes it look very easy!! Anyway, check it out if you are interested in hooking with other fibers.

More photos from Rhinebeck, NY

2011-10-19T15:20:00.008-04:00

More photos from the Sheep and Wool Festival held in Rhinebeck, New York this past weekend.

A lovely rug that I believe was hooked with yarn.

Pretty little felted objects and ornaments nicely displayed in The Paisley Rug Studio booth.

From the same vendor...I love this heart-shaped rug!

Hooked rug on display. I'd love to own this one!

Not sure whose booth this is, but the holiday decorations are great!

Everything pictured above is crocheted!

And finally, had to show this picture of a vendor selling "Saratoga Chips." Saratoga Springs is the birthplace of the potato chip and is my hometown!!

Wool Giveaway

2011-10-18T10:45:00.001-04:00

I never heard from Vintage Threads about my wool giveaway. So, I've drawn a new number. And the winner is (for the second time!) ... Pat Pardue!

Sheep and Wool Festival 2011

2011-10-16T14:33:00.009-04:00

We visited the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York on Saturday. A blustery day did not keep the faithful from this wonderful show. As we approached the fairgrounds where the festival is held, traffic slowed to a crawl, and we found ourselves moving a mile in 25 minutes! No matter, the show was well worth it!

Here are some photos I took as I moved through the crowd.

This rug and the following rug were both for sale. Very large rugs with beautiful coloring.

Lots and lots and lots of yarn to photograph, but I concentrated on the finished items. Here are some pretty knitted hats for sale.

Heavens to Betsy's booth is pictured next. It was so crowded, I really couldn't get a good look around.

Next is another rug hooker's booth. Very crowded also. She had some lovely patterns for sale and was attracting a lot of interest.

I saw many booths with needle felting projects. The following photo shows some of the projects you could make from kits that were being sold.

I came upon the next rug in the building that was hosting some of the food vendors. I wondered why it was in this building, and found out it was for sale through a silent auction. Given my fascination with postage stamps, I had to really resist bidding on it.

I have several more photos to share. I'll post those tomorrow.

Very Cool!

2011-10-12T14:24:00.004-04:00

This is not a post about the weather!

I've been seeing a lot of buzz about the magazine, "Mollie Makes" on other blogs. I checked it out and found out that it has limited availability in the US as it is a British publication. Nonetheless, I went to their Web site and found out that they have a digital version. Yay!!

In a few minutes time, I had paid for an issue (6.99) through Paypal, set up the app on my Ipad, and voila: my first issue of Mollie Makes! I only bought one issue, as I want to get a feel for weather I'll like the magazine or not.

And that is very cool indeed!

And the winner is ....!!!

2011-10-10T10:23:00.003-04:00

Using the "random number generator", the winner of my wool giveaway is Vintage Threads. I'll send you out a separate email to get your shipping info. Congratulations and hope you like the wool!!

Have a wonderful Columbus Day. We are supposed to have a high of 78° today! What a great Indian Summer day.

October Wool Giveaway

2011-10-05T11:08:00.004-04:00

I'm overloaded with wool, so I've decided to do a "wool giveway." As the picture shows, the giveaway includes wool dyed in shades of green. If you are interested in participating in this giveaway, please join my site (see right side of blog for info) to be automatically entered. I'll be pulling a name on Monday, the 10th! Good luck!

Lots of things happening

2011-10-01T08:17:00.038-04:00

We had a wonderful time on Plum Island and in the nearby town of Newburyport despite lots of rain.

The antiquing was wonderful! We took a ride up through "Antique Alley" in New Hampshire and got few nice things.

I'm an avid collector of Art Deco/fifties jugs and pitchers.

Found two along the way.

I did bring my "Time Travel" rug with me to bind. Never did get around to that.

Because of the rain, I managed to get some knitting done and
finally(!) finished a sweater for my Prayer Shawl Ministry that I've been working on for months. Considering that the sweater will fit a small child, that is pretty bad!

Now that we are home, I've started working on a prayer shawl for my sister-in-law Tracey. While we were away, she got the devastating news that she has stage three melanoma. Our family is crushed by this news, and I'm asking for anyone out there to pray for her. She has a thirteen-year-old daughter who needs her mother, so any prayers would help. She'll be going to Sloan-Kettering in New York for treatment, and at this point, we are thankful that there are new clinical trials available.

I'm sorry this is a sad post, but it helps to put the word out and get people praying even if the person you are praying for is not someone you know. Thanks in advance.

Off to Plum Island

2011-09-20T10:49:00.004-04:00

My husband and I leave for a much needed vacation tomorrow to Plum Island on the coast of Massachusetts. Right next to the resort town of Newburyport, MA is where we will hopefully just walk the beach, read, eat lobster, and maybe even sketch a bit.

I'm in the middle of a rug right now that I'm having a hard time staying away from, but I'm not going to bring it with me. However, I do have a rug that needs binding, so that will make the trip. I figure I'm more likely to work on it if I don't have my regular hooking nearby.

See you all when I get back.

Don't forget to join my blog to qualify for a wool giveaway in early October.

First Rug

2011-09-16T09:59:00.003-04:00

I was looking through some old photos recently and found some pictures I had taken in 1995 at the Green Mountain Rug Camp. It was my very first rug camp, and I was a new hooker. Took class from Patsy Becker and had lots of fun watching her dye wool during the week I was there. Also learned about binding rugs with yarn, points on stars, color selection, etc. I think the best part was the rug show at the end of the week. I saw a caliber of rugs that I never had seen before, and it made me want to try all sorts of techniques. I'm sure a lot of you experienced the same thing as you began hooking.

Anyway, included in the packet of photos was a photo of my first real rug. I completed a chair pad when I first learned to hook, but this was the first rug that to me was actually a rug. At the time I started this rug my niece was planning her wedding, and I decided to give the rug to her on the occasion of her marriage. I often wonder how I ever decided to give away what was basically my first rug.

Dick LaBarge was my teacher at the time, and he walked me through all the color choices, dyed wool for me, and really encouraged me that I could do this rug and complete it on time.

Here is the rug:

I don't know who the designer of the rug is, but what I remember most about the rug is that my hooking was very tight. At times, it looked three-dimensional!! I have to say though, I had a lot of fun working on the different objects in the rug.

Sadly, the couple who received the rug have divorced, and I'm not sure where it is. I'm sure is rolled up and stored for now. Hopefully, it will see the light of day some day.

Do you know where your first rug is? Did you learn a lot from that experience?

WOOL GIVEAWAY COMING THE WEEK OF OCTOBER 2. If you are a member of my blog you will be automatically entered. If not, join!

Milestone

2011-09-08T16:14:00.007-04:00

The wedding of my daughter, Maggie, and her wonderful husband, Andres is over. So long in the planning and then over in the blink of an eye.

The sun shone for the day of the wedding, but shortly after we arrived at the reception, the heavens let loose. Thank God, we were all safe inside. It was a wonderful day, and I hope to share photos as soon as I get them from the photographer.

Here though, is her bouquet drying outside.

Fall seems to be coming fast and furious. We closed our pool this week, and have already been talking about how soon the leaves will be changing.

Looking forward to fall decorating, baking apple pies, and wearing sweaters! Prayer Shawl Ministry resumes its meetings this week, and I need to spend some time with those knitting needles. I've been hooking most of the summer and haven't spent a lot of time working on any other projects.

I'll be doing a wool giveaway soon. If you are a member of my blog, you'll be automatically entered. If not, please join!

Greens Galore

2011-08-31T09:30:00.006-04:00

I had a request for some greens from a fellow hooker, so I spent some time in the dyepots recently. Greens sure do have a lot of blue in them, blue that likes to make it self known!

Anyway, I got a nice batch of greens. As I was taking pictures of the wool, I decided to pair it up with nature scenes. What fun to find just the right photo and match it with the greens I dyed. Here is what I did.

Who would have believed...???

2011-08-28T12:40:00.002-04:00

Who would have believed we'd have a hurricane in upstate New York??? Irene is now a tropical storm, but is still pounding us with rain and wind. Luckily, no major damage, just a lot of tree debris and a few downed trees in Saratoga. Still about five hours to go before this moves out. Power was out for only three hours, so we've been lucky so far.

I hate when the power goes out. One of these days, we have to invest in a generator. It's times like these that I realize just how addicted to the computer I am.

Hope all those along the east coast are coping alright. My family on the New Jersey coast came through just fine.

Take care.

The Road Not Taken

2011-08-22T10:27:00.003-04:00

Just finished reading The Other Life by Ellen Meister. Here is a link to the Amazon.com page:

This book reminded me of the poem by Robert Frost called "The Road Not Taken." In the story, the main character finds a portal to a different life, and ultimately she must choose which reality she wants to live in. I got thinking about what would my life have been like if I had made different decisions during my college years. Couldn't quite grasp where I would be today without my husband, children, and grandson. Kind of spooky to imagine this. And yet, there is a bit of wonder about other adventures I might have taken. Wonder if I would have eventually found rug hooking in that other life!!

Do you ever think about lost possibilities?

Blogs, blogs, and more blogs

2011-08-20T10:08:00.003-04:00

I don't know about you, but I love reading blogs! A while back I compiled a list of as many rug hooking blogs as I could find. It was quite a long list. I can't imagine how many more there are now.

I find myself reading a blog from my list, and then looking at their blog list. I start reading some of those blogs, adding those I like to my list. It amazes me just how many different topics there are out there to read about. I love it! What a great way to voice your thoughts and opinions, get advice and share a love for a craft or hobby!

If you haven't checked out Hooked on the Lake, please do so. It's a great blog on rug hooking. Another great one is Mollie Makes, a fun blog about stitching, crafting, collecting, etc.

Two weeks until my daughter's wedding. We're in full wedding mode!

Have a great weekend!

The Group of Seven

2011-08-15T16:33:00.006-04:00

Since reading Deanne Fitzpatrick's Inspired Rug Hooking, I've become quite interested in landscape rugs and landscape artists. I decided to check out some landscape artists in the library before starting my rug depicting my childhood home. Wanted to look at paintings with pine trees in particular. So I started looking at all sorts of artists, and finally found the Group of Seven. The Group of Seven was a group of Canadian landscape artists from the 1920s whose work was influenced by the impressionists. I googled them and found lots of links to their artwork, and finally bought a book from amazon.com all about their work. Here is the link.

I'm also including pictures from the Web showing some of their paintings. I love looking at these paintings and find that if I look at the brush strokes and coloring, it helps figure out which way to go with my hooking.

Loopy Ladies Dye Day

2011-08-09T10:21:00.011-04:00

I've been meaning to post these photos, but time has marched on! Here are some of the photos taken during the Loopy Ladies dye workshop held at my house. We had a great time, and did a number of techniques.

This is called "Minerals". Five different quarter yard pieces are abrashed with a coppery formula. Just beautiful!

Sky at Dusk is a dip dye. Finished wool and shown along with the dip technique.

Peeking into the pot to see what's cooking!

A beautiful transcolor called "Asia."

Jo and I taking wool from a pot!

Some of our marbleized wool.

Our pancake dyed wool. Great variations in shading.

And last, I'd like to post a photo of my beautiful daughter trying on her wedding dress for her first fitting.

The ProChem Project

2011-08-06T11:46:00.006-04:00

I must be out of my mind, but I've decided to dye every color of dye that ProChemical makes in the Washfast Acid category. What you see pictured below is 103 Straw through 351 Red.

Each piece is a quarter yard of Dorr natural wool overdyed with each individual color. 1/16 tsp. of dye was used in each overdye. I had a few reasons for wanting to do this. First, the little sample cards of overdyed yarn that you can buy from ProChem just weren't big enough for me. The water in my city is very hard (full of minerals), so I wanted to see how each color reacted to that water. Another thing this project is showing me is how deep the color is using 1/16 tsp. over a quarter yard of wool. In some cases, the sixteenth of a teaspoon gives you a nice strong color. In other dyes, the 1/16 tsp. barely covers the yard. The dye is sometimes taken up so quickly that the color can't get to the entire piece. I'm also finding out which dyes take longer to dissolve in boiling water. Red 351 is notorious for leaving spots of undissolved dye on the wool if not stirred and stirred and stirred in the boiling water. A few others are like this, too.

This is turning out to be an interesting project. It's going to allow me to lay colors next to one another to see possible blends for dip dyes and transcolor wools. Not to mention that I'm creating quite a nice storehouse of wool! I also am seeing all the colors, not just the ones I use most often and am most comfortable with.

I've taken a break from dyeing this weekend, but will get back to the project on Monday. It's been fairly easy to leave just one pot on the stove and have a pot boiling away while I'm doing something else.

My daughter is here visiting also for a few days. Today is her first fitting for her wedding dress. I'm taking pictures, so I'll post some later.

Childhood Home Rug

2011-08-01T09:58:00.003-04:00

I finished all the drawing on the rug depicting my childhood home. I'm hoping to transfer it to the backing this afternoon. This will be my first attempt at filling in multiple pines and I've been looking over Anne Marie Littenburg's book on landscape rugs along with Jane Green Halliwell's book on pictorial rugs. This may take some work as I'm going to use a lot of yarns in the rug. Here is a photo of some of yarn I got from Webs.

I'm really happy with the greens, and I think the gray/brown (up front in photo) will lend itself to the bark well. It has a bit of a silver filament running through it, which I'm looking forward to using.

Hoping I'm not biting off more than I can chew!

TULIPS

2011-07-28T10:39:00.004-04:00

Just listed this beautiful transcolor wool for sale on Ebay. It is called Tulips and was dyed using a transcolor method on top of the stove. Here's what I did:

Scrunched a piece of wet wool in very little water in a great big enamel pan that stretches over two burners of the stove. Mixed up three formulas. Starting with the lightest, I poured the formula over the top third of the wool. I repeated with the other formulas being sure not to create a line between formulas. Scrunched the wool well to get the dye into the peaks and valleys all the while trying not to allow the formulas to merge too much. A little blending is good!

Once that was finished, I added some water and simmered for about a half hour.

Et voila!

Here's the link to the Ebay auction if you are interested in this wool: tulips

Dye Workshop on Wednesday

2011-07-26T17:10:00.010-04:00

Tomorrow I'm hosting the Loopy Ladies rug hooking group for a day of dyeing!! Can't wait to get into the dyepots. I figured out the formulas and colors I wanted to use last week, and this afternoon, I divided all the wool up for the various projects.

We're going to do: marbelizing, abrash, watercolor abrash, pancake dye, dip dye, and transcolor dyeing. I'm hoping we get to all the techniques I've mentioned, but a lot will depend on the time and weather. It's supposed to be a in the high 70s which will be so much better than the oppressive heat of last week. Here are some photos of my prep work.

This wool will be abrashed with a formula called Minerals. It uses 5 different textures/shades. One of my favorites.

The following two photos show wool that is going to be pancake dyed using two different formulas.

The rolls of wool in the next photo will be marbelized. I haven't bundled them up and tied them yet as I want the ladies to see how this is done.

The wool for the other methods are not pictured as the formulas use natural wool. I'll be taking photos of the dye day and the finished wool to post Thursday.

My House rug

2011-07-25T11:45:00.004-04:00

While I put the finishing loops into the border of my New York Beauty rug, I also began working on my next project. I took several photos of my childhood home and from those photos started a design for my next rug.

Here's the photo I used for the starting point.

I created a document in Adobe Illustrator and placed this photo in the background layer. Cropped it a bit and zoomed in. After that I traced what I wanted using the pen tool. Really roughed it in, so a lot of the lines aren't as smooth as they will wind up being. I also removed the tree and the deck from the photo as they were not there when I lived in the house.

Here is the line drawing I got:

Next step trace with better lines and then scan the image. Once the image is scanned, I'll resize to 24" x 18".

Next posting will show you some of the materials I've gathered for this rug.

Like a dog with a bone!

2011-07-21T11:28:00.004-04:00

Even though it's been terribly hot of late, I've been hooking like crazy! Can't seem to stop! I've made such progress on my New York Beauty rug, that I think it will be completed ahead of my projected schedule. I'm already thinking about my next project.

I've been inspired to do a landscape rug after reading Deanne Fitzpatrick's wonderful book, Inspired Rug Hooking. Normally, when I buy a book related to hooking, I browse the pictures and read the sections I'm interested in. But with this book, I read the entire book and enjoyed every minute of it. What great writing. By the time you're finished you have a good idea of what it takes for Fitzpatrick to create one of her "mats" as she calls them.

I decided to do a rug depicting my childhood home that is in more of a rural setting even though it sits in the middle of Saratoga Springs. There are lots of pines and grassy areas. With that in mind, I thought I'd use yarn to hook the rug. Went to the Webs Web site and purchased some yarn with lots of texture in shades I think will work well in this rug. I'll post a picture of the yarn in a later post.

If you are interested in reviewing Inspired Rug Hooking, here is the link:

By the way, I've decided to bind my New York Beauty rug with sleeves on the back for hanging. I sent Gene Shepherd a photo of the rug and mentioned my dilemma. He graciously posted the photo and my question on his blog. Overwhelming consensus was to bind and not frame. Check out Gene's blog at http://geneshepherd.com/blog1/.

Artist's Journal

2011-07-17T13:56:00.004-04:00

Here is a great book to check out if you are at all interested in journaling, especially if you like adding artwork to your daily posts. I found this on amazon.com and love it; very inspiring.

This is such a fun book! I downloaded it to my Ipad and luckily it is in color! I have kept journals through my life, and often used colored pens and pencils and sometimes an illustration would find its way it. This book shows how to take things a bit further, and so far, I'm loving it. Check it out!

Getting Closer

2011-07-12T09:35:00.004-04:00

I'm making great progress on my New York Beauty rug! Hope to be completely finished with the hooking by the end of July. Then I need to decide if I'm going to bind it or have it framed. The last rug I had framed was stretched unevenly, and I was very disappointed. Does anyone have any pros or cons on framing rugs??

I've had a lot of fun working on this rug and have been able to use colors I don't normally use. A great way to use up scraps.

My other concern while working on this rug has been the unevenness of my loops. I usually try to keep the loops as uniform as possible, but the many points in this rug have made it necessary to reverse direction a lot causing loops to look uneven. I guess I'm being too picky, but I find myself looking at loops in everyone's rugs. I have to remember that rugs are normally viewed at a distance where loop height doesn't come into play.

Anyway, I'm thinking about a purple textured border for the rug, perhaps with a green stripe one time around. Right at the moment, my cat Frank is sprawled on the rug having a bath. I swear he thinks I put the rug on the floor just for his comfort.

Hope you all have a great day. It's supposed to be in the 90s today, so I opted out from an outdoor hook-in at Jule Marie Smith's. I'm sure it will be wonderful, but I'm thinking hooking inside with the AC is a better idea followed by a dip in the pool!

Happy Fourth!

2011-07-04T08:04:00.009-04:00

Happy fourth of July to all! The sun is shining brightly this morning; hope it lasts. In honor of the fourth, my husband and I visited Saratoga National Park and Battlefield yesterday. The battle at Saratoga is called the "turning point in the American Revolutionary War," and one park ranger quoted a "New York Times" article that called the battle the single most important battle in the last 1000 years! Without the decisive win at Saratoga, it is believed the Revolutionary War would have been lost.

Here are some of our pictures taken on our tour of the park.

A very pretty and serene entrance to the park and visitor center.

A monument that commemorates the 225 anniversary of the battle.

The visitor center.

A view of the battlefield from the visitor center. A dreary day, but you can still see the Green Mountains of Vermont in the distance.

The Neilsen Farm where the American generals conducted the war. Descendents of this family still live in the area.

An inside view showing possible layout for the interior. The building itself had to be reconstructed as only a portion of it remained when the park was created.

This is the site of the British camp and hospital area. Notice that they took position near the Hudson River so as to make delivery of supplies easier. Even with this advantage, the British were unable to beat the Americans.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Bliss!

2011-06-28T11:13:00.001-04:00

My grandson taking his nap yesterday. Ah ... to be so carefree!

Mammograms

2011-06-24T11:52:00.003-04:00

I know this is a weird topic for a rug hooking blog, but I have to vent a bit. This week, I went for my routine (yearly) mammogram. Went and had the films done and returned home a few hours later to get a message from the doctor's office that they needed to get more films made. Of course, this makes your heart beat faster. However, this happens to me almost all the time. So, back I went two days later. Thankfully, all was well, but for those two days, I did nothing but worry. Why is it if you routinely have to have more films done, that they can't do it in one visit? I asked the technician this and she told me to have my doctor write the script that way the next time. She also said, "Don't say you heard this from me!" Is this because the imagining center can bill for two separate visits? Not sure, but it is very upsetting that women's fears are not taken into account when these tests are taken. Sorry for venting. It's been one of those weeks!!!

Loopy Ladies Memory Rugs and then some

2011-06-14T19:33:00.012-04:00

I was unable to attend the last meeting of the Loopy Ladies rug hookers, but I snapped these pictures the meeting before. Many of the hookers are working on the same pattern called "Some of Our Favorite Things." Here are some of the different interpretations in various stages of completion.

When you see them altogether, you can see how each hooker has chosen to attack the color scheme. They look lovely whether done in a lighter background or a darker.

A couple of hookers were working on other projects. This is Pat Parisi's work in progress. It will soon grace a hallway in Pat's house.

Another hooker, Bonnie, is doing this rug for a friend.

Making Progress

2011-05-24T15:43:00.002-04:00

Working away on my New York Beauty rug. Actually made quite a bit of progress this week. I went to Loopy Ladies Rug Hooking last Wednesday, and that got me jazzed up to work. I've been able to fit in little ten- and fifteen-minute hooking sessions a lot. Surprisingly, you get a lot of work accomplished that way.

Here's the rug as of today:

Hand Dyeing book

2011-05-20T17:08:00.004-04:00

I was shown this book at our weekly rug hooking group meeting. It's called Hand Dyeing Yarn and Fleece by Gail Callahan. Here is some information from the back cover:

Take control of your colors! Apply your dream shade to natural-colored yarns and fleece. Transform outdated yarns with fresh new colors. Create self-striping and multicolored yarns. It's all possible with Gail Callahan's simple recipes, designed to work in your own kitchen. So, fire up the oven or your slow cooker, clean out an unused microwave, or grab a sturdy kettle—you'll love the results of playing with heat, color, and fiber.

I looked through this book and found the methods to be clearly explained, with wonderful photos to accompany the text. Many of these techniques will be familiar to rug hookers who dye their own wool. What I liked about it was that you are encouraged to overdye small skeins of yarn left over from other projects by "marrying" them with a single dye formula. Here is a link to the spiral bound edition on Amazon.com.

Dye Day

2011-05-18T16:28:00.010-04:00

Change of plan. Was going to be doing a dip dye, but switched over to marbled wool. Needed some reds, red/oranges for the New York Beauty rug I'm working on, so I experimented a bit.

Here are a few of the pieces I got:

These two pieces came from a layering of goldenrod, deep red, and natural. The red bled out just as I hoped. Although I don't have a photo of the red, enough of the color bled leaving the red washed out in certain areas. Beautiful mottling.

I think that in the past, I have not let my marbled bundles cook long enough. These probably simmered for close to an hour. This is how they looked when bundled and ready for the pot.

The first bundle is where the two pieces of wool shown above came from. The second bundle on top gave me some lovely purple and blue blends. The third bundle was achieved using the following method.

Step one: I got together some deep red worms, a piece of light blue wool, and a larger piece of natural.

Step two: I scattered some of the red worms randomly over the natural strip.

Step 3: I laid the light blue strip over the red worms.

Step 4: Add more red worms on the light blue.

Step 5: Roll into bundle. I used a rubber band to hold the wool in place. You can also use string.

All three bundles went into the pot together. I did put a weight on top to keep them down in the water.

Here are the results of the two pieces marbled with the worms:

A fun time!

Flea Market Day

2011-05-14T09:26:00.002-04:00

Off to a flea market today! Flea markets, antique shows, antique shops are favorite past times of ours. Although the weather doesn't look promising, we're still going. The only problem is that we really don't need anything!!!

Got a dye request from a hooker this week for some dip-dyed wool for sunflowers. I'll be working on it on Tuesday, and plan to photograph and document the steps. Hopefully, will have something to post on Wednesday or Thursday.

Have a great weekend!

Back Home Safe and Sound!

2011-05-04T12:21:00.009-04:00

We returned from our trip to San Francisco and Las Vegas last week. All in all a great time. Here are some highlights:

This is our GPS-guided GoCar that we used for six hours the first day of our adventure. Took us all through San Francisco to places we couldn't have gotten to with a car. Only place you couldn't go was over the Golden Gate Bridge. It's amazing we didn't get killed!

A view of the Golden Gate Bridge from below:

Absolutely awesome! Almost felt surreal to actually be there.

The mighty Pacific Ocean. What a beautiful day it was.

Looking up—way up—at a Redwood in Muir Woods. One of the highlights of the trip.

Pier 39—Fishermen's Wharf. Had a great time sampling the seafood and watching the seals.

No pictures from Las Vegas. Got sick there and had to spend a night in the hospital. Never got to Pawn Stars store and missed our flight home. Left on Saturday and was glad to be home safe and sound. No trips for a while!

Off to San Francisco

2011-04-12T10:54:00.002-04:00

We are off for vacation to San Francisco later this week for five days. We leave there and fly to Las Vegas for three more days where we'll meet up with some family. Then back home to Saratoga Springs in upstate New York.

Have already booked a number of trips for the visit to California. We're going to visit Alcatraz, Muir Woods, and the Winchester House in San Jose. Looking forward to seeing the Golden Gate Bridge in person!

One of the fun things we're going to do is a rent a Go-Car! This car is a small two-seater with a GPS guided tour built in. Hope it doesn't rain as there is no roof!!

When we get to Las Vegas, we are planning on visiting Red Rock Canyon and the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop were the History Channel's Pawn Stars is filmed.

Hope to post some great photos of this trip, when we return.

On the Needles

2011-04-09T17:15:00.010-04:00

I'm presently knitting a sweater for my Prayer Shawl Ministry group. It's a pretty light bluish-gray, a Vanna yarn from Lion Brand Yarns. It's an interesting pattern that comes from the book Knitting for Peace: Make the World a Better Place One Stitch at a Time.

The pattern calls for you to knit the middle front panel followed by the middle back panel. You then lay the panels end to end, pick up stitches along each side (one side at a time). Once a side is finished, the arm will be knit. Should save some time in sewing up the seams. Here's where I'm at so far:

As you can see the front and back panel are laid end to end and have been joined by a continuous side panel. The rectangle that is being formed between the two panels will be the opening for the head. So far, so good!

Loopy Ladies

2011-04-07T15:06:00.002-04:00

I have been lucky enough to be invited to join a group of hookers who meet on Wednesday at our local Senior Citizens Center. What a great group! They call themselves the Loopy Ladies, and I guess that now applies to me, too.

In addition to the camaraderie, I've also been asked to sell wool to those members who don't have a source for dyed wool. An added bonus!

It was a bit of a shock to think I had to join the Senior Citizens in order to attend. I just turned 54 and was surprised that I am eligible. 50 is their minimum age. Enough said about that!

Got to bring the rug I completed for Gene Shepard's blog challenge last year to be displayed for the center's open house next week. These gals are very active!

Anyway, so happy to be in a group again. I'm sure I'll get more hooking done, and will definitely be inspired by the others' work.

Knitting Group

2011-04-05T10:49:00.003-04:00

My prayer shawl ministry group has been knitting up a storm this past winter. We have many projects that we work on and have all become quite close. Many of our members have things going on in their lives that need all the prayers we can muster. So when we get together, we laugh a bit, and sometimes even cry.

Here is a photo of one of our lighter moments. How many hands does it take to unravel one ball of yarn?!?!?

Dye Day

2011-03-31T12:24:00.011-04:00

Dyed a bunch of wool on Tuesday. Not as much as I would have liked to, but got quite a bit done nonetheless.

Getting out the essentials.

First up, was 1/2 yard of Blood Orange. I love this deep orangey-red color. It is an abrash formula, so I get lots of nice variation in shading.

Here's the finished product. Actually, a bit darker than photo shows.

This is pansy patch. Hard to tell it's purple! It's done over oatmeal, and comes out in purples and subtle greens. Part of this is going in my NY Beauty rug. I do wish it had come out in a stronger purple. May spot dye again with some of the purple I used from the formula.

Next up were batches of Williamsburg Blue and Desert Gem. The Williamsburg Blue comes from the old standby Prisms dye book. Prisms was one of the first dye books I used, and I learned a lot from their methods and formulas. Desert Gem is my own formula and starts with two cups of dye. In the pot, at this point, is the gold base. After the water cleared, I abrashed with a wine dye. Here is the result (see photo on right).

Got several other colors done and have two more spot dyes to work up on Friday. We are expecting 6-10 inches of snow tonight and into tomorrow, so dyeing will be a good way to pass the time. Certainly wish the weatherman was playing an April Fool's Day trick on us!

Looking inside the rug hooking files

2011-03-27T14:07:00.005-04:00

My idea book also contains pages of swatches with formulas and dye books noted. I wish I had kept up with this practice. Each entry contains lots of information.

After a while, I just ripped off a small section of a dyed yard and tied the swatches altogether. I do have copious notes on my formulas in a special notebook. Of course that always needs updating. A Microsoft Word file on my computer is perhaps the best organized of all. I try to work on that every six months or so. Like any hobby, organization is key. With rug hooking, there are dyeing notes, wool (dyed and undyed) to put on shelves, leftover strips, and compiling wool for projects. Takes a lot of work even before you pick up the hook!

Another thing that I have in my idea notebook are copies of posts from the online hooking group called padula. I'm not sure they are even around any more, but there was always wonderful information being shared. Here is a "Dye Day" post by Richard LaBarge.

As I was looking through my idea book, I realized just how many things inspire us. I have photographs of nature (in particular, flowers), greeting cards, magazine articles and photos, newspaper clippings, sketches, tracings, etc. All of these remind me of the saying people use when talking about books: "So many books, so little time." Alas, "so many pattern ideas, so little time." Doesn't hurt to dream!

Notebook full of ideas!

2011-03-25T10:43:00.006-04:00

Do you have a notebook filled with ideas for rug patterns and dye colors? I do, and I'm sure many of you do, too. My ideas are stuffed in old notebook from a long ago graphic arts seminar. I started out trying to organize with definite categories, and like most ideas, it worked for a while. Then I started shoving pictures and notes in it willy-nilly, telling myself I'd get back to it soon enough. The best laid plans!

Anyway, here is a peek into my stash of ideas. First up, the notebook!

Next, magazine clippings and greeting cards:

I love these clippings not only for their designs, but for color planning.

Next up, my sketches. Please excuse poor artistry! I have a sister who is an artist, and my father could also draw. Alas, I did not get that gene!

And lastly, more magazine clippings. These are some of my favorites.

More tomorrow.

Knotted dyeing

2011-03-21T12:12:00.006-04:00

Did some dyeing today. Had some small pieces of undyed wool left over from the ends of bolts, projects, etc. I decided to take these pieces and do the same thing you do to them as you do when marbleizing wool. So, I knotted them up and threw them in a pot of boiling wool with synthrapol added. After they simmered for a bit, and I was sure the wool was wet, I added my Stargazer formula to the pot. Squashed the wool down well with a pair of tongs and let it simmer for 25 minutes. I added vinegar to the pot after 10 minutes or so.

The original colors of the wool were a gray checked, an oatmeal texture, celery green, goldenrod, and some small brown pieces. With the exception of the brown pieces, I like the way the wool came out. Here is a photo of the finished pieces. Sorry, they are not the best.

I think you get the idea of the kind of effects you can achieve. These can be very effective in penny rugs.

This knotted dye piece was done at another time. The yellow is much more vivid in the actual piece.

Stamps as Inspiration for rugs

2011-03-19T09:43:00.013-04:00

I love stamps! The artwork on stamps from around the world has come a long way. In particular, I collect U.S. stamps, although I never seem to find the time to properly catalog them. As I've learned more about stamps and the artists behind them, I've found myself imaging some of this artwork being turned into rugs—with or without the postage showing. I went to the USPS Web site in order to choose some of the stamps I think would make terrific rugs. And just think ... all the color choices have already been made!!

Here are a few of my favorites from this past year's stamps. Keep in mind this is just a tiny sampling of stamps that could be turned into rugs.

What terrific Christmas images with interesting borders!

Patriotic images always turn into great rugs.

What a great design to "celebrate" a special occasion.

I like this type of artwork in particular for rugs as you can see how you can delineate each shape with shading.

One of my faves, although getting that neon glow would require some special coloring planning and dyeing.

Just a few colors would turn this design into a fabulous rug.

These two images again lend themselves to rugs as the shading is already shown.

Another image that would work well in a rug design, although those roman numerals might pose a challenge!!

And finally, a very simple, yet powerful patriotic symbol.

Check out stamps as in inspiration in rug design and color planning. Haven't even scratched the surface of all that is out there.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T15:29:00.004-04:00

St. Patrick's Day is a big holiday in my household. Although I'm Italian, my husband is Irish and he celebrates to the hilt! Here is a picture of our grandson with his "leprechaun hat" on!

The outside of the house is decorated with flags and shamrock lights. You can see from this photo just how much snow we still have.

Our neighbors came up with a creative use for the snow.

My husband is kicking himself for not thinking of this! Anyway, have a great day!

Time Flies

2011-03-15T11:11:00.005-04:00

Amazing how fast the days seem to be going by. My grandson was born on Nov. 30 and is the light of my life these days. I watch him two days a week, and he sure keeps me hopping. Can't wait for the nice weather, so we can get out for a walk. Of course, we still have about two feet of snow in the yard!

Here is a recent photo:

Haven't gotten a lot of hooking done lately. I'm working on a pattern based on a New York beauty quilt. Hope to get it done for my daughter's wedding in September. Here is the progress I've made so far. Really need to get cracking!

Kuler

2010-10-24T13:45:00.002-04:00

This site has been posted by other bloggers, but it is worth reminding everyone of. Here is the link:

http://kuler.adobe.com

This site shows hundreds of color combinations, each showing five different colors. You can search by keywords, colors, etc. For instance, if you were doing a rug with animals in it, type in the key word animal, and you'll get hundreds of matches.

A great source for choosing rug colors! Have fun.

Finished!!!

2010-10-22T16:32:00.002-04:00

I have finally completed my Silent Night Rug. It has been hooked, bound, had binding tape sewn down, and had label applied!!

This is a gift for my new grandson, due to arrive in about three weeks. I've changed the name to "An Angel to Watch Over You." Got kind of creative with the label for the back of the rug. I traced my hand onto a piece of natural wool and then cut out two different-sized hearts. Using the blanket stitch, I sewed it onto the back of the rug. Used a silver fabric pen to write on the heart. All in all, I'm quite pleased with the results. Now, we just need the new baby to arrive.

Baby shower is a week from Saturday. Looking forward to seeing family and friends. I sewed up some table runners (picture shows them folded in half) for the party, and I'll use balloons in green, orange, and blue for the centerpiece. Can't wait.

Knitting Projects

2010-09-28T11:10:00.004-04:00

Off the subject of rug hooking for this post. Some of you may know that I belong to a prayer shawl ministry. We are a group of about 30 knitters and crocheters who get together twice a month. Besides doing prayer shawls for the community, we have taken on several other projects through the last four years. Some of those projects include:

Wool caps for the soldiers serving in Afghanistan and Iraq;
Confirmation and baptismal stoles for the local Catholic Church;
Afghans for the VA Hospital buddy program in Albany, NY;
Hats, mittens, scarves, socks, etc. for a the local Giving Tree Store for the needy in Saratoga County. The group that runs this store serves over 325 needy families in the county at Christmas time.
Baby blankets for stillborn babies dispersed by the Angel Names Network;
Knitted items for Operation Shoebox (Samaritan's Purse) that are distributed worldwide;
Sweaters and other warm winter items for an area school district that serves a very impoverished area;
and various other small projects that come up throughout the year.

As you can see, we are very busy! As it is with rug hooking groups, our knitters and crocheters have become close friends which makes this ministry such a worthwhile group to belong to. Anyway, here are a few of my latest contributions:

A prayer shawl crocheted in shades of green, cream and turquoise blue.

A confirmation stole knit in the tradition prayer shawl pattern of K3 P3. Sorry the photo is so bad!

Hanging a rug using carpet tack strips

2010-09-20T14:18:00.005-04:00

I had a question about how I hung my garden rug. Here's what I did: After the rug was finished and after I found a spot for it, I began to think about how I wanted to hang it. At first, I was going to sew a pocket along the top and use a wooden dowel to display it. But the rug is so heavy, I was afraid it wouldn't hang straight. I sent a message to Gene Shepard through his blog, and he suggested carpet tacking, something he had used to hang rugs. I decided that was the way to go. We went to our local hardware store and got a package of carpet tacking strips. There were three four-foot sections to a package for around $12.00. This would be enough, as I mainly wanted the full length on the top of the rug and the bottom. For the sides, I used a smaller piece and centered in the middle of the side length.

As you can see from the photo, there are small tacks sticking up with a larger screw spaced evenly along the strip. You first have to level the strip and then screw the strip to the wall. Be careful when hanging your rug as the nails are sharp. Luckily, the nails are not very long which means they won't pop through the rug. There are plenty of them to keep the rug adhered. My husband and I hung the rug, first hanging the top of the rug, then pulling the rug straight and fastening to the strip along the bottom. At this point, the rug was hanging securely, but the sides were showing some slight ripples. The side pieces took care of that.

All in all, a very easy process!

More from Brimfield...

2010-09-16T09:42:00.013-04:00

Here are some additional photos I took while attending the Brimfield Antique Show last week.

Imagine this bed in your room! You may not be able to see it, but there is sticker on the bedspread indicating it was sold! Bet the dealer was glad he didn't have to bring it back home.

Anyone need a buoy for the front yard???

More vintage rugs.

Lots of booths were selling strictly toys. This was one of the bigger ones!

Anyone need a basket!?

Here is a booth filled with glass chandeliers. The scary part of this scene was that it was a very, very windy day.

If they didn't have it, you didn't need it!

I took this picture for our mailman who is an avid collector of lanterns.

And finally, a cute collection of frogs!

Trip to Brimfield, MA Antique Show

2010-09-15T10:09:00.014-04:00

Last week was my daughter's 27th birthday, so my husband and I decided to drive to Boston to take her to dinner. Our plan was to hit the MA turnpike early and attend the Brimfield Antique Show by 10:00. Brimfield is about a two-hour drive from our home in Saratoga Springs. Halfway there, my husband asked me if I packed the suitcase. We both looked in the back of the car, and that's right, no suitcase. Luckily a friend went to our house, got the suitcase, and met us halfway back on the thruway. So, we didn't get to Brimfield until a little after twelve.

If you've ever been to a huge antique show, you know that this is not a one-day affair. We had decided to spend Thursday at the show and then head an hour further east to Boston to have dinner with Maggie and her fiancé and spend the night. That worked out great! They live in the Coolidge Corners area of Boston, and we had fun walking around that night.

The next morning, we were off early and made it to Brimfield by 11:00. Here are some pics of some of the booths and things for sale.

A nice display. Note the hooked rug resting on the tree branch!

Lots of primitive items...

I loved this dealer's wares! Lots of mod furniture!

And if you like bakelite, there was plenty to choose from at this booth.

Another booth with wonderful primitive items.

Another group of vintage hooked rugs. The colors on this rug are still very bright.

A very pretty piece...

I loved finding this booth. These are new rugs, some of which were used to adorn old antique chairs. I thought I had a shot of an old chair with a hooked mat upholstered to it, but I can't find it.

More photos tomorrow.

LOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG Time Between Posts!

2010-09-14T09:35:00.006-04:00

Where has the time gone? Summer seemed to fly by, and with the weather so hot, didn't take the time to blog. But now the weather is cooler, sleeping is easier at night, and hooking seems the thing to do.

My angel rug is close to completion. I hope to have it finished in the next week or so as it is a gift for my new grandson (due November 28)! I think an angel watching over him will be perfect!!

Here is the rug to date:

After the hooking, the boring part -- the binding! I plan on getting carpet tacking to hang the rug. I used these for hanging my garden rug (which is much larger), and it was very easy.

Tomorrow, I'll post some photos of our trip to the Brimfield Antique show in Massachusetts.

Silent Night Rug Update

2010-05-07T21:08:00.006-04:00

Working away on my Silent Night rug in between pulling weeds. I guess these days, it's either weeds or loops!! Can't seem to keep up with weeds, as we are getting rain every other day. But, I have managed to keep up with the Ten-Minute Challenge!!

The fun thing that has happened with the rug, is that I've actually used some yarn in it. I was looking for yarn the other day for a knitting project and found some bulky creamy white Lamb's Pride wool. Perfect for the stars and the streaks of light in the sky. It was a little difficult getting used to at first, but now it's not bad at all. For the moon, I found a variegated yarn at a new yarn shop in town. It was a little pricey, but has worked out great for the moon. The yellow works well with the Scary Night blue.

I think I'm going to use some of the same yellow yarn for the diamonds in the border of the rug. That's as far as I've gotten with color planning the rug.

Here is my latest knitting project for my Prayer Shawl Ministry group — a cabled hat and scarf set.

Spring has sprung!

2010-04-22T12:18:00.013-04:00

Been working away in my garden clearing away the winter debris. It's amazing how in just a few days, there are leaves on the trees, and plants seem to be popping up over night. The cats are already nibbling away at the catnip. What a peaceful thing it is to dig in the garden.

Have also been knitting away for my prayer shawl ministry group. Finished a hat and fingerless gloves set for a teenage boy. This will go in The Ladies of Charity Giving Store at Christmas. What a great job they do for the underprivileged in the area. I've also been crocheting a bit. Our group was given several small lapghans which need to be englarged. They will be going to the Veteran's Hospital in Albany and need to be more of a bed size. I have been surprised at how much yarn this blanket is using. Finally went to A.C. Moore and bought a few of the "pounder" balls of yarn. Hopefully, this will finish it off.

I also joined Heidi Wulfraat's new "felting" group on .ning.com. The address is: http://feltbook.ning.com. I love felted pieces, but really don't have any experience with it. I'm hoping this group will have some tips for beginners.

As some of you may have noticed, my Ecrater and Etsy shops are in vacation mode. I've decided to take some time off for a bit and work on some projects of mine that need finishing. I still have a rug to hang, a rug to bind, and a rug to finish!! Also, I just found out I'm going to be a grandmother in the fall (a very young grandmother!), so I'd like to do some blankets and perhaps hook a rug for the new baby. My daughter is getting married in 2011, so there is a rug needing to be planned for that event also. Busy times, but I love it.

Here is a picture of my "Silent Night" rug to date:

I haven't worked on it for a bit (not meeting the 10-minute challenge these days), but I have been crafting. Does that count? Anyway, mostly sky left to do. That is going to be a darker version of my Scary Night formula. Here is a photo of that:

I'd like to use different textures when I dye to give it more depth.

One other note. I just finished reading "The Postmistress." It is a wonderful book, and I highly recommend it!

Ramblings

2010-04-07T09:25:00.006-04:00

I think I've found just about every rug hooking blog I'm going to find. I was surprised at the number of blogs out there that I had never heard of. So check out the final list in the previous post along with my sidebar of blogs to see who's out there writing about rug hooking.

Recently had to move my office/studio to a new location in the house. The good thing about it is that the light is much better, and I have a lot more space. The bad thing is that I have not kept up with the 10-minute challenge pledge. I'm telling myself to count in all those times I hooked for more than 10-minutes and use the extra minutes to cover this time of little hooking.

I've been doing a lot of knitting for my Prayer Shawl Ministry group. The name is deceiving as we do so much more than just prayer shawls. Currently, some of us are knitting blankets to be given to a new home for female veterans to come to and recover somewhat from combat. It is called Guardian House, and we are excited to be a part of this special endeavor. Here is a photo of the blanket I've just started. It's being done in strips with each block within the strip done in a different pattern and yarn color.

Obviously, I'm just beginning!! Knitting is so portable. I've been taking it everywhere with me lately. It's amazing how many times you find yourself waiting and wishing that you had something to do.

As soon as I finish the flower section of my angel rug, I'll post a photo.

List of Rug Hooking blogs

2010-03-30T14:14:00.041-04:00

I'm trying to establish a list of English-speaking rug hooking blogs from around the world. If you have anymore that you think should be added to this list let me know. My own side bar lists some of my favorites. Here are a few more I've found:

Among Friends Wool: http://amongfriendswool.blogspot.com/

Anita White: http://anitawhite.blogspot.com/

Artwork by Karen Kaiser: http://www.artworksbykarenkaiser.com/

Be Fruitful Kreations: http://befruitfulkreations.blogspot.com/

Beth Anderson Pulls the Wool: http://bethandersonpullsthewool.blogspot.com/

Boggy Creek Primitives: http://boggycreekprimitives.blogspot.com/

Brighton Wool Gatherings: http://brightonwoolgatherings.blogspot.com/

Cabin Creek Farm: http://cabincreekfarm.blogspot.com/

Cadi Girl Designs: http://cadigirldesigns.blogspot.com/

Cats in My Wool: http://catsinmywool.blogspot.com/

Cindi Gay: http://www.cindigayrughooking.com/blog/blog/

Cotton-Eyed Jo Takes a Look at Life: http://cotton-eyed-jo.blogspot.com/

Crude Black Ewe: http://crudeblackewe.blogspot.com/

Deanne Fitzpatrick: http://www.hookingrugs.com/blog/

Doris Norman Rug Hooking: http://dorisrughooking.blogspot.com/

Dulcy's Doorstep: http://dulcysdoorstep.blogspot.com/

Ellen DuCharme Designs: http://laidoffrughooker.blogspot.com/

Evening Stitcher: http://eveningstitcher.blogspot.com/

From Sherry's Heart: http://fromsherrysheart.blogspot.com/

Hedgerow Journal: http://www.hedgerowdesign.com/wordpress/

Hey Diddle Woolies: http://heydiddlewoolies.blogspot.com/

Homespun Prims: http://homespunprims.blogspot.com/

Jill of All Trades: http://jillofalltrades-jill.blogspot.com/

Kanknchester: http://kanknchester.blogspot.com/

Make Something Beautiful: http://makesomethingbeautiful-debbe.blogspot.com/

Manistee Rug School: http://manisteerugschool.blogspot.com/

Millstone Mercantile: http://millstonemercantile.blogspot.com/

Molly Made Fibre Art Studio: http://mollymadefibreart.blogspot.com/

Moments in Time: http://doriswooldyer.blogspot.com/

Moosecraft USA: http://moosecraftusa.blogspot.com/

My Glory Stars: http://myglorystars.blogspot.com/

My Little House Designs: http://www.mylittlehousedesigns.com/

Not a Lazy Suzen: http://www.notalazysuzen.com/

Not Forgotten Farm: http://farmhousenotforgotten.blogspot.com/

October Girls: http://www.octobergirls.blogspot.com/

Olde Crow Primitives: http://oldecrowprimitives.blogspot.com/

Pati Jane's Primitives: http://patijanesprimitives.blogspot.com/

Primitive Betty's: http://primitivebettys.blogspot.com/

Primitive Whimsical Works by Shug: http://primwhimsicalworks.blogspot.com/

Primitive Woolens: http://katie-primitivewoolens.blogspot.com/

Primitives by the Light of the Moon: http://primitivesbythelightofthemoon.blogspot.com/

Raging Wool: http://ragingwool.blogspot.com/

Ravens' Gate Prims: http://ravensgateprims.blogspot.com/

Rug Hooker: http://rughooker.blogspot.com

Rug Hooker's Hollow: http://rughookershollow.blogspot.com/

Rugs and Pugs: http://rugsandpugs.blogspot.com

Sally Van Nuys: http://folknfiber.wordpress.com/

Sharlene's Rug Hooking Journal: http://sharlenewashington.blogspot.com/

She Seeketh Wool (Woolly Lott Rugs): http://woollylott.blogspot.com/

Simple Folk: http://simple-folk.blogspot.com/

Snippets and Scraps of My Mind: http://snippetsandscrapsandpieces.blogspot.com/

Star Rug Company: http://starrugcompany-maria.blogspot.com/

Starlight Primitives: http://starlightprimitives.blogspot.com/

Texas Rug Bug: http://texasrugbug.blogspot.com/

The Big Black Cat http://thebigblackcat.blogspot.com/

The Middle Sister: http://themiddlesister.blogspot.com/

The Paisley Studio: http://paisleystudio.blogspot.com/

Wildflower Wool in Texas: http://wildflowerwool.blogspot.com/

With Hook and Needle: http://kankerdoodle.blogspot.com/

Women Matter Rug Art: http://womenmattersrugart.blogspot.com/

Woolen Sails: http://woolnsails.blogspot.com/

Wool Snippets: http://woolsnippets.blogspot.com/

FINE STRIPS FOR THE TAKING

2010-03-16T16:15:00.003-04:00

While I was cleaning out my wool closet, I found a bag of fine-cut strips in pinks and mauves in various shades. Looks to me to be mostly 3-cut strips and weighs about 12 ounces. I have to say that the wool is probably six to ten years old. My neighbor's mother was a rug hooker, and this batch of wool came from her last rug project.

Anyway ... if anyone would like to have this wool, please contact me. All that I ask, is that you pay for shipping.

The Dye is Cast dye formula booklet

2010-03-06T12:56:00.007-05:00

I have had some requests lately for my first dye booklet, The Dye is Cast. It has been out of print for a few years, but recently I've begun selling a .pdf file that can be opened up in a variety of programs: Adobe Reader, Preview, Acrobat, etc.

The Dye is Cast is a collection of 60 formulas that use the following methods: overdye, abrash, and spot dye. When you purchase the .pdf file, you will receive a second file that shows photos of the colors you can produce using the formulas. You must print the dye booklet yourself on your own printer.

Purchasing the dye booklet in this manner saves me printing costs and you s/h charges. If you are interested in purchasing this booklet, the cost is $10.00. Please contact me at mictype@nycap.rr.com to arrange payment.

My second dye booklet, The Dye is Cast Again, is also available in .pdf format. Cost for the second booklet is $12.00. 58 formulas using overdye, abrash, spot dye, 2 gradation methods, and transcolor dyeing. If you wish to have a paper copy, the cost is $15.00 plus $2.25 s/h.

My Framed Rug is Finished!

2010-02-28T14:01:00.002-05:00

Picked up my "Saratoga" rug from the frame shop on Saturday, and overall, I'm pleased with the results. Here is a photo:

A good tip if you are thinking of framing a rug: Be as careful as possible when steaming to square off your corners. Diagonal corner to corner measurements should be the same. Although my hooking was straight, the "give" in the burlap caused the measurements to be off. Luckily the framer was able to stretch it. But, as you can see, it is slanted a bit, although not as much as the photo shows. I fooled around with the rotation tool in photoshop, which caused a bit of the distortion.

Keep in mind also, that framing is an expensive finishing option. Given where I want to hang it, framing was the best option.

Worms

2010-02-27T12:50:00.003-05:00

Working away on my "Silent Night" rug and thanks to a container of worms, it is coming together nicely. I'm always stashing worms away for future use, but rarely think to use them.

Well, that has changed on this rug. Found a whole bunch of green strips in various shades that have been perfect for the vegetation in this rug. The brown in the cattails is left over from the brown in my garden rug.

Also, I organized all the worms into different boxes according to color. Perfect!!

Here is an up-to-date photo.

Hooking Slowly

2010-02-10T09:39:00.004-05:00

Since taking the "10-Minute Challenge", I've found that along with hooking a lot more, I'm also hooking quite fast. Although I'm getting so much more done, I've not been pleased with the look of my loops. So, this week, I'm endeavoring to hook more slowly and more deliberately. The result has been more uniform loops and better spacing of loops.

I'm working on "Silent Night" and wanted to show you some of my progress. Here is a photo of the rug to date along with a closeup of the angel.

New Rug

2010-02-07T17:47:00.005-05:00

Well, my Saratoga rug is finished. I'll be taking it to the framer's this week, and I'll be excited to see the rug all framed and hung.

I've started a new rug. It's called "Silent Night" and is a design of my sister, Marian Ross. Here is a picture of the pattern.

I've completed the angel and will post a picture of that soon. Not quite sure what I'm doing with the rest of this rug yet. I'm taking the approach of hooking each section as it comes. I have a general color scheme in mind, but no wool has been selected yet. I normally like to have everything figured out before I start, but I'm flying by the seat of my pants with this one!! Wish me luck!

Latest Rug Project

2010-01-29T10:37:00.005-05:00

Wow, it's been a long time since I blogged. I've been working on a rug that I drew that simply says "Saratoga" in honor of my hometown. I've had this rug on the back burner for awhile, but decided to finally get started.

I had already decided where it was going to hang, so that became a factor in my choice of colors. I had some lovely casserole-dyed wool that I was keeping for myself, and I decided this was the project to use it in. Here is a photo of one of the pieces of wool. It was great fun snipping and cutting the strips to get just the color combos I wanted. Once the main part of the rug was finished, I knew it needed a border. Since there wasn't a lot of green in the background, I found a textured "as is" green wool that I liked, and I'm in the process of adding three rows around the rug.

Here is a photo of the rug to date:

Color is more vibrant than the photo shows. I'm toying with the idea of having the rug framed, something I've never done. Since it's going to hang high up on a wall, I think a frame will set it off nicely. Once it's framed, I'll post a picture.

A Customer's Rug Story

2010-01-06T14:23:00.010-05:00

A while back, I sold a large quantity of rug binding tape to a customer. Curious as to why she needed so much tape, I asked her what her project was. She happily replied with the story behind the rug and several photos. Thought I'd share Sandy's story with my readers.

"We were at a Bed and Breakfast in Natchez, Mississippi on our anniversary, when I saw this rug on the floor of Monmouth Plantation Home. I turned to my hubby and kept asking him what he thought of it. He said, 'It’s nice.'

After a few times of me saying this, he looked at me and asked why I kept asking about it. I replied that my walls were full of counted cross stitch pictures, and I’ve always wanted a needle point rug to put on my wood floors, so maybe I should copy this one and make myself one. He didn’t hesitate and said, 'If it were anyone else saying this, I’d think they were joking, but you’re my wife and I know you. You’re going to make this rug, aren’t you?' I told him I thought I could make it in sections, and join it at the borders. He just shook his head and said, 'You’re my wife; I know you’ll figure out how to do this.'

Look closely. In the first photo you'll see me holding my section of the rug ON TOP of the real rug at the plantation home. I’ve not yet stitched the outer sections (four on each side). Because my den is not nearly as large as the room in the plantation home, I’m not adding the outside border. If you look closely, you can see the color differences in my rug and theirs, as yarns now are available in much brighter colors.

So a few weeks later, I began the process of meeting folks and talking to my friend Marion at my local needlepoint shop, The Elegant Needle in Baton Rouge. She and I discussed how cost prohibitive it was to get an artist to paint the canvas for a rug that large.

Almost a year and a half later, we were at Thanksgiving dinner, and I casually mentioned how I wanted to make this rug. My brother (a computer guru), said, 'That’s easy. Just go take photos from the same height, enlarge and enhance the photos till actual size, then print out on that iron-on transfer paper like you do for tee-shirts, but iron it on to the needlepoint canvas instead. You’ll have an exact copy of the rug, and can duplicate each stitch.' He made it sound so easy.

It took a few months to get all the supplies together, so we could test this out. We drove back up there to take photos (with a ruler in each photo so we could enlarge to exact size (100 stitches per sq inch). We tweaked the computer program and made a chart of each of the steps required to get the photos to the exact size.

I tested different types of canvas to see which would work best, and how it would look if I overlapped the sections to stitch the border through multiple canvas layers. It worked fine.

So I decided to tackle making this huge rug. I knew it would take time, but life goes on even if you’re not stitching, so I figured why not? I spent an entire week at my brothers’ using his sophisticated equipment to enlarge, enhance, and print all the photos on iron-on transfer paper (exhausting!!!), while listening to that stupid dot matrix printer make all that noise as each page printed.

Then came the laborious process of cutting all the canvases, ironing on the transfers (four 8.5 x 11 sheets per “square” in the rug), plus numerous pages on the center section. And after that, the fun and exciting part of choosing yarns for each of the flowers! Marion and I had so much fun doing this, and it was really easy, because I had “named” each flower and noted how many colors I saw in the original rug for each flower and leaf.

The entire process from conceptual idea to completion was a long time—almost 10 years. But one has to realize I’ve had a life to live, too! Here’s some of what also happened sequentially during that 10 year time period:

I was working full time at LSU, received 3 promotions, and finally retired in April 2008
Raised 2 kids (now 25 and 28)
I had medical treatment for several years when I was hit by another vehicle and suffered severe neck injuries
Recovered from that, and was again involved in another car wreck (not my fault either) , so it was back to physical therapy for a few more months
I was working on, and completed my Masters’ degree
My mom passed away unexpectedly with complications from surgery
My dad had heart surgery
Our daughter got married
Our son graduated from college,
I had hip surgery
And had my first grandbaby!

But despite all this, I’ve managed to stitch almost 1.2 million stitches on this rug!!! It was actually featured in the LSU Employee Art Show when the first phase (the large center section) was complete. Because that in itself was over 250,000 stitches just in the center section.

Anyway, as you can see I’m REALLY excited about getting it finished. So the rug binding (not available locally) was the final item I needed to finish the rug, and it had to be colorfast, because I certainly didn’t want it to bleed onto the rug when I needed to steam clean it. I think you can understand why.

So for all you hookers out there who think their projects take too long, remember Sandy's journey of 10 years. What a rug!!!

Bought Myself a Christmas Gift!

2010-01-04T11:14:00.002-05:00

After Christmas was over, I looked at my Paypal account and decided I could finally get that gift I've been wanting for a long time. I ordered a Townsend cutter!!! I'm so excited. I've been hooking a lot lately, and although my Rigby has worked well for me, it just doesn't give me an even cut all the time. I find some of my strips are too narrow, some too thick.

I bought my Rigby the year I attended the Green Mountain Rug School back in 1994. What an exciting purchase that was. I was a new hooker dabbling in both the primitive and fine cuts, and since the Rigby was being sold right at camp, I took the plunge and bought heads 3-8. (I think I bought it from Bob Armstrong who patiently showed me everything I needed to know!) I will continue to use it for the narrow cuts, but I'm looking forward to the Townsend for the 6- and 8-cut heads I purchased. Just got an email confirming that the Townsend will ship today!!!

Time Travel Rug Update

2010-01-02T11:02:00.002-05:00

The hooking is finished!! Yeah! I started this rug in September. It is a pattern called Time Travel, and it measures approximately 30" x 33". My sister drew the pattern some time ago, so I was glad to finally work on it.

Don't you love how things develop on a rug in an unplanned way. I had decided the background was going to be a mix of gray/black textures. The swirls of alternating colors just seemed to happen by itself! Once it appeared (!), I kept adding more and more swirls. Was really fun to do.

The other thing that is hidden in the rug is a wormhole. Because the rug is called Time Travel, I wanted to put the year of my birth somewhere in the rug in a subtle way. I got thinking that that a wormhole will take you to another time or dimension, so just above the clock is a finely hooked oval with the year 1957 hooked into it. Not sure it can be seen on the photo, but it shows up well enough when looking at the rug.

Now I have to finish the edges, give it another steam, and decide where to put it. I usually have a place in mind for a rug when I begin it, but this rug is so different, that I'm not sure where to put it. Hopefully, a spot will reveal itself.

This rug is another testament to the "Ten-Minute Challenge." By following this challenge, I have hooked more each day than ever before. I find that if I put on a "book-on-tape" and hook while I'm listening, I get a great deal done.

I'll post a picture of the next project I'm going to begin as soon as I sort out the colors I'm going to use.

Happy hooking and happy new year!

Major Clean-Up

2009-12-30T09:35:00.002-05:00

I am on a mission (how long it will last is anyone's guess) to clean out this house!!! Ever get the feeling that your stuff is taking over your life? Well, that's where I'm at.

I'm beginning in the office. I've successfully emptied two file cabinets of accumulated papers, financial records, etc. some of which were from the 1990s! Why am I keeping this stuff???

Next came the cabinets over the desk. They must be breathing a sigh of relief as some of the weight inside has been removed.

Next is my bookshelf and then on to my wool closet. I tend to keep every scrap of wool I have expecting that some day I will find a use for it. Hoping to make up a bag to give away to some unsuspecting hooker. Remember someone's trash is someone else's treasure!

Have an organizational prayer shawl luncheon today. Looking forward to seeing all the girls. So this afternoon will be a bit more restful.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO ALL!

2009-12-22T14:33:00.002-05:00

It's been so long since I've blogged. Been busy getting ready for Christmas. I have lots of interesting things I'll be posting about after the holidays, so keep checking in with me. Also, will be having a big winter sale in January!!

Take care and have a blessed and happy holiday season.

New Books

2009-11-29T11:42:00.007-05:00

Here are a few new rug hooking books recently released.

From "Rug Hooking Magazine" comes Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs XIX. Always a joy to look through and draw inspiration from. I love looking through quickly at first to see if I know any of the hookers.

The new book by Jane Halliwell Green called Pictorial Hooked Rugs was released in October. The description from the amazon.com Web site follows:

One of the most challenging of all rug styles is the pictorial rug or wall hanging. This full-color book guides readers step-by-step through the process of how to create pictorial rugs. This book is the definitive instruction manual on how to create the elements of a pictorial rug. Each section contains a description of techniques, materials, dye formulas, and hooked illustrations of the elements described. It contains tips and tricks for the rug hooker to take the guesswork out of planning a personalized rug.

Check it out. I'm always fascinated with a book on pictorials. It's a goal of mine to create a rug of the neighborhood I lived in while growing up.

Amy Oxford's new book is entitled Hooked Rugs Today IV: Expect the Unexpected. Here is a description of the book I found on an Italian (!) Web site:

Explore expertly crafted, contemporary hooked rugs with designs ranging from abstract to political statement, and from adorable pet depictions to painterly expressions. The Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild mounted a great exhibit for a few short weeks in November 2008 at Shelburne Museum in Vermont, and now displayed forever in the pages of this rich book. Two featured artists - Rae Harrell and Diane Kelly -display their personal styles through retrospectives of their work. Members from the guild were challenged to think "outside the box," and they came up with a variety of imagery and form ranging from lifesize, three-dimensional sheep to extraordinary miniature punch-needle works. Other categories include animals, florals, landscapes, penny rugs, and even a small section dedicated to the smallest members of the group: the children. The colors, forms, and variety will astound and inspire anyone with an interest in fiber arts.

Dyed wool

2009-11-22T11:16:00.009-05:00

Here are some of the shades I dyed this past week. The first is called "Amber Glass" and is a set of grads. They remind me a bit of amber depression glass. Go to the store section of my blog if you are interested in purchasing a set.

This second photo is a new set of transitional grads. There are four pieces in the set that is called "Sun Phases." It ranges from an orange to deep golden shade. It will be in the store on this blog for awhile before going to Ebay auctions. Check it out.

Next photo is the fourth grad in a set called Cloudy Sky. This is a beautiful blue shade that a customer is using in a rug along with the other three grads. I sometimes forget when dyeing grads that each color is pretty enough to stand alone.

Dye Day

2009-11-18T12:23:00.002-05:00

Well, I never made it up to Shelburne for the rug show. Due to a never-ending sinus headache, I just couldn't face the drive. Off to see the doctor tomorrow. His last suggestion for my problem was to have my nose broken! Can't seem to get my arms around that one!

Anyway, I'm dyeing wool today. Doing some grads and overdyes and this afternoon, I'm going to do a set of transitional grads. Will post a photo later. It's a beautiful day here today, so the wool should be able to dry outside. Trying to do my part to go green!

Veteran's Day

2009-11-11T09:21:00.004-05:00

Knowing that this Wednesday was Veteran's Day got me thinking about my father's service in WWII. Having served in the 1st Battalion, 106th Infantry in the Western Pacific Theater, he participated in the Battle of Saipan. I googled some sites online to find out more about the battle, and actually discovered some film on You Tube showing some of the fighting. As with all war footage, the scenes were horrific. I also found a site that described some of the battle:

The 106th was heavily involved in the fighting for Saipan's dominant terrain feature; a 1,554-foot mountain called Mount Tapotchau. The 106th initially fought along a ridgeline near the mountain's base and in an open valley at the base of the ridgeline, two terrain features that were grimly dubbed Purple Heart Ridge and Death Valley. The 106th was instrumental in repelling the second fnad final Japanese counterattack.

One of the most lamentable events of the battle for Saipan involved the mass suicide of hundreds of families, many of whom jumped to their deaths from the high cliffs at the island's northernmost point. This tragic event could not be stopped, despite efforts by Americans and indigenous Saipanese using loudspeakers to try to convince the Japanese that surrender would be shameless and harmless.

Reading this information gave me some insight into what my father must have seen. He talked little about it during his lifetime, and today I'll try not to dwell on the horrors he witnessed, but just be proud of the contribution he made to his country during his four years in the Army in WWII.

Green Mountain Guild Rug Show

2009-11-10T10:20:00.003-05:00

The Green Mountain Guild "Hooked in the Mountains XIV" rug show is being held Nov. 7–15, 2009 at the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT (outside of Burlington). My sister and I will be attending this Friday, and we are both looking forward to this outstanding show. I've attended several times and have never been disappointed. Hope to have lots of photos to share.

This year's show features the rugs of Sharon Townsend, Gail Duclos Lapierre, and Diane Phillips. In addition, 15 vendors will be present.

A word to the wise.... This show is held in the Round Barn at the Shelburne Museum, and in the past, there has been no heat. Dress warmly. Interestingly, you begin on the third floor. As you work your way down to the second and first floors, it gets progressively warmer!

For more information about the show and the guild, visit their Web site at: http://www.gmrhg.org.

It's been a long time between posts

2009-11-01T09:59:00.005-05:00

Wow! Time is flying by! I haven't posted in quite awhile, as things have been busy. My husband and I both have been sick (me with bronchitis and him with pneumonia). In the middle of all this, we left for a cruise out of Boston to ports in Maine and Nova Scotia. The weather was surprisingly good, and we had one of our best vacations ever! The sea air must have been good for both of us, as we felt worlds better during the cruise.

Got to visit Portland and Bar Harbor in Maine and Halifax in Nova Scotia. I know, kind of a crazy time of year to go north, but the day we were in Halifax the temperature was 60°! The coldest spot turned out to be the top of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park where there was snow on the ground and tremendously strong winds. We took some pictures and quickly got back on the trolley. I'd love to go back there during the summer months. Here are two photos I took.

Once we got back home, things returned to normal. I'm continuing work on my time travel rug and feel like I'm making progress. Here's a photo of the rug to date:

I've listed a lot of wool and binding tape on Ebay. Check it out: Michele's auctions.

Did you ever notice?

2009-10-12T11:19:00.004-04:00

Did you ever notice that when you are hooking a rug in an 8-cut, there always seems to be some small part of the rug that needs to be hooked in a smaller cut. You resist doing this as it will involve changing a cutter head. So, you forge ahead anyway with that large cut. You get the strips put in, and you realize that your hooking just looks horrible and the motif doesn't quite look like what it is supposed to be.

Now, having wasted time, you relent and get that small cutter head out. If you have a Rigby like me, you take it all apart, insert the new head, put it back together, and wish you had that Townsend cutter you've been hinting about to anyone who will listen.

While working on my Time Travel rug, I came to the clawed feet on the shelf that holds the clock. I was sure I could make this work in a 6-cut. I gave myself credit for not even attempting the 8-cut!! Alas, the 6-cut didn't cut it (excuse the pun!). So, out came the 3-cut head. And now, having hooked the claw foot, I can indeed tell it is a claw foot! Eureka! I learned something I should already have remembered!!! Here is a photo of the claw foot:

Tuesday's Dye Session

2009-10-07T16:27:00.003-04:00

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a dye day. Decided to do some more casserole dyeing, as I had such fun with it last time I dyed wool. Here is the result:

The pinks and blues were casserole-dyed in the regular manner. The green pieces were pleated first. I love the way they came out. Look for them on Ebay soon.

Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival 2009

2009-10-03T09:57:00.017-04:00

I attended the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival last Sunday with my sisters and had a great time. For a first effort, the show was great – lots of vendors and lots of demonstrations, and lots of animals! Here are some of the photos I took.

A group of Episcopal nuns raise these goats and spin their fur into yarn. Surprisingly soft!

These cute little guys were so funny to watch. I bought some roving from the owners of this trio and intend to try my hand at dyeing it.

Ran into the Easton Rug Hookers who had a beautiful display of rugs. Patty Varley and Phyllis Riley are working away on their latest masterpieces!

My friend Jean Fleming is working on a spectacular rug. I love the colors in this one!

Some of Easton's finest!

Check out this hand-dyed roving. What a feast for the eyes! Couldn't resist buying some of the greens. It hooks up surprisingly well.

This picture and the next two show some of Linda Van Alstyne's needle felting. She was there demonstrating her craft. You can check out here Web site at: http://www.northeastfeltmakersguild.org/vanalstyne.html

All in all, it was a great day. The show was such a success that it will be held again next year.

Hooker's Dilemma

2009-09-25T10:21:00.004-04:00

O.K. Your basic hooker's dilemma. You've finished a rug. And now, what to do with all those stray strips, small pieces of wool, etc. HELP!

Here is my basket of wool leftover from my garden rug. What to do with all of this is my question. Do I separate the strips into colors for use in later rugs, pitch them (heaven, forbid!), give them away (does anybody really want this stuff?)????

I'm curious to know how others clean up from their latest projects. Pass on some words of wisdom!!!

Woolly Mammoth Woolens

Two more links (and then I'll stop!)

More Great Links from Online Rug Hooking Magazine

New Online Magazine by Rug Hooking Magazine

The Worms are Married!

You never know...

Pancake Dyeing

January is the month for organizing! Right?

Happy New Year!

Interesting Rug Hooking Web sites

Happy Holidays to all!

Good Books 2011

Rugs in 2011

Knitting frenzy

Pinterest

Zentangles

A Frosty Morning

Happy Thanksgiving!

Great rug hooking book

Fun with pancake dyeing!

Did You Vote?

Wishful Thinking

Fall Decorating

Latest finished rug

Rug Hooking With Yarn, Susie Stephenson’s two part video, ready to view

More photos from Rhinebeck, NY

Wool Giveaway

Sheep and Wool Festival 2011

Very Cool!

And the winner is ....!!!

October Wool Giveaway

Lots of things happening

Off to Plum Island

First Rug

Milestone

Greens Galore

Who would have believed...???

The Road Not Taken

Blogs, blogs, and more blogs

The Group of Seven

Loopy Ladies Dye Day

The ProChem Project

Childhood Home Rug

TULIPS

Dye Workshop on Wednesday

My House rug

Like a dog with a bone!

Artist's Journal

Getting Closer

Happy Fourth!

Bliss!

Mammograms

Loopy Ladies Memory Rugs and then some

Making Progress

Hand Dyeing book

Dye Day

Flea Market Day

Back Home Safe and Sound!

Off to San Francisco

On the Needles

Loopy Ladies

Knitting Group

Dye Day

Looking inside the rug hooking files

Notebook full of ideas!

Knotted dyeing

Stamps as Inspiration for rugs

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Time Flies

Kuler

Finished!!!

Knitting Projects

Hanging a rug using carpet tack strips

More from Brimfield...

Trip to Brimfield, MA Antique Show

LOOOONNNNNNGGGGGG Time Between Posts!

Silent Night Rug Update

Spring has sprung!

Ramblings

List of Rug Hooking blogs