Monday, December 28, 2009

A RUG BLOG -

When I started my blog my intention was to use it as a way to encourage the art of rug hooking. As often happens I got off track and started reported my daily "doings." I realize that I live a very quiet life and have little to say on a daily basis and probably have been boring you to death. Sooooo - one of my New Years resolutions is to get back to the original idea of my blog. Therefore this posting is all about the rug I have just finished plus a bonus rug you have not seen before.

I have completed my study of white on white and am very pleased with the results. I am not a professional photographer as you will see but I got some reasonable pictures of the rug. The white on white is much more pronounced than the pictures show.

The first picture is the finished product. I could not get quite far enough back from the wall its hung on to get all of it but I think you can get the idea.

I started out by buying linen for fine hooking as I knew that I would use a #3 cut to do this rug. I also purchased a yard of "crack." I have fallen in love with this product. It is a mesh with a sticky side that takes a magic marker very well. Pat Wenger of Newtown, PA. enlarged the design for me and put it on the linen. However, at that point I was not sure how I was going to manage the white on white. So Pat just put the figures on the linen. I also knew that I did not want a harsh black so I dyed Barb Carrolls antique black formula and looked thru my stash for the brightest red I could find for the yarn. I then took a yard of white wool from a bolt of Dorr's white and a yard of white wool from a bolt of Woolrich's and washed them. I did nothing else to them.
Here is the crack that I mentioned. I am getting ready to put a grid on it. I decided to make the white on white a "parkay" floor.

Here I have laid the crack over the partially worked design to put my grid on. You can see that I don't always draw straight with a ruler (LOL).


I finally got the grid working and I thought that all was well so I hooked away like a happy little hooker thinking that the parkay would be floor and I would do something that looked like wall paper for the upper portion of the rug. NOT TO HAPPEN! Everything I tried for wall paper took away from the parkay floor. All of the hookers that saw this rug in progress thought that the parkay was great looking and I did not want to take away from its looks. So my theory of "if it ain't broken - don't fix it" came into play and I added the grid to the top portion of the rug.



Another "in progress" view.


A close up of the cat with yard - the finished product.


The boy and the next picture of the little girl are also close ups of the finished product.


I am so sorry that the work of the white on white and the parkay does not show up in the pictures. It really is quite stunning up close and personal! This was a great fun project and a good color lesson.
I have added another rug picture for you enjoyment. This is a Persian oriental designed by Pearl K. McGown and called Empress. This rug was hooked by my daughter Kristen and is now hanging in my family room.
Rug hooking is an art form that is ever changing. I hope that each and every one of you hooks with an open mind and tries new things. With the coming of the New Year now is the time to think of a new project and a new way to achieve it.
USELESS FACT FOR THE DAY!
In 1869 women were granted the right to vote in the Wyoming Territory.
Doris











6 comments:

Kathy (woolfind) said...

great rug Doris. I didn't realize you just used the two whites from dorr and woolrich. Made just the right amount of difference. The rug your daughter did is just amazing. Her rugs are stunning.

Joanne said...

Thanks for the rug show Doris - The pics came out great! And hey -it's your blog - you could blog anything you want - even if it's all rug - I do hope that Eloise will get control of the blog now and then so we know how she's doing and to see her cute face!

weaverpat said...

I think the background in your Study in Black and White rug is just perfect! And Kris's rug is amazingly beautiful! So much detail!!!

Hope to see you sometime soon after the new year.
Give Eloise a hug for Zip and I.

The Paisley Studio/Sarah McNamara said...

What a wonderful, creative background! Well done!

Cathy G. said...

Loved seeing the process of your background. This is a most adorable rug! I like the "crack" as you call it and have used it for a few of my rugs. It really beats red dot tracer! Thanks for sharing your daughters rug too...... gorgeous! Happy hooking this coming year! Cathy G

Gayle said...

I've never heard of this product you call CRACK before - can you please tell me more about it and where it can be found? Thanks!

Your rug is stunning!@