Friday, October 7, 2011

A LESSON LEARNED


Unfortunately, my lesson learned was on a beautiful rug pattern designed by Pearl McGown.  The name of the pattern is "Maturity."  I still think that it is one of the most beautiful rug patterns
I have ever seen.
The rug is room sized (9 x 12)  I had planned it for my dining room.
I no longer live in that house and of course, this rug
will never be completed.
The picture above shows a portion of the rug that has
been hooked.


 This pic shows what happens to rug backing when not properly
cared for.
 Look at this mess!  This is what happens when sun and heat
get to a pattern backing.  This did not happen overnight.
This is the result of several years of laying in the sun.
In addition, I folded the rug instead of rolling it and
the creases deteriorated more quickly than the rest of the backing.

I have decided the thing to do is cut off the unused portion of the
pattern, and just simply hem the piece.  I will than use it as a visual aid
for my students as they learn to hook flowers.

The following pictures speak for themselves.
I thought I would share than with you in case you are struggling
with hooking flowers.
 A lavender Dahlia  with lavender leaf.
 A dalhia of a different color with bud..
 What a mess!  However, there is an example of the
back of a rose.
 Rose with buds
 A better view of the back of a rose.
Yellow is one of the hardest colors to use in a hooked rug.  I don't think this rose is super good but it is the one example I have of a yellow rose with blue green leaves.
 Lavender Tulips with blue morning glories.
 Another Tulip - slightly different color.
 A two toned Lily
 A different type of Morning Glory with bud
 Full blownMorning glories with buds.
A stilll different Morning glory

I hope that I haven't bored you to death.  I have been looking
at the wreck of this rug for several months now
and it has been on my mind to share it wilh you.
I hope you like what you see.

I am still unable to leave comments.  The minute I preview them they disappear,.  Also if you have the small pop up window for
your comments, I am unable to certify who I am
and blogger insists that he./she know who I am.
I would like to say hello to Julia, Courtney, Nettie, Lauren,
Cathy G., Moosecraft, and all of my other blogger
friends

Quote of the day -
Autumn is a second spring when every leaf
is a flower.

Albert Camus

Have a wonderful weekend everyone
Doris










9 comments:

Kathy (woolfind) said...

Such a shame with the damage Doris, but what a beautiful piece for a visual aid for students. Lovely hooking!
Seems a lot of people are having problems with leaving comments. Hope you are enjoying the Fall weather..

weaverpat said...

Doris, your flowers and leaves are exquisite! At least parts of the rug can be saved. I've noticed other older patterns have fallen apart like that one. I do hope the newer burlap holds up better!
Have a wonderful weekend. The weather is supposed to be very nice.

Gayle said...

Wow Doris - That is some rug! I'm glad you'll be able to salvage parts of it and use it for a teaching sample. Your work is so beautiful!

Julia said...

Oh Doris, this is so heartbreaking to see all this beautiful work falling apart. What a beautiful pattern. Your work is so professional.

It's a good teaching tool for your students.

Sorry that you still can't leave comments. If you want to leave me a comment you can email it to me. m.julia.bourque@gmail.com Take care and thanks for showing us this. Have a safe weekend. JB

Kim said...

Doris,
That is such a shame. The parts of the rug you have finished are stunning. Your students will certainly learn from your talent.
I hope you are well and enjoying some beautiful Fall weather.
Hugs to Eloise too.
Kim

Joanne said...

I'm having the same problem with comments sometimes they work and sometimes they don't - I think it has to do with the way the blogger sets it up to leave comments! anyway - we shall see if this goes thru! Wow what a shame on that large rug - all that work - well at least you have a solution on what to use it for - so that is good - it's a good visual aid as you said and the lesson about storing rug patterns is one to be remembered!

Julia said...

It's me again Doris. I was thinking that maybe Rug Hooking Magazine might be interested to publish an article on what can happen to older rugs hooked on jute
when it's not rolled and properly stored. This would be a great teaching tool for sure.

moosecraft said...

That truly is a beautiful rug, Doris! Love the way you hooked the flowers... morning glories are a favorite. Great idea to use it as a teaching sample. There are quite a few people having problems leaving comments... i sure hope blogger comes up with a solution soon... Have a great autumn weekend! :-)

Rugs and Pugs said...

Doris ~
Oh my! What you have hooked is beautiful and I'm glad you will be able to salvage part of it. Your hooking is exquisite and your color choices ~ WOW is all I can say!!!
I think Julia's idea about an article in RHM is a great idea.
I, too, still am having problems comments on certain blogs.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren