Blossoming Heart

Today, I just want to share with you the progress on Kalon, my heart design. I had a little time to hook yesterday. I added stems and leaves to the flowers.

I used vintage, recylcled wools to hook both stems and leaves. Both textured fabrics had been over-dyed in the same pot of green.

The stem fabric is a very subtle plaid, while the leaf fabric is a chevron. The almost solid plaid seems perfect for the simplicity of the stems. The contrasting texture of the chevron gives the leaves a certain glow.

I cut some more strips of wool from my hand-dyeds. I am proceeding slowly, laying colored strips here and there, making sure that I like their color before hooking, enjoying the time it takes to create.

I am hoping to have a lot more rug hooking to show you on Monday. Have a great weekend, and happy hooking!

Resistance is Futile

Yesterday happened almost as planned. I drew the heart design for Kalon on primitive linen.

I cut some 1/4 inch strips of wool.

And then, instead of following my plan, and working at finishing my Moshimer rug, I thought, I'll just hook one little flower, just one.

Then I started wondering what a blue purple flower would look like.

It seems that at that point I lost all self control. One flower led to another, until they were all hooked.

To sum up my day a la Bridget Jones:

Goals accomplished: 0
Fun had: tons!

The Magic of Colors

Yesterday, I hand-dyed some woolens. I started with a cream base from a recycled skirt. I had RIT dyes at home. My goal was to create bright colored wool for my heart design, Kalon.

I plan on using the hand-dyeds in the circular shapes. I placed the wetted fabric on plastic wrap, and applied the colors. I then rolled the fabric into a  burrito and cooked it in the microwave for 5 minutes. I have no precise records. I just mix the colors as I go.

I created this piece using wines, reds, yellows, peach, and a touch of aqua. The close-up shows the aqua a little better.

I dyed a`second piece with more reds and still the magical aqua.

And then a section with navy blue, and muted purples.

They all look so wonderful together!

 I still have some work to do on the Moshimer rug, so I might just draw the Kalon design on my linen, and precut strips today. It will be hard to resist pulling a few loops!

I hope you will try to dye some woolens too. There is something magical about how the colors come together in a piece of wool.

Moving Dreams

We have been happily living in Boston for the last 5 1/2 years. We are lucky to have a nice Victorian house, in a nice neighborhood. We even redesigned the kitchen.

Then this weekend, my husband and I went on a date along the coast, and I fell in love with this house.
The picture is not great, but once you hear it was built in 1734, has six working fireplaces, wall ovens, wide plank flooring, beamed ceilings, and a lovely large landscaped yard and has been restored with modern conveniences, you will understand.

I have been dreaming about ever since...

Woolen Hunting

I love scouting the second hand stores for old woolen garments. I occasionally will pick up an amazing jacket, but my favorite garments are large skirts. You can get the most fabric out of them, and they are so easier to cut apart.

Most of the time I find neutral-toned fabrics with great chevron, or checkered patterns.

I love the neutrals very much because they over-dye so beautifully, and give me lots of color options. The neutrals immediately give the over-dyed fabric a vintage feel. It makes them perfect for using in primitive rug hooking. Add to that, a little bit of handcutting, making the strips of wool a little irregular...pure magic!

Sometimes, on my scouting trips, I find an amazing vintage wool skirt. This is exactly what happened last Friday. Even before I got to the skirt section, I spotted the skirt from afar. I kept my fingers crossed that it would be 100% wool. Just imagine my joy, when as I was looking for a tag inside the skirt, I saw the Pendleton Woolen Mills label!

The colors are fabulously bright, cobalt blue, kelly green, with thin lines of deep pink and a pale purple. Of course, I will probably rarely use it as is, because I tend to favor slightly muted colors. But I will definitely save an undyed piece to put as a splash of unexpected color in a design, and will overdye the rest.

I am sure you can sure you can tell I really love looking for old fabrics. I wonder if you do too? I might stop by my local second hand stores today on my way to the post office. I am already dreaming of what I could find!