Hooking Impressions

I adore hooked rugs that have subtly shaded flowers and details, hooked with fine cuts, like the rugs of Pearl Mcgown, or Joan Moshimer. I would spend hours looking at them, delighting in their visual softness and realism. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I love primitive rugs, hooked in wide cuts, with simple naive forms like the rugs created by Magdalena Briner Eby, or the rugs created by Kathy at the Grinning Sheep, or again the ones created by Karen at Primitive Spirit.

When I set out to design, and then hook my" Roosting Hens in a Bleeding Heart Bush", I knew right away that I would not be opting for fine cuts with subtle shading. Just the fact that my hens decided to roost in a bleeding heart bush made the rug one of fantasy, not reality. I knew that my rug would have to follow a more primitive path, where the elements of the rugs are" impressions" of themselves. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hooking of the flowers.

My first thought when I start hooking a flower is to color, not in terms of shading, but rather in terms of what will make that flowers pop against the background.

If I think about our night vision as humans, objects at night loose their definition, we register them for what they are even though they only hint at what they are. The flowers in my rug, are hints of flowers at night, reflecting the moonlight.

Hooking each flower is pure delight, it feels so free. I love not being trapped by the need for realism. I love letting the simple hand-dyed colors do all the work for me.

I wonder if you feel the same way I do. I wonder what guides you when you hook.

The Hen Rug is Started!

Every Wednesday, I take my daughter to chorus. Yesterday was not like any other Wednesday, yesterday was the day I started hooking my new rug while waiting for her.
I packed my new lap frame (which my lovely husband made for me, I will tell you more about it another time.) I took all my hand cut wool strips that I had dyed for the project. We took the bus, then walked, and I dropped her there. I headed to the local cafe, ordered a coffee and a blueberry muffin, and sat down to hook.

I started by hooking a heart, seeing what I could do with my muted jewel tones. See, I had an idea that I wanted the colors to look like they were bright and rich colors but as they would appear at night, being lightly moon kissed. After all, chickens roost at night!

This night idea really came to me yesterday morning as I was looking at the colors, and wondering what I was going to do for the background. At first I considered a safe neutral, but safety is not my thing. I thought a grey could work, and was about to settle on that, when the idea of the night blue came to me. As always, impulsive, I pulled my dye pot out, grabbed some recycled vintage wool fabrics, in light grey, greying celadon, and even a plaid in navy and white, mixed a little bit of "night blue" , and over-dyed the fabrics.
I ended up with some variations of married night blues, some a little bluer, some a little more teal, and some almost black, and some grey blue. I have started playing with the background already. I am so happy with it!  

In my little Rhode Island Red's world, it is night time!

I am really enjoying working with the hand-cut strips, their slight variations in width really add a dynamic feeling to the rug, and maybe also a more authentic appearance. I just love the naive charm of this rug! I really hope I will have some time today to rug hook!

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!

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!

Rug Hooking Memories

I have been wanting to have a "real" studio for me to create, and craft. Up till now, I would say that I have been a nomadic crafter, planting my craft tent in this room or that room... Yesterday, as I was gathering stash and projects, I found a project that is full of memories for me.

This project is special in two ways. It reminds me of a lovely trip my husband and I took to Maine, and of discovering rug hooking. We stayed in a bed and breakfast, the Hearthside Inn in Bar Harbor. One morning, after breakfast, I was sitting in the parlor cross-stitching. The owner of the Inn came to see what I was working on. We started talking about crafts, mine and his. He said he liked rug hooking, and asked me if I wanted to see his work. I of course agreed, always wanting to discover a new craft, but naively not expecting that I would fall totally in love with it. He was working on a geometric rug in lovely fall tones. I marveled at all the perfect wool fabric loops, at the depth of the colors. He gave me a crash course in rug hooking, and gave me addresses for two stores he liked in Maine. We decided to visit the one in Kennebunport,W. Cushing & Company. The store was full of hooked rugs, florals, geometrics, animal patterns, and a rainbow of wool fabrics.

While still in denial, on the way to the store, I had told my husband I just wanted to look, but that I really was not going to take up another craft. When my husband saw me in the store as happy as a little girl in a candy shop, he whispered in my ear, "pick a project."

I did not resist, I picked one. I picked a small strawberry chair pad project, that had been designed by Joan Moshimer. I bought the project as a kit with all the wool already chosen for me and cut. I purchased a simple Joan Moshimer hook.

As soon as we got home, I started working on the project ... I hooked, and hooked, following the directions provided in the kit. The strips of wool were #3, and I found it hard to bring them up through the linen backing without twisting them, or shredding them. In retrospect, this might not have been the best project to start with. A primitive rug, with wider strips, and a lot less shading might have been a lot better for me. I did learn a lot, but at some point I started feeling restricted by the project. I put it aside, and started creating my own patterns, and my own wools, embracing the old traditions, recycling woolen fabrics, and creating simpler more organic designs.

When I found the strawberries yesterday, I decided it was time to finish it. So this is what I will be working on for the next few days. This piece has a special place in my heart. I would love to have it adorn the top of a shaker box. I could use the box to store notions, in my soon to be studio ...