Silver Lining's Variation - Viking Good Luck

Here is a variation of Silver Lining.

I’ve dyed over 1/4 yd of natural wool with Majic Carpet dyes in a dye bath with citric acid added to it at the 5 minute point. Having the exact dyes are not important, just go for the colour family. What is important is to experiment ....experimenting is key to being a great dyer.

Combine the two listed dyes in boiling water and pour into a dye bath then add wool.

VIKING GOOD LUCK
1/32 tsp. Blue + 1/128th Black

A Recipe: Silver Lining

I’ve dyed over 1/4 yd of natural wool with Majic Carpet dyes in a dye bath with citric acid added to it at the 5 minute point. Having the exact dyes are not important, just go for the colour family. What is important is to experiment ....experimenting is key to being a great dyer.

Combine the two listed dyes in boiling water and pour into a dye bath then add wool.


SILVER LINING
1/128th tsp. Blue + 1/128th Black

Rug October

Well , Here is the weekly installment of the Rug October .....A little progress is better than none !
I'm greatly consoled by the fact that even an elephant must be eaten one bite at a time.

Galaxy's Partner Solar Flare

THE SPOTS- it took 1 hr 30 mins.. @ 350 ˚ F to process this.
Gather up 1/2 yd of wet wool in peaks and valleys, add 1/8th tsp. citric acid to each dye solution, pour in stripes or spots in a checkerboard pattern. Don’t mess around too much with the wool after you pour the dye on so you can get the stars in the dark sky effect.
All Majic carpet but try other dyes if you don't have these.

SOLAR FLARES
1/2 tsp. Orange
1/2 tsp. Red
1/2 tsp. Red Violet
1/2 tsp. Yellow
1 tsp. Moss Green
1 tsp. Black

Loops- How wide ?

I'm a big believer in using wide strips. I think it lets the beautiful wool we use be shown to the best advantage. Seeing more of the wool in the loop lets it do more work for us too. It can help add a dimension to what we hook that almost happens accidentally but is so beautiful. The more we "add" in our rugs the richer they will be to behold.

To decide what cut to use I usually look at the spaces to be filled. What's the narrowest area ? Are there a lot of narrow spaces or are there mostly bigger spaces ?

If I have mostly larger spaces I might decide to use a finer cut on those narrow spaces.

Or if I have a lot of narrow areas I see what cut strip fills them up fully and use that.

I encourage everyone to use the cut that works best for them but keep in mind there might be another way.

Here is Magnolia.
Using #6 cut and an assembled swatch.

How high the Loops ?

This is a question often asked and really I think it depends on how you want your rug to feel underfoot, how much money you have to spend on wool, (the higher the loops the bigger the wool bill) the effect you wish to achieve. Nothing else really matters, we all sort of have a a personal level we pull loops to somewhat like knitters have tension.
If we look at a hooking and keep seeing the loops, something went awry, we aren't noticing what was depicted.

The loops are the least of it.

Colour and it's effective use is what counts in my mind and to my eye.

What do you think ?

Acceptance

Be flexible about your dyeing. Be accepting of what you create rather than feeling disappointment if it doesn’t turn out, try to see where you might apply it in a rug or how you might correct it to make it useful. Try dividing it into two and trying different approaches for correction. Everything you create is a wonderful thing. Including mistakes.

WIPs

What is a wip you might ask ? Well, we all have them- those are works in progress.
Right now I have a few but I'm on a quest to make a rug a month this year and this is providing a good opportunity to get them done.

If you gather up too many wips it will make you a hooking wimp. You feel heavy as lead under the weight of all those good intentions and undone tasks.
Or you're stuck because you want to finish a rug before starting another but you don't like the rug you're working on ....... well that will make you a wimp too, it is a fine line to tread.

I like to have a few wips, one not so hard and one a little more difficult. No matter my mood I can hook !
Then I have Ghosts of Hooking Past wips.... they are okay, good for travelling, I feel no compunction to finish them. No stress.
They are from another time and place in my life, nice to visit sometimes.

Here is a picture of my Rug October... my latest unfortunate Wip. (wanted it to be done by now !)
It is a journal rug in a Geometric Style, a challenge from the Welcome Mat.
I hope by setting a goal to post it each week here on the blog it will help me finish it up.

BUG

I hope you enjoy this spring green !

Bug
2/32 tsp. lemon drop 106
1/32 tsp. key lime 724

I dyed over 1/16th of a yard in a three inch dye bath. Add dye to bath, add wool to bath, simmer 10 minutes then add 1/32 tsp citric acid or 1 TBSP vinegar, simmer until water clears. Rinse well.