Circle of Life Rug/ Manistee Rug School/Trouble shooting in Rug hooking

This is a journal rug, an annual challenge for subscribers on The Welcome Mat. We searched each day in our lives for a circle to appear to us during January The background is from my latest Rug Hooking Magazine column, Lasagna Dyeing. I'll be posting videos here tomorrow for you to try this method, it is a good method for all types of hooking.

All that remains is the finishing of this rug now! It is so unusual that I think it requires a new kind of border.

I'm thinking of an edge of wool circles cut from the remains that are decorated by felting with the leftover strips. There might be some crocheting involved also. 

It is busy days here, I'm getting ready for The Manistee Rug School in Onekema MI.

I'm really looking forward to seeing old friends and making new.

Perhaps one of them will be you!

Happy hooking!

Ps Today on The Welcome Mat I gave a little lesson on trouble shooting , it isn't always the colour you need to fix, sometimes it is the shape!

Standing stones on the right lay down when shaped properly.

Join us there, for only $30 a year you can be in a great rug class all year long, any day you want to!

www.thewelcomemat.ca

Zero Waste

This is a lot of talk right now about zero waste production.
Hooking is very good at using up all parts of the material we buy for it. I also have a embellishing machine which lets me turn even those last little snibbles up into felted pictures, brooches or bookmarks/cards.
Almost anything can be spun into "yarn" once again I can thrift away my heart.
That leaves sewing and incredibly it is very wasteful. Pattern layouts frequently leave great gouts of fabric unused.

I recently got a pretty little piece of fabric from Marcy Tilton and could not get all the yardage I desired. I asked that it be sent ahead anyway and I'm glad I did, I love it.
But this shortage left me puzzling about what to make and how to get the best out of my fabric.
BTW if I want to I can call and know right away if there is the yardage I desire but I'm too lazy and shy to call.

It seems I had about 2.5 yds. of 60" wide knit fabric.

I decided to make a empire dress with bodice and sleeves in one piece.
I used the remainder and cut out two pieces of wide topped A- line skirt.
I pleated this to apply to the bodice. I used a bit of the arc to create a deep sleeve cuff.
 The fabric I cut off the side of the skirt turned into a facing and collar which forms a decorative flower where it meets.

All I had left was the circles I cut out for neck holes, and incredibly small serging trimmings.
If I can think of what to do with this then I will truly be in Zero Waste Heaven.

I plan on wearing it with a nice little black shrug and a corsety belt I made from a skirt leaving. More on that tomorrow!
Yes using up these bit is really turning me on.

I've never had so much fun!

Comedian in Cars Getting Coffee

For a good time.

You might need one and this delivers.

You Still Got TIme

Beatrice Wood, artist. Her most productive years were from age 80 to 105. "I owe it all to art books, chocolate and young men."

                                                         Photo by Tony Cunha 1986

Her Autobiography - love the title!

On the cover of this interesting exploration

Some of her work from 1960

Love the colours

Age: 67

Thinking of new work I bet...

Moral: 

You got a story, you got work to do, baby you got time.

 Get to it.

To the Lindt mobile Robin!

The finishing touches / Circle of Life/ Hooking Hellaciously

When you are getting dressed there is always a little something you do to finish off or polish your look. I like scarves and fairly strange necklaces and recently after a long hiatus, I've begun to wear earrings once again.
I thought I had an allergy to metal but with a rest of 6 or 7 years it appears I've healed myself. So I'm happily back amassing earrings. The latest ones favour this silver smith, Louise Jarvis of Owen Sound. I find her at the Farmer's Market on Saturday Mornings.

I have a strong belief that topics go around and make the rounds.

INCOMING HINT: Ideas are like that too, for goodness sake if you get one act on it as soon as possible before someone else seizes your day. Ideas want a home and if you put them off they will go next door or beyond to roost.

And now back to earrings and how they are topical.
Today on Art for Housewives she talked at great length on earrings and of course all the very fine ladies of Advanced Style are polished off with wonderful arrays and styles of ear jewels. It is a joy just to see them.

It was required if you were anyone of worth to have more than one hole in your lobe during high school.

And now there is a whole chart of possibilities:

With names no less.

 Types of earring: 1) Helix/Cartilage, 2) Industrial, 3) Rook, 4) Daith, 5) Tragus, 6) Snug, 7) Conch, 

8) Anti-Tragus, 9) Lobe

So much to do with a circle and a hole!!

Speaking of circles and holes, here is my Circle of Life January Journal 2013 rug, my WIP that will not RIP

I hope you are finding time to both array your self splendidly and hook hellaciously. There is time enough for dull when we are dead!

My Favourite Rug Store

Right this minute my favourite rug store is having a sale. 60% off. 

Here is the one I picked out.

Gorgeous.

I love it!

 Divine coloration and detail, yes?

Plenty of inspiration for us!

 The details:

This Semi-Antique Authentic Persian Kerman rug is hand-knotted of 100% Kork and has 400 knots per square inch. Kork is the very finest quality wool obtained from the shoulder and flanks of shearling lambs.

Colors found in this rug include: Light Blue, Beige, Blue, Brown, Burgundy, Green, Ivory, Light Green, Light Brown, Olive. The primary color is Light Blue.

This rug is in Extra Fine condition.

The measurements for this rug are: 11 feet 4 inches wide by 17 feet 9 inches long.

This rug is currently in stock and will ship witihin 1 business day.

Price with discount? $67,659.00

A girl can dream.

Truly, you should look because there are many beautiful rugs and most are well within a reasonable budget of $300 to $400  and ALL WOOL!!!!

www.rugsontime.com

Enjoy!

Step Aside Miss Scarlett

Yes Scarlett your little make do dress made of curtains has been bested!
By candy wrappers, which make a great and inventive hooking material too.
Spring is upon us. What will you be wearing?

Work Destroyed - The Balls!

Looking today at Robert Swain.

Here is one of his paintings. Untitled.

Apparently he did these gradation paintings purely by instinct, not through math or science but by eye. They do have a magical unpredictable quality, they do not lay flat as one might expect either.

Each side of each colour plays with another. Look further and perhaps from a distance to see the parabolas the saturated and then the dark colours create.

New inspiration for the inch mat.

The most enjoyable and vivifying thing I read about him was in the titles of his work. The name, always untitled, the size, the year made, the materials and then frequently instead of private collection or Museum of Modern Art ..... the delightful phrase Work Destroyed and the year it died.

Wool Destroyed would be a good title for a hooked piece wouldn't it?

It takes balls to edit your own production as you go along. 

All that is left of these works are photos.

The one above still survives. Thank goodness. It's inspiring.

Happy hooking and looking.

Sign For The Ages

What Jane and Pam and Pat and Shirley Made

                                   From hooking class this week, a sampling of the works from:

Pam J

Shirley    

Jane

 Jane ( this is a tea cozy) 

Birdee is in love with it

Jane 

Pat

And then it got quite busy and I left some very important projects unchronicled.
There is always next time.
Happy hooking!

Wool Resurrection - a video

I'm busy preparing a wonderful Easter Surprise for The Welcome Mat, and I thought I share with a little with you too.

Here is a video from The Mat archives showing how to fix up wool you don't like.

Feel free to pin post or share this in any way.

If it is on my blog, it is free for the picking!

Good Advice for faint of heart

Go ahead, it doesn't matter where you land, it is the way there that exhilarates.

What Sandy Made - Doll House Rugs

  I have many delightful ladies come to hooking, today I'm going to introduce you to Sandy, this week she had a couple of treasures to show us all.

First of all - Doll house rugs. She tells me it is a tradition to have a doll house in her family and it gets passed down and around I believe and at each stop it gets refurbished. She is getting it back and look what she made for the rooms.

Finished with clear silicone and cotton on the back, I love the big pink one, it looks straight out of the "chenille rugs for your home" catalogue, circa 1950s

She also just finished this beautiful North Woods Waterways rug.

 I made a coil of piped wool for her to try finishing in a new way, she brought a lovely brown tweed with warm and cool coloured flecks for it.

We took an opportunity to show everyone how to finish this way. I learned how back at the Riverside Rug School Freda Macdonnell ran, back in 1999 or '98 Yvonne Wood taught me how. She used to say how she didn't care for cornering with the whipping method and as she usually did rug finishing in the car while her husband drove, this piped rug binding made for more peaceful cruises down the highway, no shouting at unresponsive corners.

I love it and I've used it ever since. I'll occasionally

 whip just to remember how but always on something small.

Surprise, Surprise!

It is still possible to ski.

I'm going out for the last time though this morning, the sun is mighty hot and the pussy willows are starting to show in their hip high snow banks.

White on White, makes an interesting idea for a rug, hmmmmm.

Happy Hooking All!

Hooking Dots Without Ends - A video

Want to learn a new hooking trick?

On The Welcome Mat, my online studio for artistic growth in rug hooking, we have about 50 instructional videos. Every Monday we talk about and learn new skills.

We are sharing this one with you. If you are interested in joining look below and then click on the link.

Happy Spring!

PS You are  welcome to share this video where ever you like, thank you.

A little colour addition for my Faded Glory Article.

I just got my copy of Rug Hooking magazine yesterday and was a little worried about my article. The colours are quite off as pictured. These things happen!
I was concerned you might feel frustrated as you made my formulas and they wouldn't end up looking like the photos!

So, I've created for you a colour chart of them as they are. Please print it off and insert it in your copy for future reference when you want to use them. Please also print some off for your friends and please let people know anywhere and everywhere of these corrections.
You could even use photo paper and staple each sample over the one printed for  permanent correction. I'm sure people are wondering upon looking at if I understand the concept of faded rug colours! LOL
These dull colours are greatly influenced by their surroundings and vulnerable to teeny digital changes. I wish you happy dyeing!

                    Colour Samples of Fade Glory - Colours From Old Rugs RHM - M/A/M issue

Thank you for your help!

Sharing New Skills Monday from The Welcome Mat - LBDD

I'm really listening to the words hookers use when they describe colour.

It really makes a big difference, like a police sketch artist as you are telling me what you see, I'm visualizing the bushy eye brows and jug ears of our suspect.

Many times we are using a way of talking that mixes the "drawing"  up.

For instance the description and grouping together the idea of light and bright or the idea of dull and dark.

They are not the same.

Light and dark describe the position of the colour's value.

Dull and bright describe the position of the colour saturation, how much colour is in it?

It is possible and occurs all the time to have a colour that is light and dull or light and bright, light can own either of these saturation descriptions.

Light and bright are descriptions that are not interchangeable.

It is possible and occurs all the time that a dark colour can be dull or bright.

Dark and dull are not interchangeable but describe two distinct facets of colour.

Sometimes a colour is neither bright nor dull but somewhere right between. This colour is at 50% saturation.

Sometimes a colour is neither light nor dark but falls somewhere right between. This is a medium value.

Using close to the same colour as I could get with my old computer colour tool I show you what I mean, and a value scale:

Have a great day!

Curtailed but Happy as a Lark

Get ready for this, it might take concentration to follow along.
If I sit down I cannot get up.
If I stand up I cannot sit down because I cannot get up once I sit.
Sometimes I cannot lay down.
If I'm by my self I'm up the creek.
I am going steady with a massager, not a massuer mind you. Let's get that straight.
We meet morning, noon and night and often between, true love!

Ok let's list now for the curious or just bored the things I do sitting down, some of them involving you.
anything on my computer
hooking
spinning
sewing
relaxing
zentangling
dining
driving
sit ups  ok those never happened at the best of times

This is why my blog is unattended, why I have nothing to report.

Now let's list the things I can do:
ski
dye
feed cats
feed squirrels
feed Man
ski
shop
open packages
ski
dye
bake
ski
cook
pace
sort wool strippettes
use my massager
That's how I'm pretty much living life in that order  Because I can't sit down I go skiing twice a day out of bordeom, I skiied over 3 hours yesterday.

Speaking of boredom, let's talk about this:
One wonderful package this week was from Heavens to Betsy, remnants, 10lbs, I love each and every one. I love hooking with bits, so needing invention and creative thinking, it feeds my brain this method!
Combining several ingredients to make a single unified area tickles my fancy, like cooking you get a sense of the salty, the sweet, the sour and the hot and if you can include that mysterious unami, well done. Make rug making both more interesting to look at and to do.


My strippettes came from my dear departed hooking helpmate Sue Raynor. It is just like having her here with me, her colour presence was strong and wonderful, the dark orange reds, the oranges, the golden brown and Indian green she loved so well. We had a commune through those strips that was joyful and merry and content, just like Sue.
Talking about colour and their meaningfulness you might like this:

This message has been brought to you standing at my conductor's pulpit which is not conducive to fast hand mind co-ordination.
Be well.

Want some Phi ?

Phi is the mathematical symbol for The Golden Section. Looking to make a pleasing rug? Use this calculator to find out a perfect proportion to create it in. Isn't this symbol lovely too?

More than you can believe

Terrific Skiing in Wiarton- wish you were here.

We got game!

Circle of Life

Finally after many weeks of being quite distracted by duties I've been able to get down to and into my Circle of Life rug.

Only 20 days behind I look forward to having this rug lean well into February, what a nice thing to  anticipate. 

 One of the best parts about making a journal rug is the fresh new start each day, one of the worst things, the fresh new day when you are not caught up to the days past.

Below, a dust bunny, a dried poppy head, clock, blotch and doily.

Doesn't The Blotch and Doily sound like a great Pub name?

These are the circles in my life.

Dyeing Colour Lab (Online Class)

Have you always wanted to be a better dyer? Have more control of your outcome or even just make corrections with ease? Do you find you continually dye the same thing over and over?
Are you fairly competent with the concept and practise of dyeing?
Then this is the class is for you. 

There are 6 lessons and 6 months to complete your lessons 

Lessons will be  posted every third week of the month, January to June 2013.

There is intensive and deep interplay with your instructor Wanda Kerr, Rug Hooking Magazine's dye columnist for the past 10 years.
All questions pertaining to class are answered in a timely fashion for no extra charge.

All or any dyes brands can be used.
You will need wool to dye and the usual dyeing equipment.

Cost $180 (or $150 if you are a member of The Welcome Mat )

Note: I'm giving this class in two places at once, my online studio for teaching dyeing Wanderful Dyeing Studio and The Mat.

For non Mat members the cost is the same for a subscription and participation in class plus you get the added benefit of having the option to complete your lessons in 12 months on The Mat not to mention all the other added great dyeing and hooking info.

Go here to sign up to the Mat - look on The Main Page for info on joining The Dyeing Colour Lab.

If you are not interested in this - pay to join the Online Dyeing Studio below

Put yourself in the hands of a colour goddess, and find your own divination.

Wha happon?

For many days I could not sit down.

This means no hooking, computing or other obvious pursuits. My lap dancing career "sob" was over.

Now on the mend I'm back to the land of the sitting.

My poor old Circle of Life rug is on paper and nothing more, though I tried, I do not like to hook standing up. I have to twist my shoulder down a little too much for comfort.

Hooking Should NOT HURT!!!!

Man created a rather maestro-ish apparatus for me to stand up at and type. This meant The Mat did not suffer from a lack of news or views.

We had a plethora of colours to dye from this Gauguin painting, Village in The Snow.

This week we will look at what to do with this interesting fabric and dyes!

We studied hard edges in New Skills and tonight on Turn Back Tuesday, when I share stuff I've written for live classes I've given, I posted an 8 page primer on primitives.

In Colours to Dye for Amplified this weekend we are publishing the Lasagna method of dyeing many layers for large areas quickly and without mess.

Oh and from the Main Page this very good reminder

Like right now!

Make Something Everyday 31

A little late to the party isn't it?

Consumed by The Welcome Mat annual January Journal project I was lax in keeping up.

Here is the Front Page blurb about it.

A January Journal Project 2013

"The Circle of Life"

Every day circles come into our life in the mail, through snow or rain my goodness just take a look tomorrow - how many circles you will see.

During this journal we will recording their daily arrival and circumstances in a simple way.

Using the circle to explore this calendar month we can expand and reveal as much or as little as we wish. We can write our own "life's circle"

The skills needed: ability to circle and hook.

 There is so much to discover in our circle of life, go here for some interesting inspirations I've gathered.

CLICK HERE TO JOIN US or accept my invitation you have in your email.

There are many of us doing fantastic circling this month and we would love to have you join us. There is much to observe about artistic process even if you don't take part, we love watchers too!

This enriching experience is worth the $30 yearly subscription with out taking into consideration all the other things available and freshly produced specifically for Mat members.

The inspiration board is very diverse, you might enjoy it.

Here is my first circle of hell: