Baa, baa, black sheep, Have you any wool? Yes, sir, yes, sir, Three bags full....of strips!
Ah gee....leftovers again? Well cook up a rug!
If my memory serves me correctly, this was Shelley's first rug.
What does one do with bags full of cut strips? Hit and miss is always an option but I say, "When life gives you scraps, make scrap mats!" This is the perfect design for all those leftovers we seem to collect like dust and wrinkles.
Cut strips are difficult to use for colour planning so it is important to cut as little as possible during each hooking session to limit the leftovers at the end of the rug. It is also impossible to accurately gauge the amount of wool a bundle of strips represents unless you are anal enough to lay them all out, side by side to calculate the square inches it will allow when transformed into loops.
I have a rule when I hook. I never cut more strips than I can use in 1/2 hour period. This forces me out of the chair to stretch and move around, guaranteeing that I don't seize up. Also, it helps keep the scraps down to a minimum. Twice, in the past, I've donated the shop's accumulated leftovers to the hooking women of San Miguel de Allende, who make rugs to support their families. Every few years or so, I put out a call to our hooking group for donations and we get a package together to send to our hooking sisters of Mexico.
Check out the website of the Las Rancheritas "The Rug Hook Project".
http://www.charlottebell.com/rugs/about.htm
The above rug was hooked by Shelley Richardson and the one below is hooked by our Scottish hooking sister, Brigitte Webb. They are similar in colour because Brigitte ordered a kit back when she began hooking because she hadn't acquired a stash of her own leftovers. I'll bet that is no longer a problem considering what a prolific hooker she is.
The great thing about this pattern is the ability to substitute out the various motifs to personalize the design. One block is left empty to add your initials, date or both. I like the way Shelley mixed up the various backgrounds to add more interest and levels of colour. Great job to the both of you!
Cut strips are difficult to use for colour planning so it is important to cut as little as possible during each hooking session to limit the leftovers at the end of the rug. It is also impossible to accurately gauge the amount of wool a bundle of strips represents unless you are anal enough to lay them all out, side by side to calculate the square inches it will allow when transformed into loops.
I have a rule when I hook. I never cut more strips than I can use in 1/2 hour period. This forces me out of the chair to stretch and move around, guaranteeing that I don't seize up. Also, it helps keep the scraps down to a minimum. Twice, in the past, I've donated the shop's accumulated leftovers to the hooking women of San Miguel de Allende, who make rugs to support their families. Every few years or so, I put out a call to our hooking group for donations and we get a package together to send to our hooking sisters of Mexico.
Check out the website of the Las Rancheritas "The Rug Hook Project".
http://www.charlottebell.com/rugs/about.htm
The above rug was hooked by Shelley Richardson and the one below is hooked by our Scottish hooking sister, Brigitte Webb. They are similar in colour because Brigitte ordered a kit back when she began hooking because she hadn't acquired a stash of her own leftovers. I'll bet that is no longer a problem considering what a prolific hooker she is.
The great thing about this pattern is the ability to substitute out the various motifs to personalize the design. One block is left empty to add your initials, date or both. I like the way Shelley mixed up the various backgrounds to add more interest and levels of colour. Great job to the both of you!
Brigitte proudly displaying this wonderful story rug in a photo sent all the way from Scotland. Scrap Mat 23 1/2" x 31 1/2", every segment is exciting and tells a story. Not much in the way of boring background so this rug is a thrilling to hook from start to finish. This is an opportunity to add splashes of colour. One will never tire looking at his piece, discovering something new and exciting every time you look.
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