Blog Archives

The Six C's of Rug Hooking...

5/31/2017

I was doing a bit of mental doodling when this thought popped into me head. Like the Four C’s of diamond grading, Cut, Color, Clarity, and Carat, rug hooking could be defined in the same manner. Let’s call it the Six C’s of Rug Hooking. After all, like a diamond, a rug could be a girls best friend!

CONCEPT - First there is a concept. An idea inspired by nature, a memory, a piece of art or conjured through your own artistic vision.

COMPOSITION - The idea is mulled over until you bring your thoughts to fruition by laying pencil to paper to create a composition.

COLOUR - After the design is perfected and copied to a backing, then the colours are planned. The wool can be hand-dyed, purchased or recycled from cast-off bargain finds.

CUT - Then the cut will be chosen either by personal preference or to suit the detail in the pattern. Smaller motifs will dictate #3, #4, and #5 strips. The larger motifs and background can use #6, #7 or #8.

CRAFTSMANSHIP - With hook in hand and wool strips at the ready, the craftsmanship begins.

CREATION – The end result is a hand-crafted, fiber-art creation; an heirloom, to be treasured throughout your lifetime and for generations to come.

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Hook Me A Stocking

5/30/2017

1 Comment

A while ago, I put out a request for ideas for a new Christmas Stocking Pattern. The one I chose would receive a free pattern after I designed their idea. There were so many good suggestions I was finding it difficult to select only one, until Suzanne Chaddock sent in an entry for a stocking filled with rug hooks. The light went on and I could instantly see the finished rug in my head.

So I set pencil to paper and drew out the pattern, thinking this would definitely be a design I would love to hook for the website. It’s layered with rug hooking tools, in all shapes and sizes, some emblazoned with holiday words and others with festive images. There was a lot of motif crowded into this one that would need a fine cut to complete, then #5 or perhaps even larger for the background. As I always do, I hooked it in my head as the drawn lines took on various shapes, seeing gold and blue, purple and Christmas greens all on a delicious festive red background.

I sent the pattern to Suzanne knowing she’d do a fabulous job and when the photo of her beautiful stocking flashed up in her email Monday, I was blown away. If I may be so bold, it’s been a wonderful marriage of design and rug hooking, and I was tickled to see that we both shared the same vision for colour planning. Ask Deborah, I literally squealed with delight when I saw it. I’ve said many times it’s always the best part of my day to see one of my designs hooked, the afterglow sizzles for days.

The picture is now posted on the website, taking its place among the 50 plus stocking designs we’ve lovingly created. It deserves a mention so I wanted to do a blog to share with all the folks that didn’t get to see it on our Facebook page. I think you will all agree this stocking absolutely glows.... if you don’t perhaps you should make an eye appointment!

Such a lovely little beauty to be brought out and hung at Christmas time. Santa, please fill Suzanne’s beautiful stocking with lots of goodies because she's been a very good little rug hooker!

1 Comment

The Sting, not the movie......

5/24/2017

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It’s a busy time of year. Clearing away last year’s yard debris and battling the new weeds coming up faster than whack-a-mole at the Exhibition. Between the outside work, company and Honey I’ve been distracted from writing.

Every day is an adventure in my life, some great and other’s not so good. Weirdly, I’ve been stung twice in four days by wasps. I can’t remember if i was ever stung by a wasp, they usually mind their own business. I walked into the garage and something flew into my hair, I swatted at it, knocking it down the inside of the back of my shirt and then I felt the prick of its stinger in my shoulder. OWIE, OWIE! I beeline for the house ripping off my shirt as I go in case it was still trapped between my back and the material, willing to sting me repeatedly for trapping it. It swelled to a minor bump, so I guess I’m not allergic. Then Sunday, I was swatting them off the ceiling of our back deck. They’ve been trying to settle there and build a mud nest. That stuff is as hard as concrete so it’s best to prevent them from building in the first place. They only have so much time to complete the nest and plant their young so we hoped they go someplace less problematic. So I’m swooshing them away with the broom when one falls straight down and heads toward my upturned, open mouth, but luckily avoids the black hole and lands on my bottom lip, stabbing me with a vengeance. OWIE, OWIE, big time! Their sting burns for quite a while, like acid on fire so I ice it and then complained like the whiner I am. I was beginning to feel picked on and persecuted, this is my space they're violating right? I’m paying the mortgage so squatters buzz off! And oh joy, everything happens to me in three’s so I expect another round. I can hardly wait.....

We won’t be getting our boat in the water until July so I figured I’d plunge into yard work. Last year I did nothing except complain about the sad state of affairs when gardening was neglected in preference of boat maintenance. Once the growth is out of control, with weeds advancing past the height of the actual plants I was too overwhelmed to start.

So with the boat on the back burner, there’s no excuse to not make an effort. I’m digging my way slowly but surely through the three gardens. I’m getting bark mulch this year and laying the fiber cloth down to inhibit weeds so it’ll be less maintenance. I’m not a fan of this. Those bags of mulch are sprayed with insecticides so I’ll have to be diligent keeping the dogs out of the garden area and plant my edibles in pots on the deck. This weeding problem has to be nipped in the bud because I can’t spend my entire summer pulling them. The soil is so rich I get to the end of one garden and have to start back at the beginning, a continual loop of weeding, Mother Nature’s sick joke on the gardener.

Honey is hanging in there but she needs constant attention. We rarely make it through two days without her fainting no matter how hard we try. With the upcoming election, and door to door candidate visits, we’ve had surprise rings on the bell sending the pups into an uproar, threatening to knock poor honey out. She flies off the sofa and it’s always a scramble to chase her to the door and grab her before she falls over. I made a joke, we’ll vote for the candidate that doesn’t kill our sweet girl.

When we know a friend is coming to visit we have to be warned when they will arrive and jump through hoops to keep her quiet. We had company stay with us for two weeks and three times their arrival caused our poor girl to pass out. I felt badly for our friend as it had to be stressful knowing she might activate the one that might kill her. It’s stressful for me as the mom, my instincts are so strong I have one eye on her at all times, trying to prevent what might set one off. Dogs can smell and see things we can’t so they can erupt into a chorus of barking anytime and four of them are quite the quartet. Honey is such a social butterfly its difficult keeping her enthusiasm contained. Her heart rate escalates until her blood pressure drops; she lacks oxygen to the brain and passes out. She literally vibrates, too bad she doesn't have an off switch.

2 Comments

Here's a yarn about hooking with yarn....

5/23/2017

5 Comments

I’m sure a few of you have heard me express angst about hooking with yarn. I tried it a few years ago but found it frustrating. I work so fast the hook would snag the fuzz on the previous hooked rows and pull out the entire strip. Or I would pierce the strands of the two ply, get snagged and either pull it all out or struggle to untangle it. All this slowed me down, caused a bit of cursing and unwillingness to try again.

But now I’ve changed my mind. That being my prerogative as a woman, I’m also pleased that my brain is still flexible enough to form new opinions and teach this aging dog new tricks.

I’ve been hooking a series of 6” x 6” mug rugs to make an all-inclusive kit for the summer tourists. These will include a frame, instructions, hook, pattern, yarn and scissors, all at a great price. All ages will be able to hook while traveling in the car or evenings in the hotel room. Variety being the spice of life, I have eight designs hoping to capture the interests of diverse tastes. I’ve hooked four already with half as many to go, but they work up quickly and will be completed by the end of the week. There’s a sail boat, a kitty, an owl, a bee, a sheep, a ladybug, sunflower and a hit and miss.   A good cross section to hopefully appeal to the beginner’s eye.

I entered into this project with a groan. The word crap cropped up on the first one. I admit I struggled, snagging the yarn and all I could think was, OMG seven more to go, but half way through, a rhythm set in and I noticed I was no longer frustrated because I wasn’t splitting or snagging the previously hooked bits: all it took was some practice with this different medium. I do hold my hook a on a slightly different angle, but so slight it still feels natural. I do like the look of it too; a fine cut has always been my favourite. In a fantasy world I would hook everything in #3 wool strips but with the shop, time doesn’t allow that luxury anymore and I have to stick to #5 to #7 to complete projects as quickly as possible.

Hooking with yarn has benefits. There is little or no wool dust, a major plus, and there is no need to buy a cutting machine! The downside is the lack of mottled yarns. Unless you dye you’re stuck hooking with flat colour, there is little movement or depth that can be achieved with mottled wools. And, an even bigger regret, yarn doesn’t come in plaid! Wouldn’t that just be perfect if it were possible!

For this project I’m trying to use all factory dyed Brigg’s & Little yarn but their colour range is limited and I’ve had to supplement a bit with hand-dyed for the look I want to achieve.   But all in all they will be easy kits to assemble, not labour intensive so the cost can be kept down for the beginner.

So if anyone else out there is also on the fence about yarn, I would suggest giving it another chance, put in some practice to find your rhythm. Now I’m hooking as fast as I do with wool fabric and I must say, I do like the look coming off my frame. I’ll admit I was pleasantly surprised, maybe I'm not as rigid as I thought.....maybe that stick up the nether region has a bit of flex to it after all.....who’d of thunk?

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Floating in Salt Water

5/9/2017

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Coincidence or providence? I am always amazed how a simple moment can change the direction of a life......

I read at night to quiet my brain. No matter what the subject matter, anything from comedy to a serial killer’s blade, I begin to feel dozy within 15 minutes in and I’m out for the count in about a half hour. If I don’t read, I’m awake tossing and turning, my brain hammering out thoughts in rapid succession, thoughts popping up like blowing soapy water through a ring.

Because I only read at bedtime, it takes me a while to chew through a novel, but that’s okay, it’s not a marathon. Sometimes it’s one step forward and two back because I’m so tired a sleepy fog settles over me and I have to reread that same bit the following evening. Usually I get a half hour in before the book falls over, waking me so I turn out the light.

When Deborah Sweet told me she had a memoir of Barbara Carter’s I was curious and borrowed it. Back in high school I knew of Barbara by name but we never really engaged. For that reason I am amazed that I remembered her so vividly and could have drawn her from memory. We never hung out, nor did I run with her crowd. We were opposites, she being popular, having fun with boyfriends and partying while I was busy being nondescript, blending in with the boring wall flowers.

So a few months back on a Friday evening, I started reading her memoir “Floating In Salt Water”.   It captivated me from the beginning. Her childhood circumstance was different than mine but the emotions that resulted from her experiences were a perfect match. It was uncanny really, as if our thoughts lived in a parallel universe. Time melted and the wee hours ticked away threatening to bring on the crack of dawn, forcing me to put the book down and turn out the light. Sleep eluded me as I mulled over what I’d read. I tossed and turned until I finally drifted off sometime after 5.00 am.

My feet were dragging all day Saturday and when I got home from work the only thing on my mind was the book. I broke my rule of not reading during the daylight hours, gathered snacks and water, snuggled the pups around me and picked up where I left off. I finished her story around 1:30 am. I was filled with emotion and quite surprised at how good I felt. Strangely, there was a comfort in knowing that someone else had a difficult childhood and that I hadn’t cornered the market on unhappiness. I know that sounds strange, being happy that someone else suffered? But, I was offered proof that I wasn't alone, that someone had traveled a similar path and I felt elated. I grew up feeling persecuted and unloved and someone else shared this pain. There was a reassurance in her words, I’d found a kindred spirit.

I sat contemplating both of our lives for a while and was oddly energized. I jumped up to open my laptop.   I clicked on my own book, Burnt Carrots, realizing I’d not visited it for some time, so long that I’d forgotten the password. I tried several combinations and finally one worked. The first page opened and familiar words leapt off the screen.   I started reading my own story with new eyes. I too have a memoir of sorts. It’s basically 95% my life, with 5% embellishment. If hard-pressed I’ll admit it’s me but I like to think it’s just a story about a girl making her way through life, suffering hard knocks and surviving despite them.

I was really touched by Barbara’s story. It evoked memories in me and brought emotions to the surface. Our stories, although polar opposites, as far as experiences were concerned, ran parallel with emotions. We are very close in age, she was born Christmas day 1958 and I was born on the 18th of the same year. Only a week apart and living across the water from one another, we never knew the other existed.

So she has inspired me to get back to my book. It is written, I only have editing, the unending part, but I want it as polished as possible before I hand it over for grammar checking and professional editing. Then I’ll visit the process of self-publishing. From everything Barbara has shared with me, writing the book might be the easy part as there is a long process to get the story in print.

After I read her book, I searched out Barbara on FB and sent her a note to say I really enjoyed her story and how it touched me. We messaged back and forth and decided to meet. We had a fun afternoon sitting in the Hook Nook at my studio getting to know one another while reminiscing about school and catching up on our lives today. She is working on the next chapter of her life and has invaluable information of the publishing process. Later this month we are going to have a sleepover to immerse ourselves in our stories, throw ideas back and forth and enjoy our new found comradery.

So I’m back on the writing trail, newly inspired and excited about it once again. My book is titled Burnt Carrots and there are 575 pages which needs some paring down. My life experience isn’t better or worse than any other but it is filled with moments that others might relate too. I wonder if a reader will react to my story in the way I did reading Barb’s, because that would be fantastic.

It's cathartic to tell tales and I have some funny stories that will make you smile and others that might make you cry. I've unabashedly bared my soul although my face might be crimson as town folks and people I know read the most intimate details of my life, but the story needs a foundation of truth to rest on, so it has to be all or nothing. The older I get the more I know we all have secrets and skeletons locked away, so none of us are entitled to cast stones. Besides, they say, other people’s opinions of me are none of my business. I’ve changed names to protect the guilty but a few feathers might be ruffled but they also say, if I cut you off, chances are you handed me the scissors…..

Barbara Carter's book can be purchased on
Amazon by clicking this link:
https://www.amazon.ca/Floating-Saltwater-memoir-Search-Answers-ebook/dp/B01LWLW4Q5/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1494354225&sr=8-2&keywords=Floating+in+Salt+Water

4 Comments

Let me give it to you straight......

5/5/2017

6 Comments

Patchwork Floral is a prime example of why you can’t effectively stamp patterns. In a time when corners are cut and quality isn’t the main objective, stamping is a quick and easy way to go, but it doesn’t always serve the customer.

If patterns don’t have any straight lines such as ovals and round florals, stamping is perfectly fine, but any time straight lines come in to play, they need to be hand done. When you’re paying a decent price to purchase patterns it should give you the very best hooking experience...your dollar should be purchasing quality, not compromise.

When I first started the rug hooking supply business I ordered patterns from various wholesale companies. Although I stressed that I wanted them to be straight on the grain and was assured they were, when the orders arrived that was not the case. Sometimes they were out only a line or two while others were out up to two inches. One company was rather annoyed with me when I returned a dozen oriental patterns. Their promise that they were straight on the grain was a misrepresentation, so I’m not sure why my discontent was a shock to them. It was hinted, ever-so-nicely, that future business wasn’t welcomed from my studio. C'est la vie!

I tried another company, in Canada this time and placed a sizable order. I was assured their patterns were plumb line straight.   The order arrived, the patterns were stamped off grain and half of it went back. One pattern in particular was a Sampler with all kinds of straight lines between the motifs; I’d ordered 6 of these to run a workshop and all would have been a nightmare to hook. I am not in the business of fixing other suppliers copyrighted patterns, that’s their nightmare to deal with. So another supplier was upset with me and at that rate I’d be out of business before I got started.

I learned early what poorly drawn or stamped patterns meant to all the savvy, knowledgeable rug hookers. My first year in business, another rug shop owner took me under her wing and unloaded a bunch of so called ‘popular patterns’ for me to sell. “Must haves” she called them. They were all off grain patterns she’d purchased years before and couldn’t unload until she took advantage of my inexperience. How she must have laughed all the way to the bank to cash my cheque? Two years later and those pattern were still hanging on the my racks, I couldn’t sell them even when I marked them down for less than I paid for them, so in the end I used them as scraps to draw designs on the back for my own use. Very expensive recycling and a lesson learned! So, that’s when I decided to design all my own patterns, the only way to guarantee the quality my customers deserved.

Anyone who hooks oriental style patterns will attest to the fact that it is imperative they are drawn straight on the grain. Orientals are generally hooked with a #3 cut strip and in straight lines so when the holes on the backing don’t line up you are continually correcting and compensating for the meandering.

We are very proud of the fact that at Encompassing Designs we hand-draw every pattern. Every straight line on the borders and in the interior of the design is hand done by pulling a pencil down the channel and then filling in with a marker. The holes line up sweetly so when you hook rows they look straight as a ruler. This process is labour intensive and time consuming but we take pleasure in knowing our valued customers are having the very best hooking experience.

I have noticed that patterns that are stamped are in the same price range of the ones hand-drawn. Something that takes minutes as opposed to hours to manufacture. I suppose that means our prices are too low or maybe it means the stamped prices are too high?    All I know is that Patchwork Floral took me four hours from start to finish, from cutting the linen, transferring the pattern, darkening the lines and sewing the edge. I’m no slug, I work at a decent pace and have experience behind me and it still took a long time to do. Some of the larger William Morris patterns can take up to two days to draw, with all kinds of lines and motifs and I see stamped patterns a quarter of the size selling for similar prices. Stamping would be wonderful if all the lines came out straight, if only someone would invent a system to do this, I’d be the first in line to buy it.

On the Patchwork Floral design, with all the many straight lines throughout the main body of the pattern it was tricky as each box had to be drawn first and then the motif on the red dot had to be pinned over each segment and drawn in. Checking and checking again to make sure everything is lined up...like the carpenter, measure twice and cut once. One booboo and I’m back to the drawing board, starting over on a new piece of linen. I’m anal so I don’t like black marker mistakes visually assaulting one of our patterns.

Add in an hourly rate for the drawing and sewing, plus the piece of linen slightly over a yard, plus the two markers it took to draw everything it came to a total of $98.50, I think we are hovering close to the drain on this one because this pattern sells for $102.95.

In the case of this intricate pattern, I certainly see the merits of taking shortcuts and stamping a design. Most people are in business to make a living so it only makes sense to do what you have to do to stay afloat, but where does quality fit in? It’s unfortunate that is the way the world is going and why so many businesses outsource to China for cheap labour.

Let’s face it, we all buy products that lack quality and care. Only recently I purchased a lovely blouse from Northern Reflections and two buttons didn’t survive putting it on the very first time. They popped off and rolled on the floor as I was buttoning up. I bought it without trying it on so my bad, but nothing is more irksome than paying a good price for something that doesn’t stand up. In this case, the blue coloured thread was unique so I find myself asking friends to check their sewing supplies or else I would have to buy a spool that would then lie in my own sewing basket for all eternity. Luckily I secured some but in the meantime I couldn’t wear the blouse without buttons, I’d bought it at Christmas time and didn’t get it on my back until March. I was more than annoyed.

If you are purchasing patterns ask if they are straight on the grain, insist that they are. Ask if they are stamped and if so, with care? Do a visual before you purchase it. At times I see lovely patterns posted on FB and I zoom in and can tell from the screen that they are crooked as all get out.

I believe if you hook a rug that is straight on the grain, your piece will keep the corner shape perfectly. When you hook rows that aren’t straight and you try to correct it as best as you can, the warp and the weft that should be 90* to one another are off kilter, it puts pressure on the corner and rows push on one other making it uneven. I see rugs that don’t have misshapen corners and I’ll bet this is why. One side seems to drift a bit. Making sure the outside border line is straight on the grain ensures that when the rows of loops put equal pressure on the warp and weft the corner will stay in place. My theory and I’m sticking to it.

So I was drawing this design and thinking about straight of grain and figured it was time for another little lesson on the merits of a well-drawn pattern. I think we have bragging rights…..”If you want the best, put us to the test!”

PATCHWORK FLORAL hooked by Diane Krys