Category:

How to hook a thin point with an 8 cut.

7/2/2014

I’m pleased as punch. The M is turning into a big time winner….in my humble opinion of course.   I showed the progress to Shane and got a thumbs up, no greater praise will be found. He’s as fussy as his mom about how things coordinate in his apartment; this nut didn’t fall far from the tree!

A mentioned before, the heat was sweltering yesterday. I strayed little from my hooking station and pulled loops all day long in temperature controlled comfort.   I highly recommend a heat pump. Compared to a noisy air conditioner cutting in an out, this gadget purrs like a kitten, barely audible in the background. It uses little power so it’s all win win.    We don’t like it cold, just a comfortable, dry, slightly coolish temperature, set at 20 on a medium fan is divine!

So I almost got through the M and was a bit wired when I went to bed. I don’t know about anyone else but I get excited when I hook and that doesn’t wear off immediately. So sleep evaded me and I tossed and turned until 4:00 am. Along with the millions of thoughts I could shut off, I colour planned Initially Yours A and Shane is dyeing up the wool today. I might even start that before the O. It will be soft pink and greens. I am in love with all things pink. There isn’t any in my house to speak of although I’m wearing a pink linen top today.   I love pink flowers, especially Peonies, I have two bouquets in the house right now. Someone once said if you want to appear feminine wear pink. I’m not sure if it works for me, inside I feel a bit on the butchy side, was always a bit of a Tomboy and lived in trees as a kid. I suppose I was trying to get closer to the sky because my head was always in the clouds.

This pattern was hooked with lots of texture. A charcoal herringbone and a grey herringbone, both as is, and our dyed Heart Red two value, the darkest value is on herringbone.    I was torn between making the background the charcoal instead of the grey but I want to reserve black for another letter's background in a Victorian style like the old needle point chair covers. This way I still have the option to use black as I want each rug to look totally different.

As I was hooking the M yesterday and was successfully making very sharp points with a #8 cut wool I thought maybe I should share this pearl. A lot of times it is difficult to form the point on a star or fill in an area without bulging out the side of the surroundings or coming off with a round tip when you were shooting for a point. So this is what I do.

In the picture you can see the point I made inside the letter M’s crease. First you pull up the tail closely inside the point and bring it up flat and in the same direction as the v is pointing. The next loop will be pulled up on its side, not flat across horizontally. Use your hook to do a twist and turn it sideways, pointing in the same direction as the tail. With the next loop, still do the twist but less so it is slightly wider and diagonal. Get wider with the next twists until you are able to now pull the loop horizontally. Once the loops no longer fill the space between the V then you would continue down one side with the loops and the gap on the other side would be filled the same way with a flat tail turned sideways and the loop twisted and work this the same until you are making normal loops.

4 Comments

Rug Hooking Wool 101

5/15/2014

24 Comments

Dear Christine,

This may be is a blog question. I need help. I want to learn more about wool. I have never sewn or had experience with fabrics before rug hooking. I had difficulty when asking my question of an instructor(s) in a recent rug hooking class - strange answer: such as "the wool has been sitting on a shelf for a long time - or is antique"??? The question has to do with the thicknesses of different wools I have or might buy or hook with. Some are quite flat, others very fluffy, but all deemed/sold as for use to hook in rugs. They say "felt" or for applique, etc. I do realize one can hook with anything if going about it for different purposes for textiles/tapestries!

So although I have this MS degree in Education, I do not easily come by these answers out of my bailiwick; so I'm a new learner here. I thought there were no "dumb questions". Five months after I took up rug hooking, I was traveling and was so excited to be in a Florence, Italy, fabric store, buying wool off bolts. These yards fit neatly into my suitcase. I returned home only to realize it was way too thin for my hooking - rolled off like silk from my cutter. That was my first bad experience with not knowing about the right kind of wool for this craft.

Now I know enough to buy from places that have it just for rug hooking. Still, I'd just like to know about the range of wools that are used and why some plaids, for instance seem to have a "high pile" is it called? While others are more compact - flat. I have loads of wooly pieces laying around here - from you, others, some passed down from my cousin who died of cancer, and others - I am sorting and wondering and wanting to learn more about wool. I am making a little rug/wool gallery for myself downstairs. Is there a book? The last time I asked about this, two ladies that taught that color planning class I was taking acted really 'defensive', and asked if I wanted to know who their suppliers were? I just think some people have experience and agendas in their past, and they just can't read me as a nice person who Just Wants to Know. So I thought of you and your blog - and how you vent sometimes - I'm venting - and that's the Thick and the Thin of it. :)

Oh Well! I bought some "sparkly" wool from her I really loved - she over dyed it - I loved it - the first time I saw it, a lady had it in turquoise - she does some paisley things. This lady wouldn't tell me where one could get sparkly wool like that, or even get it over dyed - she doesn't sell things on line - do you sell that sparkly over dyed wool? I could send a picture. It doesn't take much - it just adds a touch. Maybe I'll look at you site and find it. You are so perfect. It's been a long time since I've written a lot to you. You are successful and I want you to stay that way and grow and grow and be happy. End of MY blog, I guess! Anne Marie

Hi Anne Marie,

Your questions are very familiar so I thought I would reply to you by way of a blog to share what I’ve learned over the years.

Wool is not the holy grail and should not be shrouded in secrecy. My philosophy is that knowledge should be shared so we can all make the best choice when purchasing fabric. Our money should not be wasted on wools that are too thin, too unstable or not conducive to this craft. A bit of education will ensure better choices will be made because frustration should never come in to play when rug hooking!

I’m a wool snob. I only use the best and sell the best in the store. I don’t like wool that falls apart in my hands or is too thin and stringy to keep a neat surface on my rugs. That does not mean I don’t appreciate a good recycled wool because there are fine specimens to be had at second hand shops. But buyer beware because wool is not all created equal.   Even when I buy new wools and don't care for its cut ability, or it doesn't fit my ideal of quality, I put it in a bin box and reduce it.

What most hookers desire is a 13 oz weight in their wool fabric. This means that the wool weighs 13 oz per yard. This is basically those itchy, plaid wool skirts we wore as kids and all of the Dorr Mill woollens that most shops carry. I advise newbies to carry a sample of a good 13 oz weight when perusing the flea markets and recycled clothing stores. Feel the wool you hope to buy and then rub your sample for a comparison. Sometimes the wool in the bin hasn’t been washed in hot water so take that into consideration as it will be a thicker after processing in your machines. Even if the wool is unwashed it should still have the property of a winter garment, a bit of fuzz and thickness to the weave.

I like to define wool by breaking it into two categories; Winter and Summer. That does not mean winter coat weight that weighs about 16 plus ounces, as that tends to be too thick. If you want to use a coat then I would stick to all the same weight for your rug as mixing a 13 oz and a 16 oz plus would make your project look lumpy. Coat weight is also more difficult to pull through the backing so it is usually cut into a finer strip to reduce the stress of the harder tug when using the wider strip.

Summer weight, is the polar opposite and not good for rug hooking. If you spy a suit or skirt in a bargain bin or hanging on a rack, ask yourself this question. Would someone wear this garment in the summer or the winter? If you think it’s a summer piece, walk away. Summer suiting, although 100% wool is only 7 oz and won’t felt no matter how much you beat it up. It’s shiny and stringy and although it might be the perfect colour, pass it by and save your money for the good stuff!   It is also almost too thin to put through a cutting machine and slips around like a sleazy womanizer. When cutting a thin wool, you have to feed it through the machine as straight as possible or it's spaghetti city. I personally don’t like my wool too thin, but have no problem using Pendleton shirts and skirts that tend to run around 10-11 oz.

Not all wools are woven or created equal. There are all kinds of weave patterns when making fabric. The best of course is the straight weave or plain weave. Plain weave produces the strongest fabric with minimal fraying. These would mostly be natural or solid coloured wools. The weight of the wool and fuzziness is determined by the threads used when weaving the fabric. Think of the different ply’s of yarn. The denser the fibers used the thicker the wool that is woven.

Some wools are woven more loosely and they won't felt enough after being washed so it needs to be cut with the wider blades, #6 to #8. Some herringbone wools are loosely woven and demand a wider cut but there are others, especially the one we buy and over-dye that can be cut very carefully in a #4. Someone told me they cut it in a #3 once for an oriental but that had to be deep concentration and a steady hand to feed it perfectly straight through the machine. Any deviation off grain would cut the fibers on the bias and therefore would degrade the integrity of the wools warp.

That is not to say that any one wool is bad. Lots of rug hookers have preferences that we may not agree with or care to use. A thinner, suit wool could be hooked beautifully if you tear the strips wide, about an inch and fold under the fraying edges and hook the flat top. Some hook with fine wools and just keep their scissors handy for trimming. Fine wools are okay but you can’t cut them in the narrow cuts as they just fall apart.

Back in the day when I started rug hooking I brought home a lot of wools that were later discarded. It’s a learning curve as in all things. Just because a coveted coloured wool has wooed you into buying it doesn’t mean it will work. Suppress the urge by breathing deeply to allow the brain to overrule the addiction. If you succumb, and we all do at times, it can always be used as a pillow back.

Plaids of course are fabulous, bringing texture and depth to the table. I put them in every rug, especially herringbone….I have a big love for herringbone! Of course it's woven in a special pattern and that's the reason behind the fraying. Plaids have multiple colours going this way and that making it a bit more iffy but not enough to turn your nose up on a piece of great plaid. Just snip off the fraying ends. Sometimes a thin plaid like a Pendleton shirt, can be felted a bit more by throwing a pair of jeans in the washer with the wool. That will beat it up more. Front loader machines of course are more gentle and don’t felt as well so sidle up to a friend with a top loader and beat it to the maximum thickness.

I’m a stickler about 100% content in my wool. Nothing in my shop has a man-made fiber. I started this to protect my cutter blades because polyesters and acrylics will dull your carbon steel blades on machines that have a pressing action such as the Bliss, Fraser 500 and Rigby designs. Cutters that offer a scissors action fare much better. These days, I’m just a wool snob, I like the soft feel, the way it cuts, the way it dyes and how it hooks.

Cutting wool properly is the secret to a happy hooker. Taking the time to put the fabric through the machine ensures the best hooking experience. I never put through a piece more than three inches wide. If the wool is larger and cumbersome it slides off the edge creating drag to the side of the machine so you are continually trying to keep it in place creating undesired movement and off grain cutting.

It is always best to cut your strips parallel to the selvage edge which is easily apparent when you buy new wool off the bolt, but when you buy a garment at a shop, unless you have a tailor background you wouldn’t know how the pattern pieces were cut off the bolt. Really good plain weaves work either way but a herringbone needs to be cut following the visible lines you see between the V’s in the pattern. Over time, as experience gathers under your belt, you and your wool will become one.

Here is the explanation of a few wool terms.

Selvage – When purchasing wool on the bolt or roll, the selvage is the finished edge of the fabric. It runs parallel to the grain or ‘Warp'.

Warp – The lengthwise grain that runs along the entire length of the fabric. It is the strongest grain with the least amount of movement.

Weft – This is the grain that runs the width of the fabric and has a bit of moment or stretch to it.

Bias – The bias is at a 45* degree angle on the fabric. This grain has the most stretch.

About the sparkly wool. We do sell a wool with a sparkle through it. The base is natural and the darker you dye this fabric the more the glitter shows. So far we’ve over-dyed it for our Sea Shore bundles for sand and shells. It’s lovely.

Whenever you ask a question and are not satisfied with the reply or feel you are being put off for reasons unknown, keep asking around until you get the answer you deserve. Rug hooking is not rocket science nor are we working against one another to conquer the world. Rug hooking is a glorious craft that should be filled with a lifetime of exploration and learning. You will find many talented folks willing to share their knowledge. That being said, I hope I’ve answered your questions and shed some light on the thick and thin of wool.

24 Comments

How to hook rope with value swatches

4/15/2014

14 Comments

HOOKED BY JANET DELO

Hooking rope may look daunting but it is as simple as counting one, two, three. You can use either three values or six values depending how much detail you wish to see. If using three values you will hook only one row of the darkest value for the shadow and then repeat the other two values until the area is filled in. In these two examples of our pattern Grand Banks Schooner, the above picture was hooked with a three value swatch and the below one is hooked with a six value. Both are equally effective and beautiful.

Both projects were hooked using Ganache for the rope; a fabulous golden hue that gives an aged patina. This dye formula hasn't made it into any of our dye books so I'm sharing it with you today.

Ganache (Using Majic Carpet Dyes)

1/4 tsp Yellow
1/16 tsp Chocolate Brown
1/16 tsp Seal Brown

Use 1/2 cup replacement method for 6 Value swatches
For a 3 Value swatch, mix in 2 cups of boiling water, pour off 1/3 for the lightest value, 2/3 for the medium value and the 1 cup remaining for the darkest value.

For 6 Values, this recipe makes around 7-8 sets of 3" x 11" size pieces, so you would have to alter the formula by dividing it in half for 4 sets and again for 2 sets.

HOOKED BY ANNE HOLMES

The rope drawing shouldn't be perfectly uniform. You want it to be irregular for more realistic appeal. For the sample below, I am using a 6 value swatch cut in a #5 strip.

The first thing you will assess is where you want your light source to come from. One side of the rope will be the shadow side. Usually the darker side will be the outer edge of the rope but it would depend on your design and what elements are in it. For example if you are hooking something with a sun, then your shadow on the rope would be at the farthest point away.

The values run from dark to light, #6 value being the darkest. The first line hooked is the 6th value and runs along the inside bottom of the curve of the rope. It starts under the rope segment before it and all the way to the bottom where it joins with the next segment in the line.

Now hook the 5th in the same way. When hooking the 4th value don't take it directly to the bottom, stop short a few loops which will allow the lighter values #3, #2 and #1 to be on the outside of the curve and act as the highlight.

Here is a template to use by right clicking to save to your computer and then print off and blow up to the size needed, then repeat the pattern to cover the area.

14 Comments

Whipping - Yes, no, maybe so?

3/19/2014

3 Comments

I’m a whipping fool. From the very first rug I finished, I loved to whip the edges. Most told me, with rolling eyes, that whipping was tedious and boring and took forever and at first I thought it would be daunting. Until I tried it and took to the chore like a knife running through butter. What a lovely way to finish off a project that has been a labour of love? We spend so much time making these beautiful rugs, lovingly placing each loop to construct an incredible heirloom, these pieces of ourselves that will bring pleasure for years to come, maybe our lifetime! For me whipping is the polished end to a fabulous story.

I’ve heard few rug hookers say the same. Most dread the whipping, try other methods just to avoid it. I’m asked constantly what else can be done? Some say it takes forever and ever and ever so the joy evaporates, sort of taints all the fun of making the rug. Yes, it is a repetitive, somewhat boring, although I hate to use that word…it should be banned from the dictionary so our children don’t get a hold of it!…..but it’s perfect for sitting and watching TV, at a hook-in where chatter is sometimes more prevalent than loop pulling. Think of it as framing a painting, putting that professional polish on your piece.

I’m a fast whipper. That could be why it sits so well with me. I feel the mindless act of a yarn finish is sometimes cathartic, draining away the work and challenge of the rug, slowly winding down as I mentally begin preparation for the next project, the next colour plan and design. It’s the last loving touch on this incredible artistic journey.

I really enjoyed the simplicity of the Log Cabin design. Straight lines almost hook themselves! I hooked the green one first and then thought a cranberry one would be a nice compliment. I hooked it several years ago and just found it in my knitting cabinet, dug it out last evening to start whipping and hope to finish it off at the hook-in tonight.

This is what I’ve learned about whipping. Three yards of 2 ply yarn will whip approximately nine inches along the edge. You don’t pull the wool tight, it is loose but not floppy.   Whipping with cording inside the fold is best to provide a nice rounded edge to work around. Cording also makes for a stiff edge to wrap the yarn around and especially keeps the edge straight if you are working on a round or oval rug.

Whipping should be done with 100% wool yarn and 2 ply works best for cover-ability. One ply might need to be doubled to cover the edge. Using acrylic yarns will pill and attract fuzz and will wear faster.

Buy a decent whipping needle as that makes the work go more smoothly. Any struggling can put you off so have the proper tools. The ones I sell have a large threading hole for those of us who are now into progressive lenses. They are easy to hold in your fingers and also make a larger tunnel than a regular darning needle so the yarn pulls through the hole better, without snagging and knotting.   Spending time correcting snags and unknotting the yarn can be what is turning you off.

I don’t mitre my corners, I find that more bulky than just folding one side and then the other. Sometimes I will go around the corner a bit tighter at first, feed the yarn back to where I started and go over it the second time to ensure the corner edge remains covered.   If there is a bit of backing peeking through on the corner point, I’ve taken a marker and dabbed it to darken so it doesn’t show.

I like my whipping yarn to match the colour of my last row of hooking so I will take the time to dye it to make sure my anal eye is pleased. I do love the professional look like the real wool carpets that are whipped along the sides to protect them. I have no problem if someone says my rug looks machine made. To me that’s a a big ole compliment....it means my rug looks neat.

3 Comments

Lighting...ugly but functional...

10/4/2013

3 Comments

This is my Ottlite floor fixture.

Sorry about no blog yesterday. I was home sick with a bug. Back to work today and feeling 100%. Looking forward to a fun filled Scarecrow Festival Weekend...ya!

When we renovated 498 Main Street to accommodate the shop, I was thrilled about everything except the lighting.   When selling items for their colour they need to be seen in a proper light, a simulated daylight to be exact, for matching to paint chips or specific references. Fluorescent fixtures were the only way to go with a full spectrum light tubes. Not very attractive but highly functional.

My decorator eye was appalled at row on row of tubular bulbs lining the ceiling, clashing with all the antiques, Chinese lattice, antique newel post and railing, hardwood floors and authentic hall runner from Turkey. Everything from eye level down is tasteful and pleasing, and then a glance upward you'd think you were in some futuristic, space action flick. Boring, white metal and glass, so utilitarian and modern looking, a far cry from all the traditional ambiance staged for the shop!

The electrician tried to soften my scowl by suggesting plastic covers but I explained that I 'm allergic to plastic, and although it was meant for a joke, plastic and I did part ways years ago during my bout of Environmental sickness when man made products did me in. Besides, a tacky plastic cover would have cut down on the light being cast and also be a haven for dead houseflies, a sight every store owner wants on display.  To practical me, that just meant constant maintenance on a ladder to scoop out the carcasses and no thank you to that. So I opted for the bulbs to show in all their blaring, ugly splendour.

I spent a lot of time looking up at the ceiling the first couple of weeks after the installation and sighing.   I hold a grudge and will never totally be over the fact that I have to share my space with them, but I no longer stress over it, and it hardly seems worth the angst now. (I'm anal about certain things) Thankfully, there’s enough pretty stuff in the shop to keep anyone from looking up. And happily, no one asks if they can take a piece of wool outside to see its true colour, a testimony for the lighting's efficiency. Inanimate objects don't have feelings but every now and then one of them will find a voice and hum, maybe  a protest of neglect and unappreciation, but I reach for the broom and give it a light tap so it's continues to be unseen and not heard.

At home lighting was selected for the mood they offered.  Lamps and the occasional ceiling fixture were all about a warm glow cast over the nest. Mood lighting is pretty of course, but not conducive to working on crafts or reading. For that I purchased an antique style Ottlite back in the day when I sold them in my shop. It was an expensive floor lamp, very close to $400 although I only paid the wholesale price, ownership should have its perks right?   The bulb is extremely long life, I’ve had it for about 12 years and not changed it once, but now that I mentioned it.....

Because of the plastic allergy, I bought a lamp with an antique feel, made of brushed metal with a marbleized glass shade. It’s nice and blends with our decor so I don’t have to hide it out of sight when not in use.  You can come over to my house and search long and hard and you won't find a plastic mug or plate or a craft of any kind. Even my leftover containers are glass although some have plastic tops but that doesn't touch my food....you can't avoid it totally, and of course, there's my toothbrush, an unavoidable plastic item!   I won't go into the angst I've had over the ugliness of a fridge or the TV....!

I do have a couple of portable Ottlite fixtures at the house. One is a banker's lamp style all metal with a glass shade but then there are three of the, hide when not in use, plastic ones that I bring out when friends come over for a evening of hooking although I can’t remember the last time that happened so I guess it’s been too long.   I think I should arrange something.....

So if you struggle at home with incandescent lamps that cast a yellow glow over your work, look into buying an Ottlite. The bulbs allow for true colours to shine, show clear details and reduce glare and eyestrain, all with a low heat, energy efficient bulb.    Back when I started the business the lights were expensive but now Walmart and Costco bring them to you for less than $30.00 so you can have the full spectrum lighting, specially engineered with a precise balance of contrast and brightness. It’s like natural daylight indoors. And an added thought, you don't have to illuminate the back of your head, so a floor fixture isn't necessary. One that sits on a side table that just shines on your hooking frame is all that is necessary. It is so important to have proper lighting while reading, hooking or doing any craft, making life more comfortable and less stressful on the eyes.

See what I mean? Space age things creeping across the ceiling, as far from traditional as they can be.

3 Comments

How to making your frame work with backings that don't fit.

8/8/2013

5 Comments

Audrey's sketch of her new bedroom rug.

We had our first Wednesday of the month hook-in last evening. A few of the diehards showed up. Glenna dropped in for a chat still on a high from celebrating her birthday all week. Glenna's cheery, outgoing personality attracts friends who want to shower her with gifts and throw parties in her name! I learned last evening that she's also a trained fireman/person/woman, I don't know what is politically correct these days but I was very impressed! Go Glenna! The love of her life arranged to have a surprise gift certificate from the shop........any man who supports the wool habit is definitely a keeper!

Armenia didn't show because she had a bit of a tumble the day before. She was walking on the road by her cottage and just fell down and then couldn't get back up. She doesn't know if she fainted or what might have happened, she just found herself on the ground. Luckily her hubby heard her cry for help and got her back on her feet. I worried about her all evening...she better be okay...she's my girl! She dropped by yesterday on her way home for a hug and a kiss, still pretty shaken and sore.

My aunt Audrey was in transferring her new design to the backing that will coordinate with her fantastic new quilt.   She took elements from the quilt to create a pleasing rug for the floor that show vines of morning glory flowers and leaves with a geometric border.   After the center was easily done with red dot the border squares had to be worked by hand with a lot of measuring and dragging the pencil along the grain for straight lines.   A new experience for her and gained appreciation for what I do all day!

Charlene was doing a rug repair, an old Chetticamp piece that needed a new edge. Pam started a new project, a quaint regional fishing village with a shack and lobster traps. Shelley was working on the sky of her project from rug school that I hope to show you soon. And for me? Once again the road was paved with good intentions; I planned to start a sock monkey piece for a small kit I want to produce but I sat like a bump on a log without the energy to lay down a loop. The fact that I was too tired to get up and cut the wool put me off....it was a long day!   Where's an assistant when you need one!

Wednesday's are long days for me, all day on my feet in the shop, traveling at speeds conducive of a much younger person and running up and down the stairs, sometimes taking two at a time does me in. By the time evening hits, my ankles are swollen and conversation is all I have left.....luckily, my mouth never runs out of steam.

A customer came into the shop a while back and I mentioned there was hook-in that evening and that it had been a long day so a nap would be appreciated before 7:00 rolled around. She said “You might be tired but you still put your lipstick on.” I thought it was cute and worth a mention.   The fact is, I wouldn't be caught dead without my lipstick. As a woman ages the pigment in her lips seems to fade. Mine lips are paper thin and now that the pink is turning to a dull flesh colour, they are merging to become as part of my face and would be lost all together if not for a bit of colour. So I paint them to embrace that youthful appearance.   The bright colour also hides the bit of rosacea in my cheeks...the darker the lips the more my skin appears porcelain. A little camouflage trick....make the attention go to the mouth so people don't see the rest of the face.....

              How to manage a backing that is too small for the hoop or frame

Backing pulled tight on three sides instead of four will still hold very well. Just make sure you protect yourself from the exposed grippers!

Have you ever had a situation where the piece of backing was smaller than the top of your frame or hoop? It’s a common complaint, especially when pattern producers are chintzy on the excess border. In this case Gripper frames are less problematic because you can do a bit of maneuvering, but with a hoop there is no recourse but to sew material around the outer border.  A customer was in the shop yesterday with a lovely linen pattern bought elsewhere and the excess border was barely two inches wide. Very little to work with so there will have to be some doctoring for her to hook out to the border edge, especially in the corners.

As long as you have a flannel gripper cover or some means to protect your arms and hands while you hook, the pattern does not have to fit the frame perfectly. You can adjust the piece off to the side and pull it tight on the top bottom and one side, to hook away happily as in the picture above.   Once, thinking I was finished a project, I trimmed off all the tiny frays, steamed pressed it, zig zagged around the edge leaving 1 ¼” border and cut out the rug before I realized I wasn’t happy with one of the colours on the border. So I slapped it on the one end of my frame and hooked the change easily.

I sell little pieces of backing in the shop as scraps, sizes that don't fit in a 15” hoop. I promise every pattern in the shop will work in our hoops. We sew up the edges of these leftovers and sell them in a basket for those who like to do small projects like Christmas ornaments. Sewing strips of wool along an edge to extend it enough to put on a gripper frame or in a hoop works nicely but when sewing you should use a zig zag stitch because of the loose holes in the burlap or linen backing. Cotton Monk's Cloth is tighter holed so sewing with a straight stitch will work and rug warp is fairly tight as well.

Sewn on piece of wool. I find wool works best as it's fuzzy and grabs tight for less slipping.

Sewn edge to place backing in hoop.

Panty hose is a quick fix. Of course you won't be wearing them after the fact unless you're going for the shabby and not chic look. Just make a large hole in the backing with a primitive hook, fold the panty hose in two and pull the loop through. Then put the two ends through the loop, snug up and then the two tails will stretch over the grippers for a superman hold. The hose can be used over and over until they are picked to shreds.

Panty Hose, not just for legs anymore! Stretched over the grippers they hold tight and stay there.

5 Comments

How to value and price hand hooked rugs.....

7/25/2013

26 Comments

For those who sell rugs there seems to be an ongoing debate at calculating a fair price. Fair in respect to the rug hooker as well as the potential buyer. One never wants to give their work away, and time should always be compensated but if we were paid a reasonable rate or even minimum wage for our labour, rug sales might be non-existent. Proper acknowledgement and compensation for fiber art has been a slow education but we are gaining ground inch by inch. Luckily, people today who want to purchase quality, are not afraid of the price tag that may accompany it.

Customers ask why can they buy a supposedly hand-hooked rug up the street for a fraction of the cost compared to what they see in my shop and I explain that those rugs are made in China using goodness knows what, possibly a machine, whereas, the rugs in my shop and other local venues are selling the traditional, handmade craft as our grandparents would have constructed. Generally the nod of the head ensures that they understand the price difference and one more person is educated to appreciate what goes into this art form.

When making out the price tag, it is never fair to undervalue your rugs as that sets up an unrealistic expectation in the buying community and makes it more difficult for others to ask for reasonable pricing. If someone sells rugs or their handiwork just to recoup the cost of materials and disregards their time and effort because they have fun doing it, that does little to educate the buying market of the true value of our talents.

Lighthouse Rug Hookers Pricing Guide

Whether you are selling your hooked mats or setting a value for insurance purposes or for a show, it helps to have a realistic set of pricing guidelines. Most shop and gallery owners will ask you to set a price on your own work. That creates a dilemma. Do you price to recover your cost? Do you want some return on your labour and creativity? What is the value in today’s market and is it worth selling a piece?

The Lighthouse Hookers, the South Shore branch of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia, (RHGNS) had some lively discussions, came up with a chart and tested it on three different hooking styles: a wide cut primitive mat with recycled fabrics, a fine cut pillow with fine shading in purchased dyed wool and a wall hanging with special techniques and a variety of fibers. The guideline seems to work and the results are available to all Maritime hookers.

We used three existing guidelines as a basis for discussion. The RHGNS approved a set of guidelines in June, 2002. These were published in the Rug Hooking magazine and revised at a teacher’s branch workshop in 2005. We wondered if they would still work today. The second set was from the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador and the third, designed to price commissions, was published in the Spring 2011 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine. The end result was a slightly modified and updated version of the RHGNS guidelines. Our members felt that it most closely reflected their style of hooking and suited the local market conditions.

Criteria

Amount per square foot

Basic price on burlap, monks cloth and rug warp            $80.00
Basic price on linen                                                      $90.00
Original design, depending on complexity                  $12.00 - $20.00
Dyed new woven wool, custom dyed by hooker                                               $30.00
Dyed new woven wool, purchased                                                                     $6.00
Recycles wool as is                                                                                           $ 6.00
Recycled wool, over-dyed                                                                                 $10.00
Intricate shading, 75% of work                                       $15.00
Intricate shading, 50% of work                                    $10.00
Fine cut strips (#3 and #4)                                                  $10.00
Wider cut strips (#5 - #8)                                                         $8.00
Sculptured hooking                                                                                        $20.00
Other materials (fibres, roving, metallic threads, embellishments, etc.)             Recover cost
Marketing costs (gallery commissions, promotional flyers, show entry fees )     Recover cost
Quality of work, including finishing                                                                Subjective
Visual appeal                                                                                                 Subjective

Basic price includes backing, printed commercial pattern and allowance for time/labour
Adapted design category was deleted because of copyright issues
Quality of work and visual appeal are the “WOW” factor and must be evaluated by the artist

Sessions conducted by Heather Gordon and Joan Young, Spring 2011 in Bridgewater, NS

Formula for finding the square foot of a square or rectangle rug (example size 22" x 33")
Multiply the width x length 22 x 33 = 726 square inches
Divide 726/144 = 5.0146 square feet
Multiply 5.0146 x (price calculated from criteria ex. $120.00) = $601.75 ($600.00)

26 Comments

How to dye with onion skins.....

7/22/2013

1 Comment

Pam Haughn mentioned onion skin dyeing in her guest blog the other day so that prompted this post. Start saving all those yellow onions skins and ask the grocery store and friends to hoard them up as well. It takes a lot of skins to dye using the casserole method as the skins need to pretty much cover the wool for a good golden, mottled coverage.

Stove top method:

Use natural or lighter coloured wools as darker colours may bleed and affect the outcome although this can be quite striking.

Wash or presoak the wool per the usual.

In a two quart pot add dry onion skins, 6 cups hot water and simmer, stirring for 15 minutes – strain. Make a second extraction using 3 cups of water, simmer again for 15 minutes, strain and add to first extraction. Discard skins. (This method is less messy as the skins do not come in contact with the wool.)

In a dye pot enough water to cover the amount of wool you wish to dye, add 2 Tsp. salt and bring to a boil. Add ½ cup dye solution. Immerse wet wools and simmer for 15 minutes adding more dye as needed to obtain colour desired, do not let the wool reach a boil. If the wool is bunch it will come out mottled or abrashed. If you want solid colour stir. (Boiling breaks down the fibers of the wool causing it to become sticky.) After the dye is absorbed, add 1/3 cup vinegar and simmer 15 minutes longer. Rinse well in tepid water. Results will be a golden, caramel coloured wool, like an antique parchment.

Casserole oven method:

This method produces a lovely mottled effect. Spread some of the dye onion skins in the bottom of the casserole pan. Using presoaked, lay the first piece over the bottom layer of skins. Sprinkle each piece of wool with dry onion skins and salt. Continue to layer in this fashion. Depending on the many layers add enough water and 1/3 cup of vinegar to keep the wool wet. Cover tightly with foil and bake in the oven at 250* for 30 minutes.

Note: Although pretty, red onion skins do not dye red, they will be a slightly darker golden than their yellow cousins. It was a surprised to discover as I was specifically collecting red ones for that cranberry look.

I would have done some dyeing for this blog but I don't have any onion skins and it takes quite a collection to produce a decent colour.

Pam Haughn used the onion skin method of dyeing for the background of this lovely little primitive floral.

1 Comment

How to hang hooked rugs.....

7/9/2013

6 Comments

One of the most frequently asked questions is "How do I hang my rugs?". There are many different ways to proceed but the easiest way is to slap up a carpet tack strip that will hold the rug securely but still be easy to take off to shake out the dust or for a quick show and tell. Every rug in the shop is hung with the strips. They come with a series of upturned short nails on the front side that grab the rug and hold it in place and longer nails on the backside that go into the wall.

These strips are made for pulling a carpet to the outer edge of the room to hold it from shifting. The sharp little nails are quite deadly if not handled carefully but despite the odd ouch, I haven't found an easier way and easy for me means no needle and thread.

If you have old plaster walls the nails will probably not grip and will loosen quickly so take out the mounting nails by pounding them through and replace them with long screws that will reach the lathes behind the plaster and hold tight, you might even have to use wall anchors.   Modern sheet rock walls are not a problem and should hold firmly with the nails, just make sure you find a strip that isn't warped so it sits flat on the wall.

If your rug is larger and therefor more heavy, you will need to attach two tack strips to support the weight and keep it flat to the wall. One along the top and the middle should be all you need to do the job. Position the rug on the strips so that it goes into the back hooked area, not the whipping or the rug binding. The nails will poke holes in the rug binding, not so attractive and will grip and hold the back of the hooked area much better. This is the easiest way I've found and when we had our 2012 gallery show I purchased a large box of these strips so if you need one drop in and see me for a freebie.

There are of course other ways to hang a rug and if you like to sew, get out a needle, thread and buy extra rug binding at your favourite rug hooking store and follow one of the methods below.

Rod Method #1 - Make loops with a coordinating colour of rug binding (probably what was used on the back to finish the rug) and sew them along the top of the rug attaching them to the back just below the area where you whipped and directly on the rug binding used to finish off the rug. Sew through the finishing binding to grab parts of the back of the rug for stability. The height of the these rod loops will be personal preference.   Then buy an attractive curtain rod, slip through the loops and hang. Place the rod loops every two or three inches so there isn't any drag on the rug causing it to hang unevenly.   The rod loops will show at the top of the rug from the front and add to the overall appeal of the display.    Hang the rod on the brackets that came with the set.

Rod Method #2 - Then of course there is the sheath or pocket way to hang a rug. Sew an extra length of rug binding along the top directly over the rug binding sewn on to cover the edge of your backing. Hand stitch across the top and bottom of the binding, leaving both ends open so you can slide a small dowel or curtain rod through the pocket. Hang the rod on the brackets that come with the set.

Dowel & Cording Method - Do the same as in Rod Method #2 and slip a dowel or rod through the sheath and tie a decorative cording on either end and hang with a fancy knob. You can tie tassels on either end for a classy look.

Note: Consider the rug's weight. You might have to reinforce the center with extra rug binding by sewing several strips along its length from the top to bottom every three or four inches.

Note Round rugs: Of course round rugs need to be handled a bit differently when hanging them with carpet tack strips. You will need to use two or more more strips, the widest in the middle and shorter pieces tapered in size toward the top of the rug to ensure there won't be any flopping. For any size or shape, a bit of tape will help hold any parts of the rug that don't fit right to the wall.

6 Comments

How to bind a round rug

6/17/2013

12 Comments

“Each day when I awake I know I have one more day to make a difference in someone's life"...... James Mann (Author)

To sew the rug binding on the back of a round chair pad or mat first measure the amount needed in a colour that matches your creation....well if you're the matchy, matchy type otherwise black is fine!

Work from the outside edge first and place the binding up against the edge of the yarn whipping to hide most of the backing. Stitch it on with a needle by catching a bit of the chair pad beneath the binding with what is referred to as a running stitch.

Once the outer edge is all stitched on, tack the inside down to the chair pad using a hemming stitch. The rug binding will be rippled like ribbon candy because of the round shape, leaving excess bulk on the inside as it is smaller than the outer diameter. So every two inches or so you will need to overlap the binding by making a pleat for it to stay flush with the rug. You can stream press the pleats flat or sitting on the chair pad does the trick.

I'm puzzled why some people shy away from round rugs or chair pads because they are very simple to whip and bind in that they don't have corners to slow you down. This fact actually makes them easier to finish than ones with corners. I do know when I first started rug hooking round rugs were frowned upon and from experience designing, oval and round patterns sell the least. People tell me in the shop that they've been told to stay away from round rugs so there's a boycott afoot. Poor little round rugs, sadly passed over for their square cousins.

I've hooked round pieces and quite frankly feel they are much easier so I don't understand why finishing is viewed as such a problem. As long as you use cording to whip the piece it will lie flat and have a spectacular edge. If you don't use cording there will be rippling as you struggle to manipulate the burlap edge into a round shape. That cording gives you a hard core to whip against making it a perfect edge.

I have a theory as to why round rugs get a bad rap. If a negative opinion is what a person hears, they shy away from tasks perceived as difficult, never giving them a chance. A beginner would never know they were doing something perceived as hard and would probably do amazing things, but once we're told something is difficult, we shut down and never try. So give round rugs a chance. They fit so beautifully in any space, not having to be oriented to look straight! If you have trouble come by and see me and I'll help you out. I'm a rebel, round rug rooter!

To be fair, as far as hooking round rugs go, they can pose a problem if you pack your loops too tightly or hook in continuous round rows. Starting in the center of a round rug and working your way out pushes the fibers of the backing outwardly so this reduces the chance of buckling. Hooking from the outside in works in reverse, pushing the fibers toward the center and will undoubtedly cause buckling. People who pack each row can run the risk of creating a nipple effect as the center of the rug takes on a cone shaped, bump in the middle. This needs immediate attention. Slack off hooking too tightly by skipping rows, maybe hook two and then skip one or depending on the width of strip be the judge....but just skip! Then stream press the area to force it flat before continuing to hook the border.

Geckos chasing each tails. Hooked by yours truly.

P.S. I just need a moment to rant. Thank-you to the person who allowed their dog to lift its leg and pee all over the sheep outside my shop door. I'm sure the person responsible doesn't read my blog or anything for that matter, not because of disinterest just lack of ability, so this isn't directed to them, although I would love a chance to chat! I just want to clear the knot in my gut....tap off the aggravation of having to wash the sheep, yet again!

Who in their right mind would allow such a thing? Urine in the heat dries like sticky wax and you might ask how do I know this? Because several people have allowed it to happen in the past. Do we live in such a world of care nothing that we'd allow a dog to pee or defecate on someone's personal property, no not the grass, but someone's possessions? The #2 problem happened more times then I like to recall and then gets walked through my shop as people step in it unknowingly...so much for a bylaw that dictates picking up after their pet. I don't blame the dog, the poor guys are dragged around and left to do their master's bidding......but come on pet owners, there's grass to the right and grass to the left...pick a better spot! A woman once allowed her dog to lift its leg right on my shop step, it careened across the top and almost hit my door, soaking all the wood in its path. A lovely golden stream, I watched it happen and the shock of it paralyzed me ineffective. By the time I came to grips with what happened they were down the street.

So it pisses me off, pardon the pun....really....enough already with the golden showers on my sheep. It's not like they're dressed in slutty leather and look like they want it. They have Nova Scotia Tartan scarves for goodness sake, have a little respect for our province! Ah....feel better now.....

12 Comments

A blog for those who can't make the cut.....

5/11/2013

10 Comments

These are a few of the pieces that were torn and thrown down.

There are people who read my blogs and take offense that I tell it like it is.

As a shop owner I've never had a leg to stand on or a  voice to defend my side of any story and now this forum presents a place to level the playing field.

I talk about life in general both personal and professional and add my style of dark humour, a lot of it self deprecating. I write to spread knowledge, to entertain and sometimes do a bit of unloading. The old adage you can't please all of the people all of the time rings true and I'm absolutely fine with that.

Some don't think I'm funny and that's fine. Maybe my sense of humour isn't the flavour your taste buds are comfortable with. Other's complain I write too much...ah well. When I pass on my experiences I hope that it will help others and if that is misconstrued as being insulting that is beyond my control. If people expect me to shut up and eat crow I guess they'll be disappointed but that does not take away from the fact that my shop is one of the best in Canada with a quality product that customers can count on. I'm fiercely proud of this accomplishment and don't appreciate it being muddied so if you don't agree on something, that's okay, but I invite you to come on by and take a walk in my shop owner shoes and then we'll talk.

This next piece is to spread awareness how comments can hurt a business.   I had a not so pleasant confrontation yesterday with a customer who claimed my wool was garbage. Now I take great pride in the quality of my wares so I take that personally, especially when I know news like this gets around faster than a forest fire in a drought.   So yesterday I was upstairs talking to a supplier on the phone when she arrived and started in on my son, telling him the wool she bought in this store was garbage and demanded “Where’s the woman?” Shane came up the stairs with a pleading look in his yes…help!

So I go downstairs and there she is tearing strips apart and throwing them on the table with a face on that would scare a baby. I could see what the problem was two feet away. The wool was a frayed mess with jagged fibers flying off in every direction, made it look like a giant fur ball coughed up by some cat.  I kept my cool and my son said he was impressed that I remained as nice as I did, because the woman would not listen as I tried to explain that it was a result of cutting the wool across the grain. She argued that it had never happened before so it couldn’t be her and she kept taking the strips and pulling them apart in front of me and throwing them down on the table with contempt saying, Look….look…LOOK!  She had whipped herself into a frenzy before she arrived and came in with guns blazing and all I could think was, thank goodness no one else was in the shop.

Then she took out the remaining piece of ¼ yard that she had been cutting on and told me it was basically rotten and threw that on the table with the strips and asked me what I was going to do about it. I picked up the wool and simply folded it in half so she could see how the two edges did not line up. The one she had been cutting on was on a 45 degree angle, a diagonal cut across the entire grain of the wool. There was nothing holding the strips together and you could have torn them apart by blowing on them. She was using a #3 blade, wool slightly thicker than human hair, it is imperative that the wool goes through the blades straight on the grain!

And on top of that, she had been cutting using the entire 1/4 yd piece of wool, not tearing off smaller pieces. A BIG NO NO. If you have more than a 3 inch wide piece of wool it pulls and drags away from the blade as it wants to fall off the edge of the cutter. It is harder to keep the piece going straight through the blade with all the drag created by the weight of the wool.

She still wouldn't believe me. Told me she always cuts like this and there had to be something wrong with the wool. I am supposed to be a bit of an expert on certain things, god knows I’ve cut enough wool to surround the globe several times over but that didn't account for much.

So I took the remaining wool and tore it down into pieces and cut it for her in my Bolivar.   I took a strand of the wool, a perfect cut piece I might add, as I pulled it a bit to see if there was any fraying before I handed it over and asked her to inspect it. You can tell when you go off grain a bit as little bits will poke up when you stretch the wool ends apart. I watched her pull on the strand that would not break and she looked total amazed, swqitched gears and then proceeded to blame the problem on her cutting machine.

I took the time to explain once again that the wool had to feed through the machine as straight as possible. I told her there was absolutely nothing wrong with her Bliss cutter. A machine can only work as good as the wool placement under the cutting wheel. I told her to only use strips no bigger than three inches wide or less to put through the machine. And never put a scissor cut edge of wool through the machine…torn edges only. If the wool goes wonky on the one side then flip to the other torn side and if that gets screwed up, make a slit with a pair of scissors in the middle and tear it down the center and then you have two fresh edges to work with. Before she left I asked if she hooked with a group and she said she hooks alone at home so I felt reasonably sure the misplaced anger she felt for product didn’t get leaked to the locals.

There was as similiar incident over burlap a few years back. The Canadian supplier received a shipment of a weave that was wider than the normal primitive, a mistake during the manufacturing. They sold it off at a reduced price for people who hooked with hand torn wools. I personally didn’t buy any but I know a few shops that did. The quality was still there, the same weave, it was just a larger hole.

So a woman who happened to be a teacher, came into my shop one day and started asking in a very big voice in front of several customers, “Is this burlap rotten? The stuff I bought at so in so’s was rotten and I don’t want any more of it!”   She kept using the word rotten over and over and I was red faced and embarrassed in front of the other customers. I explained to her that the burlap wasn’t rotten, it was just a larger hole but I couldn’t convince her otherwise.   Between the bad advertising of the teacher and possibly the store full of customers who heard her complaining that day, for months after people came in asking if the burlap we sell is the rotten stuff they'd heard about.

So later my shop friend told me that she attended the Nova Scotia Guild AGM and the woman was sitting several seats behind her and in a booming voice that cut through the chatter to silence the room, she said to the back of the shop keeper's head calling her by name “_____, I need some burlap, do you have better stuff now or are you still selling that rotten one!” The shop keeper was mortified and although we later laughed at the lunacy of it all she lost business. The woman being a teacher had the ability to direct new students to the shops so spreading the news of an inferior product hurt her business.  The friend said sales plummeted for months.   If you sell one rotten product there isn't much faith built for the rest of your goods.

Another tale is of a woman who bought all the wool for one of my patterns to take to Florida for a winter’s project. She was new to rug hooking and had never cut before. I gave her a lesson on what to do and she left. She was planning on buying a cutter in the states.

So off to Florida she flew and a month or so later I get a very nasty phone call telling me that my wool is so rotten it falls apart. Back then it took me by surprise as this had never happened before so quite frankly I didn’t know what to do. Besides, I couldn’t assess what the problem was over the phone but I did have a sneaky feeling that it was cut across the grain and asked if she followed my instructions for cutting that we had gone over before she left.   She assured me the wool was cut properly. She demanded that I replace the wool at my expense or she would never shop from me again. Between the shipping and the wool that I had to redye and cut I was out $100.00. It was a very sticky situation. Newly opened I wasn’t in any position to argue but I only agreed on the provision that when she returned to Mahone Bay she bring in this so called rotten wool for me to inspect. She agreed but I never saw her again.   I don’t even know if she is still hooking.

So all you new hookers cutting your own wool take heed that the making of a strip is not a job to be taken lightly. It takes a steady hand and concentration. Cutting larger cuts, say anything past a #5 you can relax a bit because there will be enough width to maintain the wools strength if you stray a bit, but if working with a #2,3 or 4 you have to be very careful not to compromise the integrity of the wool.

This was a lesson learned for me and the reason why I insist on cutting all my custom made kits. I am asked often for a discount if they cut their own wool and I explain it isn't about the money. I want to ensure the product I send out is top notch, if a problem should arise, like maybe I missed something I can deal with that, at least it isn't a problem with the quality of my wool!

10 Comments

Something Fishy

3/28/2013

2 Comments

Colour planned and hooked by Christine Walker Bird.

One afternoon a well-dressed customer came through the door wearing a brooch that caught my eye. It was a fish within a fish, within a fish. That sparked an idea for a pattern so I grabbed my pencil and started sketching.   Whenever a light bulb moment happens you need to act immediately. Don’t wait or you might forget. I’ve learned the hard way, make notes and sketches or risk letting a fine idea slip by the wayside.   As good as you think your memory is, there will be too much coming down the pike to push the past aside, and the brain is a big place for things to get lost.   Buy yourself a hard covered writing book, and make it a "Mood board". A place to glue inspirational pictures and make notes so the idea will stay fresh in your thoughts for when you go back to recapture the moment. She who hesitates is lost, a great rule of thumb to follow.

I have binders full of quick sketches and thoughts pertaining to something I’ve seen. Sometimes I’ve taken a picture or found a neat item on the internet or in a magazine that I’ve stashed away for a time when I can give it serious thought. There is so much inspiration in the world one only needs to open your eyes and look around.   I don't know who said this but it stuck in my crop. It might have been part of a lecture at a life drawing class in NASCAD. "There are no new ideas, just modifications of what is already there."

Time is the biggest problem. There just aren’t enough hours in the day to bring all the ideas to the pattern stage, but at least the option will be there waiting for you to either expand on it or cut and drop it on the design room floor.   I’m working on it though, one idea at a time and I’m still young enough to fill another couple of filing cabinets.  That's how I'll judge my success, on how many drawers I can fill!

So back to my story. Inspired by the fish brooch, I thought I’d take it further. Maybe use six fish with all with different designs, like triangles, stripes, swirls and geometric shapes to separate and showcase their individual bodies. And then of course there had to be some wave action to pull in the ocean. Fish out of water would be a whole other meaning for something fishy.....as in smell.

This particular design is perfectly conducive to being made into a pillow. Because of the smaller size and shape it really doesn’t suit as a rug for the floor so Christine Walker Bird made the right choice when she sewed on a backing and made it into a cushion. This rug is a striking statement for any sofa or chair.    I really like the colours she used, the nautical theme is always a winner with me.   Blue has to be in everything I do, red second and gold last as an accent.   You can’t go wrong with the primary colours and considering every visual feast in the world is made up of them, you'll never be out of fashion.

Tip: As you can see, the rug hooker outlined most of the fish in a darker wool to help separate them. It makes it easier for planning the colours because without that thin line you would have to use much higher contrasting wools to separate each fish to allow their individual personalities to shine. Outlining will make the rug feel crisp, as low contrasting colours can muddy separation of one motif from another. You shouldn't have to examine a rug closely to determine the design or try to figure out where one object ends and another one begins.

Outlining also makes for easier selection of less contrasting colours and it also defines the space perfectly to hook up against. Once that shape is defined properly you can do pretty much any kind of hooking inside and it will keep the shape, although continuing to follow the motif lines is always best to create a feeling of realism.   I tell my students to always follow the lines of nature. If you want a plump bird breast, follow the contours, don't hook in straight lines up and down or horizontally.

You don't have to go looking for outlines as the eye accepts them readily. Maybe that stems back to colouring book days, we are used to seeing the lines and then we fill in colour around them. As long they aren't too wide because then they start stealing the show when the main focus should always be on the motif as a whole.   Grids or outlines that are too wide can sometimes attract all the attention. In a well balanced hooked rug, nothing should jump out when you view it. So if you are hooking in a #8, a good grid thickness would be a #5 and no larger than #6. Let your pattern dictate what size grid the rug will handle. Sometimes there is so little room on a smaller motif that too wide of a grid will leave little room to add the colour, which is the most import aspect of any pattern.

2 Comments

Cutting tip....

3/20/2013

5 Comments

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HUGE TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When you are cutting wool with your machine, sometimes the strips stick to the blade and rolls under the wheel and before you know what has happened you cut it in half? Sometimes you try to dig it out and maybe back up a bit to retrieve it, but it keeps happening over and over and you get a bit flustered. All you want to do is cut fast and get hooking!

Sometimes more than one strip is sticking and you try blowing and flicking it off the wheel but it just keeps wanting to feed back!!! Cutting takes forever! Dry winter days are the worst and if you've just pulled your wool out of the dryer cutting it is almost impossible. Frustrating? Tell me about it! I cut more wool than most and let me tell you, it's aggravating! And then after the wool is cut it keeps sticking to your hands as you try to lay it out straight on the table to tie into a bundle. Yup...we've all been there and will be again, time after time. Oh joy! If only someone could invent a way to stop the madness!! Gee, I sound like one of those ads for ShamWow or some other Revolutionary product.

The answer is so simple you'll kick yourself for not thinking of it first. Before you start to cut, get out a bottle of hand cream and add the teensiest bit on the hand that holds the wool. Rub it in well over the fingers...the palm doesn't matter. I guarantee, the wool will feed straight through as if it's on a mission, no static, no charge!

Your hand is the culprit, not so much the machine. It is dry and as the wool passes under your fingers it collects a static charge so when it touches the blade it wants to stick to the metal.
No matter what cutter you use this tip will work. So there. I hope I've made your life a little easier. Its incredibly dry today and I was just cutting some kits and had to reach for the hand cream and then I thought....gee I'll bet others have the same problem, why not share and make a few people smile!

So there it is folks! The tip of the week, month, year!

Cutting with my Bolivar. The red strips come up over the cutting blade and start feeding under the wheel.

5 Comments

Pillow talk....

3/9/2013

3 Comments

Nerissa 16" x 16"

Zale 16" x 16"

Cordelia 16" x 16"

To view patterns click the link - http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/sue-cunningham.html

So here are three seafaring pillows hooked by Sue Cunningham. Done in beautiful marine colours these rug toppers are the perfect compliment to a nautical themed décor for home or yacht! Rich navy backgrounds hint of deep sea and pop the mythical characters into full focus. Curly mermaid manes flow in the ocean’s current and the whimsical circles add to the feel of movement.

A pillow is a fun item to hook. You can do so much with a pillow sized rug. Make a chair seat, hang it on the wall, rest it on a trunk, coffee table or use it as a chair cushion for your home. It's rewarding to treat yourself with a smaller project after completing a larger rug, and if you are into selling your hooked items, small trumps large any day. A tourist with limited room in their suitcase will happily pay for a smaller piece, not just for the cost but also its packability. A set of coasters, a trivet, chair pad or pillow will fit nicely among folded clothing without creating a lot of extra weight.

The airlines haven’t done much to help the retailer in this country. Placing strict weight limitations on luggage can prevent supporting local businesses. I hear it all the time…"I'm packed to capacity, I really want this but I can’t go over the 50 kg limit!"

So unfortunately, tourism dollars aren’t what they used to be.   A word of advice, if you want to go into the retail business find smaller, lighter items to sell, something that fits in the pocket, purse or carry on.   Larger items are often bypassed for the smaller keepsake. Only a few of your customers will opt to have the item shipped home, 95% of them will just walk away. Years ago, you sold more items during the tourist season than all year long, helping you to get over the slump of the leaner months. It’s not like that anymore. Between recessions and paying for extra baggage, the traveler is less about consuming and more about window shopping.

So back to the pillows. Who doesn’t love a good pillow. Beautiful to look at and comfort for the head. They hook quickly, in two or three days to a week so there’s instant gratification for your toil. And as for gift giving, it’s much easier to give a project away when it worked up quickly.

Finishing the pillow can be as easy as hooking it. Apparently the idea first came from Linda Ruth and Pam Haughn shared it with our group. This clever idea sure changed the groan factor to WOW when sewing a back on a pillow.   There aren’t any buttons to fuss with or button holes to create, because they’re already there! It’s ‘sew’ easy and another way to recycle those fabulous Pendleton shirts.

Easy Steps to the Perfect Pillow Back

Step 1 – When hooking the border on your pillow, Sue suggests hooking one extra row of loops all around the outside...use a #6 or larger cut. This is the row you will sew the backing to.

Step 2 - Find a complimentary coloured Pendleton shirt (maybe even use a bit of it in the front of the pillow for a custom appearance or you can dye the shirt to match the existing wools), button it up and cut out the square you need for the size pillow you have. If the shirt has a pocket on it you can leave it on or carefully remove it with a seam ripper. If you are making a 16" x 16" pillow you would cut 17”x 17” square out of the shirt to back it.

Step 3 – Assuming you have already steamed and ziz-zagged 3/4”- 1” out all around your hooked pillow top cut it out, place the right size of the hooking with the right side of the placket and pin together.   Usually the buttons will run horizontally across the middle of the pillow so make sure it’s in the right position.

Step 4 - Now work from the hooked side and run the pillow through the sewing machine staying in the center of that last row of loops.  The two pieces will be thicker than what you normally sew through so make sure the tension is set properly so there isn’t any bunching and pulling on the shirt placket underneath as it goes through the machine. Hooking directly on the loop will prevent gaps when you turn the pillow inside out and no backing will show on the edge.

Step 5 – After you have sewn around the entire pillow cut each corner off, leaving at least 1/2" so you don’t have a lot of bulk when you turn the pillow right side out.   Unbutton the placket, turn the pillow right side out, steam press and bulkiness out, insert your pillow form and voila you have the easiest pillow imaginable. No sewing the usual gap shut that you forced the pillow form into. No sewing on buttons or making those dreaded button holes. You have a pillow that opens easily and it is very attractive to view. Your pillow will look professionally put together if you are selling in a boutique or impressing a loved one.

Tip – If backing shows anywhere around the edge use a coloured marker and rub it along the exposed burlap or linen. Markers come in all sorts of colours so you can match pretty much any shade. Especially if the border was hooked in dark colours a bit of burlap or linen peeking through can be off putting.

Also, don’t turn your nose up at a linen or cotton placket; this is a way to recycle any shirt front. Just because the rug is hooked in wool doesn’t mean it has to be wool everywhere. As long as the colour is a match, any material can be used.

Beautifully tailored back!

It's so easy to get to the pillow form!

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Loop Height

2/25/2013

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The #6 red loops are higher, the way I used to hook. The yellow #4 and green #8 are hooked lower and of equal height.

I know what it's like to run out of a certain colour as you close in on the end of a rug. I've done a bit of dumpster diving in search of a few tails that might stretch out a loop or two or recover those scrawny edge pieces I sometimes biff if they're too fuzzy. I remember the panic that I wouldn’t be able to find more of a precious recycled plaid or match a colour after the fact, just to complete a few square inches or maybe less of an unfinished area. Thankfully, with experience comes wisdom, so that doesn’t happen anymore and I’ll tell you why.

Back in the day when I started rug hooking, all of my rugs were over hooked with wool. I don't mean hooking every hole, I learned to skip from day one; my problem was loop height. The loops were high enough that I could have produced two rugs for the price of one. Yes the rugs were plush and rich feeling but had nothing to do with the quality or the longevity of the rug.

One rule of thumb was to pull the loop as high as the strip is wide and I had been following that philosophy religiously until the day I needed to put a bit of detail in one area using a #4 cut while the rest of the rug was hooked in #6. Working in smaller cuts meant lower loops and wider cuts would be higher so it only stands to reason that the surface of your rug would be uneven. So I proved the theory was flawed, and rules being made to be broken, I threw it out the window and came up with my own guideline which seemed to make more sense and saved a lot of money.

So I started pulling the different cuts all the same low height, which allowed the mixing of all sizes, especially when using leftover strips from other projects. I make the joke, “whoever madeup that rule sold wool for a living”. To me, pulling the #8 strip ¼” high is a waste, going through your stash at record speed, and quite frankly, pulling loops higher than necessary does nothing to enhance your work. Sure it’s plush under the feet but that will soon be walked flat so what's the point? Higher loops flop over along the edge whereas if you hook with a lower height they don’t. So where is the benefit? There is none…other than paying someone more money for wool you don't really need forthat project (not that need ever has anything to do with it). Lowering the loop height makes sure the wool goes as far as possible.

The rule of thumb should be that you pull the loop high enough to cover the backing and at a comfortable level to remove your hook.   You’ve all done modifications to cover the fact that you ran out of a certain colour; getting creative to reach the finish line. Putting in extra clouds when running out of sky wools; adding a building extension or bushes when grass falls short; filling in background wool where a leaf or flower should have been. The other trick is to tear out bits here and there to fill the empty spot and then replace those stripped areas with the closest match you can beg, borrow or steal and pretend it was intentional. Yup…we’ve all been there and have the T-Shirt to prove it!

This slight alteration in loop height could save you much $$$ over the years and the agro of having too much area remaining at the end of the wool.   Nowadays I hook more on the low side then what’s perceived as normal but I think my hooking looks fine. As in most things there’s no right or wrong, it’s finding the right balance that works for you.

One other point I would like to add. When you hook lower your work looks like it was worked in a finer cut. Hooking low with a #7 looks more like #5 or #6. When you pull your loops higher you can see every loop, whereas hooking them lower, the biggest part of the loop, the top, snugs together more so the individual loop doesn't show.   If you like the look of finer cuts but prefer the speed of the more primitive ones, this is the way to get the best of both worlds.

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Curly gets a makeover.....

2/21/2013

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Matted and dirty from hanging around in a basement for too many years, Curly is looking a bit worse for wear.

The makeover has begun. Stay tuned for a pimped out version of Curly as he transforms from one person's trash to my little treasure.

I'm having a bit of fun felting. I've never done it before but watched the process at a workshop taught by Justine Kerr in my upstairs studio so figured I'd give it a try. This sheep came from a yard sale...always a sucker for anything sheep related, I handed over $20 with the intention to hook a coat for the sad little guy. The body is covered with fake polyester sheepskin which goes against my religion, so I always wanted to dignify him with wool. The road being paved with good intentions, and for the fact that if I had any spare time, hooking a coat for a sad little sheep would be the last item on the list, I decided to take the faster route and felt him into the handsome dude I knew he could be.

So I cracked open a few bags of Country Roving and started making swirls. It looked pretty decent so I'll continue to transform him when I can steal a few minutes here and there. I'll cover the entire body, head and tail. There isn't much I can do with the faded head, ears and legs but now with the different colours of roving the fabric doesn't look as worn, maybe because it is providing less of a contrast than the stark white did. My little Curly is going to have the makeover he deserves so he won't be embarrassed and feel all intimated by the shop's real wool.

Country Roving comes in a variety of colours from ivory to black with all shades in between. Each strand is flat and comes in 5 ply. Great for hooking as well as felting.

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"If At First....."

1/30/2013

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The Story of a Jacobean Crewel Mat by Heather Gordon

If at first you don’t succeed, it is worth trying again. The project I just finished (January, 2013), was begun in September, 2009. This is my third attempt. I love it and enjoyed every hooking minute but it wasn’t always this way. For a couple of years it sat in a corner in a Rubbermaid container, where it was dropped when I got home from rug school. I was frustrated and disappointed and never wanted to see it again.

I had completed two previous Crewel projects – a bell pull and a lovely mat that Christine designed for me and named “Heather”. The mat is quite striking with beautiful floral colours on a black background. This time, my friend, Lesley Marshall, encouraged me to join her at another course and asked Christine to design a mat for her which was named “Lesley”.   Lesley finished hers right away, and you can see a photo on the Encompassing Designs web site and attached to the pattern. Mine sat in a box.

Why did I abandon this lovely design? Well, it had nothing to do with the design, which I loved – especially the centre medallion. I think we have all had the experience of a project that just doesn’t come together. I started with a vision. This was going to be a traditional Crewel. I could see it in my mind with the colours of those gorgeous embroidered panels in the Victoria and Albert Museum. It would have an off-white or parchment background with gold, rust, olive, bronze, brown and teal motifs. Instead of red, I would use variations of dusty rose or raspberry shades since strong reds don’t work in my house.   It just did not turn out that way.

My second attempt was a slight improvement on the areas that I had hooked. I changed the colours in the central medallion and adjusted one of the floral motifs. So much for that. Back it went into the box.

I knew that I had some of the colours right. Along the line, I had picked up some of Christine’s 3-value swatches. Anjou Pear, Cranberry and Ganache worked well together but I still did not have the right teal and my rusts and browns were too strong. I started to think about some of the colours that I had seen in the shop and for my gift to myself at Christmas 2011, I bought more 3-value swatches, adding Teal, Coppertone and the new Magic Mix that Shane had just invented. Then I got out a variety of swatch remnants (some Jacobean blues, dusty rose, golds, plum colours and more greens) and got inspired.

Each year, I go on a 4 day retreat to White Point, a traditional lodge/resort on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. There are 12-15 of us and we tend to either take a special new project or a project that challenges us. I spent most of the time (aside from the eating and drinking part) colour planning and experimenting with crewel colour combinations. It was great. Colour planning is my favourite part. By the time I left, the project was well on its way.

This was my main project last spring. It was set aside in June so that I could design and hook 3 pieces for summer shows. I did some hooking on it in the fall, alternating with more interesting pieces because by then, I was just working on background and borders.   Then, in January, I felt the need to finish it and here it is.

Colour Palette for Lesley, hooked by Heather Gordon

Main Swatches: Anjou Pear, Cranberry, Teal, Coppertone and Max Brown

Additional Colours: Leftovers from previous projects including bronze, Jacobean dusty rose, some bluish teals, transitional gold/tans and a variety of greens and purples for the grapes.

Background: The first off-white I tried was too bright. The second was too yellow. The third was too drab and the fourth was JUST RIGHT. It is a light solution of Max Brown, abrashed with a slightly stronger solution of the same colour.

Outer Border: I used the same mid-value teal formula from Christine’s Sky Blue Pink dye book that I also used in the main field. The next gold band is a mid-value of Max Brown, from the same book and this was also used in some of the motifs. The outer band is a stronger value of the Teal.

Finishing: Whipped with cording and natural Briggs & Little yarn dyed in the same dye bath as the outer border Teal.

Cuts: Design motifs were hooked in #4 cut with #3 for the finer details. Most of the leftover swatches that I used are #3 because they came from my early hooking days when that was the standard for shaded pieces. The background is hooked in #4. I tried #5, but it looked too heavy for the design. I did go to #5 for the first two sections of the outer border and I used #6 for the darker outer teal because it grounded the mat well.

Colours vary slightly from the above pictures from being taken with a different camera. The colours above are a truer depiction of the actual rug.

Another hooked version by Lesley Marshall, thehooker the rug was designed for.

Story by Guest Blogger Heather Gordon

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Celtic Knots made simple!

1/25/2013

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The finished Knot. Hooking time: 1 1/2 hours. The knot was hooked in #4 and the background plaid was in #5. Finished piece 6" diameter. Hooked on fine weave Scottish burlap.

I've been trying to stay away from blues, reds and golds, my favourite colours and expand my horizen. So I thought orange would make a nice change. I have nothing against orange, other than it reminds me of the 70's and my entire house decor, that and harvest gold and green!!! Way too much...needed to move on and the primary colours fit like a glove...my new house decor. Maybe in another decade I'll hang my hat on purple and pink.

The only difficult part about hooking a Celtic Knot is drawing the design. They aren’t much fun to draw, even with a pattern, oh so many lines! But once that job is out of the way, the hooking can be as difficult as you want it to be or so darn simple you wonder why you hadn’t done it
before!

The little Celtic piece I hooked for this demo came from the Book of Kells, a simple Knot yet full of interwoven charm. This is a simple piece to colour plan, using two colours for the knot and one for the background.

In any rug hooking pattern, each part of every object is broken down and dealt with as an individual unit. The entire pattern is a sum of many parts. For instance, in a pattern of a sunflower, every petal is dealt with as a separate object, hooked one at a time until they all become joined and create a flower. Each petal is outlined and then filled in and then you move to the next and so on. A Celtic knot is also like that. Every link of the knot is to be viewed as a separate object and hooked accordingly. Every time there is a cross over or under, this divides each link from the next and each segment will be viewed as a separate link.

Before you begin you have to determine the cut to be used to fit the design. You can either measure the distance across with a ruler and then figure out what cut will fill the space using four strips or you can work with a visual reference, cut four pieces of various cuts and lay them across the width of the segment to see if they will work. For the demo piece I used a #4 cut and as I went along I made a few corrections to the lines, making them wider if needed by hooking directly on the line etc. (Usually the rule is to stay inside the lines of any object so that it retains the size intended by the designer.) Celtic Knot patterns are usually never perfectly even. Most are hand done so there are variances in the widths so you might need to do a bit of correcting as you go.

For a simplified knot all you need are two contrasting colours or two tones of a single colour, a medium and a dark and a background colour. I used rusty orange wool I had left over from a recent kit and in the photo I showed a couple of other choices. I had so much fun hooking this little piece I thought I might do several more in an array of colours for the shop.

I’ve hooked a few Celtic pieces before and I’ve used a herringbone and a solid for the knots. The Herringbone was darker and did the outlining and the solid filled in the centers. The herringbone also provided a bit of textural interest.   I’m a lefty so I’ll talk in lefty terms. I chose my darkest value of rusty orange and hooked along the outside line of one of the segments. I started where one segment crossed over another and left my tail about ½ inch high. Then I chose the lighter value and hooked it up against the first strip, starting at the dissecting line. Do not skip rows here or your knot segment will be wider than planned. Then hook the second lighter strip and follow with the last dark strip. Hooking in this order will allow each segment to be the same size.   If you hook the two darker, outer strips first and the drawing isn’t totally even, each link of the knot may not be the same width so you run the risk of either having too little space to put in the two center strips or there could be a gap so they don’t come together properly.   This way ensures every part of the knot will be exactly the same width.

Do not cut the beginning tails or ending tails until the surrounding segments are hooked. The extra height allows easy hooking around the finished segments. The ends will stand up straight and be easy to hook around and later when you snip them they will be perfectly embedded
and be a crisp end to that row.

Don't hook the background behind the knot until you finish the segments as they may not be the same size due to corrections to the width as mentioned above. I left them all until the end and did them all at once.

Note: Another tip, if you are a left handed rug hooker it would be best to start from the right side of the segment and work to the left and vice versa for right handed. It is always easier to hook without having your tool over an existing row.

Note: Mix it up a bit. Use the lighter shade on the outside of the Knot for a different look.

Start with drawing the Knot or purchasing a pattern. Shown are several colour choices, some with herringbones for the darker shade and solid for the lighter. I chose the rusty orange for the demo.

Beginnings...I've hooked a straight segment to start and am now hooking the adjoining link. Note the tail is butted up against the completed segmented and left high.

Note I am a lefty working from right to left on the segments. My tails are left high at the start and at the end. Left high they are easier to hook around when doing the next segment and makes for a clean cut.

Without thinking about the Knot as a whole, hooking each segment hooks quickly and voila you have a finished Knot before you know it.

Celtic Snowflake, done with two different colours for a more dramatic look. The background of the Knot was done in a spot of pale blue and grey and the rest is an over-dyed plaid using County Blue to coordinate.

Done as a commission design, this lovely Celtic Boat is framed with an intricate Knot. It took a long time to draw out and match the size the client wanted. I have a lot of respect for the artists who do these designs...patience makes perfect!

Another simple example. Three colours make up this pillow top. A herringbone for the outline and a solid for the center of the knot. The background was lovely burgundy plaid with a gold fleck through it.

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Transferring a pattern with red dot.

1/22/2013

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Buyer beware, patterns are not all created equal. Stamped patterns have no regard for matching the lines of the grain on the warp and weft. Anyone who has hooked a pattern off grain will tell you it's work. Some people try to straighten them which can be frustrating. All the correcting lines muddy the pattern so it is a mess to decipher and hook. Patterns that are stamped tend to be the same price as hand drawn so don't throw good money after bad. Of course if you truly love the design you are stuck with what you get but the experience will be less than charming. Sometimes stamped patterns are faded so that you can barely make out the lines so before you begin to hook it, you have to get out the marker and darken it yourself. You should not have to do this after paying good money for the pattern.

Today I am going to explain step by step how to draw a design on a backing so that you can have the optimal rug hooking experience.

How to Transfer a Design From Red Dot to a Backing

First you will need to cut your piece of backing. If you pattern measures 22” x 30” the backing size should be 30” x 38”.   This will allow for an excess of 4” per side to fit in a hoop or on a gripper frame and later for trimming and finishing.   If you should purchase a pattern with very little excess edge, or if you are working with a smaller scrap, you can sew a piece of material to the edge so the pattern fits on the frame.

You always want to be careful cutting the backing to minimize fraying. Any cuts made crooked across the gain will fray like mad and you could lose a great deal of the border needed for binding the edge. Always zig zag the outside edges of the cut burlap to prevent fraying. (Some people use masking tape to protect the edge or duct tape).

Measure where you want to make the cut and use a pair of scissors to snip about an inch. Then pick up one of the backing fibers to the left or right of the cut and pull it through like a draw string all the way to the other side. Once this one strand is removed it will be very clear where to cut with your scissors. This is far easier and faster than trying to follow the straight of the grain with your scissors and your eye.

Below is the anal person’s guide to pattern transfer. If you are artistic and not uptight about marker mess, you can draw directly on the backing, although if you want to draw straight lines within the pattern or put on a border the same rules will apply.

1. First draw your design on paper. This allows you to make all changes that are easily corrected. Working directly on the backing with a marker will make mistakes permanent.

2.    Secure the drawing to the table with tape to prevent slipping. Now place the red dot medium over your drawing and secure with stick pins or tape to the paper drawing. This prevents any slipping between the two layers as it can get annoying always trying to match up the lines once the red dot shifts.

3.    You will be able to see your drawing through the red dot very clearly. Trace over all the lines of your pattern with either a pencil, pen or ultra-fine tipped marker. (An ultra-fine tipped marker works best because it flows over the red dot without having to apply pressure. Now your design will be on the red dot medium.

4.    The Red dot medium has red dots that can be used to line up straight lines for borders etc. I don’t usually bother with this as most of my designs lines are not the exact place where the dots lay.

5.   Markers do not have a long shelf life. Especially if you are tracing over burlap’s rougher surface. A heavy hand and too much pressure will wear the tip down faster.   Linen patterns maximize the use of the marker as the surface is softer. Be prepared to go through one marker for a large pattern, maybe even crack open a second. Once the tip is worn off you can still use the marker for darkening lines until it dries out.

6.    Position the red dot over your backing and secure it with stick pins.

7. Trace over the lines with a Sharpie marker or any marker with a point. The dye from the marker will bleed through the red dot to the backing. (We use Sharpie markers as they have a finer point and less odor. Anyone with allergies or sensitivities to strong smells will prefer them. If bothered by the marker wear a carbon filter mask, purchased at any hardware store.)

8.    After you have traced over all the lines remove the red dot and you should see a perfect replica of your pattern. Now go over the lines on the backing to darken them. Don’t press too hard with the marker when working directly on the burlap as it is a rough surface and will wear off the tip fairly quickly. The tip is what gives you a fine line on your design, keeping it neat and detailed. Once the marker gets too dull it will make wider lines and if you are drawing smaller objects they will appear less defined and muddy. Note: Except for straight lines or borders all of the lines of a pattern can be transferred in this way.

9.    When you have a straight line border or straight lines inside the pattern design, those lines will need to be drawn by hand with a pencil so they are straight on the grain. For single borderlines.   If you have a design with a border that is 15” x 15” you would leave at least 3-4 inches along the outside edge so that the pattern will fit in your frame. This would mean that you are working with a piece of backing that is 19” x 19”. Take a ruler and measure in 4”. Find the closest hole/channel, take a pencil and drag it along the backing in that channel until it reaches 15” in length. Pay close attention as any distraction can make the pencil jump the channel into another line. Go over that channel the second time with the pencil to make the valley even more defined so later when you drag your marker through it will stay on the line. Then make the second side of your border until you reach 15”. Do the third side of the border and then close off with the fourth side. This will give you a nice straight edge of your pattern and make hooking so much easier.

10. All internal lines of the design have to be drawn by pencil as well. You can do this by dragging your pencil down the line on the red dot. The pencil will find the nearest channel and as you drag it down the line it will leave a dull pencil mark right on the backing.   When you lift up the red dot you will see where to go over the area one more time with the pencil or use a marker to darken the line.

11. All geometric patterns like inch mats and anything with squares or straight lines are drawn by hand by dragging a pencil along the grain. Make sure the pencil is not too sharp or it won’t make the channel wide enough. After you have your lines drawn you can then drag your marker along those pencil lines to darken them.    Hooking straight lines is so much easier than trying to hook a line that goes to the left and then the right of the grain.

There you go...101 of pattern transferring

Measuring out and drawing in the border lines. This pattern has several borders and each have to be measured out and then drawn with a pencil first and then filled in with marker.

More darkening of lines.

Working with the red dot medium to make sure all the lines are in the right place. You overlay the red dot periodically to check the lines before darkening with a marker. Pencil lines can be erased if necessary but marker lines can't.

The lines are all down and now I am in the process of darkening in the center rose, Fleur-de-lis and border.

Rose Of Thorns, one of the first compass rose patterns I designed back when my business had training wheels. A bit on the Celtic side this piece is stunning with its Egg & Dart border to match. I started hooking this piece in 2000 and it is 3/4 down. Drawing out this pattern for an order inspired me to dig out the rug and entertain thoughts of finishing it. The finished rug is 36" x 36".

Of course if you have a pattern with multiple borders such as the one in the photos above, it is always best to work from the inside to the outside. Cut out your backing, find the middle and lay your red dop on top and position so that it's centered. You can check by measuring each edge of the pattern to the edge of the backing to make sure it is equal on all sides...at least 4" away from the last line of the border. Then where the first inside line begins make a mark in one corner by dragging the pencil over the red dot to make a small mark that will show through on the backing. Then lift the red dot and draw the entire line by dragging it to the next corner area, checking where the line will end my putting the red dot back down. Repreat to do all sides. Measure with a ruler to check before you darken these lines to make sure they haven't gone wonky somewhere. Always double check all your lines to make sure they are where they are supposed to be.

Another tip...when dragging the marker along the channel hold it straight up, so that the tip fits nicely in the groove. If you drag it on the diagonal it is more likely to jump the line.

The red dot can make about 15-20 patterns before it gets too ratty to use.

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Finishing Mary's Seashell Stocking

1/11/2013

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By Guest Blogger Mary Doig

How to Make a Christmas Stocking

Of note:

If your stocking pattern is not already on red dot transfer material, see instruction number 5 below and make a template of it before you start hooking.

A warning – I am NOT a seamstress, so there may be easier or better ways to assemble a stocking. However, this system works for me, and I hope it works for you!

1. Pattern and swatches are ready to go. Linen is zigzagged twice approx 0.5” from the pattern lines. To prevent raveling of the pattern, raw edges are zigzagged once. Swatches are labeled with the dye formula, which makes it easier to dye more if the material runs out.

2. Hooking is in progress. I am generally happy with how the colours are working out, although I think the strong purple line in the center of the starfish is too much. Eventually it is changed to a beaded line of medium and light purple.

3. Hooking is finished and has been pressed.

4. Beading is finished. New glass beads and pearls from a broken strand add some bling.

5. Make a template for the stocking backing, by copying from the red dot pattern to newspaper, tracing around the stocking outline with sharpie marker to transfer the outline. If you have not made your own pattern, I would advise copying its outline to red dot before you start hooking, using a china marker so as not to mar the pattern, and then use the red dot to complete this step.

6. Cut out the newspaper template, adding ½” for seam allowance.

7. Place the template on the material you are using for your stocking backing. I use a piece of wool that has been dyed the main colour of my stocking. Pin it in place and cut around the template.

8. The stocking backing is ready for assembly.

9. Cut the lining from a piece of cotton, doubled over. Place template on cotton and pin in place. Cut around template.

10. Two pieces of stocking lining are ready for assembly.

11. Tear one 10” x 2.5” piece of material for tab. I tear the material because it automatically finds the straight of grain. I use the cotton lining fabric for the tab. You may prefer to use wool.

12. Cut excess linen away from the stocking front. I cut about ¼” beyond the zigzagging around the stocking. Make nicks through the zigzagging at the curviest parts, which will help in the next step when you press the linen to the wrong side.

13. Press excess linen to the wrong side of stocking front.

14. Stitch excess linen using a running stitch, to hold it in place. Use a neutral colour thread and don’t poke the needle all the way through the hooking. Stitching should not be visible on the right side of the stocking front. On the way around the stocking, while stitching, reinforce the places that you have nicked through the zigzagging, to ensure that they won’t fray.

15. Press ½” to the wrong side of stocking backing.

16. Pin the stocking front and backing together, with wrong sides together.

17. By hand, slip stitch the front to the back, stitching as close to the hooking as possible.

18. Lining and tab: Press ½” to the wrong side at the top of each lining piece. With right sides together, stitch ½” seam allowance on sewing machine, from the right hand top around to the left hand top of the lining, leaving the top open. For tab, fold right sides together and stitch ½” across top and down the side, leaving bottom open. Turn right side out (a chopstick is helpful for this) and press.

19. Insert lining into the stocking, with wrong sides together. Double the tab over to form a loop and slip it in between lining and backing. Slipstitch together by hand, around the top of the stocking and through the tab, so the tab is secure.

20. Tack at the heel, instep and toe by stitching a couple of stitches through the backing, lining and front. This should be invisible. It helps to hold the lining down inside the stocking.

21. Stocking is finished!

1. Pattern and swatches are ready to go. Linen is zigzagged twice approx 0.5” from the pattern lines. To prevent raveling of the pattern, raw edges are zigzagged once. Swatches are labeled with the dye formula, which makes it easier to dye more if the material runs out.

2. Hooking is in progress. I am generally happy with how the colours are working out, although I think the strong purple line in the center of the starfish is too much. Eventually it is changed to a beaded line of medium and light purple.

3. Hooking is finished and has been pressed.

4. Beading is finished. New glass beads and pearls from a broken strand add some bling.

5. Make a template for the stocking backing, by copying from the red dot pattern to newspaper, tracing around the stocking outline with sharpie marker to transfer the outline. If you have not made your own pattern, I would advise copying its outline to red dot before you start hooking, using a china marker so as not to mar the pattern, and then use the red dot to complete this step.

6. Cut out the newspaper template, adding ½” for seam allowance.

7. Place the template on the material you are using for your stocking backing. I use a piece of wool that has been dyed the main colour of my stocking. Pin it in place and cut around the template.

8. The stocking backing is ready for assembly.

9. Cut the lining from a piece of cotton, doubled over. Place template on cotton and pin in place. Cut around template.

10. Two pieces of stocking lining are ready for assembly.

11. Tear one 10” x 2.5” piece of material for tab. I tear the material because it automatically finds the straight of grain. I use the cotton lining fabric for the tab. You may prefer to use wool.

12. Cut excess linen away from the stocking front. I cut about ¼” beyond the zigzagging around the stocking. Make nicks through the zigzagging at the curviest parts, which will help in the next step when you press the linen to the wrong side.

13. Press excess linen to the wrong side of stocking front.

14. Stitch excess linen using a running stitch, to hold it in place. Use a neutral colour thread and don’t poke the needle all the way through the hooking. Stitching should not be visible on the right side of the stocking front. On the way around the stocking, while stitching, reinforce the places that you have nicked through the zigzagging, to ensure that they won’t fray.

15. Press ½” to the wrong side of stocking backing.

16. Pin the stocking front and backing together, with wrong sides together.

17. By hand, slip stitch the front to the back, stitching as close to the hooking as possible.

18. Lining and tab: Press ½” to the wrong side at the top of each lining piece. With right sides together, stitch ½” seam allowance on sewing machine, from the right hand top around to the left hand top of the lining, leaving the top open. For tab, fold right sides together and stitch ½” across top and down the side, leaving bottom open. Turn right side out (a chopstick is helpful for this) and press.

19. Insert lining into the stocking, with wrong sides together. Double the tab over to form a loop and slip it in between lining and backing. Slip stitch together by hand, around the top of the stocking and through the tab, so the tab is secure.

20. Tack at the heel, instep and toe by stitching a couple of stitches through the backing, lining and front. This should be invisible. It helps to hold the lining down inside the stocking.

21. Stocking is finished!

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Seashell Christmas Stocking

1/11/2013

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by Guest Blogger Mary Doig

This design was inspired by Dr. Krista Ritchie, the wonderful bonus daughter that fate brought to me (the term stepdaughter always sounded too wicked stepmother-ish).

I am working on a multi-year plan to make each member of my family their own Christmas stocking, of their own design/vision. Krista wanted a seabed still life – including a skinny starfish, sea grass, sand dollars and urchins. She envisioned a dark blue background with little dots of plankton that would also resemble stars. And although she was very clear with her directions and even provided me with sketched templates, I struggled with the actual design. Christine came to my rescue – it was like magic seeing her draw exactly what I (and hopefully Krista!) wanted.

Colour planning was fun. The starfish was red, for a Christmas feel. Other than 3 value swatches in red and blue for the starfish and background respectively, 6 value swatches were used.   Blue green to yellow transitional for the sea grass, purple to orange transitional for the scallop shell, light brown for the sand dollar, blue to orange reverse transitional for the mussel shells, although colours from the other swatches were used in the mussels to mimic iridescence.  To add another bit of red, because the red was all alone in the starfish, the spines of the urchin were made red, and some of the orange to purple transitional was used for the urchin shell. Originally I thought I’d use recycled greys and browns from my stash for the rocks, but since there were so many unused swatches with the dyeing I had done, it seemed a good opportunity to have neutral colours that matched the rest of the colours by using the mid values of these swatches.

I bought some dark blue yarn with a silver sparkle to make the stars/plankton with, but wasn’t happy. It was too fat. When I told Christine of my plan to add hooked beading to the central lines in the starfish, she thought ****sparkle**** (you know she’s a huge fan of sparkly things)…and had the idea of real beading for accents. Not only is Christine a hooker, she is an accomplished jewelry maker, so she had a huge selection of beads to choose from.

Then that gave me the idea to place a pearl in the scallop shell, using a loose pearl from a broken string of my mother’s. My mom loved Krista very much and was also a big fan of sparkle, so I thought it would be extra special to add this as a little gift from her that Krista would have every
Christmas.   Christine suggested 4 mm Aurora Borealis Swarovski Crystals for the plankton. All the beading embellishments were added after the hooking was completed and pressed.

Hooking was done in a three cut. Fine shading in a three isn’t my first love, but I thought that it would help show off the shells better than a primitive cut would.  I followed a lesson learned from Jane Halliwell Green via her pictorial class (and books) – anchor objects by starting dark at the bottom and moving to light at the top. This technique also helps to define objects against one another as your eye moves up the piece.

The top of the stocking was hooked with natural soft curly mohair, doubled up, from the Fleece Artist.   Years ago I purchased a skein from Christine, and it has lasted forever!

Finishing: Stay tuned for tomorrow's blog by Mary Doig

The design!

Transferring the design to red dot at the hook-in.

Colour planning with swatches.

Beginnings!

Ruby says,"I think I would like this stocking for me so Santa can bring some treats. I've been an awfully good girl this year!"

This pattern is available on Mary Doig's page of this website.

A picture after the bling was sewn on. Crystals for the plankton, a pearl for the shell, and red/orange crystals down the center ridge of each the starfish leg.

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Sewing the back on a Christmas Stocking by Bonnie Duncan

12/17/2012

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Let me first say that I would rather hold a rug hook anyday
to a sewing needle!

Steps:

    1. Hook the stocking

    2. Leave 1 ¼” edging for finishing

    3. Insert cording and whip the stocking with a 2 ply yarn

    4. Choose a suitable backing, wool preferably, and cut all around the shape of the stocking ½” larger than the stocking itself, except for the top you can leave 2”. You need to cut out two pieces if you want the stocking to be lined. I use a wool skirt for my backings because I recycle the waist band to use as the hanging tab. Remember I don’t like sewing!

5. Put the two cut pieces of wool together and fold the edge over by ½”. Nestle it tightly up against the whipped edging from the back of the stocking and push your needle through until it comes out the crevice between the last row of hooking and the whipped edge on the top part of the stocking.   Your stitches, embedded in the crevice, will be nicely hidden on the front side of the stocking.

6. Fold the extra amount you left for finishing the top down and inside on the front and back side of your stocking. The front can be sewn into up against the back side of the whipping just like the sides, in the crevice.

7. Attach a tab for hanging on the top left side.

I like to leave a 2” opening at the top left side of my stockings between the front lining and the backing. This is to allow for extra opening space to put in those larger presents. I then attach my shirt waist band to the back of this opening and the other end to the front.

Voila a finished stocking my way – Bonnie Duncan

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How to sew the back on a Christmas Stocking by Christine

12/16/2012

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This is an alternate way to sew the backing on a hooked Christmas stocking without whipping.

When finished hooking the stocking, steam press by placing it face down on the ironing board, cover with a wet towel and steamwith your iron. Press firmly all over the stocking, until the sizzling stops. This will flatten the piece and make it nice and pliable to work with. Hang to dry over a wide railing or lay flat as not to leave a crease.

When dry, sew a zig-zag stitch all around the outside of the piece about 1 ¼” from the finished edge. I actually sew it twice to ensure that the backing doesn’t fray when I cut out the rug. Cut outside the sewn edge.

Fold the raw edge of the backing over, pulling it snug so there isn't a lot showing along the edge of the stocking and tack it down with a loose stitch to the backside of the stocking. You will have to overlap a few folds when going around the outside curves of the pattern and snip the inside curves so it folds better (inside curves meaning where the ankle part would be in a real stocking). Once it is all sewn, steam it once again with the wet towel. (Sewing
will cause small bulges that will need to be pressed out). Let it dry once again.

Using the finished piece as a pattern, cut out material for the backing an inch or so larger than the actual size of the stocking and the top maybe two inches for tuning under. I use recycled plaid shirts or skirts in Christmas colours….a piece of velvet would be lovely too.

If you wish to line the stocking cut two pieces of material leaving the top longer for turning under. Put the right sides of the material together and use a machine to sew it the actual width of the stocking. Turn it right side out and fold under the top raw edges and then fold it again like
making a hem for curtains and hand sew or machine it in place. (You can slide in a piece of plastic from an ice cream container or box board in the fold to firm up this edge so it is more rigid.) The top of the backing side will be more reinforced this way when you sew on the hanging tab. Once the stocking is filled with goodies it won't pull as much on the material.

Now hand stitch the entire backing to the sock starting at one side and working your way around to the other side. Leave the top opened of course. Now sew the lining side to the
top side of the stocking. When sewing the backing to the stocking make sure that you are right up against the last row of hooking all along the edge so no backing will show when finished but
if it shows in places you can take a marker that blends with the colours of the stocking and just make a few swipes to hide the backing colour.

Make a tab for hanging and wait for Santa to fill! Christine Little

Note: Another simple way to attach the backing to a stocking is to cut out two backings, hand stitch it loosely to the backside of the hooked piece and then whip them together. Now sew the top lining side to the top backside of the stocking and put on a tab.

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The Magic of Photoshop

12/15/2012

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I've been playing around enhancing rug photographs in Photoshop. My son Shane, the shop dyer, is fairly proficient with the software and he's giving me a few pointers for the basics. I usually take photographs of our rugs by standing on a chair and looking straight down but if things aren't quite right I just do a bit of warping and it corrects the odd angles.

Geometric Jewels designed and hooked by Mary Doig. (Can be viewed on Mary's Pattern page and comes in two sizes.) This photo was taken from the left side, not straight down so the right side becomes narrow as it goes off into the distance.....like a country road, it appears narrower as it gets farther away.

Same picture but enhanced with Photoshop technology. The trick is to pull the rug both up and down on the right top and bottom corners without distorting the inner squares. It takes a bit of finesse but I'm getting better with practice.

Bullseye adapted from Geometric Tiles designed by Sue Cunningham. (Pattern Geometric Tiles is on Sue's Pattern Page.) It appears the picture was taken out on her deck while standing on the left side, giving just enough distortion so it does not show as a true rectangle as the actual rug.

Note: Lots of photo editing programs will crop pictures but that leaves sharp, perfectly angled corners. Using photoshop you can cut out the image exactly as the rug appears, slightly rounded on the whipped corners. You never want to take away from the hand crafted look by sharply cutting the corners.

Same rug, but pulled on the right side, both at the top and bottom to square it off into a rectangle. I also did automatic colour contrast to brighten the colours.. Sometime pictures taken in sunlight slightly bleach the image. I also removed the background deck by making it transparent.

I still have a lot more tricks to learn under Shane's tutelage, but I'm having fun perfecting what I already know.

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One person's scrap is another person's rose!

12/8/2012

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I was fiddling around with wool salvages the other evening while Mary sewed sparkling beads on her Christmas stocking. Being a bit of a crow, I got hooked on beads while experimenting with scissor bling. I started making and selling jewellery in the shop. I was fairly successful but it took time away from rug hooking. I was buying more beads than I could keep up with and the pressure to make jewellery began to overwhelm me. Once that happened it became a chore and the interest waned. I still enjoy dabbling with bling but at a leisurely pace. Some of the beads I purchased are extraordinary. Most of them are one of a kind and made by the artist who sold them to me....SRA, Self Representing Artists. I bought beads from all over the world and my favorites, the ones from Germany, are exquisite.

So I packed up all the equipment, beads and findings and put it away for future inspiration. Although I like to think of myself as Super Woman, I can't serve more than one master at a time and be efficient in all. My cape got a little worn for wear as there was too much crafting and not enough time for living. I went a little crazy and now have thousands of dollars worth of handmade beads lining closet shelves and stuffed into boxes waiting for their chance to shine! Poor little beads, I loved you so, but had to let you go! Another time, maybe even another life, as hooking has to be my main squeeze for now!

Charlene showed me how to make these darling little roses out of the salvage edges of wool. You just start with a tight jelly roll for the center and then as you go around and around, every now and then turn the wool strip upside down to create the rolled over edge for the petals. No two will look alike and they really do represent a rose. You sew the back as you go, then apply the leaves, cover the back with a piece of wool and sew or glue on a brooch pin bought in any craft shop.

I left the finished roses on the sales counter and several people commented how cute they were so I gave them away. They would make a cute little gift or put them on a present in place of a bow and if you put two or more together as a cluster, they make a larger brooch!

If anyone is interested in a doing a little 1/2 hour workshop to make a few of these, let me now and I'll arrange it.

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<<Previous

How to hook a thin point with an 8 cut.

Rug Hooking Wool 101

How to hook rope with value swatches

Whipping - Yes, no, maybe so?

Lighting...ugly but functional...

How to making your frame work with backings that don't fit.

How to value and price hand hooked rugs.....

How to dye with onion skins.....

How to hang hooked rugs.....

How to bind a round rug

A blog for those who can't make the cut.....

Something Fishy

Cutting tip....

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HUGE TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pillow talk....

Loop Height

Curly gets a makeover.....

"If At First....."

The Story of a Jacobean Crewel Mat by Heather Gordon

Celtic Knots made simple!

Transferring a pattern with red dot.

Finishing Mary's Seashell Stocking

Seashell Christmas Stocking

Sewing the back on a Christmas Stocking by Bonnie Duncan

How to sew the back on a Christmas Stocking by Christine

The Magic of Photoshop

One person's scrap is another person's rose!

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!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!HUGE TIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Story of a Jacobean Crewel Mat by Heather Gordon

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