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
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.
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.
RSS Feed
