Walk Me Is Done--At least the hooking part

Three different color versions of Walk Me Please Dragon as I couldn't make up my mind which looked best. I'd kill for a decent digital camera. The rug is somewhere between 2 and 3 as to true colors. These where shot with me standing on a chair shooting down on the floor with my camera phone.






I got the the last stitch on Walk me done at 1:50 AM on Wednesday morning, the 17th. I had started in at around 2 Pm Tuesday afternoon and was determined to get it all done that night so I really pushed myself. My hand is still a little tired even today. Finished hooking area is 42 x 58, if I do 6" of braiding all around it will be 48 x 64 so around 4 x 5 foot total when done. The family rug I think is bigger I think it's 4 x 6.

For some reason I'm feeling down now very depressed and antsy==is that normal after you've completed a big project and have pushed yourself to get it done? I still have all the finishing and braiding to go on this so it's not completely finished, just the 2-3nd stages with the 1st designing and laying it out, then dyeing and picking colors for it before starting the hooking. The the other stages are doing the binding of the edges, getting the strips ready for braiding, initial braided strip around the rug, attaching the braiding, doing some more of the braiding to what size I want it or run out of fabriccs, and finishing it completely. Lots of work still to go but I feel this rug really needs a border or frame around it otherwise I wouldn't bother with all this. Am I nuts?

Here are some of the fabrics going into the braiding.


I haven't figure out my sequence of colors yet. Going to stare at them awhile until it comes to me. I've got 2 more batches of fabrics to put in the dye pots and marry. I got about 11 pieces of clothing, many jackets, but a couple of women's jacket and skirt combos and a pale green blanket yesterday at His House up the street. All but 5 pieces are going into the pots. The other 5 are a set of purple and a set of royal blue and a nice light blue plaid skirt to go in other projects. The new batch I cut up last night is mainly tans, browns and a black. I needed out after being in for almost 2 weeks and went to the library in Lexington to take out the Sturges book on braiding and the Rag Rug books. I'll be glad when I can afford to buy them all.

That's the WM leftovers in all three bags

Blues


Leftovers. I've got a bunch of them. I've been mentally trying to figure out whether any of them will go in other projects started or planned. The biggest chunk of colors are the greens from the dragons and the greenery and the gray, tan, browns used for the landscape with a small Walmart bag left of sky colors but mainly on the lavender gray sides, most of azure and light sky blue colors got used up. I have been thinking of doing a cat's paw or undoing the cottons from the one I started that I had initally started in acrylic yarns. Though I think the gauge on it it more suited to 6's or 4's than leftover 8's though I could be wrong. It's another piece I could enlarge with braiding. Maybe with the leftovers I can make a rug that my kids will actually use and not be afraid to walk on.






I've been getting a lot of ideas for braiding designs and experiments. I keep seeing braided animals shapes or maybe a dinosaur shapes rug with braiding connecting different animals. I still see a primitive barnyard style dino rug for kids. There'a wonderful braided rug I saw on the Thorndyke rugs site that swirls out from the center I want to try doing eventually. I see all kinds of shapes other than ovals, rounds, squares and rectangles with the braiding and want to try multiple strands too to try to get close to Delsie Hoyt's work at Kingdom Moon rugs.







I've been thinking about entering this in a show. Don't know whether it would stand a chance as I still have a lot to learn on the hooking and my loops, etc. are not perfect or even. Maybe design wise it's be okay but technique and probably my finishing would take off lots of points. I did think of entering it in a fiber show for all kinds of fiber art work but the deadline is July 1st and there's no way I can get it braided by then. Anyone know of any rug shows I could send it to and not have to attend? That's the only way it'd get seen or have someone else take it to shows as car, and money wise I won't be able to go anywhere for a long time.