HD day8 Almost Done

Hopes and Dreams is almost done, Just a corner, row of border, and binding and I'll be through. I'll get the last of the hooking done tonight watch Trial and Retribution. It's a UK cop show we follow. We watch a lot of British TV. The binding will get done tomorrow, just simple whipping, nothing fancy. This rug is getting done in less time than the dragon mat. I'm happy with my speed on this.

I'll get back to Voogee and get her done. She's definitely a her. Then back to the Family Rug. I really want to get it done before the end of March, April at the latest. If I can get it done by the end of March and if I can talk my hubby into it, going up to Virginia for the Rugfest show. I'd really love to go to it someway. It'll be a long drive and it'll depend on how the poor car is doing and money--always money as we are still paying for 3 places plus utilities because of the kids.

I will be doing up some new designs. I found my needlepoint masters that I used to for drawing needlepoint canvases. I will have to enlarge the designs somewhat as the designs are too small for hooking as is. I will be doing a Green Cat which is along the lines of a Greenman except with a cat face and winged mice. My Walk Me Please Dragon, some of my Star and Patchwork Snowmen. Tribal Phoenix, Dragon riders, and Dragons in Flight. There will also be a new one There Be Dragons Welcome mat, and I have been thinking of doing something with dinosaurs. Not that much different from doing dragons, but thinking in terms of kid's rooms. Also have some fairy, knights and other fantasy ideas in my head to try.

I'm hoping I can get the Green Cat out on a piece of linen Saundra, an on line rughooking friend gave me. It's my only piece of rughooking linen I have right now and this design merits using it. Gene Shepherd inspired me today on his blog with his dyeing for his hen rug class. I love some of the mottled colors he is going to be using and I can see some of them in both the Green Cat and Walk Me. Here's a picture of my cross stitch model of the design to give you an idea of what the mat will look similar to. And a picture of the Green cat Painting I did for a friend but I will be doing different colors than this as it was for her house and wanted particular colors in it. The painting was 36 x 60.

Hopes and Dreams 5

A little more done last night on the inner background. Got the right side done and have started on the left adding some swirls, and meandering lines in purples and blues. Gene Shepherd has a write up on the basket on his blog today. http://geneshepherd.com/blog1/ Thank you Gene!!!

I'm debating whether to change the first heart like he suggested to a more solid color rather than shades and swirled like it is now. It is close to blending into the basket color. Maybe hook darker under the first and third hearts so they stand out more? I do agree that the two hearts really aren't as contrasty as they should be.

My friend in Iowa, Barb Barnett, who got me into the rug hooking when I was hunting for sheep fleece to spin weaving yarns because I thought I wanted to be a tapestry weaver, but found I was a hooker, and felter instead, sent me pictures of one of my sheep designs she's hooking with her own hand spun, and hand dyed yarns from her sheep fleece. Barb is also a beginning hooker,, and I think she's doing great. Barb has a number of my early canvases for hooking and is a fantastic rag rug weaver, and felter. She taught me long distance with lots of emails. She also has a flock of about 20-30 sheep of different breeds--Finns, Shetland, Karakuls, Lincoln, and mixed breeds which are wonderful to spin and felt with. She will be shearing soon so check with her for great deals on fleece.
http://barnettsheepandwool.com/rughooking.aspx

Meanwhile back to packing and sorting my junk for the big moving session tomorrow.

New Blog

I'll get the hang of this blog yet. I'm currently into rug hooking and got started when friends in both Wales and in Iowa encouraged me to design some rug hooking canvases for them. I started my first rug in Nov '06 for my grandson that was born February 28, 2007.



I didn't get back into hooking until this fall when my friend in Iowa had me do some more canvases and I started doing 2 rugs I had started in '07, a cat rug and my Greenman rug. The cat got finished by the end of October and I'm still working on the Greenman. He's being done in dyed fleece with a fine hook on Heatherfield cross stitch fabric.





At the end of November I designed and started a new rug for my family based on everyone's Chinese horoscope characters for their year. I designed 28 different characters and arranged them primitive barnyard style on a piece of 44 x 72 burlap. The figures are being hooked in dyed fleece while the background is in dyed recycled wool fabric strips hand cut because I don't have a cutter yet.



I'm also working on a set of 8" dancing stars, tribal sun and moon squares that I will figure out what they're going to be when I get done. I just finished an international trivet swap on Rughookers Yahoo Group and sent my swap mate Elise in the Netherlands a dragon trivet. It was done in my handspun yarns on Aida cloth.



I'm going to be in on Gene Shepherd's hook-in on his blog. Wednesday he showed off all three of the design alternatives I sent him. I was not wild about the original design and had to come up with designs I would hook. http://geneshepherd.com/blog1/?p=1531

Today I'm going through fabrics to use. I think I'll be doing the dragon in a basket first. Yesterday I went to the thrift stores and got about 15 jackets, and skirts to dissemble. Found three great brown plaids for basket--it's hopefully going to look like a pine needle basket, 3 solid creams, 2 light cream plaids, 2 very cheerful red plaids, a solid red, a green wool sweater and black watch plaid. The creams I think are going in the main inner background, while I am still debating on what the outer background is going to be. The greens I got yesterday may or may not go in this piece as I have a bunch of really good dragon greens and leaf colors all ready to go. I think my flowers are either daisies or Sunflowers. Yellows I already have. But kind of low on pinks, purples or blues as they are being held out for other projects.