Padula Pomegranate

I finished the Padula Pomegranate rug I started at Prairie Rose Rug School with Ingrid Hieronimus as my teacher.

Each flower is a little different but using the same wool colors. The background is a silver sparkle Dorr wool going one direction with a spot dye and the other is a gold sparkle with the solid of the spot dye colors.
I got the idea for this background by looking at the ceiling in the ladies room. Ingrid had just mentioned that ideas are everywhere and I looked up and saw mine.
Ingrid had so many wonderful ideas with this rug and I learned so much.

My Lincoln Bag and Padula Pomegranates

First of all I'll show you my Lincoln Bag. I have had such a hard time with this bag that I almost had to start over on the leather work. When I FINALLY got it back from the leather place I sent it to, and it took months, I wanted to cry. It was put together with yellow leather. The yellow completely washed out the whole bag and it was awful! After a few days of depression I got some leather dye and started to dye the leather a brown. It took the whole bottle. Then I just put some Neatsfoot oil on it. Well, that wasn't enough of a seal.

At Prairie Rose I had my water in the bag when I was going to class and it leaked. There was dye going everywhere! It was on my hands, my clothes, the floor, my chair...everywhere! I was so disappointed I wanted to throw the whole thing away. When we left Prairie Rose it was raining and even that got more dye on me.

My dear friend Patty Tyrrell got a hold of her neighbor who does beautiful leather work and Patty took my bag home with her for her neighbor to look at. I wanted to have the leather removed and new leather sewn on the bag but the neighbor was a little too nervous to do that. She and Patty did dye a piece of leather and put a sealer over it. They tested three sealers and when they were dry Patty did the water test. One won out.

I bought new dye and the sealer and went to work again. For now I'm pretty happy. Last time I checked I could wipe a little dye off with a wet cloth but nothing like it was. I'm leaving it alone for a while and waiting to see if it cures better with time. If not I'll try adding more sealer.

Yes, I did tell them the color of leather I wanted, and no they didn't do it. Yes I paid $125 for the work and no I didn't say anything to them about it. It took so long to get it back and they were so awful about communication I was afraid to send it back. The bag was sewn beautifully. It has a great canvas lining and pockets and I had a zipper put in the top. If I ever do have it redone I will do it locally where I can pick my own leather out.

I've been working on the background of my Padula Pomegranates. One square has gold sparkle with a spot dye and the other one is silver sparkle with the compliment solid. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with this when it's done. I WAS going to put it on my bedroom floor but now that I have a white background I don't think that's a good idea.

Prairie Rose Rug School 2016

This was another amazing year for Prairie Rose Rug School 2016 at Assumption Abbey in Richardton, SD.There were 40 of us this year which took a little getting used to since we aren't usually that big, but you know what they say, "The more the merrier!" and the saying is right.

My teacher this year was Ingrid Hieronimus. If you ever have a chance to take a class from her I highly recommend it. Her sense of color and design are outstanding. 

I am doing a design by Monika Jones, Folk Art Landing, and we did a grid in the background for a design that you can barely see at the bottom. One square is gold metallic and the other is silver metallic with different colored stripes. The reds and purples were colors I dyed but the golds, blue, and dip dyed greens are all Ingrid. The solid gold has the gold metallic. I wish this showed more of the detail. What ever I did on one side, I switched around on the other side. 

This rug got so many compliments and I understand there was a lot of talk about it. Pris Butler, another teacher, kept coming by to see what else we had done to it. 

Ingrid was so much fun. If I ever have a chance to take another class from her I will be there. I think I'm her new groupie. 

The Monks take such good care of all of us and the kitchen catered to my celiac. I had so much fun that I can't wait to go again next year.

Check out our group blog at http://wildwestrughookers.blogspot.com/ to see what others were working on and soon I will put the rug show up.

Laszlo Completed

I finished the Laszlo rug from The Woolley Fox.  He is an adaptation from an antique coverlet.

 The first one I saw was hooked by Debra Inglis and I fell in love. It was such a breath of fresh air to hook after the Lincoln Bag, which I still haven't gotten back from the bag maker. The colors aren't showing up as rich as they really are but you get the idea.

I was going to whip the edge with the strips I used in the border but they were shredding too bad so I did a binding much like a quilt binding. It worked out really well. I saw Debra Inglis using that technique on her Laszlo. There are good directions for this method in Cynthia Norwood's book Primitive Hooked Rugs for the 21st Century. If you like primitive you really should take a look at her book. It is a wealth of information.

As simple as the design is, anytime anyone has seen it I got a WOW! It has a lot of impact. This is, without question, one of my top favorite rugs.

Floral Banner and Lincoln Bag

After finishing my Lion and Lamb rug I started hooking on my Lincoln Bag. Below is a picture of it partially finished. The bag design was taken from a photo of an auction picture of a bag that they claimed had belonged to Abraham Lincoln. He was very gracious and was said to give his carpet bags away if he saw someone in need. Unfortunately, since I was so excited to send my finished rug off to Down Home Leather, in Mount Vernon, OH to be finished I forgot to get a picture of it completely hooked. 

 I changed the bottom center of the rug design just a little. There was part of a rectangle piece that didn't relate, at least to me. I can't wait to show my completed bag when it gets here. Down Home Leather will line the bag with a sturdy canvas, add an inner pocket, sew leather gussets on the sides and a leather top and handles. I am also getting a zipper in mine. It is a pretty large bag so I want to be able to keep contents secure.

 Thanks to Pinterest I saw this design by Red Barn Rugs. I fell in love with it and knew I had to hook it. This photo makes the rug seem much brighter than it really is. I was so excited to move on to a size 8 strip after using a 4 for the Lion and Lamb and the Lincoln Bag that I finished it in no time at all.

When my new hooking friend Debra Inglis was binding her Laszlo rug from the Wooley Fox  I fell head over heals in love with the design. I wanted to completely copy Debra's rug but out of courtesy I chose to copy Debra Burchin's color scheme instead. I am almost finished with the center of the rug but I'll show it to you when I get more done. 

Hopefully my next blog will be showing off my Lincoln Bag!

Lion and Lamb Finished

The Lion and Lamb rug is finally finished! I chose to put a sky in the background instead of the green that Margaret Pitman used simply because I have sage green walls and I didn't want green overload.

It felt like I had hooked this forever but in reality it only took 3 1/2 months. It is a lot bigger than it looks and the lion body seemed to go on forever. Thank you to Leonard Feenan, Judy Carter, Margaret Pittman, and everyone else I asked opinions of.

Lion and Lamb Update for January

I have finally finished the lion body and the lamb body. Well, almost. I see a spot on the lamb I want to change. His neck wrinkle looks like it goes into his leg.

I have also finished the grass since I took this picture. Now I'm on to the log that the lion is laying on. I keep saying that I have no idea what I'm doing but once I say it, I seem to just jump in and hook. If I don't like it I take it out, and I have unhooked a lot! I am so happy I am done with the animals. This is a pretty big rug and the lion seemed to go on forever. But I keep taking baby steps and eventually it will be done.