Rugs & Dogs

Once again time has run away from me. Summer has come and gone. The garden was challenged by cool weather this summer but we did add blueberries, raspberries, some fruit trees and a few other things.

Here is the "Mini Sarouk" pattern that I recently finished – except for whipping and binding. This project was a joy from day one until the last loop was pulled. There may be some minor revisions…or I may just leave it as is. Now I just have to get around to dyeing yarn to bind the darned thing. And maybe figure out how to make fringe.

One reason I have been particularly busy is the addition of a new family member: Sasuke was born on August 4, 2010 in Salem, Oregon. We drove up on September 25 to bring him home and he has certainly won me over. He is a very sweet puppy…and smart! I believe that he is a healer and I hope to be able to write about that at some time.

Introducing Sasuke to 8-year old Musashi - who has been an "only" dog for two years now – was more traumatic than I had anticipated. Sasuke came to us weighing in at TWO pounds and Moosie thought he was a squeaky toy. After a week or so of constant supervision, they are now the best of buddies. They play and sleep and do doggy things together and really seem to love one another. Yep…change…takes time…

10 Minute Challenge

I finished the Fall leaves mat at the end of January. It felt good to be hooking with a #3 fine cut again. It is much slower going but certainly more control in shading.

The next project I picked up was one with finches on a fence that had not been started.  I started hooking a couple of flowers but for some reason was just very unhappy with them and finally set it aside.  This is the point when I probablywould have tucked my hooking away and not get around to starting anything new.  But having taken the 10 minute challenge I begrudgingly forged ahead.

I pulled out a piece called Water Nymph which I started quite a few years ago- probably more than 10. I put it away because in dyeing the background, I kept trying to get it darker so dyed and redyed until the wool felted too much. It is very thick - almost blanket-weight -and somewhat difficult to work with. When I was at Cape May a couple of years ago, I picked up a primitive coarse Hartman hook with a wide shaft and that has made the job a bit easier. Here is how it looked when I picked it up February 9.  This is in a #6 cut and is moving along fairly quickly.  How exciting!

10 Minute Challenge - Week One

Wow! Amazing what can be accomplished with the commitment to spend 10 minutes each day hooking. This exercise has really reinforced the fact that my major obstacle is initiation - once begun, a project grabs my attention and away we go.

Here is the progress on "World of Harmony" after one week...

10-Minute Challenge

I started the 10-minute rug hooking challenge on Monday...as expected, 10 minutes most often turns into 45. Here is a picture of current rug at beginning of the challenge.

Unfortunately it became obvious last night that I would not have enough wool to complete the sky. Thus followed a frantic search for my notes from when I first dyed this wool - fortunately I was able to find them and I hit the dye pots today. I have been told for years to keep detailed notes whenever dyeing. I've not often done so, but this time I guess I listened. Whew! So many factors enter into the process - water temperature, placement and timing of adding various dyes, how frequently and vigorously the pot is stirred - but I think I got some usable "sky" wool. There are a couple of darker values that can be worked in....original "sky" is on the left - today's dyeing is on the right. Yippee! Tomorrow, it's back to hooking...10 more minutes.

Ten-Minute Rug Hooking Challenge

Initiation - getting started on a project -any project! - has always been one of my greatest challenges. Once begun, I enjoy just about whatever I find myself doing...it's that first push to get started that trips me up.

April DeConick of Red Jack Rugs (http://www.redjackrugs.blogspot.com/) is a fellow blogger and rug hooker. She came up with a great idea to inspire hookers to keep focused and working - work on your rugs 10 minutes a day, six days a week (excluding holidays) for at least six months. Brilliant! Work" includes anything rug-related: designing, drawing, laying out, dyeing, hooking, binding, even shopping for materials.

Okay, it's time to get serious about getting into gear. I'm taking the challenge and I'm starting today! It may take me 10 minutes to gather my materials and get ready to hook - does that count? I know once I get started, I will very likely work for more than 10 minutes...okay, I'm off to begin the fun!