Lesson: Hook a bit here, then a bit there

I'll be away from the rug hooking frame while I clear out some backlogged paperwork to get ready to do the dreaded taxes. It used to take a day or so to get things ready but with the business, it seems to take forever. I have decided to hit it hard and get it done.


While clearing off my hard drive, I found this photo. It is a bit dark, but it is a perfect example of how I hook all over the project. This helps me to get a feel for how the colors work and if I run into a problem, I just move on. My goal is to complete the background before I complete the motifs.

This is a footstool pattern available from Kim Nixon at www.undertherug.com called Square Pocketful. You can see it finished here. I designed a companion footstool.



This footstool was designed to work out some of the design ideas I had for my room-sized rug. For those of you following the blog you can see the resemblance. This pattern is called Annie's Square Flower Power and you can purchase it on Kim's site also. This is the only pattern of mine that is not available from www.spruceridgestudios.com

Use and Abuse of Hand Hooked Rug

I use my hand hooked rugs as rugs. It is remarkable how well they hold up. Wool is one of the very best fibers for rugs. It does not accumulate dirt and because I hook on rug warp, my rugs can take what my animals dish out. Watch the movie below to see what I mean.



Luckily, Jack has never damaged shoes. He prefers the shoe laces, but leaves the shoes alone. When he gets excited, nothing works like a tennis shoe. I think he is enjoying the rug shifting on the floor. When the rug is finished, it will have a rubber mat below it to hold it in place. This is mainly for safety, but I will need it to keep the rug from being plowed into the wall.

This was taken when I had the rug downstairs to mark the holidays (gaps in the hooking). I am finally done with that, but I still need to get the gaps hooked. The last few weeks were lost in holiday (Christmas and New Year) activities and my husband being home. For the last several days I have been getting my project for Teachers' Workshop finished. My report is due soon even though the class isn't until March. Here's what Jackson thinks about it:

Day 442 Center DONE. . . well, almost

I "finished" the center this morning. It is not not completely done because I need to check for holidays. This means that I will inspect the back of the rug and look for larger than normal spaces where I did not hook. They are easy to see on the back but impossible to see on the front.

Some of the early books I read suggested using toothpicks to mark the holes. I found that technique almost impossible. When I marked a bunch of them and then put the rug back on the frame, many of the toothpicks pushed out because they hit the grippers on my frame. Yarn is so much easier. You can roll the rug up, transport it and then get right back to filling in the holidays without any of the markers falling out. Below is the back of my rug with just two spaces marked. You can clearly see the spaces.



On the front, all you see is the yarn. I will find the holes by pushing up with my fingers at the spot marked by the yarn. A loop or two is all that is needed to fill most spaces. I usually do this when the rug is completely done, but I will not be able to reach the center once I hook all the borders.

Now why is all this important? It has to do with wear. As the rug is on the floor and walked on, the loops surrounding the holiday will fall over to fill in the space. Making the surface uniform will ensure even wear.

DID YOU KNOW? I don't usually shrink the pictures I post on this blog. If you want a closer view, you can click on the picture.

Day 441 Wool Sale Status

The wool sale on my website is going well. Thank you to everyone who has placed an order. One of the wools is sold out, but there is plenty. Go to my website for phone and email information. I plan to update the site immediately after each order, so you can see the status of each one right away.

The wool is normally $22.00 a yard, but until January 18 will be only $18.00. Shipping is a standard $6 for all orders less than $100. When you order $100 or more, I will ship it for free.

Day 440 Almost done with center

Yesterday I taught a class at the Black Swamp Quilt Shoppe. I took the room-sized rug with me and took the picture there. After working this morning, I have most of the area to the left of the center finished.

Day 436 Organization

Yesterday we heard that my husband will be getting a month long layoff over the holidays. Stress always makes me antsy. The side effect is that my home gets deep cleaned and organized. Creativity goes straight out the window.

When I got the call I was hooking so the table next to me was the first to feel the frenzy. I was frustrated by having to dig to find just the right green I needed to hook the scroll. I emptied the basket, sorted things out and used my Strip Sorter Rings.



These sorters are available on my website. The sorters are near the bottom of the supplies page.



To raise cash, I have decided to have a texture sale. I have been working on getting the programing done for my online store but the state of Ohio has an incredibly confusing sales tax structure. It will take much more time.

I will post a simple page with all the textures (dozens of bolts) and you can order the old fashioned way, by phone or mail. My standard shipping will apply -- $6 Priority for all US orders unless over $100. Once you order $100, the shipping is free. It will take some time to get all the pictures, so keep watching. I will post a notice here and on my homepage.

Day 425 Thanksgiving weekend, some progress

The dog on the rug is my son's dog, Mickey. They were visiting over the holiday. Bob and his girlfriend, Amanda, live in NYC. It was great to see them. Since I was showing off the rug it was a good time to take a picture.

It has been over a month since my last post. I thought I would be able to show you a finished center after just one full week. I was only able to squeeze out a few days so I made some progress, but not as much as I had hoped. I think my goal to have this rug finished by the ATHA national is in jeo...

OH CRAP... well, urine actually. As I was writing this, my puppy, Jackson, decided that my rug was a better place to relieve himself instead of the cold wet (and still raining) ground outside. My rug was in a pile in the livingroom. This was not his first accident but he has been doing so well with the potty training. The spot he hit was just bare backing so I could get it very wet and use neutralizer. He was caught in the act so my husband and Jack are now having a heart-to-heart talk and some quality time outside.

Where was I? Oh yes, the national. My goal was to have the rug done by the ATHA national next fall. I haven't designed the major border yet, so I don't know the final size, but the square inches left to hook are probably more than what I have done so far. I am discouraged because it is getting close to the end of the year and I need to find a new accountant. I will need several weeks to finish preparing for a class in March. While my out of town schedule for 2009 is light, I will still be gone for many weeks during the year. Listen to me,I am whining. I need to recommit to just 30 minutes a day. It will get me further than I am now. So here's my promise: It is Sunday night and I will post a picture of my progress next Sunday. I should have 3 and a half hours of progress after 7 days. I know several of you out there are watching.

Sauder Village

The rug retreat at Sauder Village in Archbold, OH was another great week. This is a picture of my classroom. I am supposed to be sitting in the corner of the room between Pam and Jan who are hard at work. I just had to get closer to the wool table to be sure I did not miss something so I took a picture while I was over there. My teacher was Anita White and I used the week to work with paisleys for the first time.


This is a small piece of the "show and tell" held one afternoon later in the week. Notice the oak tree on the left. This is not a real tree but a sculpture by an artist. It is the backdrop for our breakfast every morning.

If you are interested in Sauder for next year, get on the mailing list. In November you will receive a postcard that announces when the site will be up for registration. On that day there is a mad dash to print and fax it in. You can now register right on line also.

What did I hook? A new pattern that I designed called "Antique Rose Basket." This pattern is currently available from Spruce Ridge Studios in two sizes. I am hooking the larger one.



The colors are a bit softer than I normally use. The hit and miss is in all medium tones. I will hook more of this before I make a decision about how to hook the rest. I may revert to my "old ways." The border is a hodgepodge of ideas. On the left I hooked the spiral in just anything to hold it and hooked the border background at one of my hooking gatherings, just to have something to hook.

Ready for Sauder Village!

I finalized the pattern I will hook at Sauder Village. Sorry for the words plastered across the pattern, but this pattern is for sale and will be on Spruce Ridge Studio's website soon. It is called "Antique Rose Basket." The colors will be similar to my room-sized rug. I'll continue to hook with these colors and shapes until I get them out of my system. One difference is that the scroll around the outside will be hooked with paisleys. I am taking Anita White's class so I am looking forward to supplementing my stash. I bought some paisley in Manistee from Cynthia Norwood. I have never hooked with them before, so I will let you know how it goes in August.

I hooked most of the weekend, so I will try to take another picture on Monday.

To dye or not to dye.

I found this in my drafts. It was never posted.

I received a question and thought I would answer it in a new post.

I am a newbie to rug hooking, and have a slightly silly question. Do you buy undyed wool? Or do you over dye?

New rug hookers are often frustrated when their rugs do not look the way they want them to. As with any art or craft, your work is only as good as the materials you use to make them. For the scoop on rug hooking, a subscription to Rug Hooking Magazine is a must. Their website has been rewritten lately if you haven't visited in a while.

Rug hookers as a rule prefer hand dyed wool. You cannot create the same look with factory dyed wool. That does not mean that you have to dye the wool yourself. You can buy it from someone else, usually a teacher. You can find the teachers at workshops (and you find the workshops in Rug Hooking Magazine) or if you are lucky, you can find one in your local area. Use the McGown National Guild website as a starting point. They list teachers by state.

Some rug hookers prefer to dye their own wool. Be sure to get into dyeing because you love the process of making color. It is very physical. You must lift heavy pots filled with water and you are on your feet, often for hours. Do not get into dyeing because you are shocked at the price for dyed wool. When you dye your own wool, you have to “buy” all your mistakes as well as the final color. It often takes me four or five pots to match a particular color if I have to develop my own recipe. That experience will cost you much more than the price of hand dyed wool and you lost hours of hooking time that you can never get back.

If you decide to get into dyeing, order my book, Dyeing by the Numbers, from my website. It is a dye book with some recipes but the focus is on technique. I was unable to find this information anywhere else for my students. I started jotting down notes and it turned into over 60 pages of instruction. Order the Recipes From the Dye Kitchen PRO Chem starting kit and a few tri-pour beakers. The starter kit is not in the catalog, but PRO Chem assures me that it is still available. Use #SLINC, price is $10.95 as of May 27, 2008. It is a low cost way to get started. But read my book before you purchase anything else. I explain why I prefer stainless steel to the enamel pots that others prefer. I give you the facts on both sides and you decide for yourself which will work. It will save you years of experimenting or struggling with the wrong equipment.

Thanks for the question. If you are wondering about something involving rug hooking be sure to ask. Leave a comment here, or ask privately by contacting me through www.cindigayrughooking.com.

Day 275 Progress on border and scroll

The Manistee camp was great fun. I love the area. The lakes (Portage and Michigan) are beautiful and I cannot get enough. Wets my appetite for September in New Jersey at Cape May. Walking the beach before and after rug camp is a bit of heaven.

It seems impossible, but my last important post for this rug was Day 99. That was when I first tried the circle border. I hooked a bit on the main part of the center since then, but my time has been tied up with my website, teaching and packing.

The more I hook the circles, the more they belong. I will hook another foot or two before I begin to lay out the next border which will be based on the Queen Anne Rose stair riser (the top one). These patterns are available at Spruce Ridge Studios.

I tried to fill the spots in between the circles with multicolors and then with just one neutral. I think I like just dark for the background, so that is what I will continue to hook. You can never be sure what will work until you hook a bit and live with it or a while. 176 days are not usually required.

Greetings from Manistee, MI

This week I am in Manistee Michigan at the 8th annual Manistee Rug School. The camp has moved to a new location at the new high school and we have all the room we need. My classroom is on a corner with a wide hallway just outside the door. I can spread out the room-sized rug there and really see it. I will take a picture tomorrow and post it here. I hooked a bit more of the circle border before I left and thanks to the long drive up here, I have some new inspirations that I need to draw up.

The other teachers at this camp this year are Pris Butler, Cynthia Norwood, Jon Ciemiewicz, and Wanda Kerr. I will also be teaching at this camp next year. See my website for more information.

Several weeks ago I was in Wisconsin teaching my pine tree method to the Cream City Guild. A special thank you to everyone involved. It was a long week, but I enjoyed every minute of it, including the tornado warning at the end.

Alaina helps me dye again

Here is Ally helping my get ready to dye today. The bottom picture is of Ally several years ago when she helped me test my dye book colors. Notice the difference in her height. She is officially taller than me.

Hooked Purse Progress

I spent last week at Southern McGown Teachers' Workshop. Rubbing elbows with all those teachers really gets the creative juices flowing.

My sewing machine broke so I tried to sew the lining together by hand. I took the supplies with me to workshop and would have been able to use the purse if the lining was a better design. I have the purse together and love the shape.

The handles were attached by sewing them on with a leather tool that my husband had in his tool collection. A quick lesson later and the handles were professionally attached. Now if I can just get the lining right. I will try again and show you the final product when it is done.

The top edge is finished with a crocheted edge. Just prepare the edge in the same way you prepare for a whipped edge. Then crochet with a #7 or #8 cut strip. I sell pieces of natural wool that are 15 yards long and the equivalent of 1 yard. I dye and cut this into strips to crochet the edge so I have one complete piece and not a lot of ends.

Thank you to all of you who have sent me emails or made comments here. It helps to remind me to get a new post up and keeps me focused. Yesterday I decided to do what I preach. Five strips minimum a day will complete a rug. It felt good to get hooking on the big rug again.

Right now the dye pots are out and I am getting ready for the workshop season, but I still plan to squeeze in at least five strips a day.

Rug Hooked Purse

I haven't hooked much on the large rug. Instead I have been messing with the computer. Some good and some bad, such as reformatting and troubleshooting problems.

A few days ago I decided I wanted a new purse to take with me to Teachers' Workshop. I knew what shape I wanted, but I was struggling with the design. I wanted to include the new rose motif that I have been using in my current rug designs. I could not come up with a design I liked and the clock was ticking. I leave this Sunday so I decided to hook it with a simple geometric pattern instead.

I have been trying some breathing and meditation techniques. One morning it was like the window to my creativity was flung wide open. Why not include both? I had already hooked one side, but the second side was still blank rug warp.

I drew in the rose and changed the leaves as I hooked and then I filled in with the square background. I love the result.

I had planned to keep this blog strictly for the large rug, but I thought you might enjoy seeing my other projects. This design has spurred a new stair riser pattern for those of you who are hooking the stair riser series I am designing for Spruce Ridge Studios. Check with Kris Miller to see when it will be available.

New Website Name! cindigayrughooking.com

Thank you to everyone who emailed their opinions on the website name. A special thanks to Sunnie Andress of sunnieandressdesigns.com. The majority of you thought my name was an important part of the website name. Sunnie suggested www.cindigayrughooking.com. Perfect!

I purchased that name AND www.cindygayrughooking.com. I am now back to a name that reflects who I am, what the site is about and I don't have to spell it every time I give it out.

I am still on the computer a lot, but I am making some rug hooking progress. I have moved everything back to the studio upstairs because I now have 19 boxes of Bellawood Brazilian Mesquite sitting in the kitchen ready for installation in the living room.

I might have some progress shots this weekend if we can line up a nailer. . .

P.S. That is Gracie, my new kitten, keeping me company while I hook. The rug has gotten so big that the pile of it behind the frame and in front of my Ott light is just the right size for a comfortable cat bed.

I need to rename my website, please vote.

In November I had a billing mix up with my web host. As a result, I lost the rights to www.cindygay.com (Cindi with a y). My website is still OK because I use www.cindigay.com (with two i's). Before I realized what happened, a porno site picked up my name. Just a day or so later, I saw an article on the Internet about how this is happening quite often. I haven't had the courage to visit the site (there is an opening warning about the content) so I don't know if there is (ahem...) a legitimate reason for them to pick up the name.

For the last five years I have been telling everyone that my website is www.cindigay.com and if they entered www.cindygay.com they still got to my website, so the spelling was not important. Now it is. I reserved the following names. Which do you prefer? Do you have something else in mind? I'd love to hear your ideas. Please email them to me at rugmail-blog@yahoo.com.

• www.cindigay.com
• www.rughookingexplained.com
• www.rughookinglessons.com
• www.rughooklessons.com
• www.rughooksupplies.com

Day 99. I am settled into the circle border with one exception. Do I want to hook multi-colored spots in between the circles, or do I want to keep that feature consistent? I have already ruled out hooking all the background black. I like the way the extra spots almost camouflage the circles. Hooking an all black background made the circles stand out too much.

As you can see I started on the right with multi-colored spots. I switched to a beige wool to hook the spots and am tinkering with the idea of using that as the background for the major border. That border is the one that started everything with the stair risers, Queen Anne Rose and Annie's Scrolls, available at Spruce Ridge Studios. On my page you will need to scroll down about half way to see the stair risers.

The biggest lesson here is that I hooked the new idea (all one color spots) that came to me to see what it looked like. AND I am not taking out my first attempt. I may even hook more mult-colored spots until I am sure of my decision. I will not change the discarded idea until I have no more room to hook. I often find that leaving the little oddities in the rug (usually because I just plain forget to go back) make the rug so much more interesting. I try to never rip out until I need that room to hook.

How easily we forget!

My focus for the last two years has been to "get crooked." I thought I had made a breakthrough with Karen Kahle at Sauder Village in 2006. I was working on her Antique Rose Runner during the lunch break. All the other students were off eating and I was so excited about what and how I was hooking that I decided to work through lunch.

A woman came into the classroom to see what we were working on. I sat on the far side of the room. When she made her way to me, I stretched out the backing so she could get a better view. "Nice," she mumbled. I then explained how I was concentrating on making everything crooked. She brightened up and said, "Oh, it is supposed to be that way."

She probably felt sorry for me. This poor hooker can't hook a straight line!

I love this story because that week changed my hooking dramatically. I explained the feeling to my friends as "hooking naked." I had no cares about what row I was hooking in. I grabbed whatever color was on top. I turned my brain off and hooked away. I had that rug finished within two weeks of coming home. I usually return from camp with less than a square foot hooked.

I applied this mind set to the design of this rug. The four corners are slightly different. Nothing is perfect. But when I got to hooking the boundaries for the hit and miss, I hooked three rows in perfect alignment. I was unhappy about the look, see the post for Day 35! It took me this long to figure out what was wrong. This is one reason I always move out to the borders ASAP.

I decided to use the line I drew for the edge as a guideline only. I wavered three holes left and right at random. Then I hooked another strip on each side for the three rows I wanted. Much better. You can see the crooked rows in the post for Day 094. In Day 065 you can see how much of the straight stuff I ripped out.

I don't have this rug in my rug gallery on my website yet. I will let you know here when it is up and ready. www.cindigay.com

Border progress-Cat's paw

I have always loved the Cat's Paw rugs. I wanted to include this design in one of the minor borders, but I was afraid that it would look too modern. I decided to hook up a section. It looks great. Do you agree? I decided to make the background the darkest background value that I am using to outline the motifs in the center of the rug.

This test proves that what looks bad (or good) on paper as a black and white drawing can look very different once it is hooked. If I had not been so determined to find a way to make this design work, I would never have attempted it. On paper it looks very modern and completely out of sync with the center.