DECEMBER 2013
and Happy New Year
It has been some time since I added to the web pages for this year. There were only a few rugs brought to the November meeting.. we were busy getting together our Star Christmas exchange projects, and so I decided to wait and add these rugs with our December post.
Then I forgot my camera at the December meeting.. disaster, but two members have come to the rescue, so many thanks to them for the photos below.
Just a quick note, we have had a few members retire from the group due to ill health, so if anybody would be interested in joining us, please be in touch. We have a varied programme of projects, and you will learn to rug make along the way…
Just now we are making WW1 sweetheart pincushions.. I am really excited about these… I am using tea dyed fabrics, stamped images, lace, buttons and beads, combining sewing and hooking into the cushion. so if you like sewing and embroidery, quilting you can combine these skills with hooking or prodding.
So onto the rugs…
This colourful rug and the one above are made using up tee shirting. One of the things I most like about using tee shirts is the gorgeous jewel like colours that you can collect.
Another beautiful proddy rug, this time in soft tweeds. This was made as a present, I think the recipient will be delighted.
This hooked rug completes a set of three rugs designed to reflect the Northumberland coast line. The challenge here was in choosing the wools to reflect the movement of the sea and waves, and also the shore line.
This rug is made using the toothbrush technique. These rugs are great for throwing in the washing machine… in my house they have outlasted any commercially bought rugs…
The group has been grateful for some recent donations to our stock of tools that members can borrow on short loan. We have had donated a fabric strip cutter, some latch hooks and a Rumplestiltskin punch needle.. we are really grateful for these, they will be well used and looked after.
And finally our Christmas exchange, featuring some beautifully creative solutions to the brief of a star. The size varies from a tree hanging to something to go on the wall. I love all of them, the father Christmas with his hands feet and hat at the five points of the star, the star floating in the night sky over the world, the star made of silver ribbons, the locker hooked star against the night sky, the smaller star tree ornaments, the way some members have avoided finishing the awkward angles of the star by putting an easier shape around the star! and the mixtures of colours in the primitive hooked star. Many thanks to the members for the photo.
The October meeting consisted of a mix of craft items from those members who had not been able to come along in September, and some new rugs. I have added the craft items into the September meeting notes below.
There have been a few pictures of this rug in progress over the last couple of years. its lovely to see it finished. It is finely hooked thus the time..
The other rug that was brought to the show and tell is a mixture of proddy and hooking.
The next three small rugs were all made by one of our members who went on the rag rug retreat at Reeth in September. She was asked to take some hooked work, and then the continuous braid was added in the workshop run by Kris McDermet.
We also have her book Combining Rug Hooking & Braiding: Basics, Borders, & Beyond in our library.
There were also two new hooked cards.. useful work for those occasions when you cannot carry a full size rug.. one with a Christmas theme, one with a balloon.
… a bit of a puzzle, I bought this printed linen, I think, canvas in a charity shop. Its too fine thread count to be for rug hooking, but maybe its for punch needle.. it certainly looks like “padula” flowers.. there is no makers mark. I would love to know more about it..
Reminder: Bring your stars in progress to the November meeting…
The September meeting was really special this year. Over the years the group have heard about other crafts that the members follow, and this was their opportunity to showcase these other skills. A lot of these other skills can feed back into rugging in one way or another.. what about some of the lovely calligraphy hooked as cushions??? and of course the real stained glass reflects our last project.
Ive grouped the images into calligraphy, knitting, needle crafts, lace, and wood and glass. What a lot of talents..Enjoy..
Ps. next month we will be back to rugging as usual. We are preparing our Christmas exchange, which this year has stars as the theme.
Painting
Wood and glass:
Stained glass and wood carving.. the flexicut tools make carving easier. The stained glass needs to be held to the light to reveal its best colour.
Calligraphy:A mix of practice and final pieces on paper and material. Apologies for the white lines, the glass cover was reflecting the ceiling lights.
Knitting: Socks, baby shawl and afghan.
Patchwork and quilting, including Amish inspired quilt, and quillow, dressmaking, tapestry and cross stitch, toymaking.
Bobbin lace and tatting and beading
And of course we have some new rugs:
This snowy scene is a good example of using one colour and a lot of texture.
We also have one new stained glass picture to add to the collection:
The July meeting saw the completion of all our hard work during the year on the stained glass pictures, each approximately A4 in size. We are now looking for a venue to display these pictures, so please be in contact with us via the contact page if you would like to display these pictures.
We also had some new rugs displayed at the meeting, the pink one below was made with blankets.
The sheep wall hanging was my demonstration on the day we covered to Industrial museum with rag rug sheep, and it has been subsequently completed. Where I live, I look up our hill and see sheep outlined against the sky at the top of the hill. On the day one of the visitors said the sky looked like Vincent Van Goughs Starry night painting!
The braided circles (meadow flowers on my rug) are from the braiding book newly acquired for our library, Combining Rug Hooking and Braiding, Basics Borders and beyond by Kris McDermet. The horns are wrapped around pipe cleaners, and he has a boot button for a nose.
As well as the AGM we also had a demonstration on making two strand braided rugs. These rugs are joined to the previous row as you make them, no sewing at the end.
The blue/purple one is made from lots of odds and ends, and the fawn/white one is made from one double duvet cover, which was one colour on each side. They are machine washable.
And now for our June meeting. It was based around knitted rugs, I brought some knitted rugs made over the years, and a newly finished bag, which combines knitting and proddy, inspired by a crochet squares bag seen in a magazine.
Our members brought along a completed heart punch needle book mark in pretty denims and pinks, a lovely plastic bag knitted shopping bag, and three individual seat pads, all in interesting designs, and one made from recycled socks! for our show and tell.
We are all hopefully finishing our stained glass windows for our AGM in July.
We have not updated this years pages till now as we have been busy preparing for a fantastic day at Bradford Industrial museum, when we secretly hid rag rug sheep around the entrance to the museum. It coincided with the Museums “Grand Day Out” and we had over 500 visitors. The children loved counting all the sheep, and adults also were quick to tune in to sheep spotting and loved the humour, behind some of the exhibits. The weather was good, and some of the sheep were able to sit ontop of pillar boxes, wrap themselves around lamp posts, and decorate the stables. We were also able to add our lovely Jubilee bunting to the bunting erected by the museum, to celebrate the newly refurbished Back to Back houses, which were officially opened by the Mayor.
We also hid sheep around the museum, a bit more difficult to photo.. but these photos will give you a flavour..
Here are some close ups of some of the sheep.
In April we had a very productive workshop learning or refreshing skills in punch needle crafts, including larger scale work began in Amy Oxfords workshop over here last year, to fine punch needle to make brooches and small wall hangings. Here are some of our tools:
These are some of the rugs being made.. including the workers…
The group has also been energetically producing rugs in a variety of designs.
A group of us had a delightful weekend at Cober Hill, our annual rug retreat, the priority was to finish our various sheep rugs for the “Grand Day Out” including making lots of flower brooches to adorn various china and soft toy sheep, and we also found time to work on our own projects. We were joined this year by two friends, and the first picture is textile work using dyed blankets and thorns, by one of the friends.
The last of the Christmas exchange postcards.. and a welcome into the new year.
A small dolls house rug.
And a sheep… we are working on this theme until May, for an event at the Museum.
More sheep..
and a thought on some textures for future sheep..
and a little panda card.
Our other main theme for the next few months is rug hooking with wool. As well as the sheep making we are all making a stained glass window, roughly A4 size, to display in July.
We have been looking at the useful book “Hooking with Yarn” by Judy Taylor, which has now also been republished, and our inspiration for the glass patterns has come partly from the copyright free book English Muffle. Compiled by Peter Foster, and designs by David and Rose Wilson, and Peter Foster.
Kay brought a finished example to inspire us all.
Other group member s also brought examples of their lovely yarn hooking.
This rug is growing slowly because it is all made with one strand of rug wool.
This rug was made some time ago.
These two rugs are also good examples of hooking with wools. the heart picture is made from crewel wools.
The country scene hooked in wools, with the tree hooked separately then sewn onto the rug and lightly stuffed is like a version of stump work. The first picture is the inspiration source, an embroidery in french knots, the second picture is the rug.