Poco a Poco

I leave for the airport to welcome my house guest at 6 pm. Until then I am making a mad dash between cleaning, hooking, planning, anticipating. This is what the rug looks like as of noon. I think I've figured out that one of my faux pas was using rug weight wool. Much too heavy and difficult to pull through the backing. But it is really beautiful too so I am living with it. Ok, that's it. Lights out until Sunday.

The Face

Yesterday and today I hooked her face, hair and the flower above. I so long to continue but I am making myself stop after only several hours. Trying to use all my ergonomic knowledge to take care of my hands. I think the cow painting is done too but want to stare at it a little longer before I share. Sometimes I don't see it all immediately after finishing; I like to look at it under different lighting conditions (at different times of the day) and kind of sneak up on it and catch myself by surprise in looking at it. That way I see it afresh and any weirdness pops out. You definitely don't want to see my weirdness.

Checking In

Gosh, I feel guilty about not having more to share. How and when did that happen? At any rate, I've been sidelined by taxes and other nuts and bolts activities; all the things I'd classify as the drudgery end of being a working artist. Others have written about how much time they spend on these uninspiring activities so I wont get into that. Anymore I try to do as little of those things as possible. I just want to have the fun stuff; after being a mom and a worker bee I think it is finally time for me to play.

There are new calves in the field across the lane that are so innocent and untutored that they walk right up to you with trust and sweet expressions on their faces. I confess that they have stolen my heart. So today I am painting a big canvas of a cow with a placid demeanor; wish me luck. You'll see it in a day or two.

Inch by Inch

This is my Sistine Ceiling. In the sense that I have tethered myself to a project that is asking for weeks and months of my life. I have seen much larger rugs than mine in books and online. How in the name of all that is holy did those hookers ever do it? I respect and admire them even more now that I am staring at what seems like acres of territory to fill. Argghhhhh . . . . . . .

Day Off

For several days now I've been comatose under my rug hooking project and I've only come out of my trance today because my over-used body has demanded it. Five years ago I had carpal tunnel surgery and the memory of all that has taught me not to push my body too hard. So reluctantly I have put the hook down (it is a Joan Moshimer hook for all of you in the know and I love it) and today I will clean up the big wooly mess in the studio and maybe start a painting. I've posted 3 photos for you of the progress; there is nothing fast or rhythmic about putting in the stitches for me - I would be interested to hear from anyone who has had an easier time of it.

You are looking at 4 days worth of hooking here - probably at least each day in excess of 8 hours. It is crazy, I know, to work at it so determinedly, but that is how I go about everything. I once spent 30 days straight hand quilting a bed quilt until I had every bit of it done. I found that soothing.

So this is how the rug is going to look until my hand feels better. I may have to hide it somewhere because every time I look at it I want to work on it some more. No no no.

Here is a little bit of what's going on outside in the Pacific Northwest. The daffodils are springing to life. The daphne is preparing to bloom.

It's definitely time to prune the roses if you haven't done so already. Now I'm off to clean the studio.

Like Watching Grass Grow

This is some slow going, friends. Due to my inexperience, most of the wool I purchased was far too thick for what I am doing so I have to use the pliers and pokers more than I should need to. On Monday I did not yet have a rug hook and so I hooked all of the stitches in the top photo with the bent paper clip in the photo which was the only tool I could touje out of my existing supplies. Not too comfortable to hook with.

By Tuesday I had located a wonderful store in Hillsboro that I drove to (about an hour away from my house) and there I purchased a beautiful little hook that should make things go easier if not faster. I am having so . much . fun. I love making this project.

Dyed in the Wool

Hoo boy, I haven't touched a dye pot since the 70's; I wonder if I still know how. But if I want pretty, marbled colors on my wool I will have to dye it or buy it. Since I am too impatient to wait for something to be shipped I have decided to jump in and do it myself. I have to move while the spirit is upon me. This first photo is of 3 pieces of wool in a pot of boiling water. I am "marrying" the colors here so that the bright pink will settle down to something more subtle.

This next shot is of the swatches I have washed in detergent, soaked in soda ash and squirted with the Dichlorotriazine Reactive (MX) Dye. Each swatch is then squeezed out and put into its own plastic bag for cooking in the microwave oven.

Here is the leaky, dangerous, second hand store $4.95 microwave that John wont let me bring into the house. I throw a bag in the microwave and punch four minutes, then run for my life so that my molecules dont get rearranged. Who says art isn't reckless?

Here are 2 swatches of wool waiting to be cut into strips. After sitting for 6 hours after their time in the microwave I spun them in the washer on spin cycle and then dried them in the clothes dryer. Now it is time to cut them into strips.

This is my crude set up for cutting into strips. I chose to cut 1/4" strips but after trying to pull one through the backing realized I may be sorry I didnt cut them thinner. They are hard to get through the cloth! Oh well, soldier on.


Here are the strips all cut and ready to be hooked. Tomorrow I still have to re-dye the periwinkle swatch which turned out too pale; then I will be ready for the fun part. I ordered a hook over the weekend so when that arrives I will begin hooking in earnest.

So many puns. So little time.

The Zen of Not Knowing

Well, it took several hours but I finally got my sketch for the hooked rug transferred to the scotch burlap which I've researched and discovered is made from hemp that is grown in India. Beautiful, useful hemp which (if we weren't so paranoid of drugs as a nation) could save our forests as it can be made into paper, clothing fabric, building materials and so much more. It is very similar in feel to linen and a beautiful, ivory color.

The finished rug will measure 25x34 1/2 inches. Pretty large I think for my first project but I always say, "no guts, no glory".

This close-up shows the spaces between the weave that I will be poking my hook through. You probably wont be seeing this project again until it is finished. It is just a little something to haul around for those odd moments when you want to be working on something.

The point of this post is to share with you my love of biting off a project in a new medium about which I know next to nothing. Who cares? I think of myself as an intrepid art explorer, the fool in the tarot deck, the aleph who hasn't a clue and so dives in despite the odds. At this juncture anything I produce will be a win for me; it will exist where before there was nothing. If it is ugly I will call it primitive with a proud smile. It will keep my feet warm in the winter anyway. If it is beautiful I will act all modest but secretly feel great happiness. So I have nothing to lose by venturing into uncharted territory, in fact that is where I feel most energized.

Back to the studio.