Sunday, March 25, 2012

My First Rug

This is a close up of a section of my first rug. The two biggest mistakes I made and continue to make now and then. Is I hooked to low. You are suppose to hook as high as the stip is wide.
and to close together. My first rug weighs a ton. Lately I have seen a few over hooked rugs.
You are suppose to see holidays (blank spots on the back) if it ripples and doesn't lay flat it is over hooked. Not only does your rug not lay flat it could break the backing. Then you are sunk.
This rug backing is burlap I was lucky it didn't break and I was able to get it to lay flat. I did unhook some to help it lay flat.


 I was taught by a very sweet Mcgowan trained older woman.
When my friend and I took our first lesson she asked us what would we like to lean we both said with a big smile "Primitive" She sighed a big sigh handed us a mcgowan pattern catalog for us to shop from
and told us the biggest cut was a six. Sounded ok to me what did I know? We preceded to learn from one of the sweetest ladies I have ever met. Sadly she passed away but oh boy would she hate what I learned this past weekend.

I went to a hook-in in Westford Ma. I sat with a few friends it was nice to see Courtney.
We met a lot of very nice ladies and saw some very beautiful rugs.
A new friend showed me how to do hand cut, about a 10. Oh boy is it wide and oh boy is it fun.
This is what I accomplished on Sat. The hardest part is cutting the strips. I need to get in the rhythm of the size and getting it straight. This will end up with Miss Baby.
And speaking of Miss Baby we spent the whole day with her today. So much fun she had us laughing all day. It is so much fun to be Gammie
****
Fun is over back to work tomorrow.
The town where I grew up has a zip code of E-I-E-I-O...Martin Mull
.

17 comments:

From Beyond My Kitchen Window said...

Oh wow Cathy, Westford is the next town over from me. Your rugs are beautiful and I still want to learn. I hope to take lessons soon with my friend Mary.

newburyarts said...

*****the fuuniest part on saturday was when you hooked in about five
loops and sort of gasped, saying,
"gee i LOVE this!" i knew you were
never going to go back to anything
else again! the teddy bear looks great and saturday was a lot of fun. see you around the hook-in's
and especially in april. tom

Sunny Simple Life said...

Oh you are so talented. Those rugs are expensive to buy so to be able to make them is a real treat.

Orange Sink said...

Cathy,
Your first rug is absolutely wonderful! Did you design it your self? My first rug was done in a 6 and packed low and tight!! And on burlap too! Could probably use it for indoor outdoor carpeting if I wanted to! LOL!
I love hooking with those wide cuts as the rug gets done much faster and I love the look! Take more breaks with the hooking as I found my wrist was getting a bit more stressed than with the narrower cuts!
Sounds like you and Courtney had a great time!! I have been missing my buddies in blog land this past week.... life has been crazy! Hope to do a post in the next couple of days!!
Hugs!
Cathy g

jennifer768 said...

Love your first rug!It is gorgeous and I am sure Baby is going to love hers!Hugs,Jen

BumbleBeeLane said...

I think the rug looks amazing.I need to learn to hook as I spend way to much buying from artist.We don't have any classes local but I do have a kit stashed back when I'm ready to brave trying.Warm Blessings!~Amy

Mugwump Woolies said...

Love seeing your rugs! I am a "packer" too...and see no cure in sight. The ripples iron out!
Robyn

Saundra said...

It does bring back memories of my first endeavors to read about your first rug. And we do learn as we continue hooking.

Regarding wide cuts, I heard the same thing from my eary teachers and I know that I can successfully hook a narrow cut realistic rug becase I have my two Rottweiler profile Memorial to prove it. But my heart is with wide cut primitives and that is what I shall stick to.

I like your teddy bear project.

Saundra

Susan Freeman said...

Hooked high or low ~ your rug is still a gem! I can't hook high or low.

Hugs,
Susan and Bentley

Gayle said...

It's very common for a first rug to be low and dense - I know mine certainly was! Yours turned out to be delightful, and the next one will be even better.

Sassafras and Winterberry said...

What a fun day we had! I just picked up a pair of the scissors and I'm jumping into my chicken rug soon!
I remember when I finished that antique flower basket rug...I emailed Pat from Hook, Hand, and Heart and begged her to help me. Then I reverse hooked a lot of it and steamed it forever!! Funny!

Glad you had a great Sunday with your granddaughter. Did you decide to go to Camp Wool?
Hugs,
Courtney

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

Oh wow, you were so close to me!!! Like Susan (From Beyond My Kitchen Window) said, some day soon we plan on "hooking" LOL!!!

Ocean Breezes and Country Sneezes said...

Oh, p.s. your rugs a beautiful! Sorry I got so excited that you were so close by! LOL!!!

Rugs and Pugs said...

Cathy ~
That is a very impressive first rug!!! Good job :)
Geez. I remember you telling me no wide cuts for you. I'm glad you took the plunge. I've not yet done hand torn, but hopefully soon. It looks like you may have your hooking mojo back!
Hugs to you and Miss Baby :)
Lauren

Grandma Yellow Hair said...

How wonderful! I am so glad that you enjoyed your rug hooking.
This is something that I have always wanted to learn. I just don't have a clue where to begin.
Your very talented and these are beautiful
Glad you shared them with us.
Have a wonderful week
Love
Maggie

Anonymous said...

Beautiful! You're very talented.

Ginger

svelteSTUFF said...

THANKS for the 'hooking' motivation!! You're rugs look GREAT! It may just be the 'push' I needed to get me going again... maybe...

http://ssveltestuff.blogspot.com/2011/11/hooking.html