Rug hooking: yarn or fabric?

A few weeks ago, I posted about starting a hit or miss kind of rug with odds and ends of hand spun wool yarns I deemed tough enough to be rug-worthy.  I had some questions about using wool yarn instead of wool fabric, but turned up little in my brief search on the internet...so I purchased Judy Taylor's updated edition of Joy of Hooking with Yarn.

While I'm waiting for a lightning bolt of design inspiration to hit me, I've been plying skeins of singles into two and four ply yarns to use in whatever this next rug will be.  One day, while peddling my little heart out at the wheel, I had a minor epiphany:  why the heck am I buying wool yardage to cut into strips when I am about buried in wool and wool yarns?  Hmmmm...well...maybe because my first and only attempt at hooking with yarn left me feeling a bit unsatisfied.  Maybe because I feel like it will take longer (not a valid excuse in my book)?  Maybe because I've not been particularly inspired by the pieces I've seen, so far, hooked with yarns?  Maybe I like the look of rugs hooked with wool strips better than those hooked with yarns?  Or, as my new hooking friend Andy mentioned, am I a wool snob of some sort???

So that's what's been on my mind, while I've been busy packing up the last of the mess that's moving home from the former yarn shop, or pulling some weeds here and there, which is somehow therapeutic.

What do you think???

Pondering

I saw a posting on May 31 by Tammy at Skip to My Ewe.  She is selling a lot of her hooked rugs and by way of explanation, said something that really hit home:

  "...I form a vision in my mind of what I want it (her rug hooking room) to look like, and then I have to start getting rid of everything that is not in that vision."

Riley:  she has no clutter concerns

I have had this rolling around in my head for days since.  It's how I've been feeling about my home, my stash, my overload of equipment.  I've decided to keep marinating on this until I can get my vision to be more clear and then take more actions.  I feel like the clutter is smothering me.  In fact, I just Googled on "signs about clutter", thinking I'd have some cute graphic to post here, and came up with this page instead.  Very interesting, and worth consideration.

Just thought I'd share that with you in case it's something that's on your mind as well...something along the lines of spring cleaning for your head. 

Staying inside the lines

A couple of days ago, I found this little kitty mat.  It is from a kit I bought about 4 years ago at Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, and is what ignited my passion for hooking with wool.  I had so many questions and hadn't yet found hookers on the internet.  It was a bit like swimming blind through magical waters.

I also found a linen rug pattern I had industriously drawn, not too long after the kitty and another couple of small projects had been hooked.  It is roughly 4' x 6' in size.  I had drawn some lotus-like designs in the middle, sides and corners, and thought to just free fall on the rest.  Thinking it might be a good way to use up loads of hand spun rug wools I've saved over the years, we put it on the frame and yesterday I started it.

I was not even remotely sparked with interest.  In fact, I tossed and turned during the night, trying to figure out what I don't like about it.  I think it's having boundaries, after having spent the last week trying to stuff things into defined spaces and make them look neat.  I don't know.  I just know I'm not sure I'm up for the whole rug.  I'm a bit annoyed with myself over this.

Here are some of the things I'm considering.  I wonder what you think?

• just hit and miss cat paws all over it, with no worries about design
• ditto, but hook my favorite quilt design, the log cabin...do them in different sizes so as not to get bored or feel too structured
• hook it with both yarn and wool strips, for interest in texture and colors
• put it away and drag it out another year and see if I'm interested then; this would be a bit of a drag, because it took two of us to adjust that frame to the size it needed to be to work on this piece (it's almost 100 inches across)
• ignore it altogether and not hook on this trip 

Perhaps I'll have an epiphany about this today.  I just want to make the best decision, since I know this project could take me a year to complete, given my current back and forth life.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Home to roost

Remember the rug I started last spring, maybe?  I finished it while I was in Taos this winter and stuffed it in a suitcase and brought it back to CA with me. I've been holding off on showing you the final piece, for fear its recipient would see my posting and blow my surprise.

Final size:  35" x 50"

I'm happy to report that yesterday I was able to send this rug to its new home.  Waiting this long to be able to do this has been really hard!  This rug is for my wonderful niece, Laurie, who has worked herself to the bone this last year taking care of my brother in law and his financial affairs and bookkeeping (my sister had always done those things and he wasn't even used to writing checks!  let that be a lesson, friends).   This, on top of her own full time job and living at least two hours from Bob.  I'd love to nominate her for sainthood, actually.

This is the piece I started with the fold out free pattern from Rug Hooking Magazine.  It's a design from the Las Rancheritas hooking cooperative in Mexico.  I added my own personal touches to it: the borders and corners.   The story to the borders is that Laurie loves to keep a pet hen.  Her first one was named Rosemary, after my mom, and the current hen is Valerie (Laurie's mom), named after my late sister, gone to breast cancer many, many years ago when she was far too young.  This pattern provided a perfect format for me to use some wild colors and along with being a memory of our moms, it's an homage to our Spanish/Mexican heritage.  It was loads of fun to hook and never once boring.

So...there you have it.  I know I purport to being a rug hooker but seldom show any work.  Now I can show you what I've done these last months and when I return to NM this coming week, start a new piece. Yippeeee!!!!

Picking up where I left off...

Our visitors headed out early this morning for their long drive back to NY.  It has been the best week; meeting kindred spirits known only through cyberspace was just like having an old friend arrive to catch up after a long absence.  I wish this could happen more often, because I just know that so many of you I've met through blog land are people I'd love to hang out with given the chance.  Maybe a blogger reunion someday?

Until then, my thanks to Robyn, the wonderful Lucy and the shy Finn for taking three days from your busy travels to come and visit our world.  I look forward to visiting your world one day.  Safe travels to you.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.  I have four more days here before leaving for California.  I have things pretty well wrapped up but want to work some more on this Primitive Spirit design by Karen Kahle before leaving.  I took this photo a week or more ago and have covered a lot of ground since then, but know I won't finish it before I leave.  I took the overall photo hoping you could see what a mess there is all around my frame, but for reasons I can't explain, it doesn't really show.  Believe me...it looks like wool snippet snow up there, but it's pretty.

Have a good weekend...