Thank you so much for all your suggestions regarding my oh-so-bright orange. Many of you said to add the color to border. This was being hooked totally with worms from my stash and I did not have enough worms to do that ~ plus I just couldn't live with the brightness.
My solution was to try staining the area with walnut ink crystals. I hadn't used the crystals in years and surprisingly they were right where I thought they might be. Thankfully they weren't stashed with my proddy tool because that is still MIA :) Here it is before. I tried to somewhat contain the area using regular old tape since I was going to be using a spray solution.
After staining several times. There is a HUGE difference in color ~ much more to my liking ~ and much more muted in person.
Of course it is not bound - I just turned the edges under to get a picture.
In walking through the living room, I may have found the perfect spot for it. The little runner is 8" x 24" and would fit nicely atop this bench.
If you have a free minute or two, I've got a great new site for you to check out ~ www.crowsfootfarmdesigns.com. No, she's not a new hooker, but her site is. I had the privilege of meeting Karen Larsen last year at Susan Feller's retreat and will be seeing her again this April. She has had four rugs and articles in Rug Hooking Magazine including the cover of the November/December 2012 issue. This most talented lady has designed some wonderful patterns. I'm sure she'd love it if you stopped by.
Thanks so much for visiting me today. Yesterday another storm arrived but we only got about half the predicted amount of snow. YIPPEE! Today it's sunny and cold and tomorrow the forecast is for cloudy skies and a high of 52*. Welcome to Ohio.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren
Lauren
Hi Lauren, I love the sweet runner, will look perfect on your prim bench. Love the kitty on it too.....Blessings Francine.
ReplyDeleteGood evening Lauren, I love the look you achieved, a bit more primitive in color and I see you have found the perfect spot...I am off to check out this new site...Have a lovely evening...Julie
ReplyDeleteI'll have to remember your trick of using the walnut dye to tone down your rug - didn't realize it could be done AFTER it was hooked! Looks great Lauren! Thanks for the heads up about Karen -
ReplyDeleteThe staining working really nicely and it will look wonderful on the bench. I love your antique cat piece.
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Perfect! The sunshine looks even with the whole rug now... we were lucky and got only rain and wind from that storm... 6 days until it's "officially" Spring.... we'll see if the weather cooperates! lol!
ReplyDeleteHi Laren, it looks wonderful.... So that's how you did the dying.... I was asking how you did the dying with the walnut ink crystals on our group forum. Now I know but it would be helpful to the group to show the picture of how you did it.
ReplyDeleteNow if you had a slave to bind that rug...lol...
We got so much snow that when I was coming home from the barn the snow had drifted in my path and was higher than my barn boots. It's getting ridiculous, all that snow...
Hugs,
JB
Lauren ,it looks more primitive now! I wish I had your nerve to stain some of my needle punched pieces but I am afraid of ruining them.It will look great on the bench.Thanks for sharing the new site.Have a great weekend.Be blessed,Jen
ReplyDeleteI LoVe the look you got from staining your mat runner. Looks so prim now! Have a great week end.
ReplyDeleteWow. That really softened the colors without really darkening or changing them. Really nice!
ReplyDeleteThe staining really made a difference didn't it? Looks great! I will have to check out that site, thanks!
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