The best laid plans ~

Any of you who have been reading my blog for a while, know that I have my doctorate in procrastination.  This time was going to be different.  HA!!!  The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Maybe if I hadn't decided to dye a few pots of wool???  This is one of my favorite dye recipes and had not dyed it in years.  I dyed three pots of varying strength.  A little more drab in person.  Not sure if it will work in my camp rug, but I am loving it.

Speaking of my camp rug . . . choosing a pattern is one of the hardest parts of going to camp.  I finally decided on this antique rug.  

You may recall that Saundra also hooked this back in 2022.  Here is her finish.  I hope mine is half that wonderful.

Instead of packing for camp, I decided I need to make some paisley hook pouches for the camp consignment store.  They don't look like much, but I am just incredibly slow and they are taking forever.  I am hoping to defray as much of the rug camp costs as I can!

Yesterday the weather in Jacksonville was scheduled for a high of 81*.  While we are there, it will be 25*-35* colder.  I know that's better than Ohio weather will be, but I am still a bit bummed.

I was supposed to have a hooking play day on Tuesday which would have me gone most of the day.  A selvedge project was planned and I was providing the selvedges, so thought I couldn't cancel.  Thankfully the hooker closest to me (about 40 minutes) is going and will take them for me.  That takes some of the pressure off!!!

Ok. Time to work some more on the pouches.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Woolen Memories ~

Sometimes the stars align just perfectly.  When we decided on the get away to western Massachusetts, I wondered how far Nancy lived from where we would be staying.  HOLY MOLY!!!  I discovered she was less than an hour away and I knew she wasn't that far from Woolen Memories wool shop.  I have hooked a few of WM patterns and have admired many more.  Nancy had mentioned what a cute shop it is.  Thankfully DSO didn't have a problem with me abandoning him for part of a day.  So . . . Nancy and I met up in the Big Y grocery store parking lot and headed to Woolen Memories.  

Sandy was just a delight to meet.  I was in absolute wool heaven.  She has some of the most primitively dyed wool I have ever seen.  And patterns.  The shop is small but packed full of wooly goodness 💞

That table in the back was loaded with bargain patterns that may have had a slight boo boo in transferring to the linen.  

I couldn't resist this Santa from that pile . . . and I see absolutely nothing wrong with him.  Will I hook him before Christmas?  Of course not, but there is always next year 😁

A few more pictures around the shop.

The picture does not do the wools justice.

Nancy on the left and Sandy on the right.

I also purchased the pattern hanging on the wall.  What a fun pattern to use up a few worms!

This was a smallish pattern that I absolutely loved.  Sandy hooked it so old looking.  I am considering asking her if she will enlarge it for a camp I am attending in January.  Just a thought.

A big thank you to Sandy for opening the shop and to Nancy for taking me there.  I resisted purchasing any wool because I was afraid if I started, I would not stop!  You can find Woolen Memories on Facebook or etsy.

Yesterday I decided to dye some wool to perhaps use in Saundra's hook along.  I used her old patina recipe to dull down some wool.  I used the two tablespoons of dye mix like Saundra said she did, but it didn't seem like the color was changing, so I added two more tablespoons.

Wool before ~

And after ~ (not in the same order)

Great recipe, Saundra!  Thank you.  All the wools will work well together except for the piece that started out gold is still too gold.

I decided to dye another pot using just the two tablespoons of dye mix.  I didn't take a before pic, but used many of the same wools.  I just can't get an accurate picture of the results, but just believe me when I say there is a difference!

Now I better get busy on that hook along pattern that Saundra so graciously provided.  An update is due tomorrow.  You can read about the hook along here.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren 

Playing in the Dye Pots ~

I am heading to rug camp in West Virginia in a few weeks.  Usually I agonize over what rug I am going to start in class.  I purchased this pattern on a Facebook buy and sell group and knew I wanted to work on this.  For me, it is a large pattern at 26" x 36".  I just love the funky horses, but not the color palate that was used.

I thought I would dye wool ~ easy peasy, no?  NO!  I decided to use formulas from this dye book.

I wanted a horse of a different color - teal.  I did not have any teals in my wool stash so . . . I had some leftover dye, a formula called Wild Flower Blue.

The results are MUCH brighter, but as we all know, it is so hard to get a good color!!!  And so much brighter than I want in my rug.

Then I used a formula called Champlain Blue.  Not teal.  I guess I'd call it a very soft primitive blue/gray/green.  I LOVE IT!  (But still not a truly accurate 😢 )

I figured I needed more of the Champlain Blue so made up another batch, once again with good results.  This color is a bit more accurate.

I also dyed a pot of Mustard Seed.  I'm not wild about it.  I think it looks too bright???  Looks more of a sunflower color to me.  But darn . . . in person looks much different.  Has more of an orange/brown color???  Hard to describe.

A couple posts back I mentioned about using a grey scale camera to check to see if there was enough value difference for wools that abutted each other.  I was not looking to purchase an actual camera.  At one time I had an app on my iPad but it seems to no longer be available.  Amanda, a no-reply blogger, said to look for Paint By Note Specs.  She said they are glasses with red lenses with the right shade of red to remove all color and should run about $20.  Saundra mentioned she had a green and red value finder.  I think I have one somewhere, but I did also find them on Amazon. 

This most likely can be applied to any craft . . . lol!

I have been fighting with my computer for two days.  I am suddenly having a problem transferring my phone photos to my desktop.  SO FRUSTRATING!!!  She is old so maybe she needs to go to the computer doctor?  I hope not.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Getting Ready ~

Crazy busy day as usual . . . well perhaps a bit busier than normal.  My Cathy Stephan class begins tomorrow.  It is about an hour and a half commute with light traffic but I may hit some rush hour traffic on the way.  I am too cheap to get a hotel room 😁  The good thing about commuting is that I can bring additional wool to class the following days.  I still have to pack all the hooking supplies ~ wool, cutter and blades, pattern, Ott, etc.  

Here is the wool I have gathered so far for class.  I am pretty sure I want a horse of a different color (blue . . . lol) but that's about as far ahead as I have thought so I have just grabbed some wools that I like.  Sitting on top is the wool I just dyed.  Lousy color . . . of course.

The wool I dyed the other day.  Some of it has a slight pinkish cast, but maybe it will work in my rug.  On the right are some of the wools I overdyed.

I need to do yard work today.  The grass cannot wait until Friday to be be mowed unless I want to get a goat.  Also need to water the plants.  We are getting to the point that rain would be most welcome.

Antiquing was pretty much a bust.  Not even half of the normal number of vendors at the flea market.  At the antique mall, there were maybe eight vendors set up outside, selling flea market-y items, not antiques or even vintage IMHO.  I did buy a few gifts and came home to find I was overcharged $10.  Thankfully they found my slip and will mail me a check.  It is just a fluke that I noticed the error but am happy I did.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Cardinal Rule ~

When dyeing wool, YOU MUST WEAR GLOVES.  This is what happens when you don't.  Several scrubs with bleach helped, but four days later the fingers still have a blue cast.  I am a slow learner though.  This is not the first time I didn't follow the rules.

And this is what happens when you shake the dye jar and the lid is not on tight.  Of course when you try to wipe it up it makes an even bigger mess.  (If you look carefully at the top right of the photo, latex gloves are there waiting to be worn.  DUH!)

I would love to show the dye results, but I have taken countless pictures and not one shows the true colors!

Tomorrow I am off to rug class with Kris Miller for two days.  I have chosen this antique adaptation to hook, though I do not plan to hook it in the blah colors of the antique.  I enlarged the pattern to 22" x 35", which is pretty big for me.

I love this 💙

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 💔
Lauren

More on the Wool Dyeing~

As I mentioned in the previous post, I knew the colors in the picture were not accurate.  No matter where I moved the wool and no matter the light, I could not get an accurate depiction of the colors.  I was just trying to show the different saturation levels of the dye pots.  The most intense color could best be described as eggplant, so yes, that wool has a lot of purple in it.  The subsequent dye pots did come out red.  Pots #2 & #3 are a red I love and could use on a regular basis.  Unfortunately, when following a recipe, I do not measure precisely, so doubt I could ever replicate the color.

I took this picture of hearts hooked from dye pots #2 & #3.  The color is showing pretty accurately on my monitor but that doesn't mean it will show that way on yours.  Ironically after taking this picture, I moved the uncut wool to the exact same location, exact same lighting, and the colors were totally wrong.  I just don't understand 😦  The wools from dye pot #4 (not shown) is what I would consider a faded red.

Next post I will finally post about my Granny rug!

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Dyeing Wool ~

 

Welcome!  I hope today finds you all happy, healthy and staying warm.  We only got about 6" of snow from Sunday night's storm.  Some areas not far from me got as much as 20".  Now that's a lot of snow.  I really don't feel bad that they got more than I did. . . 😁

As if I have not been busy enough putting away the Christmas decorations and re-decorating the house with the "normal" stuff, I decided to dye some wool.  This formula was supposed to dye 1/2 yard of wool.

Well . . . I put the first half yard of wool in the dye pot and it soaked up dye so quickly I almost immediately took it out and put it in a basin with fresh water and vinegar.  I then reduced the dye strength . . . a total of three more times.  What was supposed to dye 1/2 yard of wool dyed 2 1/2 yards.  The colors in the photo are not a good depiction of the true colors, but it gives you an idea of the differences depending on the dilution of the dye.  Thankfully they are all useful reds.  I went to the local wool shop and talked with the owner who has been hooking and dyeing for decades.  She said a rule of thumb with dark color dyes is that a recipe should have a total of 1 teaspoon of dye give or take a little.  She said the formula was incorrect.  Live and learn.  

So I did start hooking on my Granny rug and also am hooking more hearts.  I keep giving them away so need to hook two for the auction to benefit the pugs.  Thankfully they hook up quickly but the backs take about the same amount of time as the hooking.  The house is about 98% put back together.  I am not sure why it took me so long this year.  

So tonight I wanted to make stuffed shells for dinner.  I went to two grocery stores and neither had any boxes of large shells or manicotti.  I bought lasagna noodles instead.  Bare shelves are quite common, aren't they?

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Playing in the Dye Pots ~

I believe the #1 rule when dyeing wool is to wear rubber gloves.  You'd think by now I would have learned that lesson.  I am just a slow learner . . . and have the stained fingers to prove it.

Here are the wools before dyeing.  I did have a few smaller pieces, some recycled, that are not shown.

As always, I was not able to capture the richness of the dyed wool.

Taco Bean Red, a pot of dark (bottom two wools) and a pot of light (top three wools) from the Barbara Carroll/Emma Lou Lais dye book (my favorite!).  

Bottom wool was a formula from the same dye book, Turquoise Spark.  The top wool was from another dye book I have not had good luck with.  The wool is pretty, but it was supposed to be a dark mossy green.  

Emma Lou's Putty (old) is one of my favorite dye formulas. The wool on the left used the amount of dye called for.  On the right, I used half again the amount.  Surprisingly, there is not much difference.
 

I had some dye left over from a previous dye session.  Though this color is pleasing, it is nowhere near what I expected.  The formula was called Emma Lou's Hunter.  

Overall, I love the colors I came up with, but could probably never duplicate them.  I try to measure accurately, but don't always succeed.

If you would like to see some amazing cross stitch finishes, hop on over to Angela's blog.  She also has the greenest thumb around.  She often posts pictures of the flowers in her yard.  Not only are the flowers beautiful, so is her photographic ability.  Plus she has the sweetest little furbaby, Jack Jack.  You won't be sorry you paid her a visit.

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Must Have Wool ~

 

Do you have a favorite "must have" wool in your stash?  I have many, but one of my very most favorite (how's that for bad English?) is Flax & Linen by the Wool Studio.  It is an older wool, but a few months ago I was able to order a couple yards from them.  I know the general rule is to cut wool with the stripe, but more often than not, I cut it against the stripe.  However, you can cut it both ways and mix the two and it looks great.

Santa's beard is hooked cutting against the stripe and his moustache is cut with the stripe.  You can see the moustache is just a tad darker since I chose the darker stripes.

Mr. Jingles body was hooked against the stripe.

So was the background of this little mat, though it is showing up much too white.

It just hooks up as a kind of grungy white 😍 . . . and it overdyes beautifully.

I did one more batch of goldenrod dyeing.  Here are the before wools (including Flax & Linen).

And after.  More tan than yellow which I like.

I hope everyone is well.  As always the time is flying by.  Mid October?  Argh.

Do you have this problem?  No matter what I do or how hard I pinch the nose wire, I have this issue.  I don't envy people (Cathy!) who have to wear masks for hours on end.  I suppose that is why so many people wear their mask under their nose . . . 😁😁😁

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs 😊

Lauren

Goldenrod Dyeing ~

I did one pot of dyeing wool with goldenrod.  

Before

After

A beautiful, subtle change in color.

So many of you have commented about how productive I am.  Right now, it is my coping mechanism.  I wish I had that ambition to do house projects, wash windows, etc.  Sadly none of that is happening.  I have tried to hire someone to level my front sidewalk and replace a picket fence.  Most people will not even return phone calls and those who have responded have been less than helpful . . . other than one estimate on my sidewalk that was outrageous 😟

Thanks so much for stopping by.
Pug hugs 😊
Lauren

Antique Black ~

I don't dye wool often and when I do the results usually are so-so.  Often great colors, but just not what I was looking to achieve.  I found a Kathy Morton recipe for antique black in the September/October 1996 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine.  I must have 2 yards of the wool on the left.  I haven't a clue where or when I got it, but I'm guessing it must have been a great price since I have such a large piece.  It is not something I would use as-is (unless maybe hooking a chicken), but I love the dyed result.  The piece on the right will be much more useful, too, though I don't have much of it.  I hope next time I use the recipe, I will have the same outcome, but since I am sort of a laid back dyer (not measuring too precisely), who knows?  BTW . . . both wools were in the same dye pot but the wool on the left ended up much darker.

Here is a close up of the dyed wool on the left.  It is more black as in the previous picture, but you can see it is not just a flat black wool.  I think it will be the perfect wool to add to an antique black background.

I see quite a few people wearing a face mask, but not covering their nose.  I think this cartoon sums it up.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren