Little Rocking Chairs

 

Little rockers belonging to my kiddo's hard to believe Dan will be 30 this year and Jenn will be 29!  Just 14 months apart and they sat in their little rockers when they were little and watched movies.

 

 

I'm still making chair pads....haven't picked out any just yet for these little rockers.

 

Jenny's rocker will be for Eva and I'm thinking she might like a cat or dog.  She does love animals already.

 

 

This was Dan's little rocker and it will be for Sloan he would probably like a dog or maybe a ninja turtle :)

 

So back to hooking!

 

Happy Trails....Ginger

Little Hooked Chair Pads

 

I've been making some little hooked chair pads.  Small enough to go in little rocking chairs.  I have my kiddo's rocking chairs from when they were little.  Perfect little places for the grandkiddo's to sit when they come over.

I'm making up a few extra.... They measure 9 inches across before binding. 

 

This spiral was was inspired by Karen at PrimitiveSpirit if you haven't stopped by her blog you are missing out.  She is always busy working on something wonderful.

 

Just a quick thank you to all that stop by for a  glimpse into what is happening around the farm.  It has been a blessing to have so many stop by!

 

Happy Trails....Ginger

 

 

Oklahoma Snow and Rug Hooking

 

It was a wonderful day filled with snowflakes and friends add in some time at Rug Hooking Guild and what fun we had!  There was only a few of us that braved the cold but the snow wasn't sticking to the streets so it was a nice way to spend the day and work on binding some rugs.

 

I finished the hooking on Bewitched last night and still need to steam and bind it.  Just love this cute rug it was a fun one to do!

 

 

I drew this redware bird a few days ago and hooked it.  Today I finished the binding.  Pati Jane and I will be at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri this September for a month as one of their American Craftsman.  We are making lots of hooked items and other finished goods.  We will also be offering lots of new patterns and hand~dyed yarns and supplies.    It truly is a labor of love :)

 

Hopefully a few more snowflakes will fall on the Oklahoma prairie's before they blow away.  It would be nice to see enough to build a snowman but I truly doubt here at the farm that will happen this time.  Hope your staying nice and warm in your neck of the woods!

 

Happy Trails....Ginger

Kind~Hearted Woman Hooked Mat

 

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of taking a road trip and while shopping in a second hand store I ran across a basket with a wood lid.  I purchased it and thought it might look good with a hooked mat on top.  I drew up this little doodle  and within a few hours it was done. 

Now I'm not sure if you have ever heard about the cat symbol being drawn by hobo's for a kind~hearted woman nearby.  The hobo would leave the marking of a cat on a nearby tree if there was a kind woman nearby who would feed you.  My great~grandma lived near the railroad and would often feed the hobo's who showed up at her back door.  She would have them set outside at the picnic table and give them a meal.  My mom wasn't allowed outside when they were there but would watch from the nearby window.

I like the simple drawing of the smiling cat and will be glad to get this one bound and onto the basket.  I plan to keep some of my needle punch supplies inside :)  It will remind me of all the kind~hearted women in my life!

 

One of the most kind~hearted people I know is my mom....she is celebrating her 69th birthday today.  She is always busy doing something and loves to cook and tend to her farm animals.  Just Love my Momma!!!! 

 

I finished the hooking on this chairpad, too .  I used up some of the scraps from the overflowing basket!

We have some wooden children's chairs and so a simple little heart chairpad was hooked last night, too and not to waste any background fabric I had just enough room to add a simple little house!  Guess I better clean up the wool snippets and find a needle and get busy binding this week.

 

Dad informed me that he has his garden tilled and the rows laid out for onions and just as soon as he gets some he will need some help planting.  Their garden is HUGE, actually they have two gardens.      I'll have to share a picture of the never~ending rows once we get started!

 

Enjoy the rest of your week....

 

Happy Trails....Ginger

*~ Hooking Therapy ~*

 

 

I find that pulling loops and even binding is great therapy for the soul.  There is something about wool that brings me simple pleasure.

 

I started another chairpad and before the evening is up this one will be hooked.  I already know what I want to do next....I can truly say I never tire of pulling loops, punching, and stitching!

 

Now housework....well that is another story :)

 

Happy Trails....Ginger

Binding a Round Hooked Rug or Chairpad

It seems I have an endless supply of scrappy wool worms. So by just grabbing a bunch of random ones I made a hit and miss chairpad.



Once I finished hooking it and had pressed it with a lot of steam...I trimmed away the excess linen to about 1 inch all around.



Now I flipped it over and it's time to bind this one. Start by pinning on your twill tape and working it around. Fold in at an angle small little pleats and place the twill tape directly over the pleat and pin in place.






Now it's time to get your yarn and big eye needle out and start whipping it just like the post below except there won't be any corners.



Continue whipping around the entire piece and right before you reach the end fold back the twill tape just like in the previous post and place it on top of where you began and finish whipping. Notice the twill tape is a little full on top....well here is a new trick that I had never heard about until I took the class with Sally of Pine Island Primitives.



She told us about this but didn't have a rug to demo on...so today I gave it a try and wow it works! Once you are done with whipping the yarn take the top of the twill tape and pull one of the top threads....go slow it will begin to gather the twill tape. I broke a thread before I got it all around but on the 2nd thread I made it....remember go slow!



I sort of had to work the top of the twill tape and pull a little more. I did stop and pull from the other direction, too. I did not pull the thread completely out....It gently gathered the piece of twill tape. When I had it where I wanted it I just began sewing down the top of the tape with a needle and thread.



Look how nice and flat it lays...



Another view.....I love how easily it works to make it lay flat....Thanks to Sally for such a great tip.



For binding hooked pieces my favorite yarn to use is Cascade Yarns it's 100% Peruvian Highland Merino Wool the weight is 100 grams and comes in a tremendous variety of colors....it's also wonderful to double it and use it for rug punching.

Many thanks to all who have left such wonderful comments about the rug binding tutorial. I struggled for years on binding and now can honestly say I don't dread binding a rug.

Happy Trails.....Ginger