A Quick Way to Bind A Hooked Rug

 

Here is another way I bind rugs.  I don't always serge around the edges but for this one I did.  You will want to leave about 1 1/2 inches all around the hooked piece to be folded in for binding.

Fold in up to the hooked row



Then fold over one more time.

 

Take a needle and thread and baste in place ..... it makes it a lot easier in the long run to do this step.

 



 

Now to make it simpler for your corners baste right up to them and leave them for last.

 

 

Fold in at the corner just as in the picture.

Then fold in one side

Then fold in the other side

With your needle and thread whip up the center

Lace it up with the needle and thread now repeat on each corner.

 

Now that all four corners are basted it is time to press.

Press it all around until it lies flat.

 

Now time to whip that rug.  I am using 4 ply wool yarn that I have hand dyed and a big eye tapestry needle.

 

You want to come up with the needle right next to the last hooked row.  You will hide your tail of your yarn as you whip the rug.

 

Now go down next to the last loop of the hooked row.

Come around with the yarn and right back down next to the last hooked row again.  Repeat over and over laying the yarn right next to each other.  DO NOT pull tight.  You just want it to lay nice and even.

Nice and even and not too tight :)

 

 

 

Now just keep whipping right down the row keeping your needle right next to the last hooked row.

 

This is how the back should look it is also right next to the last hooked row.

 

 



When your yarn gets short run the needle back into the whipped row and hide the tail.

Clip off any extra bit of yarn.

 



Start again with another piece of yarn hiding the tail in the whipping and continue on.

 



As you approach the corner go slow and take your time.  You may need to add 2 or 3 stitches in the same hole as you yarn over.  Just lay them side by side as you go around the corner.

 

 

This is how it should look.

 

After you have rounded the corner just keep on whipping side by side.

 

This is the back of the rug  showing the corner I just whipped.

 

 

 



Well that is it.....easy peasy isn't it!!!!!

 

I'm not going to finish this one just yet.  I need a few rugs to show how to bind when we are at Silver Dollar City in a couple of weeks.  So there will be plenty of time to finish this one up!

 

This lil' gal has been over visiting in the afternoons as Sloan is gone to visit his other Grandma before school begins for him next week.  She finally has a chance to play a game all to herself :)  How quickly they learn to make things work.  Don't you just love lil' fingers and toes!!!!!!

 

 

Happy Trails......Ginger

 

 

 

Binding Can BE.......

Relaxing once you figure it out.  Now let me be the first to say I have tried all kinds of binding techniques and I have a couple of favorite ways.  One is with binding tape which I have found to be one of the most easiest once I learned how to do it.

I admit I once had a pile of over 40 hooked pieces needing bound all because I wasn't sure how to finish them without getting discouraged.

So I just kept on hooking and let them pile up.

This method I am using on this oxford punched rug does not use binding tape.  I simply just trimmed the monks cloth folded it in and sewed a simple running stitch to hold it in place and rounded the corners a bit with needle and thread.

 

 

Here is the backside of the rug.  See how it adds the look of almost another row to the rug.

I have another rug I need to bind and I will try to take step by step photo's of how to do this.  Maybe it will give you another option to binding if you have never tried this.

 

I am binding this with the same wool yarn I hand~dyed for the punching.  It is a 4 ply wool yarn and it binds it very quickly :)

 

Enjoy your weekend and take a few minutes to slow down in this busy world we live in and just enjoy the simpler things of life!  You will be glad you did :)

 

Happy Trails......Ginger

Summer Fun

 

Busy days of punching and hooking samples and of course that means  putting the binding on all these little mats :)

 

Some days I sit outside and watch Sloan ride the scooter and catch grasshoppers while I whip around the edges.  Then in the late evenings while watching British comedy (my mom got me hooked on them) I bind or sometimes punch more.

 

I punched this little basket of flowers for a paper mache box but can't seem to locate the box so I made a wool needle case out of it instead.

 

My friend Dee told me about these neat little magnetic heart shaped closures.  Easy and simple to add and they close so nicely.

 

 

I took the grands to the zoo today.  It was HOT but we did have fun seeing some of the critters.  Sloan wanted to stop and have our pictures made in the fun booth so we did just that!

 

 



We had a great time last night celebrating Dad's 72nd birthday at a new Mexican food restaurant nearby.  He had another round of chemo this week and is to the halfway mark. 

 

Well the days have been filled with packing up everything I can think of for our 6 week stay in Branson.  Hooks, frames, wool, yarn, finished goods, patterns, displays, and so much more.  We will be dressing the part of pioneer gals from the 1800's so prairie dresses and skirts with granny boots :)

 

Sloan took this photo and has taken to calling me an old granny!

 

 

Hope you are enjoying your summer and taking time to have a little summer fun!

 

Happy Trails.....Ginger



Poppity Pop Pop Pop

 

Just about every day I do some sort of crafting.....It is my therapy and brings me lots of pleasure making something with my hands.  I finished these needle punches into little memo book covers.  Some have wool yarn around the edge and some have a heavy jute sewn around the edge. 

Needle punch pins overflowing finished with wool on the back and a pin sewn securely on.  Snowmen, Gingerbread men, Pumpkins, Birds, Christmas Trees, and more!

 

 

I wanted to try dyeing some wool yarn purple and came up with this color.  A quick oxford punch for Halloween!

 

It has been such a different July with several different days of rain and more on the way this week.  We are certainly counting our blessing!

 

We have a little surprise to share soon :)

 

Happy Trails.....Ginger

Snippets!

 

This rug has been needing finished for a long time.  I finally set down and finished up the background and added the border.  Pulled the last loop and now to get it bound.  If you are interested this is a pattern by Pine Island Primitives.   Think I will place it in front of the fireplace where the grandkiddo's like to set and look at books :)

 

 

Started this scrappy little rug on Saturday and finished pulling the last loop on Saturday evening.

 

 

With the same pile of wooly worms and a bit of scrap monks cloth made a small little scrappy mat.  With hooking all these pieces I have lots of wooly snippets for stuffing :)

Now to get everything bound!

 

 

A week or so ago I spent the day dyeing about 200 skeins of wool yarn.  With the Oklahoma winds and the sunshine it doesn't take long to dry.  Pati and I are building a website that will offer wool yarns, patterns, and finished goods later this fall.

Our 6 weeks of demonstrating at Silver Dollar City is coming up soon and we have a few things left to finish up!

 

 

We had our little rug hooking group here on Saturday and Sandra and Pati were both able to come.

 

There was 10 of us in all.  We enjoyed our time spent together and it will be October before we will all be able to meet again. 

 

Mom even got to come over and stitch.  Dad is doing pretty good with the chemo and radiation.  He continues to cut and bale hay but does rest when he needs too.  We are so thankful that he is getting through this.  The daily driving to radiation does get tiring for Mom and Dad but hopefully in a few weeks that will be done.

 

We have one more family gathering planned before school starts!  We have a few July birthdays to celebrate and we do enjoy getting together :)

 

Happy Trails.....Ginger



Embrace Every Day!

 

We are taking each summer day and enjoying them as much as we can.  Time slips away so very fast.

Sloan gave all of these rocks their own personality.  The green ones glow in the dark. 

I have been trying to read to him as much as I can this summer so we joined the Library dig into reading program.  He starts kindergarten the middle of August and he said he is looking most forward to the ice cream that will be available!

 

 

We hop into the truck and meet up with Aunt Jenn and Eva Mae at one of the local parks.  The riding toys are hot so we cool it down with a big beach towel.

 

On to the splash pad where we all enjoy the cool spray of the water!

 

 

Back at the house Sloan tells me he wants to earn some quarters and he  asked  if I have some chores he can do.  There is always something needing done and so he shines up the glass doors.

 

 

He told me that he needs six more quarters and so a sink full of dishes gets done!

 

Miss Eva Mae comes to visit and they both have a great time playing together.  She calls him bubba and he tells everyone that she is his lil' sister!  Cousins that are as close as brother and sister :) 

 

 



 

Pati Jane and I have been working for months on kits and finished goods for the time we will be at Silver Dollar City.  We set up a mock display with a few things we will have in our booth.

 

We have boxes filled with lots of kits, patterns, yarn, hooks, punches, and so much more!

 

We will be at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Mo from August 23- September 30th.  If you are in the area we would love you to stop by.  We will be demonstrating rug hooking, oxford punch, and punch needle.  Silver Dollar City is an amusement park set back in the 1800's that is a family friendly park with activities for young and old. 

 

 

I hope each of you are taking each day and embracing it and making memories along the way.  Memories can last a lifetime and time slips away so fast!  Take time to enjoy the simpler side of life :)

 

Happy Trails.....Ginger

 

Bright & Cheery!

 

Some days you just need a little something to brighten up your day.  I've made my own bit of bright and cheery in the dye pots.  The dye pots have been going since early morning and I have been hanging out wool yarn all day long.

 

The day is almost over and it is just about time to start gathering in the yarn that has dried so far!

 

Just finishing up dyeing lots of greens....they will have to wait until in the morning to take a turn outside in the sunshine.

 

The grasshoppers are plentiful this year and the flowers are getting eaten up.

 

 

Sure wish they would leave my splashes of color alone.  I didn't plant much this year but I do enjoy a little bright spot here and there.

 

 

The cows are grazing late into the evening.  We are enjoying some cooler temps and it makes me want to be outside as much as I can.  Sloan spent the day chasing grasshoppers and putting them in his bug barn.  He turns them loose and gathers more.

 

Tomorrow I will be making lots of yarn cakes....in lots of yummy bright colors!

 

 

The cameo punch needle gets used a lot late in the evening.

 

 

I also started a bright and cheery crochet project.  As usual I have lots of projects going at once.  The washing machine seems to always be humming, cookies are being baked for all the guys, and someone is always calling my name :)

 

Dad is really struggling trying to eat.  I will be so glad when all these treatments are over for him.  I will say this Cancer is not for sissies!

 

Thank you so much for all the prayers for him and my mom....they are all much appreciated!

 

Hope you each have a bright and cheery week :)

 

Happy Trails.....Ginger