Sunday, July 25, 2010

Max Rug . . . continued


With every rug I hook, I learn a little more. I have always liked the look of the primitive antique rugs that I see in books and magazines. They have an innocent charming appeal, some are whimsical and fun, others have intricate designs with wonderful colors, there are those that tell a story, and some are very utilitarian and plain. I love the whimsical and fun and so I chose to make our cat Max with a folk art look.

From what I have gathered from my hooking books, rugs were hooked for necessity and the fact that commercial rugs were not affordable to everyone. Hooked rugs were used, worn out, thrown out, and another was made to take it's place. Because of this, not very many hooked rugs survived. It is so wonderful to see the ones that did survive, and it makes me curious about the creative person who hooked them.

We can tell a lot from the antique rugs that have survived. What backings were used, if they used wool or cotton fabrics (or other things for that matter), the colors that were used, and how the rugs were bound. It is a look back into an era of what was available to the hooker at that time.

Most think that hookers of the past used dull and washed out colors of fabric, however the back side of antique rugs reveal that much brighter colors were hooked into the rugs. The color had faded from sunlight and wear, so a truer picture of the rug is seen from the back.

I liked the worn and faded look of the antique rug and I tried to make my project resemble that look. My first attempt at the Hit and Miss boarder was a little too bright, so I pulled out strips and re-hooked other colors. Here is a side by side before and after picture of the left side.


I continued around the rug with lambs tongues, squares and fans. The background is various white and cream wools, then I added an old date that I pick out of the blue.


The rug and Max . . . .


And now the true test, does the rug wear well . . .





I'm guessing this is what the rug would look like prodded.

8 comments:

  1. Awwww, look at Max...he loves his rug. Looks like he has given the official stamp of approval. Great job.
    Kim

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  2. I LOVE IT I LOVE IT!!!!!! So funny!! He knows it was made for him!

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  3. I love this rug...and Max! Wonderful post.

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  4. I love your Max rug! And he is so precious giving it his stamp of approval.

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  5. The Max rug is purrrrfect!!! I'm glad Max is getting to try it out! No cat rug is complete until it has a little fur on it.

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  6. Cinthya, your beautiful cat is saying" Hook me, hook me, I would make a beautiful rug". Thanks for visiting my blog. It's so nice seeing familiar rug hookers joining my followers. I joined your blog too. Looking forward to reading more of your blog. JB.

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  7. How do you keep your cat from shredding your hooked rugs? I'm afraid to put mine on the floor because of what my husband's cat has done to other fabrics around the house.

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  8. For some reason, all my cats love my rugs. The ones on the floor are not bothered by the cats, but the one I have on the footstool is a favorite place to nap for one of my cats. I just keep it vacuumed or roll off the cat hair. I used to have a cat that would pick at my seat cushion and another rug, but it was easily repaired. I just re-hooked the spot. You just have to decide whether or not to use the rugs or to hang them up. some I use and some I hang. Take care.

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