Little Wool pumpkins

 

Fall is around the corner.  Here is something fun and easy to make to decorate the house or for a gift to cheer a friend.  Have fun.

Supplies:

Wool for pumpkin and leaf

Scissors

needle

embroidery floss

stuffing

covered wire and pencil 

twig

hot glue and gun

 

Cut or tear a rectangle of orange (or whatever color) wool for the pumpkin.  I used a 12 by 6 inch piece. 

Fold in half short sides together and make a seam using a running stitch up the side.

Like this.  Do not cut thread.

Finger press the seam flat.

 While the needle is still threaded, make a running stitch around the bottom.

Pull tight and run the needle through a few more pleats and knot off thread.

Like this. 

Turn right side out.
Stuff.  Re-thread needle and make a running stitch around the top.

Run needle through a few pleats and knot off thread.

Pull tight.

Re-thread needle with about 45-60 inches of thread.  Attach thread to top of pumpkin with a knot and run needle down through the center of the pumpkin and out the bottom.  Go around the outside of the pumpkin and down again through the center and out the bottom.  Do this several times to make the indentations of the pumpkin, placing one of the threads on the seam of the pumpkin.

Knot the thread.

Even out the gathers.

Cut out a leaf.

With needle and green floss, make a running stitch about 3/4 the way up the center of the leaf and back down again.  Knot off thread.

 

 
Wind wire around a pencil for the tindrell.

Insert twig into top.  Hot glue leaf and tindrell.

Happy Hooking.

Cynthia

Hooked Owl

 I hooked this owl from the "Primitive Hooked Rug Owls" pattern by Cathy Meyer.  It is a great pattern which also has a pattern for a baby owl (not hooked yet).  Right now, the mommy owl is just sitting on her nest waiting for her baby to hatch. She may be waiting a while.

This has nothing to do with rug hooking, but I made this sea shell "B" with the shells that I found on Cape San Blas beach this summer.  It brings back fond memories of our trip.  Did I mention that I made it . . . right by myself?  My husband laughed when I started it.  He said it would not look like a "B" when it was finished.  So there!

Karla Gerard Rug Finished . . .

I finished my new rug a few weeks ago and it is now in my laundry room.  Doing the laundry is not so gloomy any more.  This design of Karla's is called 'Blooming Farm".  It is fun and cheerful and so much fun to hook.  I made it large, 30x52, and it brightens up the place a lot.  The next rug of Karla's that I would like to do is called 'Moonlight Sailboats'.  To see designs by Karla Gerard, go to her blog here, or on ebay go here.  They are so wonderfully affordable and you can make them any size you like!
Happy Hooking!

Making a Small Hooked Piece Stand

 Want to make that cute little hooked item stand?  Here are some
directions to make that happen . . .

 Zigzag 1/2 inch from the hooked item (leave a hem) and trim up to the zigzag.

 Pin the seam to the back leaving the hem open.

 Baste seam to back. Clip seam if necessary.

 Pin the item to wool fabric and cut around the item.

 Pin the fabric to the back.

 Whip stitch around picking up the thread of linen close to the hooking and 

then into the wool fabric.

Back (hem tucked inside). 

 Front (hem tucked inside).

 Stuff.

 Trace an oval on cardboard the size of the opening.

 Trim, trim, trim to fit . . . not too snug.

 Like this.

 Place your cardboard oval on wool fabric and cut an oval 1/2 to 3/4 inches larger.

 Gather the wool oval with a running stitch.  Pull to fit, then go around the gathers one more time.  Secure the thread.
If the hooked piece is tall, you may want to weight the bottom by putting pennies or plastic pellets in the bottom before you sew on the covered cardboard piece.  I make a little cloth bag to put the pellets in so they do not scatter everywhere.

 Whip stitch around close to hooking picking up the wool fabric 

and not the cardboard.

 Like this.

Enjoy.  Happy Hooking.

Marbleizing Wool

Yesterday I tried my hand at marbleizing wools together.  "Rug Hooking Daily" has a Dyeing Studio Group started by Caroline Dlugy-Hegwer.  She has a wonderful blog with beautiful wool creations.  Her blog is http://carolinedhstyle.blogspot.com/.

I tried her process of marbelizing wools together (no dye used, just twisting dark wools and light wools together and boil in water).  Find her process here.  It is a lot of fun and no mess.  Here are my results. If you are a hooker, you need to try this one!

The wools to the left are the before.  The darker wools are only very slightly affected, but see how beautiful the lighter ones turned out.

I also spent some time dyeing wool for our Guild.  We were in desperate need of golds and yellows.

Happy hooking everyone!

Fluffy finished . . .

Fluffy is now finished and hanging beside my computer so that I can look at her often.  She was a great cat!

Donna Hrkmann Workshop

The Crescent Lane Rug hookers invited Donna Hrkman for a workshop this past February.  (www.DonnaHrkmanDesigns.com)   She is a amazing teacher and we all loved her class.  Please visit her web page to see all the amazing things she has accomplished in her life, career, and her 8 years of hooking.  We have all agreed that we need her back for another workshop.  If you ever have a chance to take a class from her, GO for it!  You will be amazed as to what she can help you do.

I chose to do my cat "Fluffy" that passed away last year.  I think I captured her (or his, we never could determine) expression from the only decent photo I had.  Fluffy showed up at our doorstep about 5 years ago very matted and hungry.  I think Max brought her to us as they seemed to be great friends.  It took about 4 months to win her over and cut all her mats out of her hair.  That is when I discovered that she had been de-clawed and spayed/neutered.  She had golf ball size mats, I honestly do not know how she could sleep without them pressing against her.  She was a beautiful and sweet cat.  Her job was to help fold the clothes and to lay on my rugs when I put them down to look at them.  Max grieved for a week.  I miss her so much.

 

New things

 Here are some things that I have finished up recently.  "The Prairie Fox" is found in 'The Rug Hook Book" by Thom Boswell.  It was designed by Kathy Morton and her hooked original is 27" by 54".  I hooked a miniature version of her rug (12½" by 24") and it is one of my favorite rugs now.  I have it on a small table by my chair.

 The Shepherd and Sheep were designed by Nancy Thompson.  Again, hers were much larger (see other pictures) and attached to wooden boards, whereas my Shepherd is 14½ inches tall and the sheep are 4½ inches tall.  All are stuffed with poly fill and finished at the bottom.

The above is a pillow that I made for my rocker/glider chair I recovered last year.  It is a chair that my husband gave me when my first child was born back in the late 70's.  It sure doesn't glide as smoothly as the new gliders that are out now, but I still love it.  It needed a little something so I hooked the pillow for it.  I rock my grand children in it now.

Happy Hooking.

Auction Day

 The covered dish dinner and auction was fabulous.  Here are some pictures.

The sign in table for name tags, auction paddle numbers, and door prize jar.

Everyone went home with a door prize.  We had some GREAT things in them.

This is the table to buy raffle tickets for our wonderful raffle rug.

Some Autumn decorations to put everyone in a good buying mood.

Pretty pumpkins made from wool.  Some of these were in the door prize bags.

The Kitty would howl and hiss for about 30 seconds when you squeeze him.  Kathy could not resist.

The little acorns are felted wool in acorn shells.

These are items for the big auction.

This is the silent auction table.

Of course we ate first.  We know how to do a covered dish around here!

Let's eat!

Auction rules to follow.

Bidding frenzy at the Silent Auction Table.

Last minute sign up for the door prizes.

The Auctioneer and our own Vanna White modeling.

A happy bidder

This is most of our hooking group.  What a great day!