Yes, that photo is intentional.  Whenever you use a punchneedle to embroider words, the back side of the writing is what gets punched.  You work on the wrong side and flip it to view the right side.

But can I actually punch this?  It's ready to begin, but the calligraphy is so tiny in places--and I don't think I'm willing to use my 1-strand needle at this point in my life, not with my eyesight--that I don't know if I can actually pull it off.  It's a major experiment. 

Much like life, eh?  And much like meditation.  Most of us tend to tell ourselves what we cannot do, rather than what we can.

I'll need to keep reminding myself of the meaning of this quote ("A beautiful thing is never perfect.") constantly while I'm working.  I'll be ok with a few imperfections...I think.  Won't I?  Hmmm.

I'm doing this more for the challenge than for a result.  But mostly because the partly-completed rug I had to set aside 2 years ago has gone missing.  I have found all the wool, and found the paper pattern, and I remember storing them with the rug itself all together in the same spot.  But the rug is not there.  It's just gone.  I've searched and searched with no luck.  I'm almost ready to re-draw it on new linen and start it all over again. But isn't that when the "lost rug" is most likely to jump out and present itself?  I'm in a dither over what to do. 

A short (?) punchneedle project is a way of buying time until I decide.

"Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."
--Mark Twain

Three group members have worked on the group rug so far.  It's great fun to watch it come to life.  I look forward to a second round of working on it at some point.  Can't wait to see how it develops over the summer and fall.

I love this rug because it makes everyone smile.  Kelley Belfast's original pattern was so adorable (one cat lazing on a bench with the words "Cat Nap" up above--see more details of the rest of her pattern in the caption above).

I knew I had to hook it but wanted to make  changes.  After managing to contact Ms Belfast early in 2023, I got her gracious permission to adapt her pattern and draw a different version; you see the result above. 

Thank you Kelley!  I hope it's different enough to not be a clone, but similar enough that you can say you're glad you gave me permission to do my own version.

There were times I despaired of getting this rug finished.  Between preparing to teach at Sauder Village last summer and then shortly after that, diving into 6 months of meditation teacher training, I was so busy I was cross-eyed.  Pretty much everything else fell by the wayside--not much drawing, Zentangle®, and certainly almost no hooking.  I am so relieved to have finished this.  And now on to creating a label and sewing it on.  Don't you just love Kelley's cats?

One of the rug groups I'm in has decided to take on this pattern as a group project.  Meaning, everyone in the group will work on this piece.  Everyone will add a few colors of their own.  Everyone will add their own touch as they hook.  It's the perfect rug to use up scraps.

One of our members kindly got us started, and I'm the 2nd person to begin to work on it.  I've added some beading, thrown a few colors into the circles (I'll be adding more scattered around the rug before I pass it on), and my goal now is to finish the boring black inner & outer borders so that others can focus more on the fun scrappy circles.  On Tuesday it'll be my turn to pass  it on to the next person.  I can't wait to see how this shapes up!

The rug up above is only the second "group effort" rug I've worked on. 

The other one, on the left, I designed myself 15 years ago.  My rug group from that era all worked on it; it was made for one of our members whose family had been traumatized by a violent crime.  She and her family were so badly traumatized I sense it's likely that after we gave her the rug, she rolled it up and put it away as it may have been too much to look at just then--a visible reminder of their terrible loss.

Still, I don't care if it ever sees the light of day as she would certainly have understood the love and effort that went into its making, and I know she would have been comforted by that care.   I don't believe I've ever shown it anywhere before.  Each hooked hand belongs to one of the members of our former group--we all wanted to reach out and send our rug hooking sister love and comfort.

This is what I appreciate about group efforts--when we come together to make something for someone, there is love and kindness present.  Everyone works together.  Everyone cares enough to add a piece of their heart.  And all the pieces work together to form the whole.

A single arrow is easily broken, but not ten in a bundle. - Proverb

And now it's 2 days later, and I'm about to pass this rug on to the next person to work on.  I'd hoped to get the outer border done but ran out of the black wool--more is on the way.  I added lines to the inner circles.  I worked on it all morning today, and wonder what the next person will do.

Aha!  "The end is near," as sidewalk doomsayers would say.

Ok, maybe not THAT near, as rug-binding goes very slowly, but at least it's finally underway.  The beads had to get set aside while I put in a final push to get this rug finished.

I have been wrestling with a textile project, and that's why you don't see me posting here.  It's not lack of interest.  It's a combo of s-l-o-w progress on the next rug and being so tied to it that I cannot seem to get any drawing or Zentangle® work going.  Eventually I'll be back.  Thanks for your patience.
Meanwhile, here is a badly-photographed teaser on the project:

This is my latest experimental departure from Pearl K. McGown's "Duncan" pattern.  First I took the classic pattern,  made a tesselated version, and then drew in randomly-located triangles inside each tesselation piece to create something different. 

So it's both tesselated and triangled.

Some cursing was involved.  But by my standards, not too bad.  What is it about cursing that makes things easier?  A few choice swear words are good for the soul.

"There ought to be a room in every house to swear in. It's dangerous to have to repress an emotion like that."
--Mark Twain

...or am I just incredibly messy?

Hard to tell.  Both, I think.  I'm at the beginning of a new rug (one reason I haven't been posting drawings much is that I've been so busy doing punchneedle embroidery, finishing off my last traditionally hooked rug, and now starting a new traditionally hooked rug). 

Here's what my studio floor looked like last night and still today.

I guess I know myself well enough to know that I need to throw stuff all over the floor and leave it while I look at it for a few days.  This mess with its stumble-inducing health hazards--you take your life in your hands trying to walk across the floor--will in fact result in much trial and error but eventually I'll be able to work out a color plan.

Many rug makers I know can pull a few wools from their neat shelves, roll them together for testing purposes, decide on an initial plan, start working, tweak a bit and then boom!  They are on their way.  Not me.  My mother would probably ask me if I was raised by wolves in Lower Slobbovia, but in fact, this is how I need to work.  Yes, for me, it's all about creating chaos and allowing things to arise out of the mess.

Pretty much like the way our minds work in meditation.  Until we learn to let things to arise out of the mess and begin to sort through them, allowing them to pass on their way, we just have the mess on our hands.  But eventually we're able to sort through it and clear the space.  Or perhaps it's just that life unfolds as it will, and things get sorted on their own.

                                                                I had a problem.
                                                      With sewing machines. 

Other than my ancient old Singer treadle, which I somehow managed to "misplace" during one of my Year of Seven Relocations (don't ask: an unhappy time many decades ago) I have always found sewing machines super-challenging. 

Oh how I loved that treadle; it was just my speed, even when I was young.  It was reliable.  It never snarled up or gave trouble.  Photo of a similar machine at the end of this post.

After the Year of Seven Relocations, I bought a small, inexpensive Sears Kenmore that had some basic bells and whistles and looked portable.  I used it a few times, had the usual issues (snarled up threads causing endless cursing), buried it at the back of a closet and forgot it. 

Fast-forward forty-five+ years to 2017.  Having relocated yet again, I finally brought the Kenmore in for a complete tune-up--cleaning, oiling, and a bit of general loving.  It was sorely needed.  (Ya think?)  I had not used it once in over 40 years.

Since 2017 I've only pulled it out a couple of times but now it positively hums and performs flawlessly.  It's a joy to use.  I used it this afternoon to zig-zag around the edge of my latest rug, and enjoyed the entire experience.  It sews like a dream.  It's a trooper, after 5 decades.

What a far cry from 50 years ago.  I'm sure its tune-up helped, but I know that I'm actually the one who's had the major tune-up since then.  I realize now the trouble was never with the machine, which in fact is extremely well-made.  The "fault"--though I wouldn't use that term now--lay with my own inner unhappiness at the time.  The impatience.  The self-doubt.  The insecurity.  The determination to blame something or someone else, never taking responsibility myself. 

A little meditation (OK, a lot of meditation) and an education in the School of Life have tuned me up quite a bit!  It turns out I have always been the owner of a very well-made sewing machine, and only needed to grow up enough to use it.

This is really back to basics.  There's an art challenge going on that focuses on just one tangle each day in January.  Really basic.  No pressure.  Of course I didn't get started on time but it'll be easy to catch up.  Each tile is only 2" square.  We began with some of the first tangles any beginner learns.  A fun and stress-less project which will continue all year. 

When I look back at my early start with Zentangle®, I remember that there were only about 106 "official" tangles at the time.  Unbelievable.  Of course as soon as Rick & Maria began teaching, all their students were encouraged to come up with their own tangles, and everyone did so with a vengeance.  Now there are thousands of them.  And none, not one, are originals, because humans have been drawing patterns since the Dawn of Time, and so everything we use has been "invented" many times before.  The only difference is that R&M named each tangle and created easy 6-steps-or-less instructions for each one so that anyone anywhere could learn to do this.  And the rest is history.

Meanwhile, this (below) is the reason I've hardly been tangling.  I've been working on this rug (photo is a peep at a corner of it) but ran out of a couple of spot-dyed colors and have to wait about two more weeks to get just a teensy bit more of the fabric or the border will end up not matching.  And I was on a roll!  But not paying attention to my stash.  Live and learn.

Nope, I haven't abandoned the blog, even though it must look like it.  It's a temporary lapse caused by necessary work on an external project, as well as the fact that I've been working hard on a hand-hooked rug.  Then add in a dash of generalized holiday madness.  Even though I don't celebrate the holidays, everyone around me does and it certainly causes madness!

Result:  I haven't put my pen on paper to draw in a month.  And wow, have I missed it.

So here you have me starting over.  This is a piece-in-progress, one that I began last night.  It's not even half-done yet.  We'll see where it goes.

I treated myself to a new t-shirt and I love it.

Last, here is a sneak preview of an upcoming rug I'm working on.  This is what has really been taking up most of my time.  This and doing a lot of reading (see the t-shirt above), along with some teaching.

All in all a very busy end to this year.  Wonderful.  And now, I hope to get back to drawing in 2022.

Starting a new rug.  Some of the work is deceptively tricky but I think I'm getting the hang of it.  This is my second try and is an obvious improvement over the first.  I'm learning as I go.   That's the story of our everyday life, yes?  "Learn as you go. " No instruction manual, no do-overs. 

Taking each day as it comes.  Not so easy to do!  And not every day is a masterpiece either, that much is certain.   But day by day, moment by moment, we create our lives.  Hopefully, we learn as we go. 

At least with rug hooking, you get to pull something out and do it over if needed.
***                                                                    
"Yesterday I was clever, so I changed the world.  Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."  --Rumi

The most closely-watched trial in this country in a long time ended today, with three guilty verdicts.  Perhaps this signals the beginning of some kind of reckoning for racial injustice in this country.  There is so much work ahead.  I put my head down and sobbed when I heard the convictions--relief, and sadness.  All mixed in.
                                                                             ***
Allow me to change the subject completely, as I do not want to get into the habit of posting political thoughts--that's not the focus of this blog.  So there was another ending today:  I finished this rug, which I've been struggling with for quite a while.  I had one color scheme in mind, and it didn't work out. 

Not. At. All.  Which meant I had to rip out a large proportion of the rug, think about what else might work, and then re-hook a large proportion of it.  I did, and just finished binding it today.  Next I gave it a good steaming and took a picture.  Tonight I'll sew on the label.  Hurrah!

The pattern is by Pearl K. McGown; I at first thought it was a very early design of hers, done while she was still in her early "geometric phase" and before she started designing the florals for which she's better known.

Later I discovered it's actually one of the last rugs she designed--another spate of geometrics named after her grandchildren, one of whom is named Duncan.

I did the color planning--much trickier than it sounds, as I mentioned above--and of course I did the hooking using largely #8 strips (with a few 6s and maybe even some 5s) from my stash.  I bought a few scraps, but nearly all the wool (some of which I dyed) was from my stash so this rug didn't require more than perhaps a total of one yard of new wools.  If that.

There was a LONG period as I worked on this where I was aiming only to "get it done," thinking it was so ugly that I'd never want to see it again.  But now that I've changed the colors and done a lot of re-hooking, I like it.

My "Duncan" was inspired by one I saw in 2009 at a rug show of the late Lida Skilton Ives' work.  The show was held at UConn in Storrs CT and the "Duncan" Mrs. Ives did stopped me dead in my tracks--I fell in love on the spot and knew I would hook it one day.  Gee, it only took me twelve years to start my own version.  Mine doesn't resemble hers one bit, but she completely inspired me.  Thanks also to my friend Kathleen H who, when she saw the photo of the Ives rug, told me it was a McGown pattern--I would never have guessed.  And Kathleen had already hooked her own version before we ever met, and since then has hooked a second one.  Phew.

The beginning?  It's time to begin cleaning up the mess the production of this rug generated.  And to begin a new rug.  I have just the one, ready to put on the frame.

My country is in trouble on so many levels at this moment.  I am aware every day of my sorrow and concern.  I am sitting with both, and experiencing these feelings.  Under no circumstances will I turn my back on them, or on what is going on here right now.

At the same time, I took a walk today and was greeted by the utter and complete beauty of a spring day. 
I hold both in my heart, the sorrow and the beauty.

I have also reached the point where I am binding the rug.  Who knows if this is going to work or not?  I'm trying a crocheted binding, which I have not done on this size rug before.  I have some doubts about it but here it is so far.

More to come on this tomorrow or early next week. 
The prep for a grand experiment.
(this is Teaser #1)

I know the general outline of the experiment will be, but I have no idea if it will work or not.  Hmmm.  This could be the first & last you hear about it.

Teaser #2 is below

It's the same little punch needle "ruglet"--which I showed here a few days ago--only this time, it's lying on part of my new rug.  I'm now binding the rug, and will show it in full once it's done.

Stay tuned.

"To practice any art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow.  So do it."
--Kurt Vonnegut

I needed a quick and easy diversion so decided to punch up this tiny 8x8" pattern from Storyteller Wool, to celebrate spring and all the crocuses popping up all over the place in my 'hood.  What a cutie!

Spring feels so GOOD this year, for a thousand reasons.  Yet even as I write this, I'm thinking of the hundreds of thousands--millions--of people who are not here to celebrate, and their grieving families. 

It is bittersweet, yes.

But for those of us who made it through what felt like a time a profound darkness, this Light Return is deeply healing.

I bought this little kit (including yarns--so pretty!--from Storyteller Wool to take a break from drawing and traditional hooking for a couple of hours of hand-punching and a sweet reminder of the return of spring after a long, long, dark, cold time. 

May we heal together.  May we all remember those we miss so much.  May we move forward and know joy again, even as we hold them in our hearts.

I'll add a picture of the completed piece soon.  Happy International Punch Needle Rug Hooking Day! April 10th, 2021

After SEVEN long years, my Universe Tarot Card rug is finally home.  It was delivered this morning in perfect condition.  I cannot believe that all of those tiny laminated cards I stitched onto the pathways of this Tree haven't fallen off by now; it must have been unpacked, hung up, taken down, and packed up again a zillion times since it left my hands in 2014.  This rug has been more places in the United States and world than I will ever see. 

Twenty-three rugs were designed and hooked for this Project, by a wide variety of well-known AND unknown rug artists.  I was flattered to be asked.  My rug was the only punched rug in the entire exhibit, as I recall.  All the others were traditionally hooked with wool strips, which is the type of hooking I've also tended to do more frequently (but oh how I love rug punching too).  To see the history of the exhibit and view the other rugs, go HERE. 

Most of the rug creators knew next to nothing about tarot.  Some who were invited to contribute turned it down because they believe tarot is the work of the devil.  I was so sorry to hear that.  I simply view tarot--which I've studied for 40+ years--as a way of speaking with our subconscious selves, which cannot use words but can use images.  And I do not fortune-tell, since no one can know the future.  I see it as a lovely psychological tool and a creative spark.  It has been a wise and compassionate assistant in my life for decades.  I use it seldom but when I do, it always helps me to express some inner wisdom or insight I might not otherwise have reached.

“It’s said that the shuffling of the cards is the earth, and the pattering of the cards is the rain, and the beating of the cards is the wind, and the pointing of the cards is the fire. That’s of the four suits. But the Greater Trumps, it’s said, are the meaning of all process and the measure of the everlasting dance.”
― Charles Williams

“When you drop the idea of predicting the future, you start to experience the cards as a mirror of the psyche. That`s when playing with the tarot becomes a path to wisdom.”
― Philippe St Genoux

With a bit more time now, I'm back into mindful drawing techniques.  This is based on one of Sadelle Wiltshire's classes.  More of this to come.  Very easy, very mindful.  And very small, hence the title of today's post.

I don't normally enjoy putting rugs on the wall--I prefer to walk on them.  But the colors in this one are so subtle I finally decided the wall would be safer.  It's all scrap wool that I had lying around.

I've also run out of room for rugs at the moment and may have to put a few more of my patiently-waiting rolled-up rugs on walls around the house.

Less than 3 minutes was all it took to hang this, once I had some assistance.  A very small amount of time (title of today's post), and something I've wanted to do for weeks.

Today I made it (with mask on my face of course) to a new shop called Swanson's Fabrics in Western Massachusetts.  I'd heard about it but hadn't gone until today.  It was large enough to feel safe inside.  Part of the time it was just me and the owner, and there were never more than 2-3 others at any one time, all distanced.
But oh, the treasures!  Kathryn Swanson, the owner, has more than fabrics; she also has yarns, threads, sewing notions, and braiding equipment. 

NOTE:  All her fabrics are $4/yard.  No matter what they are made of.  Seriously!  Cottons, upholstery and lots of other fabrics, and even wool yardage (the wools go out the door nearly as soon as they arrive--I grabbed 1.5 yards of the light colored wool you see above on the right, for $6 total).

And I'm pretty certain she mail-orders, so feel free to contact her and ask.

All of her fabrics, yarns, and notions are rescued from people's basements or from fabric stores or yarn stores that have gone out of business.  You could go one day and find nothing, and go back the next day and find tons of wonderful new rescued goods.

When you click the link to her website above, be sure to go to her "About" tab and read her mission statement.  I'm in awe.

I also got seventeen 100-gram skeins of off-white, 100% wool yarns, very high quality if a bit grubby from being stored for quite a while.  I'm pretty sure they were originally from Sweden.  Some are worsted weight and some are DK.  I can overdye them all.  Very exciting.  I cleared her out of these, however, so you'll have to find your own treasures some other day.

This was a Big Find, and therefore doesn't fit the title of today's post.  But I didn't think any of you would mind...

With apologies for the blurry second photo.  Just experimenting on my new rug here.  Nothing is decided yet.  Just sitting with all this, trying various approaches.

The start of any creative project requires something called Beginner's Mind, or Don't-Know Mind, which is also an ideal state for meditation.  Since every meditation is different, using Don't-Know Mind is the best way to approach each one. 

Just as with wool work, holding expectations at bay until I find out how things actually look and what actually comes up in this moment always works best for me.  I learn this lesson repeatedly.  Next time you see rug photos, the work will look different.  Next time I meditate will be different as well.

Below is a new frame I was lucky enough to have delivered today.  It turns so easily.  As I said, I have two rugs underway right now.  The one above is traditionally hooked and the one below is punch hooked.

                                       Frame is available from Notforgotten Farm.

Yup, I'm starting another rug.  This (below) is the first throw-down of possible colors.  Who knows how many will be used?  The design is  a "challenge" my local rug hooking group is taking on--we are all hooking one particular pattern in our own way.  Some members are already done; I haven't even begun mine yet but hope to get it underway tomorrow or later this week.  I'm getting excited.

I actually introduced the pattern to the group in February and everyone wanted to try it.

The entire phase of beginning a rug reminds me of meditation practice.  Every single time one sits to meditate, it's a form of starting over.  You never know what will happen.  It may not be fun every single time, but it is always interesting.

It's the same with hooking rugs.  I always have a hazy mental picture of what I'll be producing, but the final result may or may not agree.  Getting to the finish line can be a series of daily, or even moment-to-moment, changes. 

My next unpredictable rug adventure is officially underway.

Just finished binding this rug (triple binding technique), a "pandemic rug" I designed and hooked in a 8-cut.  All scrap wool; no bought wool.  What fun.  Every loop pulled was enjoyable.  I'm delighted with how it came out.  However, the subtle colors just don't show in a photograph.  But that's ok--I know what it looks like.  I smile whenever I see it.

It may look done, but it's far from done.  Just like this year.  Just like this never-ending plague.  After the hooking is completed, there is a LOT of cleanup--searching the back for large unhooked spots to fill in, trimming stray ends, then steaming it to lie flat and to "relax" it (a newly hooked rug is often stiff before being steamed), and then binding it.  I have only a small strip 1"x2" to hook.

You can see I've hooked in "2020" around the corner (lower left and middle right).  What a year.  And not quite halfway over yet, with some of the highest suspense still to come.

I needed to dye some yarn to bind a rug that I'm nearly finished with, so I did a test skein and was pleased.  Just ten grams.  I liked both the color and the value.

But then I needed to dye a 4 oz (about 113g) skein to match the test skein.  I'm sure I'll need a lot more yarn than that for the binding, but the big question was, could I match that tiny test skein with a regular size.  Results below!

In each of the two photos above, the same tiny test skein is on the right.  In the first photo on the left, you can see that the 4 oz skein came out too light.  Pretty but not quite a match.  I had actually already overdyed that 4 oz skein because my first try was SO light that the mismatch was even more obvious.  So what you are seeing on the left was an overdye with additional dye solution.

On the right is the finished product.  That was the 2nd overdye using even more dye solution.  Voila, perfection!  I wanted some slight variation and I got it, but I also matched the color of the small test skein.  Now that I know how much dye solution to use, I should have no trouble dyeing more yarn to match as I start binding the rug. 

We're still in the middle of a pandemic and we're back in the center of facing racism and injustice in America for the first time in a long time.  It's been a very hard few months for this country and the rest of the world.

But, today is sunny.  It's lovely out.  The color I got was perfect. It all feels great, despite all our current issues, just in this moment.  A lovely respite.

"Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine." --Anthony J. D'Angelo

My closest friend, to whom I gave this rug that I hooked years ago (2013), just sent me a photograph of the rug and the sculpture above it in her home.   I love her arrangement.  After I gave her the rug she gave me the carved horse figure above it, which she had found in the Southwest.  Eventually I realized the carving needed to be with the rug.  They are a perfect match.

I dyed the teal and red wools in the rug; the light color is actually an as-is, off-the-bolt yellow wool plaid.  I loved this pattern from Underhill Farms (no longer in business) but by the time I finished the hooking I was so thoroughly sick of looking at it that I gave it to my much-loved friend who had been drooling over it right from the start.  I'm delighted she still feels that way and it has a place of honor in her house.

Here is a better photograph of the actual rug.