Other People's Work #10

Just in the past week I have felt well enough and gotten enough done here to want to begin working on my rugs again.  I'm planning my next project, and want to get back to work on the rug I was forced to pack away when I began prepping for the upcoming move about ten months ago. 

Today I returned to my hometown (a two hour drive) to meet with my former rug hooking group and we had a wonderful time.  Here are some pictures:

 Lenore is working on this vintage rug (a "rug rescue").  I 'm guessing it was partially hooked somewhere between 1940 and 1970.  Not only is it unfinished, but you can see two large nasty holes, one in the dark gray area and one on the lower bottom edge.  She's attached a completely new backing to the rug so that she can repair those holes, and will be working to complete the edges as well.  I like the design and the colors, and look forward to seeing this finished.

Cheryl, our usual Rug Rescuer (Lenore is trying on that role at the moment!) is hooking a new rug--this lovely pattern on the right.  It was intended as some type of panel or screen, but she's going to use it as a runner in her house.  Not only is the design dramatic and striking, but she's using many variations of white in the background that--while not well-captured in this photo--make it even more interesting.

Also below is a closeup of the bottom of the panel, which will be bamboo plants.  She hasn't quite gotten that far yet.  I am looking forward to seeing how this one develops.

---

Here is Elizabeth's chair pad project (photo below).  She had punch-hooked the pad on the right side of this photo years ago, and is now working on a similar design (in the frame on the left) for a matching chair.  These colors are definitely "Elizabeth colors."  Love them and this will be a beautiful duo when done.

Below is a rather blurry photo (I swear it looked ok when I took it) of Kathleen's current rug adventure.  Only the right half of this rug is visible in the frame--there's an equal amount of it that carries over to the left, but you are not seeing it in this photo.  This is a Green Man rug, and you can see half of his partially finished face here.  I'm loving the new darker background.  This rug has been languishing for a while since K has had a "challenging" year, but she's really moving right along on it now.  I can't wait to see how this one develops either.

As for me, I was working on the reconstruction of an old pillow I'd hooked years ago; I needed to upgrade both the backing and the internal stuffing, so I was doing tedious sewing on it today.  (It's always easier to do that sort of thing in a lively group!)

I brought along a rug that I am not ready to begin.  I'll need to color plan it and do all the dyeing for it before I can get started, but here's a partial shot of the pattern, called "Russian Oriental."

I've had this pattern for about 25 years--it's actually the last pattern I own.  I bought way too many patterns when I began hooking and for several years afterwards, and have been determined to complete them all so that I can get on with my own designs.  I believe I've figured out a way to create my own "Oriental-type" rugs from here on.  This rug will be about 4'x3' when finished.  There are many decisions to make before I begin to work on it..

Oh how I love my rug group.  Wonderful folks.  Maria & Cynthia, you were much missed.