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I started getting out some of my Christmas decorations. These adorable gingerbreadmen are a new addition for me this year. I found them at a garage sale this past summer. I think I paid a whopping $1.50 for the entire set! The person was downsizing and getting rid of all her craft items/supplies. I really didn't need any of the supplies, but was happy to take these.
I've been hooking on my rug the past few days. I have everything but the background done. I still want to get a more muted blue for the flowers, but will need to decide on where to get the background wool. I'm thinking of an antique black background. I want lots of different variations in it. I'm thinking several different textures/plaids all overdyed the same black. I don't know of anyone who would carry 5 different textures. I've found a couple sellers that sell 3 textures, but I'm not sure if that's enough variation. Anyone have any suggestions for sellers? Something that has black, tan, and hints of possibly green? I'll end up using the wool to bind the edges, too. That way it's guaranteed to match the background.It's been back to school/work for me after having last week off. I do have to say it's nice going back to a job I enjoy. I really enjoy working with the kids, and we have a great class this year. It's low pay, but the hours are good and it's close to home. =)
~*~ Laura ~*~
6 comments:
*****just a couple of thoughts:
an antique black IS NOT all black. the illusion is that over time the
materials have faded. to give it textural interest and pleasing to the eye, simply gather materials, in this case the five that you wish and have them very close in range to one another. choose a very dull black brown, black green, very dark oxford grey, some very dark khaki drab. this will give you the interest in a background you wish to obtain for
movement, color and the eye.
you can also obtain all of this by simply gathering up a group of like
materials and simmering them together to bleed the darkest color. please be careful with this
because too much cooking will render everything simply too black for any interest. should the materials not bleed and if you do not have any dyes some food coloring will help the process. just dull the colors of the food coloring in a glass beaker first and take a white paper towel to check if you like the results. should you use cushng dyes khaki drab, golden brown, olive green and
a very small amount of black will help.
go over to the sassafras and winterberry blogsopt and scroll down to the pictures of some of the rugs i took to a recent hook-in. there are examples of antique black backgrounds as they should appear in a primitive design. good luck. also...blues are one of the hardest colors to work with in hooking...weakly overdye anything that is too bright with anything
in the orange family. remember...go slowly.
*****should you note be a "dyer" i would suggest two places to help with the background that you are looking for:
leann hodgson at camp wool in kennebunk, maine the number is toll free at 866-938-wool or on the internet at campwool.net. tell her that tom sent you to bug her!
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another great source on the opposite side of the country is marita friedman at the merry hooker woolens in san francisco.
she has some offerings either hand dyed or a mix of the off the bolt variety. she is wonderful and will help you with any needs.
she is www.themerryhookerwoolens.com
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good luck and hope that some of this helps! tom
I'm loving your flower motif, so far. If you try out the wool dyeing, have fun! I love the whole process...the best of some favorite things...cooking and wool! Can't wait to see your finished rug.
I just ordered 5 different shades for the background. Plain/overdyed, but they look great on the screen. How long (approx) should they be simmer together? Two of the wools are already in the same color family, so no need to worry about them.
Laura
*****you shouldn't have to marry the colors...if they are all in the
same hue/intensity you should just
plan to hook with them as is. the choice is yours as to how the background will look. an example would be to cut the material into their individual piles and hook one pile around an object and go to the next pile for another part of the rug. this will create the illusion of fading in spots. another way would be to take one of the colors and hook all around
the various motifs...then another color from another pile and hook again in the same manner. this is rather like a rippling effect. you can try a little of each out in your border to see what will please your eye. good luck.
*****you shouldn't have to marry the colors...if they are all in the
same hue/intensity you should just
plan to hook with them as is. the choice is yours as to how the background will look. an example would be to cut the material into their individual piles and hook one pile around an object and go to the next pile for another part of the rug. this will create the illusion of fading in spots. another way would be to take one of the colors and hook all around
the various motifs...then another color from another pile and hook again in the same manner. this is rather like a rippling effect. you can try a little of each out in your border to see what will please your eye. good luck.
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