RUG HOOKING BLOG

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I'm a mother of four grandmother of seven and great grandmother of three. I live with my husband in the house that we built with the help of my brothers and will have been married for 57 years this February.

Tuesday, July 21, 2020

A BLOGGER ART GALLERY POST BY INVITATION FROM KEZZIE

What is art? There are many definitions of art. Kezzie from KezzieAG blog thought it would be fun to see what arts her followers had in their home and so she set up a day to share our art on our blogs.

After digging up some photos from my Photo Library, I came up with more art pieces than I thought I had.

I never thought of my creations as art but the definition of art is broad so I guess it can pass for art.

Taste varies, what is beautiful to some is not necessarily beautiful to others.


I'll start with my rugs. They are all my own designs and I have enjoyed the whole process of acquiring my stash of repurposed 100% wool fabric from thrift stores with only a very small percentage which is not 100% wool.

The wool is washed in hot water and dried. I use a Cushing dye especially for wool to get the colors I wanted and to overdye colors that I want to change. There are many techniques for special effects.  The wool is cut in narrow strips we call worms.



This was my first rug. The grass was a white and grey plaid skirt dyed with yellow and blue dye. All repurposed 100% wool.




This rug was made to remember my friends who supported me during my breast cancer episode. They gave me a huge rooster that noise activated. I was collecting small roosters then. They filled a huge basket with 30 small gifts to open every day for a month.


This was a challenge rug. I had to use a forest, a ring, a stone, and the color purple. Free to interpretation. I didn't have much choice of wool then. This is me when I was young. I was always hanging from a tree upsidedown and wished I was a natural blond. lol...



This is a memory rug of my childhood. Every vignette represents great memories. and the wavy border represents the journey.




Another challenge rug called Grandmother's trunk. The interpretation was my heritage from my grandmother. She didn't left me any tangible objects other than the love of flowers.



Another challenge rug to get rid of all the leftover wool worms after hooking the other rugs.



Again this chair pad was using all leftover wool worms. The green border was wool of many different greens and white all married together by simmering the wool together to get a more uniform color.




This chair pad also was using little bits of leftover wool. We call the different circles, Kittens paws.



This one is a geode landscape. I never finished the border on it yet.


This is from a black and white overexposed photo of my grandfather. I wasn't pleased how his face turned out as I couldn't see the nuances in the shading of his face.



This was a challenge entitled "All around the town", using left only leftovers wool worms. The edging needs to be finished.



This is George the  Rooster chair pad. Making a round chair pad can be challenging.





A mate for George the rooster. Meet Julia hen. I used one piece of plaid that a generous blogger friend gifted me for the body by cutting out the strips of wool and separating the colors




Another challenge using leftover wool worms with a nursery rhyme.



This is a purchased watercolor print of a local covered bridge by artist Daniel Price.




This art piece comes as a gift from an African student who my daughter Christine gave her some raw milk to make some kefir I think. She was so happy with the cow milk. It is made from large fibrous leaves.



This was a self-portrait painted by my late daughter Nicole when she was in High school. I found it in the garage and gave it back to her while she lived in Scotland. She took it with her and had it framed. and it came back to me when she died. I had to take the photo at an angle because of the glare on the glass.


 

These two small applique portraits are collector's items and were given to me by Nicole and came from Scotland. Signed by artist Linda Kerr. They are approximately 4''x4'' or 10.16 cm x 10.16 cm.









A cross stitch I made and changed the thread colors to coordinate with my wall color. I had it professionally mounted at a cost of $150.00. I got it mounted wit a low glare glass to protect it from grease in the dining room.




THis little one I mounted myself but I need to change the frame. I used what I had laying around.


My first applique quilt after my chemo. The applique and quilting is all done by hand.


I got an old pattern from my sister in law for a double bed but I turned it into a King size. All appliqued and quilted by hand.





This is a scribble I made on a tiny piece of line paper when one morning I was sitting at my prayer table in my bedroom while I was doing a two-week review of my spiritual meditation and I saw the face of Jesus in the tree across the road. I looked up and down as I scribbled and when I was done I couldn't see it anymore no matter how hard I tried. I could see it very plainly. I could see a bit of the sky and some leaves and a branch that came down on top of his forehead.




A scrap of paper on my desk on which a coffee spill gave me a doodling idea. lol.

I hope that you enjoyed some of my art and didn't get too bored.
Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.
Hugs, Julia








22 comments:

  1. Oh gosh I loved this!! I loved seeing all of the rugs you have hooked. Your quilts are amazing and I loved your art work especially that one of Jesus, Your are really good. Very artistic. I loved your other works of art too. I loved because each one is very personal and has a very nice story behind each one. Thank you so much for taking the time to share.

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  2. Oh, my! What fantastic art! You are truly talented! Loved each one of them!

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  3. Your rugs are works of art. I particularly like the challenge one the one where you're hanging upside down from a tree. I like how you did the trees in the background as well. The hair is a wonderful touch as well. The wool rug in honour of your grandmother is absolutely beautiful as well. I also like the one with the image of your granddad. The roosters are very cool as well with a rustic old chic.

    The self-portrayed of your late daughter Nicole is so beautiful. I'm very sorry for your loss. This is my first to your blog so I don't know when it happened.

    The art piece that was a gift from an African student, the one made of leaves is very interesting.

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  4. Those rugs are absolutely incredible. I'm in awe of your talent. x

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  5. Wow, your rugs and quilts are incredible, you have such talent. I very much enjoyed the variety of your other choices, thanks for sharing.

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  6. Wow Julia so much talent! I love seeing your rugs again.
    Cathy

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  7. Bored? Wash your mouth out.
    Awed is much closer to the mark.
    Your home is full of art, and so much of it created by you.
    Love the rugs, and am blown away by the quilting.

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  8. As a lover of folkart and with the intention of making my own rug one day I love them all. Arilx

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  9. Amazing! All other words fail me.

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  10. I love this post!!!
    Your childhood memory rug is my favorite.
    The acorn doesn't fall too far from the tree, does it? Nicole's self portrait is amazing.
    GORGEOUS quilts. I honestly never knew you quilted. I learned so much today!!!

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  11. And that is what art is about.... memories and stories! I think this is the first time I have seen your quilts and cross stitch.... beautiful!

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  12. Your rugs are amazing and I love that most tell a story! Janice

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  14. I am echoing Elephant's Child's comments above! I could not possibly be bored! I am also incredulous you didn't consider your creations art! They are astonishing! I have a special affection for Julia and George roosters but I love all your pieces. The picture of Nicole is so lovely and I am glad you have it, sad though it is that you have it rather than her. I'm going to have a hard time choosing my favourites!
    How long would you say it takes to make one of the rugs?

    I'm trying to paste a hyperlink here of my blog url for the post so if anyone else wants to come and see the other participants, they can click on this- otherwise, just head over to my blog!
    Bloggers Art Gallery

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    1. Kezzie, to answer your question of "how long does it take to make a ru?" It can take months or years, depending how much time a person spend on it. For my Childhood Memories it took me a least a few years. You have to think of a design first or you can purchase ready made designed patterns on backing that are ready to hook. To start preparing the linen backing, you have to measure the dimensions of the rug and secure the edge to prevent it from fraying, sketch your design, trace it to the backing. Then you have to choose your colors and sometimes you have to dye or over dye the wool to get the desired colors. This is also time consuming. The wool has to simmer for a period of time and rinsed and dried and cut into strips. I used a lot of secondhand wool fabric from garments and had to wash the wool and dry it. Dismantle the garment and cut strips of wool in the needed width and put the backing on a frame and start to hook.
      Sometimes we run out of a particular color and we have to dye the wool using a dye recipe to get the same color and it all takes time.
      I never counted how many hours it took me to hook any particular rug. Hand hooked rugs sells for a lot of money.
      Now, some rug hookers are slow like me and others are virtual hooking machine and can hook as dizzying speed like Diane Fitzpatrick who has made a successful business at it. For me it was just a hobby in my spare time.
      I hope this answers your question.

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  15. Hello,
    This was so much fun Julia. Thank you for sharing your talents and others.
    I am in awe of your creations. Your childhood memory rug is a favorite. I also like the Grandmother's Trunk.
    Thank you again for sharing all this with us Julia, it made me smile. The memories of your daughter as well.
    Love to you,
    Carla

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  16. Julia your rugs are amazing and make me think of a wonderful group of ladies called The Myrtles in Cornwall. Many are rug makers and their work is fantastic. If you are on Instagram have a look at Sue Dove and Diane Cox. Sadly Diane died of a brain tumour only a couple of weeks ago
    Lynn x

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  17. What a fabulous collection you had to share - all those homemade rugs are so good! I was saddened to read about the your daughter but it the self portrait must be a lovely treasured piece in her absence now.

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  18. Such a spirit filled in your body with determination, love, faith and talent.
    Your rugs are charming! A reflection of your interior soul.
    Blessed to have talent in the garden and on the frame!
    Bravo to you...we are alike in many ways.
    The self portrait is beautiful.
    A constant reminder that you briughtbher into this world and she will be waiting with open arms and a loving smile to welcome you to the next when it is your turn. We lost a daughter many yrs ago...you have our understanding at the life changing event.
    Keep up the great work and of being an inspiration to many of us to keep the fire going!
    We Scots are a hardy breed! We may get knocked down at times...but we always find a way to get back up better and stronger! That's why the English fear us!

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  19. Your artwork is amazing...the rugs are so fabulous. There are pieces of your heart in each one. I do love the upside down girl and the memory rug. I remember many of these creations from your past blog posts. You are very talented and obviously your dear daughter was too. I'm glad you got the portrait back. I was thinking about my "art" which would be my photos and my blog books...along with other items that were gifts or caught my fancy. I have one of the Virgin Mary that I saw in a local antique shop. For some reason it always caught my eye when I would stop by. One day I noticed it was on sale and felt I should buy it. It hangs in my dining room of all places but it fits there nicely. Not everyone's cup of tea but that's what art is about...what speaks to one's soul...or I could say, "don't yuck my yum!" Have a good weekend sweet Julia!

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  20. Julia, your rugs are absolutely beautiful. Thank you so much for sharing them as well as sharing the story behind each one. Anything that you hold dear to you is art in my eyes. The time and effort that you put into your rugs truly displays this and I could feel the emotion behind each piece of art that you presented.
    Thanks again for sharing your gallery with us. :)

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