11 July 2010

Rug Hooking Diary... Starting a New Rug

Starting a new rug hooking project is often an ambivalent time for me...isn't that odd? It's a time filled with the excitement of new possibilities and the insecurities of the outcome. I love working out a starting point for a piece, thinking about the colors, maybe dyeing up something new...and where I begin with color is often different from where I end (which is so much of the fun in rug hooking). But, I also have those moments of thinking, "Can I do this? Will it turn out well? Will I mess it up?"

My next project is Wonderland, designed by Canadian rug hooking artist, Martina Lesar. It's a magical piece that I'm anxious to start! The big challenge.....hooking all that snow while giving definition to the landscape.

I've admired Martina's designs for some time. She has a wonderful sense of color and a beautiful, broad selection of rug hooking designs. She hand draws her patterns, leaves a good amount of border beyond the designs and is very careful about starting her patterns on-grain. I like her designs enough that I'm importing them to carry on my website (you can find them here: Martina Lesar Designs) and have three or four on my list of rugs I want to hook.


Quick update on my new studio....I'm behind on my photography but here are a couple of recent shots.

One of the best changes I made with the move was to invest in some nice shelving for the mill dyed bolts of wool....no more bolts of wool sitting on the floor.


The rolling cubby shelving for the hand dyed wool is making my life much easier. Looks nice too!

5 comments:

Gayle said...

Love your new project! Maybe it will keep you cooler by hooking snow in the middle of summer! LOL Good luck with it, and I love your studio!

tj said...

...My goodness I love your studio! All that wool - I don't think I would ever come out of there! lol... :o)

...I don't and well, can't put much thought into the outcome of a rug before I start hooking. If I try to then it seems I want to critique every minute detail and that doesn't work for me so I pretty much fly by the seat of my pants. lol... Which explains why you are a professional and I, well, am not... :o)

...Can't wait to see the progress on this one!

...Blessings... :o)

Kim said...

The studio is looking great. I like your new pattern. I have admired many of her patterns but have yet to hook one. Make sure to post an update on your progress. I can't wait to see what you do with it.
Kim

kelley said...

The studio looks wonderful...those rolling walls of wool would keep me inside hooking every minute of the day...always love seeing your work, so looking forward to this new rug...

Marita said...

Thank you for your kind comments ladies! I admit, I'm really loving the new space. It seems that I'm doing more hooking in the studio than I used to....which is good.
Wish you could all come to my next hook-in!
Marita