kitty companiona

kitty companiona

Monday, April 12, 2010

Reunited

We made the trip back to Hanover to collect my abandoned handbag today.  My camera and I are back together at last!  We enjoyed an afternoon of conversation with my Aunt Kathleen whom I hadn't seen in many years.  This dear lady is 91!  She is on the go constantly, visiting friends and family.  Her positive attitude and sense of humor just amaze me.  I wish I had gotten together with her sooner!


She's my father's sister and looks very much like he did.  She gave me an envelope of pictures of my ancestors that I will be copying and adding to my collection.  I may show them in a future post.  I am hoping to make regular visits now that we have been reunited.

Last weekend I finished hooking my little chicken mat.  It's not an exciting project, but it filled the empty space before the Norma Batastini class this past week.  I plan to bind it (and the two star mats) with dark brown yarn.

I was saving my Moon and Stars Watermelon rug for the class.  I had color planning ideas, but thought some expert advice would be helpful since there's a lot of red and green there.  I don't want it to look like Christmas!!!  I wanted the background to be brown like the watermelon was on the ground from which it grew.

I finished the melon in the three day class, using four shades of green and two of red.  On the way home from the class I asked Zip to stop at Lowes so I could get paint samples so I could start planning the background.  I wanted a dark background, but did not rule out a lighter one if it looked better.

After trying quite a few ideas that didn't really work well:  sage, too much green--- gold, looked good but been there and done that several times!--- antique black, not bad but only as a last resort--- navy, dramatic but too contemporary--- cool browns, too drab.  I finally decided that warm browns would be good, but that an outline of navy would give it that extra spark.

Early Sunday morning I got out the dyepot.  I have been hooking for so long that my stash now contains lots of smaller pieces of every color under the sun.  There are no significantly large pieces that can be used for background.  I now collect my small pieces in the same color families and overdye them.  Since I wanted a warm brown, I started out with warm light colored pieces.

Here's my color reference card.


I'm trying to be more scientific in my dyeing.  And keeping records and samples in case I run out and need more.

Here's how the browns look in the rug.  I'm really liking the effect.


The border is going to be maroon I'm thinking.  It's all dyed and ready to go, but I can still change my mind if necessary.

I had several people in class ask me why there are stars on the watermelon.  In the garden seed catalogs there really is a watermelon called 'moon and stars'  It is a large dark green melon with a few large yellow spots on it and lots of little yellow speckles, like a sky with a yellow moon and a sprinkling of stars.  I just made the idea a little corny.

I'm hooking it in a #7 cut with details in a 5. 

Hope all of you are enjoying the wonderful Spring weather.  Nothing better than hooking out on the porch in the fresh air!
Happy Hooking!!!



11 comments:

  1. Pat, glad you retreived your items you left behind! What a nice time to visit, and happy you will stay in touch now with her!
    love your idea of the paint chips and will surely use that in the future. I absolutely LOVE your brown background. It looks amazing!!! Great choice, and I'm sure it will be done in no time! What's your next project??? Hope to see you soon...

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  2. Oh Pat your watermelon looks good enough to eat - Love the brown background and the colors you came up with - Are you going to the hook-in this week? I'm hoping to be there--gonna try!

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  3. That little chicken mat is just precious. I love the colors. The moon and stars are so whimsical on the watermelon. It's looking very magical! Brn was a great choice. Your Aunt is a young looking 91! Goes to show that our attitude and keeping busy must keep us from aging! One can only hope!! cg

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  4. Great looking background ~ and I love the stars and moons in the watermelon!!

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  5. Pat, I never tire of looking at your beautiful rugs! The chickens turned out great! And the watermelon rug is gorgeous....great color choices...I can't wait to see it finished! Sometime I need to get together with you so you can share all your tips, and great advice for my rug hooking.

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  6. I want to look that good when I am 91.
    Love the chicken mat the colors are great, I love the purple in his tail. Just as you would see in a real rooster when the sunshines on him.
    The watermelon is great also, I knew the minute I saw it why the moon and stars. Love your idea and the background is perfect.

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  7. Both rugs are gorgeous. Your color choices are perfect.

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  8. What an absolutely stunning watermelon rug!!! The color choices and shading are perfect! I want it! LOL! It really does sing Summer! Great looking rooster too! I should be taking classes from you! Glad you have your purse and camera back! 91 looks pretty sweet to me! ~Sharon

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  9. Pat, I love the chicken mat and the brown wool background for the watermelon!! Your aunt does look younger than 91. We visited a 91 yr old lady on sunday that my husband has been close too and she is much older looking than your aunt and bed ridden!! I hope i am like your aunt when i am 91!!!!

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  10. Pat- the watermelon rug is gorgeous- I am so in awe of your skills. You should teach! And I knew immediately why the moon and stars were on the melon!

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  11. Pat - I give you rave reviews on both rugs. Hope you had a wonderful time at the workshop. See you soon.

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