When it's Done...It's Over

My toy sheep rug is finished.

I always start out thinking primitive, and somehow as things evolve, they end up, well....COLORFUL.

The whipping took longer than expected because I changed my mind again.  I had planned to do it in navy like the border, but after pondering, I decided I wanted the small outside edge to look like the background.  I went to several yarn shops trying to find yarn with the right combination of dark green, olive and brown with little tweedy flecks of tan.  I guess you figured it out before me, that particular yarn is impossible to find.  I didn't think trying to spot dye to match would be successful.

My next best choice was to do the whipping with wool strips, but I only had a little piece, approx. 6 x 8, of the background fabric left.  I had purchased this piece of plaid wool several years ago in East Berlin at Woolgatherings.

Off Zip and I went on a field trip.  Hopefully not a futile one!  Thank goodness Carol had two pieces left.  The day was saved!  To celebrate Zip and I went to eat, of course.

This is Hog Wild on the main street in East Berlin.

They have THE BEST smoked pulled pork sandwiches!  Other specialties are smoked sliced pork, pit beef, barbequed ribs and chicken.  We have been buying sandwiches from Rick and Tina for years and they just keep getting better.  If you are in the area, stop in and try these delicious sandwiches filled with meat smoked right there in their back yard.  It's worth going out of your way to try this place.

I love this planter they have out front with the water running out of the pump.

Now for the reason for the post title.

Quite a few people ask me what I do with my rugs when they're finished.  Do they get put on the floor?  No, they'd be a mess with cat claws and hair sticking all over them.  Do they get hung on the wall?  No, I don't have that much free wall space.  Do I give them away?  Not usually.  Most of my friends are also rughookers.  Giving a rug to a rughooker seems kind of...redundant.

What I do is photograph them and then roll them up and into the top of the closet they go.  When I tell people, I see shock on their faces.

Why would I do that???  Because for me all the fun, the ROMANCE, is in the designing, color planning and hooking.  I love the designing part, the drawing and tweaking, copying and enlarging.  Then there's the excitement and angst of color planning, looking for just the right piece of wool to make it look the way I hoped.  I love the sitting and hooking while listening to a book on CD, it's hypnotic and relaxing.  Then there's the little snags along the way when a planned color doesn't quite work out and the hunt for another better wool keeps it interesting.  Then when all the colors come together it's smooth sailing, with just the joy of mindless hooking.  I even like whipping the edge.

For me all the fun is in the creating and doing.

When it's finished, the love affair is OVER!  And I want to be on to the next challenge without a backward glance.

No sense getting attached.

I guess I'm a HOOKER.