Let's Talk Wool

First I would just like to thank everyone that posted comments or emailed me regarding my rug. It is so great to have encouragement to help get you through a large project. I have already begun my next rug...it is a small mat that I will have for sale at the In the Spirit of Friends Show in September. I still have not chosen a rug to do next month at rug camp. Oh decisions!

Now a little in site into the colors I chose for my last rug. For me, the goal is to create a new rug that looks like it has been around for a hundred years or more. I mostly like to use soft colors, because to me it looks as though they are colors that have faded. For this rug I started with the house. I wanted it to look like a New England shingle sided home by the shore. I used a piece of over dye that I have had for some time & I have used it in three different rugs. I just love it, but I used every last scrap I could find, including my noodle bag to find enough to finish it. Therefor, I couldn't include it in the pictures. It was a really drabby blue/gray plaid. From there I picked the roof, windows, door, trim & chimney. I decided to go with a lights on look which came from my scraps and a white & grey tiny check for the trim. I don't really know how to explain the roof, but I didn't have any left for the photo. It was an interesting small plaid with lots of colors running through it. I guess I was thinking it would look like old metal. Now the chimney I just love. It is the black wool in the picture. It got it from Barbara Carroll, but she has since sold out. It gives a great old rock look. I have some more I am saving for a sheep some day. The trees were completely done from scraps...can you tell I have a problem judging how much wool to cut! I always make sure they are used sooner or later though. Now for the background...I couldn't use blue because the house is blue. I didn't want dark, because I have a few night rugs, and I wanted something different. I looked at some beige and even mustards, but I decided on this creamy-grey plaid. I travel to New England, and if there is one thing I have seen alot of up there, its fog. So that is where I went with this choice. ( Seems like every time you make a trip to see something you run into the stuff...not great for sightseeing!) Next it was on the the border. I went with a pair dark navy wools. One was a gold stripe & the other was a the other was a two toned dark plaid. I used a rust plaid for the vines, a green one for the leaves, & a red one for the berries. I am very pleased with the way it all came together.

I am also showing you a picture of our baby girl, Wags, the basset hound. She & I are the only two females around this place. She will be cropping up here in my blog from time to time. She is such a great dog. She loves to run & play with the boys and she is a major lap dog.