Tuesday, March 16, 2010

~*Sharing Some Goodies*~

Hello Dear Friends! I've got a few goodies to share with you. Before I do though... let me just give you all a great shout out to say ~ you are all so welcome! Thank you for all the kindness & praise you have given to me... the freebies I offer you is minimal compared to the heart warming kindness from all of you. Please keep the finishes coming... because I do love to share them. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I'm happy to report that my house rug is finished... and I'm just thrilled with it too! This is the largest rug I've hooked & I did struggle with it on my frame some... but was able to get it done. It is about 28 by 22 inches. That is probably an average size really, but I tend to work smaller.



If I remember correctly, this rug was started as a challenge proposed by Kelley for the Ebay group An American Primitive Gathering. Well, the deadline for the challenge was LONG ago... but at least I finally did get it finished. Now I need to get the studio done so I can display it there. The studio was my inspiration. It is painted barn red. The year '1857' was the year our small town of Americus, Kansas was founded.

Here is a close-up of the 'hickety~pickety' hooking. I can hook even... but chose to do it this way for this rug.



I finished the edges by whipping them with wool strips. As I was working, I whipped around a cotton, clothesline rope. This is kind of like my buddy, Sharon's, tutorial. However, I wasn't able to get to a store to pick up the cotton cording she used. When I spied the cotton clothesline at the dollar star, I just had to make~do with it. It is about the same diameter of rope & it is 100% cotton. Plus, I was able to get 50 feet for about $3!



One of these days I'll get a handle on wool dyeing & be able to dye up some of the gobs of wool yarn I have to the color I want/need. :) Until then, the wool strips work great!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This past Saturday, Tony and I spent the day browsing through some local antique shops and had supper out. It was a wonderful date... and he spoiled me. (like he always does!) He bought me a few goodies... that I'm also going to put in the studio.

One was this white Ironstone bowl... maybe not pure Ironstone, but close enough. It fits perfectly in a reproduction wash stand that I have from my mother-in-law. I already have a large Ironstone pitcher to go with it. Remember, the studio won't have running water. I plan to actually USE this.



Here is the bottom of the bowl. I don't have an antique guide to look this up ... not that it matters, but maybe some of you know more about it. It is about 15 inches from rim to rim.



It has a lovely leaf design on the sides too...



The other purchase on Saturday was this...



I've always wanted one of these desks. This one was found at a store that was going out of business... making the price really good. It has been refinished quickly... but I'm a prim gal anyway & just LOVE it the way it is. The ink well hole doesn't show in the picture, but it is there. We don't have any room to set it in the house, so it is already sitting in the studio... where Ima Jean is inspecting it & loving it too.

As for the studio progress... we are still plugging away. Tony put all the sheet rock up in the main room & I've continued to scrap wallpaper from the other two rooms (walls and ceiling). We should be doing the patching & mudding shortly. YIPPEE!

Guess I should be getting back to work. Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

22 comments:

  1. Betty~ Your house rug turned out so prim...just love it!
    You and Tony sure found some wonderful goodies. I'm so looking forward to you finishing up your studio and I'm so excited that it's all starting to come together!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow Betty! Your rug is gorgeous!!! I love that "hickety pickety" look! Makes the rug seem alive! Great school bench and ironstone bowl, too. Wish I could help on the identifying mark... but I'm not even quite sure what ironstone is? LOL! Tony and you need to go out on another date this weekend.... you both certainly find some good stuff together! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  3. The rug is absolutely beautiful...love the colors. Can't wait to see your finished studio !!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Betty,
    Your rug is so wonderful!!! You did a great job on it. I love the colors and the way you hooked the background. It looks so old and just perfect!!
    I also love the crow freebie pattern and am looking forward to stitching it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Love how you did the rug and the wool strips really look nice. I tried to do that, but found it out to pull through, how wide do you make your strips? Nice finds, love hitting the thrifts.

    Debbie

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thank you, girls for the kind comments.

    To answer your question, Debbie, I hooked and whipped with strips that varied in size ~ 8, 8.5, and maybe even some 9.

    Smiles,
    Betty

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your rug looks great! I want to
    try rug hooking one of these
    days. The bowl and desk are
    great finds!

    Bear Hugs~Karen

    ReplyDelete
  8. Betty, I love the rug! Sure wish I knew how to do that. I like your old desk and bowl. Isn't it fun finding new "old" treasures?
    I'm working on the crow pattern. It shouldn't take long if I stick with it.
    Enjoy your week!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Betty, I love your rug!! It's soooo nice. I have to tell you that a friend of mine was in the shop 2 weeks ago with a rug she did. Her ground which looked like fallen leaves was hooked the same way. She said it is a technique that was referred to as Un-godlike. Meaning not perfect. I thought it was so cool. Thought I'd pass that on to you. I love the look!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Your hooked rug looks great. I love the uneven hooking, it gives it so much depth. Great job.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I like the house rug.
    I also love white bowls, platters, dishes in general.
    Now that school desk is to familiar, I used to sit in one of those many years ago. Great finds.

    ReplyDelete
  12. i love your rug. i want to learn how to hook. i'm getting ready to teach myself punch needle. i'm also working on one of your freebie,too.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Oh Betty, I can remember sitting at a desk like that when i was in school. (Am I dating myself or what ) What a fantastic find. And it looks to be in good condition. The ironstone bowl is lovely too. Your rug is gorgeous !!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Betty, your rug is gorgeous!!! Your new treasures are pretty cool too.. what a great day indeed! It's fun to be spoiled :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Very nicely done! Do I know it's going into the studio? Along with your great finds! Thanks so much for the wonderful freebies - love 'em all!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I love your rug. It turned out so nice! I like the way you did the background of it! Love the goodies that you found too!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Betty your house rug is beautiful! Love the desk! You definitely had some nice finds.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I think it has a great look hooked all crazy like that Betty, looks like an early rug to me :)
    I have to tell you everytime I walk by my pinkeep you made me I just smile, thanks so much my friend. ♥
    Hugs to you.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I absolutely LOVE your blog and love coming by...I gave you a sunshine award! Hope you can come by my blog to pick it up. Thank you so much for always being so kind with all your freebies.
    Raggedystitches,
    Louise in NC

    ReplyDelete

What friends have said...