~*Inspired~Determined~Motivated*~

Hello Dear Friends!

Yes... I am feeling all of that!

 I woke up with INSPIRATION for a NEW NEEDLEPUNCH PATTERN!  YES!!!  And with any luck... it will be available by early next week!!!  More on that VERY SOON!  I PROMISE!!!

 This rug has been a struggle... struggle with time and warp tension.  I am DETERMINED to finish it and thread the loom for another one though!  Hopefully this one will be completed tonight or tomorrow!

 You may have seen this finish if you follow ~*primitivebettys*~ on Facebook.  I found this neat old, desk box at a local shop... and added my touch to it!  A sweet lil' sheepie hooked rug... a primly~barely filled pincushion (in a reclaimed copper box)... and a little fabric lining on the inside.  I didn't bother to repaint it because the old white paint was pretty cool!  I did, however, give it a nice wax with some furniture paste though.

 This is what it looked like when I brought it home...

*****I decided to list my desk box in my Etsy shoppe.  If you are interested... please visit!*****
 

A little more Oxford Punching has happened here... 5 more wool fabric and wool yarn coasters...

And a lil' sheepie chair pad made from wool yarn...

I was MOTIVATED to finish them last night... and not let them sit as un~finished ditties!

Okay... I'm off to get some needlepunching DONE!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Tonight is the Night!*~

Hello Dear Friends!

Tonight at 9pm EST... east coast!... Primitive Handmades Mercantile UPDATES with all new, WONDERFUL, goods!  You will not want to miss it!!!  The artists ALWAYS have beautiful handmades... and this month is a totally awesome GIVEAWAY!!!!!!  Be sure to check out the Home Page for more info!

Here are my items...

...made with lots of love and lots of hearts...

~*My Heart and Hand*~ Wool Mat

~*Bunny Love*~ ... and  ~*Love Ewe*~

and... ~*Heart*~ Coasters... 

There are so many more things that I wanted to make (Yes, I know... the story is always the same!)... but I do feel very happy to be actively making things and working with my hands.  It is only going to get better!  My creative juices are flowing!!!

My personal page on PHM is ~*primitivebettys*~

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*New Magazine Coming*~

Hello Dear Friends!

Have you heard?  Did you know there is a new magazine coming out?  

Punch Needle & Primitive Stitcher Magazine

It is due to be released late this Spring!  I'm so excited!  

There is already a great list of artists ready to submit patterns... and I'm so proud to say I am one of them.  YAH!  

My plans for today... to finish my model.  It is punched and waiting for finishing.  I can't wait to show it to you... but I must.

Swing by the website and check out the magazine... I just know you will be as excited as I am!

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Here are a few other things going on in my studio...

My 2nd woven, rag rug is off the loom.  I was having a heck of a time with the warp tension.  It could be the way it was wound around the back bar of the loom... or it could be the warp material itself.  It still finished pleasing to me... and has found a home on our dining room table...

The edges of the house and flag rug have been whipped with wool yarn.  This is such a fun rug!  I love the brightness of it!  And the scrappy background!

I think this one was shared with you before... maybe?  It is a kit purchased from Judy Cripps of Rustic Rugs.  The last time I went to her home for the hook~in, I didn't take a project along to work on.  So, I bought this small kit to hook while I was there.  It has been hooked for awhile... but is now officially finished with whipped edges... and a rusty jingle bell for an eye...

More weaving is in the works.  It is my goal to keep a project going on the loom as much as possible.  This will be #3 this year...

And more punching projects are drawn up...

Primitive Handmades Mercantile updates this week... Thursday night... 9pm CST!  I have three pieces finished... but can't share them just yet.  Hopefully I will have many more for a really wonderful update to share!  Oh... and you will definitely want to enter in the giveaway that is planned!  There will be many GREAT prices!!!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

Magazine

~*Keeping Busy*~

but still never as busy as I would like to be...

Hello Dear Friends!

Oh, I do hope you are all staying safe and warm!  We have very chilly temps here right now... so cold that school has been canceled for the day.  I've been out to check on all our critters... to make sure they are warm and that their heat lights, blankets, and straw are good.  Last night, I really didn't sleep well... I was so worried about all of them.  They are safe... and they seem very happy today.  The sun is shining, but brrrrrr is it cold!

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I have been keeping busy... but there are so many other projects I WANT TO DO AND THAT I NEED TO DO!  

One project at a time... or, for me, one project until my mind wanders away to work on another...

I have decided to keep a rug working on my loom as much as possible.  This is rug #2 this year (the 1st rug was in my last blog post).  This one is being worked with the same 1 inch fabric strips... but the warp is a thicker, mop~type thread.  I replaced the reed for this rug... making the threads farther apart.  So far... weaving is about 23 inches long...

The tension for this rug is not cooperating with me too well.  Weaving was taught to me many, many years ago.  There is a lot I've forgotten, but hopefully will learn again.  Mistakes are being made, but that is all part of learning.  I am enjoying the process of weaving.  It is nice to get back into it.

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A very dear friend of mine, artist Kris Saia, texted me a few weeks ago.  She told me she was throwing stuff out... cleaning things up.  She had thrown this away... and then dug it out of the trash thinking I may want it.  I made arrangements to pick it up that afternoon!  I was excited to get it!  A partially hooked rug, wool, hoop, and rug hook!

 

Kris took a hooking class from Judy Cripps many years back.  This rug was started... and never finished.  Kris decided it wasn't her 'thing'.   

I wanted to save the hooking she had started... but the rug sat in the hoop for some time causing the hooked parts to need re~hooked...

 I carefully reverse hooked the rug...  Judy Cripps told us at our hook~in once... that any reverse~hooking should be done from the backside.  Turn the rug over and pull the loops up.  This will keep from damaging any backing or ripping the wool strips.  These strips are very wrinkled from being hooked for so long, I may just keep them for pillow stuffing...

 Next, I used the backside of a hook to smooth the Monk's Cloth back in shape... (All of this was done with the rug stretched on a frame.)

 When I turned the rug back over... I was surprised to see a snowman where the house was!  The rug seems to be a mix of talent... from both Judy Cripps' drawing and Kris Saia's drawing!  That made me SMILE!

I turned the rug back over... and retraced the pattern.  Since this piece of cloth fit so well on my large gripper frame, I decided to punch the pattern with wonderful yarns from my buddy Ginger of Primitives by the Light of the Moon... or Prairie Moon Primitives.  (Ginger is on Etsy too!)  After the pattern was traced... I took it off the frame, turned it over, and punched it.  This way, the flag would be finished facing the correct direction.

 Using all thick rug yarns (mostly from Ginger)... the rug is punched!  I didn't have enough of one color blue for the background, so it is very scrappy looking... and very scrappy made.

I was able to punch this rug up start to finish from late afternoon yesterday and into the evening.  Oxford punching is a quicker craft.  It turned out pretty cool!

Thank you, Kris, for sharing your unfinished rug with me!

Now... to steam and bind it... and weave... and work on a bunch of other projects...

I'll be keeping warm and keeping busy!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*First Finish of 2015!*~

Hello Dear Friends!

I do hope your New Year has started wonderfully... and continues to be brilliant for the days to come!

I'm so excited... and proud... to share my

~*First Finish of 2015!*~...

My Woven Rag Rug...

 It finished to about 25 inches wide and 58" long.

Here it is next to the Locker Hook Rug I made last week... using the same 1" wide fabric strips...

(My tote of fabric strips seems to still be as full as it was before either rug was made!)

 

I think it is interesting to see how different the rugs look... and yet they are made mostly of the same materials.  The Locker Hook Rug is 'thicker' and has more 'cushion' to stand on.  The Woven Rug is much, much 'thinner'.

My Mister is the only one, other than myself, to see either rug in person... not via photos.  The Locker Hook Rug seems to be his favorite and he is afraid to walk on it.  (Although...I have told him repeatedly it is a RUG!  Walk on it!)  The Woven Rug... I think he likes... but he commented on the tiny 'bumps..  Those bumps are caused from how I joined the fabric strips together.  It doesn't bother me... because it is just a 'rag' rug.  However, it could have possiblely been avoided if I had NOT joined the fabrics.  Oh well... maybe the next time I will try it without.

 The ends of the Woven Rug were simply tied with a fringe finish...

 It has been many years since my last weaving class.  Mistakes have been made on this rug... and I hope to learn from them.  One issue for me to work on... the size width from begging to end.  It seems I lost about an 1" from start to finish...

 Here is how the strips were joined...

 Fold two ends together and over by and 3/4 to 1 inch...

 Make a small snip in the center of the fold...

 Unfold the fabrics and place one over the other with the tail ends on the opposite of one another... with the snip joined as shown...

Take the tale of the under fabric over the top and through the hole...

 

 Pull snugly...

I'm not sure where in our home the Woven Rug will end up... but right now it is in our hallway bath.  I had PLANNED to put at least one of these rugs in our laundry room.  Hmmmm.... guess I better get to work on a third rug... and my Second Finish of 2015!

Wishing you all warm smiles...

Betty

~*Ending 2014*~

Hello Dear Friends!

I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year!  Please, if you are going to be out and about celebrating tonight... be safe!  Make 2015 be Happier, Healthier, and Brighter than ever!

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I am ending the year with some 'For Me' projects... 

This morning while enjoying a warm cup (or 2 or 3) of yummy coffee... I crocheted these Fingerless Gloves.  Nope, I am not a talented crocheter!  My gloves are kind of sad really.  However, they were fun to make!  I will let my Momma and Sister continue to marvel and shine with their quality crochet!  My dear buddy, Ginger, shared her finished gloves on her blog... and that gave me the fever to give 'em a try... 

I found the pattern HERE if you would like to make some of your own!  *SMILES*  And I am sure yours will look as nice as the ones finished by the talented crochet artist that gave the pattern... and not the sad, but still wearable ones I made.  *GRIN*

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Locker Hooking is a medium introduced to me about 10 years ago.  My Mister bought me my first kit... and it started my journey into rug hooking.  The supplies had long been boxed and abandon... but last week... they were dug out.

I made this rug during the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season... it was just finished the other  night...

My plans were to make it for our laundry room... to sit in front of the washer and dryer.  However, it has ended up in our living room.  Placed in front of the cabinet that holds our TV.  I enjoy looking at it and love the spark of 'color'.

The rug is about 58 inches long and about 20 inches wide!  

After the locker hooking was complete, the edges were finished with a crochet touch.  (Yup, more crochet!  However, this one is super easy!).  I used black rug yarn (purchased from my buddy Ginger!) with just a single crochet around the edge... 1 in each square of the latch hook canvas... 3 single crochets in each corner.

Locker Hooking is done on Latch Hook Canvas using a special needle... one with a crochet hook on one end and a yarn needle on the other...

If you would like to know more information about Locker Hooking... visit Ginger's blog.  On the sidebar she has a link for all her Tutorials... she has a 3 part one just for this craft!  She is my buddy... and super talented too!

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My locker hook rug was made of 1 inch wide strips of cotton and polycotton fabric.  I have a HUGE TOTE full!!!  This photo was taken AFTER MY RUG WAS FINISHED!

 

So these fabrics have another purpose in the works... my next project will be on my Weaving Loom....

This is the one and only woven rug I have made using my loom...  It is made of strips of old, tatter, and torn quilt strips...

Before we moved (over a year ago)... I measured out warp threads for a project.  BUT... that project was never started... and the threads were not moved well from our old home to our new home... and were very tangled...  I didn't want to waste them though!

I was on a mission!  And, after over 4 back~breaking hours last night... the loom did get threaded!  It is now ready for weaving! 

So... ending 2014... I will be working on another rug on my weaving loom!

Wishing you warm smiles...

Betty