I started this rug in a previous decade - yes I admit - it was over 10 years ago that I started this rug.
The rug looks small but it is actually 3ft X 5ft the color plan is by Joan Reckwerdt and the design is a copy of an old antique rug by Edyth O'Neill.
As the years have rolled by - there are things I see now that I would do differently but a project that lasts this long and spans the years and journey of a rug hooker is just that - a journey and a learning experience.
I have had the center motifs finished for years but got bogged down on the interior backround which was a story in itself.
I didn't care for the very light backround that Joanie dyed for this rug and a friend who I have lost touch with suggested we tea dye the wool Joanie gave me - OK sounds great so she took the 3 yards of wool home with her. Well - sadly - her husband had been very sick with cancer and ended up passing away - it took months to get the wool back from her and then I never saw or heard from her again. About 1/2 way thru the backround - at about year 5 or 7 - it became apparent that I did not have enough wool to finish the rug - EGADS - so my friend and master dyer Katie Puckett tried to duplicate the color - how hard could it be ??? well she tried every tea on the market - used about 5 or more yards of wool and never did get even close to the color I needed. SO . . . . . . .
The rug was put away for years. Somewhere in there I had a major move from my lifelong home to another home and I uncovered some beautiful wool that Katie's mom dyed for a rug that never materialized. I could use that for the border backround so I had renewed interest in the rug and set about working on finishing the interior backround. Then I moved on to the border motifs and finally - slowly - very slowly - I worked on the backround border.
My mom loves this rug - she is a rug hooker too. She always refers to it as "her rug" - so now that it is done - it can officially be "her rug" - Hope you get many years of enjoyment out of the Blue Basket Antique Mom !
What in the world will be my next focus rug to complete. OH dear OH dear . . . . Will it be the bed rug or the Adam & Eve or maybe another wonderful Edyth O'Neill canvas - Oliver Cromwell. Poor Oliver hasn't seen the light of day in a decade either. I work on many rugs - I like to work on fall things in the fall - Christmas themes in Nov and Dec., patriotic rugs in the summertime. I am working on my Santa and Ewe now and it is a little more than 1/2 finished - I will show a photo soon I promise. My "focus" rug is usually a rug I keep out on my big Townsend frame in my wool room and leave out all the time to work on . It only gets little snippets of attention - just a few strips of wool hooked in here and there.
Thanks for all your encouragement and comments on my angel runner - for me to finish two big rugs within a months time is nothing short of simply amazing. On to the next . . . . . .
I hope all my friends in blogland that are in the US will have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, be sure and take time to pick up a needle or two during a quiet moment. Pull a few loops on your rugs - - Relish all our many blessings. Sending you wooley thoughts !
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