27th & 28th September at the Melbourne Show

I promised to put some links to various rug hooking and prodding information. So here 'tis:
The Yarra Valley Rugmakers (some of the Victorian Rugmakers) has a load of good links down the left side of the blog. Links to tutorials, suppliers and so on. Also, wander through the blog to see what the group is up to. There is quite a variety of styles among the few members. Anyone is welcome! We're a friendly lot!
Also, please follow the link to my Flickr page, to see more of my work. Any of the links here on the right with 'Bobby' are mine.

It's always nice to see interest in the craft. I heard some great stories. One fellow told me about his granny from up Numurka way, born around 1890? The floorboards had rotten away in their house and she spent every spare moment with a rug on her knee, covering the floors then making more for all the family. Right up until her death at a great age she made rugs. He still had her tools, but none of the rugs survived.

My inspiration for the Footy Rug. From a drawing by Paul Constance, an enigmatic fellow at my work. He doodles sport cartoons the whole time and I've collected quite a few over time. This had always seemed a good rug design, so I blew up the drawing and we fooled around with the back character, minutely. 
Now, I'm hooking it with Dad and Grandma's clothes. Which is funny because they'd not really want to mingle (in-law's you see). I'm forcing reconciliation with their clothes.
Cutting up Grandma's old shirts, I saw her 'short-cut' hemming technique. She did a tiny back stitch from the right side, then took a bite of  4mm or so, which looks like a running stitch on the inside. I showed a lady after we talked about ... stuff... and said only I in the world would recognise my Grandma's hand. I got a bit teary (but I think I got away with it. I'm good at hiding tears, it's my Anglo heritage).

If you look to the bottom right, you can see my outline drawing for the Footy Rug. 

Here's the old Proddy Rug on the go, still. One on the go and one on the floor

And this is some old lady that has absconded with my youth. 
Little secret? The white stripes on the footy players jumper is Dad's jocks.

Off To The Melbourne Show (22nd & 23rd Sept)

Come and see me in the Arts & Crafts Pavilion. Gonna have a ridiculous amount of stuff there... I'll be sharing and I'm always caring so that's a given.

My friends Rhonda's coming to visit!!

Our Cosy Lounge Room

I rearranged my lounge room. The new proggy rug, made for beside the bed, hasn't left the lounge. 

Same place, but I couldn't decide which picture to put up. Note the many cushions... it's been a thaing of late. And the freshly dusted bric-a-brac shelf. Luvverly!

F-I-N-I-S-H-E-D! Yes, It Is!

It's done! Weighs a ton, feels like a luxurious, unbelievable lush, thick, velvety, shag-pile, roll-around-on-it marvelous thing. Quite happy with it actually!

The rug is 74 x 140cm and is made using mostly silks, rayons and otherwise exotic fabrics. I've used cloth from my vast stash or op-shops, plus a tiny bit I bought new because it was the right colour and it's my money! 
The strips were cut slightly off-grain, to avoid fraying as I've not used any stretchy materials. 

I cut them between 2 and 4-5cm wide, depending on how thick the cloth was, then about 5cm long (by winding the strips around two sandwiched 2.5 wide cardboard strips and slipping the scissors in between to cut one edge, like you would a pom pom).
 I joined the '10 minute a day' group over on Rug Hooking Daily, which was effective because I made sure I did at lest 10 minutes, rain or shine, and that (of course) translated into 20 minutes or 3 hours! Plus it kept my interest.
I thoroughly enjoyed the process once I stopped cramming my progs so close as to be difficult and slow! I'd wondered if it'd be the only one I ever made! But now I can't wait to start another.

Fleur-de-lis Rug

The back of proggy's is always clearer huh.

Fluffy softness for my feet.

My proggy rug is nearly done (even more so, as I write this). My sciatica will hopefully move on when it is, as I spend way too much (potential cleaning) time at it after dinner in the evening and the sciatic nerve is making me pay. Pretty-well every night, I get sucked into it. It's killing me. 
My hubby is going to make me a standing-up pair of trestle legs, so I can either prop on a stool or stand up to work. 

A couple of nights ago I sacrificed my over-pj's-wear kimono because it's exactly the right colour for some background. It was wearing out in any case, so...gone. I did like wearing it though... hmmm.

I've discovered audio books. This rug has seen me through the entire 8 Outlander books and now I'm onto 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Wow! What a book that is. Amazing account and so human.

The audio's are good for making vacuuming a 'nothing' rather than a bore too. Excellent! 

Proggy Rug No. 1

I'm really enjoying doing this rug. It's slow work, takes tons and tons of cloth, is terribly messy, gives me a sore neck and is the funnest.

It will need some trimming later.

I bought the frame via Miriam Miller at Narrawilly Rugs. It sits on a couple of old trestle legs in my sewing room so I can pop in and do some every day. I signed up for that 10 minute a day pledge on Rug Hooking Daily, which is good because you invariably do way more.

Here is my sketch (which I've deviated from considerably) and its inspiration.