Hooking

This summer I have been painting and hooking the views around our lake. This is a small mat of the view from the dock. I’ve painted this many times trying to capture the amazing variety of greens and blues. This is my first hooked attempt. It’s interesting how painting informs hooking and vice versa. For this mat I have used both wool strips and yarn, some recycled some new, many from my leftover bin. 14″x11″

This mat is based on an actual harbour. It is a gift, so for now I’m not saying which harbour. It was a different and more challenging experience to try to capture real buildings rather than hook them from my imagination. Still, I’ve taken some liberties with shape and placement, but hope that there is enough accuracy to spark happy memories. The mat is 13.5″ x 9.5″, hooked in a #5 with new and recycled wool.

We were at the cottage for Canada Day weekend and the following week. (The reason for no posts.) This first weekend of the summer is always a weekend of family. Our younger son has always celebrated his birthday at the cottage–and now there are three of the next generation who have joined the tradition. Somehow the cottage affords opportunities for close encounters that don’t seem to materialize in the city. I don’t unusually include photos of family on the blog, but I couldn’t resist posting this picture of a grandson having his first hooking lesson.  I didn’t know we were being photographed but was delighted when my daughter-in-law sent this along. And below–the sheer joy at the freedom of life on the island.

The Fiona mat is just awaiting the date which is about a month away. I’ve loved hooking this mat with its bright pops of colour. The background is my favourite, a series of textured yellows, checks and dots. The rest of the mat is from my leftover basket, combining like colours in the border and using complements in the dancing hearts and circles. It is my preferred way to hook…with serendipity. Using what is on hand seems to always comes out the best. This little mat measures 24″x16″.

I like hooking best with a general idea, but not a pattern. I draw as I go. First the text, then the bird. Once they were done, I added the border idea and the coloured circles. I’m thinking of a row of hearts along the bottom and, of course, the date of arrival. And probably a couple of dark rows along the outside border to tie in with the text and ground the mat. It is playing with colour that I enjoy the most, both the variations of the solid yellow and red and the complimentary colours in the circles, each circle its own little creation.

You can see where I started out here. I hope to post an update by the end of the week.

I’m starting a new hooking project and want to include some Harris Tweed which I bought on the island of Harris last fall. Getting the pieces of HT out and washing them had me looking at our photos of  Carloway and our visit to the weaving studio. Here is one of the looms all ‘dressed’ with metres of finished woven fabric rolled on the beam. Below is the bobbin winder where the wool is transferred from cones to bobbins; these bobbins fit in the shuttle which gets thrown back and forth between the threads of the warp to make the weft. Warp and weft beaten together make the tweed.

To be labelled Harris Tweed, the fabric must be spun, dyed and handwoven by islanders in their homes on the Outer Hebrides from 100% purse Scottish wool. In Stornoway we could have purchased 60″ wide Harris Tweed, but here in Carloway, the fabric woven is the traditional 36″  width, now a ‘niche’ market we were told. This photo shows the wool ready to be put on the loom as the warp. You can see the beautifully hand-dyed colours.

Here are the four small pieces I purchased, hues reflecting colours of the hillside surrounding the weaving studio. Just handling them brings the experience of that beautiful rugged island back. I look forward to incorporating them into a new mat. More on that soon.