Happy Thursday!

Sunnie's Original Santas

Another nice day in the Kingdom.

I thought you might enjoy seeing the other things I do.

I don't only design and make hooked rugs. I was, before I discovered the delights of rug hooking, a Santa-maker. I also do orginal one-of-a-kind witches and other folk figures. They are really fun to do but take a lot of power tools, glues, fiddley bits, etc. and although a joyful pastime certainly not what you would call -peaceful-!

Last year I made several small Rug Hooker's Santas for my November show. They carried hooks, a small hooked piece and a basket or armful of wool strips. A lady from the midwest bought three and she wasn't even a rug hooker!

For those of you who hook your rows close together like I do, you might consider steaming your rug more times than at the end of all your hooking. From the very beginning of my hooking life, I was not fond of the technique of leaving wide unhooked spaces between rows. I know several wonderful hookers who do this but it is just not my style. I place the rows as close together as my large hook can go through the backing easily. If it is too hard to push through the Monk's cloth or Linen, I know the loop is too close.

I steam my rugs about three times...once when I finish either the center motifs with the background worked around them or finish one side of the rug, once when the entire rug is finished and the -holidays- filled in... but before I start on the border... and a third time, on the back and on the front, when the rug is entirely finished.

I find that this makes my rugs lie quite flat and lets me know early if I have crowded anything and need to take a strip out.