I washed a rug! And I liked it!!

Ha ha - little nod to Katy Perry, because this is something I had never attempted before.

This is the mat that I hooked nearly 10 years ago. It was hooked specifically to go in front of the sink, which many people thought was just plain "crazy".  What if it gets wet? What if it gets spilled on? Yeah, yeah, yeah...

It's my own design, which I call "veggie chopsticks" and for those of you who ever played it in your early piano days, the lyrics for this rug would be, starting from the centre:

Carrot, carrot, carrot, carrot,
Asparagus, asparagus, asparagus, asparagus
Celery, celery, celery, celery,
Corn, corn, corn, celery, asparagus

back to
carrot, carrot ...........................

I know. I know. Hopelessly corny, but that is the song that came into my head as I was designing it. All the vertical veggies are in the centre, with the rounder veggies creating the border.

I hooked (not punched) this whole rug in yarn on rug warp, believing that I would be able to wash it at some point. That point came last weekend after a spill of ham broth on the corn cob on the right. Up til then, I spot cleaned it occasionally when things look a bit spotty. This spill called for more drastic measures.

So, I took it upstairs to the tub, added some baby shampoo and cold water and let it soak for a while. Then I scrubbed the lighter bits with a toothbrush and some more baby shampoo. Followed that with a LOT of rinsing and then came the task of getting water out.

A few towels later, I was ready to set it in the furnace room to dry. First, I hung it on a drying rack, but after one "sleepover", I could see the whipped edges starting to go a bit wonky. So I moved it to my foam blocks I use to block my sweaters and used pins to straighten out the curly bits.

Two more days on those and it was dry enough to be turned over, to let the back dry. One more sleepover next to the furnace and it was ready to go back into its rightful place in front of the sink.

I am very pleased with this whole endeavour. I was a little nervous that some of the darker yarns might run, but luckily, none did.

If your rug has been hooked on a water-friendly backing, you should be able to do the same thing.

Thanks for reading.

Be back soon to update the Christmas tree rugs. My students were here again last night, and the progress they made was fantastic. The rugs are so different - a true reflection on each of them.

WOW - two months gone.

And they have been busy months. With hooking. With knitting. With a little road trip to Florida. With the "grands". With life!!!

So what do I have to share? A few updates. Fillippa Flamingo is still languishing on the love seat in the basement. She nearly got put on plywood a few weeks ago while I was in TO, but that didn't happen. Not sure of timing now, but in the meantime, she seems content to lie around, watching Netflix and reading from Rick's extensive library lol.

I have three lovely students who come to my studio on Wednesday nights. I tempted them with a Christmas project and they were all keen. So last week, I had many options to share with them. Ornaments, trees, cone Santas, 3-D snowmen and on and on. They opted for a tree pattern that I designed - and then the studio went black!!! A big power failure that covered much of the Peterborough area.  Class was over. Power didn't come back on till well after midnight. But we re-booked for this week to try again.

In the meantime, I enlarged the pattern and hand drew it four times - one for each of us - and got started on mine. Here's the design. It is 8" wide by 28" high and will be fun to hang in tall, skinny spot - or on a door. Lots of possibilities in here and a fun project to hook.

And here is my version of the tree segments hooked. I love how much fun it is to choose colours for each of the segments. I did the buffalo-check part first. Love lining up the wool to re-create the checks. A simple background and a colourful whipped edge and this will be done.

On the needles? My Boxy sweater is now ready for seaming and sleeves. I had a "duh" moment when I realized that I had knit the front and back on different-sized needles. Even the most energetic blocking wasn't going to solve the problem, so I frogged and re-knit the back. Yikes. A giant rectangle on 3.5 mm needles and sock yarn is not a quick fix. But I am much happier with the result.

Here is a picture - this is not mine - but isn't that a fabulous necklace. Want to try to replicate someday.

Also on the needles - a dress!! I fell in love with a picture of this in an ad for a not-so-local yarn shop. After calling to find out about the pattern, I ordered the yarn and it is now in progress. It is light-weight linen and I am hoping to wear it to the annual brain injury fundraiser we go to in Barbados. Nearly finished the front - still lots of pieces to get done.

And of course, the annual pair of socks for hubby. He LOVES homemade socks and doesn't need anything else for Christmas. The pair in progress is being knit using the Gros Morne yarn I bought in Gros Morne, Newfoundland. This was one of the National Park yarns created by Fleece Artist. They did one for each province.

Off the needles, hats for the "grands". Jackson requested a Ninja Turtle hat - and gloves!! What almost-five-year-old wants gloves!! Anyway, the hat is a success - the gloves not so much. Apparently, they don't quite fit. I will make a pair of mitts with the leftover yarn as a fall-back option.

And then the challenge of a hat for Everleigh who won't keep anything on her head. I chose a pattern with braids that also serve as ties. And an enormous pom pom. Turns out it was a hit! Let's see how long that love affair lasts.

So yes, things have been a tad busy around here. I will try to be more timely in my posts, and share the socks and Boxy when they are done. But you never know what life has in store to disrupt the best-laid plans.