Small Victories

You all know that I'm defective. I can't do anything right and if I can do it right then there is no market for it. This is my first hooked rug. As part of my Fiber Arts Revival I want to learn to knit and crochet and hook rugs and another thing called punch pin which involves a $15 tool I can't afford and is basically embroidery made easy.

Secondary Colors Calm My Soul

The lady who sold me the materials at the Freyburg Fair told me that if she tried to live on what she made she would get paid $1 an hour. There is no market for these things. The only way she can survive is by doing custom work and also by making kits to sell. See? She assembled all the materials I would need and sold it for $30. So she might make $20 per kit. Also, she honestly wants to spread the art and not be selfish. This is 100% wool. I think it came from skirts, scarfs, old wool suits, pants, hats, bags, military uniforms and also she vegetable dyed some of it to a custom color. I didn't think it would look good because as I was making it I could not see the outlines of the bird or the stars. But once I hooked in the violet background the bird came out. She intended me to use yellow for the moon and I said, "That'll be the sun. I want white because it's the moon." But now that I see it done I think the yellow is the right choice because in bad light the white is too muted. No, the moon is not yellow but the yellow pops out better. So I made one yellow star and one white star. The yellow thing on the left is supposed to be a leaf. That didn't come out right at all. And I could unravel it and hook in some more leaves on the ground but I'm lazy. When I saw my first hooked rug on Battle Harbour island I knew it was the right craft for me. It uses scrap burlap and scrap wool. I thought cotton would be fine but now that I feel the wool I know there is no substitute. It feels like something someone will admire in 100 years. It's not big enough to use as a rug but it's nice for a wall or a van. The next project is going to be dog portraits. And I have an idea for a one-eyed chicken but it takes time to accumulate a "pallet" of wool. Right now I have scraps. And no burlap.
She told me that if I was doing custom work I should accept $500 to $1000 for any project. This particular pumpkin piece would cost $70 but it's not for sale and it doesn't have to be. Order a kit yourself and order a hooking tool too. $40 and you are in biz. After that you regress back to 4th grade or summer camp and make art!