Standing Wool Rug

Chelle asked what a "standing wool rug" was so I wanted to post a picture. This one is in process and is made from a variety of wool that is torn or cut to 1/2" strips. Those strips are then rolled and secured to form the mat. I use a long thin needle and thin crochet cotton to sew it together. I sew through the center of the strips to secure it to the "base" and you don't see the threads at all. If you want I can post pictures of how I sew them together.

There are a variety of ways to create different looks, including beading (small rolls), and shirring (folding the strip on the row). This is an old pre-1850's technique (before rug hooking was popular) and creates a plush mat that is sturdy and great as a chair pad or hot plate mat. You can play and create as you go...no patterns! You can use a combination of wools from thick blanket weight to thin and thready. Great for scraps!

Swirly Sheep update

I know...I'm slow. My excuse is that I have a busy life. Don't we all? I took a lot of the wonderful advice that many of you gave me. I changed the legs and head of the sheep to tweedy gray. I added the beaded line that Michelle suggested, and like it. I still have some tweaking to do on this, and that line is one of the things to tweak. I believe I should have hooked it higher, and should have really snuggled the adjacent rows to it so it would be straighter. I was running out of black or I would have enlarged the border by a row or two, and would have added a second row of beaded border with a black line in between the beaded rows. Gene Shepherd makes beaded rows look so straight and easy!

I have a very small black half round button that I will sew on for her eye. And I am going to re-hook the hooves with the tan as they are now black and you can't see them at all. I like the background color. It is a mix of tweeds, plaids and all sorts of recycled wools tossed into a pot with Cushings Turkey red and a touch of black.

As I look at it on the monitor I wish I has added a small butterfly sitting on her back! Thanks to all my internet rug hooking friends who brainstormed and gave me advice for this project. I appreciate each one of you! Hugs from me to you!!!