An Old-Fashion Winter

Here in Vermont we're having what my husband calls an 'old-fashion winter'... lots of snow and three ranges of temperature... cold, colder, and ya-don't-wanna-know how cold! One morning several weeks ago, I actually did see 30 below Zero on the thermometer outside my kitchen window. 

Pretty cold, but I was happy to grab a cup of  hot coffee and head for my cozy hooking corner in the livingroom. My idea of heaven is snuggling into my chair with a great design, warm wool, luscious colors, soft music, and a couple of hours of uninterrupted hooking! That's January for me.

I always seem to finish a rug in January, too. This year it's the 8 foot runner that I'll be taking to New York in February. I'm still traveling to Long Island, NY periodically to repair hooked rugs from the antique collection on a private estate. I'm wonderfully inspired by these old geometrics, some of which I've never seen before in my 40 years of doing rug repair. My runner is a replacement for one that is just too far gone to repair. Unfortunately, there was a pad glued to the back of original rug many years ago and, when the glue and padding became dry and brittle, the burlap backing and hooked loops split. I can't peel that padding off and I certainly can't get a needle through to secure the loops, let alone repair the splits and holes, so the whole rug is not salvageable. Such a shame, but the good news is that I hooked a replacement using the original as inspiration. I'm looking forward to my next visit to see what new inspirations arise.

Happy hooking to you wherever you may be. 

My New Runner 24" x 92"

 

The Old Runner for Inspiration