Stained Glass in Fabric

Posted on November 3, 2015 by elizabethmartel

Last week at Sunshine Rug Hooking, Linda Wilson gave a demonstration about hooking stained glass. Without my camera, I thought I’d missed my chance to share this technique, but as it happens, I wasn’t the only one to forget last week, and several people brought their stained glass work to share this week. So I wanted to show that work, and for those who may never have tried it, outline some basic steps to achieve the effect.

I have only hooked this one simple example, and you can see that I’ve never done the finishing. I always wanted to surround it with a real stained glass frame, but somehow that has never happened.

The day I got this pattern is one I’ll long remember. I had just started hooking, and my friend June Baker and I struck out one February day to drive to Sheila Klugescheid’s house some miles away, to purchase hooking supplies. A raging snow storm blew up when we were on the road, and by the time we arrived, we had to struggle through about a foot of freshly fallen snow to get to her door. I found this pattern, and Shiela helped me choose the wool, then gave me the quickest lesson ever on how to hook stained glass. We couldn’t stay long for fear we would be completely snowed in.

Here’s the essence of her instructions for anyone who hasn’t tried it and might be interested….

Choosing wool:

-a dark colour for the leading (mine is deep taupe)

-spot dye or casserole dye for the background and details

Cutting wool:

-carefully keep the strips in the order in which they are cut and hook them in order (I used two sided tape affixed to cardboard to keep them in the right order)

Hooking

-Begin with the leading ( she suggested I cut it a size larger than the regular size,,,,in this case #4 for leading, #3 for the rest)

-Hook each section in straight lines (Shiela suggested sections touching go in opposite directions….although some people hook it all the same way)

….ANY ERRORS IN THIS INFORMATION ARE DUE TO MY FAULTY MEMORY….and are not the fault of Sheila!!!

Edie brought three examples to share today. Rather than a spot dye, she used a dip dye for the gowns.

This little tree is mounted on actual stained glass.

Jean made this piece for her mother.

She said she wasn’t pleased with it because she couldn’t keep the leading lines straight.

Her second piece didn’t start out as an underwater scene, but as she hooked the foliage, that’s what it suggested to her so that’s what it became. To keep the leading lines even in this one, she “tunnelled” the loops.

When she said this…someone in the group said, “I thought you weren’t supposed to do that! ” ….the reply? ” You’re not….unless it creates the effect you’re after” How true for almost every “hooking rule” there is.

Kathy brought some examples of quilted and appliqué stained glass.

What a wonderful way to decorate the house for Christmas. (such a talented lady)

Last week If I’d had my camera, I could have taken photos of beautiful examples by several other people and included the extensive directions that Linda Wilson shared with the group . I apologize to them ( and especially Linda) for neglecting to do that.

Teresa has had a very productive fall. Along with a number of knitting projects, she has completed her shaded flowers piece,…..

…..and a hit and miss rug for her bedroom,

Congratulations Teresa. Love them both.

Thanks for stopping by.

Dyeing The Colour Wheel

Posted on October 30, 2015 by elizabethmartel

Early in November I’m attending a workshop and I’m to bring 1/16th yard of each of the colours in the colour wheel. So Friday I got out the dye equipment and got to work.To begin with….. Although I dye my own wool and do my own colour planning, I am by no means knowledgable when it comes to colour theory. In spite of trying, my eyes glaze over when someone starts discussing split complementary harmony or analogous or tetrardic harmony………I rely heavily on the fact that I am a visual learner, and end up making my decisions based on what looks right to me. (and very often rehook what I’ve done because it DOESN’T look right to me). I’d probably save myself a lot of time and effort if I just followed the rules….but what’s the fun in that? So I even had to hunt for a colour wheel to refresh my mind on the colours I needed to dye. Perhaps I’ll finally remember what they are and their order having done this exercise.

I began by going through all my dyes to come up with as many single dyes as I could that might give me one of the colours I needed. I don’t have colour swatches to refer so this was the simplest method for me. Starting at the top and going clockwise, I chose Pro Chem Sun Yellow, (I thought plain yellow was too ‘lemony’) The pen indicates yellow orange (don’t have a dye that colour) Cushing Orange, Pro Chem Poppy Red for orange red, Majic Carpet Red, and under it Pro Chem Magenta (ended up using magenta), Majic Carpet Red Violet, Cushing Purple, Majic Carpet Blue Violet, both Cushing and Majic Carpet Blue (ended up using Majic carpet) , for blue green I thought (whatever that cushing dye is or Pro Chem Mallard Green …..neither of which worked) I thought bottle green would be a true green (wrong), and the last pen in the place for yellow green .

Next I checked my stash to see what colours I might already have…..I found yellow green…..orange……yellow……and yellow orange.That left me with 8 colours to dye.

Most were straight forward. In checking “bottle green” I found it was distinctly blue green…..so I used it for that. The mallard Green was actually the closest to a forest green, but still a bit blueish, so I added a wet toothpick of yellow to the dye bath. (I drop a bit of the dye bath on a paper towel to check colours before dyeing).

Here are my 8 colours on the line .

You can’t see the colours very well in this shot, but I like the look of them against the trees.

Here’s my colour wheel ready for the workshop. (although I may dye a different orange….the one from my stash is pretty dark)

I dyed each piece in the microwave….so much faster when dyeing small pieces. I used 1/16th tsp of dye to 1 CBW (cup of boiling water) for the dye bath and added vinegar to each dye bath itself. (probably could have used less in many cases…as sometimes not all the dye was taken up when the wool was at a satisfactory colour) The dye bath is added to boiling water in a microwave safe bowl (I have some designated plastic bowls for microwave dyeing) and set to cook for about 5 minutes . (longer as needed)

…..not scientific, not perfect, but fun and quick. (the whole dye session took me about an hour) and I love the results.

Now to see how they are used at the workshop.

Happy Halloween everyone. Thanks for stopping by.

Birds of a Feather…

Posted on August 14, 2015 by elizabethmartel

Oh my….I realized a few days ago that I have some tweaking to do on Grumpy Owl. The tips of the feathers on the left are too dark, and the transition from light to dark on the right is too abrupt.I added a bit more shading to the transition from light cheek feathers to the dark head ones.

Before……….after….….a very subtle difference, but I feel batter about it. On the other side I changed the dark tips for a lighter tone, but then discovered a larger problem.

….for some reason, I began shading each feather dark to light (left to right) then realized after a full evening’s work, that the shading was backwards. It needs to be light to dark…like the other side of his head.So while I was waiting for the gumption to take out my mistake, I decided to dye some wool for the background. I love the colours, but I won’t know how they’ll work until I try them out. The photo shows them brighter then they really are, but you get the idea.

Still not inspired to redo the feathers, last night I began work on the fence. My idea is to have it a weathered grey (but a different grey than the bird) . I began outlining with a dark plaid. (Just an aside here….and reminder to myself …..when I cut the plaid with a #3, it was a bit “hairy” or “ravelly”, so I gave it a quick hand wash with soap and warm water and then dried it in the dryer. It fluffed it up just enough to make it much nicer to hook with)

Then I gathered up some possible colours for the fence.

The lightest is for the spaces between the boards. The main grey is wool left over from my barn project.I’m trying the fencing in an 8 cut , but I’m not sure yet if I like that. ….or the colour. I’ll let it settle in my mind for a bit before I make a final decision.

I just bet I’ll start on the background colours next. I have absolutely no patience waiting to try something I’m excited about hooking. Fortunately with this medium that’s not a problem.

Finally I want to share the wonders and frustrations of technology that I’ve experienced today. For some reason, my computer would not upload my photos from my camera, and after trying everything I could think of, I finally messaged my son Mathieu in Calgary for help. He made several suggestions and finally wrote “try rebooting”. Voila! It worked. …but then he mentioned that he was not in fact at home, but rather eating breakfast at a restaurant with friends in Victoria British Columbia. ….my own personal technician who offers advice while eating bacon and eggs thousands of miles away…..

Thanks for stopping by.

March Sunshine Hooking Part 2

Posted on March 26, 2015 by elizabethmartel

We had several guests with us at the last Sunshine get together, and enjoyed seeing their work. I’m not good at remembering names, so please excuse the errors and omissions.Janice is doing Whirligig, a pattern by Suzanne Hill.

Elizabeth is enjoying her introduction to rug hooking

This is a one end of a very large rug designed by Martina Lazar. The colours just pop against that light background.

The fishes below will be hung as wall plaques.

I was very interested in how they were being finished. I have always avoided hooking convoluted shapes, because I had no idea how one would bind the edges.This hooker (I apologize for not knowing her name) has come up with a wonderful method which not only provides a great finish, but sets off the vibrant colours with the black edging. She is using material like a bias tape which surrounds the raw edges and hides them completely when sewn in place on both sides.I’m surely going to remember this method, and if I ever get the nerve to attempt such a moving edge, I’ll give it a try.

Anne was hooking stars.….and Mary Ann is building a funky house….

Our knitter/hookers were also hard at work. I drool when I look at their wool.

Those colours are such favourites of mine, and I so admire the picot edge on Kathy’s work. Who would want to cover up the beautiful detail in Theresa’a socks by hiding them in shoes???

If and when I get back to my own knitting, I’m going to try knitting socks from the toe up.

Gail….I know for sure I took a photo of your knitting, but my camera gremlin must have been hungry and swallowed it….because it is nowhere to be found!!

I’ve been enjoying hooking Hilda’s English Sunset. I’m only sorry it is so small, and I’ll soon have it finished.

Happy hooking. Thanks for stopping by.

Hijab and Moths

Posted on December 6, 2014 by elizabethmartel

The hooking on Hijab is complete, and I must say I’m pleased with the way the background turned out.

After steaming, I did some tweaking of the face and the bottom edge. The edge was somewhat uneven because many of the rows of hooking had ended on an angle. I improved that by adding a few loops in places that appeared jagged. I may have to make further adjustments when I begin the finishing if it doesn’t fold back smoothly.

Now I’m ready to move on to the next project. Recently I stumbled upon this skirt, which had been packed away for MANY MANY years.Oh what memories. Although I now have an aversion to my poor sewing machine, it wasn’t always the case. My mom was an excellent seamstress, and when I was just a teenager, with her help I made a three piece suit (very chique at the time)….the skirt, a jacket, and a long sleeveless coat…..all fully lined and the plaids carefully matched at every seam. To this day it remains my finest sewing accomplishment and holds such sweet memories of my mom.The skirt is all that remains, so I decided I would take it apart and use it for my next hooking project.

Alas, after washing it I discovered it had quite a few moth holes. I washed it again, and took it all apart, but then wondered if it was folly to try and hook with it. I consulted my wonderful friends on “Yahookers” and received great advice from both JoAnne Harris and Ivi Collier. ….1) put it in the freezer for a couple of weeks, wash again, then use avoiding the holes 2) test the strips for possible weakness by pulling the ends before hooking them.

So here it is…disassembled, frozen, and awaiting a new life. Now to get on with the planning and drawing (and maybe even some finishing that should be done first….but never is).

Thanks for stopping by.

Directional Hooking and Eye Surgery

Posted on November 17, 2014 by elizabethmartel

As I’ve worked on Hijab, I’ve become aware of just how important directional hooking is when trying to capture the draping of fabric. The hooded section over her head needed care, but when I got to the shoulder, I had to stop and really study the photo to figure out how I could create a realistic effect. The direction of the hooking had to be combined with the direction of the shading …..which slanted a different way. I took photos of the process so I would have it for future reference.

The arch needed to gradually flatten out to a straight line at the bottom, while at the same time the dull section on the right needed to be “arrow shaped” DSCF6997

With the hijab itself completed, I could no longer put off making decisions about the face. After lots of thought, I went back to the first face I ever did…Emma Sue. She was hooked at a wonderful workshop I attended given by Anne Boissonoit several years ago. Emma Sue would be my directional guide.

I printed out a copy of her to have in front of me while I hooked, then forged ahead.

It soon became apparent however that I had a major problem!!! (I had noticed it before…but ignored it)….The left eye was too far over to the left…..there was too much space between her eyes.

There was nothing for it….the eye had to come out.

I carefully laid the removed wool out in the order of the eye, and re-drew it (with a red marker) slightly to the right. Then hooked a new eye (adding more black to the top lid and cutting down the iris).

It’s not a huge change, but to me, it makes all the difference. Now to finish the face while I contemplate how to create that wonderful background.

Winter has arrived in central Ontario. It has been snowing all day today, and is to continue most of the week. The snow boots are out, the snowblower is working, the trees are etched with white, and I’m settling in to enjoy my winter wonderland.

Thanks for stopping by.

Why I Mottle

Posted on November 13, 2014 by elizabethmartel

Recently on Lucy Richard’s wonderful site on facebook”The Wooly Mason Jar Rughooking”, the question was asked, do you use mottled or evenly dyed wool in your projects? My response was that I used mottled the vast majority of the time. There are very valid reasons to use either one or the other, depending on the project and the desired effects, as well as just plain personal preference….Here is why I love using mottled wool in my projects.

This is the sequence of my hooking in the last week.

I tweaked the point of the hijab at the centre of her forehead, by changing to a light strip that had more of the mustard colour showing

This is the wool I used…. just four mottled colours which provide me with lots of options…

Dyeing mottled wool works for me. Here’s my general method: instead of adding all of the dye solution to the dye bath, just add 1/2 of the dye solution. Add the wool, then wait a bit, then pour the remaining dye solution over the top of the wool. poke the wool down to make sure it is all covered, but don’t stir (the more you stir, the less it will mottle).

Thanks for stopping by.

Playing With Colour

Posted on November 5, 2014 by elizabethmartel

The two things that inspired me to hook “Hijab” were the lady’s eyes, and the vibrant colour of the hijab itself.

Dyeing the wool to get the deep vibrancy, and shadows has been learning experience. I was looking for the essence and effect rather than an exact duplication of colours. I began with Jewel Tones colour # 73, and reduced the amounts for the 1/8th yard pieces I was using. (1/8th yd so that I didn’t waste too much wool if the colours were totally wrong.) My basic formula was: (pro chem dyes): 1/8 tsp red, 1/16 tsp bright red 1/128 tsp evergreen 1/64th tsp brown

Here are the first 3 …from the right 1) original formula 2) mustard added to 1/2 of formula 3) reds reversed

Number 3 was still not as vibrant as I wanted, so I added an extra bit of bright red, and eliminated the brown altogether.

Now I had my bright colour. For the duller shadowed red I used the original formula and stirred it a bit to make it smoother. (woops I don’t have a photo of that)

The very dark (looks black but it isn’t) was a piece I found in my stash which was primarily died with mahogany.

My flash distorts the colours so much that this probably doesn’t make sense, but at least it will serve as a record for me of what I have done.

One of my favourite little tricks is using the dark edge of piece of wool to help delineate a change of colours.

You can see it clearly here.

Here is the progression so far.

I’m at the stage now where all I can see are things I don’t like, but I know I go through this with everything I hook. It is truly a process, albeit one I love.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hooking in the Heat

Posted on July 1, 2014 by elizabethmartel

I’m sure most people think of hooking as a cool or cold weather activity, but I get a lot of hooking done in the summer….that’s because I don’t function well in hot humid weather, and I shut myself away in my hooking area with the air conditioner on full blast. That’s what has happened for the last few days.

I’ve been filling and tweaking. I drew the pattern freehand on an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper, then had it blown up, and some of the discrepancies are magnified in the large version. The pattern itself is not symmetrical but I want it to be at least balanced. I thought the two Maouri friendship twists were at a different angle to the sides and contemplated major adjustments to correct them….but when I checked…..

….they are both at exactly the same angle….I’ll just have to extend the border on the right about 6 ditches further over.

The peace sign did however need some adjustment both in the oval outside, and the inside parts.…since it was partially hooked when I did this, it required lots of rehooking both of the peace sign, and the elements it was touching.

I’m much happier with it now. In this photo you can see how dark the maouri twist is at the top…(unlike the one on the other side) so I reworked that as well to get some light green in the top section.

I completed my “three sons” at the top….

….so the last big “fill” is the swan.

….and finishing the tears…..doing more tweaking…….and deciding on both a colour and hooking style for the background…..lots to keep me busy while it’s too hot to do much else.

Happy Canada day to all fellow Canadians. I had tears in my eyes this morning as I watched the boys’ choir from BC sing O Canada on the steps of Parliament Hill. So moving.

A Palette but no Plan

Posted on June 22, 2014 by elizabethmartel

There was a fatal flaw in my colour choices for my Signa Meus Vita piece. I hadn’t thought about the fact that it is made up of a small number of large elements, and that didn’t leave options for enough repetition. My poor brain has been spinning this past week on how to place them.

At this point I was blissfully unaware of the problem.

I liked the bottom part, but the big blob of raspberry didn’t fit…..and all together it made me cringe….

….so it has been a great learning experience. While I loved this…

…….my piece with it’s large elements just didn’t translate to create anything like this . So back to the drawing board.

I reduced the colours in the palette…..removed the peach and the raspberry altogether, which allowed for more repetition of the five colours I had left. I took the blue and dyed it very dark and used that for the central spider element…..something to anchor everything else.

I went around in circles for days trying to come up with the best way to locate the colours, and finally just added a strip to each element in a possible colour to give me some idea of the outcome. I make up my mind, then I think of something that I feel would look better, so I change my mind…..then the process repeats!!!!! Yikes.

…..in the meantime….I thought the tears might look effective with something sparkly. I have a great gold ropey thread that would work well if I could find it in silver. Of course my local fabric store didn’t have that, but I found a fine sequin rope that I thought might be very effective. Well I was wrong again!

…after tugging the sequins through the backing, they wouldn’t all lay face up, so the effect was lost. (as well as the shape).

…attempt #2 at the tears…I was able to acquire part of a beautiful silk shirt that had been from Hilda Hayes’ stash. (I loved that I would have a symbol of that dear lady in my “symbolic” piece.)

The photo doesn’t show it but the silk has a lovely shine.

….so here it stands to date. I want to redo the green twist on the right….I don’t like the way I’ve manipulated the shading, and it’s too fat…..and I’m debating the possibility of replacing all the lilac with peach, since it also seems very subdued….who knows how it will end up!

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Sunshine Rughooking

Rughooking by Elizabeth Martel

Category Archives: hooking tips

Stained Glass in Fabric

Dyeing The Colour Wheel

Birds of a Feather…

March Sunshine Hooking Part 2

Hijab and Moths

Directional Hooking and Eye Surgery

Why I Mottle

Playing With Colour

Hooking in the Heat

A Palette but no Plan