Who is Orange Sink?

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Rice Lake, WI, United States
My home town is Rice Lake, a small town in northern Wisconsin. I own Red House Wool Studio~ an in-home wool and rug hooking business. I enjoy collecting and decorating with antiques and primitives. Orange Sink Blog is a journal of my interests and ramblings about life. Cathy Greschner

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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Crazy

The Original Antique Rug

My Version
I've  made quite a lot of progress on my antique rug adaptation.  All the crazy elements in this rug are making me a little crazy.  As you can see by  looking at the photo of the original antique version above, the hooker from olden days did a lovely job making everything pleasing to the eye.  
My version is being hooked within a 10 1/2 by 21 inch space.  My elements don't have much breathing room.  If I were to hook this rug again I'd reduce the elements down a notch with more background space.  So you can see that I've eliminated a couple of those doo hicky things at the bottom and filled in with background colors instead hoping to gain a little more space and make the overall  design less busy.


If you"ll notice around the blue bird on the left I did a little technique know as tunneling. This is the practice of carefully hooking in a much narrower strip of contrasting wool between two standard size rows of hooking. Tunneling gives definition to a motif within a design. This technique is especially helpful in creating subtle definition for primitive faces, flowers, animal features and lettering.  I will be redoing that in a different lighter value wool cut a little narrower. 


There will be more reverse hooking and tweaking on this rug before I am finished.  Tomorrow it's back to the taxes covering my dining room table.  Knowing I have "antique crazy rug" waiting for me to come play is making the taxing chore of income tax reporting a little more bearable.  What I can't figure out is why the little bit of income I have to report is taking me so long to prepare!  It's just plain crazy!
                                                                    
                                                                    Cathy G

23 comments:

  1. I love this rug and the shade of blue you chose for your birds!!

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  2. I love this, and your design is just wonderful. I must be crazy too, cause I think it's fabulous!

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  3. Hi Cathy!
    I think your rug is just wonderful!!! I love what you are doing with it and like the "tunneling" too! It really does create the perfect outline....amazing!
    I love your interpretation, and was just admiring Lori's too....both uniquely your own and both perfect!!
    Glad you have a "reward" to look forward to after the dreaded taxes!!
    Blessings~~
    Julie

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  4. I really like how your rug is turning out...and I sure like your term doo hickey fits those lil' blog things just perfect.

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  5. Such hard work you've put in on this rug and it shows. It's gorgeous.
    The light/white wool around the bird on the left, is that what the
    'tunneling' is that you talked about? And what is reverse hooking?
    I haven't hooked yet so I'm curious. I just won a huge box of wooly
    worms from Lauren of Rugs and Pugs so I'm anxious to start a project
    when I finish the sampler I'm stitching right now.
    Taxes, ughhh... I hear ya'.
    Hugs,
    Susan

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  6. Cathy,
    Your rug is most wonderful! I love the colors and what you did in the background in place of the doo hickey things. Hugs, Lori

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  7. Cathy,
    I LOVE your version of this rug!! Your color choices are perfect, and it is a wonderful rug...you should be proud!
    Linda

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  8. What a gorgeous rug!! You are doing a super job! It looks antique already! Thanks for the tunneling info. I love your colors.
    Hugs,
    Courtney

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  9. Cathy, super, super job! Love what you have done with it!!

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  10. Cathy ~ gorgeous coloring~ terrific work~
    smiles
    Teresa

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  11. I am always so impressed with your color choices, always spot on. Your latest work of art does in deed resemble an antique, lovely.

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  12. Cathy I think your rug looks FANTASTIC!!! I love the colors you're using. Since I'm self taught I didn't know that there was a name for what I've been doing. "Tunneling" hmm now I know,thank you!!!
    Sherry

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  13. your rug is wonderful.I haven't even started our taxes.
    Cathy

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  14. Antique crazy rug! lol! Thats the perfect name for it! I think you're doing a fins job on your adaptation of it!

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  15. I love what you're doing, Cathy. I've never heard of tunneling, so thanks for the tip. Sorry about the taxes! Heavy, heavy, hangs over thy head...I just hate paper work. As we say in Spanish, lo siento. XXXX

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  16. I love what you're doing with your own version of the antique rug. I learn something new every day. I didn't know that this technique was called " tunneling " Great color choice.
    Ahh, the income tax time is worst than the winter blahs. I've got 3 months of HST taxes to calculate for the farm. I hate paper work. Have a safe week Cathy. JB

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  17. Cathy - this rug of yours is awesome - you have achieved the "antique look" to it - I'm sending you mine! I'll never get it down! LOL Love love love the colors you ahve choosen

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  18. Your rug really has a vintage feel to it - great job!

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  19. *****that is not the correct definition of the hooking process of tunneling. please get your facts straight because you are doing more damage
    with mis-information. thankyou.

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  20. *****on second thought...do as you wish, because this is the world wide internet and people are reading these blogs outside of your
    circle of friends. so, when you are teaching always remember that someone will venture out of the confines of your enviorment and will repeat misinformation to others and will then be taken to task from a knowledgeable source. this person will then return to your town, not come back to classes and will "re-educate" their
    friends and you lose. so...when you are spreading the "word" always remember that someone is watching and will call out the problems, or will let people make fools of themselves in the bigger picture. yours is the choice of which way to go!

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  21. Cathy,
    I love your rug and the colors you have chosen. I , too , use the tunneling technique that you describe and it is very helpful in these situations. I will send you some Arizona sunshine to brighten your cold winter !
    Best regards,
    Carol at ticklepie

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  22. Bauutiful, just beautiful. I can just see your little wheels turning and your little fingers hooking!!!!!

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  23. How fun to adapt an antique in your own "voice". Your colours are wonderful, since they already have an antique patina to them, so the brand new rug looks old already - and that's a good thing. Re the tunneling comment from a reader, I googled the term and many sites in fact do refer to the technique you have described as tunneling. Maybe in Canada, we have a different term. When I first learned to hook, tunneling was what teachers referred to as loops that were turned in the the wrong direction, and it wasn't a good thing. However, once I got more experienced, I found it was indeed a good way to fill in a "holiday" when there isn't enough room for a full strip. And whatever you call what you are doing, it is a visually pleasing way to outline your motifs with just an "eyebrow" of colour.

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