more matrix ideas

The motifs in my Amazing Matrix Mat series are really quite simple....and to me, the AMMs are just my modern interpretation of the traditional inch mat.  My way of filling in the spaces with just straight rows of hooking, no outlining, and all sorts of subtle (and not so subtle) variation in the same space are my unique twist.  Some of the larger-scale patterns stem from my own doodles and plays with graph paper, while others (like squares and triangle shapes) have been around for centuries in quilts, tiles, and even fairisle knitting patterns.  

Despite having hooked several rugs, runners....and even Jumbo using this method, I still haven't gotten bored yet.  I am often thinking up new possibilities and always on the look-out for any simple designs that could easily translate into this grid format.  I've shared a couple of these before, and I still haven't gotten bored yet.  I am often sketching out new possibilities and I'm always on the look-out for any simple designs that could easily translate into a grid format.  Sometimes the pattern is already in simple grid form - here are a couple that I happened upon this week....

MP by OP in progress

Last week when I was visiting with Elaine, I had the privilege of sitting in on two of her regular classes. Lovely ladies at both – a nice mix of familiar faces and new ones, too. I must admit that I did have a little twinge of green, though....since it made me really wish that I had a similar group that I could meet with on a regular basis. We could sit, chat, exchange ideas, brainstorm new ones hook, sip tea....and just enjoy the feeling of togetherness. I think that would be great.

In the Wednesday evening class, two of the ladies are working on their own versions of one of my Amazing Matrix Mats....and I was so happy that they brought them to share. I love to see the different colour combinations people choose. And when there is already so much done it's really easy to imagine them both complete.

First up is Becky's autumn tones....so very yummy....


And now there is Kathy's wider range of values - I so admire anyone who can use both light and dark and inbetween in the same piece. It took me about 10 years to accomplish this. Yes, it's true.

(sorry about the blurry photo...all my fault, not the rugs....)

Can't wait to see them both finished. Maybe at the Annual.....?

fun few days

I'm freshly home from teaching for the last couple of days in Orillia. It was great to reconnect with lots of familiar faces and to meet a few new ones, too, including Elizabeth (who blogs here).

I drove down on Thursday after work and got settled into the old school house....and Friday morning we started playing with colours and did lots of different exercises with paper swatches. The most surprising part for me was when I asked everyone to pick their least favourite colour from 100 possibilities, and at least half of the class chose the same dark orange. (My least favourite colour is yellow BTW -- what is yours?)

In the afternoon, we started sorting and organizing the wools that people brought for their projects. There was so much variety.....it was wonderful. I think that one of the (few) negative things about teaching rug hookers is the wool envy that results. As we all know, there are billions of wools and colours.....and whenever we gather with other hookers, there are always pieces that are new to us -- and they usually are little bits that had a previous life as a skirt or a jacket, and will likely never been seen again.





On Saturday morning, I discovered that Lynda had brought some oatcakes that she had made using the recipe on Deanne's blog. I think it was the next best thing to being in Nova Scotia (.....and since they were smaller than the ones Deanne serves in her classes, I could (and did!) eat more than one free of guilt :-D )


Saturday was spent figuring out everyone's design and getting started on the hooking part. As usual, I didn't take nearly as many pictures....and was scrambling to take a few at the last minute. I even had to rescue a few from bags and baskets, since clean-up was well underway.

(from top to bottom.....Cheri's Aztec, Lynda's Simple, Margaret's Zippers, Pat's Aztec, Isabelle's Aztec)

Now that everyone has mastered the basics, I'm sure that they will be making swift progress at home.....and I can't wait to see their finished mats!

MP by OP • Matrix Mats

Remember Jill's first AMM? She's back with another one -- and I think it's even better!


In her own words....

I found it was a very real challenge to choose each colour. I had no idea that would be so difficult, but it was a valuable exercise. I used some of your Crazy 8s that I had left from my Zippers mat and then used wools from my own stash, as well. It surprised me that I made such a bright, happy rug. I'm naming it "Happy" in memory of a friend who had that name.

Something else I learned to do when I finished this rug was to make and print a label which includes a photo of the mat itself. I'm attaching a photo so you can see how cool this is. I don't know if you know of this product but here's the info on it, in case you're ever interested in trying this: It's called "InkJet Printing for use with Inkjet Printers & Injet Copiers by Jacquard". It's cotton on backing paper. I got it at Michael's. The package contains ten (10) 8-l/2" x 11" cotton sheets. It is not adhesive backed, but once you print the label, you peel off the cotton and affix it to your rug. As you can see, I used a very amateurish blanket stitch. This produce is not cheap--the package costs about $25 or so--but I figured the rug was worth it. I had heard of taking a photo to attach to one's label so that there will never be any mistaking what rug the label belongs to so I decided to try that and I'm quite pleased with the result.

neat trick

I tend to follow rules in most aspects of life, 'cause I really don't like to get into trouble....but rug hooking is one place where I don't always conform. For example, I don't always clip a strip at the end of every row. Instead, I fold the strip on the backside and most often hook with the other side of the strip in the next row.....but sometimes the wrong side is so different, that it's just wrong, and then I twist it around to keep the same side on top. Regardless of which method I'm using to avoid having so many tails, it requires a little finesse so that the first and last loops stand tall and straight.

After hooking so many AMMs, I've almost perfected my technique -- or so I thought. While at the Powassan hook-in a couple of weeks ago, Wendie showed me a neat trick that practically guarantees that the ends of your rows will be straight. It's so simple, I can't believe that I didn't think of it – and noone had shown me – before. Here's what you do...

After you finish hooking on a given row, insert your hook through the last loop hooked before pushing your hook down into the hole to start your next row...


Pull up your first loop of the new row (both loops will be on you hook at once), adjust the height as necessary....and presto -- two perfectly straight loops...and a smoother back, to boot!


A couple of fine-tuning things I've noticed....

• you might want to use a straight hook (not a bent hook) for this trick
• your hook needs to be long enough and fine enough that it doesn't inadvertently pull your last loop higher, while you dig for your first loop
• if your finished loop height is too high, try starting with a shorter last loop
  

MP by OP – Jill's Zippers

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I love to see pictures of other people's work -- especially when it's inspired by mine. Wendie posted about her adventures earlier this week....and Jill sent me these pictures over the weekend.

Jill picked out some bags of Crazy Eights at the Annual a month or so ago and has really gone to town to get her runner hooked and finished so quickly. It's approximately 52" by 13"

As usual, I think it looks even better in person than in a photo, but I'm sure you know that, too. The colours are so rich and beautiful. I really am thrilled with how this runner has turned out and it has been a very good exercise in trying to keep my loops at a (relatively) even height!

As you can see, Jill's cat is loving it, too! And why wouldn't he? I think it's beautiful!

Ideas: they're everywhere!

...and particularly in this month's issue of Elle Decor. I was completely taken aback on Sunday when I started flipping through this magazine and saw a couple of matrix designs. First up was this simple pillow:


...and then moments later, this neat rug:


I love the idea of the Greek key around the border -- it alone was worth the $6.99 cover price! ;-) I might incorporate a variation of this into my jumbo rug, I think it will help to separate the centre from the wide border.

Where are you finding ideas lately?

simple

In the flurry of activity during the week before the Annual, I did manage to get the hooking finished on Simple, the tape sewn in place, a border hooked and the final finishing completed (did you read about my secret weapon yesterday? The glovers/leather needle should become your new best friend).


I think I still have a few things to learn about attaching your rug binding tape to the backing -- specifically about how to avoid undesirable waviness and buckling -- but I cannot fault the speediness of this method of finishing. As someone who already loathes the amount of time it takes to whip (I once calculated it took me an hour per foot of circumference), I think I will have a hard time convincing myself to whip my rugs in the future. Instead, I'm going to go on a quest to find more colours of twill tape to add to my collection.
Simple is one of 12 designs I've included in my newest creation: The Amazing Matrix booklet. The booklets had their debut at the Annual at the weekend, and while I sold out there, I've already got the printer making more. They should be available in the next couple of days.
P.S. If you click on any picture, it will enlarge in another window....

P.P.S. The booklets are now back in stock ;-)

growing fast

It's hard to believe that I only started hooking this last week. The portion you can see in the photo (hooked over 6 evenings) is about 24" square....and I'm going to add two more rows of big squares to make it about 24" by 32".

I think the hardest part will be deciding what to do for a border. Right now I'm leaning towards a few rows of black/dark and, for the first time ever, binding tape instead of whipping. I'm planning to sew it on once I figure out how wide my dark border should be.... Any suggestions?

the latest creation...day 2

I'm so wrapped up in my hooking that I can barely force myself to go to bed at night. It's a great feeling -- until I have to go to work in the morning! Progress has been swift, which is always encouraging, and I've been able to use up a (very small) few of my leftover strips.

This is another mat in my "Amazing Matrix" series....a pattern/instruction booklet will be forthcoming this month. Promise.

still whipping

It takes a long time to whip along 11o inches. It takes even longer when you take several days off in a row....


I'm off to Ottawa this morning, so I'll be bringing my runner with me and hoping to get more done during my down time. At a pace of about a foot an hour, I have several more hours to go before I'm done. Plus when I'm done I still have about 100" to whip around the other one....so maybe that's the real reason for my procrastination? Hmmmm....

If I were more certain of the finished dimension of my pieces I might consider trying the tape finish...but knowing my luck (and my propensity to change my mind), I would never sew it in the right place to start with....

(BTW - my runner lies on a table my dad made from Cherry harvested from their land, which sits on a rug hooked by my Grandma. The rug is actually my Mum's....but, as they say, "possession is nine-tenths of the law" ;-) If you click on the picture, you can see it a bit better.)

quick progress report

Despite the disappointment in the hockey results - and the frequent looking up to see what was happening - I did manage to get a reasonable amount of hooking done. I haven't decided if I prefer the more crisp colour changes (right) or the more gentle, fading ones (left). I'm leaning a little to the more obvious, crisper ones for now. I will have to do a few more before I go back and modify some of the previous ones.

What you see in the picture represents half of the runner....so if I can manage another couple of evenings of solid hooking, I might just end up with an Olympic mat after all. ;-)

newest geo

When all of the dyeing and cutting and e-mailing was done....I finally had some time to start hooking on Monday evening. And struggling. And unhooking. And re-hooking. This nonsense (?) of working with lights and darks in the same piece is such a challenge for me....hopefully it's true that "that which does not kill you, makes you stronger." I persevered and last night hooked back over all of the holey spots and managed to get some more done, too.

This will eventually be a table runner - 13" by 42"....and what you see in the above photo is about 12" by 13". The colours in the photo are a little off, from the flash...

I'm not really sure how it's going to work out in the end...but seeing the above photo is making me think about changing the orientation and rotating it 90º. That would mean I'd have to start over again....so it's a good thing I'll have a few days to think about it and I can see it with new eyes on the weekend -- I'm on the road again now until Saturday night. Back soon....and have a great few days.

one week later

I hope it's true and a picture is worth a thousand words, because it's all I've got time for.....
In spite of a busy week, with four different beds, I did manage to get quite a bit of hooking done. I'm leaving again this morning - and I still have to pack! Back soon...

P.S. 'Cause I know someone will be wondering, it's about 20 by 30"

productive procrastination

Sometimes I just don't feel like doing what I want to do....or what I think I should be doing. Such was the case with my newest clutch - I just wasn't feeling it on the weekend. Rather than continuing to progress at a snail's pace or just wallow on the couch watching a movie, I decided to start a new project yesterday afternoon.

I love these simple geometrics with their rows of straight hooking that let me get lost in the colours and the pulling up of loops. Progress is swift, and I want to just keep hooking to see what each new wave of colour contributes. It's always changing....and it's so much fun. Plus, it's the perfect project to pick up whenever I'm home, without requiring too much thinking or over-analysing. I think it's the perfect prescription for my February blues.

Seeing how much I was able to accomplish in just one afternoon and evening made me wish I'd started hooking it on Saturday!

P.S. Yes, the pattern will be available....and I will also have a limited number of kits featuring the same wools I've used (I selected about 100 pieces of wool from my shelves - I'm not working from my leftover bins for this one!)