Friday, June 24, 2011

Admitting You Have a Problem is the First Step...

First things first, Bucky Bee is finally finished!

(insert applause here!)

I followed Gene Shepherd's video on how to whip the edges of the rug with the binding, and while I am no Gene Shepherd, it turned out pretty well for my first try.

First Rug is complete!

Now that I know I can do this rug hooking thing, and it is actually FUN, I am on to the next project.  I did buy some lovely wool at the Cream City Hook-In, thinking I knew what I wanted to do next:

Isn't it pretty?  Lots of fantastic greens,
and this amazing pumpkin/gold plaid.

And then...I froze!

I thought I wanted to do a simple 2'x3' rug for my family room in a pattern of squares within squares, because I've seen some really cool designs with that theme.  But then, I saw Sharon Townsend's circles that we use on the Bee Line - Townsend website, and then I saw a blog the other day (whose name I can't remember and am completely wracking my brain over) where the background was this fun collection of circles with brightly colored centers, and I thought THAT'S the rug I want to do next!  So I'm stuck on circles in my head for a week and then I find these at Wicked Wool:



Oy.  I am powerless.  I used to own a gift shop, and every Halloween I dyed yards of vintage chenille and made pumpkins to sell.  But hooked pumpkins?  When I have all of this beautiful pumpkin/gold colored wool?  What is a hooker to do?  So I ordered a kit.  Now I'm thinking, "Maybe I'll just wait on the rug for the family room and do the pumpkin first!" 

It's official - I have RADD. 
Rug Attention Deficiency Disorder.

I'm starting to try to talk myself down off the ledge.  There is plenty of time to do all the rugs I want to do.  But while it's hard to just look at that wool and not run it through my cutter with my favorite #7 cassette, when I pick up the wool and move it toward the cutter, I think, "WAIT!  What if I change my mind and want to use a #6?  Or a #8.5, which I also love?" and then "What if I decide to do something else, like a picture of my amazing Standard Poodle George the Superpet?"

And who wouldn't want a rug with this hunk of a dog on it? 
Who, I ask!?!  Maybe my mother, who is being
accosted by said dog in this picture.

Of course, now that I see this picture of George, I still want to do an Andy Warhol-style rug of his head, but I think that is a little beyond my capabilities at the moment.  Best to stick with my simple squares and circles.  So here I am, back at Square One.  Literally.  The possibilities of what you can hook are endless!  How do all of you experienced hookers out there ever decide what to do?  

I guess I need to cut my wool and Just Hook It.