Have Ewe Any Wool?: Knitting Progress and Rug Hooking

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I've FINALLY finished knitting my "198 Yards of Heaven" shawl with the handspun I purchased from Debbie. I just love the color - it's gorgeous!!! (Click on the photos for a closer look at the intermingling colors.) It's a bit smaller than I expected, but it will be perfect under my winter coat - providing much needed color and warmth once winter hits!

Thursday night was the monthly Goose Creek Ruggers meeting. I was so inspired! Wow...there were two door prizes of hand hooked rugs from conference up in Lancaster...and both were won by members of our group! I am constantly inspired by all the variety of designs and techniques. Aren't these rugs gorgeous?

I found the finishing techniques used on the rugs to be fascinating. Both artists finished their rugs a bit differently - one folded the edge under and covered it with the binging and the other whip stitched around the outside and then added the binding. I loved checking them out and analyzing the differences between the finished rugs. Each technique has it's strong points...and as a newbie, I'm definitely intrigued by these different methods and have so much to learn!

Of course, there were also the many gorgeous rugs and rugs in progress by our members that truly inspire me as well! I took photos of the front and back of two of these as well to show the different finishes that each used.

This "1781" rug used the same finishing type as one of the rugs from the conference.

The "Stars" rug had a very different finished edge. There was braiding that was attached to the main rug. What a fabulous finish! The braiding adds a to the appeal of this rug!

Here's some closeups showing the prep work and the results. Oh, my do I have a lot yet to learn!!!