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I always resorted to dark backgrounds for primitive rugs because light backgrounds lacked character or were impossible to find.  Since I discovered "Best Beige Background" I can hook with everything.  Even those beautiful dark textures show up nicely against a light background.  Click here for a sampling of rugs using this background.

I treat "BBB" like a sourdough starter.  When I am ready to hook another rug with this background, I simply add in whatever I had left over from the last rug.  Nothing goes to waste.

This wool is unprocessed.  A recipe with complete instructions will be provided with each bundle.  All you need is dish soap and vinegar.  Six (6) pieces of different wools, each 1/4 yard, make up each 1-1/2 yard bundle.  The wools included vary based on availability.  Your cut strips will be 36" long speeding up the tedious process of hooking backgrounds.

Want to avoid the fuss and muss of dyeing antique "black?"  I have it all dyed, bundled and ready to go.  Each bundle is the equivalent of 1 yard of fabric as determined by weight (12 oz.).  Some bundles are very dark, almost black others are brown, blue, green, red or mixed with all of them.  If you have a preference, please state it and I will send the bundle that most closely matches.  All are beautiful and several will coordinate together for a dynamic background on a large rug.  This is the background I used on the Square Pocketful Footstool. 

Birch Bark wool $9.00 per piece

A specially dyed wool that looks like birch bark when hooked.  Works like magic.  This is the wool produced by the instructions on the e-School page.  Each piece is four swatches (3" wide, 18" long), Two (4 swatch) pieces are shown in the photo. Click Here for Birch Bark Examples. 

This wool is dyed using the method described in Pictorial Basics: Pine Trees, Grass and Sky sold below.  Order the number of pieces you will need to cover your sky.  Each piece is 1/8 yard.  Each piece will cover an area approximately 6" x 7" if you need coverage at 4x.  Hook your sky using the method described in the book.

Every year I develop new dye formulas based on the new "in" fashion colors.  Sometimes a color lingers for a year or more, some years bring in a whole new color pallet.  Actual wool samples are stapled to 2 1/2" x 3" card with the recipe printed on the reverse side.  The formulas are for 1/2 yard of Dorr natural and use PRO Chem dyes.  Most formulas just the primary 5: 338,233,119, 490 and 672.

2006 colors above, click for a larger version.  The beiges and browns are much warmer than they appear in this photo.  The Pinky red was used in Square Pocketful.

A how-to book to about the most difficult pictorial elements.  Includes dying and hooking instructions.  These are the methods were used to hook "Village of Pemberville".  This rug won Best of Show at the McGown National Show in Valley Forge, PA, October 2002.  This workbook was used to teach a workshop focusing on hooking pines trees and sky.  Students were able to duplicate the methods used in the book.  17 pages, 2 pages of them are color, fully illustrated, plastic front and back protective cover. Send Check with your order.

 This book covers finding, washing and protecting your wool from wool pests.  It includes some basic techniques for color planning and how to determine how much wool you need.  Then, I tell you how to transform the dull solid colored wool you find at the thrift stores into mottled, colorful treasures.  A must for the beginner but very useful for the experienced dyer also.  Includes how to rip yardage for dyeing so your pieces are a standard size - and you do it with only one measurement per 1/2 yard.  35 pages.  Table of Contents.

Dyeing by the Numbers $23.00

Are you a new dyer with lots of questions or an experienced dyer who cannot answer why certain steps are taken?  The answers are in this book.  I describe in detail what equipment works for me and how I dye.  I remove the annoying fraction math for those of you who dye smaller or larger amounts than what is called for by the recipe.  You will never dye a full 1/2 yard when all you need is a 3-1/2" x 18" strip.  The techniques in almost 80% of this book can be used with ANY BRAND OF DYE.  The remaining 16 pages have recipes using only 5 PRO Chem dyes.  75 pages. Table of Contents.

Samples on high quality Dorr natural wool for all 64 recipes, organized 4 to a card to match the organization of the recipes in the book.  The swatches are at least 3/4" x 3-1/2," large enough to really see the color.  The samples are glued and stapled to a cardstock label clearly indicating the color number and name, hole punched and organized on a 3" ring.  No stringing to worry about.  They are ready to use.  Quantities are limited.

This is the best value and the full set of information.