Hooking Impressions

I adore hooked rugs that have subtly shaded flowers and details, hooked with fine cuts, like the rugs of Pearl Mcgown, or Joan Moshimer. I would spend hours looking at them, delighting in their visual softness and realism. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I love primitive rugs, hooked in wide cuts, with simple naive forms like the rugs created by Magdalena Briner Eby, or the rugs created by Kathy at the Grinning Sheep, or again the ones created by Karen at Primitive Spirit.

When I set out to design, and then hook my" Roosting Hens in a Bleeding Heart Bush", I knew right away that I would not be opting for fine cuts with subtle shading. Just the fact that my hens decided to roost in a bleeding heart bush made the rug one of fantasy, not reality. I knew that my rug would have to follow a more primitive path, where the elements of the rugs are" impressions" of themselves. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the hooking of the flowers.

My first thought when I start hooking a flower is to color, not in terms of shading, but rather in terms of what will make that flowers pop against the background.

If I think about our night vision as humans, objects at night loose their definition, we register them for what they are even though they only hint at what they are. The flowers in my rug, are hints of flowers at night, reflecting the moonlight.

Hooking each flower is pure delight, it feels so free. I love not being trapped by the need for realism. I love letting the simple hand-dyed colors do all the work for me.

I wonder if you feel the same way I do. I wonder what guides you when you hook.

Where Did the Time Go?

Where did the time go this weekend? I guess this is what happens when you decide to move. Friday, my husband and I visited a house we really liked. It is in some ways the best of all worlds for us. It is a 10 minute walk from his work, a very convincing point for him, it is an 1810 historic house, a very convincing point for me, and it sits on an acre of land, a very convincing point for the children.

As buying a new house, means selling the one we are in right now, you can imagine I am going to be busy over the next few days packing, and cleaning, and straightening so we can quickly put our Boston home on the market.

So this is where my weekend went, into packing and cleaning... and dreaming about restoring "my" 1810 house. Notice I already say "my", though there is nothing definite yet!

I got a few rows of my rug hooked yesterday, the branch is growing, one hen is comfortably asleep on her branch, surrounded by the cozy darkness of the night. Flowers are starting to bloom on the main branch.

I hope I will have some time to hook a little today. But if I don't I know I will be dreaming of where I could put my hooking in "my" new house!

The Rug is Bloomimg

I did not have as much time as I would have liked yesterday to work on the rug. But a few flowers have bloomed on it.

Deep purple flowers... and coral red ones...

Discrete lavender flowers... and bold golden ochre ones...

I hope to make a lot of progress on the rug over the weekend. Happy hooking!

I See a Rabbit Looking at Me

The Kalon heart design is almost completely hooked, and this morning as I sat on the couch sipping my coffee, I started thinking about what to hook next.

My coffee cup became my inspiration.

As the words of the famous children's book resonated in my mind: "What do you see? I see a rabbit looking at me,"  I started doodling, some hearts, some flowers, and a rabbit full of mischief staring at me.

I am thinking of a circular design, but these are just thoughts at the moment. I am sure the design will evolve as I redraw it, and then as I hook it.

Blossoming Heart

Today, I just want to share with you the progress on Kalon, my heart design. I had a little time to hook yesterday. I added stems and leaves to the flowers.

I used vintage, recylcled wools to hook both stems and leaves. Both textured fabrics had been over-dyed in the same pot of green.

The stem fabric is a very subtle plaid, while the leaf fabric is a chevron. The almost solid plaid seems perfect for the simplicity of the stems. The contrasting texture of the chevron gives the leaves a certain glow.

I cut some more strips of wool from my hand-dyeds. I am proceeding slowly, laying colored strips here and there, making sure that I like their color before hooking, enjoying the time it takes to create.

I am hoping to have a lot more rug hooking to show you on Monday. Have a great weekend, and happy hooking!