Gal-friends, you have probably figured out I’m a bit
eclectic and compulsive, which is why I jump from one type of handwork to
another. I go from rug hooking one day to working on wool applique the next and
stitching happily away on a quilt two days later. Are you like that too? Or is
your personality a bit more organized, letting you concentrate all your time
and love on one pursuit?
If you follow me on Facebook, you know that lately I've been rug
hooking and will be releasing three new designs this weekend, along with a
great giveaway for all my Birthday Club members. The thing I find different
about rug hooking from all other handwork is that the images we hook usually reflect
strong memories and our favorite things. Rug hookers rarely choose a design
based solely on how cute it is. Instead,
our rugs invoke some special feeling or memory and they often tell a story, like
a small snapshot from our lives. All
three designs I’m releasing this weekend tell a story about my childhood love
of pomegranates.
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| [Unnamed] Pomegranate Bench Runner |
As I worked along, I remembered how, just after the first
frosts arrived, my mother would bring home deep red pomegranates and share them
with me. We both loved pulling the fruit apart to reveal hundreds of glistening
red jewels that were both sweet and tart, and our fingers and lips became
stained as we popped the tiny orbs into our mouths. My father didn’t share in our appreciation of
this fruit and my husband is the same, so now when I bring home pomegranates I
have the memory all to myself, except for tiny tidbits I am forced to share
with our greedy schnauzers, Lucy and Baxter.
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| [Unnamed] Pomegranate Bench Runner |
As we create our rugs, our hands busy with the wool and
hook, a sort of deep calm comes over us where our thoughts are allowed to travel
and memories are beckoned. I don’t think
of worries or bills while I hook; instead, my mind often moves to things that make
me happy, such as my parents’ love, my home and marriage, and the warmth of the
fire and hot tea I am sharing while I hook.
I think this mental “wandering” that takes place when we hook is what
attracts us to this hand-art, more so than the mere desire to create something
that will decorate our walls and floors.
What kinds of rug designs do you hook? Can you see bits and
parts of yourself in your rugs? I bet if you’re hooking a rug with animals, you
or someone you love has strong attachments to our natural world of flora and
fauna, and if you’re hooking a homestead with fields and flowers, it invokes
memories or desires for the comforts and safety of home. I believe we are what we hook, and that is
why once we begin rug hooking, it is a hand-art we naturally return to again
and again.
Well, I’m headed back to my worktable to finish my hooked
rug bench runner and put the finishing touches on my November giveaway that starts
this weekend. Since we’re revving up for
the holidays here in the US, my November and December giveaways are going to
be extra special and you won’t want to miss out. If you haven’t done so
already, I hope you’ll join my American Pie Birthday Club so you are
automatically entered to win. In the
meantime, drop me a comment and Happy
Stitchin’. xoxo--Melanie
