The Challenge

Another beautiful day to maintain the momentum of washing the windows and admiring the flowers. I've got myself set up outside to work on a rug that I started almost two years ago. It has an autumn motif and I would like it to be on the floor by end of September. I will get a picture to you next post. Meanwhile, thinking about one of my first rugs, Pearl McGown's "The Challenge" which got my feet wet in regards to shading flowers, hooking scrolls and finishing edges. Here is a picture.




This rug was hooked using the Realistic approach, these are recognizable flowers that we all can name and there is a likeness to the real flower and the colors are appropriately chosen. I completely underestimated how long ago I hooked this rug. It was more than 22 years and it has been on my floors since completion.






The best way to freshen up a hand hooked rug is to drag it around in a freshly fallen powdery snow. The wool becomes vibrant again and the dust sticks to the snow. Give it a good shake and bring it back inside. Maybe when the rug begins to look frail, I will place it on a chest instead of the floor, but I always told my family, "If anyone is going to walk on my rugs, it will be me!"






You will notice the flowers are: Bleeding Heart, Roses, Lillys, Foxglove, and Dahlias.
I was looking around the house at some of my other early rugs and noticed that I didn't sign two of them, so now I can't determine which rugs I hooked first. Now I understand why the teachers suggested, "always sign your rugs." Thanks for dropping in, I will get back to my current hooking and make sure to add my signature to it.