Rug Of The Day - Halloween Is Calling

Hooked by Kris Miller/design adapted from Johanna Parker artwork 

I started hooking this pattern when I was traveling and spent several nights in a hotel room all by myself.  In the evening, I turned on the TV and pulled out my frame and cutter.  I sat for hours happily hooking without any interruptions. Sometimes a little "me" time is good for the soul.

Johanna's design reminded me of an old time travel poster, or a vintage seed packet because it is so simple and yet it speaks volumes.  There's just 4 different wool textures used to hook the entire rug so it's a very simple color plan.  There is also a wide range of different cut strips that I used, from #9 all the way down to #6 and maybe a skinnier, hand-cut strip or two.  My favorite cut is a #8.5 but I always mix my cuts when I am hooking a rug.  I like to use whatever cut fits the motif or space I am working on.  

Let's focus on the letters.  I used a #9 cut to hook the word "Halloween" because it best fit the space I had to fill.  The word "is" is smaller and needed a #6 cut so that you could read it clearly.  The word "Calling" has lots of curves but a #8 cut worked.  It does take up a bit more space but you can still read the word clearly.

While I was hooking this rug, I learned that I really love to hook letters and words.  They do take a bit more concentration sometimes but I find them rewarding when they are finished.  This is how I hook my letters:  think of them as a flower stem or a single line.  You DO NOT have to hook them and pull them out to hook again higher!  Simply hook the single line, and just hook ONE letter, pulling the loops up as high as all the other loops in your rug.  Before you go on to the next one, hook one row of background all the way around your newly hooked letter. You can hook a little closer and pack a little bit. This keeps the loops in the single line from falling this way and that way because now they have a neighbor to hold them up.  Here's an analogy that I tell often when I am teaching:

Think of your single line of hooking as a guy who is coming home from the pub but he has had a bit too much to drink. He is stumbling and going this way and that way.  So when he has a buddy holding him on one side and a buddy helping on the other side, he can walk straighter.  

(haha, I told that to a class I taught in England and they didn't find it quite as humorous as I did.)

You can purchase the pattern here:

https://www.spruceridgestudios.com/product/halloween-calling-19-x-25-75/

If you have hooked any patterns that Spruce Ridge Studios offers on my website, please send me a picture and I'd be happy to feature it in a future Rug Of The Day.  You can send me an email on the "contact" page of my website and I'll send you an email address where you can send a photo attachment.

See you tomorrow!