Home Sweet Home
Adapted from a design by Lori Brechlin/Notforgotten Farm
Hooked by Kris Miller
Today's patriotic rug is Home Sweet Home.
This sweet little rug has a story and lesson behind it. About 13 years ago, I was attending Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village. In the evening, I met up with some friends and they invited me to come hook with them. Silly me, I hadn't brought a project to work on so I decided to start a new pattern, something not too big, and I chose Home Sweet Home. I had to color plan it on the spot and didn't have the appropriate wool so my generous friends gave me a few small pieces and I also purchased a few pieces of wool in the vendor area. I got started on hooking the urn, the flag, and the cabin, but I never thought about my background color. By the time I got home, I had painted myself into a corner. What was I going to hook for the background??? I couldn't go too dark because the urn and ground would get lost. Medium values would sink everything, so I had to think about a light background. I couldn't go too light or some parts of the flag might not show up and then there was the roof. Luckily, I saw a plaid in my stash that ended up working very well. It had light beige in it but also pops of turquoise and orange-coral. If I placed my strips carefully, I could hook the light values up against the darker motifs and vice versa.
So, because of this personal experience, I always ask my students on the first day of class if they want a light or dark background when we are color planning. I think it's important to know that first, then you can start choosing the other colors in your rug. You will save yourself some trouble later and will be less likely to "paint yourself into a corner!"
You can find Home Sweet Home here:
I rarely sell my rugs but I have been going through my stored sample rugs and decided that I don't use Home Sweet Home for a sample in my booth anymore...so if you want to purchase a rug hooked by Kris Miller (LOL), this one is looking for a good home and is for sale at $148.00. I will even ship for free. Dimensions are 20" x 16" with the crochet edge. Just leave me a comment or send me an email through my website.
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