Rug Of The Day - Ah Tis Spring

 

Ah Tis Spring

Adapted from the design of Lori Brechlin/Notforgotten Farm

Hooked by Kris Miller

This is the companion rug to Mr. MacGregor, which I featured yesterday.  She is hooked with the same beautiful brown plaid that Mr. McGregor was. I had planned on having them as a matching pair.  Her dress is also the same wool that I used in Mr. MacGregor's background.  The basket was a fabulous waffle-like texture that I had picked up from Barb Carroll.  I hooked it in straight lines to give it a woven look and it was absolutely perfect!  The rabbit's dress has a lot of area to hook and I wanted to give it a little interest so I made quillie buttons going down the front. 

If you have never done quillies before, I'm going to give you a warning....they are totally ADDICTING!  Once you start making them, you will want to add them to everything!  Flower centers, sheep bodies, spots on animals, googly eyes...the list is endless.  I actually got to the point where I had to tell myself that not every rug has to have a quillie in it....LOL

To make a quillie, you need two wool strips of contrasting colors.  Consider how high you hook and cut your quillie strips in that size.  For example, I hook a little higher, more like a 8.5 cut so that is what I use for my quillies.  If you hook a little lower, you might want to try a #8 cut.  When you have the two strips that you want to "quill,"  put them together and stand them on their sides and start rolling them like a jelly roll.  I like to use a table when I am rolling them because it gives just a bit more stability.  When you have a circle the size that you want, stick a pin in the roll (going sideways so that the pin is holding all the layers) and then cut off the remaining ends (if you have them).  Don't let go of the quillie until the pin is secure because it will spring back open.  Now take a needle and thread and sew through the middle of quillie roll.  Think of the spokes on a bicycle and make several passes through the circle.  Don't pull too tight or you will misshape your quillie.  Your thread doesn't need to match perfectly because it is on the sides of the quillie and it will be hidden when you hook around it. 

After several passes back and forth with the needle and thread, you can knot off the thread.  Place the quillie circle in the area in which you want it to be on your rug and whipstitch it down to the foundation.  Again, your thread doesn't have to match because you will be hooking around it.  Just have your needle come up about  1/2 the height of the circle and then back down into your foundation.  When you have sewn all the way around, knot off and cut your thread.  Now you can hook around the quillie closely.

(I have directions and pictures for creating quillies in my book Introduction To Rug Hooking in Chapter 12.)

Lastly, I made a few swirly squiggles in the sky when I was hooking my background.  They are not drawn on the pattern but I thought that Miss Rabbit was perhaps a little giddy about spring so I gave the background a little playfulness!

You can find the pattern here:

https://www.spruceridgestudios.com/product/ah-tis-spring-19-x-26/