Best Friends

Dimensions: 16 1/4" x 19 1/2"
Materials: #3-cut wool on linen
Designed and hooked by Bernice Howell, Beltsville, Maryland, 2002.
Featured in: Celebration XIII

Bernice Howell prefers subjects that have special meaning to her as a way to preserve memories and loves turning photographs into wool masterpieces. After doing a hooked rug of her mother's portrait, it seemed like a natural next step to hook a picture of her brother, Jerry, and their dog on the back steps of their Minnesota farmhouse.

The photograph was taken in 1929, and because it was black-and-white, it gave Bernice the freedom to choose her own colors, relying a little on her recollections of the setting. She used mostly recycled wool, and any leftovers from the swatch she bought to hook her mother's face were used for her brother.
- Bernice Howell, Celebration Hall of Fame 2018
(Note: This rug description was taken as an excerpt from the published Celebration entry.)