Leaf Puzzle

Dimensions: 39" x 27 1/2"
Materials: #5- and 6-cut wool on monk's cloth
Designed and hooked by Joyce Krueger, Waukesha, Wisconsin, 2004.
Featured in: Celebration XVI

"For many years I wanted to do a rug that looked like a pile of fall leaves, waiting to be jumped into. Over the 5 years while this rug was percolating in my mind, every time I saw a piece of wool that looked like an autumn leaf, I put it in my leaf basket.

I enlarged leaf patterns and cut them out. Then laid them on a piece of paper until it was pleasing to my eye. I covered the whole pattern with a sticky clear plastic in order to keep all the leaf patterns in place.

The large yellow leaves are hooked with recycled wool that I had overdyed with onion skins. I hooked the wool in the order it was cut. The result was patches of color that make the hooked leaf look like the leaves when they fall off the tree.

After the years of thinking and saving for this rug, it took only 4 months to hook it. This is one of those rugs that just kept calling me."
- Joyce Krueger, Celebration Hall of Fame 2019