Magpie Cherry Pie

Magpie Cherry Pie, 16" x 20", #8-cut wool on linen. Designed and hooked by Karen Larsen, Elliottsburg, Pennsylvania, 2013.

When my granddaughter was a bit younger, she loved to color in coloring books. I would watch her color the various parts of the design: a blue cat, green sky, pink grass, and so on. Her objective was to fill in the blank spaces with color—any color. That got me thinking about rug hooking and how I fill in the “blank” areas of the pattern design. The wool I choose and the way I hook it can have a big impact on the finished look of my rug.

Of course, color planning is an important step in deciding the look of your rug, but just thinking of color is only part of the fun. Choosing textured or plaid wool adds interest and hints of other colors within the pattern element you’re hooking. It is also important to remember that design elements are three-dimensional objects. A round apple, a square house—we hook those elements according to their shape.

I decided to focus on how I use wool as I designed and hooked this simple and colorful wall hanging. Although Valentine hearts come to mind for February, I hooked a cherry pie in honor of the birthday of George Washington. This design had several areas in which I could experiment with my choice of color, texture, and the direction of my hooking.

This article is from the January/February 2014 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.