The Cup of Kindness

A Cup of Kindness, 17½" x 15", #3-, 4-, 6-, and 8-cut wool on linen. Designed and hooked by Ellen Banker, Barnard, Vermont, 2013.

After many years of living in the South, I picked up the charming southern practice of writing thank you notes. It’s become something of a passion for me. I discovered that I really like to thank people, in a lasting way, for the things they do and give—a meal, a gift, their time, their thoughts. An added benefit, of course, is collecting lots of pretty stationery to do the job. You need the perfect notepaper for the occasion. Paper, I discovered, is kind of like wool. Apparently, you cannot have enough of either.

So, turning to wool seemed like a natural progression for my gratitude. A friend, who has shown such amazing kindness to my family over the years, will receive this wooly thank you for his “cup of kindness.”

The design and color plan are simple, with a few little surprises tucked in. Hooking circles—which are repeated in the cup and the background—are easy, and the repetition creates an interesting composition. Even easier is the technique of adding subtle variations in a seemingly solid background to create movement and interest.

This article is from the June/July/August 2014 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.