Hannah Loves Carrots

The Carrot Cookbook, 25" x 30", #3-, 4-, 6-, and 8-cut wool on linen. Designed and hooked by Ellen Banker, Barnard, Vermont, 2014.


Imagine a darling little pink rabbit sitting in her favorite armchair. Her name is Hannah. She looks a bit perplexed. She is concentrating and examining all the colors  of wool strips in her basket, some only subtly different from the others. She needs just the right shade to add life and balance to the rug she is hooking on her worn and much loved rug frame. When Hannah finds just the right strip of wool, her eyes light up with delight. She begins pulling that perfect strip up through her rug backing with a determined rhythm and her favorite handmade hook. 

Success! Hannah is content in her choice as she carefully examines her rug. She knows she should stop hooking and fix dinner, but there’s just one more empty space that needs a special spark of color. She is spellbound with the choices. It will just take a moment longer to fill in that one bare spot. And then . . . Hannah’s dance with her wool begins all over again.

Sound familiar? It is to me. Many days, I feel as if I am Hannah. And you, too, could be Hannah . . .

This article is from the January/February 2015 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.