Lobster Buoys

Lobster Buoys, 17 1⁄2" x 21 1⁄4", #7-, 8-, and 8.5-cut wool on linen. Designed and hooked by Cherylyn Brubaker, Brunswick, Maine, 2019.

Most designers are influenced by the environment around them. I live in Maine and it is summer. What comes to mind? Our lovely shoreline and lobsters!

Lobster buoys and lobster traps were originally made of wood. The buoys were made of black cedar and were painted a variety of colors. The old wood traps were made of oak or ash. Today, buoys are made of Styrofoam and still painted colors unique to each fisherman, ranging from red, blue, and green to bright yellow, orange, and pink. The buoys float on the surface and are attached by a line of rope to the lobster traps below, and the bright colors make them more visible in fog and bad weather. Every lobster fisherman is required to have a painted buoy displayed on the boat. This assures the Marine Patrol Officers that he is hauling up only traps with buoys that are his own. Additionally, the traps are tagged with a license number.

This pattern is a simple combination of old wood lobster buoys on a lobster shack built of weathered barn board. Most of the wools used are mill-dyed herringbones and plaids. The exceptions are the two values each of red and green and a spot-dyed brown. This mat could be hooked entirely in as-is wools you have in your wool stash.