Exclusive Pattern: Happy Hen Pattern

In our area, people think handmade and homegrown are always best—from hooked and braided rugs to eggs from backyard hens. In area hill towns, like Ashfield, where the Happy Hen designer lives and hooks, to the more “urban” areas of Northampton and Florence where Wool & Dye Works is located, laying hens have become more and more popular.

Happy Hen designer Margot Apple has illustrated close to 50 children’s books and is best known for the wonderful book series about sheep (Sheep in a Jeep was the first book).

Here at the Wool & Dye Works shop, she creates delightful designs with our large inventory of colorful wools (mill dyed, plaids, and stripes, hand dyed, and rescued) for inspiration. Her designs for hooked mats and rugs have a special charm and whimsy.

Happy Hen is relatively small (10" x 10") and is a great size for a pillow, a mat, a pocket on a bag, or framed on the wall. It doesn’t take too much time or wool to hook, and the finished piece makes a sweet gift for a chicken-loving friend.

Wool & Dye Works is located in the village of Florence (in Northampton), Massachusetts. We stock a wide range of colorful wool fabrics and yarns, patterns and kits, hooking and braiding tools and supplies, books and resource materials, and wool dyeing supplies. www.woolanddyeworks.com.

This article is from the March/April/May 2015 issue. To get this exclusive pattern or for more information on our issue, check out our issues page.