Sometimes the Pattern Chooses You

I haven't bought too many rug hooking patterns in my 20+ years of hooking. I either design my own, or work from photographs. But every once and a while I choose the pattern, for a number of reasons; to support the designer, or because I think it will be a good learning curve, or something that I wouldn't design on my own. 

But sometimes a pattern chooses you - or at least that is what it feels like. Recently it happened to me. 

My local rug hooking group had our second annual "Estate and Stash Buster Sale", a fundraiser we do for our local Food Share. As people give up their hooking, for whatever reason, the supplies are snatched up by other eager rug hookers. And often there are some older patterns that someone started and couldn't finish - or hadn't been started at all.

One of the "not started at all" patterns kept whispering to me during the sale. I looked at it, walked away, and then returned for another look.

It's a very old pattern, and quite large. Kind of looks like a tapestry. I saw three people on horseback, riding through a meadow of flowers and was smitten. Not for me, but for my grand daughter. Was it a coincidence that we had just seen Disney's live-action Snow White a few days before? I think perhaps.  After all, the pattern featured a King, Queen and Princess, or so I believed. I was now transfixed.

But when I took a closer look, and actually saw the name of the pattern "Star of the East", I realized that this was in fact the three wise men - especially once I saw the star. And why did the Queen have a beard. When I realized this, I had a good chuckle.

However, who says it cannot be a King, Queen and Princess riding through a meadow of flowers. And the star can just become a sun, or clouds or something else that suits its new "iteration". I may just trace and copy some of the flowers, which I think is more fairy tale like.

I have started with the King, who is in the centre. The Princess will be to the left of him, and the Queen will be to his right (without a beard). And they will all live "happily ever after".

This will definitely be a labour of love. The image is faint on the surprisingly supple backing. And I have decided to punch the outlines and then fill in with yarn. Hoping to dedicate a few hours a week, and that it may be done by Christmas. My grand daughter certainly didn't ask me to do this, and hasn't seen it. But I hope it will keep her believing in fairy tales for many years to come. 

It makes me smile when I sit with it, that I projected my vision onto this rug. But I definitely think it called to me, because nobody else had chosen it in all these years. 

I will try to post updates as I move along. 

Days of the Week Lists

Traditionally, certain "women's chores" were assigned a day of the week. I don't think my mother ever did that, but my 100-year old mother-in-law still does. I think that is how she has lived to be 100. Now, a few of those things are "off" her list, but I think she has replaced baking and marketing (grocery shopping, which I do for her now), with more cleaning. 

Here is a list of the "traditional" chores.

• Monday - Washing
• Tuesday - Ironing
• Wednesday - Mending
• Thursday - Marketing
• Friday - Baking
• Saturday - Cleaning
• Sunday - Day of Rest

When looking around online, I found lots visuals depicting this "list" and lots of embroidery depicting these chores. Here is one, with a salute to the blogger who featured it. (I think I love "martini' day.)

I certainly never ascribed to this list, probably because I always worked outside the home, and chores were done when you could "get to them".  And, as a craft and fibre person, they were never a priority OR the rhythm of my days.

Ironically, I have come to the point in my "making" where I have so many things on the go, that I am seriously considering making Days of the Week lists for both my rug hooking and my knitting/sewing.

Maybe that will keep me on track for everything. lol. Here is a sneak peek at what that might look like.

Monday - Hook on Crows pattern - it is small, and easily portable to my Kawartha Rug Hooking group. This was designed by Wendo Van Essen, and I bought it from her at the Annual in London in 2019. She is a very talented fibre artist and can do anything, including design great patterns. Here's a link to her blog https://wendovanessen.blogspot.com/

Tuesday - Kitchen Sink pattern - which is the most fun I have had in a long time. This was finished so quickly, and ate a lot of "worms". This will be a pillow, but I think I will go bigger and make one that will actually go in the "kitchen". 

Wednesday - two name signs, for a newborn boy and his older sister - These have a hard stop date, which is the long weekend, so they are pushing all the others aside.  (Gifted these, and they were a hit - totally forgot to take pics of them finished.) And this draft post has been sitting for a long time. 

Thursday - Evvie's rug (sometimes a rug chooses you, not the other way around) - a whole other story for this one. Just a little progress to share, but will post the story of this rug another time.

Friday - my personal political statement rug - design only at this stage - for the Artistic Coalition group led by Maggie Bathory in the US. She has invited fibre artists to express their opinions: outrage, sadness, anger or whatever about the state of the world these days. Hopefully, I will get this on backing on one of the "Days of the week" next week. 

Weekends - not assigned but can work on any project except for Crows, which is definitely Monday.

Oh, by the way, I still manage to do everything in the traditional list, except Baking and Resting. I just don't assign days to those. I squeeze them in whenever. They aren't nearly as important to me as the fibre projects. 

Pssst. I am not sure this list will stick, but it might help juggle everything. And I also could have days of the week for my WIP knitting projects. And another for my sewing stuff. Will share that in a future post.