Give a Gift
My daughter-in-law received an old cedar chest as a gift. The top of it was scratched and worn. I suggested to her that we could sand down and refinish the top, or I could make a rug seat for it. After she chose the second option, we had to decide on the design. My daughter-in-law loves flowers, so they were a must. When I signed up for the “Amish” rug class at Sauder Village, I tried to figure out how to combine the two concepts into one rug. I went back and forth with Cindy Irwin, my class instructor, several times, starting with the farmhouse. The design grew little by little, and I got the last bit of artistic instruction from my cousin Joanne Kukel.
This rug is 100 percent wool. I chose this durable fabric to stand up to the wear and tear the rug is sure to acquire as a seat cushion. Each section was a challenge of its own as I tried to figure out how to make it come to life and look as real as possible. I also tried to give the rug life by creating a sense of movement in the quilts, the boy walking, and the girl bending down. I like that it is not just a still-life scene. I had to hook the delphinium twice in order to get the appropriate color change from front to back.
The clothesline pole is placed approximately two-thirds of the length of the rug from the right-hand side. It was moved to this location to balance the garden, which catches the eye and extends two-thirds of the way across the rug from the left side. The garden is my favorite part of this rug.
It was pointed out to me that far mountains are lighter in color. Typically, we make things darker in order to push them back in our artwork, but with landscapes, far mountains should be light and dull in color.
The rug is stapled onto my daughter-in-law’s cedar chest so all the edges are tucked underneath. I added binding tape to the edge of the rug to give it more stability when attaching it.
Amish Farmhouse, 48″ x 20″, #3-, 4-, 5-, and 8-cut wool and woolen thread on rug warp. Designed and hooked by Ellen Forstrom, North Haledon, New Jersey, 2024.
From the Judges:
The vibrancy of the colors is perfectly chosen, creating vitality in the garden, charming quilts, and depth for this rural setting. A balanced composition with attention to both foreground detail and background structure and view. Evocative Amish story—captures the rhythm of domesticity and nature.
NORTH HALEDON, NEW JERSEY
Ellen has been hooking rugs for 28 years. She had only informal training until a few years ago, when she started taking some classes. Last year, she retired from her nursing career and started the process of becoming a teacher through the McGown Teachers’ Workshop.