Ho Ho Howl

I love hooking with 100 percent wool strips, so this rug is all hand dyed by me. The only exception is the metal lic-shot wool in the sky. I swirled the sky to add movement to the piece and to incorporate hearts—for my family members and their dogs—into the background.

I love the way the dogs all have their own personalities. Making the dogs look like themselves was a challenge. I solved this by adding little details that highlight their personalities. Hank is wearing his favorite dinosaur Christmas sweater, eyes wild and ready for trouble. Stark is prim and proper in her Christmas bow, ready to keep control over any rowdy behavior. Merc is unable to simply hold her candy cane, impatient for the treat and already crunching it in half.

To finish this piece, I used hand-dyed wool yarn to whip the edges with a herringbone stitch. This project taught me not to get too caught up in the small details and to go for the overall feel of the rug—not perfection. This rug is now even more special to me as we lost our “granddog” Hank to a heart attack last spring. He was a wonderful friend, and we miss him.

Ho Ho Howl, 31″ x 18 ½”, #3- to 5-cut hand-dyed wool on linen.
Designed and hooked by Laurie Wiles, Edmonton, Alberta, 2024.

Laurie Wiles
EDMONTON, ALBERTA

Laurie is a McGown-certified instructor and has hooked for more than 25 years. She enjoys all aspects of rug hooking,
especially helping students find their own creativity. She has hooked in Canada, the United States, Mexico, and Iceland. Animals are one of her favorite subjects. She loves bright colors and dyeing her own wool. Her work has won many awards and has been shown in several rug and art shows in both Canada and the United States