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My husband and I both grew up on dairy farms in rural New Jersey. When I saw this pattern, I knew that someday I would hook it to honor our childhoods. It sat in my stash for several years before I was brave enough to attempt it.
From the Judges:
The warm tones of the flowers and the cooler blues in the background create a strong visual contrast. The balance between the detailed floral work and texture of the cow is well executed. Rich and engaging story of a rural lifestyle with the addition of a quilt-like border.
This rug made me realize that I love the challenge of creating depth and shadows with color. I chose wool for the rug because I love to work with wool. Dyeing and overdyeing the wools so they are exactly the colors and values I want allows so much freedom in the design. Because I usually feel that I need a color this minute, I quickly learned how to dye my wool in a microwave. The wools for the flowers, leaves, and berries were dyed in the microwave using dip-dye and transition processes.
This allowed me to get all the shades I wanted for the flowers, leaves, berries, and Holstein cow. This is the first rug that I have done in #3 and 4 cuts, and I realized that the detail you can get is amazing. I know it will not be my last fine-cut rug.
For me, hooking the quilt squares was the most challenging part of creating this rug. I did not want them to be too bold; I just wanted them to work with the rest of the colors. I’ve been told not to pull out loops, but a lot of loops got pulled out before the quilt blocks were to my liking. I finished the rug with a corded binding.
In the Pasture, 34″ x 24″, #3- and 4-cut wool on linen. Designed by LCs Wool and Silk based on artwork by David Galchutt and hooked by Mary Passerello, Flemington, New Jersey, 2024.
Mary Passerello
FLEMINGTON, NEW JERSEY
Mary and her husband, Jim, live on a family farm where they enjoy spending time with their daughter, her husband, and their twin girls. However, her career was always away from the farm. She retired in 2013 after a long career in the telecommunications industry. During retirement, she met a member of the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild who invited her to a guild meeting. After seeing all the beautiful rugs the members were making, she knew she had to try rug hooking for herself, and, of course, she got hooked. Her first rugs were mostly primitives. Before long, she realized that she much prefers more detailed, whimsical rugs. From the start of her rug-hooking fascination, she has attended rug schools almost every year.