Saving Sweet Song Birds

I am always learning how to better communicate my social messages to the viewers of my rugs. While working on Saving Sweet Song Birds, I loved learning more about song birds and the seeds that they eat, which are supplied by such pretty flowers. I also explored the modern issues causing declines in songbird populations.

I love combining charmeuse silk and wool; they take the same dyes but have a good contrast for texture variety.

Saving Sweet Song Birds, 45″ x 71″ with 7″ x 9″ x 4” birdhouse, #5- to 7-cut wool, charmeuse silk, and sari silk; yarn; wet- and needle-felting wool; acrylic paint; fabric-covered wire; and glass beads on primitive linen (and in the birdhouse). Designed and hooked by Kris McDermet, Dummerston, Vermont, 2024.

The center section with the leaves and nest was my favorite part to create, as I was able to combine techniques—hooking, braiding, wet felting, and needle felting—to make the area three-dimensional. I also loved working with my brother, Tim Mathiesen, on the birdhouse. He figured out how to hide the speaker, which plays bird songs using motion detection.

The hardest part of making this rug was determining how to have a thin braid of black around the white rectangles on the sheet music. The bulky yarn was the right size but too pliable, so I stabilized it by lining the back several times with cotton that does not stretch. Because my pieces are made to be hung on walls, I have to be careful of the weight.

I always finish my hooking with a braid, as I love seeing the boldness of the braid beside the delicacy of the hooking.

Kris McDermet
DUMMERSTON, VERMONT

Kris has been combining hooking and braiding for 46 years. She loves the gentleness of the hooking combined with the strength of the braid to create work that talks about social issues of our world.