Water Garden Meditation

Large, functional rugs are my passion. I believe that art is greatly enhanced by sensory experience, and since there’s such joy in walking across a thick wool rug, I generally choose bulky wool yarn for its lushness, resilience, and durability. However, since this design called for more defined texture in the fish, I incorporated a yarn blend of merino, bamboo, and silk. Also, the background water needed to be demonstrably recessed, so I used a finer wool yarn than I normally would for this area as well as for parts of the delicate dragonfly. My foundation preference is always monk’s cloth; its wide width availability allows me to conveniently work large designs without having to piece together backing material.

I suppose my favorite part of the rug is the fish, which are modeled on those that inhabit the koi pond at The Shi Institute for Sustainable Communities at Furman University. I often stop there on my daily walks and have noticed how the beautiful koi shimmer in the sunlight and make slight fluttering sounds when they occasionally break the surface of their pool. I love the motion the three fish bring to Water Garden Meditation and how they underscore dimensional depth, placed as they are above the blue water and beneath the greens of the lotus leaves. I can almost hear them!

The dragonfly presented a few challenges. The black outline elements (veins in the wings, legs, antennae, etc.) called for fine yarn so as not to overpower the small sections of the wings and body. I first worked those lines in regular rug yarn, then removed and reworked them in lighter-weight yarn so they would appear clear among the thicker loops. I wanted sparkle in the body, but my first attempts to incorporate a variety of silk threads and alternative fibers failed. After reworking several times, I found that a fine, tightly spun variegated wool yarn called “Sea Glass” gave the effect I was looking for.

Because the border is scalloped, I determined the only option was to whip the hem using the same yarns as the leaf elements. Although very labor intensive, this worked better than I had imagined; the raised perimeter appears to slightly float, just as the curled edges of real lotus leaves would. I made sure to match the colors in each green section, making the border visually blend into the leaves.

I think adding dimension to my pieces makes them much more interesting; therefore, I intentionally designed this rug so that I could sculpt distinct “layers” using various Oxford punch-needle sizes. My original design incorporated white “ripples” in the water, but that turned out to be too busy. A very subtly shaded blue yarn, only available in a lighter weight, offered the answer, and by using a #14 fine needle for those areas, I achieved a much more distinct and pleasing bas-relief effect.

From hooking this rug, I’ve learned how to experiment with and better accomplish multiple dimensions, both materially and visually, with different yarn weights appropriate for the variety of Oxford punch needles. This piece also represents a distinct turn toward creating and crafting my own original designs.

Water Garden Meditation, 66″ round, wool rug yarn and fine wool, bamboo, and silk yarns on monk’s cloth.
Designed and punched by Cada McCoy, Greenville, South Carolina, 2024.

Cada McCoy
GREENVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA

Influenced by her mother’s love of and expertise in various forms of fiber handiwork, Cada discovered punch-needle rug hooking through a Furman University continuing education class in 2018. Achieving Oxford Instructor Certification in 2025, Cada now focuses on creating her own designs and sharing punch-needle rug-hooking techniques with other adults. Cada lives with her retired architect husband, Ted, and their delightful Welsh corgi, Jacquie.