Our first ever rug of the month is a great one! This prize-winning rug is called ‘Nice ‘N Easy’, and was designed by Jane McGown Flynn. The rug’s dimensions are 20×34 in. Ania used #6 and #3 cut wool strips to hook this rug. ‘Nice ‘N Easy’ also recently won 1st place at Massachusetts’s Topsfield Fair!
Ania was interviewed on the process behind creating this rug, and you can check out her thoughts on it below:
What convinced you that you wanted to hook this pattern?
I really love floral designs, and this is a particularly eye catching pattern. It’s very aesthetically pleasing, and I immediately knew the central flower would be red. Usually, it’s hard to hook something with a red color that allows the rug to have a ‘wow’ factor, but this pattern had it.
The other element of it is I had never done a hit or miss border prior to this pattern. To tackle the challenge I pulled in colors that were in the rug, but also wool that was from my stash. My stash included overdyed wool, wool from previous experiments in dyeing, and pieces that were too small to fit in elsewhere. The border was a great opportunity to play.
How did you approach elements like color planning for this project?
I like bright colors, and I also wanted to play with different types of dyed wools. The wool used in this rug are spot dyes, dip dyes, and color swatches. A big goal of mine was to be able to pull both cool greens and warm greens into the leaves and stems. Ultimately, the color scheme was built around experimentation.
What was the most difficult aspect to complete?
The best part of this rug is that there was nothing difficult to complete; the entire rug was just very fun and easy—exactly as its name promises! Another thing I loved is the size: large enough to be an effective rug but small enough to complete quickly.
What are you most proud of in this rug?
The biggest risk I took in this rug is probably when I was completing the whip. Normally, a rug’s whip is a darker or neutral color. I wanted to use the whip as a further accent on the rug. If you look at the rug you can see that the tulips are yellow, and I wanted to give it a whipped border that reflected that yellow around the edge. The wool that I used was a very bright yellow, and I think it came out really nice that way.
What makes this rug different from the others you’ve hooked? What made this project unique in your experience as a rug hooker.
This is one of the most whimsical rugs I’ve done. My objective and focus was pulling in brighter colors and to recycle different types of dyed wool that I had stored up.
Let us know below what you think of Ania’s ‘Nice ‘N Easy’ rug! How did you like getting to hear some of the story behind its creation?
My Mother's a Hooker 
It Is a gorgeous rug. Really enjoyed reading the story behind it. The colours and balance are gorgeous as is the whipped edge. The hooking itself is perfection. A wonderful rug by a superb rug hooker.
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Thank you so much for your kind words Brigitte. It means so much to hear such encouraging feedback!
Ania
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[…] If you missed Ania’s interview on the story behind this rug’s creation, simply click here to view the post. You can read a lot of interesting details that went into the process of hooking […]
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