Rug of the Month: November 2017

Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, we can really embrace the winter months. With that in mind, November’s rug of the month is “Winter Birds,” which is a winter-focused project. The pattern is a Digo pattern, and it is hooked in #6 strip wools.

To see images of this month’s Rug of the Month and to read about Ania’s creative process, take a look below:

Here is Ania’s completed “Winter Birds” rug.

Why did you decide to take on this project?

It was part of a guild project, and I wanted to do a winter themed rug so that I could have a rug for the winter season. I had done sculpting on rugs in the past and had enjoyed it, and this was going to be a quick project that involved sculpting in a wide cut.

Detail on one of the birds.

How did you decide on a color plan for this project?

Well, the winter birds in question are cardinals. All of the wool was supplied, except for the background. I thought it was great to have a Christmas theme with the red and the green.

Since the background wasn’t supplied, I decided I wanted to have a snowy sky, and not a blue sky. I wanted to give the appearance that the birds are in a snowy environment. I also decided that I only wanted to use textures for the background, and not dye anything. And because I love dyeing, it was a challenge not to!

To make it look like there was snow blowing in the background I drew in wavy lines throughout the background, and hooked along those lines. I selected two colors: a light grey plaid and a multi-colored strip, with cream, tan, and light green lines in it. Together, the two colors really look like snow!

Here are the two wools used in the background.

What are you most proud of in this rug?

There are a couple of things. I like how the birds look like they’re fluffing up their feathers to try to stay warm, and I like the simplicity. There are only five colors in the whole rug. There’s a dark green in the pine needles, a brown in the branches, a red in the birds and the berries, a yellow beak, and the black faces. And there are the two additional texture wools for the snow.

What was the most difficult part of this project?

The most difficult part was to make the background look like snow by constricting myself to using wool that I already had in my stash instead of dyeing something new. It took some experimenting with how to hook the wool, and what wool to use to make it look realistic. I also had to make sure I didn’t have too many blocks of one texture in the background.

Details on the sculpting on the wings.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about this rug? 

I like how the puffiness of the wings show up even though only one color is used to create the wings and the bodies of the birds.

If you have any thoughts you’d like to share with Ania on this project, feel free to leave a comment below!