Rug Hooking Archives - Jess Wrobel: Textiles and Decor

Category: Rug Hooking

Nautili

Posted on July 19, 2019 by jess

A few years ago I did an image search for “primitive hit or miss rug hooking motifs”. The simple spiral intrigued me and I immediately started experimenting with it. It was only some time later that I learned, to my embarrassment, that this was not a traditional motif but one born of the creativity of Primitive Spirit Rugs. Lesson learned—always click through the images! That being said, I just kept playing with the motif in my head over and over when I found my self staring at the nautili we’ve had propped on a shelf for a very long time. I started seeing things in multiples. Everything just grew from there.

Hooking the nautilus quickly became addictive. One nautilus, two nautili, three nautili—you get the picture.

We were hiking along the oyster middens when I knew I’d hit on the perfect color inspiration.

The completed piece. Measures just a bit more than 17″ square, and is hooked with a combination of wool and recycled cashmere.

Discovering Rufus Porter

Posted on June 11, 2019 by jess

My recent design rabbit hole started with a desire to create a historic looking mural for our home. Somewhere in my search for folk art painting techniques I stumbled upon one Mr. Rufus Porter and the rug hooker in me took over. His motifs struck a chord. While I’ve yet to paint anything, I’ve been enjoying designing rugs inspired by his work. This little footstool is the first of many to come.

I’ve been dabbling with woodworking lately. This primitive little stool paired beautifully with my Rufus Porter inspired rug.

It took some trial and error to get the background colors just right for both mood and visibility, but I love how it came out.

The knot in the wood became the perfect little accent to the “legs” of the stool.

Dye Trying

Posted on April 18, 2019June 11, 2019 by jess

I swore I’d never dye. I have so many stashes and work stations and the rest, I just didn’t feel like taking on one more endeavor. But a dearth of sunny yellows and primitive reds for some of my post popular designs, in addition to a pile of unsuitably colored specimens culled from my cashmere box lots, pushed me over the edge. The days are barely warm enough to venture outside for more than a bit at a time, so I hunker in the workshop and hobble together tools and supplies. I barely follow the directions, but am feeling successful with my first efforts nonetheless.

My first attempt at capturing my desired yellow tones for the sunflower pillows was a success!

I kept adding various wools to the dye pot over the course of an hour and ended up with a range of red tones that I am quite happy with.

Coastal Style Rug Hooking

Posted on April 17, 2019December 26, 2019 by jess

Coastal style is my rug hooking inspiration. I’m busy hooking seaside textiles for your home and cottage. Coastal style pillows, rugs, and more.

I don’t live far from the coast and its majestic views and working waterfronts. What I take in on my daily jaunts to the seaside percolates in my mind’s eye until the perfect new rug hooking design comes into focus. From there, it’s just a matter of time before the right material, the right color, and the pattern itself come together into my textile version of the coastal scene.

Hand Hooked Blue Crab Pillow — You may notice the error of my ways here–I promise that from here on out all carbs will be anatomically correct and have the proper number of legs!

Maine Lobster Boast Hand Hooked Pillow — The quintessential Maine lobster boat is among my favorite pieces of Coastal Style Rug Hooking in my portfolio. I can hear its gentle glue, glue and the call of the seagulls every time I look at it.

Hand Hooked Primitive Whale Pillow — Primitive whales are a favorite motif of mine, not to mention many other folk artists over the centuries. The oceanic simplicity of shape and majesty of power are hard to resist.

Maine Bicentennial 1820 Hand Hooked Lobster Pillow Coastal Style Rug Hooking — 2020 is the Bicentennial Anniversary of the Statehood of Maine. When I first designed this pillow everyone asked, “What happened in 1820?” I’m hoping that 2020 will mark the year that everyone knows what 1820 is doing on a Maine Lobster’s tail.

Hand Hooked Lobster Buoy Pillow — This is my whimsical take on the serious business of Maine lobstering. It is practically a hooking doodle, but made with wool and cashmere. This generously sized pillow is currently available at Down East Gallery.

February Tease

Posted on February 6, 2019 by jess

It was an unusual early February day yesterday. The temperature hit the 50s. It was sunny and beautiful. So much so that I left the oversized slider in my studio open so I could enjoy the balmy air. My dogs clustered on the threshold as one side or the other of it would show too much commitment on their part. I worked at my hooking bench– I hook standing up– barefoot with a mug of hot vanilla milk tucked nearby. And I finally figured how to handle the border of a loosely geometric design.

Good Luck Elephant

Posted on December 26, 2017 by jess

A simple sketch on a scrap of paper became the basic outline for numerous of my elephant pieces. From wall placards, to freestanding oversized pieces, to soft figurines, I’ve tackled the form in many different materials. This time, I took my hook to the image to create a colorful piece in cashmere, wool, and silk. The base is a wonderful bit of weathered barn board with a salvaged piece of rusty junk to balance everything out.

This piece is available at The Barn at Todd Farm.

1876 Hand Hooked Primitive Cashmere Rug

Posted on August 15, 2017 by jess

One of this hooker’s best friends, my little man, Stogie posed for the inspiration photo for this primitive style rug. I hooked this entirely with cashmere salvaged from recycled sweaters.

new seven — It took me a couple tries to get the numbers just right.

1876 in progress — I always love looking back at progress shots and seeing how it all came together.

My 1876 Primitive Dog Hooked Pillow is available at The Barn at Todd Farm or can be shipped to you anywhere. Just ask.

I Will Hold You Up

Posted on July 21, 2017 by jess

Rescue Rug 2 — “I Will” are two words that I find greatly significant, an emotional promise.

Rescue Rug 4 — I don’t know what it says about me, but I love the backs of hooked rugs, too.

Rescue Rug 1 — I approached this rug as a hit or miss design trying to use up some of my numerous worms…

Rescue Rug 3 — I had no plan for the watery background, and my work evolved around the materials I had at hand. I love the whimsical track it took.

Prim Whale on the Move at Sea

Posted on July 6, 2017July 22, 2017 by jess

There is nothing about this Prim Whale Pull Toy that I don’t love. All the little bits and pieces that have become its creation DNA have their own story. I discovered the wool at a local fiber studio located in a one room school house that made me green with envy. The button that became the most perfect all seeing eye has been in my stash for years. I was always certain that one fine day this one lonely button would find its purpose, and it certainly finally did. The wheels are made from antique spools. I especially always love a project that Dave and I work on together and we had great fun putting our heads together to figure mechanics, design, and materials. We rummaged through our growing debris pile as we made repairs to our old farmhouse to salvage the perfect rustic wood to give form and function.

whale 2 — What I may love most about this fella is his sly smile.

whale 4 — Wood salvaged from doing repairs to our old farmhouse provided structure.

whale 3 — We usually keep a healthy stash of small bits of old leather around. You never know when it will come in handy to gussy up a pull toy.

The Prim Whale Pull Toy is available in my shop.

A Mermaid’s Tale

Posted on April 29, 2017 by jess

Sometimes I’m just baffled why it takes me so long to get some things done. I’m going to chock it up to too many ideas, too little time. This hooked mermaid pillow literally began to take shape three years ago. I kid you not. An impromptu iPad doodle was destined to be a hooked work of art one day. I just hadn’t expected it to take so long. Life happens and other projects rise to the surface, orders with deadlines clog the creative highway from time to time. But after a visit to Susie Stephenson’s studio and admiring her hand knit mermaid dolls, I was inspired to dig out the long buried image of the serene bathing beauty from under the sea.

As long as the gal has been percolating in the back of my brain, parts of my stash that went into her may have been percolating longer. The kinky golden wool yarn I used for her hair has been sitting waiting for its purpose for some eight years since I picked it up at a fiber festival in Western MA. Being a hooker, I frequently buy old suit garments to harvest the wool, but I’ve never been able to discard the linings. They’ve just been accumulating quietly in the closet for years. Here, they finally shine. The little hints of iridescence they add to the aquatic background are perfect. Several years ago, friends and I made the journey up to Deanne Fitzpatrick’s studio. One friend purchased a skein of silk sari “yarn” and then later gifted it to me. A mermaid’s body was perfectly filled out with terra cotta warmth against the cool blue sea.

If you are interested in purchasing the Mermaid Pillow, it is available here. If you’d like to hook it yourself, fear not! The instant download pattern is in the works. If you are in a hurry, just email me.