Pattern: Ante Bellum, # M274, size 17” x 36”, from Prairie Craft House. Designer: Carol Kassera

This is a primitive rug with three big magnolias, hooked with cut #6. The center magnolia is hooked with two swatches from Constance Charleson “Connies Cauldron” # 114. These swatches go from a very light green to a soft peach. The other two magnolias are hooked with two swatches of a similar color at the center magnolia, but these I dyed myself some time ago.

Some of the leaves are hooked in grey green with peach vanes and some others in lemon green. The background is a dark burgundy with some accents in a lighter version of the same formula. The edge is hooked with three different shades of green. The edge is finished with the herring bone stitch using a commercial yarn matching the lemon green color of the medium size magnolias.

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This is a primitive pattern from Heirloom Rugs called, “Horn of plenty heroic”, model #716 O, and size 33”x64”, was designed by Louise Hunter Zeiser.  The flowers and the pine cones were hooked with primitive swatches in rust, orange and brown colors.  A primitive swatch usually has four values of the same color, one of which is a plaid. The outlining is done in plaid, and the rest are light, medium and dark values. These remaining values should be used independently to hook the upper, middle and lower sections in straight rows and columns, or circular patterns.  Examples where the straight technique is used are the pine cones. The circular technique is implemented for the rest of the flowers in the pattern.  The top of the pines cones were hooked with a deep dye, soft lemons to purple, however, the top of the other two sets of flowers were hooked with primitive green and brown swatches. These sets of flowers can be identified by the central leaves motif hooked in green and outlined with the dark solid value of the same primitive swatch used for the rest of the flower.

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This is a primitive pattern from Heirloom Rugs called, “Marigold Heroic”, model #716 D, size 28”x62½”, designed by Louise Hunter Zeiser.

All the motives were outlined.
The petals of the two marigold flowers were hooked with a dip dye in yellow-gold to rust-brown; the wool was originally yellow-gold consequently I only dyed one end with a rust-brown formula to get a deepness effect towards the center of the flower. The center of each marigold was hooked from the edge towards the center in the following order: two rows in yellow plaid, three rows in green plaid, three rows in solid green and the rest with roving, dyed in a gold formula.
The two corner flowers were hooked with a dip dye in rose to burgundy.
The pattern has three big sets of leaves. Each set has the same motive on the right and the left side of the rug but in opposite directions. The three sets of leaves were hooked with two swatches of six values each, in two different colors of green, one swatch in yellow green and the other one in bronze green. In some leaves I incorporated a dip dye red to pink to highlight the center of the leaf.

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Joan Moshimer design (13″ x 17″)

H.M. Fraser Co. design (16″)

This primitive design was hooked in 6 cut.
The petals were outlined in a dark brown plaid. They were hooked with W. Cushing and Co. Studio Swatch M, 22” long going from brown to yellow.
For the center I used three different values of brown plaids placing the light values around the border with the medium and darker values toward the center. It gave it a good textural interest.
The big leaves were done in a deep green with veins in a pink spot dye. The bell flowers were hooked in a dip dye going from pink to purple. The small leaves in turquoise added a nice contrast to the large green ones.
The background was as is Dorr Celery. The border frames it in a brown spot dye. The tendrils next to the border are done in the same dip dye used for the bells flowers.
The pillow was handmade by me. A gold and light green braid was added to the edges of the pillow and then, in similar colors, tassels giving a festive look to the piece.