PILLOWS FOR THREE SISTERS
Last July I went home to visit my parents. The timing was such that I planned on seeing my Aunt Mimi in Cleveland to celebrate her 90th birthday. Before I went I planned a little gift to take to her to remind her of her beautiful little cabin that she had to sell some years ago because the upkeep became too difficult for her. And because I didn't have much time I decided to make a small hooking of it that she could either hang on a wall or I would offer to make it into a pillow for her if she wanted.
It all went to plan and below is a picture of her holding the hooking up for the camera on her birthday.
And in the end I am glad that I got to go do that because my very special aunt passed away since then. After her funeral which I was unable to attend my Aunt Glo rang me to tell me how much Mimi had loved that little pillow. She was able to take it with her from room to room and when she died in the hospital the hospice nurses used it to prop up her elbow. So it was with her at the last, that beautiful little memory of her beloved cabin in the woods.
That phone conversation prompted me to make one for my Aunt Glo. I thought I would make her one of the cabin since we all had wonderful memories of spending many holidays there over the years. And of course I made it differently as no two hookings are ever alike. The weekend that I decided to get my linen backing out and start drawing the rough image with a sharpie, I was also going through some old photos and low and behold I came across this really cute photo of my Aunt Mimi standing in the garden next to her cabin. So that made me want to add Mimi into the cabin hooking. This was my first time at actually adding human forms into a hooked rug. Below is the photo that inspired the final pillow.
I took a few close ups of different parts of the pillow. The photos have washed out the color a bit. They are really more vibrant than these photos show. I sent that off to my Aunt Glo and she was thrilled with it.
Then I got to thinking that my mother would feel left out if I didn't make her one too and with her 88th birthday coming up there was no time to lose so I started working on one for her. I borrowed an idea from Deanne Fitzpatrick. She has a rug design with three old ladies standing out in the surf in their bathing suits. I started with that idea and then wanted to put my uncle in there somewhere and somehow I imagined him in a little motor boat. This theme is fitting in that they used to spend every winter in Florida when they were children. Later I learned that my uncle actually did have a little motorboat and used to go out fishing and bring back breakfast for a hungry bunch of kids. Below is the result. It arrived in the mail to my mother on the day of her birthday.
I love the movement of the water in this rug, especially where the seafoam rises above the lettering to the back of the ladies legs. I ran out of blue wool thus the colorful sunset. Now that those are done.......I wonder what I shall do next.................
