I am teaching this June at the Green Mountain Rug School in Montpelier, VT.  The theme of my class is Wonderful Wide Cuts and since I bought a used Bolivar cutter last fall that came with a #16 blade, I thought I’d put it to good use and try my hand at some really wide cuts before I teach.  Did you know that cutter blades came in a size #16?  Yes!  At least with the Bolivar cutter and it’s equivalent to a 1/2″ strip.  In fact, I had thought that maybe I’d have to hand-tear all of my strips but after realizing that I had a blade that could cut the same size, I thought I’d give it a try. No jaggedy torn edges, just nice smooth cuts.

I have always wanted to hook Katherine Porter’s design, Parlor Rug.  I thought it was simple enough for wide strips but it’s also a beautiful design.  So I drew up the large size on linen and started cutting up my strips.  I began in the center of the rug and hooked one of the smaller medallions first.  I thought they were a nice place to “audition” my colors and see if the #16 strips were going to work out.  I found out that a #9 cut was needed to fill in the red around the turquoise flower but other than that, the #16 strips are working out great.  It takes an extra push to open up a hole in the linen….I poke my 8mm Hartman Hook all the way down to the handle…and the strips come up without too much of a struggle.  You have to allow an extra bit of spacing too so the loops don’t get too crowded.  I consider myself to be a pretty high hooker, but I am reminding myself to pull up my loops even a little higher than I’m used to.

Once the small side medallion was completed, I moved on to the center medallion.  I love the red, gold, and turquoise textures together and just to add a bit of softness, I used a red/turquoise plaid in one of the layers, which also pulls it all together.  You can see that I hooked one row of my background wool around part of the medallion to see if it was going to work.  I had already decided on a dark brown background and I had the perfect plaid that has very subtle hints of red and gold in it.

Next up are the tabs along the sides….I’m working on them now and will post another day to show you how they are working out.

If you are interested in signing up for my class at the Green Mountain Rug School, here is the link for the registration:  https://greenmountainhookedrugs.com/collections/green-mountain-rug-school-2023

Here is the link to Kate Porter’s Parlor Rug pattern.  Please note that I am linking to the larger size.  The pattern also comes in a smaller size and is listed on her pattern page.  https://spruceridgestudios.com/product/parlor-rug-large-43-x-28-5/