By Guest Blogger Charlene Scott
Note the constellation Orion on the right hand side just above the water.
My rug is called in short "Aurora Borealis" but under my breath it is called " The view from the deck of the CSS BAFFIN in late September, north of the Arctic Circle".
I have wanted to hook a rug for a long time to bring back that scene one cold night when I stood on the helicopter deck of the BAFFIN and watched the lights play for at least half an hour. They rippled and shimmered and never stopped moving. All the while I swore I could hear piano music playing in time with the pulsing of the lights.
I started with the aurora first. I took a large chunk of raw Dorr wool and painted on the dye. I needed something to merge the green and purple/pink and dip dyeing was not going to work for me so I painted on the dye and then took blue and gently put some faint streaks over top. I went over the bottom edge of the green with extra dye to make it slightly darker that the rest.
For the ocean I used one of the shop's spot dyed wool called "The Abyss" interlaced with a "Spruce" Sari Silk. For the sky I used the formula for "The Abyss" and added extra bottle green to make it a little darker and a little more into the green zone. I dyed it using the crush method which gave me lighter and darker splotches on the wool. When I cut the wool I took the lighter pieces and used them below the aurora and used the darker pieces above. To finish, I hand sewed many small opalescent seed beads throughout the sky for stars and through the aurora itself to give the impression of transparency.
For the reflection, I took the cut off strips of green from hooking the aurora, placed them into an onion bag and just before all the dye was sucked up in the pot while dyeing the sky I plopped the strips in. I wanted the green a little darker but not too much. Then when hooking the reflection strip I twisted the strips. I didn't want the reflection to be too flat when the rest of the water was not.
I hooked the whole rug in #5 cut on linen backing (my first linen rug). I consider this rug an art piece to be hung on the wall. My husband will make a frame and it will be the first rug I won't be walking on. I tried hooking a border around the rug and started five different styles before I realized that it didn't need one, in fact a border diminished it.
I really enjoyed the challenge of translating my memories into a piece of art through the medium of wool.
I have wanted to hook a rug for a long time to bring back that scene one cold night when I stood on the helicopter deck of the BAFFIN and watched the lights play for at least half an hour. They rippled and shimmered and never stopped moving. All the while I swore I could hear piano music playing in time with the pulsing of the lights.
I started with the aurora first. I took a large chunk of raw Dorr wool and painted on the dye. I needed something to merge the green and purple/pink and dip dyeing was not going to work for me so I painted on the dye and then took blue and gently put some faint streaks over top. I went over the bottom edge of the green with extra dye to make it slightly darker that the rest.
For the ocean I used one of the shop's spot dyed wool called "The Abyss" interlaced with a "Spruce" Sari Silk. For the sky I used the formula for "The Abyss" and added extra bottle green to make it a little darker and a little more into the green zone. I dyed it using the crush method which gave me lighter and darker splotches on the wool. When I cut the wool I took the lighter pieces and used them below the aurora and used the darker pieces above. To finish, I hand sewed many small opalescent seed beads throughout the sky for stars and through the aurora itself to give the impression of transparency.
For the reflection, I took the cut off strips of green from hooking the aurora, placed them into an onion bag and just before all the dye was sucked up in the pot while dyeing the sky I plopped the strips in. I wanted the green a little darker but not too much. Then when hooking the reflection strip I twisted the strips. I didn't want the reflection to be too flat when the rest of the water was not.
I hooked the whole rug in #5 cut on linen backing (my first linen rug). I consider this rug an art piece to be hung on the wall. My husband will make a frame and it will be the first rug I won't be walking on. I tried hooking a border around the rug and started five different styles before I realized that it didn't need one, in fact a border diminished it.
I really enjoyed the challenge of translating my memories into a piece of art through the medium of wool.
Charlene transferring the design to the linen using red dot.
 The beginning dye technique. |  Using her hands to create lines. |
Finger painting with dye.
The dried piece of wool waiting to be cut into strips.
The beginning hooking, all done in vertical lines. The boat deck was in the initial design but Charlene decided not to include it.
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