Hello from sultry Iowa! I'm hanging around indoors today, having gotten my gardening tasks done early while it was hot, but not sweltering hot yet. If any of you know me, winter is my most favorite season of the year so summer, not so much. I love the beauty and green-ness of summer but ewww, the heat is something else. P U.
I've spent a lot of time on the mower this summer and more time edging my flower beds and borders. I love the complexity designing a flower bed, contrasting color and foliage form and I love, love a nice edge to the flower beds. My flower bed edges are getting better but aren't the greatest. I've noticed how a nice edge or a nice border to a flower bed really sets the stage for the flowers. It gives a nice rest and order to the flower bed. I do love that!
Designing rug patterns isn't that different and I've always stayed in the quiet border mode, to keep things simple and to let the field of the rug shine. Well, I've finished a rug that I started last fall and it has the most complex border I've ever done and I loved it. The center field of the rug is active and busy but quiet because I hooked it in neutral colors. The border is bolder but not wild. It's a fun frame and gives order to the design, even though the pattern is more flowing and irregular than the border. The cable border I hooked reminds me a nice fence to a garden. Think about the beautiful frames with choose for our art to hang on the wall and the beautiful garden fences we add. If you've shied away from hooking an intricate border, I encourage you to try one. Try one on a medium sized pattern. Break it down into parts, so it doesn't overwhelm you and I think you'll have fun with it. Of course, detailed borders aren't required or necessary but challenge yourself once in awhile. I did and I was way out of my comfort zone, analyzing the cable, measuring, drawing, ERASING A LOT, re-drawing and then committing to it. But I learned so much! It's still fun to learn and learn by trial and error. My brain likes to see patterns and figure out how to make it, draw it, design it. For me, that's fun! Try something new, learn by trial and error. Who knows what you might learn about hooking and designing and who knows what you might learn about yourself.