New Year’s Project

Word is starting to get around about Mom and Steve having a private ceremony with pastor Gary at the farm just before the holidays. It was a very sweet occasion—the joining of families moving forward on this journey of caring and working the land together. Right now, the two are off on their honeymoon in the Cascade Mountains at a picturesque resort, spending their days at sleigh rides and enjoying the lodge’s warm fireside.

In honor of the occasion, I wanted to make them a gift that used something special from the farm (wool, one of my favorite materials) in a way that would honor and share their new outlook going forward. While in New England this fall, I took a class from Amy Oxford in Vermont on punch rug hooking, which is a traditional skill for making rugs.

These functional pieces of art (some of which end up on the wall instead of the floor because they’re too pretty to walk on) start with a design drafted on “monks cloth.” This is then stretched on a frame to provide tension for the punch needed, which feeds the loops of colored yarn through the holes in the cloth. The project is worked from the back, turning the piece over at the end to enjoy the wooly loops.

I started drafting the pattern before Mom and Steve left on their adventure, working with the idea of a natural setting looking down from above at a stream with fish, birds, and overhanging branches. In the end, a black spot became home for a friendly dragonfly too.

Often in art, dating back as far as the medieval period (and likely earlier), plants, animals, and flowers hold special symbolic meaning that helps to augment the message being portrayed. A horse could mean speed and agility or a dog loyalty and protection. It was a fun adventure to research the meaning behind flora and fauna to pick out just the right ones. Here’s what I found when planning this project:

Rainbow Trout: Strong reason to go forward with conviction. Also strong in family and morals

Tree Swallow: Protection, warmth, home, and proper perspective

Dragonfly: Personal maturity for understanding the deeper meaning of life

Oak Tree: Strength, wisdom, maturity, and steadfastness

Pine Tree: Truth and longevity

Maple Tree: Wisdom of balance, promise, and practical magic

Beech Tree: Tolerance, patience, and lightness of spirit

Flowing Stream: Life

This short list shows that peoples across the ages and cultures found inspiration and life lessons in nature all around them. Teachings and strength we can continue to draw from as we each think towards the coming New Year and its promise for renewal.

But the actual process of making the rug, after the design aspect, is considerably more tedious. Each loop is made one punch at a time, like a pointillist painting. Though I’ve been working diligently each day over the Christmas break, the project will be continuing into the New Year as well!

Grandpa was watching me punching away, the ball of yarn in my lap. Curious, we started some calculations. There are approximately 150,000 holes in the monks cloth to fill. My top punching speed was about 40 punches a minute. That meant something like 60 hours of punching, not including stopping and starting colors or cleaning up the yarn tails and wayward loops!

But anyone who knits, crochets, quilts, weaves, or practices any other type of fiber art knows, we’re not in this for speed! The process has its own meditative flow, offering time for reflection and thinking towards the adventures of the coming year. These projects become not just the gift of an object, but also the gift of time, care, and attention to detail. Feel free to stop in at Farmstead Creamery and check on the rug’s progress. I’m sure it will begin shaping up as each element is formed as a textured painting of yarn. It’s actually rather exciting, in a slow-motion sort of way.

Wishing you peace, serenity, and creativity as you enter the New Year. Enjoy the beautiful snow, a warm fire, and we’ll see you down on the farm sometime.