The winters in New England are long and cold. The days are short, the nights long. There is time for artists to be creative.
The craft of hand-hooking developed in New England when factory workers brought home to their wives the leftover and discarded ends of yarn used in the fabric mills—leftover wool bits called “thrums”. And when the daily choirs were done and the children put to bed, the wives started hand making rugs by candle light, looping them through old burlap sacks, usually working from stenciled designs and patterns.
In many ways, it was an art form that began in poverty. The factory workers and their wives could not afford the expensive hand-made rugs that became popular in the homes of the rich. But it was also an art that grew out of the hard-working Shaker ethic – waste not, want not.
Quite simply, New England women knew the value of yarn and did not want to see it go to waste.
Laura Megroz has been the Lead Designer for Chandler 4 Corners hooked pillows and rugs for more than 20 years.
Her designs include the ever popular yellow and black lab dogs, with an occasional dachshund, skiing, a moose or two, a bear here and there, Christmas, as well as western motifs. Look for the familiar letters “LM” in the corner of her pillows and rugs. She is inspired by long walks in beautiful Vermont and the inspiring views of Stratton Mountain outside her studio window.
She works out of her home studio in Londonderry, Windham County, Vermont, population 1,709, plus a few dogs and cats.
