When I was nine or ten years old, some time around the Bicentennial I was into all kinds of arts and crafts. One of my at-home projects was a latch-hooked rug.
My rug had a tiger with a big head, long tail and little red hats that looked like shoes on its ears. The rug went in a garage sale decades ago, but recently I regretted it as I jogged my memory about the actual design. For some reason, I thought it was Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, but it was really more of a generic tiger cartoon design. I found one on eBay and bought it.
While I was looking, I saw other rugs. Many of them had eagles, and a lot of those were patriotic, Bicentennial rugs. They weren't very expensive.
A couple of the rugs were eagles without patriotic elements, simply eagles in natural settings. One had a border on two edges.
I even found a thunderbird! Complete with thunder clouds and lightning bolts! How cool is that?
So, it looks like I have a little collection of latch-hooked rugs now. I'll sell some but keep others. They go well with the 1970s quilts, and the Patriotic eagles go especially well with the Bicentennial quilts. I got my hands on a canvas, too, so maybe I'll make another one. Back when I made my tiger rug, I tried sewing around the same time. Making the rug was much easier for me, and more relaxing, almost zen-like. The funny thing is I'll have to watch a tutorial to recall how to do it.
The red things on the tiger's ears most likely ARE shoes. In the story of Little Black Sambo, the tiger takes Sambo's shoes to wear on his ears.
ReplyDeleteLittle Black Sambo..a favorite childhood fable now in collections everywhere from a time and place when Aunt Jemima and other now politically incorrect memorabilia was sold and collected. Little red ..almost Aladdin like shoes is what I remember, too. And yes, the shoes ended up on the Tigers ears...worth looking up!
ReplyDeleteI used to love latched-hook rugs! I made them as a kid too (but would also have to Google it now to remember how...). Thanks for the nostalgia trip.
ReplyDeleteI still have my snowman latch hook made from a kit in the late 70s. He's usually bought out ever Christmas. I remember getting sore knuckles from the scratchy canvas while making it.
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