Hi Everyone!

Pattern designing can be a really fun process. If you are new to it, here are some helpful tips to get you started:

• get inspiration from others
• go with what you know
• don't get overly complicated, keep it simple.

We all went with things we enjoy about summer:

For Heidi this meant the beach and relaxing by the water. Bringing to mind the days spent on the beach with her mom and loved ones, cruises and vacations with her husband. Heidi chose to incorporate tropical beaches showing palm trees, soft sand, and that beautiful cerulean water. She also added on her favorite drink, Miami Vice, a refreshing daiquiri that she drinks when on vacation with Steve. The last image is iconic to beach vacations; flip flops, the official shoes of summer.

Sid thought of camping and nights spent under the stars. Who can't relate to that iconic image of campfires and tents in the woods with the stars shinning down on you, embers jumping into the sky almost as if they too want to become stars. His family has a tradition of summertime camping at Lake Alpine, CA. Sid wanted to bring those memories into his triptych.

Cotey, had the idea of cooling and refreshing cocktails that are shared with friends. If any of you follow Cotey on social media, you know that part of her self care routine is Thursday night drinks with friends. Each night featurs a special adjective that Cotey wants to embody. She decided to memorialize some of her favorites in her triptych.

Cotey is also doing a second pattern. The Avocado pattern above. She wanted to make a botanical that she had never really seen before. Avocado's seemed like a fun fruit to do through the progression of seed, flower, and fruit. 

Christy thought of fresh veggies, flowers, and the little thieves who like to eat them. Every year, when Summer is first blossoming, Christy and Dave go and get a geranium for their front door and plant tomatoes in the garden. 

I thought of Vermont in summer, hiking and days spent outside. Lazy days spent in the woods with my kids investigating the natural world around us and just absorbing the beautiful land that is Vermont. I knew that I wanted the sun to move through the day as the triptych went across, starting with sunrise, midday, then dusk as the last panel as the sunrises and sunsets are some of my favorite aspects of Vermont.

I also wanted to do a project that celebrates my PA Dutch roots. My grandmother(s), along with my mother, is one of my biggest influences in creating art and crafting. Drawing from my Nanny's heritage I designed this simple and sweet tulip with floral accents to punch. My Nanny taught me to knit and I have many fond summer memories of sitting with her on her "front deck" while she knit and I would read. She still is going strong and knitting up a storm at the young age of 95! 

When we traced these patterns, we incorporated a few spacing rows between the individual panels. This made a “frame” around each of the panels, breaking up the pictures evenly. We liked the look of this frame, but it’s a personal preference. You don’t have to lay out the rug that way if you don’t want to - you can draw the panels right next to each other. Also, after Christy and I traced our patterns, we both decided we liked the panels better in reverse. This is easily fixable if you, too, change your mind. We just placed the monks cloth on the light table with the traced side down and re-drew the pattern on the opposite side, tracing over the already traced lines.

This time around, I will be sharing information, tips and tricks, and progress updates a little differently. For the next couple of weeks, I will be focusing on needle sizes, fibers, and other considerations specific to this project, especially since the final rugs are so different from our first Welcome Mat project. Then I will be focusing on a different person each week and going in-depth into their inspiration, process and any helpful information they gleaned during punching.

I can’t wait to see the patterns that you come up with! If you are using one of our pre-designed patterns, I can’t wait to see how you change it to make it yours, either by using different colors and textures or manipulating the images somehow or all three!

See you next week!

Hannah

Here are links to our pre-made patterns for this punch along: 

Campfire Pattern, Tropical Pattern, Cocktail Patterns, Avocado Pattern, Floral Pattern