For almost as long as I can remember - or at least as far back as high school - I have been making many of my Christmas gifts. In 2003 I decided to hook a couple of little pictorials for two of my aunts. I had never hooked such a piece before....and quickly discovered that the first piece used up more than the time I had allowed for both pieces, so I simplified things a little more in the second one to get it done in time.
I can remember running leftover # 8 strips through the cutter to make them into two #4s. I just used whatever wool I could find (obviously not a very wide selection or range of values)...and I struggled to make both buildings resemble their real counterparts (AJ&UB's bunkie and AB&UR's soon-to-be sold family home). It was a real challenge....and I must say that I like them both a little better now that there is some time and distance between us.
I finished the pieces by stretching them over canvas stretcher bars (8" by 10"), trimming off the excess backing, and then attaching some slivers of cherry (harvested on my parent's property). Since the pieces were quite small, this worked rather well...and after 6 years of hanging, there is very little sag (but still there is some). If I were to mount small pieces again, I think that I would use a piece of plywood with a layer of quilt batting sandwiched between the hooking and the wood (to help absorb any stretching, sagging or seasonal changes in the wood from humidity).
