Lucky me to be contacted by Anne who wrote saying she owned some rugs and paintings by Barbara Merry. Well of course I was over the moon excited to see more of Barbara's wonderful rugs. Seems Anne and her husband were friends of Barbara and her husband for years. Here is a photo of Anne with Barbara and a horse rug I've never seen before until now.
I asked Anne if the border was thick as the photo appeared and she said "yes it was shirred". I recalled having a photo of another BEM rug where the border, rainbow and walkway was shirred, this one not owned by Anne tho.
For you cat lovers Anne also sent a photo of a rug with cats. Was quite surprised to see the animal rugs hooked by Barbara because most the other rugs I have in her file were landscapes with chickens and the occasional Santa. Love this Rooster rug hooked by Barbara; note this was hooked before Barbara started signing the rugs with her name or initials. Frankly, this one appeals to me more than the one below which was shared by another owner of Barbara's rugs. This first one looks really primitive and I love it.
Here's the other Rooster rug which I acquired a photo of in 2019. It seems to me that Barbara was trying to develop her hooking style to be more of a painterly appearance.
Anne was kind enough to take photos of correspondence between her and Barbara, including invoices for purchases and status on a sheep rug which was almost done. In the letter she said the sheep had a red barn and trees and measured 21 x 30. This hooked rug must be of her home and husband feeding the chickens.
This is a photo of Barbara's home which Anne was also kind enough to share with me. I have photos of oil paintings by Barbara also and with documentation of the significance of the place and event. I'll keep those back for now and let you digest what you've just seen. It is wonderful to continue to keep alive the memory of those who were here before us in this art we know as rug hooking. Hope you have enjoyed the post.
If anyone out there has a BEM rug I'd love for you to share.
Happy hooking.
Saundra
