More than Meets the Eye

Welcome, International Code Flags, 8" x 10", punch needle on cotton.  Designed and hooked by Abby Chapple, Great Cacapon, West Virginia, 2010. 

When I was a little girl, my southern grandmother taught me her version of pig latin. This special language gave us neighborhood kids our own secret code. We could plan, walk, talk, and play, and the adults didn’t know what we were saying. It was our secret code, and I was hooked—pun intended.

All these years later, I am still fascinated with the whole magical subject of codes, everything from symbols and ciphers to signals and signs. In my mind, there are three main kinds of codes that we use in our everyday lives: visual, auditory, and tactile. Think of them as inspiration for your rug hooking.

This article is from the January/February 2012 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.