Tiger and Leopard/Tumbling Cats
The complicated story of a favorite pattern
Tiger and Leopard Hooked Rug, 1974, by Dahlov Ipcar. Courtesy of the Ipcar Family.
When I first set out to hook Tumbling Cats, I discovered that the original design was in fact called Tiger and Leopard, and even more exciting, the designer, Dahlov Ipcar, was alive and well.
To honor Dahlov and her captivating design, I asked three fellow members of the Dallas Rug Hookers, Ann Deane, Janet Griffith, and Leilani Kaupalolo-Allison, to join me in a "one rug, four approaches" challenge. We used the pattern from the book Hooked Rugs by Ann Davies and Emma Tennant and independently color-planned our rugs. The results show four different journeys into how each of our personalities brought subtle changes to the same pattern.
This article is from the June/July/August 2011 issue. For more information on our issues, check out our issues page.
