Who doesn’t like a wonderful concert that is followed up by an equally wonderful encore? Fortunately, for us, that is just what the Saco Museum has provided – a great encore to their current rug exhibit featuring the designs, stencils and hooked examples of Edward Sands Frost rugs, as well as a grouping of current rugs from the Tin Pedlar ATHA Chapter.

(Hooked Rug, wool, Edward S. Frost pattern #6, hooked by Ambella Stiles before 1878, Saco Museum purchase, 2011)
My response today is the same as yesterday – does this fit your coloration idea of an antique rug? IRgC member and Frost Fairy, Linda, who asked about hooking a Frost chain ought to take note of this example. It is not her exact pattern but do think it is the same chain design. (Frost often uses one motif in more than one rug pattern.) Although my shot is not really good enough to tell all the particulars, it appears this artist alternated her links with dark (black?) and medium red. Even so, some of the red links look to have some different values in them. This may have been intentional or sections could have faded a bit. Either way, it ought to be a good illustration for her.

(Frost pattern, burlap #93 from the Maine State Museum.)
Remember, when seeing all these painted patterns, that the museum also has several of the metal stencils that were used by Frost to reproduce his designs. They have those on loan and can not share the photos … all the more reason to make that trip to Saco, Maine. (I wonder how many frequent flier miles it takes to get there and what airport is closest?)

(Pattern for Hooked Rug, ink on burlap, Edward S. Frost pattern #57, 1870s, Saco Museum purchase, 2011.)
There are a lot more Frost stencils than there are Frost patterns because each pattern took several stencils to make. Different colors were stenciled on with each different application, putting in different layers of color until all the details were in place. These patterns are, of course, works of art in their own right.
SO, YOU DON’T THINK YOU CAN MAKE IT TO MAINE?
You do have some options -
In response to a question I asked Museum Director Jessica Skwire Routhier, she wrote:
I’m sorry that we don’t have a catalogue for the show. The best source about Frost is the book produced by Greenfield Village/Henry Ford Museum in 1970: “Edward Sands Frost’s Hooke Rug Patterns.” It is out of print, but copies can be tracked down via amazon.com or other online booksellers. We do not have that in our shop.
However, we DO have some great things in our shop related to the exhibition:
* A facsimile of one of Frost’s circulars from the Maine State Museum collection
* Notecard sets featuring the four advertising card images I sent you
*Posters also featuring those advertising cards.
*We also have the Schiffer publication “Hooked Rugs in Maine,” the book on Waldoboro rugs by Jackye Hansen, intermediate and advanced rug hooking kits also by Jackye Hansen and starter kits by J. Conner. We can’t do online sales but we can take credit card info over the phone. We must charge for sales tax (5%) and shipping, for which we charge a flat rate of $5.95 (Priority Mail postage).
FYI: For those of you who decide that you’ll just pick up a copy of that Greefield Village Frost Book cheap, I think you will find it very expensive IF you do find it. While doing an internet search, I also found another pattern book on Frost Rugs by Charlotte Stratton, the lady who saved the Frost stencils. There were a few of them available via Amazon last night, but they were going fast. I can’t comment on the breadth of that book but did note (because of the write up) that some the plates in the book are in color. Of course, I bought a copy to have as a resource. Additionally, the ”Hooked Rugs in Maine” book, as I hear from a source in Lubbock, has a pretty good section on Frost rugs.
ONE MORE GOOD OPTION
Here’s the link to the Maine State Museum: http://mainestatemuseum.org/
They have the rug shows featured on their landing page, which is nice!
Once again, Thank You to the Saco Museum, Jessica Skwire Routhier, The Tin Pedlar ATHA Chapter and MizT for getting the ball rolling on this great exhibit. The only thing we missed out on was the lobster rolls … or some of that great lobster bisque that Jackie Hansen is so famous for … I could have also done with some of those wild blueberries … it takes effort to keep up one’s strength for a great exhibition like this.
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