101 steps to drawing up a pattern

So I decided to draw up my next rug pattern this past Sunday. Michele had already surged a piece of linen for me (I'm not that great with a sewing machine, and the surger... well it scares me.) Helen had already drawn her picture, and I had enlarged it on our copier at work. Then I took a Paper Mate Flair (my favorite pen!) and drew over the lines so they'd be darker.I cut around each figure so I could move them closer together, and I got out my handy dandy painter's tape and put some on the back of each cutout.I taped the figures up on my sliding glass door. (Nice snowy backgound!)

Then I figured out how big I wanted my pattern to be, and I drew the border with a Sharpie. It's easy to draw straight lines - just keep the pen in the same groove as you drag it across the linen.

Then I started tracing the drawings onto the linen. Sure, a light table would have worked better. But you have to make do with what you have, and I had a sliding door and a gray Vermont morning. It worked just fine.

Completed figures.

Since Helen had drawn the figures, I wanted Sophie to give me input on the background. She practiced her cursive and wrote the "Welcome" for the bottom. First in pencil, then traced over it with the Sharpie.

Note the pajamas. There's nothing better than a lazy weekend morning when you can stay in your pajamas as long as you want. So I added her landscape ideas and Welcome word...

And there you have it. Done!

I've already started hooking it. I'm using #3, #5 and #6 cuts. The detail just might kill me... it's not going to be as fast as I'd like to go. But I think the end result will be just perfect.