Hooked On the Handmade: Emeline Morrow Miner’s Hooked Rugs

The stories of makers — individuals who conceive of ideas for decorative or functional objects then create it — is the core of the exhibition “Handmade: The Crafting of America,” on view at Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation, March 21, 2026-January 18, 2027. Objects come to fruition because of the maker’s dexterity, skill, and, sometimes, luck. Some makers are well known, such as the Shaker crafters of the 19th century, while others are completely anonymous, revealing much about the spirit of American creativity.

Emeline Morrow Miner (1914-1997) is one of those “unknown” makers. She had a spark of creativity in her core that led her to create exquisite work in a variety of media: painting, leatherwork, quilting, crocheting, and, most significantly, rug hooking. Like many great crafters, she was completely self-taught.

Emeline Morrow's High School Graduation Portrait, circa 1930. / THF719230   

Emeline Morrow Miner was born in 1914 on an Iowa farm. She married and raised a family while simultaneously making craft an important part of her life.  According to her youngest son, Lynn, who preserved much of her work and story, she was always interested in creative outlets, whether it was through making things for those she loved or in pursuing other artistic endeavors, such as learning piano later in life.   

Emeline Morrow graduated from Grant High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1933, and married Leo Miner (1913-2001) in 1936. At the time of their marriage, Leo Miner was employed as a driver for the Davis Dairy Co. in Cedar Rapids, and by 1940 was employed as a salesperson and driver for Wards Bakery. The couple had three children, a daughter named Pamela, and two sons, Timothy and Lynn.

Leo Miner was inducted into the Army Air Corps in 1943 and became an aviator instructor in Muskogee, Oklahoma, where Leo and Emeline's first child, Pamela, was born. 

After the war, Emeline and Leo returned to Cedar Rapids and opened a hobby shop called The Hobby Hangout. “Everything for the Hobbyist” was a slogan they used in advertisements which appeared in The Gazette newspaper. They sold model planes with gas engines, historic ship models, leather and wood craft kits, fabric, and yarn.    

The Hobby Hangout closed around 1951, and Leo became employed by Collins Radio Co., making aircraft instruments and radios. Leo also became a test pilot for the company. Around this time, the Miner family moved to a farm in Swisher, Iowa, about ten miles from Cedar Rapids.  

Emeline Morrow Miner with four-day-old son, Lynn Morrow Miner, January 28, 1951. / THF719232

Shortly before the family’s move to the farm, Emeline’s third and final child, Lynn, was born. Lynn Miner is the reason Emeline’s creative endeavors have been preserved and she is no longer an “unknown.” He innately understood how unusual his mother’s work was, stating:

“She was the quintessential American homemaker. She grew our food, canned fruits and vegetables every year as well as raising chickens and pigs for eggs and meat. We had a cow she milked and she made our butter. She made bread every day up to her death. She made all our clothes (except jeans), she knitted our mittens, hats, and sweaters, she made our quilts, she decorated everything with needle point and hand embroidery.

She had no formal education in the arts … which to me makes her artworks so very special. She was truly gifted. She designed her own hooked rug patterns, and I remember as a child, going with her to the Salvation Army looking for old wool coats that she could cut up and dye the material to get the colors she needed. I spent a lot of hours cutting strips for her with a little hand cranked ‘stripper.’”

Emeline Miner’s pieces at The Henry Ford consist mainly of hooked rugs, used and adored by Lynn and his wife, Becky. The earliest date to the 1940s and early 1950s and resemble the popular patterns of the early and middle 20th century hooked rugs. But they were made from patterns designed by Emeline, which was highly unusual at that time.

Hooked Rug, 1946-1954 (left) and Hooked Rug, 1946-1954 (right). / THF372291 (left), THF372293 (right)

The most unusual rug made by Emeline was based on a childhood drawing by Lynn Miner of his “best buddy” Pierre the cat.  Emeline took Lynn’s drawing and created this exquisitely endearing and treasured rug. She signed it with the initials "L.M." for her son. 

Lynn Miner with Pierre the Cat, 1960-1965 (left) and Pierre the Cat, Hooked Rug, 1960-1965 (right). / THF801591 (left), THF801596 (right)

In 1969, Emeline divorced Leo and spent the next fifteen years traveling the American West in a Volkswagen Bus. Her life seemingly parallelled the national mood — change — a characteristic of the 1960s and 1970s.  Her work from this time also paralleled the national celebrations of the country’s Bicentennial.

Emeline Morrow Miner with thirteen-month-old granddaughter Tessa Miner, March 1972. / THF719238 

This eagle, made for Lynn while he was serving in the Air Force, distilled the spirit of the Bicentennial celebration and like all of her works, derived from her imagination. / THF372295

Emeline Miner also worked in macrame — a knotting technique to create textured textiles. Rather than using needles or hooks, crafters use their hands and cords of string, yarn, or rope to form decorative and practical objects like wall hangings, plant hangers, jewelry, bags, and hanging lamps.

Macrame Hanging Lamp, 1970-1979. / THF801635  

According to Lynn Miner, by the 1980s Emeline was focusing on more geometric patterns, possibly because her eyesight was not as fine as it had been earlier.  Nevertheless, she was still creating work that was remarkable in its quality and sophistication.

"Cottages" Hooked Rug, 1989. / THF372301 

After 1985, Emeline settled in Spokane, Washington, to be near Lynn and Becky. By 1995, with Emeline in deteriorating health, the Miners relocated her to an apartment near their new home north of Spokane. The Paisley Cat was to be a present for Becky Miner, and remains unfinished, as Emeline had a stroke while working on this piece. The strong personality of the cat is evident in this rug. Even in this unfinished state, the piece speaks volumes about her ability to create with a simple rug hook. 

"Paisley Cat" Framed Hooked Rug, 1996. / THF8011595  

Emeline Miner is perhaps one of the purest examples of a crafter — untrained yet somehow conceiving of ideas for decorative and functional objects, and through trial and error, creating outstanding works in a variety of media.   

Charles Sable is Curator of Decorative Arts at The Henry Ford.  Associate Curator Aimee Woodruff Burpee assisted in preparing this article for publication.   

Special thanks to Lynn Miner for sharing his mother’s story and donating treasured artifacts to The Henry Ford.