EVERYONE HAS A STORY: LET THEM TELL IT. Circle by Sandy Coleman.
On Monday last I participated in a workshop* presented by Nasco Art Education featuring artist Sandy Coleman, creator of the The Community Circle Project. The Project and the class are all about connecting community in a way that allows for self expression. I’m sure you agree that these days we need both.
Sandy and I go back a number of years to when I was still living and hooking in Massachusetts. Members of a local artists’ group, we talked about collaborating on something. Later is better than never, yes?
By day, Sandy is the director of communications and the magazine editor at Wheaton College (Massachusetts). But she’s also an art teacher at the Attleboro Art Museum. Back in January, her Community Circle Project featured prominently in the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Committee of Greater Attleboro’s MLK Jr. holiday programming. At an interfaith service entitled “Breaking through Bias: Accepting Our Differences,” guests were invited to create circles that eventually (when our Covid-19 crisis allows) will become part of a large-scale public display illustrating community and unity.
Artist and Community Circle Project creator Sandy Coleman.
In Sandy’s own words:
I believe that art reminds us of our common humanity. Art invites us to tap into our innate creativity, to experience the process of bringing forth what is imagined into reality and to see what is good within ourselves so that we also can see what is good within others. This all, ideally, not only opens us up to hoping for the best for everyone and for the world, but also moves us to act to bring about good.
I believe that imagining what you want is the first step toward making it happen. All of this is at the heart of the founding of The Community Circle Project, which I created and launched in 2019.
The circle is a symbol of unity, wholeness, connection and inclusion. The Community Circle Project is an ongoing art collaboration and engagement that employs the symbol and the themes evoked as a creative focal point. I facilitate virtual and in-person workshops in which participants are invited to engage in artmaking as well as meaningful conversation. The goal is for us to see our commonalities, our shared humanity and desire for good in our lives, which, ideally, leads to wishing for good in the lives of others, our communities and the world.
Change happens in big and small ways. Each of us can play a role in that, including calling upon the power of creativity for relaxation, reflection and reaching out.
WE ARE POWERFUL TOGETHER. Another one of Sandy’s circles.
During the class, Sandy mentioned that she creates a circle each day, usually in the morning, based on a prompt which can be a statement or perhaps a question à la “what have you learned during the world lockdown? During the recent protests? What dreams do you hold for yourself? Your family? The world?” This journaling both relaxes and energizes her, grounding her for the day ahead.
Monday’s online workshop was primarily directed towards art educators for grades 4 and up. Hey, I teach rug hooking! Actually, I was there because, after Sandy invited my to join the Community Circle Project on Facebook, I saw a post that she was going to be presenting HOW the circles worked, how I could learn to draw them and participate in the project. Remember, Sandy came up with this Community Circle concept last year, well before the nation sat up and really took notice of our systemic racism, before some of us truly woke up and realized that our silence has been complicit. Although, as Sandy generously allowed, “Silence is complicated, not just complicit.” She herself has taken care and time to reflect on how she can add to the conversation. She is doing that through art.
KEEP THE DOOR OPEN. Another one of Sandy’s circles.
But this is art that’s meant to be shared. Art that can and should spark meaningful discussion. And we sure as hell have a discussion now. One we need to ensure keeps going thoughtfully. The Community Circle Project is a way to do just that. Through classrooms of kids, through community workshops, even through individual “circling.”
How many times do we have to be reminded that we have more in common than we don’t? That we are our brothers’ and sisters’ keepers?
Art gives us a way to reflect on and process the things going on in the world at large and in our own little part of it. How many people miss out on that because they say, “I’m not an artist!”? Everyone can trace a circle or even freehand it. (Another Sandy-ism: “Wonky is wonderful!”) I wish I’d been at the MLK Day service in Attleboro in January to see all the diverse circles that probably we’re actually pretty similar in spirit. Imagine the discussions that came up between parents and kids, between neighbors.
I CAN DO MORE TO BE UNIVERSAL. WHAT MATTERS MOST IS KINDNESS. Surprise! This is the circle I did during the workshop. Clearly, I don’t have the brevity thing down yet.
Let’s keep the conversation going!
Rug hookers and other artists, how about an old-fashioned challenge? Your circles don’t have to be hooked. We all know what it’s like to do letters. Feel free to draw them, if you prefer. Get your kids and grandkids involved.
The other day I read an email sent to reps on the Education Committee of the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council regarding the potential of online education and the purposes of today’s guilds. This is something my own guild regularly discusses.
I ask because the answers might drive our educational goals in different directions. And perhaps show us a source of inspiration to promote the continuation of the arts we all love. -Kathy Jackson
Earlier in the week and given current events, Beth Miller of Parris House Wool Works started a discussion on her business Facebook page. I urge you to go to her page and read the comments.
Why do we see so few BIPOC and LGBTQ people in rug hooking? Other textile arts are starting to increase in diversity, but I don’t think we are seeing that in rug hooking. Why is that?
For that matter, why are we seeing so few people under 40, or even under 50, hooking rugs? Or men?
What would it take to attract more people to rug hooking?
This is not rhetorical or academic. This is existential. If rug hooking does not become inclusive, starting with young people, people of color, LGBTQ people, no one will be talking about rug hooking at all in a short fifty years. -Beth Miller
I just turned 56 and am the youngest person, I believe, in my guild. This is not an anomaly among ATHA guilds. We’re aging. All you had to do was look around at last year’s Biennial in Denver to see that.
On the subject of ATHA guilds, I was amazed to read in Beth’s comments that some guilds aren’t even accepting members any more. WTF?
I also have it on pretty good authority that the circulation of Rug Hooking Magazine has been declining for the last number of years.
So what are we to do if we want to ensure that this tradition sticks around for another 200 years?
Personally, I’m really impressed by the buzz that is punch needle rug hooking these last few years.Those mostly young mostly ladies are all over Instagram, the current social media of choice, especially for artists. They’ve got online and in-shop classes going. They’ve got rock star celebrities like Arounna Khounnoraj of BOOKHOU and Rose Pearlman. No, I don’t necessarily care for all of their designs; in fact, I find many of them simplistic, but perhaps that’s what it takes to get the “youngsters” to sign up and learn the skill. All art and artists evolve with time, and they’re just starting.
Traditional rug hookers are on Instagram too, but, frankly, it’s not the same. We sometimes lack…the panache. Our projects can seem almost…fuddy duddy, I’m sorry to say. Not that there’s anything wrong with primitive rugs or traditional patterns, but, let’s be honest, is a finely shaded rose – and especially all the “rules” that go with that finely shaded rose – going to draw the attention of a typical 28 or 38-year old who’s got a full time job and maybe a baby taking up her time? What we have to do is show EVERYTHING that rug hooking can be, that is has the potential to be a rose and a 3-D sculpture à la Liz Alpert Fay or Rachelle LeBlanc.
In reading the responses to Beth’s questions and thoughts above, a few things stand out.
DIVERSITY
I don’t have to tell you that this is a HUGE topic today. And I mean this very day in June, 2020, not something theoretical. And society is hopefully starting to examine how a lack of diversity and acceptance pervades almost everything making up our society. I don’t feel qualified at the moment to pontificate on how we can draw other groups into our very white, older woman rug hooking demographic. And BTW, I am not apologizing for being a white, middle-aged rug hooker. But any group can grow staid after a hundred years or so. Change is good. Fresh ideas and perspectives are to be welcomed. Again, it’s about evolution.
TIME
A number of folks mentioned how the “young” are busy with: school; jobs and career-building; families and all they entail; and so on. Yes, this is undeniable. I started hooking when my kid was around seven years old. I was working part time as an environmental manager in a manufacturing plant. I was busy too. But I also knew that I wanted to create. Something. Rug hooking was something I could do in the evening when I watched television after the kid was in bed. And I wasn’t on a schedule. If a rug took a year, it took a year. Canadian hooker Karen Miller spoke about this just yesterday on Instagramand Facebook. She’s got a couple of kids, a fiber art business, and writes books! If something appeals enough to an individual, they will make the time for it. Ask Amy Oxford; she sells a lot of punch needles to people like me who are teaching beginners. Again, how do we make rug hooking appealing enough to gain more of our own beginners?
EXPENSE
This is a big one. And it certainly appears that rug hooking is an expensive sport what with the hand-dyed wool, the linen, the cutters, the patterns, the workshops and teachers. I’m sure I missed something. Here’s the thing, though, that’s just bullshit. The Canadian and New England ladies back in the 1800s didn’t have all those things, did they?
I learned how to hook in a community education class maybe 15 years ago. I did have to pay for that and a kit. The experience cost maybe $100. But I knew virtually nothing about hooking. Nor did I know anyone to teach me.
When my class ended, the teacher didn’t offer any additional lessons or mention a guild or anything. She did suggest a quilter’s hoop for finishing the project. Beyond that I was on my own. Thank goodness for the Internet, used books from Amazon, and Rug Hooking Magazine. With those resources I learned that:
I could get monk’s cloth for a lot cheaper than linen. (And no one talk to me about hating monk’s cloth and how it “stretches.” I learned on it and have always loved it. Pull in the opposite direction and it’s good as new.)
About rug yarn and punching, which I learned on my own. (Caveat: a few years later I took a class with Amy.);
How to draw a pattern;
How to finish a rug; and
Any number of tips which all you ladies have generously shared over the years especially as rug hooking groups proliferated on Facebook.
For years I used the student hook that came with my initial kit. My husband repaired that quilter’s hoop a few times when I over-tightened it. Once it was apparent I was in rug hooking for the long haul, he bought me a Puritan frame for Christmas. I still use it. I didn’t get a cutter until a couple of years ago; it was a guild hand-me-down that I purchased for less than $100.
Having no real rug hooking shop anywhere near me, I initially used wool yarn I found in a local shop. It was pretty thin. Sorry, I’m not good at yarn nomenclature. It took a really long time to hook up the two mats I made with that stuff. Later I bought old wool suit jackets from the thrift store. When I realized that it often wasn’t good wool, I came up with the idea of hooking with recycled t-shirts. They were plentiful, cheap, and came in lots of colors. Silk bouses and scarves and then bedsheets followed. If you can make a strip out of it, you can hook it. And don’t forget the yarn. To this day, so called “alternative fibers” make up the bulk of my work. And I get them at Savers or as gifts from folks looking to unload stuff.
I will admit that when I finally found a guild that sprouted up near me, I had a hard time. Or shall I say they had a hard time with me and my t-shirt rugs. I didn’t feel particularly welcome, though I’m sure some of the problem was my own sense of not fitting in and even inadequacy. I don’t know what it is about Albuquerque, but when I moved and joined the Adobe Wool Arts Guild, I knew I was home. (See last week’s post.) They might not have wanted to hook with bed sheets, but they thought my rugs were pretty cool. I felt welcome.
During non-Covid years I teach a class to beginners called “Hook a Rug, Save the Environment.” It’s pretty much always filled with ladies who have never hooked and, therefore, have no pre-concieved ideas about beautiful wool or rug hooking rules. BTW, I am not a certified McGown teacher. I have nothing against them; hey, we have four or five in our guild! There’s room for all of us. My career in environmental management was all about rules and regulations. Rug hooking is where I can let it all out, do whatever I want. It’s art and it’s personal. There are no wrong answers. I am the boss of my rug, as we say in our guild.
The punch hookers have grabbed onto that idea and run with it. They use whatever yarn they want. No one cares if it’s acrylic or wool. They keep their pieces small to fit within a hoop or whatever they use to hold the piece; no cumbersome moving of the rug on a frame. Many of them see the back of the rug as the front! (The loops are on the back.) Or, better, they switch it all up and have flat and loops on the front! Sure, I think that loops on the back is a waste of yarn, but who cares? They are the bosses of their rugs. They’re having a great time, and their rugs are new and different.
So, how do we as the “old guard” re-excite our sisterhood (and our brothers) enough so that we can share this marvelous art with the “youngsters”? It’s gonna take technology, I fear. Damn, I’m still not all that excited by Zoom. When “they” let us, we need to get out into our communities and do a lot of demonstrations. And leave the expensive equipment at home. I’m not saying we should all start using bent nails instead of hooks, but maybe have some hoops and burlap or monk’s cloth on hand to let a kid try pulling some Lion brand bulky acrylic yarn. Most get it pretty quickly.
I’ll close my rant with something that the editor of Rug Hooking Magazine wrote in the March/April/May,1993 issue:
I hope the new people we introduce to rug hooking will find in it a totally fascinating art. Let us be welcome to newcomers. Let us teach beginners patiently. …Let us encourage and inspire.
We need new people in rug hooking. …I hope we find many of them. Please welcome them with all your talented, warm and wonderful hearts… -Mary Ellen Cooper
Linda Towle was the founder of the Adobe Wools Arts Guild, New Mexico’s only rug hooking guild. We miss you, Linda!
This is perhaps the anthem of the Adobe Wool Arts Guild of New Mexicoof which I am the current president. You will hear it whenever any one of us is working a rug and asks the others for advice. That means you and anyone within hearing distance will hear these words:
at guild meetings and retreats;
at Albuquerque’s Botanic Garden in the BioPark where we demonstrate twice a month (in non-Covid 19 months, that is);
whenever and wherever any of us gather together to hook; and
whenever any of us teach – formally or informally.
The guidance can be in regard to most anything involved in rug making.
What color(s) would look best ?
Monk’s cloth, linen, or rug warp?
Wool strips or alternative fibers?
Which frame is best?
How high should my loops be?
Should I use quillies*?
Did I draw this right?
What do you think about _______?
If you’re a rug hooker, you know that the list is endless. Although our rugs are generally solo works of art, we often seek input from others, often those more experienced than ourselves.
We are a small and close-knit group. We are also not shy about expressing ourselves or our opinions. This means that when a hooker asks how he or she should finish their rug, they will often receive 10 or 15 differing opinions. Strident opinions. Discussion will ensue. The poor hooker might be overwhelmed. (We made someone cry once; it wasn’t our finest moment.) But, in the end, it all comes down to the same thing every time: “You are the boss of your rug.”
Being the boss of your rug – or your painting or your quilt or poem or whatever type of art you might make – means that you ultimately choose a design, colors, techniques, and so on. You make the piece with your own hands. And when you’re done with it, it is yours. Hopefully, you share it with the rest of us.
And we are proud of that person’s efforts.
Individually, I might think the rug needs improvement. Maybe blue would’ve worked better than black. Perhaps some of the loops fell out. Hell, maybe I hate the whole design. But it is NOT my rug. It is someone else’s rug, and I respect everything that he or she put into that rug. Or that short story or that piece of pottery.
We are proud that the person cared enough to make a rug. We are proud that he or she put themselves and their ego out there. That they felt safe enough to express themselves artistically in front of us. That they were able to say no to even the most vociferous of us and create their own rug.
Maybe you’re wondering why I bring this up.
March 1: “Costco shopping trip pre-coronavirus. This was extreme hooking even for me. The TP roll was hooked with actual toilet paper. Not the easiest to work with but better than anticipated. Maybe if I spun it… Also wool yarn and strips.
In March, I wrote about my yearlong #RibbonRugJournal project. Basically, every day I hook an entry on a 3-inch or so length of a burlap ribbon roll. The image – more like a sketch – has to do with something from my day. It’s not a Picasso by any means. Burlap ribbon, I’ve found, sucks to hook on. Strings often break. It’s also a small space, not good for a lot of design definition, but I’ve made it over five months so I’ll keep going.
Little did I know in January what kind of year 2020 would be. Holy crap, Batman! Hence, in March the Coronacootie started showing up in my journal. And then in the last few weeks, #blacklivesmatter has dominated the news. As it should. And as we all know, that movement’s collision with politics has been cataclysmic for the country. Naturally, this has also made it into the #RibbonRugJournal.
What do I do with the journal? Every evening after I hook an entry, I take a picture and load it onto High on Hooking’s Instagram. This keeps me honest, plus some folks are following it. (Love you guys!) All of my Instagram posts are automatically loaded onto High on Hooking’s Facebook page. From there I share it on my personal Facebook page.
#ribbonrugjournal June 2: “ELBIB Abuse.” Did he hold that book, respecting it as the sacred item it is? Or did he heft it up as Exhibit A, “proof” of his love of God and his fellow men? I mean after peaceful protesters and clergy were driven from the church with tear gas. For his photo op. The Bible and the world turned upside down.
Tuesday, June 2, I posted a simple image. It was indeed politically motivated. I am not a fan of Mr. Trump and was fairly incensed to see him silently hold a Bible aloft in front of a Church he does not attend after his minions forcibly removed from the church area peaceful protesters and the clergy of that church. You can see that I also made textual comments which you can read.
Later in the evening, I saw that folks had commented on my social media. I’m good with that. But one woman had posted:
Is this the right place for politics? I come here for a break from reality for a bit.
I was taken aback. High on Hooking is my company; it’s Facebook page is my page. While I leave overtly political posts and memes and such for my personal page, this was just an element of another hooked rug project. And I’d posted other occasional political entries before. I explained much of this to the writer. A bit of a dust-up ensued as others came to the defense of my self-expression. I thought that was the end till I turned on my phone Wednesday morning to another comment:
No politics please!
Note the exclamation point. Although I didn’t agree with the first woman, I could understand where she was coming from. But this chick was telling me to not post political content on my own f-ing page! Really! Guess she doesn’t like her rug hooking or her art making her uncomfortable. Or she can’t handle people having a difference of opinion.
My response:
______, this is my page. I don’t compartmentalize my life, especially not my art. Rug hooking allows me to process all of life, not just the easy and good things. Please read responses below.
Lady, and anyone else who didn’t like my #RibbonRugJournal Tuesday night, feel free to pass over my “political” posts or to stop following me if it bothered you that much. You have no right to tell me or to even intimate that I shouldn’t integrate my opinions into my art that I show on my social media. I am the boss of my rugs and my pages!
The Japanese Amabie is a mythical creature with a message to defeat the coronavirus: “Good harvest will continue for six years from the current year; if disease spreads, show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured.” Coronavirus, take that! Read more about the Amabie here.
Like you, it appears that I have a little time on my hands. So much has changed EVERYWHERE ALL OVER THE WORLD since my last post. It boggles the mind. Or, like my daughter put it, “I really can’t process this.”
Luckily, the governor here in New Mexico was on the stick and started closing things down pretty early, before we had but a few cases of COVID-19. And we have a less dense population than larger metropolitan areas in the country, especially on the coasts. Even more fortuitously, Tom and I saw the writing on the wall and started hoarding toilet paper laying in supplies before the stores were mobbed. Best of all, I managed to get my hair cut the day before we pretty much closed down town. Score! (If you saw how I mangled my toenails a couple of days earlier, you’d appreciate this better.)
The reality is that our home is a pretty comfy place to be confined to. Not that we’re truly confined. We regularly walk in the bosque, the woods running along the Rio Grande near here. Trips to Walmart and Sprouts and even Costco aren’t forbidden, though I fear they’ll become more and more dicey as Albuquerque creeps closer to our peak viral load come the end of April. We have a freezer full of meat and frozen veggies, plenty of wine and olive oil (the latter being the original reason for our Costco membership; the former being an awesome benefit), a treadmill and bike, LOTS of dog food, books galore, and subscriptions to both Prime and Netflix. Best of all, both Tom and I are starting out healthy. That can’t be understated. Oh, and we even still like each other more than two weeks into social distancing from all other people.
Since the Amabie wants all artists to draw a picture of it, I provided a hooked version. It’s the March 19 entry to my Ribbon Rug Journal.
But I do miss my friends and the activities that keep me running around like rug hooking demos in the BioPark, guildmeetings, time working with Susan’s Legacy, teaching, visiting and lunches out… This week’s excursions out of the house: 1) Walmart for longer term provisions and 2) the blood bank. If you can donate, call your local blood center or hospital; donations are desperately needed everywhere!
Truthfully, I’m glad to have this gift of time. Even though I don’t work-work any more, I have responsibilities that keep me engaged in the community at large. Frankly sometimes they feel overwhelming. Probably because I don’t work-work, parent full time, and do all that other stuff at the same time. My efficiency and tolerance are out of practice. A couple of weeks ago, when this all started, I thought, yes!, I can do all the things I’ve been putting off. I can spring clean and re-organize the cupboards and pantry. I can clear out the piles. Have I? Not at all. Although, in an initial burst of energy and enthusiasm, I did clean the master closet (containing clothes and
I did manage to finish punching “Desert Sun.” The frame is a recycled basket plate holder. Find it on our Etsy shop.
hooking supplies) and adjoining laundry room. That’s it. Turns out I haven’t even hooked as much as I normally would. Though most of my hooking gets done in the evening, I typically day-hook a couple of times a week with guild-mates and friends. Yeah, one afternoon of day-hooking all lock-down. I didn’t think my efficiency could be any lower, but without due dates and such…free fall.
Vending and teaching events are all cancelled. Who knows when we’ll be able to reschedule? Venues like the New Mexico Fiber Arts Center, already in a precarious financial situation, may even fail. If you love NMFAC, old EVFAC, like me, donate to it. You probably have your own favorite organizations; support them before you lose them.
Things look kind of bleak, but they have in the past too. Live in the moment and do the things you’ve been putting off. Call a relative stuck at home alone. Talk to an old friend. I did that yesterday for over an hour. Where else did I have to be? It felt great catching up. Make things, anything: a rug, a shawl, a short story, a cake, a garden. We all know that when we’re creative, our mental health improves.
Tynan gives you this weeks “Whats on the frame.” We’re hooking with old bed sheets again. Show us what’s on your frame. Or your easel or your hoop or your page. (Meanwhile he’s trying to impress on little brother Bowyn that it’s a major sin to even look at a toilet paper roll with lust in his heart.)
To conclude, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to show us what you are making these days. Maybe you’ll provide a little inspiration to someone who needs it. I want to see a bunch of photos on the High on Hooking Facebook page. Or email them to Laura@highonhooking.com; I’ll share them. And let us know how you and yours are doing. Spouses, partners, kids, grand-kids, and pets. Love the pets! Use the gift of time to stay home, stay busy, and stay healthy!
In this pic you can see the completed part of the coiled Ribbon Rug Journal, a few entries, and the ribbon left on this first roll.
For all those who’ve been watching my Instagram accountand wondering, I’m finally getting around to talking Ribbon Rug Journal. What’s the old adage? That you can make anything a habit if you do it for 21 days? I’ve managed to keep up with it for over two months – that’s 70 days! – so chances are good that I’ll make it farther. And by creating a whole blog post about the damn thing, I’ve got further accountability (read that as digging myself further into a hole). I think. Maybe.
For those of you who are wondering what the hell I’m talking about, a picture is worth a thousand words. And the first pic shown above is the entire Ribbon Rug Journal thus far. See, I’ve had a few rolls of burlap ribbon hanging around the house for a years. I wanted to do something “hooking” with them, maybe make a Christmas banner or something despite the fact that I’m loathe to hook Christmas anything.
Ribbon Rug Journal January 16: “BB-8, the Droid.” That was the day we went to see the new Star Wars movie. Wool yarn.
One day in December I was showering (that’s important; the shower is where I do all my best thinking) and could see through the glass shower door into the closet where I keep a bunch of my fiber stuff. Including sed burlap ribbon rolls up on a high shelf. Suddenly it comes to me: hook a little something every day into the burlap ribbon, you know, kind of Jack Kerouac-esque. But I wouldn’t write or type my “journal,” I’d hook it.
Ribbon Rug Journal, January 1: “Fireworks!” Mixed fibers, including blingy, wired ribbon.
You come up with a GREAT idea and you run with it. You don’t really think about:
What every day of a whole year means (when even posting to a blog once a week has become too demanding);
What if you have to travel?;
Your days are often already much too filled with other stuff;
Burlap ribbon might not be the best backing to hook on;
You might actually get sick of the project;
You’ve already got how many other projects going?;
And so on; you get the drift.
And yet, “she” persisted. I’m not actually sick of the project, so that’s good. Very good, in fact. Some folks suggested I limit it to a month rather than a year, or maybe hook monthly entries, but I decided to stick with the original idea. I don’t know why. I don’t even know why I felt a need to add an extra project to my life!
I am abiding by a few rules:
Each space measures approximately 2.5″x3″.
Other than perhaps purchasing more burlap ribbon, I have to use whatever I have on hand to hook each day. It is permissible to steal materials from anyone who might be with me when I’m hooking the ribbon rug journal.
Ideally, each entry should have something to do with my day. But if I’m desperate, you might see a “quilt square” of worms. You try coming up with something every single freaking day.
I am allowed to incorporate other fiber techniques if I choose (and feel up to it).
I must keep scrupulous documentation of each day’s entry (beyond what I put on Instagram. I keep a notebook.
This is an inspiration photo for a journal entry.
There are evenings that I suddenly remember I have to hook the day’s entry (the horror!), but so far so good. However, I have learned a few things.
It can take a LOT longer to hook each day’s journal entry than I anticipated. (I am soooo behind on many other “real” projects.) First I have to come up with something that interests me and that can physically be hooked into the damn ribbon. Each space is about 2″x3″ so details must be limited. I generally draw it in with the Sharpie.
My ideas don’t always pan out once they’re hooked. Like that quail the other night. He didn’t even get an eye! Maybe if I used the trick whereby you look at your work from a distance… But no, without my title and explanation, you’d have had no idea it was even a bird.
Nonetheless, I’ve taken to looking at my entries as sketches. And sketches aren’t made to be erased. They’re for learning. So, I’ve rarely pulled an entry out. (Who wants to start over after an hour when an actual rug is waiting to be hooked???)
Drinking and hooking in tiny spaces can be…unfortunate. Back in January Tom and I had a great bottle of wine on our anniversary. There was shrimp cocktail. There might have even been wine before the wine. But after the festivities…there was the Ribbon Rug Journal.
Every night there is the Ribbon Rug Journal. If I blow it off one evening, it will just multiply to two Ribbon Rug Journal entries. That would be more unfortunate than sub-par inebriated hooking. It’s better to suck it up and complete the exercise daily. No being lazy.
Burlap does indeed suck to work with. I’ve even got a regular hashtag #burlapsuckstoworkwith. In the case of the ribbon, it’s the threads perpendicular and attached to the edges that break. Then you get holes. I’ve had to wrap yarn and strips and whatever I’m hooking with around the edge just to keep the whole day from falling out.
Yarn works best! Yarn thinner than rug yarn, though I can get the latter and a #6 strip through the backing if I stay away
Ribbon Rug Journal March 7: “Springs here!” This entry was based on the photo I took earlier in the day when I was out and about on errands.
from the ribbon’s edge. Which I don’t always do because of the day’s design. Also, being fond of alternative fibers in my regular hooking, I continue to use them here: ribbon, teabag paper, kitchen string, plastic bags, etc. I look forward to whatever else I might try.
People are really getting into the Ribbon Rug Journal. I’ve even had requests. @Vickisuestone of Instagram asked for a ladybug last week. I could do that, and I did. Melinda and I were carpooling and stuck in traffic last month. She suggested the night’s entry be a car in traffic. I hooked my little red car. No room for the traffic. But I’m so happy people are responding favorably to what has the potential to become my personal hell.
Ribbon Rug Journal February 27: “Don’t Panic.” Yep, its the dreaded coronavirus of the day but rendered cute and cuddly in wool strips. (By the way, that’s a felted Ash Wednesday right before the virus. Just a little irony?)
So, that’s the deal with the Ribbon Rug Journal. If you haven’t seen it, you can find each installment on my Instagram account, as I mentioned, and on my Facebook pages, my own and High on Hooking’s. If you have any ideas for me, I’m happy to hear them. It would help if you sent wine too. (Alcohol kills germs, right?)
Ribbon Rug Journal March 24: “Margaritaville.” Concerned about the coronavirus? Relax and have a margarita. Tom makes a fabulous one. Wool strips and yarns, novelty yarn, and plastic bag strips (which, unfortunately, makes it hard to see the salt on the rim of the glass). This and handwork may be the best way to get through these times…
