Category: fiber arts

August 10, 2021

Project Porn – the work of summer, 2021

Summer’s been flying by, and I was gone for part of July. But the work of summer, first mentioned back in June – that’s been ongoing. Enjoy the project porn.

Project Porn, hooked rug — ABUNDANCE, the latest of the #happyrugseries rugs. Mixed fibers, many recycled. (15″x48″)

#happyrugseries
I started the #happyrugseries back at the end of last year so that I could concentrate on something other than all the overwhelmingly DOWNER news that we were (and continue to be) subject to. These pieces have to have a certain joy to them, most of which can be seen in their riot of colors. In June I finished a large-ish happy rug ABUNDANCE. She was hooked using a variety of fibers, mostly what I had on hand, in an “automatic” or stream of consciousness style. And, yes, she has holes!

New Mexico Cushion
In late June, Ruth and I finished New Mexico’s contribution to the USA50 project. You can find more about that HERE. It was a relief to get it into the mail and up to Canada. I could finally work on my own projects and start adding to the Etsy shop.

Project porn. New Mexico USA%) cushion. Design by Patricia lowden. — New Mexico’s contribution to the USA50 project. Design by Patricia Lowden. Hooed by Laura Salamy. All put together by Ruth Simpson. Thank you, ladies!

Retreat Week
You might remember that I claimed the last week in June for my personal retreat week after a class I was to teach at had to be postponed. I had a lot on tap for that week.

Write an article on 2020’s Ribbon Rug Journal. Check! It’s written, but I need to take some photographs and submit it. At least the words are done!

Project porn; hand-dyed yarn — Yarn destined for punching.

DYEING! I know, you don’t hear much about dyeing from me, especially given that I hook with so many old bed sheets and t-shirts which come in all sorts of vivid colors. Nonetheless, I’ve been planning to dye some wool yarn for quite a while. I’ll use the bulk of it to punch with or sell/share with punch needle rug hooking students when I can host an in-person class. Had a great time doing it and will definitely do some more.

Project Porn; kawandi quilt — My first Kawandi project. Quilt scraps and recycled linens.

Kawandi Quilting – It’s a form of kantha-like quilting. While I have plenty of friends who are quilters, I am not. At all. Mostly, I don’t like how much room it takes and that you need a machine. But I’ve always loved kantha quilts and stitching by hand is more to my liking. After doing some research online about what I might actually be able to make, I was happy to find these Indian quilts which are pieced together using scraps of fabrics. Another form of recycling – yay! I had plenty of quilt scraps from Ruth; plus there are all kinds of old sheets in my “stable” that I can hook with. But I wasn’t done: I have a lot of old cloth napkins that have seen better days. Cut everything up and…I had a quilt. Sure I made some errors, but I was pretty happy with it in the end.

Project porn; ecohooking — VOYAGE PLASTIQUE was hooked using plastic bags that might have otherwise made their way to the ocean.

#ECOHOOKING – Given all the wildfires, the melting tundras, violent storms, and ocean pollution, I decided to do my own little part and hook a piece with plastic bags that otherwise might have ended up caught in a tree. Having already hooked a larger such piece, I’d kept the most colorful bags I didn’t used. Despite the heavy environmental theme, I was hoping she might make some folks smile given her sunny disposition. It worked! Tom mailed VOYAGE PLASTIQUE off to her forever home in New Hampshire just this morning.

July travels
Last month Tom, Bowyn, and I saddled up the CR-V for a 2200-mile trip or so back East to see friends and family. (There were another 2200 miles to drive back, of course.) Tynan got a staycation with Ruth. Sitting in a car for several days does call for some handwork, and I was prepared.

Personal best crocheting project – I prefer not to hook in the car, but I will crochet. Before we left, I decided on a project that was NOT a shawl, my usual travel go-to. Nope, I searched and searched online for something.
Finished! “Easy crochet top down” by Modessa.

Some tops looked interesting, but I couldn’t deal with having to crochet up two identical halves. (Mostly because I doubt my ability to do that, especially on a distracting trip). I finally came upon the cool EASY (emphasis on easy) CROCHET TOP DOWN. Reading it, the syntax and directions are off a bit as the chick who created the pattern isn’t a native English speaker. If you choose to crochet the pattern, I’d advise that you watch the video. I did. Many times. Oh, and there’s not a lot of counting in this piece. A big bonus. BEST: I finished the top last week, and it even fits me. I’ll block it this week then post me wearing it on Instagram.
New rug – While I don’t hook in the car, if I’ve driven to my destination, I will hook when I get there. Usually more than I did on this particular journey. But before I left, I drew up a new pattern, sewed on my tape, and gathered up and stripped some old t-shirts. I find that hooking with t-shirts works best when I’m on the go. That wool allergy isn’t going anywhere, and bed sheets shed thread like the dickens.
Bowyn sharing the floor with the “travel” rug. He’s happy to be out of the car.

What’s on my plate at the moment
Since I like to crochet all patterns twice so that I know I’m proficient, that I didn’t just get lucky, I’m planning to do up the top in another color. It helped that JoAnn’s has a summer yarn clearance going on. (I spent a lovely hour there yesterday picking up some bamboo and hemp yarns. I hope to do a bag with the latter. All those colorful yarns; I couldn’t help myself.)

And because I have two sales coming up very soon, I decided to put the travel rug away and do a few small wall hangings. Sunflowers! I love sunflowers and try to hook at least one each year. Plus, one of the sales is the Sunflower Festival down in Mountainair, a mountain town south of Albuquerque.

Project porn - summer 2012. — Bowyn takes this chance to have a treat and bring you the sunflowers in this week’s WHAT’S ON THE FRAME.

All in all I’ve been pretty productive this summer. And there are still a few weeks left! Perhaps it’s a byproduct of the pandemic; I realize that I’ve become a little less social. I like having more time to myself to create, to concentrate on projects that I deem worthwhile, whether they’re for my shop or my own growth. The challenge will be how to keep at least some of that time for myself once the Delta variant disappears and we can move back out into the world for real.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the project porn. How has Covid affected your art practice?

July 27, 2021

Two in-person art events in August – FINALLY!

I’ll repeat that: High on Hooking will be participating in not just one, but two in-person art events in August! The last time we got to do anything in person was when we taught a punch needle rug hooking class up at the New Mexico Fiber Arts Center (Española, NM) in late February, 2020. Before the stupid Coronacootie struck and absconded with over a year of our lives.

Flyer for one August in-person event. — One of the honest to goodness August in-person art events!

The first event is the UNDERFOOT AND ALL AROUND Rag Rug and Textile Arts Sale in Santa Fe. It’s presented by Art Through the Loom (ATTL), a textile arts guild that I recently joined.

Art Through The Loom promotes weaving and fiber arts in Northern New Mexico. The ATTL members are fiber artists with a strong commitment to weaving and all fiber arts.

Art Through the Loom Guild members are a diverse community of fiber artists who come together from primarily northern New Mexico to access markets and learn from one another as textile professionals.

SALE INFO:
Date: August 20,21
Time: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Location: Montezuma Lodge, 431 Paseo de Peralta, Santa Fe, NM

Flyer for another one of the August in-person events. — One of the August in-person art events.

The weekend after Underfoot and All Around, Sturday, August 28, we’re heading back to Mountainair, NM, after a 2-year hiatus. The SUNFLOWER FESTIVAL is one of my favorite events. Sure, I have to drive an hour-and-a-half to get there, but it’s beautiful with all kinds of NM art! And who doesn’t love sunflowers? That’s reminding me; I have to hook a small sunflower mat for the silent auction. Must get on that now that I’m home.

We’ve been silent here on the website for a few weeks as we’ve been back East (Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island) to visit family and friends. Because it’s such a L-O-N-G ride in the car, Tynan stayed here in Albuquerque with Ruth. He thanks Ruth for her hospitality and homemade doggie treats AND Mary R. for taking him on walks in the Bosque. Bowyn and Tom and I are recovering from the trip today. We got in last night, and our backs are telling us all about those three 10-hour day drives coming home. I anticipate another round of yoga this evening…

I need to get this post up, but we’ll chat more about what we’ve been doing and making next week. I hope that we’ll see you at one of the August in-person art events. Or both!

And a public service announcement: Those covid numbers are going up again. If we want to keep our scheduled, in-person events from being cancelled, make sure you and yours get vaccinated.

July 6, 2021

New Mexico’s contribution to the USA50 project

So, maybe a year and a half or two ago, I offered to hook New Mexico’s contribution to the USA50 project. I finally started to hook it in April. As many worthwhile endeavors do, it took longer than expected.

USA50 Poster — USA50 poster courtesy of https://remileves.myportfolio.com/usa50.

For those not familiar with the USA50 project, it originated with another big, creative venture, the hooked cushion collection at the Barachois Historic Church in New Brunswick, Canada. The church, “the old whitewashed building on New Brunswick Road 133, will be 200 years old in 2026. This small church is among the oldest Acadian buildings still standing on its original site.” In order to celebrate the anniversary…“the committee thought then that a collection of 50 hooked cushions [on the church benches] would probably be feasible and would certainly arouse the interest of the population.” (Quotes from https://remileves.myportfolio.com/bonjourwelcome.)

The Barachois Historic Church is an ancient wooden building, which first opened its doors in 1826, and is still standing after nearly 200 years. The building was disaffected in the late 1970s, and reprieved from demolition in 1980. It has since been transformed into a local Museum, art gallery and summer classical concert venue. For over 40 years a wide variety of cultural events have been presented there. In order to be more comfortable on the old wooden pews, many event goers took too bringing a cushion to cultural presentations, and leaving it on the bench. Over time, this developed into a sort of tradition. This has inspired the Historic Church Preservation Committee. The “200 hooked cushions for my 200th” public art collection became the first permanent collection of the visual arts in the historic church. We cordially invite you to be part of the “USA50” collection to seal indefinitely our countries friendship and give the two collections the international destination status it deserves.
(From the USA50 Facebook page.)

Poster for initial cushio project — Poster for the Barachois Church’s 200th Anniversary and hooked cushions exhibit opening.

This [initial 200 cushions] collection, like others across America, proudly celebrates the volunteer work of artists in hooking. The project lives up to their community spirit and helping others, their creativity, their energy to work towards a common goal to meet the challenge. These artists, mostly women, gave in order to realize our dream. What is even more fascinating is that for many, our dream has become theirs too. Everyone had a reason to embark. That’s what created magic. Many artists pay tribute to their ancestors, a family member, Acadian friends, a colleague hooker, history, the art of hooking or just the cause.

(Quote from https://remileves.myportfolio.com/bonjourwelcome.)

The official opening of the cushion exhibit was on August 18, 2019. Over 1000 people came to view the cushions that day. American hookers were in attendance. They suggested the USA50 project, one cushion from each state.

One cushion per state representing memorabilia, landscape, bird, flower, or other representation particular to that state. Already rug hookers from all over the United-States have shown interest…
(From the USA50 Facebook page.)

Hence my participation in the project. But, while a Hatch chile pepper or a hot air balloon would’ve been good representations for New Mexico, I preferred something more authentic. Something, perhaps, Native American as they were here long before the Spanish showed up in the 1500s.

A few years ago, during a visit to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center here in Albuquerque, I purchased a travel mug with artwork by potter Patricia Lowden, a member of the Acoma Pueblo about 40 miles west of the city. I use the mug all the time and thought that a design like hers might best represent New Mexico. Long story short, I was able to contact Patricia through the Cultural Center. After explaining the project and how I would NOT monetarily benefit from the cushion, she generously offered not to let me use the mug design but to send me a similar design! That made my life a LOT easier.

"Rainbird" travel mug; design by Patricia lowden. — “Rainbird” travel mug; design by Patricia Lowden. They’re ceramic now. You can find it **HERE**.

I hooked it using different wool yarns. Ruth Simpson, friend and fellow member of the Adobe Wool Arts Guild, graciously put the whole thing together.

A little about Patricia:

I am full Acoma. My great grandmother is Lupe Chavez who lived to be 105 yo. She was a potter, piki maker. Both my grandmother’s on my mom and dad’s side were potters as well. …My mother was Anita Lowden. She was a famous potter in the Indian market and won a lot of blue ribbons for her work. She made pots, animals and pitchers. She and grandmother Jesse have pottery in the Smithsonian. My oldest sister and I do the pottery making now. We learned from our grandma Andrea as we grew up closer to this side of the family. I am a 4th generation potter. I use the coil method to build my pottery. I grind my clay after soaking it. There are several steps to making and painting the pottery. I use a yucca brush to outline n paint my pieces. I make water jars, seed pots, canteens, vases, and wedding vases. I make various sizes. When people order they usually tell me how much they want to spend or I make a variety if they want more than one piece. I use traditional paints. I have been painting and making since I was 15 yo when my grandmother asked if I would outline for her, but I played with the clay when I was younger like 8 when my grandmother asked if I would like to make something to sell as she was getting ready for a feast to sell her pottery. I helped my grandmother as she was getting older and couldn’t see very well but she could still make pottery. My grandmother always encouraged me to try new designs… I love what I do and now I have a 14 year old daughter, Destiny, who I am teaching. She has made a few pieces and has sold them on her own. I am very proud of her because she will carry on my designs and the old style of making pottery.

New Mexico USA%) cushion. Design by Patricia lowden. — “Rainbird,” New Mexico’s contribution to the USA50 project. All wool yarn on monk’s cloth. Design by Patricia Lowden. Hooked by Laura Salamy. All put together by Ruth Simpson. Thank you ladies!

Patricia has seen the cushion and told me that she and her family really love how it turned out. I’m hoping to hook up a smaller version for her to hang in her home.

Make sure you go onto Remi’s site and the Facebook page to see pics of the various cushions created for both projects. There are still a few states that are unaccounted for. As of May, they included: Alabama, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah. Do you live in or are you from one of these? Perhaps you can help finish up the USA50 Collection. Contact Remi Levesque through his website or the Facebook page.

Note: Please respect Patricia’s traditional design. Do not copy.

June 28, 2021

Retreat week

Supplies for being on retreat. — Retreat supplies: journal; pen; colored pencils; *String Felt Thread* by Elissa Auther; watercolor brush pens; iced tea; and great weather.

I’m officially on retreat.

As mentioned last week, my workshop up north at Ghost Ranch was postponed which was a pretty big bummer for me. But then I realized I had a whole week of days I’d kept unscheduled, thinking I’d be away. What to do with that time??? Given how distracted I’ve found myself these last few months (okay, really the last year+), I find that I need to step back and redefine what it is I want and need out of life. Sure, I’m hooking and teaching, but my attention has…wandered. My daily routine isn’t working, and productivity has been affected.

It’s not at all helped by so many local, national, and even global crises. The collapsed Maimi condo, race and gender issues, folks refusing to get vaccinated thereby prolonging the whole Covid thing, some family health difficulties, climate change which really hits home here in the desert Southwest… I seem to be catching my kid’s anxieties. That we spent over a week with temps in the 100s certainly didn’t enhance my mood. But you – I – can’t live like that, in dread all the time.

Last week after deciding on a couple of new projects – not hooking!!! – I grabbed my coupons and started out for Jo-Ann Fabrics to get supplies. It occurred again to me that it’s summer. A time for lighter things, as I also said last week. But this time I really heard myself. Remember how we used to feel in summer? Even when bad things were happening around the world? (The reality is that good and bad things are always happening.) I put some Jimmy Buffett on the Fit’s stereo and off we went.

Hooked rug — ABUNDANCE (15″ x 48″) is finished! As part of my retreat efforts to shake things up, I sewed yesterday morning rather than during the evening, my usual MO. She’s the newest in 2021’s #happyrugseries and was hooked with all kinds of fibers. And, yes, those are holes in her. Life takes from us, but we still have so much to share.

Friday evening Tom and I had a lovely time sipping wine at a local winery, Casa Rodeña here in Albuquerque. They have a pond. It was cool and calming. I realized that I could take the next week to change up my routine, get some things done that I’ve been planning but been too paralyzed to do. In short, get myself out of this funk.

I started yesterday by learning a new “trick.” Okay, a new fiber art medium. I’m very excited and will share down the road. I even used YouTube to learn how to do it. Generally, I prefer to learn in person, not via a video. Again, it’s about getting out of the comfort zone, something I used to do without thinking too much about it.

An article about the Ribbon Rug Journal is on the retreat’s to-do list. Planning my next rug for when I’ll be on the road in a couple of weeks. More sketching and journaling. Reading for pleasure and “work.” Getting back to morning yoga for my arthritis. Not on the list: vacuuming, cleaning the kitchen, meetings, a lot of social media, worrying…

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But life does still go on. To that effect – note that In the Studio’s Workshop Week 3 classes are filling. Sure, it’s not till October, and we have more events and teachers than ever, but folks want in. Also, my own workshop, Hooking with T-Shirts, on October 30, had enough interest that I opened a second session for Saturday, October 23, also at 1:00 PM Eastern. Email me if you’re interested.

Dogs, hooked rug — Both boys bring you WHAT’S ON THE FRAME today. No title for it yet, but it’s the #ecohooking rug in recycled plastic bags. I should’ve added Static Guard to my list of retreat supplies!

Is it just me or do I sense many stepping back a bit to reevaluate as we move back into a post-pandemic world?

June 22, 2021

The work of summer

Summer arrived just this week along with the kind of “work” that seems tailor made for her. Ah, but what is the work of summer?

By rights – thinking back to when we were kids having escaped school for two months – there should be less work in summer. For High on Hooking, that will indeed be the case in some respect. Unfortunately, Ghost Ranch (see this post) postponed our workshop there till the spring. Boo to you, Covid! I was really looking forward to it, but there is a silver lining. It’s been SIZZLING here in New Mexico for a few weeks. Last week we hit 108 degrees here on the West Side of Albuquerque! Hiking will be better in the spring. I’ll post more information as we get closer to the workshop. In the meantime, think of how fabulous it will be to do fiber art in Georgia O’Keeffe‘s special milieu, her querencia.

querencia

The place where one’s strength is drawn from; where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self.

There have been a few places in my life when I’ve felt what the Spanish call querencia. In fact, it’s why I wanted to move to the Southwest. It’s definitely something I understand about O’Keeffe.

Given the change of plans, I find that I have more time on my hands to do my own work. Frankly, this calls for some serious rejoicing as this year I’ve been working A LOT on things that I’ve HAD TO DO. I haven’t even put many new items into the Etsy shop! Sure, I chose to teach and to make the New Mexico cushion for the USA50 project. The latter took longer than anticipated, working with all wool yarn. Beautiful, but itchy wool yarn after a while. Friend Ruth has the piece at the moment as she’s converting it from the hooking to the actual cushion. Pics in the next post; I promise. It’s beautiful, and even better, it has a good story.

To me the work of summer is “lighter” than that that I think to do come October and as winter starts to blow in. Fortunately, that coincides well with the “happy rug series” (#happyrugseries) I informally started earlier in the year to combat the “heaviness” of Covid and the entire year of 2020. Sadly, between gun violence and the continued stupidity of US politics, 2021 hasn’t been much happier. BUT, given our vaccination rates here in New Mexico, life is looking much more “normal” than it did a year ago. WOOHOO!

Current projects…

Hooked rug, work of summer — ABUNDANCE, part of the #happyrugseries.

Still finishing up ABUNDANCE, the latest and largest so far in the #happyrugseries. I’ve hit a little snag, as she’s hooked with all kinds of fibers that aren’t the easiest to put a needle and thread into. Worse, there are holes built into her, so a lot of perimeter work to do. Worst, Bowyn was going crazy for rabbit scents on a walk last night so I let him run in the park. Unfortunately, my right ring finger got caught in the leash as he took off. Ouch! I won’t be wearing any rings on that finger for awhile. Fortunately, if I take the little brace off, I can still hook.

Friday, as soon as I finished hooking the NM cushion, I drew up a small, geomtric-ish pattern so that I’d have something to work on that evening while Tom ran a summertime, “Arnold” action movie for us to watch on the TV. Given all the environmental issues we’re facing these days – drought, climate change, wildfires, plastic in the ocean – I decided to hook the piece with old plastic bags. Having already hooked a larger such piece, I’d kept the most colorful bags I had. Despite the heavy environmental theme, I’m hoping the piece will still make me – and others – smile. And just maybe curb our use of plastic bags some.

I’m also getting ready to tackle some new-to-me techniques, that is, NOT rug hooking! I’ll let you know how that goes, but right now I aim to explore a bit on my own. Then there’s an article or two that need writing. While the work might be lighter in summer, there’s no lack of it!

July also brings a road trip back East. Various folks were supposed to come visit here last fall, but…you guessed it…stupid Covid. So, having not seen family in a couple of years, it’s time. Bring on the seafood! This time around, Bowyn will man the Instagram account. Tynan, 13, will stay home and keep the hearth fires warm.

Hooked rug and Bowyn a Welsh Springer spaniel — Tynan let Bowyn handle WHAT’S ON THE FRAME today. (Nonetheless, he demanded a treat as a finder’s fee.) No name yet, but it’s being hooked with plastic bags that WILL NEVER SEE THE OCEAN!

What’s your work this summer? Perhaps it’s to concentrate on family and friends, the return to life with others? YES! Enjoy.