Category: hooking

March 29, 2017

Here’s to the hookers!

I was wondering, trying to come up with something interesting to write about this week. It’s a week that’s got me running around with my metaphorical chicken head cut off. My class up at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center (EVFAC) is supposed to run Saturday assuming, that is, we have two folks signed up to take it. Last I heard – over a week ago – there was one person on the list. You need two students for the workshop to run. “Don’t worry,” they told me. “Everyone likes to wait till the last minute to sign up.” Okay, I get that, have even done that. But what it means to me right now is that I have to prepare for this class whether it runs or not.

The reality is that, even if it doesn’t run, I can use the materials I put together for a class in the fall when they’ll have more time to publicize the class. (There was a little issue getting the info up on the website after their web coordinator left EVFAC.) And there is a nice arts and crafts show here at home that I’ll have to miss if I’m up in Española.

Here's to the hookers! — TO THE HOOKERS!

But you know what I was reminded of again as I was getting ready for the class this week? How really, really nice hookers as a group are. Sure, we see it all the time when we’re on Facebook and sites like Heidi Wulfraat’s Rug Hookers Daily and Wanda Kerr’s Welcome Mat what with all the freely offered advice and such, but sometimes it just smacks you aside the head. These are just some of the people I’m grateful to this week:

My guild. I put out a plea to the Adobe Wool Arts Guild (AWAG) for frames people weren’t using, frames I could borrow that would make life easier for someone learning how to hook. There are currently four frames sitting in my car that members provided to me yesterday afternoon while we were doing our regular Biopark demo gig. Thank you, Mary, Nan, and Melinda! Even more amazing, one woman I’ve never even met offered me a frame! She’s not active in the guild but remains on the distribution list. Is Jan not the best?
Cathy Kelly in my guild offers frames, hooks, whatever. She’s been teaching all along, and I’m just a lowly newbie.
Laura Kenyon and Deb Walland of Seaside Rug Hooking in Rhode Island, I salute you! (And not just because I miss the Ocean State.) A few days ago I saw a great offer for sari yarn on one of their Facebook posts. I was out and couldn’t order it then and there, but I was able to ask if they could hold four skeins for me. Yes! Later I got back to them; long story short: They mailed the yarn to me without having me pay ahead of time. I’ve received the very “wicked” (RI parlance) colored yarn and an invoice and will shoot a check off to them tomorrow. How many businesses are willing to spot you the product before you pay? Actually, quite a few rug hooker-to-rug hooker businesses I’ve found.
And lastly, there’s Letty from Winnipeg. She sent me a lovely email after reading about my class in EVFAC’s promotional material. A rug hooker, she regularly spends time in New Mexico. She’ll be back in October and asked if she could visit and spend some time in my studio with me; she’s even willing to pay for that. Bless her heart! Who charges to sit with soon-to-be friends? Definitely not me. Guess I’ll have to tell her that my studio consists of a narrow laundry room, my admittedly kick-ass walk-in closet (half full of clothes, half with hooking stuff), and, of course, my chair next to the couch. I’ll do that when I get off my butt and properly respond to her mail.

Do you have a hooker or three to thank? Feel free to do it here. Better yet, thank them directly on their own Facebook pages where everyone can see how much you appreciate them.

To the hookers! from the dog. — As promised, Tynan’s back this week with the current rug on the frame. You might remember the little chile mug rug I did last week. Well, I liked it so much that I decided to do a larger version of it. Can’t wait to see how it turns out. In the meantime we’re celebrating Ty’s birthday. He’s nine!

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February 28, 2017

Still hooking, hooking, hooking away…

Been hooking, hooking, hooking all week…

Finished hooking one of the rugs to be entered into the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta…

Dog - rug hooking — Tynan’s portrait done in up-cycled t-shirt. My thanks to Cheryl Bollenbach of Colorado. I never would’ve been able to hook this rug without her help.

Still have a little ways – truly just a little – to go on the traditional floral, blue rug done in old t-shirts. Hooking to be done by tomorrow.

Alternative fibers rug hooking — “Portals to Africa’ (AKA the “Surfboard Rug” by its new owner; done in up-cycled bedsheets) will also be entered into our Fiber Arts Fiesta to be held May 19-21. Calls for entry are due March 1.

Tomorrow’s the day all entries are due. Can do it online; just go to Fiesta’s website. If sending via snail mail, just make sure it’s postmarked by March 1.

Can’t wait to see you at Fiesta, May 19-21!

February 22, 2017

Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta entries due in a week!

If you’re entering anything into the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta – like I am – be aware that the call for entries ends March 1. That’s just a week away from today!

Dog on hooked rug entry for Albuquerque Fiber Arts Fiesta. — Tynan’s such a good boy. He’s trying to hide all the un-hooked parts of this rug.

I’m entering three rugs into Fiesta, and two aren’t even done yet. There’s still hooking to finish on the biggest one. Tynan’s sitting on it there on the right, effectively hiding the undone parts. Good dog! But I don’t think the Fiber Arts Council will fall for that trick.

Hence, it’s a short post this week. My little fingers have a lot of work to do. Check High on Hooking’s Facebook page; I’ll put pics of my entries up when I’ve gotten them all loaded and can take a little breather.

Have you considered entering Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Fiesta? You don’t have to be from these parts. (In fact, I read just today that something’s coming all the way from Brazil!) Check out the call for entries now. You still have a week.

February 13, 2017

Adobe Wool Arts Guild excellent February adventures

Adobe Wool Arts Guild rug hooking retreat. — Adobe Wool Arts Guild members at our winter retreat in Albuquerque. From left to right: Mary R., Nancy, Mary S., and Melinda. Here we are after we moved into the much warmer hallway to hook.

February’s a big month for the Adobe Wool Arts Guild (AWAG) here in Albuquerque. In addition to our usual monthly meeting and two demo days at the BioPark, we’ve been participating in the Artful Threads show down in Belen’s Harvey House (February 2, 11, and 18). The 25th brings the BioPark’s Winter Wool Festival (make plans to visit that day!). Best of all is our own winter retreat which started today.

Hooked rug. — Mary S. is working on a large Currier and Ives design. She loaded it up on her Cheticamp frame, which was new to some AWAG members.

Melinda’s almost done hooking her 10-year project (much of which she hooked in the last year after she moved to NM from NH). This rug is 5 feet by 3 feet. I will definitely feature this fabulous rug when she finishes it.

Two women and a hooked rug. — Mary S. advising Liz on her rug.

We held a fall retreat last October. It was a chance to get together and hook uninterrupted for three whole days! Liked it so much, we decided to do it again this month. The good thing is we can reserve a local police substation for free. Worked like a charm twice before for us. There was a little hitch this morning, which happened to be the day winter returned to Albuquerque for a few days. (Yeah, we got an inch of snow, and temperatures DID NOT reach 70 like they did last week. It got to maybe 40. I hear your “sympathies,” New England.) When we opened up the room, it was 53º. It never hit 60. Except in the bathrooms.

Snowy New Mexico scene. — This is a winter storm in Albuquerque. Sure, you can’t see the Sandia Mountains looming behind the cloud, but all we got was about an inch of snow. An inch. It’ll be in the 50s come Wednesday. THIS IS WHY I MOVED HERE FROM NEW ENGLAND! (Sorry about that extra foot or two today, Maine.)

No matter. We fired up the little hotpot and made tea. And kept our jackets on. Eventually, we moved into a hallway that was a bit warmer. And after entertaining a curious, young officer with a background in graphic design, a maintenance man showed up, hopefully ensuring a warmer retreat day tomorrow. Just in case, a few of us will show up with space heaters. Moral of the story: Nothing screws with a hookers’ retreat.

What does your guild or hooking group do to spark creativity and camaraderie?

Have a happy Valentine’s Day, all!

January 31, 2017

Many thanks, Old Pueblo Rug Hookers!

Old Pueblo Rug Hookers hooked rug — Thank you, Old Pueblo Rug Hookers, for a marvelous hook-in! Can’t wait to go again next year. Better yet, I get in free in 2018. Read on to find out why.

Sparky’s mango and red chile (from Hatch, of course) milkshake.

Just like I wrote last week, four of us from the Adobe Wool Arts Guild (AWAG) did indeed pile into a Subaru Outback early Friday morning. And we were off on our annual (okay, my second and Melinda’s first) Tucson adventure, albeit with colds and coughs and arthritis flare-ups. Between the coffee/tea break, lunch at Sparky’s in Hatch (yes, home of the Hatch chiles) and a couple of gas and pee stops, we finally pulled into the Best Western around 5:00 p.m. that evening achy and tired of sitting.

You know you’ve got excellent lodging when the desk clerk tells you about the free, yes, free, happy hour. Sure, we’d brought quality alcoholic provisions, but why open them when someone’s willing to give you something just as…as efficient for free? We hung there the next evening too. Lest you think we drank our way through the evenings, we actually hit up Guiseppe’s, an Italian place across the street from the Best Western Friday night. I had the best mussels! (And not just because they were the first ones I’ve found since I moved out this way a year and a half ago.) Saturday night we headed to a traditional AWAG stop, the deli, Shlomo and Vito’s. Just like being in New York If you don’t happen to notice the ubiquitous saguaro cacti in the area.

Sun and 31°F greeted us Saturday morning when we headed off to La Paloma Country Club. The Old Pueblo Rug Hookers (OPRH) throw a swanky affair. Good food (even for those of us handicapped by a gluten- free diet), door prizes, vendors, views of the golf course, and a silent auction. Melinda, Cathy, Mary, and I joined up with Nancy and Mary S. and parked ourselves at a table with a view. Cathy and I set up to vend. Me, some mug rug sets and Cathy, a butt-load of hand-dyed wool. Display rugs were in another room.

A close-up of Adele Yorke’s display rug.

Despite the posh surroundings, it was a hook-in just like the others I attended in churches back in New England. Lots of chatter, food, wool, and rugs, lots of rugs. I was asked to speak for a few moments on hooking with t-shirts. Better than that, I won a surprise door prize: free registration for next year’s hook-in. Woohoo! And I managed to snag an old rug in the silent auction. Anyone know anything about this mat?

Hooked rug at Old Pueblo Rug Hooker Hook-In — A rather elderly hooked rug I acquired in the silent auction. Anyone know the artist? About the mat?

Rug hooking women. — Adobe Wool Arts Guild members from left to right, Melinda, Mary S., and Mary.

Hooked rug by Rita Vail, one of the Old Puebo Rug Hookers — Check out the “quilling” in Rita Vail’s saguaro cactus rug. Rita’s one of the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers.

Hooked rug by Beth Carlson. — A most beautiful rug by Beth Carlson.

Now that I’m back, it’s time to get down to business. I have to finish my Tynan rug for March 1 so that I can enter it into Albuquerque’s Fiber Fiesta. I did decide to not kill myself to get the traditional rug done for then too; too much hooking and too much going on in my life. Plus, I need to start making product for the summer and any shows I’m doing. The jury’s still out on the Rail Yards Market. I’ve got a class to prep for April

Hooked rugs — Rugs at the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers Hook-In in Tucson Saturday.

at the Española Valley Fiber Arts Center. You all know the drill: Life relentlessly marches on. But for one weekend, at least, I escaped thanks to the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers.

Hook-in news? How was Eliot? Others?

Lastly, below is the weekly report from Tynan the Dog on the current rug. We didn’t get as much done this week as we’d like, but so much was going on. And who hooks that much at a hook-in what with all that chitchat and other activities?

Hooked rug and dog. — Tynan’s weekly update on the traditional rug (hooked in t-shirt). Photo taken January 30.

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