Tentative working title of hooking project: “Ribbons Over Albuquerque.” Has to be done and submitted by Monday!
Not much time to post this week. The “Colors of the Southwest” project I’ve been telling you about is due Monday for jurying. The hooking’s not done yet alone the finishing! This means working during the day, something I tend not to do unless it’s the NFL playoff season.(If you don’t know it already, I’m a BIG New England Patriots fan. As you can imagine, this is not a popular thing in Albuquerque’s Denver Broncos’ territory.)
The pic to the left shows that much of the hooking is actually done. Only the “bows” remain. Unlike the rest of the piece which is comprised of t-shirt strips, I’m creating them out of ribbon and/or cut up poly blouses so that they have a little of the shiny “bling” of a real bow.
Stay tuned; I promise to give more details about this rug and what it means to me when it’s finished. Meanwhile, working with the ribbons is shredding the crap out of my left thumb top, but there’s no time to spare. For now I’m rubbing Vaseline into it. Next week, I’ll give it a day or two off. The things we do for our art…
Lest you think my life’s all about suffering these days, I share our latest new home enhancement.
The kid enjoying our new hot tub. See those cup holders to the right? They hold a glass of chardonnay just perfectly.
Instead of a pool, we decided to go with a smaller investment: the hot tub. It was installed last week, and we christened it Sunday. Thus far it’s excellent for muscles and joints achy from the trails, the treadmill, and rheumatoid arthritis. Though it’s not done anything for my thumb but dry it out more. I can live with that.
Remember, our door is always open to hookers and other friends visiting Albuquerque. Come rest your achy fingers and hands.
Do you suffer from osteo- or rheumatoid arthritis, carpal tunnel, something else? How does it affect your hooking? I’ve been fortunate in that my RA hasn’t targeted my hands as much as it has other joints. Please share here (or privately) what having a disease or other physical challenge means to your hooking and other pursuits. Are you like me, fearing that you might have to one day give up doing something you love? If there’s enough interest, maybe there’s an article to be written…
Sadly, the Tuscon hook-in, 2016, has now come and gone. But what a great event the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers (OPRH) put on! The location, their hospitality, the silent auction… All guaranteed a fun time to be had by all.
Tucson. It’s a damned good thing that when we were scoping out southwest cities to move to, we visited during the worst weather time of year possible – July. We spent a week there way back in, maybe, 2000. The kid was pretty young. After spending most mornings doing some geographical and touristy investigations, we’d hang around the pool drinking Tom’s homemade margaritas (if you come visit us
Tucson sunset, Santa Catalina Mountains.
here in NM, he’ll make you one or five), the temperature climbing to at least 115. Occasionally, monsoon storms rained down just to inject a little humidity into the mix. Winter in Tucson is a different animal. We ate lunch outside at the hook-in. I got a sunburn and my freckles came out! It wasn’t quite like Jamaica in January; days started in the 40s. But they warmed up right quick.
The view from where we ate lunch at La Paloma Country Club. It was 80 degrees!
Location. La Paloma Country Club was a lovely venue for the event. Round tables for six to eight ensured conversation between all of us ladies and our gentleman, Russ. Vendor tables were centrally located for maximum exposure to wool, yarn, hooks, and other paraphernalia. As usual, coffee, tea, and pastries were provided during the morning. For lunch, we made our way down a sumptuous salad buffet that more than satisfied even those of us who were gluten free and/or vegan. A+ for the food.
Cathy Kelly selling her wares. (She’s one of my guild members!)
Fabulous portrait by Russ Nichols.
Show-and-tell. Tables lining one wall provided a perfect place to set out our mats for ogling. I’ve included some here for your pleasure. Later in the afternoon, our OPRH hosts had some of us stand up and talk about what we were working on. Yours truly, being the only one working, not with wool, but with old t-shirts, was one of the presenters. Folks were fascinated by the colors I can use and how heavy the cotton rugs tend to be. (I tend to pack them pretty tightly.)
Hooking straight onto a wool backing. By guild-mate Nancy Hart.Close-up and personal to penguins in a rug by Julie Gibson.Bag and pattern by Judith Maiewski.Grenfell-style mat by Marja Walker
Silent auction goodies.
Silent auction. Little did I know this would be my favorite part of the whole day. The guild had put out a nice spread of items. Bids started at a dollar. I identified a number of things I wouldn’t have minded taking home. Then I saw them: not one, but two Anderson “Puncher” frames! Since trying one out at a punching workshop with Amy Oxford years ago, I’d had it on my mind. In fact, I was supposed to get one for my 50th birthday a year and a half ago; but by the time I finally got around to ordering one, I found that Mr. Anderson was no longer taking orders. That’s made me very sad. Not anymore! After an intense bidding war with “Claudia,” I scored the larger one. We packed that puppy into the car, and it’s now happily ensconced next to my fireplace.
My prize! An Anderson frame at last.
Friends. Four of us from the Adobe Wool Arts guild attended the hook-in. Three of us road-tripped and stayed together. Of course, we all sat together Saturday. Nonetheless, I met
My truly excellent, fellow road-trippers Mary Schnitzler (l) and Cathy Kelly (r). They indulged me on the way home, letting me commandeer the radio to listen to the Patriots-Denver game. (Not such a good outcome for us Pats’ fans.)
and chatted with plenty of new friends. And plenty of northeastern transplants. It was fun talking Connecticut (where I’m originally from), Massachusetts (where I lived the last 23 years), Rhode Island (where I went to school and then worked for many of those 23 years), and Maine, well, just because there are so many hookers there.
Tucson hookers Barb and Lynn sat at our table. Sorry; didn’t get their last names.
If you’re out this way next year at this time, I urge you to visit Tucson and the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers. They’re a class act and they host a great hook-in.
Share your hook-in news. I know Eliot, Maine, is coming up. I was supposed to attend last year, but illness and snow thwarted me. There are events in Milford and North Attleboro, MA, coming up too. If only I was still living in Franklin…
(But then there’d be snow…)
Sunday morning. So long, Tucson. See you next January!
Tynan having a grand, old time in the snowy Sandias.
New Mexico is a great place for nature. It was a big reason for moving to Albuquerque; that is, we wanted a more outdoor lifestyle than New England’s winters afforded us. (And I hated being cold for six to eight months straight.) Make no mistake, there is winter here. We’ve had snow a couple of times now, and morning temperatures are usually in the high teens to lower twenties. Makes for cold walks with the dog in the Bosque, the forest along the Rio Grande.
The Sandias as viewed from our neighborhood on Albuquerque’s west side. Winter hiking and skiing are excellent on the other side.
Monday was a big, bodacious day in Albuquerque with lots of sunshine filling the sky. Tom and I packed the dog and some gear in the car and headed around to the other side of the Sandia Mountains. Winter abides more forcefully there. They even have a ski area. One of the last big storms dumped about 21 inches of the white stuff on the slopes. And on the trail we decided to hike.
I had considered bringing my snowshoes, but Tom needs new ones, so they stayed home. No worries. The trail is a popular one. Other “snowshoers” and hikers had blazed the way creating a nice hard-pack. Boots were fine. Of course, if you stepped off the trail, you dropped way down to at least your knees. And your boots filled with snow.
I spy a nature inspired abstract mat here! Check out all the bore holes.
I always take my camera (i.e., phone) with me when we go, hoping to find something nature-ific that might inspire a rug or four. We weren’t disappointed yesterday. Clearly, there’s been a fair amount of evergreen dieback in the forest in the Sandias which is actually part of the Cibola National Forest. But as the trees decay, they make for the most interesting subjects to study, if only aesthetically. I was quite taken with the one in the photos. It might have a future in fiber.
Another view of my tree.
After our most pleasant of snowy, winter hikes (it was about 45 with the slightest breeze), we wound our way up to the Crest of the mountains. By car. Much colder with a wicked wind, from there we could look out over Albuquerque metro area and to other snow-covered mountains to the north, south, and west. Very impressive.
The view from Sandia Crest looking to the southwest. Our house is somewhere to the right.
Then it was goodbye to the snow and the cold. A quick 40- or so minute ride down the mountain and through the pass and we were home, on the city’s warmer west side. Tired, we opened a bottle of red wine and toasted our good fortune. Next week we’re off to the west (by only a couple of miles) to further explore Petroglyph National Monument.
I know that nature inspires many of you when you hook, paint, write, and make other forms of art. Please share some of those marvelous creations.
PS – I’m off this weekend to Tucson to attend the hook-in put on by the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers there. I’m told it’s an eight-hour drive. Four of us from the Adobe Wool Arts guild are going. Hope to have lots of pics for you next week. In the meantime I’m off to the liquor store for a bottle or two of chardonnay to share with the ladies.
There was a myriad, a cornucopia even, of Navajo rugs to be auctioned off that day.
As promised, this week I’ve got pics and comments on the Navajo rug auction Tom and I attended a couple of weeks ago.
The University of New Mexico’s Maxwell Museum of Anthropology sponsored the seventh annual auction on Saturday, November 21, in Bernalillo. Being on Santa Ana tribal land, that meant that anyone purchasing a rug got it tax-free. Always a bonus and an incentive when you’re talking expensive items, handmade or not. Proceeds from sales benefited the museum and the Navajo weavers.
Without doubt, the most spectacular rug we saw (by artist RG Sherman). It would’ve looked perfect under my dining room table. Unfortunately for us, the starting bid was $7500. No one bid on it, but all rugs not auctioned off were available for purchase after the auction at the starting bid prices. Maybe someone picked it up then.
Tom and I got there at 11:00 on the dot that morning, just as the restaurant hosting the event opened to the public. There were two hours for browsing and inspection of rugs before the auction was to start. Museum volunteers were busy hanging rugs on primitive ladders. Seeing that and the piles still on the floor, we were amazed at the sheer volume of rugs offered – approximately 250!
Initially, our plan was to just hang a bit, take photos (to make you drool), and then head home. After about 15 minutes we knew that wasn’t happening. Too many rugs, too much curiosity about how the auction itself was going to work. The people-watching was good too, and there was free food! Despite Tom’s misgivings, I got myself a paddle and registered for the auction. If attendance was low, I figured I might actually manage to pick up a rug to join the one we bought in Arizona years ago. (When we both had good jobs; when Tom wasn’t retired; before I started working for cash-starved non-profits…)
A two-faced weave with surprisingly soft colors.
The folks running the auction graciously provided a program that listed all the rugs to be bid on, including the artists. Even better, it was a great primer on Navajo rugs in general: how to buy one; how they’re made; descriptions of the various weave patterns; how to care for the rugs; and auction tips. The auctioneers provided even more information during the auction itself, so Tom and I were able to chalk the whole thing up as an educational experience too.
There were plenty of bright colors too.
Interesting factoids:
Just like rug hooking, weaving takes a LOT of time and work. “It can take up to 140 hours to complete a 30×60 inch saddle blanket, and a 3×5 foot rug can take 238 hours to complete. However, if the weaver had shorn the sheep, washed, carded, spun, and dyed the wool on their own, it is estimated to take an additional 200 hours to complete one rug.” (From Navajo Rug Auction Program.)
There are nine different weave patterns: plain; diagonal twill; five types of diamond twill; two-faced (a pattern with vertical ribs similar to plain weave, but including stitches of irregular width so that the two sides have different patterns); and double cloth (another type of reversible weave).
Even bright, unexpected colors.
If you don’t flip your rug regularly, the exposed side will fade. An evenly faded rug can be worth more than one with one “bright” side.
Unlike a hooked rug, you’re encouraged to vacuum a Navajo rug. If only to reduce the chances of insect infestation. More than moths. Ew.
One should never drink wine or any other aqueous liquid when you’re anywhere near the rug (as far as I’m concerned). Any rugs woven after 1875, use aniline dyes for red, orange, and other brights, thus they run when wet. I have to admit that this would make me really nervous if I had a party at my house. Or children. Or even dogs. Not that my dog drinks alcohol. At least not out of a glass.
And another.
Here’s one “tree of life.
Museum volunteers held up items for auction.
Hank, the boisterous auctioneer, started the auction just after 1:00 p.m. As he said, it wasn’t quite like being at a livestock auction, but Tom made for damn sure that I didn’t even scratch my nose – just to assure that I didn’t accidentally bid for a $1200 rug or even a $300 one.
Needless to say, given that the room was full (maybe 300 people), I did NOT go home with a Navajo rug that day. According to Mary Beth Hermans of the Maxwell Museum, “The average price for a 24-by-30-inch rug is about $350. …many of the rugs sell for the opening bid [specified by the auction].” (From an Albuquerque Journalarticle by Kathaleen Roberts on November 20, 2015.)
Rugs, rugs, and more rugs!
While my shopping basket remained empty that day, all was not lost. We learned plenty about Navajo rugs and the auction process. Even better, the woman seated a row ahead of us clued me in to a monthly rug auction going on about two and a half hours west of Albuquerque. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere on some reservation. Crownpoint‘s got lower prices, I hear – some sell for less than $50! The auction doesn’t start till 6:00 p.m. on a Friday, so we’ll have to find a place to stay. Not in that town; there’s no lodging there. But that’s why we moved out here to New Mexico. It’ll be yet another adventure.
I fell in love with this diamond twill.
Anyone out there have experience at a Navajo rug auction? Other auctions? I saw how easily I could’ve lost control. (Not that Tom would’ve let that happen.)
Who knew you could get a round rug perfect for a table top?
Some big collector was offering this one for auction. He told me that he was ill and divesting of his collection.
They were all so hard to resist. Next time one will become mine!
Happy Thanksgiving from High on Hooking out in New Mexico!
Thanksgiving is finally here. And it’ll be tough, this being our first holiday here in New Mexico. So, no extended family dinner. Instead we’re going for intimacy this year, just the three of us. And the dog too, of course.
We’ll still do it up big. We’ve got a 16-pound bird thawing. I just picked up the parsnips, a good pinot noir, and a five-gallon pail at Home Depot for the “brining.” Tomorrow we bake the apple and the pumpkin pies. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and football show here just as well as they did in Massachusetts. Friday – a day I traditionally never leave the house – will dawn with its own usual traditions: leftovers, a good book, Christmas card writing, and The Muppet Christmas Carol.
After Friday, heading into the Christmas season, we’ll see what goes. It’ll be time to find a tree and figure out how to decorate this new home we’ve found. We’ll make new traditions, I’m sure. And there’s always hooking!
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day, peeps! I know I will. If you can, share some of your traditions here. I’m in the market for some new ones. For Christmas too. I’ll be back next week with a report on the very cool Navajo Rug Auction that Tom and I attended last Saturday. Wait till you see the pics I got. Gorgeous rugs – some traditional and some less than traditional – like my own hooked rugs!
