Tag: Boucherouite rugs

January 8, 2019

New year, new lords and masters…

Fitbit on wrist in the new year. — Master #1 of the new year.

The new year is here a week. Already it’s gotten busier than intended given that I was trying to make 2019 more a year of making and less one of busy-ness and meetings and social media. Not that I have any intention – or ability – of getting rid of those latter items. They’re necessary (often evil) parts of an involved life. I just want them minimized some.

A week in and I’ve identified a couple of new masters and commanders demanding my fealty and, more importantly, my time. One was unexpected, and I’m here to warn all of the A-type personalities present. You Bs are probably safe enough and can just enjoy a good laugh. Type A folk: Do not get a Fitbit! Oh, you think it’s going to help you, ensure that you get all those steps in, make you healthy. (If you’re like me, you were already working out each day anyway.) Instead, the damn thing is just another mark to hit AND SURPASS EVERY SINGLE DAY. Tom gave it to me for Christmas; I’ve wanted one for a couple of years, and since December 27th when I put it on, he’s regretted his generosity.

Tynan and I and the new Fitbit master out New Year’s Day morning just as the snow was starting. Oh, Tom came too. 🙂

Like I said, I work out most mornings, so that gives me a leg up on the 10,000 steps. Usually. Unfortunately, it can’t “translate” time and effort on the recumbent bike unless I thrash my Fitbit-clad arm about trying to fake the Master into thinking I’m walking (or running up Mount Everest). On those days, I know that I should just account for the exercise in my mind and not worry about making it to the magic – and completely arbitrary – number of steps. But I can’t, so I try to…compensate. Tom’s becoming irritated. I have to hide my furtive attempts to get to 10,000. The far bathroom’s good. I can pretend-jump rope in there or jog in place while I count to 50, 75. Playing keep-away with the dog’s toys is always good for a 100 or so. Then we take another walk around the block. The neighbors behind the house have seen me dancing in the kitchen like no one’s watching. Or should watch.

Results thus far:

I have hit the magic 10,000 number every day but two.
The dog is exhausted.
I’ve walked before and during one snowstorm, my first here in Albuquerque. It was beautiful. And worth more than 17,000 steps!
My dogs (feet) are barking, one knee is ready for a sling, and I’m pretty sure that my recent RA flare-up was caused by my new obsession.
The epiphany that if I join an online Fitbit community or even share results with a friend, the “friendly competition” would probably kill me. The dog would be collateral damage.

You’d think I’d give up on the thing after all this, but NO WAY! I’m loving it. Luckily, this morning’s walk down by the river in the cold was invigorating. Plus it got me all the way to 10,000 in one shot! And – besides the dog – who do you think was with me doing all those steps? Tom! Tom who started to surreptitiously use his phone to count his own steps. Gotcha!

Dog and hooked rug in the new year. — An exhausted Tynan presents 2019’s first “what’s on the frame.” You can see why I’ll need the steps to combat all the sitting I’ll be doing the next two months as I get the “Big Boucherouite” done.

The Fitbit master will stay, too, to combat all the sitting I’m doing for the second master of the new year. Yes, the Big Boucherouite‘s time has finally come. Pictures of a finished BB are due March 1. That’s the last day you can send entries in for Albuquerque’s big Fiber Fiesta 2019! Get the details by clicking, and think about sending something in. You don’t have to live here. Any questions, check the Fiber Council’s website or give me a yell. A fun and educational time will be had by all. I promise. (And do you know how large the Manual Lujan Jr. Expo Center is? Gonna get in a whole lotta steps.)

What or who is moving you these early days of the new year?

February 27, 2018

Hooking variations on a theme

Boucherouite theme in rug hooking. — “The First Boucherouite” hooked from old bed sheets and a little t-shirt added in. I loved this rug, even considered keeping it for my own house.

How many of you have fallen in love with a style of rug or a theme or design or what-have-you, enough that you feel a pressing need to hook more and more of them? I find myself feeling like that with the whole Boucherouite thing. For those not familiar with the Moroccan rugs, check out this fabulous article dealing with the history of the rugs and the Berber peoples who make them. I warn you, you’ll start seeing these types of rugs in every home magazine and website you frequent.

In essence the Boucherouite is a simple rag rug. Strips or unraveled fibers of older textiles, such as clothing or worn out rugs, are recycled and woven together to create something new. Yet the humble origins of these rugs serve only to accentuate the remarkable nature of the finished products which take full advantage, not only of the weaving skills of their makers, but of the benefits of their patchwork components.
— AphroChic

Certainly, I’ve written about the Boucherouites before, when I hooked my first one last year. Yes, mine are hooked; I don’t weave them. I fell in love with these rag rugs with their seemingly haphazard designs and color schemes when they started showing up in my Pinterest feed. The pics made it difficult initially to discern whether they were hooked, woven, or made in some other way. The fact that the weavers create them out of old textiles – like I hook my rugs! – made it impossible for me not to try my hand at one. Again, hooking, not weaving.

Colorful bedsheet strips for Boucherouite theme rug — And so it begins. A pile of bedsheet strips. Color, it’s all about the color. And using what’s available – even if I have to head off to **Savers** to get it.

I found that my own sense of design, despite my best efforts, didn’t allow me to create a rug as “irregular” as the true Boucherouites. That’s okay; it’s how inspiration works. It’s not about copying. After I hooked (and sold!) the first one, I knew that I was going to do another sooner than later. And that it would be BIG.

Fast forward to this winter. The BIG Boucherouite’s time has come. I drew it up on a piece of monks’ cloth and sewed on the rug binding. Prior posts have shown that. Currently, I’m in the midst of cutting sheets into strips. I’d recycled old bedsheets for the “First Boucherouite” and loved the effect. That plus the high we get here at High on Hooking when we up-cycle made it a winner. I’m not completely sure how the colors will work on this new rug, it’s a fluid thing, but I’ll need to have strips at the ready. It’s a LOT of hand-cutting for me and the scissors.

So, you see the theme running here. It gets better. Last week, the Mystery Rug finally finished and off to the framers, I needed to start hooking pieces for this year’s selling season. Specifically, I have Albuquerque’s Recycled Art Fair coming up in April. I decided to start with a double mug rug because…they tend to sell pretty quickly. I took out a couple of OD green mugs I’d found at Savers and stared at them, waiting for them to channel an idea into my brain. And I waited. And I waited. In the meantime, I was sewing up the BIG Boucherouite. Ooh! Got it! Thus the “Baby Boucherouite” was born. I know, I know, I risk becoming boring. But they’re fun!

Boucherouite theme rug. — Keeping true to the theme, now we have the “Baby Boucherouite.” Also hooked from old sheets with some t-shirt thrown in. It’s about 7″x14″. Wouldn’t it make a great magic carpet for Barbie?

Hooked rug — Okay, it’s not much to look at right now, but it’ll be pretty as a posy later this week. BTW, if you’re looking for Tynan, he’ll be back next week. Tom took him out for a walk. And left the house all to me!

In the meantime, before I can finally hook the BIG rug, this is what’s on the frame today. No, it’s not part of the Boucherouite theme, but it is another double mug rug. T-shirt, bathing suit, nightie, and an old blouse ensure that I can use it at the Recycling Fair which requires 70 or 75% of items offered for sale be constructed of recycled materials. I can do that, no prob.

What about you? Have you ever found yourself obsessed by a particular theme or design or even a color when you’ve been hooking? Tell us about it.

August 29, 2017

A perfect, end-of-summer weekend

“The First Boucherouite” hooked from old bed sheets and a smidgen of t-shirt.

This past weekend was a busy one for me, particularly in the hooking department. It started early too. Thursday found me hooking with friends. That was good; it let me finish hemming up the Boucherouite. Yes, I finally finished it. It took longer than anticipated thanks to plenty of one-directional hooking – the orange and yellowish areas. That was to imitate the weaving of the real Moroccan rugs. But I have to admit that I love how this one came out. Your thoughts? Me, I’m thinking that I have to make a much bigger floor rug. Time to collect the bed sheets…

On to Friday: Cathy Kelly gave a class on microwave dyeing to four of us in the guild. Thanks to Darlene for providing the space in her own “dye garage”! (She won’t hear that as she’s about to jaunt off to London and Paris. Why, yes, I am envious. How could you tell?)

The class was great fun. Come on, who doesn’t enjoy playing with color? Rather than wool fabric, we dyed yarn. Except for Nan, who’s high on felting, not just hooking. Here you can see the three skeins I dyed. Guess I was in a pink-purple-yellow mood. Note to self: next time work in the blue-green zone. But aren’t they wonderful and color-full? Thanks so much to Cathy for the class!

Friday evening – Saturday: Time to update the inventory and pack the car for the Sunflower Festival in Mountainair. Then bed. We had to be up early given the hour-and-a-half drive. But, damn, it was worth it. We’d never been to Mountainair before. The ride was visually stunning: bright blue skies; wide, open spaces; long freight trains; mountain passes. The best part was the cooler weather. Mountainair’s up about 6500 feet. For the first time in a long while, I didn’t sweat setting up the booth. Always a plus when you’re hanging with the public. And the tent gave nice shade. Again: perfect, end-of-summer weekend.

Not a perfect, end-of-summer weekend for Tom. — Tom rests under the High on Hooking tent. Unfortunately, he did NOT make employee of the month this time. No sales for him!

Dog has perfect, end-of-summer weekend. — Tynan enjoyed the Sunflower Festival. Of course, people made all over him. However, no sales for Tynan. Like Tom, he did *not* make employee of the month. Not a completely perfect, end-of-summer weekend for him and Tom. 🙂

I can’t say enough about the festival. I managed to sell a few things, certainly enough to get me back next year. There were plenty of art and food vendors. The bathrooms were near nearby and clean. You had your choice of the indoor type or the fancy porta potty type that I’ve seen out here. AC and everything! Plus there was full-on cell phone coverage when I’d been told not to expect it at all! The festival is obviously one of the big events in this tiny community, and it showed. Kudos to the Monzano Mountain Art Council!

Sunday dawns: We’re tired what with being outside all day Saturday not to mention the three hours of driving. Took the dog for a 45-minute walk then headed off on the weekly grocery shopping trip. I don’t know what I did between then and 5:00 when we left for Santa Fe’s Opera House. (That’s about an hour’s ride.) You see, I’ve always wanted to see an opera there, but Tom, not being into opera AT ALL, demurred at sharing such an experience with me. It’s wicked expensive, so I couldn’t fully blame him. He did, however, agree to see Garrison Keillor with me. Woohoo!

View of Sangre de Cristos on a perfect, end-of-summer weekend. — A perfect view for a perfect weekend. See the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from the Santa Fe Opera House. To the right in the foreground is a bathroom and bar. I like how they conveniently go together. Excellent planning, SF Opera!

The experience met ALL expectations. Again, perfect weather. Then there’s the view. The Opera House has a fabulous vantage point and, therefore, a gorgeous view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to the east and the Jemez to the west. It’s an open-air theater (a word that doesn’t do it justice at all) so you can literally see for miles. We bought a ridiculously overpriced glass of wine to share and took it all in.

Santa Fe Opera House on a perfect, end-of-summer weekend. — The interior of the Santa Fe Opera House. This is up near the top row, “oxygen seats.” I joke. While we sat below, there really aren’t bad seats in the place.

The show started about 15 minutes late. No matter. Folks drifted in toward their seats. If they hadn’t finished their cocktails, standing just outside the theater proper to watch was perfectly acceptable. (Only bottled water is permitted inside.) Keillor moved through the audience singing extemporaneously, shaking hands, and questioning our cell phone usage.

Garrison Keillor at the Santa Fe Opera House. — Garrison Keillor himself.

Making it to the stage eventually, he laughed at those of us who were “saluting.” I learned a valuable lesson: Next time I attend a show at the Opera House, I’ll bring sunglasses. The seats all face directly west, right into the glaring, setting sun behind the stage. Next time I won’t be such a newbie.

The show went on a full three hours. “Intermission” was a sing-along. While Keillor clearly didn’t have to pee, Tom and I certainly did. We didn’t head home till well after 10:00, arriving about 11:20. Bed called, and the perfect, end-of-summer weekend came to a close.

Now there’s just one big question: Whatever will we do for Labor Day?

Can’t there be another perfect, end-of-summer weekend? What do you have planned end the summer?

Whatever you do this weekend, make sure you take time to say a prayer for the folks of Houston who have been affected by Hurricane Harvey this past week. Their next days, weeks, and even years will be difficult.

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August 2, 2017

The Stolen pattern

Close-up of “Stolen,” hooked by Catherine Kelly. Beautiful, isn’t it? Love the colors, all the tones.

“Wait till you see my new rug, “Stolen,” guild-mate Cathy Kelly e-mailed me. She also said that I had to wait till it was finished before that happened. Okay. Really, I didn’t think too much about it other than I like to see what Cathy comes up with. She’s very creative, that one. In fact, since I’ve moved to New Mexico and joined the Adobe Wool Arts guild, she’s one of the folks who’s really pushed me to go beyond my own comfort level. And she’s done that just by modeling good, artistic experimentation and enthusiasm and encouraging us all to look beyond rug hooking to: 1) influence our rug hooking and 2) try new things.

Cathy also somehow convinced me to act as the guild rep to Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Council. Sure, sometimes meetings can be a little tedious, but it’s let me meet a whole bunch of people I never would’ve otherwise come to know. Which further led to my joining the board of Susan’s Legacy, a non-profit helping women who suffer co-occurring mental illness and addiction.

So, you see, Cathy’s not just a great artist, but a class-A person and friend. But did that change yesterday when she shared “Stolen” with us at the guild’s usual demo gig at the BioPark? You be the judge. See the pic above of “Stolen.” Definitely an appealing rug.

You might be interested in one of my rugs, hooked years ago (despite the 2014 date); it happens to be hanging in the East Mountain Library in Tijeras, NM. It’s in an exhibit that was offered to Cathy for her work. She generously proposed to hang a couple of my rugs too. Here’s the rug I mentioned:

Stolen patttern — Here’s a close-up of my rug. I designed it as a table runner, and if I gave it a name, for the life of me, I can’t remember it. Guess I’ll call it “Stolen.”

Oh, and did I mention this one that I hooked in 2015, after I arrived in Albuquerque. I think that I was sewing rug binding on it at my very first guild meeting.

Stolen pattern — “Paging Party of Gray” is another table runner, just a little smaller, and it’s definitely not hooked in wool. But perhaps you’re noticing a pattern here? Like it should be called “Stolen”?

Okay, maybe I should mention that several months ago Cathy asked about purchasing the original rug – I use it to cover a small bench in my house. I had to tell her that it’s one of maybe three rugs that I won’t sell, that I actually use in my own house. Then she asked me if I’d draw out the pattern; she’d even try to sell it for me through her own hooking business. I said, “Sure, great idea!” And then I did absolutely NOTHING about it. Even when she reminded me. MY BIG BAD! So, I was thrilled when she hauled out “Stolen” yesterday morning. Laughed my ass off, in fact. Then we fantasized about how rich we could become if we started selling the “Stolen” pattern. Because you all know what a lucrative business rug hooking is. NOT!

That was yesterday’s fun. Regarding the RUG ON THE FRAME this week. I learned a little more about Boucherouite rugs after reading Liz Alpert Fay’s current Textile Art News. In the newsletter she had a story about Kea Carpet and Kilims (New York). The gallery’s Hudson location recently held an exhibit of rugs hooked/tufted by members of the Creative Growth Art Center (Oakland, California). Curious, I clicked on the gallery’s homepage and found…Berber rugs! Including Boucherouites! I learned that these rag rugs only started being made in the mid-20th century, so they’re a new thing. Check them out.

Dog on rug — Tynan presents this week’s **RUG ON THE FRAME**. I’m enjoying the wanna-be Boucherouite. There is **no way** I am capable of being blind to colors and throwing anything in, but it is, after all, a Boucherouite- *influenced* rug, not an actual Boucherouite. ***WHAT’S ON YOUR FRAME TODAY? STOLEN ANY PATTERNS LATELY? 🙂***

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July 26, 2017

Hooking an almost Boucherouite rag rug

Boucherouite rugs are my new passion! Sort of. See, I was going through my Pinterest pins – I put tons of things up on Pinterest for for later use (far more than I’ll ever be able to use) –

looking for inspiration for my next hooked rug and somehow I came across Boucherouite rugs. I must have been in my Indigenous Art folder or something and one thing led to another. Anyway, these rugs are colorful geometrics, very rustic-looking. Right up my alley!

Doing a little research, I found out that the Boucherouite rugs, also called carpets, are woven by Berber women in North Africa (often Morocco). They recycle old textiles and clothing to create one-of-a-kind rugs. Ah…sound familiar? Apparently, they became quite the home decor rage a few years ago. This blog post by Decor8 gave a nice overview back in 2013. (I am sooo behind the times…)

Looking at them, the rugs reminded me of how woven bedsheets hook up, so it seemed a natural extension to draw out something on the monks’ cloth that approximated a Boucherouite. Tynan’s showing you below what I came up with. It’s not a floor rug this time, but a table runner. I’ve got basic colors in mind, and I will use primarily bedsheets, but I plan on making a lot of it up as I go along. Please join Tynan and me on the journey. More next week…

In the meantime, where do you look for artistic inspiration? Favorite sources? Please share them with us in the comment section below.

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