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Colors of the Southwest

The Colors of the Southwest show put on by the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council is history. It opened Friday morning; there was a “meet the artists” reception that evening. Saturday it ran all day. I was there Friday evening to view and schmooze and Saturday afternoon to demonstrate rug hooking. Took a LOT of pics as there were many, many talented artists represented. Enjoy!

This is Cathy Kelly's rug dedicated to her good friend Emma Webber.
This is Cathy Kelly’s rug dedicated to her good friend Emma Webber.
Very southwestern. "Joya Voladora en la Puesta del Sol" by Molly Gallegos
Very southwestern. “Joya Voladora en la Puesta del Sol” by Molly Gallegos

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"The Rare Desert Elephant" knitted by Tara Cummings
“The Rare Desert Elephant” knitted by Tara Cummings

 

 

 

 

A close-up of "Sitting Pretty" by Rod Daniel
A close-up of “Sitting Pretty” by Rod Daniel

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vibrant “New Mexico Vortex” by Margaret Shumaker

 

 

 

"Intergalactic Tourist" by Nancy Ellis-Hines. (Oddly enough, Tom and I headed out to the movies to see "Star Wars" again after we left the show Friday night.)
“Intergalactic Tourist” by Nancy Ellis-Hines. (Oddly enough, Tom and I headed out to the movies to see “Star Wars” again after we left the show Friday night.)

 

 

 

 

"Abundecia de Flores," an exa,mple of colcha embroidery, by Annette Turk
“Abundecia de Flores,” an example of colcha embroidery, by Annette Turk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Roadside Bloom Plastic" woven by Mary Colton
“Roadside Bloom Plastic” woven by Mary Colton
“Flamenca Naranja” by Dana Helms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Beauty in the Wilderness” quilted by Anita McSorley
Tapestry
Tapestry
"Desert Trolls" by Tara Cunnings
And lastly, the too cute “Desert Trolls” by Tara Cunnings

 

 

My own "Ribbons Over Albuquerque"
My own “Ribbons Over Albuquerque”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council and member guilds on a show well done!

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Preparations

It’s Easter week and there are all sorts of preparations to make. Okay, we”ve had time for a little New Mexican exploration too.

Monday, Tom and the dog and I headed over to a part of Petroglyph National Monument

The view from Petroglyph National Monument looking south down the RIo Grande river valley.
The view from Petroglyph National Monument looking south down the Rio Grande river valley.

that we’d never visited. For those not familiar with the park, it “protects one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers.”

We observed very cool rocks and their lichens. (This is for you Karen Miller of Karen Miller Designs.)
We observed very cool rocks and their lichens. (This is for you Karen Miller of Karen D. Miller Studio.)

The national monument – which stretches about 17 miles along  Albuquerque’s west side, right near our house! – also includes several volcanic cinder cones. We hiked up one of them and were treated to fabulous views of the Rio Grande river valley.

 

 

As I mentioned last week, I was juried into a big farmers’ market here, the Rail Yards Market, which starts in early June. I’ll be vending about every other Sunday morning through September. That means I need to get on the stick and make several small mats. They tend to sell better. While there are a fair number of hookers in these parts, the general population is far more used weaving as the prominent fiber art. Here’s hoping they embrace my slightly less than traditional offerings. All I can do is try.

A new 8"x8" mat almost completed. Just needs to be pressed and finished off. Woo hoo!
A new 8″x8″ mat almost completed. Just needs to be pressed and finished off. Woo hoo!

 

The Colors of the Southwest show is next week! While I finished hooking “Ribbons Over Albuquerque,” it needs to be sleeved. It’s due in by Tuesday or Wednesday. Guess I better get on that too.

And lest we forget, it’s Easter week! When I joined a church out here, I volunteered to be on the Art and Environment committee. Turns out not to be as sexy as it sounds. It means that I help to take down various decorations during holidays and put up liturgically appropriate ones. At Christmas time, I did a lot of ironing for them too. We’ll see what’s in store for me Friday and Saturday. I’m hoping not to break any glass candle holders this time.

 

Some kind of tiny, yellow flowers on top of the cinder cone at Petroglyph. They were well protected from the crazy winds we've been having.
Some kind of tiny, yellow flowers on top of the cinder cone at Petroglyph. They were well protected from the crazy winds we’ve been having.

To those who celebrate, I wish a Joyous Easter.  Enjoy your own preparations. To everyone in the northern hemisphere, I bid you a happy spring. Albuquerque is full of flowering trees and shrubs. And pollen. Don’t forget the antihistamines!

Lilacs before Mothers' Day. Who knew that was possible?
Lilacs before Mothers’ Day. Who knew that was possible?

 

 

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Working a little beyond my comfort level

Finished project: "Ribbons Over Albuquerque."
Finished project: “Ribbons Over Albuquerque.”

Between my arthritis and my newest rug, I’ve been spending some time hooking beyond my comfort level. The project for the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council’s Colors of the Southwest exhibit – you know, the one I’ve been going on and on about – was due early this week, and late last week I hadn’t even finished the hooking! That meant that Thursday and Friday I hooked during the day, an unusual event for me. I generally work in the evening for two to three hours while I watch television. So far that’s not taxed my RA too much.

Friday I was able to start finishing the main body of “Ribbons Over Albuquerque” (more on that in another post) and preparing its little “outrigger” piece. This is precisely where we approached and then zoomed by the comfort level. First and foremost was the physical. The main part of the rug is approximately 13″x39″.

Time to sew on the binding!
Time to sew on the binding. Ouch!

 

Now I really don’t mind the hand-stitching involved: tacking down the monks’ cloth backing and then sewing up the twill tape nice and pretty like. It’s easy when I use wool strips and/or yarn. Needles flow into those fibers like a knife into butter. Not so t-shirts. It’s tough getting even an itty bitty needle to pierce tightly packed t-shirt loops. But I did it, finished it late Saturday afternoon. My knuckles are still recovering.

The little outrigger part of the rug constituted the weekend’s other challenge. When I initially designed the project, I intended for the bows, i.e., the “ribbons over Albuquerque,” to all be hooked into the one piece. Preparing the pattern, though, I realized that one of the bows, the very top one, needed to “sail off” into the air, as it were. How to do that?

Luckily for me, Lucy Richard of the Wooly Mason Jar sparked some conversation on Facebook by posting something about finishing rugs. This led to talk about the Doris Eaton Edge – her method of sewing binding tape to the rug before she hooks it (as I do) and reverse hooking the row immediately next to the tape which I have never done. Until now. Because the bow was to be hooked from a white, “crepey,” diaphonous fabric, I needed to beef it up, you know, make it bulky enough so that it would stand “up” and be visible next to the much bigger and much more colorful part of the project.

Various thoughts came to mind. I needed something with more body than twill tape to edge the little bow. And it couldn’t be black like the twill tape on the big piece because it would be visible. What to use??? I’d edged the other bows in the piece with a lightweight silver ribbon, but was afraid to use that as binding tape; figured stitches would rip right out of that sucker.

Sudden lightbulb moment!

Stitching the binding - wired ribbon - to the design.
Stitching the binding – wired ribbon – to the design.

I had a roll of wired silver ribbon in-house. I could easily stitch backing to a wire edge. It worked like a charm. I was able to boost the ribbon’s inherent bulk by using Doris’s reverse-hooked first row. Sure, it was a little wonky pulling those loops. In the end, I decided not to attach the two pieces, to hang them separately, but the exaggerated, almost 3-D effect of the white bow allows it to hold its own next to the big piece.

Binding all stitched on and first row of loops hoooked a la Doris Eaton.
“Binding” all stitched on and first row of loops hooked a la Doris Eaton. (I.e., you’re seeing the back of those loops.)

 

All hooked and trimmed. Ready to sew down "binding."
All hooked and trimmed. Ready to sew down “binding.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you to my Adobe Wool Arts Guild members, Mary Ramsey and Melinda Lamott, for their support Saturday while I was working on the little white bow. We participated in the Albuquerque Biopark‘s Winter Wool Festival giving demos and helping little kids pull loops. I love doing that stuff. sharing our passion. So what if I wasn’t using wool?

Is rug hooking easy for you, your safe, happy place? Or do you spice it up trying new techniques or use fibers other than wool? How’s it feel going beyond your comfort level? Share your experiences. 

 

For those interested, here is the YouTube link for the Doris Eaton Edge:
The Doris Eaton Edge

 

Melinda Lamott and a young rug hooking disciple. "Drink the Cool Aid, Padawan."
Melinda Lamott and a young rug hooking disciple. “Drink the Cool Aid, Padawan.”
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Hooking feverishly, but what to do about those achy muscles and joints?

Tentative working title: "Ribbons Over Albuquerque." Has to be done and submitted by Monday!
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.
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…

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