Tag: guild

March 31, 2020

So, we have a little time on our hands…

Old Japanese drawing of Amabie — The Japanese Amabie is a mythical creature with a message to defeat the coronavirus: “Good harvest will continue for six years from the current year; if disease spreads, show a picture of me to those who fall ill and they will be cured.” Coronavirus, take that! Read more about the Amabie here.

Like you, it appears that I have a little time on my hands. So much has changed EVERYWHERE ALL OVER THE WORLD since my last post. It boggles the mind. Or, like my daughter put it, “I really can’t process this.”

Luckily, the governor here in New Mexico was on the stick and started closing things down pretty early, before we had but a few cases of COVID-19. And we have a less dense population than larger metropolitan areas in the country, especially on the coasts. Even more fortuitously, Tom and I saw the writing on the wall and started ~~hoarding toilet paper~~ laying in supplies before the stores were mobbed. Best of all, I managed to get my hair cut the day before we pretty much closed down town. Score! (If you saw how I mangled my toenails a couple of days earlier, you’d appreciate this better.)

The reality is that our home is a pretty comfy place to be confined to. Not that we’re truly confined. We regularly walk in the bosque, the woods running along the Rio Grande near here. Trips to Walmart and Sprouts and even Costco aren’t forbidden, though I fear they’ll become more and more dicey as Albuquerque creeps closer to our peak viral load come the end of April. We have a freezer full of meat and frozen veggies, plenty of wine and olive oil (the latter being the original reason for our Costco membership; the former being an awesome benefit), a treadmill and bike, LOTS of dog food, books galore, and subscriptions to both Prime and Netflix. Best of all, both Tom and I are starting out healthy. That can’t be understated. Oh, and we even still like each other more than two weeks into social distancing from all other people.

Hooked version of the Amabie — Since the Amabie wants all artists to draw a picture of it, I provided a hooked version. It’s the March 19 entry to my **Ribbon Rug Journal**.

But I do miss my friends and the activities that keep me running around like rug hooking demos in the BioPark, guild meetings, time working with Susan’s Legacy, teaching, visiting and lunches out… This week’s excursions out of the house: 1) Walmart for longer term provisions and 2) the blood bank. If you can donate, call your local blood center or hospital; donations are desperately needed everywhere!

Truthfully, I’m glad to have this gift of time. Even though I don’t work-work any more, I have responsibilities that keep me engaged in the community at large. Frankly sometimes they feel overwhelming. Probably because I don’t work-work, parent full time, and do all that other stuff at the same time. My efficiency and tolerance are out of practice. A couple of weeks ago, when this all started, I thought, yes!, I can do all the things I’ve been putting off. I can spring clean and re-organize the cupboards and pantry. I can clear out the piles. Have I? Not at all. Although, in an initial burst of energy and enthusiasm, I did clean the master closet (containing clothes and

Hooked rug wall hanging — I did manage to finish punching “Desert Sun.” The frame is a recycled basket plate holder. Find it on our **Etsy shop**.

hooking supplies) and adjoining laundry room. That’s it. Turns out I haven’t even hooked as much as I normally would. Though most of my hooking gets done in the evening, I typically day-hook a couple of times a week with guild-mates and friends. Yeah, one afternoon of day-hooking all lock-down. I didn’t think my efficiency could be any lower, but without due dates and such…free fall.

Vending and teaching events are all cancelled. Who knows when we’ll be able to reschedule? Venues like the New Mexico Fiber Arts Center, already in a precarious financial situation, may even fail. If you love NMFAC, old EVFAC, like me, donate to it. You probably have your own favorite organizations; support them before you lose them.

Things look kind of bleak, but they have in the past too. Live in the moment and do the things you’ve been putting off. Call a relative stuck at home alone. Talk to an old friend. I did that yesterday for over an hour. Where else did I have to be? It felt great catching up. Make things, anything: a rug, a shawl, a short story, a cake, a garden. We all know that when we’re creative, our mental health improves.

Dog on hooked rug — Tynan gives you this weeks “Whats on the frame.” We’re hooking with old bed sheets again. Show us what’s on your frame. Or your easel or your hoop or your page. (Meanwhile he’s trying to impress on little brother Bowyn that it’s a major sin to even look at a toilet paper roll with lust in his heart.)

To conclude, your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to show us what you are making these days. Maybe you’ll provide a little inspiration to someone who needs it. I want to see a bunch of photos on the High on Hooking Facebook page. Or email them to Laura@highonhooking.com; I’ll share them. And let us know how you and yours are doing. Spouses, partners, kids, grand-kids, and pets. Love the pets! Use the gift of time to stay home, stay busy, and stay healthy!

August 16, 2017

Studio construction!

Studio construction ahead!

It looks like it’s finally going to happen. I’m getting a studio. Woohoo! It’s been five months since the child moved out, leaving an empty bedroom. Tom repainted the room last week while I was at my guild’s retreat (what a great husband I have!). So, we should be a go.

The two pics below show what we’re starting with:

Studio construction zone. (That's part of my mobile shop on the right.) — Studio construction zone. That mess on the right is part of my mobile shop.

Studio construction zone. — The soon-to-be studio, otherwise known as a bedroom. Yes, those are t-shirts that were donated to my cause sitting in that laundry basket.

Okay, it’s not a completely empty bedroom. Some of the child’s clothing and her dresser remain here, as her apartment situation is not good for storage. Not a problem. I still have my kick-ass closet.

For those not familiar with my kick-ass closet and laundry room, they’re where I currently store all my fibers (t-shirts, wool, bed sheets, ribbons, etc.) and other rug hooking paraphernalia. I wrote about it here not long after we moved into this house almost two years ago. If you look at those pics, I can tell you that the real estate, while still fabulous, does NOT look like that these days. Between all the hooking I’ve been doing for various sales opportunities and the fact that my RA has been kicking my ass all summer long (thank goodness that my hands don’t take the brunt of it), continued organization has not been taking place. And, frankly, I’ve just got too much stuff. When people hear that you can make art with their old t-shirts, their kids’ and husbands’ old t-shirts, you get gifted a lot. Not that I’m complaining. At all.

Fortunately, we’ve got a room I can use. The closet can take back any overflow. And I can move linens I regularly use to a spot not requiring a stepstool. In the meantime, I need to do some second-hand shopping for furniture and storage units of some kind. A daybed (or a single bed overflowing with comfy pillows) will give me guest room if I need it. I’m really missing the big Ikea shelving units we had in our house in Massachusetts. Of course, Ikea has no presence anywhere in New Mexico. Boo! Now if I can only muster up the energy to head to the many thrift stores here in Albuquerque.

Still working on plenty of hooking, though. Below is the friendship rug I drew up Saturday. Ostensibly, tomorrow I will turn it over to a member of my guild and not see it till sometime next year. Nine of us are participating in the project. We’ll all hook about 64 square inches (8″x8″ or some similar permutation…) of each other’s rugs. The plan is to have a rug for one month and then switch. We’ll see how that goes.

hooked rug pattern — “Wild flowers…for wild women,” reads my friendship rug. (Because we all know how wild hookers can be. Drinking all that tea, listening to all that folk music.) Can’t wait to fill in all that background. Oh, and the letters too, of course.

Last, but not least, I did not forget Tynan or the Boucherouite-esque rug that’s still on the frame. (The friendship rug’s gotten in the way of my hooking.) I’m hoping to finish it by next week.

How do you deal with or without a studio? Work strewn all about the house? A hooker’s hide-away (you know, like a man-cave). Share your pics here or on the High on Hooking facebook page.

December 15, 2016

“Resting” in December and looking to hooking in 2017

Mug and rug. — A mug and its rug to welcome the cold winter months of 2017.

The calendar tells me that there are 15 or so days left to December and 2016. The 15 prior to today – and many more before them – seem to have just come and gone in a rush of mug rugs and holiday fairs and fall visitors and holiday preparations and meetings for this and that. Add in a dollup of family issues and arthritis crap, and I’ve realized that something’s gotta give or I will.

Fortunately, I’ve actually managed to get most presents bought and my cards and packages posted. (We were hoping to get back to New England this Christmas, but the kid has to work, so no dice. We will DEFINITELY be there next year!) Now I need to take some time, not really to rest per se, but to recharge and start thinking about 2017. That means sitting down by myself and playing and planning. The “by myself” part is the BIGGIE. Social media’s been a constant bug in my ear lately – the blog, Facebook posts for myself, H on H, and my guild. Hell, it takes so much time just to delete all the holiday offers I’m getting in my two mailboxes every minute of every hour of the last two months! And then there’s the stuff I actually want or have to read! It’s time to get off of the merry-go-round for a couple of weeks. Oh, I know it won’t be a complete black-out; I’m not that good. (Plus I’m nosy.) Still, I need to remember what it’s like to enjoy sharing something rather than feeling as if life on earth depends on my posting it.

What exactly will I play and plan, you ask? Don’t worry; I’ve got plenty to keep me busy for a LOT LONGER than I have.

First and foremost, I have to get my class proposal to the Espanola Valley Fiber Arts Center. Should’ve had it done last week, but that’s the holidays for you.
Since I’ve been going on about Albuquerque’s Fiber Arts Fiesta coming up in May, I really have to get on that stick and get my own project started. I’ve been running things through my mind for months, and I think I know what I want to create. Well, I almost did; it changed some last night in bed. Different lightbulb went on keeping me up. It’s time to run with all the ideas, mock them up, whatever. The thing is due for jurying come March 1. That’s like two months away! Gotta get to work.
Website and other business stuff. Jean Ottosen‘s been so good talking about her
Newest issue of Fifth Wednesday Journal.

business changes and challenges, that she’s inspired me. It’s time for a more formal approach. Jean, be warned! You may get a call.
Reading and reading and reading. I love to read, but this time of year, I don’t get a lot of pleasure reading done because it has to wait till I get in bed and you all know what happens then. Make no mistake, I’m reading plenty – at least two short stories each evening. I read the slush pile for a great lit journal, Fifth Wednesday, from October through January (and again in the spring). It’s a labor of love, particularly this year as we’re reading for the twentieth anniversary issue. LOTS of authors are sending stories in hoping to be included. Some are good, some aren’t. But it’s a great chance to switch up that creativity thing.

Mary Ramsey hooking a rug in December, 2016. — AWAG President Mary Ramsey working on her mug rug doo-dahs (see last week’s blog post). Notice how the glass she’s holding matches the wool so perfectly.

In between all those “workish” things, there’s always time for some fun. Yesterday the Adobe Wool Arts Guild celebrated the holidays and another happy year hooking together. Dagmar Beinenz-Byrd of ZiaWoolz hosted marvelously. There was food and a fiber-themed Yankee Swap And food. And hooking. And fun. Always fun. I got so lucky when I moved here and joined AWAG. I love my guild.

Darlene Nelson holding up hooked rug in December, 2016. — Isn’t Darlene Nelson’s wood man exquisite?

Linda Towle hooking a rug in December, 2016. — Linda Towle was working on her owl doodahs!

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and here’s to 2017! See you in a couple of weeks!

Pic of snowman mug rug in December. — Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from High on Hooking!

March 16, 2016

Hook with wool strips – me?!!?

Hooking with wool strips. (Yes, the outline is rug yarn.)

To continue on from the “discomforts” of two weeks ago, “Working a little beyond my comfort level,” I’ve decided to hook with wool strips. Admit it; your first thought is: “How in God’s name can that be at all difficult?” Well, here’s the thing, I can’t remember the last time I made a rug or mat out of wool strips. At least primarily out of wool strips; I often mix them in with the yarn and t-shirt strips, and ribbons and other fibers I tend to favor.

It doesn’t sound like a problem, but it does require that I change my technique some. First of all, punching made me a “packer.” I like a heavy, dense mat. It’s particularly helpful when I use t-shirt. No one wants a flabby rug for the floor or the table or the wall. Now, too, I have to pay attention to my loops. Do they stand up for themselves? Are they too crowded? Worse, tomorrow I have my monthly guild meeting. Everyone uses wool strips. I can’t help but compare mine to theirs. Mary and Linda are so meticulous with their loops; their rugs look… professional. Mine? Not so much.

This brings up another “discomfort.” Strip width. Linda generously offered to lend me her extra Bliss cutter a few months ago. Currently, I don’t own one, never have. I’ve cut by hand all these years. Because I initially used mostly yarn and then other fibers, this was no big deal. You can’t cut t-shirt with a cutter. But, hey, I like to branch out as much as the next gal. So, I’ve been cutting wool strips; they’re all (mostly) of equal width for this little rug – 6s.

My "poppies" made back in, maybe, 2011. Other than some black rug yarn and some silk and cotton (the pink and orange running through the petals), it's hooked in all wool strips. — My “poppies,” made back in, maybe, 2011. Other than some black rug yarn and some silk and cotton (the pink and orange running through the petals), it’s hooked in all wool strips.

Sounds good, but now I’m feeling more pressure when I look at Mary’s and Linda’s rugs. Such uniformity with all those same-size strips. And they have technique to match them. (And design and color sense.) Yeah, I don’t. In fact, you could say my uniformity is wholly in my non-uniformity. I could hide that some in the past when I cut my strips with scissors. Besides a sore hand, I’d have variable strips that lent an air of…eccentricity. Like your crazy, old great aunt, the one you love to death but can’t exactly say why beyond how she always wears bright colors like scarlet and teal and magenta.

There’s no hiding with the Bliss-cut wool strips. But it’s a challenge, and, like I said, I need to stretch a little. Besides, it’s only a little mat, about 8″x8″. I can handle that. And if I’m having problems, I have Linda and Mary and Mary and Nancy and all the others to help me out. That’s one of the benefits of belonging to a guild, a class, or even a couple sitting together on the porch hooking, chatting, and eating. (Someone commented on Facebook recently how much we hookers love to eat.) We’re there for one another.

There are many more tiny mats in my immediate future. Last week I received word that I’d been juried into Albuquerque’s Rail Yard Market. Not sure if we’ll sell much and how many Sundays I’m scheduled for, but there’s a lot of traffic, and it’s just a fun place to be. More about this later.

What hangs you up in rug hooking? Hooking perfect lines of perfect wool strips like me? Packing too tightly (note that I do not consider this a hang-up). Loop height? (By the way, I favor TALL loops.) Burlap versus linen versus monks’ cloth? Or do you subscribe to the thought that it’s all about personal style, to hell with the other artists?

Spring is blooming all over. Enjoy it. Get outside! This is an ornamental rosemary growing just over tour wall. Yes, we have used it to cook. It's pretty pungent, though. — Spring is blooming all over. Enjoy it and get thee outside! Here in New Mexico the high desert is crazy-flowery. This is an ornamental rosemary growing just over our wall. Yes, we have used it to cook. It’s pretty pungent, though. A little goes a long way.

January 6, 2016

Finding the new normal

Christmas and New Year’s are over; it’s time to get back to normal. But what if you don’t have a normal anymore?

That’s me these days. We’ve been in the new house in the new city in the new state for over three months now. It’s winter in the high desert. And, uncharacteristically, it’s been cold as New England (usually is) and kind of…wet. Today it can’t decide. I hear the rain pouring down onto my flat Pueblo-ish roof and, out the window, see snow flaking down too. It’s not a pretty sight. Forget seeing the mountains; they’re a distant memory having been shrouded in clouds the past few days. Bring back the sun!

Building my new “normal.” (Photo by tome213 at rgbstock.com.)

But back to the point: The honeymoon’s over. It’s time to integrate into community, to stop comparing and contrasting New Mexico to what we left, and to find the new normal. With no family here, I need a new “posse” bad. That’s going to take joining various groups here. To that effect, I’ve already got the the Adobe Wool Arts Guild and a church. It’s a good start if you ask me. These groups have networked me to the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council, the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers down in Tucson (I’m off to their hook-in later this month), Albuquerque’s BioPark, and a couple of church committees, including, hopefully, a new food pantry to work at. Registering with the SouthWest Writers is on my list for later today.

Still, it’s not enough. Plus, I’m feeling rather cooped up in the house. Oh, and the bills aren’t going to pay themselves. Sure, Tom’s retired, but I’m only 51, too young for that sh%$!!! Its time to find some meaningful work. Or at least something that’ll pay for the groceries (and that pool we intend to build this spring!). So, it’s hi-ho, hi-ho, off on a job search I go. Unfortunately, Albuquerque’s got some unemployment issues. Not sure what I’ll find, but at least it’ll let me meet more people.

I was spoiled by my last job, running the food pantry back in Massachusetts. I loved the job, its flexibility, and especially the people. But, like I said, I’m looking for the NEW normal. Although I recently re-did my resume, I haven’t looked for a job in years. Guess it’ll be another adventure.

Anyone else jumping back into the workforce? Have any tips to share? Contacts here in Albuquerque? I’ve got an eclectic background, and I can use all the help I can get.