Tag: High on Hooking

July 5, 2024

Convergence, here we come!

Convergence poster

Are you going to be at Convergence* next week? I hope so, and I also hope that you drop by my classroom to say hi. No, at this moment, I have no idea where my classroom might be. As a Convergence newbie, I’m taking it one day at a time.

While I’m clueless about my class location on Saturday (July 13), I do know that Friday I’ll be at the Marketplace entrance volunteering from 1:30-3:30. (After that, I’ll most likely be IN the Marketplace. Don’t tell Tom. Hopefully, he’ll be napping in our room then.)

At some point we’ll both head to the exhibits (and probably the Marketplace again). I’ve got a piece in the Leaders Exhibit. Very exciting!

Hand-hooked purse — “Seasons Change” can be found in the Leaders Exhibit at Convergence. (Instructors are referred to as “leaders.”) She’s hooked with wools and repurposed textiles.

Beyond that, there are no plans. Of course, I’ll be taking notes and lots of photos. Keep an eye on my Instagram; I’ll post if I get the chance. A full report will follow here. 🙂

If you’re into fiber arts at all, I hope to see you in Wichita next week!

*More on Convergence. HERE and HERE.

April 1, 2024

Tynan, 2008-2024

On March 28, after celebrating his 16th birthday, Tynan, the original High on Hooking Dog, left us for a place of eternal food on demand and no more pain. To say that we’re sad here is an understatement.

Tynan the High on Hooking Dog — RIP, buddy. We miss you!

Tynan was the last of his litter of eight. He celebrated his birthday with kielbasa, Costco chocolate mousse cake, and treats brought to him by his fan girls. All were eaten with gusto. While his back legs had given out (the night before), his stomach and his heart had not.

A gentleman his entire life, Tynan had adventures. Initially, in Massachusetts, with big brother Murphy, and later, here in New Mexico, with Bowyn.

Again, we thank Faye of Ivywild Welsh Springer Spaniels in Connecticut with entrusting this special dog to us all those years ago.

Run and eat free, Tynan!

March 4, 2024

Stories Are Made Loop By Loop

HOLES to be part of STORIES ARE MADE LOOP BY LOOP, curated by Susan Feller

Stories Are Made Loop By Loop is all about contemporary rug hooking being done with fabric, yarn, and plastic and how an “old” technique is still being used to tell stories and for self expression. Susan premiered the exhibit last year in Virginia. A few months ago, I shipped Holes (hooked in 2020) to Susan in West Virginia, so it could join in at this traveling show’s second stop.

Hooked art — “Holes,” 68″ x 33″, monk’s cloth hooked with recycled textiles and silk sari ribbon. See her in Stories Are Made Loop By Loop in WV.

This Friday, March 8, the exhibit opens at the Juliet Art Museum, part of the Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia. Participating artists include: Cheryl Bollenbach, Meryl Cook, Susan Feller, Elizabeth Miller, Karen D Miller, Domenica Zara Queen, Terri Todd, By Jane’s Daughter, UnitingUs, Grue Shackleford, and Laura Salamy. See the artists’ social media accounts to see their stories and ongoing creative journeys. More information about the artists can also be found HERE.

If you’re like me and can’t get to Charleston, Susan has generously made the catalog available HERE. Topics taken up in the various pieces of art include: healing; cancer and mental health issues; motherhood and how it changes a woman; homelessness and addiction; environmental destruction and loss of natural resources; one’s sense of identity and finding a voice; and veterans’ advocacy.

Like many fiber arts, rug hooking is enjoying a bit of a renaissance, with artists applying more modern sensibilities and trying to bring attention to today’s social causes and passions. See the show, peruse the catalog, and observe how we’re all taking an old art form and using new/old techniques and materials to tell our stories. But like the artists who came before us, we’re still appreciating the colors and textures of this slow, meditative form of loop-making.

January 7, 2024

Cheers – it’s 2024!

Happy 2024! I hope that everyone toasted to love and life at midnight a week ago. Tom and I did, albeit at about 6:00 PM. Drinking late at night doesn’t work well any more. LOL Besides, even after more than eight years out here in New Mexico, we still celebrate the New Year on East Coast time.

Happy 2024

My 2024 will be a big teaching year.

Classes are scheduled for the Española Valley/New Mexico Fiber Arts Center up in Española, New Mexico, this month (1/27, hooking) and in February (2/24, punching). The hooking class is full, but they’re opening a second session that should be on March 9. It hasn’t been posted yet, though, and probably won’t be for another week or so.

In Aril, we’ll be up in Loveland, Colorado, for the Maker Festivals Colorado/Yarn Fest Again, I’ll be holding workshops in both hooking (4/13) and punching (4/12). I love Colorado, so I’m pretty pumped for this trip.

And in July, we’re off to Wichita, Kansas, for HGA’s Convergence. Hooking’s up (7/13). I remember the marketplace when Convergence was in Providence 10 or so years back. Read about that HERE.

And while I’m not teaching at In the Studio Online’s Workshop Week 2024, I am the Administrator, so very much in the middle of things. If you’re looking to work with teachers you see on social media but couldn’t travel to, check out our offerings right this minute. Prices are right, and no travel is needed! Classes are filling. We’ve got some great bonus events too like a talk by Liv Aanrud sponsored by Sauder Village. And if you’re interested in attending Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village in 2024, Deb Ridgway will be giving a free talk on that and more. (BTW, some of the SV teachers this year are teaching at WW2024! Again!)

Fortunately, all of these events are at least a few weeks away, as I’m still recovering from a much too busy December. And the kid arrives tomorrow from Seattle to have her holidays. Sadly, in the hospitality industry, one does not often have Christmas off. So, I will be busy with family this week but still available if you have any questions.

My wish for you all is a 2024 filled with kindness and creativity. Learn something new; risk a bit and maybe you’ll surprise yourself!

July 18, 2023

MAVWA UPDATE – Punch needle class info (and more!)

Updated information

Logo for the Mountain and Valley Wool Festival

Mountain and Valley Wool Festival
Santa Fe in October

If you read the previous post from way back in June – hey, it’s summer and I’m enjoying a break! – you saw that I’ll be teaching an all-day workshop on punch needle rug hooking. At that point, I didn’t have the info on when the class would happen. I do now!

The class will be on Thursday, October 5. It starts at 9:00 and ends at 5:00 or whenever you decide you’ve punched plenty. Because MAVWA’s workshops happen on Thursday and Friday, students won’t miss any of the festival events that weekend. In fact, because my workshop is Thursday, you can still take a class on Friday too! See both days’ offerings HERE.

Punch needle rug hooking — Punch needle by Amy Oxford. Original design.

If interested, please note:
To allow folks from places afar to plan, festival organizers make decisions about workshops running in early September. If they don’t think they have enough students by around Labor Day, they will cancel a class. It happened to me last year. If you think you want to take a class, forget late registration. Do it now! Or plan on a private lesson here in Albuquerque. That also happened last year. LOL

In addition to this MAVWA update, take a peek at our CALENDAR page. There are some new listings just today. Most exciting is that I’ll be teaching a INTRO TO RUG HOOKING at Convergence in Wichita next July. I am sooooo thrilled. HGA (Handweavers Guild of America) hasn’t yet put up the info for Convergence, but keep an eye out for it. Back in 2014, before I moved out here, I attended the exhibits and vendors’ market at Convergence when it was held in Providence. Little did I know that I’d be a part of such a BIG EVENT so many years later. Or such a great organization. HGA promotes all fiber arts here in the US and abroad.

Lastly, I’m finally going to make it to Sauder Village’s Rug Hooking Week this year. WOOHOO! As a judge for this year’s Celebration contest, I was invited. I even get to put a rug in the Celebrations exhibit. How cool is that? Also very exciting: Because I hooked New Mexico’s cushion for the USA50 project, I have a piece in that exhibit too! I only wish that Ruth Simpson could attend with me. I did the easy part – hooking – while she had to put the whole thing together! Read about it HERE. So if you’re going to be there, I hope we can meet up. I’ve no plans other than soaking it all up and taking lots of pics. Let me know!

So, it’s been a busy summer so far. If you’re going to be in the New Mexico area, okay, a really BIG area, give a yell. High on Hooking will be at at Las Golondrinas in Santa Fe again the first weekend of August for the Beer and Food Festival. Stop by to say hello and pick up a gift for family, friends, or yourself. In the meantime, stay cool!