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“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
    Picture of FIfth Wednesday Journal's current edition.
    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!
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A second New Mexican Thanksgiving!

 

I can’t believe we’re about to celebrate our second holiday season here in our newly(ish) adopted state of New Mexico. Thanksgiving is in two days! Tomorrow is the day to bake pies and get a head start on some side dishes. Come Thursday morning Tom, Tynan the Dog, and I will head out for a hike in order to burn a few calories before we slice into the turkey and taters and tarts. And as always, thank goodness, there will be hooking.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Remember, it’s all about the gratitude. (And the pumpkin pie.)

Happy Thanksgiving from High on Hooking out in New Mexico!
Happy Thanksgiving from High on Hooking out in New Mexico!
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If I hook it, they will come. Really?

"Welcome to New Mexico", 29.5"x20", $225, Recycled t-shirts
“Welcome to New Mexico”

The rug that generates the most talk when folks come into my booth at the Rail Yards Market is the one I call “Welcome to New Mexico.” Many of you already know its story; that I started it right before I left Massachusetts late last July to move to Albuquerque. In my mind I’d work on it while the child and I crossed the country on our new adventure. I pictured myself contentedly hooking in motels each night as I decompressed after a day of driving. That didn’t happen once, not even when the kid spontaneously combusted in Scranton, Pennsylvania, when she thought her cell phone died. (I swear that I left at least a year of my life on the side of the highway there…)

No, I didn’t hook at all on the road. First of all, it was difficult just getting our things in and out of my Honda Fit each day. If you haven’t seen one, it’s a tiny car, and I’d packed it to the gills. Truthfully, it was enough every evening to find some dinner, catch up with important emails, call Tom (who was still back in Mass waiting for the movers), and brush my teeth before I fell asleep over my magazines.

The sanity-saving, hit-or-miss rug. Wonder where the inspiration for the color scheme came from? Hoping to put it on the floor in the new house.
The sanity-saving, hit-or-miss rug.

Hence, I started the rug in earnest when the kid and I arrived at the house we were renting till we found our New Mexican castle. (Therapy!)  It was designed to be a rug of convenience in that I was using t-shirts in the colors of the high desert and no set design. Old t-shirts in reds, browns, greens, and such are pretty ubiquitous; better, I’d found that Albuquerque had Savers stores. Savers has for years been my thrift shop of choice for used clothing to deconstruct and then hook with.

The hooking was done right quick – by the beginning of September. The finishing would have to wait until we moved (again) and I had more table room. To me it was an alright rug; it served its purpose, certainly, but I didn’t love it. Imagine my surprise when I put it up for sale at the Rail Yards this June. It was the mat that everyone pointed to when they perused my stuff. “Love that!” “Look, it’s got a Zia!” Even, “Hey, Sue, you should buy this one for your office.”

New Mexican flag courtesy of flags-to-print.com.

An aside:  For those who don’t know about the Zia sun symbol, here is a description from Pueblo of Zia:

The Zia logo is used by the state of New Mexico on both the flag and license plates.

The symbol originated with the Indians of Zia Pueblo in ancient times. It’s design reflects their tribal philosophy, with its wealth of pantheistic spiritualism teaching the basic harmony of all things in the universe. (http://zia.com/home/zia_info.html)

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by its popularity. Zia suns are all over the place here: on our license plates, on t-shirts, worked into company logos, and so on. Silly me for thinking it would be seen as touristy or, at best, kind of kitschy. I mean, I’m from New England, but I didn’t have photos of sailboats or lobster statues throughout my colonial home.

A few weeks back a woman came through my booth; she had a marketing background and did a lot of work with arts and/or craft shows. The first thing she told me (after saying that she loved my work, that is) was that I needed to have more Zias. that people would eat them up. And that my mug rug concept should be “expanded,” that I should hook a larger rug, big enough to hold four mugs. That “if I hook it, they will come.” (And, concomitantly, they will pay more.)

What the hell, I thought, Let’s try it. Tom and I ran to Savers a couple of days later (if I go on Tuesdays, he gets me a senior discount of 30%!). There weren’t four matching mugs that would fit the New Mexican bill, but I did find two colored turquoise. Fine, we’d start small-ish. Below is what I came up with (minus one mug for the pic).

"Coffee for Two, NM Style" really came with two mugs. Sold!
“Coffee for Two, NM Style” really came with two mugs. Sold!

Fast-forward to this past Sunday. Everyone loves the “Welcome to New Mexico” rug, but, of course, no one wants to pay for it. (I know the owner-to-be is out there…) Lady comes in, is looking for a gift for her mother. Takes her a while to decide on one with the “perfect” colors that will match her mom’s home. I realize suddenly that I don’t have my Square, that I left it in the car. Tom makes a run for it. Lady walks around the market with her husband while we wait. Tom and she arrive back at the same time. I start to input the info into Square. “Wait!” she says excitedly. “Can I have this one instead? I think she’ll really love this one.” The Zia rug with its matching mugs is $10 more. Of course, you can!

So, I’m about to start making a lot more New Mexican-themed rugs and mats. That’s okay. I find it an interesting challenge to come up with different designs that don’t bore me, that have some panache beyond the typical tourist crap you find in Old Town Albuquerque. But I’m not one to design according to others’ preferences – unless they’re paying for a custom rug, of course. Fortunately, these will tend to be smaller rugs. For myself and my own “artistic sense,” I usually have another rug running, something that’s less work and more…therapy. Right now that’s a bedsheet rug. Pictures will soon be available.

"Desert Gone Wild"; 23"x9.5"; $90; Recycled t-shirts, SOLD
“Desert Gone Wild” is a rug that sold two weeks ago. Color, for me it’s all about the colors.

 

What about you? What do you like to hook? Landscapes? Geometrics? Portraits? Florals? Realistic versus stylized renderings? I know many love to do seasonal pieces. Me, I love pumpkins and other things fall, but I’m not a lover of Christmas rugs. It takes so long to make one, how can I put it out for six weeks at the most? Weigh in below!

 

 

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Our little New Mexican Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from High on Hooking out in New Mexico!
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.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhpu2tq9GG4

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!

Back to my menu-planning now…

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