Tag: rug hooking

April 13, 2016

Heading down Memory Lane looking for a rug

Memory Lane can take you to the best places. In this case, Story land around 1970. — Memory Lane can take you to the best places. In this case, New Hampshire’s Story Land around 1970.

Memory Lane’s got me in her grip, but I managed to come up for air for a few moments. For one thing, this post is due tomorrow. As long as I can get a draft done today…

I’ve been going through hundreds of old family photos that my brother and his wife generously uploaded to Shutterfly from slides my father’s been taking for decades. It’s a huge undertaking and the job’s not done yet. But at least family history – the good and bad of it – won’t be lost, and the collection of pics doesn’t have to be split between the four of us kids.

Why am I going through photos today? And not just my father’s but my own family’s as well? It actually has to do with rug hooking. Really! In less than a month Cheryl Bollenbach is paying a visit to Albuquerque, specifically to the Adobe Wool Arts guild, to facilitate an open class with us. I know, it’s exciting. It’s open, so we’re choosing our own projects. Cheryl will be informed ahead of time, so that she’ll know what we’re looking to learn and what we need help with, then she can prepare accordingly. Actually, she’s waiting to hear from us, um, me right now. I received her email Friday. Still haven’t responded.

Dancing with Grandpa. Maybe I was 13-ish.

See, between creating hopefully saleable small mats and working on the bed-sheet rug (which presented a not-so-small backing challenge this past week) in order to have enough inventory for the Rail Yards Market come June 5, I haven’t been thinking too much about the class. Sure, now and again – usually at 2:00 a.m. in bed – I’d agonize a little over it and what I wanted to accomplish with Cheryl, but I’d comfort myself with “Hey, it’s not till May. You’ve got plenty of time.” This week I realized that May 4th is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

Deep breath. More thought. One goal I’ve had for 2016 is to hook a sefie. Not something particularly realistic, but one of those whimsical, full-of-color mats I’ve seen some of you put up on Facebook and Pinterest. What fun! I’ll do that. But then I got to thinking, I haven’t done

Tynan, family dog extraordinaire. (We all say that about our dogs, I know.) Love his color, but not interested in hooking that much Welsh springer spaniel red and white.

Tynan. He’s our dog who simply must be immortalized in wool or t-shirt or something. Again, not looking to make him realistic either. Did that with another dog and really didn’t enjoy it. Ripped out a LOT of loops. Hooking’s supposed to be my happy place. And what I want to do in one of these rugs is show that and the joy that Tynan and/or I get from life. That means bright colors, people.

So, I’m looking at pics, and I see my beloved grandmother. And my brother who passed away from cancer at 14. I could hook them! Or pictures my dad took of Nova Scotia during our camping trips! What about the mountains of New Mexico that I’ve fallen in love with? Or my daughter behind a feathered Mardi Gras mask circa 5th grade? Now I’m out of control. Really, I’ve never mined my photographs for ideas given my love of abstract. I guess it’s time.

I know that many of you do use your pics to hook. I’m looking for some advice regarding Photoshop. Looks like it can definitely be a great tool. Thoughts? Ease of use? (I’m Windows based, not Mac.) Happy to hear from everyone. And I’ll let you know sometime soon who’s getting a portrait done.

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.

March 9, 2016

Refilling the creativity tank

It happens: the creativity tank starts to run low and needs gassing up. After rushing to finish and then submit “Ribbons Over Albuquerque” last week, I had to come down, recharge, give my brain and swollen hands a rest. That’s not a bad thing; it opens me up to new experiences which is always a great thing for dreaming up new rugs and mats.

So, just what do I do when I’m not hooking but still want to keep the fires stoked?

I cook. Gluten-freedom has made that a little…interesting. But you can’t beat it for almost immediate gratification. And my family is oh, so appreciative.
Field trip! Last week Tom and I headed to
Flowers seen at Albuquerque’s Biopark last week.

Albuquerque’s Biopark Botanic Garden where I do rug hooking demos once a month. I’d never seen the rest of the park! Now we’ll go every season to see how it changes.
I take pictures of things I deem “interesting” as possible design candidates. If the pic sucks, just hit DELETE. Easy-peasy.
Never underestimate the joy in visiting a Penzeys spice store just to sniff the merchandise. Especially if it’s next door to a Michael’s. Just be careful around the Berbere Seasoning if you value the nerves and blood vessels in your nasal cavities.
I grab the dog and the husband and hit a trail. Or even a nearby sidewalk. You never know what you might see even in your own neighborhood. (Don’t forget the camera!)
I succumb to my magazine habit: Bon Appetit; Women’s Health; Su Casa, Sunset; Fiber Art Now; Rug Hooking; Cooking Light; National Geographic; Poets & Writers, and any rag I can pick up for free when leaving local establishments. Then I cut and paste into my journal or inspiration box. My grandmother taught me well.
Heeding the garden’s call! We’re still trying to figure out how we’ll handle
Hooking of a different kind.

this now that we live in the high desert and have much less land. But there will be flowers and tomatoes and herbs!
Crocheting simple things like scarves keeps my hands busy and lets me buy yarn. (As if I needed an excuse.)
And lastly, a trip to a local winery or distillery never hurts.

Keep me safe from alcoholism. Share how you recharge your creative battery when you’re not hooking.

March 2, 2016

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.”

February 24, 2016

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.

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…