Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Our Hook-In & I Had to Laugh!

Our hook-in on Saturday was so much fun. When I got home I fixed dinner & cleaned up, then spent about an hour working on my rug. I had to laugh when I realized that I accomplished more during that hour than I did all day long at the hook-in! Was just to busy visiting, looking & listening to get much hooking done. Maybe that's normal? I'm still new to this hook-in business so I don't have a clue. LOL We had a demonstration on crock pot dyeing which was eye opening to me - Lisa actually dyed leftover worms which was great cuz they could all be used together in a design after being treated to the same dye bath - I have worms coming out my ears so I'm definitely going to be doing this (as soon as I find a good crock pot at the thrift store). Arline shared different ways to finish the edges of rugs and different ways to hang them and/or display them. I think the most educational part of the day was when Londi gave a short impromptu lesson on color theory - she taught us about "Mother Color" - not sure if that a proper term, or if it's something she coined herself, but it sure made a lot of sense to me. She's a professional artist, but explained it all in terms that we could understand and relate to - awesome! Lunch was catered Mexican food - so delicious! There were enough door prizes donated that every single attendee received one - people were so generous in their support!

Anyway, here are some pictures I took during the day - not all-encompassing, but a glimpse of what went on.

I really liked this rug that Tami made - she's a new hooker and this was her very first attempt at making a rug - took her only two weeks from start to finish! She used all as-is wool from thrift store clothing, and designed it herself using her love of quilting for the inspiration - she did a great job and I think she will accomplish a lot with her rug hooking. Oh, and she cut all her strips with a rotary cutter! Her 16 year old daughter was there with her working on a locker hooking project - so fun that mother and daughter share the same interests.


Tami brought this rug that she had borrowed from a neighbor, hoping that someone would know something about it. It's a shirred rug made of bias cut wool strips - so thick and cushy on the feet! One of the gals in attendance has made these before and explained a little bit about how they are made. She's never seen one with a design worked into like this - I guess usually they're just done with concentric rows.


LeeAnn designed and made this small rug - how fun that it's in a frame. And I think it appealed to me because of the quilting influence I could see in it - so fun to combine two loves.


Victoria made this for a little granddaughter - we all loved the soft colors - the background had the palest hint of pink in it.

This is MaryJo's first ever rug - she's moved on to fine cut rugs after taking a class from Jane Olsen at Cambria Pines last year.


Marianne made these two sheep rugs - the one laying flat is HUGE! And I love how she framed the long skinny one. She works at a local quilt shop and dyes all the wool they sell there. I would say she is a wool expert because she also makes wool quilts.


Marianne is also making this brightly colored geometric - each square is about 6" I think.



These next two rugs were made by Jennifer - she designed them herself - I love the braided border around the edges.



Marilyn got her flower pokes all attached to sticks from her backyard. I think she plans on adding green leaves to them - most she will give away, but I hope she keeps a couple for herself. So many fun colors - great way to use up scraps!


Lisa designed this beach rug to symbolize the time she spends with her Grandma on the beaches of Florida - she had it published in Create & Decorate during the summer. The aqua wool is so perfect for the ocean, and you can't tell from the picture, but the starfish is sculpted a bit.


Here is Angela's newest rug - a wonderful Lady Liberty design - I love the movement she hooked into the background. I'm sure the design is available for purchase on her website if anyone is interested.

This is a terrible picture, but these rug hooks were so beautiful - made of blown glass! This one is more of a pencil hook, but there was a ball handled one too. The weight of it was so comfortable in the hand. They are made by a local guy so if anyone is interested I can get the information for you.


So - that was our day. We're discussing now whether or not to create a State Guild, and how often to schedule the hook-ins. Utah is starting to arrive in the rug hooking world! Yay!

11 comments:

Doris said...

What a wonderful hook in for a first "go." I love the rugs and the originality of them. What a lot of thinking hookers! Can we have some infor on the glas handled hooks???

Kathy (woolfind) said...

Thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds like it was a lot of fun! The pic's were great. Keep on hooking!

Charlotte said...

I like the long skinny sheep rug. It would go perfectly at your house!

ShabbySheep said...

Thanks for sharing the great rugs with us!

Nedra said...

Thanks for the show and tell. I wish I could have joined you, and to see everyone's rugs was almost like being there. I knew a few of the people you mentioned and that was fun too. How wonderful you feel you have enough people gathered to possibly have a state guild! I remember when!

Karen~The Barely There Primitive Bear said...

I just wanted to stop by and thank
you for becoming a new friend joining me on my blogging journey! I love, love, love the rugs! I bought me a couple books on rug hooking, but haven't gotten the wool, yet....One of these days,
I will learn it, I hope...Come for
a visit again, soon!

Bear Hugs~Karen

The Wool Cupboard said...

Gayle ~ What a full day of interesting topics you all covered! Thank you for sharing all the great rug pictures!

Karen~The Barely There Primitive Bear said...

I just read some older posts and I love your sheep collection!

Bear Hugs~Karen

Rugs and Pugs said...

Gayle ~
Thank you for sharing the pics with us. I always love to see what others are hooking. The first rug you showed was great for a first attempt. She is destined for glory!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Mimi Sue said...

Looks like you guys had lots of fun. Loved that geometric rug. Gorgeous. Mimi

Glimpse of My World said...

Wow... love them all!