April 10, 2015
![Introduction to Rug Hooking]()
We have a winner of our book giveaway. Congratulations, Corinne! We know you will love this book!
The drawing was random, and the entry question was, "Which rug most inspired you?" We got some great insights from entrants. Here are just some of the ways rug hookers are inspired to take up the hook!
Thanks for inspiring us with your responses!
(And there's another giveaway on the horizon. Keep an eye on Facebook for details.)
The rug that most inspired me was one my grandmother made about 80 years ago that was on the floor of her house while I was growing up. I now have that rug, but I don’t have it on the floor any more as it is too precious.
—C.G.
I don't remember a particular rug that inspired me, but the artist was Sara Beth Black in NC. She had a space rented in a yarn shop and gave free lessons. I didn't do too well. :(
Then last fall I went to the Brandywine Hook-In to pick up some wool applique patterns from the Old Tattered Flag and saw everyone hooking and decided to try it again! I'm now a member of the Woolwrights Guild and still learning and doing much better than on my first try. :)
—D.B.
I believe everyone inspires me to hook! But probably the most inspiring was Elizabeth Black! I took her class several times and enjoyed her company, her spirit, and her friendship. Everything she hooked came to life!! I enjoyed her animal patterns, her dry wit, and sense of humor! I love being a rug hooker. The friends you meet make your life so much better, and pulling loops makes me exceedingly happy. I feel grateful to be a fiber artist.
—D.B.
I am not sure I can tell you the ONE RUG that inspired me, but rather the situation that I was in when I first saw this wonderful art form. I am a puppeteer by trade. Third generation to be exact. My mom was booked at the Indiana State Fair for a two-week run of shows. I can up to visit her for one of her performances, and we had time to kick around in between shows. We walked into on of the buildings that had all sorts of people demonstrating different crafts. I met a LOVELY bunch of ladies all working on what the called their "hooking" projects! They all had different types of designs. One woman saw my intrigue and let me pull through some loops on her piece. I was immediately HOOKED! I bought a kit that they had for sale. When I got I home I worked on it immediately! Since then my life has been super busy and I have always thought about this art form. I recently found my little kit and looked up a local place here that sells wool. I am going to try my first real original piece here this spring!
—H.S.
One year ago I had never heard of rug hooking, never saw a hook rug. I was at the Fiber Fest in Irving, Texas, just walking around looking at all that beautiful yarn! Then I look over and OMG, I saw the most beautiful folk art “Welcome” hanging rug (this was the only rug hooking booth there, and I found it). I was in love!!! That was one year and about $2,300 ago! The same Fiber Fest is coming around again... I'm afraid to go!!! But won't miss it!
—G.H.
Not long after I visited China, I saw a hooked rug of a panda bear on a site for a rug hooking shop. I know I just HAD to hook that bear! I called the shop and asked if they sold the pattern.They told me that they didn’t stock it but gave me the name of the hooker who designed it and hooked it. Unfortunately they did not have her contact info but I tracked her down using Facebook and asked if this was the right person. To my delight, it WAS! She lived about an hour from my home, but we arranged a date and time for me to drop in. Not only did I pick up a pattern of the panda bear that I loved, but we enjoyed chatting about rug hooking and she showed me her studio and many of her completed rugs. What an inspiration! Now I can’t wait to get cracking on my bear, which reminds me of the amazing trip I had to China!
—L. H-S.
I am a new hooker. I was inspired by a few rugs at my aunt’s cabin, but the one that spoke to me most was one in a bedroom that she has decorated with a theme of cowboys. She actually designed it with her husband, who has since passed away, which makes it just that much more special.That is when I fell in love with rug hooking and made contact with a lady to have her teach me how.
—C.S.
Being Nova Scotian, I always knew about hooked rugs. I even collected a few (one that my husband commissioned of our Golden Retriever in a field of lupins). My mother owned a Grenfell Mission rug that was always on our piano bench when I was growing up (her friend was a nurse at the Grenfell Mission in the 1940s). I now proudly own this rug.
However, I never had any desired to hook rugs ... the thought never even crossed my mind. I didn't think it was for me. Too linear. Too many rules. Too many straight lines, etc.
Then in 2009, I walked into Deanne Fitzpatrick's studio in Amherst, Nova Scotia (about 20 minutes from our summer cottage) and everything changed. I was so blow away by her artistry and breaking of rules, that I actually said out loud (without realizing it) : "I wonder if I could hook myself." It so happened that Deanne heard me, walked over to me, and sat me down at a Cheticamp frame and showed me how in a minute lesson. Fifty rugs later, the rest is history. I love rug hooking! And from rug # 1, I have designed all my own rugs. That's the part I enjoy the most!
—R.H.
The hooked rug that most inspires me is the one, in the future, that sits in my living room. I envision sunflowers upon sunflowers upon sunflowers. However, I need to learn the technique properly before embarking on that journey :-)
—S.B.
My “one rug” was hooked by my Great Grandmother Minnie Hoffman Miller. I inherited it from my grandmother, her daughter-in-law. It’s a large floral, and Minnie took it with her to the nursing home. It managed to survive the industrial washing machine there, and I thought I want to make something that will last as it has and still be beautiful. Her creativity with different kinds of fabric is an inspiration to find the perfect piece or color--even if it’s not wool. I wish I could tell her in person how she has inspired me.
—S.L
read more