There were shows within shows at Rug Hooking Week. Ellen Banker curated one dealing with words and I’d like to share some of those with you, as well as some of the many rugs in the show that included words.
This is one of my favorite Ellen rugs, called Lost Cow. Can’t you just see that hanging in a bookstore or coffee shop?
Another Ellen favorite – A Rug Hooker’s Sampler. What a fun idea to make each letter a separate design. I also really like the asymmetry of it.
This rug, which Ellen brought to class, was particularly intriguing to me. You can see Baltimore hooked quietly into the background, but do you also see that Baltimore refers to the designs? The rug is made up of bits of Baltimore Album quilt patterns. I just love this idea and may have to steal it one day.
I am always a sucker for a sheep! Marian Hall designed and hooked this wonderful sheep rug, entitled Herdwick Tup. She also dyed to wools for it, and was our official wool supplier in class.
Ellen and Marian designed this magnificent rug together, Speaking Shakespeare. That is a lot of small script in narrow wools to hook, and it is done beautifully.
You may remember that I took a class some years ago with Donna Hrkman. She designs and hooks the most amazing rugs! They are often monochromatic and usually include words. I happened to run into her at the show and she said that she had finished this incredible rugs just days before she needed to deliver it.
Donna had so much to say about this rug, which is called Best Friends, that here are her words: (And isn’t the Dayton Public Library lucky?)
This concludes my reports from Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week! I hope you enjoyed seeing it through my eyes.
Thanks for these photos Debbie – are you sure you don’t want to post one more compilation of Sauder rugs? You have posted some beauties.
There were so many shows! There was a braiding one which I didn’t really photograph…
You’ll laugh at this, ’cause you like to do fine hooking like I do. A woman in my class was using an 8 to hook the little birds on one of the samplers. First she pulled it out because she thought it looked like a vulture! Then she pulled it out because she thought it looked like a fish. (I thought it looked like the state of Tennessee!) I am using mostly 4’s so I can get some detail in. People are funny… I am usually drawn to the finer pieces.
These designs blow my mind! I guess I haven’t paid much attention to rug hooking–and the amazing things artists are doing with it!
You are in the hotbed of hooking my friend! Here are some links for places to go…
https://greenmountainhookedrugs.com They were at Sauder; five generations of hookers. ;-D
https://dorrmillstore.com/site/ Wonderful wools!
https://gmrhg.org/date/hooked-mountains-xix/ This is a very active group and they show lots of events.
http://wcushing.com One of the mainstays of the hooking world. They manufacture dyes (which I don’t use) and the founder, Joan Moshimer, was one of the doyennes of the hooking world. Some of her rugs and the drawings for them, are spectacular.
Look at Rug Hooking magazine in the library or online and they will list events. NH and VT are loaded with them. I’m jealous…
Some of the women in my quilt guild are also into hooking–they’ve told me about some of these resources. I like looking at the works of art but NO NEW HOBBIES for me! 😉
Ha! I so understand…….
All of these are just wonderful. Thank you of this post. I am so impressed. Another craft I must try ~ Sharon
Rug hooking is really fun. My husband thinks it is the most creative thing that I do…
Hoping to go one day. Looking forward too to meeting Donna Hrkman here next April.
The schedule and workshops for next year will be up on the website soon, I think. The area is not much to talk about and the food at Sauder is pretty awful, but it is a very fun event.