Rug Hooking Workshop

'Pullets' 3 x 4' hooked rug, designed by Alice Kelsey, hooked by State College Rug Hookers

I'm excited to shift gears a bit, and concentrate on fiber arts in addition to continuing plein air painting.  I learned the art of rug hooking fifteen years ago from Sarah Hess, who grew up on a farm near Pine Grove Mills. Sarah recalls farm women making rugs from worn-out garments, reusing the material to add warmth and charm to the home. Rug hooking became a wonderful, exciting, new medium for me, and was very conducive to creating while my three children were young. It kept the 'creative fire' kindled in me, and was a bridge to learning how to use pastels as I created designs for the rugs. A small group of 'hookers' (wool that is!) gathered monthly to work together on the same rug, with younger women with kids (playing around the rug frame), and older retired women  working (and visiting!) together, until loop-by-loop a finished rug was grown! The group (State College Rug Hookers) created more than five large rugs, which were donated to raise scholarship funds for a local school (State College Friends School), and 4-H group (Centre County 4-H Sheep Club).

I enjoy the easy-going, bold creating in rug hooking, and the friendships developed in a shared creative process. I'll be teaching the basic skills at at local Fiber Arts Festival organized by the Huntingdon Arts Council, and hope to pass along the techniques which may blossom in others' lives! The PA Fiber Arts Fest takes place on May 25, 2013, and offers workshops in many types of fiber arts and related crafts- see http://fiberartsfest.org/information.html for information. There's still time to register, and if you are interested in rug hooking, I'd love to share my enthusiasm and technique tips with you!