Jo Wick Shares Her Rug Hooking Journey

Jo was inspired by Alice Strebel & Sally Korte of Kindred Spirits in Dayton, Ohio, and had taken several classes from them.  As luck would have it, their booklets with wool applique also had rug hooking projects in them. 

Jo's childhood friend Dalene McIntire and she had done lots of crafting together ~ quilting, macrame, etc.  Then they decided to learn how to rug hook. A Nancy Miller pencil hook was purchased from Kindred Spirits.  So they got together one day and tried rug hooking using one of Alice & Sally's books.  That led the gals to sign up for a class with Kindred Spirits at their shop in Dayton & the rest is history!!

Interesting side note is the fact the Kindred Spirits mitten above was the very same first project with which I learned to hook also.  

Above is the booklet which both Jo and I began our journey into rug hooking; you can see the mitten on the cover.

Jo is led to the primitive style so those are the rugs that grab her attention.  She has a few rugs in the house which were made specifically for a location.  They were hooked due to their large size or made bigger to accommodate a large wall.  When taking a class/workshop she likes to hook a rug that has been designed by the teacher.  However, most rugs are hooked because she likes them and then decides where to put them. 

Her favorite colors are primitive red, mustard, brown/black, teal & a touch of purple. (A Barb Carroll signature!). 

In 2007 Jo says she was privileged to attend her first Barb Carroll workshop with friends at Barb's home. Until that time she had hooked only small mats and not on a regular basis.  She hooked her first large rug with Barb and her love for primitive style began.  

Name of the first large rug above is 1885 Horses and can be purchased from Woolley Fox.  Jo says she has learned so much from Barb ~  from learning there is no rights or wrongs in rug hooking, hook what you love, less is more (Emma Lou Lais) and build a rug as you go - and the color planning of a rug!  

More recently, Jo has hooked "neutral" rugs with Barb Carroll & Jayne Hester and is now drawn to those primitive rugs.  The rug Olde Nutfield (above) was hooked with Barb Carroll in 2015, a design by Ruth Hall.

Some advice Jo has for newbies is....don't pack your loops & don't worry if the loops aren't perfect.  Loosen up and just enjoy hooking!  She is wanting to hook more antique looking rugs and likes the "higgedly piggely" style. It took a while to get away from the perfect, even lines and to hook haphazardly in the antique primitive style. 

Jo hooks in the living room on a stuffed wing back chair with a floor frame & good lighting.  An antique butcher block table beside her holds necessities.  Jo prefers the quietness with her best time in the winter with a fire in the fireplace. In the summer, like Elaine, she likes to hook on the deck with the birds and natural light.  

She belongs to a rug hooking guild and joins friends periodically to spend the day hooking & sharing.  Jo says she still attends monthly evening hook-ins at Ali Strebel's and is fortunate to have her live close by.

More advice for a newbie is to join a guild or find hook-ins, especially if money or time to go to camps is difficult.  Jo says the motivation, inspiration & ideas from her hooking buddies is priceless. She has formed valuable friendships with rug hooking gals that will be her life-long treasures! 

Another suggestion for newbies:  keep a photo journal of your rugs. She has a photo album that is updated regularly and is working on her second photo album.  Each picture includes a description of rug, including title, designer, size and date.  You will forget and will want to look back on your rug hooking journey!!

Here is a clean sample of the form Jo uses if you'd like to copy it.

Thank you Jo for sharing your valuable information.  I'm sure everyone will enjoy your journey as much as I did.

In any of you would like to participate in this 'getting to know you' segment visit the original post about the Questionnaire.  Have a wonderful evening.

Saundra

Thinking About The Next Rug

'Tis true, with 2 rugs not completely hooked and the Challenge rug ready for binding am already thinking about the  next one to go on my frame.  Hey, a hooker needs to be prepared, right?   

During the winter months it is fun to either challenge myself or work on a rug which I know exactly how I want to hook it.  My thoughts now are wanting to hook a piece with a variety of textiles like our foremothers used to do.  

Since I have been a dollmaker have loads of homespun, calico and other fabrics including velvet.  Some of that velvet is cotton and some is a man-made fabric.  For sure it would require washing the velvet to get the sizing out and make it more flexible.  Am thinking of cutting quarter yards of various colors and putting in a pot of Rit tan dye to tone it down a little.  

Here are a few of the velvets in my stash.  And YES, I see the orb in the fabric on top far right.  Even went upstairs to check the fabric to be sure there wasn't a mill print or stamp on it.  Nope, an orb and not sure if it is associated with the house or with that particular piece of fabric and can't remember where I purchased it....maybe the thrift shop.

Before I decide to dye or not to dye would need to find a vintage pattern suitable to give me an idea of which textiles, including velvet. Am thinking of hooking a mostly neutral rug like Jayne Hester would hook.  I wouldn't use velvet exclusively, wool and cottons would be included to make it look old.  This is something I'd really like to try on my own first then later go to a class and learn how to do it right. A Jayne Hester class is definitely on my list!!!!!

If any of you have dyed or hooked with velvet would love to get your input.  Can a cutter be used, does it need to be torn, can a #8.5 strip be used or cut wider?  Am certain that for cottons it would require a wider rip than 1/4" and guessing velvet would be normal cut.

Also, if any of you are interested in joining in a challenge using a design of your choice that would be fun too.  Of course still need to finish these other pieces hanging in the wings.

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while you already guessed that I'd end up changing the foot of that dog....yup; you're right.  Here is a picture of the update and still not bound.

However, binding will begin at my son's house on Thanksgiving day as he cooks, and his wife Cathy is perusing the papers to schedule her Black Friday venture with her sister and niece after dinner.  Nope, I'll not be part of that craziness.  

Have a great evening everyone.    OH!!!!!!  I know that I've followers, and thanks to the new ones who joined.  BUT.... IF you want my blog posts sent to you by email look just below the "Followers", there is a box where you can enter your email address and the posts will come to you automatically via email.  OR, you can email me and I'll add your name in that section for you.

Again, have a great evening and a Happy Thanksgiving with family and friends.

Saundra