No cutter? No problem!

From the Textile Museum website

Some folks are facing this pandemic without a rug hooking cutter. If you can borrow one for the duration, that’s great!  If not, here are some instructions on how to cut strips by hand. This is not something most folks want to do on a regular basis but if you’re only cutting a small amount, (or are a glutton for punishment) here’s how:

The first 4 minutes of this podcast from cindy Gaye gets into doing it by hand:



To cut a #8 (which is 8/32 of an inch, aka 1/4 inch):
- tear a strip 1 inch wide
- cut it into half
- cut the 2 halves in half, and now you’ve got 4 strips of #8

To make a #4 (4/32 or 1/8 inch)
- cut each of those #8’s you made above in half

To make a #6 (6/32 or 3/16 inch)
- tear a strip 3/4 of an inch wide
- cut it into half
- cut the 2 halves in half, and now you’ve got 4 strips of #6

If you’ve managed to produce a fairly straight #6 on some well-fulled fabric, you can indeed cut that in half to produce a #3.

Learn to rug hook!

Our group is not meeting right now while this pandemic is taking place. We’re staying connected via email, etc and catching up on all our unfinished projects!

There are folks, however, who want to learn how to rug hook and now have all this time on their hands. While we can’t meet up with you in person, here are are some links to info that will get you started:

Check out these free videos with how-to instructions:

   - Deanne Fitzpatrick is in Nova Scotia and has a wonderful studio. You can buy beginner kits from her, and she will ship them to you. 

https://hookingrugs.com/pages/beginner-guide

   - Cindy Gaye is us-based and the video linked here starts off a bit weird but she provides some good detail.  She has tons of other videos on her website. 

https://youtu.be/d3HuRWbjcyE

If you like books, here’s a new source....internet archive is putting together a resource of materials for online teaching during the pandemic and they just happen to include a bunch of rug hooking books and cindy Gaye videos

https://archive.org/search.php?query=Rug%20hooking

Maybe you have the materials on hand at home?

- a hook....even a crochet hook will do, 2-3mm

- burlap or linen for rug hooking

- a frame or embroidery hoop, to hold the burlap taut while you hook

- stuff to hook with.....wool fabric, yarn, polyester fleece are most commonly used

If you prefer to purchase stuff, here are links to folks who can provide beginner kits, and hooks and hoops, etc. 

   - Karen Kaiser is in Belleville and I know she can mail to you, or provide pick up from her front porch

http://artworksbykarenkaiser.net/

   - Loretta Moore is located north of Kingston, in Westport. She also will provide beginner kits via mail   

https://hookedonthelake.wordpress.com/online-store/

Keep watching our blog for updates on when we’ll be meeting again. 

Needlework and Nebulae

Looking for inspiration for a new project? Gord Reynolds, one of our “night Hookers” sent me this photo of an article on needlework and nebulae. It’s from the April issue of The Walrus magazine and looks quite interesting. If you can find a copy of the magazine it wb a good read. It’s on the work of Margaret Nazon, and a quick google search brought up several other interesting articles online, and lots of photos! Absolutely stunning!

Here’s one. 

And here’s another. 

That got me thinking......these wb great rug hooking projects, ones where you can use up whacks of stash.....hmmmmm.....

So I googled a few things and came up with some interesting images. The first set are needlework kits available with a celestial theme. The other 2 are just planetary images that I like.

If you google “nebulae” or “planets”, etc. you’ll get a whole whack of images that you could transform into your own masterpiece.

Also, here’s a link to a set of copyright free images using the term “galaxy”.

Peruvian Textiles

On a recent trip to Machu Picchu, i was mesmerized by all of the lovely textiles.....but didn’t have a lot of time to stop and study them....but....for your ogling enjoyment here are a couple of highlights.

The tapestry above was probably 4’x6’, hanging in an alcove at the hotel at the Machu Picchu site.  It’s woven, and features birds in a tessellated pattern.  Here’s a closeup of the birds:

There was no indication of the artist, but whoever wove it clearly knew about colour and value.  It looked like it was wool, probably hand spun.  I’m thinking that motif would likely work really well in a rug, right?

At another hotel in nearby Urubamba i came across a display case with work by local weavers, and of course i had to buy something....All funds went back to the craftspeople.

The sash/scarf is wool, and features hand spun and hand dyed wool.  The small bag on the left is alpaca.

While in Lima we went to the Inca Market and found a store selling woven fabric by the yard...i was sorely tempted to buy some, but limited myself to a few pieces of ribbon, in wool.

I would have loved to visit the local textile centres in the Cuzco region, but our trip was a brief one.  Here’s a video in Spanish that shows you the locals at work spinning and weaving.  Really fabulous colours.

https://youtu.be/kTa4BkVImPY

...and finally, here’s a photo I took at Machu Picchu itself.