Robin Inkpen demonstrated rug hooking last weekend at a “Pop Up Market” at the annual Gourmet Food & Wine Fest in Donnybrook, a town of orchards in Western Australia. All who took part in this venture were artisans of the first order. Many came from far and wide to this gala event. Robin was not selling handmade rugs from recycled fabric and yarn, instead was promoting her workshops in rug hooking and locker hooking.
Robin said they had a great supporter in their local book shop, “Donnybooks”. The owner welcomed them with open arms and let them have the Pop Up Market in the undercover area outside her shop, which is in an old fruit packing barn and nearby to the Food and Wine Fest.
There was a constant queue of interested and curious people who were interested in both the technique of rug hooking which Robin was doing at the time and also keen to know that she was using recycled fabric and yarn.
Robin lasted about 5 hours before her voice gave out! She said it was a great day and she collected a long list of email addresses of those wishing to come to a workshop and gave out masses of business cards to others who were interested and said they would email her.
It is just 3 weeks before Christmas and we are about to be plunged into the heat of summer, so her workshops won’t happen until March or April.
InWestern Australia – the Wanneroo Rugmakers Group have been involved with 5000 Poppies – a nationwide project which aims to display handmade fabric poppies in Federation Square in Melbourne for the centenary of ANZAC Day 2015.
Communities across Australia were asked to donate their creations in commemoration of those who served in World War One. The Wanneroo Museum has supported those in the community who wished to be involved, by gathering together locally made poppies.
In recognition of the Wanneroo community’s contribution, a selection of the poppies (knitted, crocheted & prodded, attached to a section of WWII camouflage netting) is currently on display in the atrium in front of the Museum at the Wanneroo Library and Cultural Centre.
Appropriate timing since the display will be up for Remberance Day (11th Nov).
Another Melbourne Connection: – The Melbourne Cup
At their meeting on Saturday 1st November – the members of the Wanneroo Rugmakers were busy creating proddy flowers which were turned into stunning “fascinators” to be worn to Cup Lunches the following Tuesday.
While in the South West – at Donnybrook
Robin Inkpen is getting ready for Christmas and has created yet another colourful hooked bag.
Robin has patterns for these bags available for sale in a kit which includes the paper pattern, instructions on how to put it together and a coloured picture. You can contact Robin at robin.inkpen22@gmail.com and read more on her website.
South Australia;
While our rug hooking friends in the northern hemisphere are rugging up for winter – it looks like South Australia is in for an extremely hot summer!
According to Jenny Anderson of the Strath Matters group, weather conditions at their meeting on Friday 7th November were extremely uncomfortable. However the very hot temperatures didn’t deter their group from enjoying a show and tell of recent projects –
Jenny’s tea cosy, a commercial pattern, (Willow) hooked in 12ply wool from Bendigo Woolen Mills, was purchased at the Strath Rugmaking Expo from Faye, a South Australian rug hooker who learned to hook from Pam Whitehead in 1972. Pam was from England and had lived in Canada before migrating to the town of Elizabeth in SA in the late 1950’s. Faye also knew Joyce Emery, a member of this Guild until recently, who was one of Pam’s first students, Pam and Joyce taught rughooking at a local girls high-school. Joyce went on to teach rug hooking in country areas around SA when Pam no longer could. Joyce was also a member of The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers; she was the first of the featured Australian Rugmakers during Australia’s term as Host Country 2009-2012.
Faye, Joyce and members of the Elizabeth Rug Group who were all Pam’s students, gathered at Pam’s home one Sunday each month for show & tell, afternoon tea and encouragement on projects. Faye said a lot of information and fabric was shared and Pam held a stock of rug patterns and fabric dyes (imported). Pam also imported cutting machines, hooks and other tools to sell to the Rug Group. It was some of Faye’s 40 year collection of rug hooking supplies that was being sold at the Expo.
Many of the Expo participants purchased patterns and went home eager to start hooking. The one I purchased had an original tag on it from Rittermere in Canada. The company is now Rittermere, Hurst, Field (RHF – http://letshookrugs.com/).
Having met Jeanne Field at TIGHR Conferences and heard how she came to be connected with Rittermere, this was a special purchase for me. Jeanne is now retired from the business and RHF is being run by her daughter Andrea Sheppard. It is truly amazing how rughooking spans the globe and links us to friends and other times.
It will be interesting to see images of the old patterns appear on this blog as they are finished – it will be a trip down memory lane for some of our rug hooking friends overseas.
Trish Carter drew up her own pattern on Hessian for the Koala – hooked with Judith Stephens’ hand-dyed carpet wool – it’s destined to become a cushion cover.
Trish’s dragon rug was also hooked using Judith’s hand-dyed wool yarn.
As Christmas is not far away, the Strath Matters will feature Christmas Trees on the Guild Stand
Pictured right is a prodded Christmas Tree by Judith Stephens
VICTORIA:
Below; Chris Noorbergen, a member of the Yarra Valley Rugmakers, with Marion Nefiodovas of the Strath Matters, at the Strathalbyn Rugmaking Expo. Chris is explaining her colour plan for the Canadian rug pattern she purchased from Faye. After the event Faye was able to provide Chris with a photo of this rug completed by one of the members of the Elizabeth rugmakers group. You can see the photo and read more about Chris’s experiences at the Strathalbyn Expo on the Yarra Valley Rugmakers blog
NEW SOUTH WALES:
Members there are also thinking Christmas –
in March this year Annette White’s “Three Wise Men” rug was featured as a work in progress in a news report of the Narrawilly Ruggers weekend rug retreat at Milton – here it is again.
Three Wise Men by Annette White
…..and now, here is the finished wall hanging. It is 57cm x 57cm and Annette hooked with all recycled silky materials; velvet, wool and ribbon with pieces of broken jewelry added to give the crowns some sparkle.
INTERNATIONAL:
International Rughooking Day – Thursday 4th December 2014.
The TIGHR web manager would like to hear of any specific events Australian Groups have planned for this Celebration which is to be featured in Rug Hooking Magazine.
Please send “who, what, where” to Susan Feller (email: rugs2wv@yahoo.com) so she can post on the TIGHR website. If you’ve got something happening ahead of time, please send her images and a description of the event.
OR….. members can send an image/s of any events happening on the 4th December to Susan on the day – there is a 12 hour difference between Perth and where Susan is, (so 15 hours from Sydney) she will post your Aussie 4th Dec images on the Rug Hooking Magazine page in the wee hours of the morning on the 4th December in the USA thus Aussie events would be the first to show up.
Two events are already scheduled in WA –
The Wanneroo Rugmakers will meet at an ocean-side restaurant on the 4th of December for their ChristmasLunch and then adjourn to the beach for an afternoon of rughooking show and tell. The location is a popular one, so they will probably draw a crowd.
South of Perth in Donnybrook – apple country – rughooking will be celebrated ahead of the December 4th. On November 29th there will be a Gourmet Food and Wine Fest in Donnybrook, a town not far from the the vineyards and wineries of Margaret River.
A small group is having a POP UP MARKET during the Festival where Robin Inkpen will be promoting rug hooking and her workshops. As well as demonstrations, she will also display a few rugs, but is not expecting to sell them. Robins says people always love the rugs but are much keener to know “How did you make them?” Robin says people love watching you ‘do something’ so she’ll sit hooking a rug and is expecting to be a draw-card for the event.
The following report was forwarded by Annette White of New South Wales.
As part of the annual Milton-Ulladulla Artfest, the Narrawilly Rugmakers entered a substantial variety of rugs made by members of the group for Exhibition in Miriam Miller’s rug room and picturesque surrounds. The Proggy banners made by Coral Christina, were a great help in directing people there.
The beautiful spring weather couldn’t have been more favorable. Even the setting up of the venue was fun to do; rugmakers equipped with hammers, nails and string, decorated the timber walls of Miriam’s cottage in vibrant colours, patterns and pictures hooked and progged into beautiful rugs.
Rugs were hanging from trees, flowing in the breeze on the washing line, and draped over the kitchen garden fence.
As one stepped into the famous rug room, they would be greeted by ever more rugs, including two rugs made and donated by Canada’s Karen Kaiser. A couple of items made by blind people in The Gambia were also displayed.
People had a chance to see some rug making in progress, and also give the craft a try on a stretcher frame set up outside. It was a pleasure to see how keen and interested our visitors were, especially some young boys who showed considerable talent.
Your couldn’t miss the sign to the tea & coffee stall. Delicious homemade cakes were served and then enjoyed on the veranda; decorated with more beautiful creations of the rug making trade, together with a stunning view over the surrounding landscape. It was nice to see happy people lingering and relaxing over their refreshments. A nice amount of money made from selling these and the raffle tickets recovered the cost for entry of the Expo into Artfest and a donation to the Blind Ruggers in The Gambia.
The flow of visiting people was steady, and it seemed every one was impressed with what can be produced with up-cycled discarded clothing, old blankets, yarns, never ending resources. The atmosphere was great, and hopefully people went home inspired to be creative.
Before the “big rush” on Sunday morning, Miriam drove a small group of us to Granite Falls to admire the lush abundance of the Boronia flowers and the spectacular view of the water falls. A much appreciated treat.
We are very grateful to Miriam for initiating such wonderful events and opening up her beautiful home and surrounds for all to enjoy.
Miriam Miller, rughooking instructor, NSW Australia_photo, Gillian Lett Milton Ulladulla Times
A U3A rugmaking group, 20 active women in Bermagui, NSW, has taken on a very ambitious project:-
they are planning to create a 7metre wall hanging to help absorb sound in the local Surf Life Saving Club.
Here are just a few of the group of novice rugmakers with their first practice pieces.
Anja, Dawn, Sheila, Hazel, Lyn and Elizabeth (kneeling)
This community arts project has begun with a local artist (86 year old Rona) painting her 7metre drawing of a Bermagui scene. When completed the group will transfer the design to 1 metre panels of backing so that they can work on it in small groups.
They think the completed panels will have to be hung individually, with a small space between, as joined together the wall hanging would be enormously heavy and unwieldy. The leader of the group is a self taught rug hooker, the rest have no experience with rug hooking, but between them they are coming up with some sensible solutions.
They’d welcome any advice on their proposed project
(Besides……………… not to attempt such a hug project in the first place!)
You can post a comment below, or email rugcraftersaustralia@yahoo.com.au and your message will be forwarded.
What do you get when you marry a lost traditional craft with one-off design?
Three pieces of unique and valuable fibre art!
In January, it was decided that it was time for the members of the Sunshine Coast Rug Crafters to “fly solo” on a collaborative community project that would challenge them to design and handcraft a series of fibre art pieces that would ultimately be donated for a community fund raising project.
Judi Tompkins (group coordinator) recognised that some members were not convinced they “really” had the skills to produce fibre art of a quality that it could be offered for public display – in spite of the fact that nearly every member had been besieged to “make me something” by a friend or family member.
Behind the scenes, Judi thought this community project would be an ideal way to let the group prove to themselves that they had the skills to carry off such a major project and planning sessions were held regularly at Judi’s studio. (Judi did not work on any of the pieces but was available to discuss traditional techniques and design.)
The group decided to design and hook three wall hangings using the theme “Under the Sea” and guidelines were developed to insure that the three pieces could “stand alone” or be displayed as a triptych of the chosen theme: “Under the Sea”.
Each piece incorporated some of the same fabric so the theme was carried through with the materials as well as the topic. The members sorted themselves loosely into three teams and over the next nine months gave birth to three healthy, unique pieces of fibre art.
A spectrum of positive outcomes resulted from this group collaboration:
The project confirmed members knew more about this craft than they realised.
Through collaboration they developed skills to give and receive praise / criticism.
Recognition they possessed good problem-solving skills – they didn’t need “the teacher” to fix things.
Members’ knowledge / skills of other crafts led to innovative solutions.
All learned to project plan every finished project – not just those for public display.
They can each confidently offer advice and help to others.
Collaboration is a great way to work – at least once in a while!
In appreciation for their support of the Sunshine Coast Rug Crafters, the triptych of wall hangings were delivered to staff of the Beerwah Library and the “Friends of the Beerwah Library” for their fund raising activities.
43 women devoted to the art of making beautiful but practical rugs and wall hangings from recycled fabric.
They came despite the wind and rain – nothing would prevent them from making this occasion memorable, and it was.
(Maggie Whyte besides the huge tractor we needed to pull a car from the boggy paddock. Many inches fell this day while we were inside the Rug Room having a great time.)
It all began in September 1994 after an advertisement was placed in the local paper. Seven women gathered in Miriam Miller’s home to be shown “how it’s done”, and left very keen to continue on with a meeting on a monthly basis. Who would have thought then, that 20 years later we still meet on the first Friday of the month and only a few years ago included the third Friday. We have never missed holding our rug day since inception. Our meetings are held on the Miller property, in Milton.
When thanking all for coming, Miriam outlined our brief history and where rug making has taken us; from small beginnings to being able to invite International Rug teachers to our shores. Members have been enriched by their visits as they impart new ideas and techniques. Australian rugs have their own individuality and from slow beginnings the enthusiasm for making rugs has spread to every State, with healthy groups in Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Queensland, ACT and New South Wales. We can now boast an Australian Rugmakers Guild formed on 11 October, 2008 with Board members from each State, and meetings held using Skype. We had “Show and Tell” following Miriam’s talk and saw some wonderful examples of our members’ expertise.
Miriam Miller, teacher, Emeritus of the Australian Rugmakers Guild., Past President of The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers, is a driving force in the promotion of rugmaking in Australia; she is the author of Australia’s first rug book “Proggy and Hooky Rugs”, and has recently brought forward a revised edition.
Her students have traveled from every corner of our country.
Since inception we have diligently kept a record of every meeting and the rugs made by our members. These books were on display for members to look back on and to reminisce – how some of us have changed.
Maxine Keys, who was unable to make the reunion, sent a hand-knitted rug for us to raise funds and the charity we chose was The Gambia School for the Blind in West Africa. This was hugely successful, and the winner was Florence Smart from North Turramurra.
It’s amazing isn’t it; from little things big things grow. Who would have thought that the small advertisement in our local paper 20 years ago led us to where we are today.
The previous post showed images from the Canberra Quilt & Craft Fair.
Displayed at the Australian Rugmakers Guild stand was a brilliantly coloured rug featuring Canadian Maple leaves.
This rug was hooked by Karen Kaiser from Canada who recently visited Milton, NSW and gave two workshops at Miriam Miller’s Rug Room at Narrawilly. As she was leaving, in appreciation for their wonderful hospitality, Karen gave Miriam and Jacqui two of her rugs.
Miriam and Jacqui travelled to Canberra to help Maggie Whyte on the first day of the Fair and they took the Maple Leaf rug to display. Maggie was thrilled as she is also a member of the Narrawilly Proggers and had attended Karen’s workshops.
So even though Karen didn’t make it to Canberra on her Australian visit – her rug did.
The Australian Rugmakers Guild was represented for the first time at Expertise Events Craft Fair in Canberra last week. Maggie Whyte was responsible for organizing friends and local rugmakers to demonstrate rughooking.
Maggie said it was a great success – they talked and demonstrated to so many, there was hardly time for a coffee.
Maggie said she heard so many times….. “my mother or grand-mother used to do this or they did it as small children”. She’s wondering what happened to the interest in rughooking in the meantime?
Hopefully these demonstrations, follow-up local workshops and national events, like the South Australian Rughooking Expo, will generate more interest in this craft.
Look for a group in your area or an Instructor on this website.
Karen Kaiser, of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild, and her husband Kurt, from Belleville, Ontario, were visiting the Milton-Ulladulla area and while at Narrawilly Karen held two workshops. On design and colour in rugs and the other, dyeing and backgrounds.
(Above) Karen, preparing dye pots and
(Right) Karen with Miriam Miller and Jacqui Thomson who organized the workshops in Miriam’s Rug Room at Narrawilly
Both workshops were attended by enthusiastic rugmakers who were pleased to have the opportunity to learn from an international instructor.
Local rugmakers were amazed to hear the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild has over 1,000 members and fascinated to hear about the differences in their rugmaking.
Canadians and Americans tend to use new wool fabric, whereas most Australians use recycled fabrics. While recycled fabrics make rugmaking very inexpensive, it is sometimes a challenge to find just the right colour to create the desired effect.
(Left) Maggie Whyte (Canberra, ACT) and Elke Smith-Hill (NSW) are members of the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers and also The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers. (TIGHR) Images of work by both Maggie and Elke are shown on the TIGHR website along with a translation into German by Elke – “Why Join TIGHR“.
Karen, Miriam and Jacqui are also TIGHR members.
(Below)Setting up Karen’s rugs for display at the workshop; note Poppies by Karen on the back wall.
If you are interested in seeing some of the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers work, they are holding a rug exhibition as part of Milton’s Artfest during the weekend of 27th/28th September, 2014 from 10a.m. to 4p.m.
The Venue: “The Rug Room” 35 Stony Hill Lane, Milton
Editors note: Judith originally a New Zealander, lives in QLD, Australia, and recently exhibited a hooked rug creation in an exhibition in Kingaroy, QLD, commemorating
100 Years of ANZACs
The following photographs, with Judith’s comments, show the progress of her hooked creation.
Judith says: I used a rag mat (recycled fabric) as the medium because it was a common thing at the time and I left it “imperfect” because nothing about war is perfect.
Here the wording is almost finished. The stars represent the Australian Flag and the actual rug measures 58 x 85.5 cm.
This photo is to show you don’t need expensive equipment to make rugs
I found this British flag in the Op Shop and thought it a fitting backdrop as the young men shed their blood fighting for the British.
To make it more meaningful to the local residents, I copied the names from the Roll of Honour at the local war memorial of all the men from the area who died in the 1st World War and then wrote their names on the flag.
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pots and
ar is perfect.
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