events – Rughooking Australia

Out of the ashes

ISSN 2007-001X 28th January 2020

The danger is not over yet, but some areas have had a reprieve, even some glorious rain!

This Blog contains excerpts from the Facebook pages and emails of Guild members affected by the bushfires. There are many reports on TV and in newspapers, but what follows are unedited reports from those involved.

Miriam Miller was forced to evacuate her home at Narrawilly again on 23^rd January – Miriam says:

“Strange things help – Robert planted sunflowers as he always does around my house. None of them came up this year because of the drought. So there was a bare dry piece of ground in the paddock in front of my garden bed with the roses, which was covered with thick wood chips. If this garden had gone so would my verandah and my house, so thank you drought. “

Editor: Unfortunately, this news of more fires comes on the heels of the Good News from Carey-Ann at Robert Miller’s Narrawilly Farm ….

“The good news is that we and the team are safe and uninjured, and the old farmhouse and the dairy plant are intact. The milking herd was well protected although some of the animals in the dry herd are experiencing difficulties associated with drought, bushfire smoke, heat and environmental stress. They are being monitored and, where relevant, treated.”

…… Also from Carey-Ann

“a Timeline of a Fire – at Narrawilly (photographs, taken by Robert and Carey-Ann), document our growing disquiet morphing into anxiety and then horror as fire arrived on New Year’s Eve and returned, four days later, on 4 January.)

Some of what was experienced by Rob and the team these past few weeks. Photographic evidence of damage done to the farm’s natural and physical infrastructure is also available here.

Across the eastern seaboard of Australia, regional communities have been devastated by these out-of-control bushfires. Many people have lost a lot more than we have. Houses can be rebuilt but not everything lost is tangible or replaceable with a credit card. The psychological consequences, for thousands of regional Australians in dozens of regional towns and villages, will persist for years to come. We are very grateful for people’s best wishes, small acts of kindness, and donations — from homemade chocolate brownies through to generous cash donations, and our appreciation will only grow over time, when we have time to reflect on what has happened these past few weeks.

I would also like you to know this: during the course of 24 hours, stretching from mid-afternoon on 4 January 2020 to sunrise of 5 January 2020, Rob and a handful of locals (which included our dairy farming neighbours, the Andersons) worked with basic infrastructure to prevent the fire in the rainforest breaking out of the gully. They fought for hours on end to stop fire and embers from reaching houses on Stony Hill Lane (including Miriam’s timber house) and raging through to Milton village. As an eye witness to what they did that night, I can tell you that they battled that canopy fire alone. They did not have the luxury of evacuating to a safe location. They did not sleep that night or the next. There were no fire-fighters or fire-engines available to protect sleeping residents in Milton and surrounds. What Milton village residents still do not realise is that it was Rob and the Andersons (Brian, Janine, their sons, their nephew and brother-in-law), along with a neighbour’s son, who held that fire in check. If that rainforest fire had not been contained within the gully, nothing in Stony Hill Lane would remain today. Theirs was an act of extraordinary bravery and determination.”

Editor: We are now seeing “Open for Business” reports on TV from the affected areas asking people to return to these country areas so business and livelihoods can return to normal – How can that be when the danger has not passed? I asked Carey-Ann what her thoughts were on this since there is still such a fire risk and communities are so devastated and she said ……

“Local newspapers (e.g. see South Coast Register on Kangaroo Valley and Southern Highlands) are writing of the need for resilience (among the victims) and consumption (among the tourists). It is understandable, up to a point, that certain small businesses want tourists back now.

But where is the line between consumption-tourism as a form of support and providing a respectful amount of time for victims to mourn their dead, their losses and their way of life? And who gets to draw that line in the sand?

It should come as no surprise to anyone when bushfire-affected locals, whose houses and streets were incinerated or damaged, react angrily to cars of Instagram-ing strangers snapping photographs of their pain and despair. (We have heard of this happening in Conjola recently.) I wonder if those who promote unrestrained consumer capitalism in bushfire areas have thought of how to handle that potential for grief-related conflict? I wonder if it will entrench divides between Townies and country people? Somehow I suspect that it will be the locals who are told to be “resilient”, appreciative of the tourist dollar, and respectful. When does that become docility?”

Editor: Which brings up the subject of mental health in these areas – we’ve all heard of PTSD, but what about Continuous Traumatic Stress Disorder (CTSD), which is a sub-category of PTSD?

Carey-Ann said “I have spoken to Rob about CTSD among bushfire-affected dairy farming communities. I see signs of it among this particular community. Fortunately, some academics are already thinking and writing about eco-anxiety. I hope they will consider the link between CTSD and out of control bushfires which return again and again.”

Editor: Still in NEW SOUTH WALES – Conditions are similar at Mongarlowe in the Braidwood area; except they have had some rain! With her permission, here’s some of the images shared on Facebook by Gail Nichols …..

Jan 03: When I think back to how bad we thought things were here in late November, we had no idea what we’d be facing by the New Year. I keep clinging to a belief that this has to end someday. Surely it will rain again.

Jan 4: For all my friends and family following my posts on our ongoing fire situation. It’s hard to believe things could get worse but today is forecast as yet another nightmare. If you want the details here is this morning’s ABC news story.

With massive fires to the north and south of us, into Victoria and even across to Kangaroo Island it’s difficult to know where to start in telling about it this morning. So, I’ll begin with what’s local. We are ok. Apart from putting out a neighbour’s grass fire that ran to our fence, our property was untouched yesterday. That doesn’t mean we weren’t threatened. Fire in pine windrows on property to our west was throwing us flying bark etc. Late in the day the southerly wind change came in like a steam train, blasting that fire to the north toward Mongarlowe village. Today we will be catching up with neighbours and pitching in where we can help. So many other communities in the Braidwood area were impacted yesterday. We are still waiting for the rain that would put at end to this.

Here at home we are prepared to defend yet again, getting well practiced at this. At least we are now well surrounded by burnt out areas and lower fuel loads which should give us some protection. Hoping our locality is spared this time but fearing for what may happen overall.

Jan 08: RFS crews are getting a lot of well deserved kudos. But note also the work being done by SES (State Emergency Service) volunteers. This crew of 8 from Queanbeyan turned up this morning, felled a number of fire damaged trees around our house, cut up and stacked the bits, all with smiles on their faces. Great work, can’t praise them enough

Jan 09: A couple of refired pots emerged from the ashes and cleaned up ok.

Jan 10: A young red necked wallaby eating pellets from one of my old soda glazed platters. He/she only just emerged from mum’s pouch before the fires started impacting here. What a welcome to the world. As for that singed pine trunk, I know some potter friends who would be jealous of those reds.

Jan 15: Painting with fire – Amongst the gems of the ‘firing’ are these pieces of sheet metal that had been draped over a pile of hardwood logs. It gives a whole new meaning to what I used to call ‘painting with fire’.

Jan 16: Rain Rain Rain! What a glorious afternoon.

In the midst of all the black, a puddle of water. Will this weekend see these pots finally submerged? Watch this space.

Jan 18: 61mm of rain over the past 3 days and more coming! The puddle in the dam is growing. The Charleys Forest Fire, which was our immediate threat, is under control. Our brigade station is reverting to local use. My rug making gear has returned from its evacuation refuge and is back in the studio. New green grass is making itself visible. Time to start thinking about some normality.

Jan 19: When there’s little grass to be found,carrots, sweet potato and kibble pellets are pretty tasty, and when water is scarce a bowl of it makes a great swimming pool. The condition of local wildlife at our feeding stations has improved noticeably in the past couple weeks.

Thanks again to the Native Animal Rescue Group for their support.

Jan 20: Nice to see some green happening again

Jan 24: Gail says: The summer is far from over, there are still fires about, and we need much more rain. I am currently having some time off from firefighting as my lungs need a break. But there is so much smoke and dust in the air that’s hard to manage anywhere around here. We just keep hoping for some good extended rain. At least there is green grass appearing so our landscape is not just that devastating black. That’s reassuring.

VICTORIA: There are no reports of damage from members there – fortunately all are safe and out of the fire zones.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA is another matter; Sue Gilmartin arrived in Perth on 10th January and gave firsthand information about her host’s property, in the Adelaide hills, safe but still under threat – however, while there she didn’t have to take refuge in the damp sprout fields which was their planned defense. Friends of her hosts weren’t so fortunate, one family lost everything! Escaping only with their lives.

Friends on Kangaroo Island were also affected, with another family losing everything.

A report in the Adelaide newspaper tells of this King Island resident who made a miraculous escape.

Guild Members in Strathalbyn – an area visited by many rug hookers (TIGHR 2012) are reported to be safe.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA has also been impacted by bushfires, to the north and south. After New Years Day Sue Gilmartin from the UK set off to cross the Nullarbor (Adelaide to Perth) on a 10 day camping trip with a small tour group – Sue said 3 days in, after having had the most amazing time sleeping in swags under the stars, the organizers were forced to abandon the trip and return to Adelaide, as the border between SA and WA was closed due to raging fires through the southern area of WA.

The only paved road linking the east and west coasts of Australia was closed for 12 days causing havoc with holiday travelers and freight line truckers. Across this area small towns are shown on maps but they’re virtually only petrol(gas) stations with a cafe and in some places very “basic” motel units – none of these “towns” were prepared with supplies (water or food) to support the hundreds of people trapped at each of them, even with supplies being flown in by small planes and helicopters.

West of the SA/WA border the road is widen in places to create a landing strip. It’s a little disconcerting as you’re driving along and you see the “aircraft landing” warning signs makes you wonder how much notice you’d get of an airplane attempting to land?

Highway airstrip in Western Australia – taken on one of our return road trips from Queensland.

Through that 12 day period police strenuously enforced the road closures due to a horrendous situation in 2007 when three truckers were burnt to death in a bushfire after a road closure was lifted prematurely.

They couldn’t say when the road would be opened, so Sue finally resorted to purchasing an airline ticket and spent a week with me in Perth. Her aim was to see as much textile work and visit as many textile groups and galleries as possible. Unfortunately most of the Galleries were closed for the Christmas Holidays and most groups were on holiday break. Sue did make it to a meeting of the Wanneroo Rugmakers

and while there visited the “Home” Exhibition on at the Wanneroo Gallery.

Baskets by Courtney Hill-Aaron Koolark Collection (6) Natural fibres, emu feathers, ochre pigment from Country to colour natural fibres.

Totems by Val Shaw.

The Wanneroo Rugmakers first wall hanging can be seen in the adjoining room.

This followed by a visit to Nalda Searles home – Sue and Nalda have mutual friends in Kalgoorlie – so a very pleasant afternoon was spent listening to Nalda tell stories about her work.

We took a boat cruise up the Swan River to the Sandalford Winery which involved wine tasting on the boat, a delicious lunch and more wine tasting at the winery – good job we took the train into town to catch the boat.

Another day was crammed full with a visit to the Goods Shed to view “The Alchemist” and on to Fremantle to visit the Spare Parts Puppet Theatre, now the home of marionettes donated to the Theatre by Stella Edmundson of the Sunshine Coast Textile Art Group. The Kidogo Gallery was closed so instead we toured the Shipwreck Museum.

QUEENSLAND: This report started about bushfires and ends with reports of floods in Queensland and in CANBERRA, hail the size of golf balls!

Maggie Whyte, Guild Pres. said she was on her way back to Canberra from a trip to the coast when the storm hit, so fortunately missed that experience – an auto insurers nightmare. Images could be seen on TV of carparks full of cars with shattered windows and car bodies peppered with dents where they had been pummelled by the hail.

Through all this wild weather there have been moments of creative inspiration, friends connecting with friends and help coming from unexpected places – so many people touched by the devastation and others wanting to help.

Now there’s a fine line to tread to support the businesses that are left in tact while respecting the privacy of bushfire victims.

Hopefully, my next post as your Guild Editor, will be less of a weather report, with more emphasis on the art and craft of rug making.

Updating the EVENTS page for 2019

ISSN 2207-001X – 2nd April 2019

The Calendar page of this website is being updated as news comes in from rughookers around Australia … it looks like 2019 will be a busy year!
Continuing the recent coverage of news from Queensland and New South Wales, scroll down for reports from Tasmania, Victoria, Northern Territory, South Australia and Western Australia.

TASMANIA: Emma Gunn from Hobart came to my attention in 2018 when I discovered this rug she’d posted as “inspiration” in a public online group she’d started, to bring together those keen to use up-cycled materials in craft projects. It’s a public Facebook group anyone can join; https://www.facebook.com/groups/hrootas/

Emma said this vintage rag rug, probably made in the 1930s at a guess, is made from old jumpers and has lasted pretty well. It belongs to a friend but lives in her spare room

Emma’s second rug. Recycled wool from old clothing cut into wide strips with scissors and hooked through latch hooking canvas – before she discovered and moved on to “proper” hooked rug backing!

Emma was invited to join the Guild, she did so and then went off to visit a relative in Canada also traveling to the USA. On this trip her interest in rug hooking increased – she’s now definitely hooked! Here is what she had to say ….

In late August last year, I was fortunate to travel to Canada to visit my daughter who was completing an internship at the University in Sherbrooke, Quebec. Whilst in Canada, I was keen to further my interest in rug-hooking, which I had experimented with over the last few years. Researching online before I booked my itinerary, I found very few contacts for rug-hooking in Quebec and realised that rug-hooking was a lot more common in Nova Scotia.

So, my itinerary included Halifax in Nova Scotia and on one of my days in that lovely city, I hired a car and drove down to Mahone Bay, admiring the wonderful scenery on the way. Mahone Bay is a picture-perfect town and while there I visited both Encompassing Designs and Spruce Top rug studios in both of which I was warmly welcomed. I couldn’t indulge myself too much as I would have liked as I was travelling by plane, train and bus for 2 months in total but managed to stash three patterns and a new hook at the bottom of my suitcase.

On the way back to Halifax I also visited the Hooked Rug Museum of North America and viewed the amazing collection of rugs that is held there, some of which were room sized. All in all, it was a dream day for a novice rug-hooker!

Back in Montreal I was longing to start hooking, but as I usually repurpose old woollen clothes and blankets for this purpose this didn’t seem practical given that I was travelling. Then inspiration struck – maybe just this once I could hook using wool yarn! I looked up knitting shops and found that there was one within walking distance – a very pleasant riverside walk too. Once there, a very helpful lady helped me find appropriate wool to at least hook the design part of the pattern and so I could start. I think I may have been the only person to ever come into the shop looking for wool to hook a rug.

By an amazing co-incidence, shortly after this I saw a notice on one of rug-hooking websites about a book written by US rug hooker Judy Taylor about hooking with yarn, so I looked up her website for some reassurance that what I intended would work.

The resultant cushion cover was hooked on the train across Canada, in Calgary and Canmore in Alberta as snow fell outside, in Seattle, Washington, Flagstaff Arizona, Yosemite and San Francisco, California. It was finished at my home in Hobart, Tasmania where I hooked the background with wool that I bought locally. The backing is, true to my usual practice, an old felted sweater sourced from an op shop.

It now sits on my Jimmy Possum chair, which I made at a workshop using recycled timber to copy vernacular furniture made by an itinerant craftsman from northern Tasmania at the end of the 19th Century.

Every time I look at the cushion, I remember my travels and the colours of late summer and early fall on the other side of the world.
Emma Gunn

VICTORIA:
Melbourne; There’s a new Guild member in the metropolitan area, Anna Martin from The Studio in Camberwell.

Anna gives Punchneedle hooking workshops to adults and children. Anna learned the technique from Clare Thornley, Jilliby, NSW who sells raw materials and tools to fibre artists through her online shop FELTFINE. Beside Oxford Punchneedle tools/backing you can purchase lovely yarn and spinning and weaving supplies.

Yarra Valley; The Yarra Valley Rugmakers are still taking turns traveling to each other’s homes to meet up once a month. Their last meeting was in Warrandyte on 23rd March. Visit their Blog to check out when/where future meeting will be held and to see what they’re currently working on – here’s Robyne’s Magpie rug being used as a chair pad on one of her Hubby’s willow chairs. She says, the fox pelt was road-kill.

NORTHERN TERRITORY: Rughooking in the Outback

Sue lives and works in an Indigenous community in the Outback, north and west of Alice Springs, off the Larapinta Dr, close to Papunya. You can see by these images shared from the Facebook page of Empowered Communities – the NPY Region, is really isolated.

However not all the area is flat – a couple of hours drive away is Haasts Bluff, also known as Ikuntji, another Indigenous Australian community in the West MacDonnell Ranges. Read more

Sue made contact through the Guild Facebook page to say she was interested in rug hooking so I sent her a copy of Miriam Miller’s book Proggy & Hooky Rugs – she’s now definitely “hooked” and is going to introduce rug hooking as a craft to the people in the community but is waiting on some supplies of material. They have some Hessian backing but need fabric and would welcome any donations as they do not have money for this resource. If you or your group could help out you can contact me through rughookingaustralia@gmail.com and we can arrange to get the fabric to her.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA:

The Strath Matters have a new meeting place – their previous meeting place, the Little Red Hen, a converted railway carriage, was just not big enough to accommodate the numbers of the growing group. You’ll find them now in the CWA Building, behind the Town Hall which is located on the High St. in Strathalbyn.

Much interest has been shown by the group in tapestry weaving, so a tapestry workshop is to be given on 12th April by Betty Wolf – it will run from 10:00am to 3:00pm – This article introduces Betty, who has a background in social sciences and education and a diploma of visual arts, specialising in tapestry weaving, and is an active member of the local arts community in the near by town of Murray Bridge. There are a couple of spaces still available – if interested contact Judith Stephens studioblue20@gmail.com

Here are a couple of members of the group with their finished projects –

An Op Shop Find, rug pattern designed by Claire Murray, USA and hooked by Judith Stephens, South Australia is to be raffled.

A celebration of the founding of the Australian Rugmakers Guild in Strathalbyn, October 2008, will take place in October 2019 with an event hosted by the Strathmatters group

Saturday 5th & Sunday 6th “Rugmakers Revelations – out of the past, into the future” will take place at the Town Hall on High Street in Strathalbyn.
This event will be FREE and open to the public with hands on demonstrations and conversations about different forms of rugmaking and the global travels of rug hookers.

SAVE THE DATES – more information to come.

On Saturday 5th October after the days events, there will be an Australian Rugmakers Guild General Meeting in the Town Hall, Strathalbyn. It is a long weekend in South Australia and on Monday 7th, the StrathMatters group will have their rugs displayed in the Strathalbyn Show.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA:

The Wanneroo Rugmakers continue to meet in the Library at Wanneroo every Saturday morning from 10:00am to 1:00pm. New members come and go, joining a core group of ruggers who have been together since 2010. The group works on a community project each year as well as bringing their own projects for show and tell. Meeting in a space open to the public creates much interest, with passers by stopping to see what’s happening. Newcomers to the group are taught proggy(proddy) and started off being shown how to make a Christmas tree – examples of these can been seen on the group’s website.

Most of the “regulars” also belong to other textiles groups – knitting, various forms of crochet, lace-making and felting are represented so there are often impromptu demonstrations given. This explains the knitted and crocheted beanies being prepared for the Alice Springs Beanie Festival. I had such fun volunteering there in 2017 other members of the group are headed to the Festival this year.

Sharon found this picture, but no instructions. She liked the beanie and asked one of her knitting friends to create the pattern for her and was thrilled with the result.

Sharing their own works creates many learning opportunities when problems arise, or someone just wants to add something extra to their current work. A Waldoboro session was given recently using one of Judi Tompkins(QLD) teaching examples – a ladybird. Brenda has finished her ladybird and when asked what would be hooked alongside it, she said she didn’t know – she is going to let her 9-year-old grandson draw something? It’s to be finished as a hooked cushion to go in his room. He has shown an interest in other crafts she’s worked on so I think she has an ulterior motive – there may be a future rug hooker in the family.

Editors note: Some interesting contacts have been made through this website – besides helping people find rug hooking supplies, groups and instructors, a couple of our members have repaired rugs and I answered a call right before Christmas from someone wanting a rug kit hooked up – here is the end result –

it’s a Claire Murray design from the USA. The kit was purchased 20 years ago and can you believe the various “tagged” colours were all still there – wouldn’t have happened at my house – they would have been raided for other projects along the way. It came with a numbered colour chart; I didn’t think I’d like “hooking by numbers” but it was actually a bit of a challenge and fun and much easier than having to colour plan and then source the right fabric – besides being wool yarn there wasn’t any cutting involved. I’m pleased to report, the owner is pleased with the result – Happy Hooking

Better Late than Never

ISSN 2207-001X – 12thMarch 2019

An update to the Guild website caused the formatting of the Blog to change and your Editor could not cope with something “new” – thankfully Judi Tompkins, Guild webmaster, has sorted it out for me and I’m back to reporting on rughooking activities around the country.

Starting in Queensland –

“Caught” a hooked piece lashed into a driftwood frame, featured in a Sunshine Coast Daily article titled “From Rags to Riches in Rughooking – a Rag Rug Mini Expo”, held in Pomona, Qld on March 9th.

Judi Tompkins accompanied by Bea, Judy O and Anne, members of the Sunshine Coast RugCrafters travelled north to Pomona, about an hours drive from Beerwah where the group meets, and gave demonstrations of different rug making techniques at the event organized by Beany Palmer. Below the Sunshine Coast RugCrafters demonstration tables are set up ready for visitors.

Articles created and displayed by the Sunshine Coast RugCrafters group showing examples of the different rug hooking techniques created much interest.

One of the visitors, Valerie Willy, a sculptor and creator of raku ceramics , was particularly taken with the Locker hooking display. Valerie studied the literature, and before long was explaining it to another visitor.

and then began teaching more visitors. The locker-hooked placemats seen in these images were made by Judi Tompkins. There is a found example of “Australian locker hooking” created with rovings and surprisingly on a Hessian backing.

Eager to give it a try, many people reused this small piece of backing found in Judi’s tool box.

Judy Owen a Sunshine Coast RugCrafter, gave a hands-on demonstration of traditional rugmaking utilizing a long stretcher frame so more people could have-a-go.

Here’s Judy, peeking in to see how the new rug hookers are managing.

Beany, organizer of the event, taught Toothbrush rugmaking (Narlbinding)

and here is a demonstration of the all important “starting point” for the toothbrush rugmaking – this is the tricky part, the rest is simple. These rugs resemble crocheted rugs.

By the end of the day 60 people had done the rounds of the demonstrations and been amazed at what can be created using the various rug hooking techniques, and “upcycled” fabric.

Still in Queensland …..

Mt. Tamborine, south of Brisbane – February 15th was the Official Launch at Tamborine Mountain Library of the “Sew Local Sweat Shop”, a public art event, which actively engaged the community to sew shopping bags in a factory production line setting.

The Project concept – a Sewing Production Line – an interactive Performance, was designed by Bec Andersen August 2018, and took place in a vacant shopfront at Flame Tree Plaza, Main Western Road Tamborine Mountain, March 5th – 10th, providing educational and community building opportunities to the participants and audience and the opportunity to engage passers-by to inspire and uplift, to educate and share and commune.
The plan was to teach sewing skills to new people, inform them about sustainability and produce hand sewn shopping bags as a by-product, the bags to be distributed March 11th.
The aim of the “Sew Local Sweat Shop” was to educate the community about a whole series of current issues as well as the skills required to create the bags:
• Slow Fashion vs Fast Fashion
• Overuse of plastics in the Environment
• Cutting, sewing overlocking and printing.
• Upcycling Fabric into useful shopping bags
General Waste not Want not education.

Kudos to Bec for another successful community event. (This report was taken from Bec’s website www.becandersen.com and Facebook invitation.)

Further south in NEW SOUTH WALES ….

There is a new rug hooking group in the Sydney metropolitan area, formed by Martha Birch – they meet the 2nd Saturday of the month in Epping. You can find them on Facebook – their open group is called “From Rags to Rugs, Sydney Rug Hookers” – https://www.facebook.com/groups/387146415123046/

Theresa attended one of Martha’s first workshops in 2018 and here she shows her finished first rug, started at the end of last year.

There are some old hand made rugs archived in museums around Australia, but you don’t see any still in use as you do in the Northern Hemisphere. This rug was bought to the Epping group for “show n tell” – it was made forty plus years ago from recycled fabric and looks like a SEMCO pattern.

The Sydney group was formed after much interest was shown in rug hooking last year at the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show in Darling harbour.

Martha will have an Australian Rugmaker’s Guild table at Craft Fair again this year – you can check the link to sign up for Fair News and purchase tickets.

Milton, New South Wales ….

Tidy shelves, of recycled fabrics used by the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers – the work of Christine and Jacqui.

Things have not exactly been quiet around Miriam’s Rug Room – the Narrawilly Proggy Rugmakers met twice a month, even through the holidays.

However, Miriam and Jacqui have been away again – they met up with Anne from Victoria at Jindabyne ski resort and had a few fun filled days, spinning, knitting, talking, walking, and sharing ideas, plus catching up with friends from other areas.
Miriam has not missed a beat – her newsletter “Connecting Us” has gone out every month since she and Jacqui returned home in December.

with images of rugs made by the many friends she made at TIGHR and in their travels getting to and from the 2018 Triennial.
One of her friends from Canada, Nancy Simpson, is looking to connect with rug hookers in Quebec City – Nancy has a friend who lives in the Quebec City area who wants to meet up with other hookers and also find out where to purchase materials. If any of our Canadian readers are from that area Miriam would love to hear from you. You’ll find all of Miriam’s newsletters archived on this website under the Blog drop down menu

There is still much more to say about rug hooking in Australia – but it will have to wait until next time (soon now the computer problem is sorted) starting with Tasmania and working across the south coast to Western Australia.

Happy 2019 and RugHooking to all –

It’s a Wrap

ISSN 2207-001X – December 2018

Jo Franco, Editor & Membership Chair, Australian Rugmakers Guild

This is the time of year for reflection and planning – looking back 2018 has been a busy year for many of the members of this Guild. Workshops given, new rug groups formed, solo exhibitions and travel – Miriam Miller and Jacqui Thompson from New South Wales take the award for most distance travelled!

With so much happening where to start? ….. By State – on the East coast, North to South and across to Western Australia.

QUEENSLAND:
In July, two Judiths from Queensland (Judy Brook and Judi Tompkins) along with another Judy and gave workshops at the Kingaroy Regional Art Gallery’s Winter Craft Festival .

In October, Judy Brook travelled to the UK to attend The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers (TIGHR) 2018 Triennial in Reeth.
Below, Judy shows a piece she started in Reeth as she tells members of the Sunshine Coast RugCrafters group about the Triennial and her travels, at the first of the “Palimpsest Studio Days” to be held in Judi Tompkins’ new Studio in Landsborough, on International Rug Hooking Day.

Much of Judi Tompkins time was taken up this year with “Re-imagined” a virtual online Exhibition co-convened with Jo Franco – but that’s another story (Blog).
The “Re-imagined” Exhibition includes works by several members of the Sunshine Coast Rugcrafters.

Judy Owen embraced the Brief, with embellishments required in the Call for Entry, with her original design “Memories of my Father”

Annette White has a way with animals. Her Exhibition entry was a hooked elephant hand puppet – she also hooked and prodded this “bear rug”.

Bea Nitschke added to her butterfly collection with this blue butterfly. Her “Re-imagined” entry was sculptural, a 3D gold butterfly on driftwood.

and Stella Edmundson did more than rug hook in 2018 – entering “Re-imagined” and completing several commission pieces (her own designs)

Stella won first place in the sport of Tae Kwon Do in both traditional and creative patterns for female black belts over 60 years of age at the Pan Pacific Masters’ Games held on the Gold Coast, in Queensland.

Trees were popular subjects as Exhibition entries – Cynthia Nicklin, Mt. Glorious, QLD entered “The Mother Tree”. (Mother tree – timber getters’ parlance for a large old tree whose seed resulted in the surrounding forest)

The subject for Cynthia’s original artwork, an ancient flooded gum, stands outside her kitchen window. Cynthia’s artist statement read “It is thought she saw Captain Cook sail along the southern coast of Queensland in 1770. She survived cyclonic winds and rains, droughts, hail storms, severe lopping, insect infestation. She has been a tent support, a cubby house platform, a rubbing post for cattle, a holder of swings and a haven for birds, marsupials, creepy crawlies and native orchids. And yet she still stands, the last of her kind in this area.”

In Brisbane Claudia Forster-Purchase was busy working on an original tree design, embellished with paper bark found in the area where she lives. Unfortunately preparation for a trip to Canada prevented her from finishing it in time to enter. We look forward to seeing this piece finished and framed.

Bec Andersen from Mt. Tamborine held a Solo Rug Hooking Exhibition at Under the Greenwood Tree Bookstore and Contemporary Art Gallery (Aug 10 – Sep 2) and a Make Do & Mend crafting workshops and installation – this link will tell you more about the project created during a series of workshops spanning over three months across Scenic Rim.

These images of Bec and her work were taken at the end of year gathering of Bec’s group, Happy Hookers posted by Janis Bailey, were reposted on Rug Hooking Magazine’s Facebook coverage of International Rug Hooking Day.

NEW SOUTH WALES:

Jilliby: Guild Member, Clare Thornley, www.feltfine.com.au , offers everything for people to start their rug making journey; Oxford Punch tools, three types of backing fabrics, hand-dyed rug yarn and frames. You can contact Clare online or arrange a visit to her studio not far off the M1.

Sydney : Martha Birch – represented ARG at this year’s Sydney Craft Fair in Darling Harbour – members of the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers came up from Milton to assist. There was much interest in the colourful display and Martha has formed a Facebook rug hooking group open to the public, From Rags to Rugs, Sydney Rug Hookers https://www.facebook.com/groups/387146415123046/

Martha has also given well received beginner rug hooking workshops and started regular group meetings in the Sydney suburb of Epping 26 Stanley Rd at the Epping Creative Centre .

In 2019 the group will meet on the 2nd Saturday from February to November – from 10.00am to 4.00pm – Tuition is available. Here are images from those first workshops.

Milton is home to a couple of intrepid travellers Miriam Miller & Jacqui Thompson who in 2018 travelled the Australian East coast then around the world. In July they drove north on the west side of the Great Dividing range to Cairns and back down the coast – catching up with family and rug hookers along the way. A distance of approximately 2,652k (almost 1,648miles)

Miriam Miller, Judi Tompkins and Jacqui Thomson at Judi’s new home in Landsborough, Queensland.

Immediately after their return they went up to Sydney and helped Martha talk rug hooking to people at the Sydney Craft Fair in Darling Harbour.

Then began their BIG trip – starting in Milton at the local bus stop – where at 6.00a.m. they caught the bus to Sydney – flew to the UK and visited with family in the south of England – sharing in daily journal entries, emailed to interested family and friends by Miriam’s daughter Robyn, many images of places, rug hookers and their impressions of the different countries they visited. Many of the images from their travels were shared on the Guild Facebook page.

Their itinerary went like this – from Brighton, UK, to the Isle of Guernsey – across to France to stay with the family of a rug hooker – back to the UK to attend the TIGHR Triennial in Reeth where they stayed with Heather Ritchie. Miriam and Jacqui couldn’t get over how much was planned during the Conference, they will be recounting stories from this event for months to come.

There were new friends to be made at the TIGHR Triennial in Reeth as well as many old friends to catch up with – including Marg Arland and Susan Sutherland who have visited Miriam and Jacqui at Narrawilly in Milton.

On the return trip they were Artists in Residence in Corris, North Wales – then travelled to Ireland to met up with Neville Smith the maker of the Irish (Hartman) Hook and his family.

From Ireland they flew to Iceland to take a knitting tour in the company of Heather Ritchie, back-tracking through the UK to Canada. First visiting Newfoundland, then Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, staying with rug hookers who introduced them to members of their groups and their many rug hooking friends, generally touring them all over, even though the weather had definitely turned to winter.

While staying on Cape Breton, NS, Cathy, their hostess, took them on a special tour of Les Trois Pignons – Museum of the Hooked Rug and Home Life in Cheticamp – here is just one of the many large finely shaded rugs hooked by Elizabeth La Fort, click the link above to see all the rooms filled with amazing rugs in this museum.

The travellers arrived back home to Milton just in time for the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers annual Fashion Parade with group members modelling and purchasing the garments donated by a local Op Shop to be cut up and used to hook with. Proceeds from this event goes to Heather Ritchie for her Rug Aid project.

With much work, from this pile of donations evolved a Fashion Parade

BERMAGUI: Early in the year members of the Narrawilly Proggy Ruggers visited Dawn Hollins to see her new craft room and from Dawn comes the following news;

“The Bermagui & District U3A Rug Hooking Group held its Christmas lunch gathering in my craft cabin in Cobargo on Wednesday 12 December. We have been meeting once a month during term time at the home of Lindsay Potter, our teacher. Since completing the wall hangings for the Bermagui Surf Club two years ago we have been working on our own projects and have welcomed new members. A new cafe in Bega dedicated to using recycled materials has asked us to make hooked covers for all their stool cushions – a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase our craft!”

BRAIDWOOD: Gail Nichols has had a very busy year – beginning with her entry “Stepping Out” on exhibit in the “Re-imagined” virtual Exhibition

Followed by “Rug Up for Winter” a Workshop given with Maggie Hickey to the Braidwood Regional Art Group.

and an Exhibition – “In transit” at the Drill Hall Gallery, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT

and yet another Exhibition “Landscape”, which opened 17th November at Narek Gallery in Bermagui featuring “Wallace Street”

Gail was also a finalist in Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebrations 2018 – this work “Temple fish” was published in the Celebration of Handhooked Rugs 2018.

ACT – Canberra – Maggie Whyte was one of nine Guild members from five Australian States, who attended The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers (TIGHR) 2018 Triennial held in the UK at Reeth in the Yorkshire Dales.

Earlier in the year Maggie gave a Braided-in Workshop at Narrawilly in Milton and was on hand to help with the recent Narrawilly Fashion Parade filling in for Jacqui Thompson who due to ill health was unable to attend and was missed by all at the event.

VICTORIA: Warrandyte – Anne Schafer also attended the TIGHR Triennial in Reeth and along with Maggie Whyte, Canberra and Janet Tayler-Henry, NSW visited Miriam & Jacqui at their Artists in Residence in North Wales.

Anne Schafer snuggled up under a rug knitted by Miriam Miller

Anne will be entertaining the Victorian group, the Yarra Valley Rugmakers, for some time with tales of her travels …. the knitting tour and sightseeing in Ireland as well as all the wonderful events she took part in at the Triennial in Reeth, UK.

In her absence Robyne demonstrated rug hooking at the Melbourne Show where she started this rug. You can see what inspired her, how she planned the “No name” proggy rug and follow her progress from start to finish on this link

Yarra Valley Group members take turns to gather in each other’s homes, travelling between Lily Dale (Post Code 3140) a suburb 35k NE of Melbourne to Loch (Post Code 3945) in South Gippsland, 106 k SE of Melbourne and Warrandyte (3113) 27k NE of Melbourne.

For those wanting to learn rug hooking who live West of Melbourne in the Ballarat (3350) area you’ll find an instructor 30 minutes away, in Lal Lal (3352) Marcia King is a solitary rug maker who also gives workshops, locally and further afield.

Marcia will be teaching an Intro to Rug Hooking at Opendrawer, 1158 Toorak Rd, Camberwell Opendrawer.com.au

on January 22nd, 2019 – 10am to 4pm

Marcia enjoys recycling – this work in progress, a floor mat, is being hooked using T-Shirts some she has re-dyed using Procion dyes to get some nice vibrant colours. The backing is a piece of wool fabric, found in a discount bin at the Creswick Woollen mill many years ago.

TASMANIA: Deloraine – A rug hooking group meets every week on Monday morning at Art as Mania; a Shop, Studio and Gallery space located in the heart of Deloraine Tasmania showcasing the works of talented artists, craftspeople, wood and metal workers and artisans.

Art as Mania, is at 20-22 Emu Bay Road, Deloraine – you can also find them on Facebook.

Hobart: Hobart Rag Ruggers a new Facebook group – open to all –

you’ll find them here .

Emma Gunn is the administrator, and in August organized a get together at the South Hobart Community Centre (in the D’Arcy St Playground). Emma has also been travelling this year, checking out rugs and rug makers in the USA and Canada. For more information about meet ups, contact her via the Facebook page or this Blog.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA; Strathalbyn
The StrathMatters rug group started 2018 in a new home and have been busy since, with a trip to the Australian Tapestry Workshop in Melbourne to view the Gordian Knot – these photographs by Malcolm Edward-Cole.

They also visited the National Gallery of Victoria to view the large interactive rug installation acquired by the Gallery – “Santa Cruz River” by Alexandra Kehayoglou, a Buenos Aires–based artist and designer who uses hand-tufted wool rugs to draw into focus landscapes under threat of irreversible change.

Their Annual weekend retreat, held this year at the Normanville Jetty Caravan Park from Friday 26 to Monday 29 October, involved surprise workshops. The main event was a demonstration and try-out of Tapestry Weaving with guest craftswoman Betty Wolf.

The StrathMatters also entered rugs in the Adelaide and Strathalbyn shows.

One of the members travelled even further afield – Kathy Saint went to the TIGHR Triennial in Reeth like all the visitors, carrying a rug for display. The small town of Reeth was covered in “hooking” with over 100 members arriving from around the world bringing hooked items to be displayed along with the work of the UK members. The interior of the church and buildings throughout town were “adorned”. The rug, shown below, that may have put Kathy over her airline baggage limit, was designed by Judith Stephens and hooked by both of them. On the way to the Conference Kathy took a textile tour in Italy where she was introduced to an unusual lace making technique

SAVE THE DATE! 1st weekend in Oct 2019 – It’s over 10 years since the Guild was formed in Strathalbyn and more than 2 years since the last Guild meeting was held at the 2016 Coast to Coast Exhibition in Canberra

its time for a coming together of Australian Rugmakers!

Information on the event will be published early 2019 – it’s mentioned here so you can plan holidays and time off.
Suggestions for workshops or events to take place on this weekend are welcome.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: The Wanneroo Rugmakers meet at the Library and Cultural Centre in Wanneroo every Saturday from 10.00am to 1:00pm to work on community projects and their own hooked creations and share many different textile techniques including felting … here are some of Peta Korb’s delightful Aussie critters

Robin Inkpen visited from Donnybrook in the States South West and showed how she made the coils for her entry in “Re-imagined” the virtual Exhibition

“Warning! Bleached coral in a plastic sea” 2018 by Robin Inkpen 68cm x 65 cm Photograph by Skip Watkins

after Robin’s visit Kath Smith created a wrapped rope basket to go with cushion covers she made using the Canadian smocking technique.

Beanies were made, entered and sold in the Alice Springs Beanie Festival

Tricia Thacker wearing a beanie 10 years in the making – a circular weaving project put away as a UFO and finally finished this year!

The main focus for the group this year has been on the construction of rug hooking frames. The current models are being made of PVC pipe and started with plans kindly made available by Judy Taylor of Little House Rugs(USA) who has also featured as rug maker of the month on her website two Australian rugmakers Judi Tompkins and Judith Stephens. Images of their rugs are shown in Judy’s new book “T-Shirt Treasures”

Wanneroo group members continue to re-design and refine the frame design and have finally come up with a way to keep the backing drum tight without having to import metal gripper strips not available locally.

This year, travel was on the agenda for several of the groups members. Peta visited her son in Canada and took the opportunity to take more textile workshops, sharing some of her new found knowledge on her return. She is currently traveling in Europe with her other son sending back inspiring images of extraordinary architecture and works of art.

Sharen Smith is back in the fold after a trip to some interesting places in Europe – while the weather was cold, the decorations for the Christmas season made for magical photo opportunities.

Jo Franco gave up on her planned trip to TIGHR when she was invited to attend the Opening of the virtual Exhibition “Re-imagined” at the annual Rug Hooking Week in Sauder Village, Ohio USA – a huge event with several featured Exhibitions, many vendors, and open to the public – think Australian Craft Fairs on a bigger scale. Workshops – daily and residential are booked out as soon as they open at the beginning of each year. “Re-imagined” the virtual was seen on a big screen TV by many, as over 4,000 people go through the event during the week. There was much interest in the “virtual” concept, and the “Textile Tessera” installation, with visitors wanting to know why only work from the Southern Hemisphere was featured – wishing they’d had a chance to participate. They will – there’s to be another virtual exhibition in 2021, coinciding with the next TIGHR Triennial in Newfoundland, Canada, and that virtual exhibition will be open worldwide. Watch this space for more to come!

From the Editor: This is an extremely long post but it doesn’t begin to cover all that’s happened this year in the rug hooking world in Australia. I hope you will take the opportunity to follow the links to read more about the different groups and events.

Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year to All.

Its a Small World – for Rug Hookers

ISSN 2007-001X 3rd September 2018

Sharon from Ohio with Jo from Australia at “Re-imagined” booth, Rug Hooking Week, Sauder Village

Rug Hooking Week in Sauder Village, Archbold, Ohio, was the place to meet rug hooking friends old and new from across USA and Canada and a chance to put faces to contacts made on Social Media.
Speaking with Sharon Felton from Ohio, our first visitor to the “Re-imagined” Exhibit booth, I discovered we had a mutual friend …… Miriam Miller, Pres. Emeritus of the Australian Rugmakers Guild. When Sharon visited with her daughter who was living in Australia, she took a workshop from Miriam. On her return to the US they kept in touch and Miriam and Jacqui visited with Sharon on their way to a TIGHR Conference. Pictures of Sharon’s finished rugs have shown in Miriam’s newsletter – no wonder her name sounded familiar. Sharon is currently working on a design which she described as ……..

Sharon Felton’s current project a Sharon Smith pattern

“started out as one of Sharon Smith’s patterns…then she went to the market ….. my little country bunny in progress I am having so much fun with all the dimension, she just keeps on growing …. lol”

Coincidently, Sharon Smith, of Off the Hook Wool Rugs with helper, Nada Ferris, had the booth next to our “Re-imagined” space. Hanging on the wall of Sharon Smith’s rug booth was a colourful image of a flower which I’d shared on the Guild’s Facebook page – it was good to meet these online contacts. Also, to know there’s a rug hooking group in the Bay Area East of San Francisco.

Sharon Felton, Ohio and Sharon A Smith Walnut Creek, California

As we talked, Sharon Felton was joined by her friend Joyce Krueger from Wisconsin’s Cream City Rug Hooking Guild who I met at my first McGown Teachers Workshop in Eugene, Oregon. Joyce’s rug “King” is in Celebrations 28`It was an interesting start to the day!

“King” designed and hooked by Joyce Krueger, Wisconsin

Barbara Lukas who visited Australia for the TIGHR 2012 Conference had a booth at Rug Hooking Week, her business, Art in Textile focusses on translating Canadian art into textile forms, which lend themselves to passing on the beauty created by one generation to the next.

These forms include traditional rug hooking, punch needle hooking, embroidery, wool appliqué, quilting and felting. Maud Lewis is one artist and there will be more artists in the future.

Maud Lewis Christmas card and hooked version by Barbara Lukas, photo by Janine Broscious

Barbara owns several original Christmas Cards painted by Maud Lewis, a well-known Canadian folk artist from Nova Scotia. Copyright is owned by the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and Barbara has been given license to produce and sell patterns of the Christmas card images.

About the Exhibit, Barbara said ………..

“Kathy Wright was the curator of the exhibit at Sauder. She put out a call on Facebook for finished rugs which could be featured in the exhibit. There were many rugs in the show besides mine and Doug Rankin’s. Kathy also led a session to describe Maud’s life to a pre-registered group, and invited Doug Rankin and me to be vendors. Art In Textile has different patterns than Highland Heart Hookery. Doug has quite a few and I have twelve. My license also extends to other textile forms, as spelled out above.”

Maud Lewis Exhibition, Rug Hooking Week, Sauder Village, Ohio. Curator Kathy Wright, photo by Janine Broscious

Maud Lewis Exhibition. Curator Kathy Wright, Photographer Janine Broscious

Maud Lewis Exhibition, Curator Kathy Wright, Photograph Janine Broscious

Anne Neely Boissinot – another long-time TIGHR friend and one of the Judges for Celebrations 28, stopped by with Janine Broscious, whose

“Dragonfly Dream” designed and Hooked by Janine Broscious

Dragonfly rug was featured on the “Re-imagined” Facebook page as a good example of embellished rug hooking.

On Facebook, we’re currently following Janine’s new rug design taken from a photo of her and husband Matt on a rocky shore in front of a lighthouse. The faces in the design with only a small amount of detail portray strong emotions. The sky shows realistic movement. It is interesting to follow her progress online and to see the growth of this hooked piece as she tackles the water, shoes and rocks. Janine and husband Matt were at this event in their motor home – here’s a picture of one of their rug hooking neighbours.

Jan a travelling rug hooker at Rug Hooking Week, in campground at Sauder Village. Photograph by Janine Broscious

TIGHR members mentioned here are known to many members of the Australian Guild, but Aussie members are not as familiar with members of the Pearl K McGown Guild, even so, I will continue to “drop names”. What a surprize to see Charlotte Price walking towards me. In 2002 Charlotte was my sponsor to the McGown Teachers workshop in Eugene, Oregon. Over the five years I attended the annual workshops to complete my accreditation I met many rug hooking instructors from the USA and Canada.

Liz Marino of South Egremont, Massachusetts is the McGown webmaster, we had only connected online so I was pleased to meet face to face. Liz designed and hooked her 2018 Celebration’s piece (14.5 x 18inches) adapted from a painting by Giovanni Battista Salvia da Sassoferrato.

Liz Marino with her hooked adaption of “The Blessed Virgin”

Green Mountain Rugs – I sat in on a presentation by 3 members (2 generations) of women representing 5 generations of a rug hooking family. Mariah Krauss the youngest, her mother Stephanie Allen-Krauss and her aunt, Pam Kirk.
There’s more information on the family (time line) here
and some additional info about each of them,

Gallery Talk – Rug Hooking Week, Sauder Village. Stephanie Allen-Krauss and Mariah Krauss talking about Green Mountain Hooked Rugs as a family business.

At the presentation, they spoke of the family history – Mariah’s great-great-grandmother who at the tender age of 19 started a rug hooking business in an era when women were not involved in business.
What making rugs meant to each of them personally as well as building a working relationship with each other within a family business

Pam Kirk, Stephanie Allen-Krauss and Mariah Krauss with hooked piece by Mariah of her Grandmother Anne Ashworth representing three of the five generations.

and “that damn rug”, a 5ft x 23ft rug which Mariah’s grandmother, the matriarch of Green Mountain Hooked Rugs, was commissioned to hook. When design delays by the purchaser left only 6 months to complete, newspaper advertisements were placed to find additional rughookers so it could be finished within the time allowed.

“That damn rug” 5ft x 23ft designed & hooked by Anne Ashworth

This rug has been in place on Green Mountain’s studio floor for 10 years. Follow this link to read how that “Damn rug” came home.

We were introduced to Sibyl Osicka at the TIGHR Conference in Kentucky, USA in 2009. Sibyl has been a long-time officer of ATHA and has had many of her rugs published in Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebrations.

Nadine Cloutier is another Facebook contact. Nadine’s rug (below) was featured in progress on the Aussie Rugmakers Guild Facebook as an interesting technique to be used. Nadine says “This rug is a study about creating a new design layer on top of a previously designed pattern.”

Nadine Cloutier, Brighton, Michigan. “Pretty Maids in a Row” – designer Tish Murphy Fruit & Floral

“Re-imagined” a Challenge with a Difference becomes

“Re-imagined” a virtual Exhibition

Have you wondered why and how we created the virtual Exhibition? To answer the many questions during the Challenge we decided to make a video explanation – here it is

“Textile Tessera“ – created as an example of embellished rug work by Jo Franco, Judi Tompkins and Peta Korb, exhibited at the “Re-imagined” booth – has now dispersed ;

No. 1 “Kimberly Colour” by Jo Franco – to Florida with Pam Kirk
No. 2 “Bungle Bungles” by Jo Franco – to Queensland
No. 3 “Lorikeet flock meets Road train – Flattened Fauna” by Judi Tompkins to Nova Scotia, with Meryl Cook

Meryl Cook, Nova Scotia, Canada & friend with Textile Tessera No.3

June Reynolds, Ohio with Jo Franco, Western Australia, with Textile Tessera No.4

No. 4 “Tropicana” by Jo Franco – staying in Ohio, with June Reynolds
No. 5 “Fibre Oasis” by Judi Tompkins – going home with Jo to West Australia
No. 6 “Interactive Wearable Art” – by Judi Tompkins – went to Cami Smith in Seattle, Washington State
No. 7 “State of Mind:The Unbearable Lightness of Being” – by Judi Tompkins is also in Washington state; south of Seattle in Auburn with Judy Taylor
No. 8 “Citadel: The Political Divide” by Judi Tompkins – went home to West Virginia with Susan Feller
No. 9 “Assemblage: Recollections of Another Time” by Judi Tompkins – has gone to Walunt Creek, California, with Sharon Smith
No. 10 “Big timber to the sea” by Jo Franco – to Vermont with Kris McDermet
No. 11 “Apple Isle” by Jo Franco is now in Pennsylvania with Tracy
No. 12 “Coral – Beyond a pinkish shade of Orange” by Jo Franco went to Florida, with Pam Kirk.

Rug Hooking Magazine’s “Celebration 28” Exhibition

While there were many amazing rugs on exhibit – here are some of my favourites

“Glacier National Park” Original design by Ken Hamlin, Adrian, Michigan.

Across from our booth “Glacier National Park” an original design hooked by Ken Hamlin of Adrian Michigan – was of special interest to me as my husband was born in this mountainous area of the United States.

On the same wall was “Café-Shadows” another original design – this one by Martha Rosenfeld, Kalamazoo, Michigan. My apologies to the artists if my photography doesn’t do their work justice.

“Cafe Shadows” an original design hooked by Martha Rosenfeld, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Trish Johnson’s “Honest Eds” street scene. I just loved this hooked tapestry especially the reflections in the store windows of the cars out on the road.
“Aaron” by Russell Nichols

Celebrations 28; “Aaron” designed hooked by Russell L Nichols. Image shared from Rug Hooking Magazine Facebook post

The use of light to bring out detail in this grayscale portrait was addressed by Susan Feller in the Gallery Talk – so it was interesting to see this artist’s use of bright colour in his animal pieces

YES!! an Australian entry in Celebrations 28

“Temple Fish“. by Gail Nichols (Braidwood, New South Wales)
Unfortunately Gail’s rug was not on display, however Gail is a finalist and there is still time to place a “Readers Choice” vote – click the link below and follow the prompts https://www.rughookingmagazine.com/voting/Readers-Choice

Val Flannigan, a McGown Guild member, pictured here with Janine Broscious who took many of the rug images shown in this blog. Two of Val’s rugs were on exhibit, “Elephant” and another of my favourites “Fiddler” – standing in front of the actual work, the fiddler was almost dancing off the wall.

“Elephant” hooked by Val Flannigan with Janine Broscious

Here are some more of my favourite rugs shown on the Celebrations 28 Readers Choice page :

“America” – 30x41in – designed and hooked by Nancy Thun, Hoboken, New Jersey

“Liberty” 18x28in – designed and hooked by Sharon Smith, Walnut Creek, California.

“Back Lit Jack Pine” 47 x 30 in – designed and hooked by Donna Brunner, Westerose, Alberta, Canada

“Scotty McGruff” 16 x 16in designed and hooked by Laura W Pierce, Petaluma, California

“At Jesus’ Feet” 26 x 38 in – Designed and hooked by Eric Sandberg, Onancock, Virginia.

During the day at Rug Hooking Week, contact with my “Re-imagined” Co-Convener was via Facebook messenger. Susan Feller and I spent the evenings updating our Facebook pages. We were surprised late one night when the screen on my laptop lit up and who should appear, calling me on Skype … Judi Tompkins she was a passenger in their car in Queensland, Australia, 14 hours into our tomorrow … cyberspace at its best! Judi’s comment; “Um …. I think Jo and Susan can hear me talking in their sleep”

Online Connection – Australia & Sauder Village – Rug Hooking Week 2018

Wrap Up – at the end of a wonderful week –
from Susan Feller:
“This is how neatly the show pieces are prepared for owners to pick up and check out at end of Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village. There is no way names can be put on a list of thank yous, someone would be left off. Suffice to say the ENTIRE staff of Sauder Village knows how to make their guests feel part of a welcome community. A big thank you to Kathy Wright who loves spreadsheets and I believe has one programmed in her brain she is that organized, with a smile for all !
She gives herself one day off then begins the plans for 2019 August 12-17 (put it on your calendar).”

I second Susan’s comments and look forward to returning to Rug Hooking Week ..…. one day. This “LONG” report, much of which has already been posted on Facebook, is shared here for those of you who don’t “do” Facebook. Visiting with rug hooking friends continues as I wend my way home to Perth.

Hope you enjoy reading about the event as much as I enjoyed being there –

and … here is what prompted this trip –

The virtual “Re-imagined” Exhibition is what took me to Sauder Village this year – to see the online Gallery – Click this link to enter https://artspaces.kunstmatrix.com/en/exhibition/121832/re-imagined

You’re Invited

ISSN 2007-001X May 2018

Red Leaves – 2018, 108x83cm new & recycled fabric hooked on hessian backing. Courtesy the Artist and Narek Galleries, Bermagui.

Consider yourself invited to the

Opening of Gail Nichol’s

exhibition of ceramics and textiles

at the Drill Hall Gallery ANU, Canberra.

The Official launch of

“In Transit” is Friday 8th June 2018 the Exhibition runs until 29th July, 2018.

This has been an exciting year for Gail, her tapestry “Temple Fish” will feature as a finalist in Rug Hooking Magazine’s “Celebrations 2018”.

Temple Fish, 2017, new & recycled fabric hooked on hessian backing 164 x 115cm artist Gail Nichols, NSW, Australia

Here is another interesting tapestry, notice the irregular shape and the fringe. This tapestry was inspired by a study of banana leaves and landscape, during a visit by Gail to Bali in 2016.

Designed and hooked by Gail Nichols, NSW, Australia. Daun Pisang (A Balinese Landscape) 2017. 112 x 165 cm new and recycled fabric & wool on polyester backing.

“Three Friends”, is a new approach to drawing and textiles for Gail who is currently working in mixed media with machine stitch drawing.

Three Friends, Mixed Media, Artist – Gail Nichols, NSW, Australia

You can see more of Gail’s creations on Gail Nichols Textiles

Challenges of Collaboration

ISSN 2007-001X April 2018

“TEXTILE TESSERA” is an installation by Judi Tompkins (Queensland) and Jo Franco (Western Australia),

Conveners of

“Re-imagined” a Challenge with a Difference –

a virtual mixed media Exhibition.

As participants in the “Re-imagined” Challenge finish entries, take photographs and write Artist Statements, the conveners have just started their textile installation to be displayed at the Opening of “Re-imagined” at Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village, Ohio, USA.

The original abstract design, a representation of the puzzle of a fibre diaspora was Judi’s. Jo being more literal, immediately saw it as a map of Australia, suggesting it seemed appropriate with the Exhibition featuring work from the Southern Hemisphere.

Thus, Judi’s tongue in check reference to this particular piece of the installation as :-

“My multi-coloured piece with the glass sparkly bits and bits of metal are indeed representational of Australian outback (drawing on my taxidermy-ness)…

as if a road train has driven at speed through a flock of Lorikeets and scattered the feathers and shattered windscreen across the landscape!! Oh….maybe that is too vivid?

Was thinking of calling this piece…Flattened Fauna…. Maybe that’s too strong?

Judi goes on to describes the process so far;

At first glance, Jo and my decision to collaborate on a piece for “Re-imagined”: a Challenge with a Difference seemed pretty straightforward. After all, we have a pretty good understanding and respect for each other’s opinions and approach to rughooking and fibre/textile art; we communicate well and offer support and criticism in a constructive way; agreed on our common goal; are willing to compromise; are reliable and reasonable time-mangers; and Jo is pretty tolerant!

So, could we have overlooked anything in our simple plan to share the work on a common project and bring it smoothly together at the end?

You bet! (Keeping in mind that your experience will differ from ours.)

Life Like all of you, we both have incredibly busy lives on a “good” day with the usual appointments, chores, family “stuff”, frustrations and things that require attention and get in the way. I however managed to add selling a house, moving and building a house and studio into the middle of this; and the building process became quite awful just about the time I was due to work on our mutual project and served to redefine and clarify the concept of “challenge” for me!

Logistics Naturally if you build a new house and don’t have family to live with (sponge off?) then you need find someplace to rent and keep your “stuff” – most of which you are convinced you won’t need because the build will, “only take about four months”. Hah!

Just to keep things interesting and adrenaline-filled, I initially kept only a few boxes of rughooking and fibre supplies, frames, fabrics and fibres in a small room at my rental unit – supposedly my “studio” but used by my dog as her “office”.

“I’ll just keep the necessary things because I can easily get anything I need from one of the two large shipping containers at the building site”.

Hah! (again)

I realised too late that access to these containers would be “delicate” because of the construction toilet and the sheer volume of stacked building materials. Oh well…surely, I can get what I need from Spotlight.
Wrong.

Gradually I unloaded more and more from the storage units into my rental “studio” and into the back bedroom,

ensuring I can’t find anything in any location.

(“but…I know I have it somewhere”)

Timing
The realization that I need to get my “bit” done well in advance of my shifting house; preparation for a workshop/demo early in July and Jo’s leaving for the US when she takes our collaborative piece to the launch of the “Re-imagined” Challenge at Sauder Village, made the next obstacle an extra challenge indeed!

Tabula Rasa
Yes. The dreaded blank slate indeed! In spite of all the communication via email, Skype, photos and Facebook with Jo…I just couldn’t start hooking!

Didn’t know what to do (I thought I did at first…but I didn’t!); didn’t know where to start; didn’t know what fabric and colours to use; didn’t like what I did start; convinced I just couldn’t do it; thought it was probably a dumb idea anyway (whose was it? Surely I was innocent in all this!).

Nearly suggested that Jo should “just do it”. I didn’t.

I’m sure there are and will be other hassles and frustrations with getting this collaboration done but it has been worth the aggravation. It is indeed a challenge and had really pushed me (nearly over the edge…but not quite…yet!)

I need to think faster; keep the goal and vision in mind and

just “do it”!
I will.
I am.
I will be OK in the end…everything is frustrating at the halfway point.”

From Jo …………

To brighten my day and tie our works together Judi sent me some of this yummy coloured silk yarn purchased from Clare at Feltfine.com.au

My section of the project is also underway, however in a more “restrained” style.

If you haven’t collaborated on a textile art work, you really should give it a try, it’s amazing what you learn and it is fun!

Australian Rug Hooking Events

ISSN 2007-001X March 2018

2018 – off to a good start – locations of the growing number of Rugmaking Groups around Australia were updated and are now detailed on the Current Events page.

A Tyger by another name – girl washing the stripes of a tiger. Designed and hooked Waldoboro style by Judi Tompkins

“Murphy” designed & hooked by Judi Tompkins QLD Australia

At the Winter Craft Festival June/July 2018 to be held at the Kingaroy Art Gallery, Judy Brook from the Red Earth Rugmakers and Judi Tompkins from the Sunshine Coast RugCrafters will demonstrate rug hooking and Judi T will give a “Waldoboro” rug hooking workshop.

Waldoboro is used to describe rugs hooked in a sculptured or 3-dimensional style. It’s a traditional technique named for the town of Waldoboro, Maine, on the north-east coast of the USA where rugs hooked in this sculptured technique (usually with floral designs) date back to the 1870-80s. Using the same technique and different materials, Judi has used this 3-D effect on many of her rug hooking projects depicting animals.

News from the Sunshine Coast RugCrafters …. Claudia from Brisbane recently visited a Sunshine Coast Group meeting at the Beerwah Library, seen here showing Stella her Emma Lou Lais pattern hooked on Monks cloth, and a “Memory Rug”.

Hooked by Claudia for the 8 yr old daughter of her nephew, whose sister, Lacey (Claudia’s niece) was killed in a car accident two weeks from her 20th birthday. The rug is designed to include Lacey and all the things she loved. This was a special rug hooked with love.

Speaking of “special rugs”

Gail Nichols from New South Wales has had EXCITING NEWS …. notification from Rug Hooking Magazine that her rug, ‘Temple Fish‘ was selected as a finalist and will be published in Celebrations 2018. See more of Gail’s amazing tapestries here

Temple Fish 2017 – new & recycled fabric hooked on hessian backing 164x115cm by Gail Nichols NSW Australia

Also from New South Wales; Maxine’s group in Bellingen was featured in Miriam Miller’s recent newsletter, “Connecting Us”.

Phornthips starting a rug for her grandson

Ann with one of her many large rugs hooked using recycled blankets.

Closer to home …………………… Miriam reports the Milton Show was held on 2nd & 3rd March – The Theme this year was “Milk and Meat”.
Janet and Elke, were stewards in the Proggy and Hooky Rug Section and arranged a roster of Rugmakers to demonstrate rug making and talk to the public during the two days of the Show.

Sheila Capel, Christine Alexander, Judy Thurecht, Bev Latta, Elaine Kitchner, Ilka Landahl and Jacqueline Thomson were all awarded prizes in the various rug hooking categories.

All issues of “Connecting Us” can be found on the Guild website

Also, in New South Wales;

Margaret hooked images of her two Granddaughters from photographs of the girls. Margaret said …….
“FINALLY FINNISHED! these are my beautiful granddaughters. I have included the photos which inspired me to hook these pieces. I hope my work shows how beautiful the girls are, both inside and out – I love them very much.”

BIG rugs seem to be all the rage in New South Wales – in Braidwood Maggie Hickey finished hooking this large rug (2metres x 2.2 metres) comprised of eight separate pieces sewn together. The rug was designed and commissioned by artist Alison Alder, to fit her living room. Alison requested it be made in wool for durability.

Maggie said: “I planned it in 6 pieces but subsequently we decided it was going to be too short for the space. It was decided to add strips of lime green to either end. I used some wool yarn and some strips of wool blanket, dyed to obtain the required colours”

ACT – Canberra: Maggie Whyte, Australian Rugmakers Guild Vice Pres & Secretary, will be one of a group of Aussie Rugmakers traveling to Reeth, UK, to attend The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers’ (TIGHR) 2018 Triennial in the Yorkshire Dales village of Reeth, home of well known rug hooker Heather Ritchie, current President of TIGHR.

Maggie, a felter as well as a rug maker, is interested in many textile techniques.

Examples of her creations using a “Chunky Rugmaker” are shown with Maggie’s permission in the Technique pages of “Re-imagined” a Challenge with a Difference.

All 12 rug making techniques can be seen here. (Images are shown with permission of artists and photographers.)

Swap n Sell – this website page has been re-arranged so it’s easier to compare items. If you’re looking for wool fabric to hook with, a new member from Victoria has a huge stash which she’d like to sell. See more of the wool fabric available on this link.

Victorian Guild member, Marcia King, and rug hooking instructor, will be demonstrating rug making on the 28th April at the Off the Grid Living Festival
in Eldorado, a town in the foot hills of the Alpine Ranges, between Wangaratta and Beechworth, just 3 hours from Melbourne and a little more from Canberra.

Also in Victoria, the Yarra Valley Rugmakers continue to meet in each other’s homes and hook rugs even on the hottest days of this past summer.

Chris said …. “Joy finished her third Psalm 23 stair tread ‘In the Valley’ and started whipping her rugs, being 3/4 finished on one rug by the end of the day. It’s amazing what you can achieve in a day.” You can read more about this group and contact them through their Blog

Tasmania: The Happy Hookers have been posting some interesting latch hooked rugs on their Facebook page The group has a new meeting place; ART AS MANIA on Emu Bay Road, Deloraine

We’ve also been following artist Alyson-Jean’s progress creating a large latch-hooked rug of her own design – shown here with the artists permission.

“Magic Carpet” Click this link to see Alyson-Jean’s video.

South Australia; the Stationmaster’s Red Hen is the new home of the StrathMatters rug group in Strathalbyn. The Red hen is a renovated train carriage sitting on the tracks next to the Stationmaster’s Art gallery housed in an historic railway building.

The Rug Group meets on the 1st & 3rd Friday of the month. All look very comfortable in their new home – you can see more of their rug work on their blog

Currently showing in the Stationmaster’s Art Gallery, is “Threads” – a fabric exhibition which includes furniture, wall hangings, AND rugs – this one designed and hooked by Judith Stephens, Guild President.

Gail shared a successful mending project ….. her rug made of polar fleece strips on latch hook backing had been damaged by a chair leg. A new piece of backing was spot glued onto the back and rehooked, mainly with the old strips. Gail was disappointed she couldn’t use recycled polar fleece but wanted specific simple colours; the blue/green – throws from Ikea and the yellow bought by the metre from Spotlight. All sliced with a rotary cutter.

Designed & hooked by Gail, a member of the StrathMatters Rug Group, Strathalbyn, South Australia

Western Australia; Learning a new technique at the Wanneroo Rugmakers group – Melissa who’d lived in Japan for many years showed how to make Kanzashi (folded fabric) flowers, Margaret, the crafty gardener, caught on quickly (shown here) similar flowers are to be added to a “Re-imagined” Challenge creation.

Robin Inkpen, visiting from Donnybrook in the South West of WA, demonstrated how to make coiled mats and vessels and displayed some of her creations. She also gave the group a punch needle hooking lesson on the newly constructed large punch needle frame with “plastic teeth” – both a #9 and #10 Oxford Punch needle were successfully used. It was thought that maybe the frame is too large? Amy Oxford has provided us with some helpful information which you can see on her FAQs page.

Sharon introduced the Wanneroo Group to the Uthando doll project supported by knitting and sewing groups across Australia and showed a basket of dolls made by a group of teenage girls she supervises – helping others helps the girls. These images posted on the Guild Facebook page have created interest from as far away as Mexico.

“Re-imagined” a Challenge with a Difference update …… 30 April 2018 is the deadline for submission of images of completed entries. Participants will be emailed a link through which they can upload their large images or videos, rather than send as email attachments ……… please make sure your email address is on file with rugcraftingaustralia@gmail.com to receive further emailed information.

There have been many inspirational posts on the “Re-imagined” Facebook page including images of examples by guild members, of the different rug making techniques listed on the Call for Entries.
A question asked recently “what techniques can be used in this Challenge?” the following answer was posted on the Facebook page ….

“Your entry can be created using whatever textile technique you desire, however, it must in some small way, include; have attached to; sit on or hang from; one of the rug making techniques listed in the Call for Entries.”

To refresh participants memory all 12 pages featuring examples of; braiding, quillies, coils, toothbrush and chunky rugmaking, proddy, stick weaving, traditional, punch needle, latch and locker hooking and tufting were shown together and can be seen on this link.

From the Editor: Because of increased rug making activity across the country, this report was lengthy – I do hope you took the time to scroll to the end. In the future, Blogs will be shorter about specific groups or events. It’s hard to not mention all the groups rug making activities and gratifying to see where this traditional craft is taking members. Keep on sharing your creativity.

The Persephone Connection

ISSN 2007-1X 11th November, 2017

It was with interest I read a Facebook post by a member of The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers (TIGHR) about a communal rug hooked by a UK group, the Mesdames Myrtles. The rug design was based on the end paper panels from Persephone books ….. what are Persephone books and what is so distinctive about them?

A quick Google search gave up information on Nicola Beauman, founder of Persephone books …. and …. the books distinctive grey covers with colourful inside floral panels.
Beauman’s choice of the name Persephone (associated with Spring, daughter of mythical Greek God Zeus) was as a symbol of female creativity.

How does this connect with a community rug making group in Wanneroo, Western Australia?

In 2016 the Wanneroo community rug group took on a project to create a piece of “hooked” signage to advertise their meeting time & place.

The sign took the form of a life-sized free standing woman to be displayed outside the Library where the group meets on Saturday mornings.

The figure was created by the use of a live “template”. A large piece of hessian was placed on the floor and a volunteer lay on top of it with an up-raised arm, to have her form drawn around with chalk.

The outline was then refined with an indelible pen and group members let their imaginations run wild as they hooked with recycled clothing to fill in the shape … creating colourful garments and facial features; not meant to resemble any particular member of the group.

As the hooked figure began to take shape she was referred to as “the Lady”.

Towards completion of the project it was decided “the lady” needed a name. Many suggestions were considered. Kath who is from England, came up with the name Persephone. The rest of us were not familiar with the name, it’s spelling or from where it was derived. Kath said she’d suggested it because the hooked female figure was so colourful with her spring-like floral embellished dress. She said Persephone was the name of the daughter of the mythical Greek God Zeus and the harbinger of Spring.

Persephone was presented to the public on 4th December 2016, International Rughooking Day. Instead of being trotted out each Saturday morning to announce the meeting of the group, she’s resided at the foot of the stairs, across from the Café, in the Library and Culture Centre. Persephone holds up a sign describing the community rug group – inviting others to take part. Occasionally her jewellery and accessories are added to or changed.

On December 4th 2017 we will meet again at the Café to recognize International Rughooking Day over an early Christmas lunch and will raise a glass to celebrate Persephone’s 1st Birthday and the connection with our rughooking friends overseas.

Editors Note: Does your group have an activity planned for International Rughooking Day on or around the 4th December 2017? If so, share an image from your day to Rug Hooking Magazine’s Facebook page.

BIGFOOT?

………. no not that elusive creature,

these are 2m long (6ft) enlargements, of my footprints being hooked by the Wanneroo Rugmakers as part of a research project using single-use plastic bags.

Textile artist Susan Feller (USA) included this research project in a presentation she made on “Educating about Craft” at the recent Association of Traditional Hooking Artists Biennial Conference in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

Here’s project information sent to Susan Feller by Sue Girak PhD Visual Arts Specialist City Beach PS, Perth, West Australia, :

“Walking Together with Pride is a collaborative installation that represents society’s ecological footprint. The initial phase of this project took place at City Beach Primary School in 2016. City Beach Primary School is a small government primary school located in Perth, Western Australia. Approximately 160 students attend the school which is situated in an affluent beachside suburb. Our local beaches are pristine, so it is very easy for children to underestimate the environmental degradation that is caused by plastic pollution in our oceans. As a means to highlight the growing dependence on plastic and its associated problems, the older children and I came up with the idea to make a large-scale installation artwork that would highlight the negative impact single-use plastic bags are having on the environment. When we first exhibited our eight footprints the younger students wanted the project to continue, so we invited others to add more footprints for a second showing in 2018. There is an associated research component that accompanies the project. My colleague Dr Jackie Johnson and I are interested to know if reusing discarded materials in art-making will make a difference to artists and crafts people’s environmental attitudes and behaviours. The Wanneroo Rughooking group was the first group to participate and make a start. They are using the proddy (proggy) hook method to make a pair of 180cm (6’) footprints made from salvaged plastics. As well being involved with the Wanneroo Rughooking group, Jo Franco is a member of the Western Australian Fibre and Textile Association (WAFTA). WAFTA have decided to work with my school as part of their community engagement initiative in 2017/18 and to teach rug making. I want to use old t-shirts to highlight the environmental problems associated with fast fashion. Further afield, Mandurah City Council is interested in extending the footprint project. Mandurah is a city 72 km (45 miles) south of Perth, and they want to work with their schools and community groups to produce pairs of footprints, which will be exhibited at the Drift Exhibition in May 2018. This means the footprints made by the Wanneroo Rughooking group will be exhibited twice next year. Finally, in August 2017, I presented the project at the International Society for Education through Art (InSEA) conference in Korea. The response was positive, I have schools in Beijing and Slovenia who wish to do their own footprint project and inquiries from Deakin University (Melbourne, Australia) to incorporate the concept into a community arts program.”

Susan’s presentation continued ……..

“If any of this audience wants to participate in their research that would be great. Contact info if seriously interested in a group participation is belfleet@bigpond.com Sue would be happy to work with a group from the US or Canada. Jackie and Sue are very interested in the creative reuse of salvageable materials in art-making and whether that would trigger shifts in environmental attitudes and behaviours. (Sue) Originally thought that the research would only be for locals who would contribute to her school’s exhibition. However, if there are international rug makers that would like to participate, they would love to hear. While there may be problems sending actual footprints to Australia, if people are willing to make a pair (as per her instructions) and photograph them, Sue will include that in the exhibition. Her students would love to see how their art is inspiring others around the world. The research component is a before and after survey, photos to show process and the possibility of an interview.”

The Wanneroo Rugmakers have completed the “before” survey and are enjoying thinking of different creative ways to embellish the footprints. While it’s a group project, members are working independently on the footprints – each adding their own ideas and techniques.

Anna thought it would be humorous to indicate a shoe-size and knitted a strip using white plastic bags and sewed the strip onto the footprint in the shape of a figure eight, adding a one – these footprints are surely bigger than a size 18! She is using plastic wrappers off sliced bread to fill in the foot. Coloured department store bags are being used for the toenails and the flip-flop straps.

Sharon, a new member, was taught the proggy technique and is practicing by edging the footprints. Kath made elaborate floral decorations for the flip-flop thong straps added to the footprints by Peta.

Kath discussing footprint embellishments with Adele

Colourful department store bags cut with a Townshend cutter are used to hook around the embellishments on the thong strap.

Tricia who normally works with proggy is learning to hook on this project – a challenging endeavour using the slippery plastic!

From the Editor: Jo Franco – With my WAFTA hat on, having volunteered to teach Sue’s students how to rug hook, I visited her school to deliver an over-sized rug hooking stretcher frame for them to learn on. At that time Sue showed me footprints the students had already made and I gave me this one to take back to our group as an example.

For a base they had used a soft flyscreen material and had rolled and folded single-use plastic bags stitching them into place. Hooking through this material was not “user friendly” so we reverted to our usual Hessian backing.

This is an interesting project for our rug hooking group since we already work with recycled material and as of 2018 single-use plastic bags will be banned from supermarkets in Western Australia. Completing the initial survey was also timely and created much discussion as we had all viewed the ABC’s TV program on the excessive amount of waste generated by the use of cheap clothing.

We’re looking forward to presenting our finished footprints to Sue’s School.

Jan 16: Rain Rain Rain! What a glorious afternoon.

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From Jo …………

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