ISSN 2207-001X – December 2018
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)
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.
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.
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 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
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
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
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.
