Australian Rug Makers Guild – Rughooking Australia

10 Years of Networking

ISSN 2007-00IX 30 November 2019

How do you bring a small number of enthusiastic rug hookers scattered across vast distances together? With great difficulty!

… that is until the internet became more accessible by those with iPads and mobile phones, allowing them to research, learn and view works by others – think Blogs and YouTube.

While Social Media has it’s problems, it does allow for quick and easy exchanges of information and gives people a chance to come together to show their work and share their experiences with sourcing tools and finding ways of learning new techniques.

When the Australian rug making online groups were formed and the Guild Blog started they were seen by rug makers in the Northern Hemisphere who told friends and relatives in Australia about what was happening here and so contact was made within the country through an overseas connection – a boomerang effect.

Rug making is a tactile craft, more suited to being shown in an environment where the pile and texture can be appreciated. However if you can’t afford, or are unable to travel, online and virtual events open up a world of creativity.

Courtesy Tasmanian Wool Centre, Ross, TAS TWC2016-2 Ransom Rug top view_2230mmx1400mm

It’s often claimed that rug hooking was something “not done” in Australia and yet there are rugs in museum archives here dating back to the 1920s and 30s even to the late 1800’s like this rug in the Wool Centre, Ross, Tasmania.

Courtesy Tasmanian Wool Centre TWC2016-2 Ransom Rug-detail

In those early days, rugs were used and disposed of, or stored and forgotten.

Courtesy of Migration Museum, Adelaide, South Australia HT90.141

Courtesy of Migration Museum, Adelaide, South Australia HT90-143

Small isolated communities had no way of promoting their events – exhibitions may have made the local newspapers but that was it.

In 2008, a rug hooking exhibition in the country town of Strathalbyn, South Australia, was advertised as the “first rug hooking exhibition in South Australia”. This proved to be incorrect; a rug hooker from Elizabeth, a 3 hour drive from Strathalbyn, saw a few lines of advertising in the Adelaide city newspaper on the morning of the opening and called to say it was definitely NOT the first exhibition in South Australia – there had been many. The problem was, the previous exhibitions had also been in country towns and reported in local newspapers – but the information did not leave the district.

Joyce Emery one of the original members of the American Rug Hooking Group from Elizabeth, SA. said the group taught rug hooking in schools and country towns in regional South Australia. They held many exhibitions and for more than 30 years met once a month at the home of Pam Whitehead, their instructor who’d learned traditional rug hooking in Canada, bringing it to Australia in the late 1960’s. Pam taught the “traditional North American” style of rug hooking at Adult Education Classes held in the Elizabeth East High School, using hand-dyed wool swatches and the traditional ‘fine shading’ technique on designs (mostly florals) which she imported from Rittemere, a rug hooking supply store in Canada.

This is where the internet came into play; the information about Pam was seen online by Pam’s son Peter, who provided an update on his mother’s interesting life:-

Pam Whitehead was born near Doncaster, Lancashire, England, June 20, 1923.
She served in the WRAF in WW2 as a radio operator and after WW2 moved to Australia where she married Peter’s father (Lewis) in 1953, in Goondiwindi, Queensland.
In 1955 Pam moved to Canada staying in the UK for about a year on the way. Peter was born in the UK in 1954. Pam returned to Australia (Elizabeth, South Australia) in July 1969 and taught at various locations over time, the main ones being the Elizabeth Girls Technical High School and Nuriootpa High School. Pam passed away in 2006. Peter said – “my mother was involved in many crafts but Rug Hooking was her passion. She would have been so happy to see it continue to flourish in Australia.”

In 2014 an Exhibition and Guild General Meeting was held in Strathalbyn, SA and another member of Pam’s original group made contact with the Exhibition organizer, Judith Stephens, requesting an opportunity to sell her rug hooking stash since she could no longer hook and was downsizing her house. Many of the Guild members bought wool fabric and 50 year-old Rittermere patterns from Faye, who told me about a rug she had hooked and gifted to the City of Fort Worth, Texas, USA, and that rugs made by the group were in the archives of the Migration Museum of South Australia.

Designed and hooked by Faye Godfrey, South Australia gifted to the city of Ft.Worth, Texas, USA.

I contacted the Curator or the Migration Museum and she kindly retrieved these and earlier rugs from the archives, photographed them and gave permission to show in Guild blogs and the History section of the Guilds website.

Courtesy of Migration Museum, SA HT86.404 – Community Banners project 1986 “Memories & Dreams”

The Internet has made it possible to more easily research the history of rug making in Australia and to reach out to connect with and encourage solitary rug hookers; for interested people to locate instructors; to find repairers and have rugs repaired, completed, or made on commission.

Members of the Guild have attended Craft Fairs in different States around Australia creating publicity for the craft, community groups have been formed and workshops given.

Martha Birch’s presence at Expertise Events Sydney Craft Fair lead to the formation of the Sydney group “From Rags to Rugs, Sydney Rug Hookers” which meets at the Epping Creative Centre, 26 Stanley St, Dence Park, NSW.

For more information contact Martha through the groups Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/387146415123046/members/

The Wanneroo Rugmakers group in Western Australia have been meeting in the city Library every Saturday morning for 10 years and are often visited by Library patrons who ask to see what they’re doing. Some have a go and join in, others go away and tell friends about the group. Any of the groups core members can teach newcomers and have taught several school teachers the various rug making techniques which the teachers have taken back and taught at their schools. Children’s rug making classes have been given during school holidays and also workshops for Seniors. As well as their own rugs, the group works on a community project each year. Rug Hooking categories have been added to the craft section of the Wanneroo Agricultural Show. Rugs are also shown at the Strathalbyn, SA Show and the Milton Show in NSW.

In Queensland Judi Tompkins and Judy Brook leaders of two rug hooking groups have been promoting rug making in their own areas and came together mid-year to bring rug hooking to a Winter Craft Festival. For Judi Tompkins it was an expensive learning experience – driving 2 hours each way to set up and take down a solo exhibition and repeating the drive several times to give artists talks in a remote area ravaged by drought with no through traffic reinforced her thinking that an online exhibition was a better option for promoting hooked pieces as art. However, Judy Brook’s community piece set up for viewers to work on during the month of the craft fair was well received.

In New South Wales the Narrawilly Proggy Rugmakers continue to meet in Miriam Millers Rug Room even when Miriam is away. The local rug hookers love meeting in Miriam’s studio and Miriam stays in touch with visitors to Narrawilly and rug hookers she meets in her overseas travels via her monthly emailed newsletter, “Connecting Us”

Jacqui Thomson has been documenting the groups many works since 1994 when she placed an few lines in the local newspaper advertising the groups first meeting. Miriam and Jacqui have graduated from local print advertising to the online world.

Following the success of “Re-imagined” a virtual mixed media exhibition in 2018 a group of 3 Aussie Guild members (Judi Tompkins, Kira Mead & Jo Franco) created the Global Textile Hub and held an online rug hooking event, the Global Rug Hub, bringing rug hookers together from around the world; Canada, USA, UK and Europe and of course Australia. This video and webinar can be seen along with other Guild videos on Kira Mead’s YouTube Channel.

Now the Guild committee comes together from Queensland, New South Wales, ACT and Western Australia to hold monthly virtual meetings.

Editors Note: Not only do Australian rugmakers have the chance to connect with each other through various online platforms, they also have a chance to meet up with rugmakers visiting from overseas.

This year through this Blog, several Canadians have visited rug groups in Strathalbyn, SA; Sydney and Milton, NSW and Melbourne, VIC. Currently a visitor from the UK is in South Australia, headed West in the New Year.

Even though few in numbers, rug hookers in Australia are creative in their approach to bringing a traditional craft into the 21st Century with the use of technology.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Healthy New Year.

Jo Franco, Editor/Membership Chair

A HOOKED MANDALA

ISSN 2207-001X 20th April, 2017

This mandala, 80cms x 80cms, was designed and hooked by Robin Inkpen, of Donnybrook, Western Australia. It’s framed, without glass, so is quite lightweight.

When Robin started this project her life was in a state of flux with many changes happening in her personal and artistic life. It seemed to me, creating a mandala was a big challenge to take on at that time. However, as I remember, Robin said she was using this project as a point of focus.

and she forwarded this image of her new project with the following comment –

“Mandalas aren’t as easy as they look, they are geometrically exact and you need compass and protractor and ruler to draw them. That’s fine when you are drawing on paper but, as I found when you draw them out on fabric with a warp and a weft it adds another dimension of difficulty because you have to line up the perpendicular and horizontal with the warp and weft grain.”

WHAT IS A MANDALA? I had an idea, but decided to do a Google search anyway – discovering a website which said –

“a mandala is a complex abstract design that is usually circular in form. In fact, “mandala” is a Sanskrit word that means “circle”. Mandalas generally have one identifiable center point, from which emanates an array of symbols, shapes and forms. Mandalas can contain both geometric and organic forms. Drawing and coloring a mandala can be a highly enriching personal experience in which you look inside yourself and find the shapes, colors and patterns to represent anything from your current state of mind to your most deeply-desired wish for yourself, for a loved one, or for humanity.”

This link “Art is Fun” took me to step-by-step instructions showing how to draw a mandala.

From yet another website comes these words, with a set of instructions for creating and colouring a mandala and the benefits of doing so;

“observing the mandala allows the busy mind to take a break while the creative mind is allowed to run free”.

Now I understand why focusing on creating a mandala was a way for Robin to centre her thoughts and feelings, also the complexities that arose when she attempted to transfer a drawing to a woven fabric backing.

Robin is about to embark on another mandala, this time on hessian, interested to see how precise she can be with circles and angles on hessian. Her first mandala was hooked on monks cloth.

Robin shown here with one of her earlier hooked creations, says this about the mandalas :

“For the moment, I like the contained and structured space of the design. The only variables I add are the variably dyed fabrics and yarns.

Also, as it is so difficult to be so geometrically exact on a woven fabric I like that each quarter is not an exact replica.”

It would be interesting to know if any other members have attempted to design and hook a mandala. If you have and would like to share, please leave a comment below or send to rughookingaustralia@gmail.com

As always, it’s interesting to see where rug hooking takes us. Jo Franco, Editor

Members Rughooking Videos

11 and Beyond,

Bec Anderson’s Artist in Residency project,

teaching rug hooking in school, is featured in the latest issue of Rug Hooking Magazine with a link to a video on Bec’s website.

While on the Guild Facebook page, there’s now two videos featuring the work of guild members, Judi Tompkins and Robin Inkpen.

Bec’s “11 and Beyond” project was launched on December 4th, 2014, 2_punchneedle_hooking_chair_pad the inaugural International Rughooking Day. During 2015 at Tamborine Mountain State School in Queensland, Bec took a class of 11 year olds through the process of learning how to design their own patterns and to use a punchneedle to hook them.

Members of Bec’s rug hooking group, the Happy Hookers, assisted Bec with these sessions in return receiving punchneedle lesson themselves.

The local Men’s Shed also took part, building the frames for the students to use.

7_punchneedle_chair_pads_in_frames

The project “11 and Beyond” was inspired by the shift in Queensland in 2015 12_QLD_Government_logo when Year 7 students became the first year of high-school and Year 6 (11 year olds) became the leaders of the 11_Becs_Project_header primary school.

This special issue of Rug Hooking Magazine features article focused on children and rug hooking from Australia, Canada, Japan, England and the USA.

There’s an article by Gene Shepherd (Calif. USA) Education Chair of ATHA featuring young rug hookers and an easy and safe dye experience designed by him especially for kids.

As always, this edition is packed full of interesting articles. The magazine is available in Australia by subscription. I’m always delighted when my copy shows up in the post box as it did today.

Jo Franco, Editor/Membership Chair

A Hooked Chook

otherwise known as “Judi’s Folly”

Everybody!

Created by Judi Tompkins, 2016 “Palimpsest” Landsborough, QLD

According to Wikipedia : In architecture, a folly (French term folie – meaning foolishness) is a building constructed primarily for decoration, but suggesting through its appearance some other purpose, or appearing to be so extravagant that it transcends the range of garden ornaments usually associated with the class of buildings to which it belongs. 18th century English gardens and French landscape gardening often featured mock Roman temples, symbolizing classical virtues.

1 800px-Castle_Howard_-_Temple_of_the_Four_Winds[1] 1 cb418c88b3138e5e8285b9afda332aa8[1]

1 images[3] 1 Sculpture_à_Parc_de_la_Villette,_Paris,_France_juillet_2010[1]

In English, the term began as “a popular name for any costly non-functional structure erected to enhance the natural landscape”.

Hence the terms use for Judi’s installation which to date, has not stopped growing in the middle of her living room!

4 IMG_4318[1] Having made several wall-hangings using the 3D Waldoborough technique (in the extreme)

Judi had a desire to make a full size 3D hooked project.

This ladder no longer in use, and her interest in birds and fowl, was the catalyst for the chook project.

First the pattern for the chook (Bertha) was drawn onto hessian

Then begain the hooking using novelty “Eyelash” yarn, the finished shape was stuffed with wool.

6 IMG_5132[1]

The ladder was bought into play and the chook perched upon it.

7 Hooked_Chook_by_Judi_Tompkins_QLD_Australia

At this point Judi’s creative sense went into over-drive; the chook needed a nest and if it was going to have a nest shouldn’t there be some eggs?

8 Chook on nest

8 IMG_5150[1]

And as eggs tend to do – they started to hatch

Chick with a face only a mother could luv!

Members of Judi’s rug hooking group who’d seen this installation starting to take shape felt they too wanted to be involved.

Bea showed up with a two specimens of fowl she’d created in a pottery class

11 IMG_5181-001[1]

and along with Judi Owen and Ann Naisworth (NSW) they started to collect feathers for the project

Who laid the Golden Egg

… by this time it had grown to include a mat beneath the ladder into which realistic grass and plants had been hooked and other birds and birds nest from Judi’s collection had been placed.

The circular mat is a massive art work in itself 15 feet (458cm) in circumference and weighing over 6kg.

A video of this huge rug hooking effort was made by Kira Mead using the outline of my blog, with voice over by husband Warren. With the addition of some funky Chicken song music, it created something that made us all smile.

So the video, even though it was only a trial effort, was posted on the Guild Facebook page. For those of you who may not have seen it, here it is the link

https://www.facebook.com/australianrugmakersguild/

Congratulations to Judi on such a creative effort and to Kira for being clever and persistent and conquering the digital battle of learning how to bring it all online.

I have certainly enjoyed being Judi’s sounding board through the construction of this installation. Jo Franco, Editor

Combining Felting with Rug Hooking

A New Year and new combinations with rug hooking.

Some members of the Wanneroo Rugmakers group like to knit and crochet and some also like to felt. At the Group’s first meeting for the year Margaret showed her recently felted pieces – images of these have just arrived in my INBOX.

Margaret says…..

“The small bowls were cobweb felting and for the flower I used Corriedale wool roving that I just wet felted. My botanical piece was also wet felted with merino wool and silk. I’ve looked at Kris McDermet’s website – love her work and am really disappointed Kris is so far away.”

Felted_creations_by_Margaret_Stuart_Western_Australia

In Albany, Western Australia, Kira Mead, featured in the January issue of Rug Hooking Magazine, is experimenting again ….

this time hooking into felt. Kira tells me she is “contemplating involving felt with standing wool.”

Hooked_felt_Kira_Mead

Also in my INBOX today was the Blog from Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild with an article about Kris McDermet’s upcoming braiding classes and mentioning Kris’s recent awards including 2015 Rug Hooking Magazine’s Celebrations – where Kris was a finalist in the Original Category for “Prints”

Prints_by_Kris_McDermet

“Prints” Described below by Kris;

“This is a 7 path Labyrinth – it is 5 feet round. The braids are the walls of the labyrinth and the hooking the foot paths. The birds, bugs, flowers, prints, leaves etc. are found on our labyrinth paths that we made in our field here in Vermont, USA.”

Australian rugmakers who were in Strathalbyn, South Australia in 2012 for the TIGHR Conference will remember meeting Kris and I’m sure would be interested to hear of her recent award and also the new combinations she is using.

On her website Kris talks about her love of combining hooking and braiding and also combining wool and silk. The latest addition to her combinations is Nuno felting with various wool and silk fibers felted together and cut into shapes and then combined into her hooking – like the heart shapes used in her wall hanging “Passion”.

passion_by_Kris_Mcdermet

Passion 48”round Wool silk Nuno felted hearts

You can see more of Kris’s work on her website www. krismcdermetrugs.com

Start the New Year with Rug Hooking Magazine

Jan/Feb 2016 and read the article by Australia’s Accidental Rugmaker, Kira Mead.

It’s just over a year since Gay Wilkes, a founding member of ARG from Albany, Western Australia, sent me a picture of Kira’s work – a wall hanging made from recycled wool blankets.

Kira Mead with one of her vibrant rugs. Picture: Lata Photography

As Membership Chair, I invited Kira to join the Guild – she was surprized, said she wasn’t a rugmaker, so I explained that though she didn’t know it, she was using a rugmaking technique and making quillies, so was an “accidental rugmaker”, a term Kira has adopted.

Throughout the past year Kira has experimented with eco dyeing, hanging odd-shaped wall art Rose_Gelato_Quillie_rug_by_Kira_Mead_Albany_West_Australia_Grid Back Framing and various rug making techniques. Her open and sharing personality reflects the bright colours she likes to work with.

After going viral on the Guild Facebook page, the giant quillies went from wall hangings to chair covers, to 3D vessels and seat and floor cushions and more.

Chair_Top_Finished_created_by_Kira_Mead_Albany_West_Australia - Copy

3_D Quillie_designed_&_created_by_Kira_Mead_Albany_West_Australia

Quillie_Floor_cushion_by_Kira_Mead

Kira's quilllie cup mat. — Kira’s quilllie cup mat.

Like many Australian Guild members, Kira’s an isolated rug hooker, she lives in a country town about 417 ks (259 miles) south of Perth. There are rug hookers in and around the area, Gay and others who have taken the workshops Judith Stephens and I gave in 2010 and 2011, but so far no group has been formed.

Newly retired and looking for an artistic outlet, Kira searched the web and came across the giant quillies. Now as a member of the rugmakers guild Kira continues to search out different techniques on the web and again was surprized to discover this chain stitch is a “rugmaking” technique, one of several stitches to have “cross pollinated” from embroidery to rug making.

King_George_Sound_chain_stitched_rug_135x95_designed_&_hooked_by_Kira_Mead

There’s been articles in previous issues of Rug Hooking Magazine by Laura Pierce, Gene Shepherd and others detailing various rughooking stitches.

Ranunculas_Designed_hooked_chain_stitch_by_Kira_Mead_West_Australia

Still using chain stitch, Kira has made yet another transition from embroidery to rughooking, by creating a design from a traditional pattern worked in cross stitch. She had been researching Bukovina/Ukrainian and Romanian patterns as it is the area her paternal family are from. Then found in her linen cupboard a piece her grandmother brought with her when the family came to Australia as displaced persons in 1950.

Below, made to celebrate International Rug Hooking Day

is the piece underway, made with up-cycled 100% Wool (Albany Woollen Mill) blankets and the finished project.

Romanian_design_hooked_chain_stitch_by_Kira_Mead

“In my Bunica’s Travel Trunk” 29cm x 29cm

Now I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what Kira comes up with in 2016.

The year is just beginning and these Before/After images have arrived in my Inbox “shibori felted knitting” ??

Pippa_before_losing_knitted_jacket_to_Kira_Meads_Shibori_Project After_Kira_Shiboried_knitted_vest

Pippa the pooch about to loose the jacket and the jacket after felting, with some “additions”.

Kira intends to enter a hooked fibre sculpture in WAFTA 21+ a juried Exhibition – so images of that work must be kept under wraps until after selection for the Exhibition.

Editors Note: As a trainee instructor at my first McGown Guild Workshop in Eugene, Oregon, 2002, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Marie Bresch an accomplished rug hooker (you can find Marie’s name listed in Rug Hooking Magazine as a member of the Emeritus Board). Marie learned to hook in Canada many years ago in a very formal class setting where everyone was expected to learn all the rug hooking rules, as well as the different creative stitches used in rug making – 13 I was told. Marie said the stitches were detailed in a book published in Canada. I’m thinking given that time frame, it was probably by Rittermere.

You often hear reference to the “rughooking police”, but don’t worry its now OK to break some of the rules. Back then, at a time when rugs were IN USE … ON THE FLOOR, the rules were in place to preserve the life of the rugs. I’ve met rug hookers in the USA & Canada who have on their floors, rugs made by their Grandmothers – its possible some of these rugs could be close to 100 years old because my friends are “mature age” and their mothers remembered the same rugs being on the floor when they were children.

Happy New Year to All Jo Franco

Visiting Rugmakers

After visiting Guild members in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia and thinking about rugs hooked by members in Victoria and Western Australia, I realized just how differently members of this Guild approach design and the creation of their rugmaking projects.

The question often asked –

“is rug hooking an art or craft?”

is hard to answer because it depends entirely on who you’re asking and what they’re aiming to express through their rugmaking.

The simple techniques used in the past to create floor coverings, are now used artistically to create wall hangings, home decor items and wearables; to make social commentary; express inner feelings; bring groups together to work on community projects; promote well-being or just provide an outlet for a person to relax while making something they feel is attractive and useful.

While staying with Jacqui Thomson in New South Wales I was thinking about this as I admired the art work and rugs on her walls, particularly a large 4ft (122cm) square wall-hanging on the wall of Jacqui’s study hooked by Ilka Landahl, a member of the Narrawilly Proggers.

Unfortunately this photo, taken with my phone (permission given by Ilka & Jacqui) kept turning sideways in this blog. No amount of editing would prevent that happening, so I resorted to printing and scanning it back to my computer and in doing so lost the high resolution of the original image. My apologies Ilka, the detail in your rug, traditionally hooked with recycled fabric is truly amazing.

Social Commentary features in many of Judith Stephens (South Australia) hooked wall- hangings. Her work below, traditionally hooked using 100% wool yarn (photographed by Malcolm Edward-Cole), is for an exhibition later this year or next, concerning immigrants and Australia’s double standard.

Artistic expression: Judi Tompkins (QLD) has taken the rug hooking technique of Waldobrough to another level in wall hangings of her own design that represent something unique and full of meaning for the recipient of the piece.

Judi also pushes the envelope when it comes to the shape and framing of her hooked creations, as in Costas Hummingbirds which is framed with cactus wood.

Community Projects: Bec Andersen (QLD) has promoted several community projects using various rug hooking techniques in her fibre installations.

Below are pieces hooked by school children (11 year olds) using the Oxford Punchneedle hook. This was a special project of Bec’s which she shared with me and has given me permission to write a full report on in a future magazine article.

Expression of feelings: Our plans changed and I wasn’t able to visit Victoria (Aust) and meet up with Joy Marshall and Chris Noorbergen however they’d previously forwarded me photos of their rugs shown below.

Joy entered the work below in an exhibition which included works that depict loss, love and hope by those who have/are experiencing grief and depression.

Joy describes her Glimmers of Hope as –

My first rug using a linen backing and is approx 4 feet long and 1.5 feet wide. It uses recycled hand dyed blanketing and is my own design. It is a graphic representation of a phrase I woke up with in my head one morning a few years ago. “Glimmers of hope pierced the gloom” I then finished it with “like stars in the night sky”. After googling this phrase with no results I can only put it down to inspiration. I have long admired Van Gogh’s work and this piece is strongly reflective of Starry Sky. After the recent loss of my youngest son, this rug brought together the hope I have in God’s love that shines in the darkness of grief, Starry Night, and a hankering to try a design with cats paws.

Chris Noorbergen has used her creative rug hooking talents and the experience gained from a workshop with Heather Ritchie to hook a wall-hanging from a photograph of each of her six grandchildren, as they were completed, all have been featured on the Guild’s Facebook page. Chris has also lovingly created a hooked wall- hanging depicting members of her family and family events.

Marion Nefiodovas (South Australia) – subsequently took a Hooking a Portrait from a Photo workshop from Chris. Marion hooked a remarkable likeness of husband (George). Marion displayed the finished project at her visit to the Perth Craft and Quilt Fair when she and George were in Western Australia last May.

Chris also traveled to Western Australia at the same time and she visited Elizabeth (Lies) van Beem who lives in the South West of the state, and took this photo of the wall hanging Lies is working on. It’s Lies’s life story since arriving in Australia which she plans to enjoy on the wall of her home and hopes will become a family heirloom.

Wearables Robin Inkpen who also lives in the south west of Western Australia is creating more of her unique hooked bags. These one of a kind bags are now offered for sale in a high-end gift shop.

Community well-being: I (Jo Franco from West Aust) have been instrumental in bringing together a community group and teaching them to teach others.

Sue Gilmartin from the UK stayed with me after the 2012 TIGHR Conference and when she heard me talk of an idea for a hooked installation to depict the coming together of an inter-generational, multi-cultural group who are passing on the knowledge of a simple craft and using it to create artistic pieces, she encouraged me to enter a local sculptural exhibition we’d just come across online – it was closing day for entries, so we brainstormed a title Handing It On and I emailed my entry minutes before closing time.

After Sue returned to the UK I was pleased to be able tell her my entry had been accepted and then came the interesting part – putting it together.

For the base I utilized an old rug of unknown origin, probably made in the 1920 or 30’s from recycled clothing; connected to my new rug, made also with recycled fabrics however these were brightly coloured recycled sari-silk off-cuts and novelty yarn.

Circles made using an aboriginal basketry technique taught to me by Judith Stephens were incorporated in my rug and the same technique was used to make a group of arms and hands to represent the women from the community group. The hands were also were made of fabric representing old and new and from the same “coiling” method as the circles on which they sat. The hands held hooks from my collection of old and new rug hooking tools. The installation was the only textile exhibit and very colourful among sculptures of metal, iron and ceramic in a white gallery!

This same community group in Wanneroo worked together on an entry for a Wearable Art competition in 2014, and in 2015, a wall hanging in commemoration of the ANZACs.

Ebb & Flow hooked by the Wanneroo Rugmakers. Photographer Michael Kelly of Star Creations — Ebb & Flow hooked by the Wanneroo Rugmakers. Photographer Michael Kelly of Star Creation

Norma Hatchett (West Aust) has been teaching rug hooking with the use of a Rumplestiltskin tool, for almost 30 years, to blind and disabled members of the community. Over the last 10 years she has successfully run programs with residents suffering from dementia living in aged cared facilities.

Below Norma is shown giving a presentation at WAFTA about facilitating these projects and the benefits received by the residents as they sit together hooking. Norma designs the piece and transfers it onto the backing in 16inc x 11inc segments (the size of her frames) then each person hooks their individual piece of the wall hanging and when all are complete Norma sews them together. You can see this in the second image which I photographed from the back – this image also gives a good indication of the overall size of the piece.

In a nutshell; Norma said this program is successful because while residents are “together” no interaction is needed between the rug hookers each one has their own carer to help them with their part of the project. This provides an enjoyable social activity in a non-threatening environment. There is much more involved in setting up and facilitating the project and I have visited one of Norma’s sessions to see how it all comes together – it is amazing. One of her successes was a resident who wasn’t to be part of the group because she hadn’t spoken for 2 years – Norma encouraged her inclusion and at the conclusion of the 12 week rug hooking project this same lady had begun to talk again.

While I was traveling, Kira Mead from Albany West Australia whose quillie wall-hangings created such a stir on the Guild Facebook page, sent me an image of her latest rug. She is experimenting again! this rug was hooked with a traditional hook using chain stitch on the wide open-grid backing used for locker hooking.

The local Wanneroo group also sent me images of a new member’s work.

Margaret is new to the group and likes to work, not necessarily on miniatures, but on small pieces. Below is her first piece of “toothbrush” rugmaking finished after returning home from her first day with the group. Not quite sure how to overcome the fact that her rug was curling up, Margaret turned it into a birds nest. With some further instruction from the group the following week, she made a rug base for the nest and her bird, that I’m guessing is a Blue Fairy Wren from the south west of WA.

Judith Stephens and I will be teaching this Toothbrush rugmaking or Naarlbinding technique at the Conference of The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers (TIGHR) in Victoria on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada in a couple of weeks.

Eight members of the Australian Rugmakers Guild who are also members of TIGHR will be traveling to this year’s Conference. Miriam and Jacqui have already left and have visited a rug hooking friend in Israel. They were thrilled to see Pamela’s hooked rugs, which will undoubtedly feature in Miriam’s next newsletter on her return home. Their travels will take them through Europe, to the Outer Hebrides and across the USA before we meet again in Victoria.

A few weeks ago when I was in New South Wales we talked about how amazing it is that this simple, old-fashioned craft has taken us on journeys across Australia and around the world and bought us in contact with so many interesting, sharing and caring people.

I have just realized that Miriam will be giving a talk on this very subject at the Conference; the different techniques of rug making in Australia, and has taken some samples to show. Hopefully she will include an article about her experience at the Conference in her newsletter at the end of the end of the year.

Now I must away and pack my bag, as I too will soon be leaving for Canada.

Judith Stephens and I have planned a short road trip in British Columbia prior to the Conference on Vancouver Island. The scenery will be vastly different from what I recently drove through on my trip across Australia – we definitely won’t be seeing any road signs like these……..

I just had to include this image which I took on our return trip as we approached the West Australia border having driven across the Nullabor Plain. This part of the coastline shows on the map as the Great Australian Bight.

We’ve made this trip before on Eyre Highway the southern East/West road but have never pulled off to at any of the vantage points to take photos. It wasn’t far to drive from the main road and I was glad we took the time the view was spectacular!

Well this blog started with a rug hooking image on a grand scale – ending with almost a miniature,

and here I am finishing with my own personal travel pics.

I feel fortunate indeed to be able to travel and enjoy my craft through meeting other rug hookers and seeing their creations.

Jo Franco, Editor/Membership Chair

EAST meets WEST

by Jo Franco; Guild Editor/Blogger

A family holiday in Queensland provided the perfect opportunity for me to visit rugmakers in the area.

Judi Tompkins, the Guild’s webmaster and I talk regularly each week on Skype in an effort to maintain the website and bring rughooking news and Australian Guild members together.

Judi facilitates group meetings at the Beerwah Library from 3:00-6:00pm on the 2nd Monday and 3rd Tuesday of each month.

However to fit in with my schedule, she invited members of the Sunshine Coast Rug Crafters to her studio on Sunday 2nd August for an informal workshop and “hook-in” and asked them to bring a recently finished, or favourite rug for Show & Tell. Some of the rugs have been shown before on this blog but there‘s nothing like seeing and touching the real thing.

In a recent post about the SCRC group’s demonstration at the Palmwoods Art & Crafts Show Stella could be seen working on her porpoise piece which is now completed and shown below with its companion piece.

Cetacan Dreaming designed and hooked by Stella Edmundson

Kangroos on Mars designed and hooked By Stella Edmundson

This was a day of exchanging information.

I shared Judith Stephen’s method for making bags & baskets using the toothbrush or nalbinding technique (also spelled nålbinding, naalbinding, nalebinding).

Some of the group decided to give the technique a go and make a bag, others opted to make mats – this one started by Bea.

Jo looking on as Anne & Pat, Cassie (with help from Sally) & Bea get started with their toothbrush rug hooking.

(Left) Annette & Diane studying the iPad bag made with this technique by Judith Stephens

and below, Judy and Annette getting started with their own toothbrush rug hooking projects.

Below is a bag made by Sally, a new member from Brisbane, who discovered this gathering through the Guild’s Facebook page and decided to join the Guild and attend.

Sally uses the punch-needle rug hooking technique and has worked on Amy Oxford designs which she purchased while overseas. She recently took a punch-needle hooking class with Bec Andersen at Mt. Tamborine, south of Brisbane,

On this day, Judi Tompkins showed her the traditional rughooking technique and how to prod a flower onto the little bag she’d almost completed.

(Below) Sally practicing the new techniques.

Information wasn’t just going one-way;

Sally brought her punch-needle hooked rugs to show, as well as the frame she’d made with a locally purchased substitute for metal gripper strips.

Details of this frame, the gripper substitute and images showing how Sally installed them on her frame, will be in the next Guild Newsletter ‘In the Loop’ emailed to members.

The day was full of conversation with everyone sharing rughooking ideas and asking questions, the only lull coming during morning tea and lunch as we enjoyed all the wonderful goodies everyone bought to share.

I demonstrated some other mat making techniques taught to me by Judith Stephens/ Guild President; Stick Weaving and the Chunky Rugmaker – unfortunately, examples of rugs using these techniques made by Judith and Fibre Necklaces made by Maggie Whyte, V.Pres/Secretary (ACT) using the Chunky Rugmaker were left behind on my workshop table in WA. Thank goodness for laptops and smart phones, I was able to pull up these images to share.

(Above) a hot pad made with stick weaving using recycled sheets and wool yarn. Alongside are the sticks set up to begin a new project.

(Above) A mat being created with the Chunky Rugmaker using carpet wool and soft recycled fabric for the stuffing.

(Below) A Fibre necklace created by Maggie Whyte (ACT) with the same tool using knitting yarn and tiny scraps of fabric – the snippets from other rug hooking projects. Maggie will be at the Expertise Events Craft Fair in Canberra through this weekend, undoubtedly she will have some good examples of this technique on show.

(Below) Diana watching Stella start a stick weaving project extraordinaire – the finished project shown below is destined to be a hanger for one of her rugs.

Over the chair behind Diana is a mat she completed recently at a CWA workshop. It is similar to the toothbrush rugmaking technique we were using, the difference is it only uses one strip of fabric – there is no cording or base strip.

Pat and Val opted for trying Stick Weaving instead of the Toothbrush technique.

Not only was I meeting new rughooking friends but I also had the pleasure of catching up with Annette White again. We’d met at Miriam Miller’s studio in Milton a few years ago. Before she moved to the Sunshine Coast, QLD from NSW, Annette was a member of the Narrawilly Proggers and featured in many news reports about their gatherings.

Photos just don’t do justice to the detail in rugs and I was glad Annette had brought her Three Wise Men, which I’d seen images of while posting the blog, but hadn’t fully appreciated the detail and embellishments on this rug – they are amazing.

Below are some happy snaps taken by Judi Tompkins during our fun filled day

It was so good to meet these new, but very talented rugmakers after seeing so many images of the group in action, (Judy Owen, Stella, Diana, Ann, Pat, Cassie, Val, Margaret, Bea and Annette). Judi Tompkins focus in her own rug work is the Waldoborough technique and her rug designs are original and textural.

Judi has departed from the traditional square/rectangular shaped rugs, with most of her creations being free-form in shape and incorporating elaborate frames. This knowledge has been passed on to the group and they have really picked it up and run with it – there were no ‘ordinary beginner’ rugs in sight!

I think everyone went home suffering from information overload but very happy and ready for more of these social events.

Sally, who lives and works in Brisbane said – “Should you find other Guild members from Brisbane who are looking to catch up occasionally then please count me in.”

LEST WE FORGET

The Wanneroo Rugmakers group

members have been working together on the wall-hanging shown below, and displayed at this exhibition in the Wanneroo Museum.

Lest We Forget – Wanneroo Rugmakers Group 2015

590mm x 1240mm

Artist Statement:

This wall hanging was created with recycled fabrics and worked with traditional rug hooking techniques, in commemoration of the men from Wanneroo who joined the Armed Forces and went to war to secure our continued freedom.

It was hooked in a confusion of monotone stitches to symbolise the destruction and desolation of war; with the poppy representing the blood spilled on the battlefield and the rising sun illustrating the dawning day and the ushering in of new hope.

http://wanneroorugmakers.com/

Lost & Found

This wall hanging Ties that Bind was destined to be shown at the Western Australian Fibre & Textile Assn members’ exhibition

“Memories & Commemoration”

at Expertise Events Craft & Quilt Fair, Perth May 2015

it was lost in the City of Wanneroo on Saturday 7th March, 2015.

Robin Inkpen hooked this piece from ties collected by a family member over a period of 40 plus years and was bringing it along with several of her other large creations to a talk at the Wanneroo Library. When Robin arrived home and realized Ties that Bind was missing, calls were made and a search of the building was begun – to no avail.

Karen the Librarian authorized a “Lost” poster I’d made to be displayed in the library and suggested since there was such a human interest story related to this art work, the local newspaper be contacted and asked to publish an article about it in case someone found it in the street. Thanks to Lucy Jarvis this article was run the Wanneroo Community News the following week.

Someone must have found the piece of fibre art in the street because it was finally located across the road from the Library in the foyer of the City offices; a building which Robin did not go into as it was not open on the weekend. From there it was returned to the Library and is now waiting to be exhibited stored safely with me.

If only this piece of textile art could talk – what stories it could tell – from the original ties collected over so many years to its latest adventure in the city of Wanneroo.

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11 and Beyond,

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otherwise known as “Judi’s Folly”

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A New Year and new combinations with rug hooking.

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Jan/Feb 2016 and read the article by Australia’s Accidental Rugmaker, Kira Mead.

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After visiting Guild members in Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia and thinking about rugs hooked by members in Victoria and Western Australia, I realized just how differently members of this Guild approach design and the creation of their rugmaking projects.

The question often asked –

“is rug hooking an art or craft?”

is hard to answer because it depends entirely on who you’re asking and what they’re aiming to express through their rugmaking.

Joy describes her Glimmers of Hope as –

Jo Franco, Editor/Membership Chair

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A family holiday in Queensland provided the perfect opportunity for me to visit rugmakers in the area.

Judi Tompkins, the Guild’s webmaster and I talk regularly each week on Skype in an effort to maintain the website and bring rughooking news and Australian Guild members together.

Cetacan Dreaming designed and hooked by Stella Edmundson

Kangroos on Mars designed and hooked By Stella Edmundson

This was a day of exchanging information.

Information wasn’t just going one-way;

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The Wanneroo Rugmakers group

Lest We Forget – Wanneroo Rugmakers Group 2015

Artist Statement:

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This wall hanging Ties that Bind was destined to be shown at the Western Australian Fibre & Textile Assn members’ exhibition

“Memories & Commemoration”

Jo Franco, Editor

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