Cats' paws

Looking for hooking inspiration, I came across this on Gene Shepherd's blog, where you can see how to get the loops to behave. What a great way to use up scraps - perfect for all the bits of wool I've collected from the Craft Central scrap boxes.

It doesn't remind me of cats' paws at all, though - more like "starry sky" - you'll surely recognise the famous picture this comes from -

Lucille's rugs

Designed and hooked by Lucille Kumar

Designed and hooked by Lucille Kumar

Designed and hooked by Lucille Kumar

Foxy hooking

Nightime Garden Fox by Dulcy Stewart. See more of her creations here.

Hooked rugs by Emily Carr

Emily Carr (1871-1942) was a Canadian artist who studied in England for a while. She painted on the west coast of Canada - landscape, especially the forests, and Indian villages and totems - and her individual style was rediscovered in the late 1920s. She called herself "the little old lady on the edge of nowhere".

After a not very successful exhibition in Victoria in 1913 she needed to earn extra money, so she raised and sold sheep dogs, hooked rugs, and created pottery based on First Nations designs.

"Eagle Rug" is available as a kit

I've written more about Carr here, and Vancouver Art Gallery's website has good biographical information. There will be an exhibition of her paintings at Dulwich Picture Gallery, south London, later this year. 

A modern hooker

"Leslie Giuliani hooks rugs with a contemporary folk feel" says the blurb for the article in Hand/Eye magazine. See all the photos and read the article at http://handeyemagazine.com/content/modern-hooker, or check her website - www.lesliegiuliani.com.

An artist's rug

"Peacock" was designed by Winifred Nicholson  and hooked in 1970 by Florence Williams; it measures 34"x54", and the slightly bent shape is because it's photographed from a book, "Rag Rug Creations" by Lynne Stein. The caption says the rug was inspired by a mosaic in Ravenna of the same theme, colour, and composition . The flowers especially don't look as though they're from a mosaic ... they seem very much in Winifred Nicholson's painting style -

12 ways to recycle fabric into rugs

"Archipelago" is done in cross stitch, using t-shirt fabric

Re Rag Rug is an experimental design project that explores the social and environmental sustainability of the rug. The project started in August 2012 by Katarina Brieditis and Katarina Evans. In 12 months, they created 12 unique rugs using 12 different textile techniques. Their materials were old clothing and scraps from the textile industry — fabric that otherwise would have been discarded.

They used different types of rags in combination with a variety of textile techniques: sewing, crocheting, knitting, macramé, rolling, cutting, appliqué, embroidery, structure and relief effects, three dimensionality, color and dyeing techniques - and they also experimented with scales. This resulted in 12 new types and expressions of rugs.

"Aquarelle" uses old woolen sweaters and running stitch, rather like kantha technique

"Many of the rugs were made with craft techniques that didn’t require large spaces or machines and could therefore be manufactured as cottage industry in textile producing countries," they say. "Via this mode of production, using waste is environmentally sustainable while socially sustainable. At the same time, the production becomes a platform for developing crafts and creates jobs."

(info from handeyemagazine.com/content/re-rag-rug, photos from reragrug.blogspot.se, where you can see all the rugs ... none of which is hooked!)

Seen at "Creative Stitches" show (Excel centre, London, 3-5 April) - gun-tufted rugs by Ingrid Wagner -

 Ingrid had a big stand, with examples of knitty and crochet ways to make her huge balls of fabric strips into rugs ... and huge needles to make them with -

Hooked Jewellery

I've not done much rug hooking lately as I've been busy studying for an Art History degree...however I just found these two remaining Necklets which were exhibited at The Knitting and Stitching Show awhile back ..I made them using a rug hooking technique! 

It is such a beautiful day I took this photo whilst out in my garden a few minutes ago....Happy April Everyone....Jill

www.jilltextileart.com

An arty hooked rug

Designed by Ben Nicholson, "Slinky" was hooked by Joan Bravington about 1933. It measures 45" (115cm) square.

In a letter dated Sept 1 that "refers to the wool rug 'slinky ' that Joan Bravington made from a design by Ben Nicholson circa 1933 (lot 167 [of a sale at Christies in 2001] )", Nicholson writes -

"Dear Joan/Thanks for the blue/pattern. Don't know without seeing/the design & all the colours together I/can not tell. I am not coming back/for another week - why not take/them altogether along to Barbara/& shown them to her? if y ou're in any /hurry or if not I shall be back/about the 11th -/About the cost of material - I've/written EQ to ask if she'd work out/the length of time it's taken to work/her .. against the price to be asked/& cost of the materials./I've got several rugs being/made I don't want to fork out a pound/on materials for each. But we must/work it out so that it's fair to/the worker & the designer. I think/if I have to find a pound on each rug/it would pay me much better to/sell the designs outright(that's what/I've done in one case). It means I get/4 pounds or 5 pounds down instead of paying/out a pound & getting 5 pounds or 6 pounds eventually -/But EQ having worked her rug ought/to be able to tell fairly exactly what/proportion the weaver needs of her time./This place has a rather/dinky little port./I hope the new house is/getting on/from Ben"

"Ben and Slinky" by Winifred Nicholson, 1927 (via)

Slinky was the name of the dog Ben and Winifred Nicholson had in Cumbria. The rug is signed on the reverse - and sold in 2001 for £1,410. It was exhibited in a show at Pallant House, Chichester, in 1994 entitled "Artists and rugmakers" ... wonder what else was in that show?

The rug is part of the "Artist Textiles: Picasso to Warhol" show at the Fashion and Textile Museum, Bermondsey, London, till 17 May. The show includes about 200 pieces, and this is the only hooked one. I was surprised to see anything hooked at all.

"Changing"

"Changing", size 14" x 20", is by new member Jeroo Roy. She started and finished it between meetings!

She says, "I am an artist and my medium has always been paint brushes and papers and canvas. But due to eye problem, further enhanced by effects of 'Stop Smoking' pills, I had not touched a paint brush for more then a year. But last September when I was in Canada, my friend Helen Dyer who now lives in New Brunswick, took me to Deanne Fitzpatrick’s shop in Nova Scotia and it was there it occurred to me and I can paint pictures through rug hooking."

Her website is www.jerooroy.com.

A snail-y rug

Who says rugs have to be symmetrical? - this is "Circus Snails" by Lori Lupe Pelish -

Lori is also a considerable quilter. See more of her rugs in the Rug Gallery on her website.

Hooking, internationally

TIGHR - The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers - began in 1994 in London, England, with a group of international friends who decided to establish a world wide group involved in rugmaking.

Meetings have been held in Nova Scotia, Canada 1997; Rhode Island, United States 2000; Toronto, Canada 2003; Tenby, Wales 2006; Louisville, Kentucky, United States, 2009; and Strathalbyn, South  Australia 2012 - next up is Victoria, Canada in October 2015.

The website has links that you might wish to explore (this blog is one of them!).

Sue Dove

I just found this lovely piece of rug hooking via Facebook....

 

Thanks for allowing me to share this Sue....Enjoy February - Jill

New link in the sidebar

"Hooked by Design" is based in Skipton, North Yorkshire. Its fresh and pleasing designs and kits can be seen at stitching shows (the pic shows the display at Harrogate in November) as well as its online shop.

Cindy Irwin

Our rug hooking friend Deb Burcin has helped set up a new website for Cindy Irwin.....

www.cindyirwinrughooking.weebly.com  she thought you might like to visit this site...Jill

Janet's Hooked Cushion Cover

This beautiful hooked piece of artwork was created by Janet K  - thanks for sharing it with us all at our meeting this afternoon at Craft Central in Clerkenwell, London. (January 11th 2014)

Our meeting place is just beyond St John's  Archway.

Jill