I’m getting ready to teach a class at ‘Western McGown Teachers’ Workshop’; finishing up a small tapestry called ‘Tulips’. The pattern is from Honey Bee Hive Rugs, the sponsor of all of the ‘McGown Teachers Workshops’. I started attending in 2003 when I started teaching Rughooking. It’s a supportive group of people that come each year, to share the various skills needed to become a successful teacher. There is the training aspect of the workshops, along with the connections and friendships that are made; it’s really a teachers’ conference. It’s an exercise to anticipate and plan your class; it’s always joyous to gather together.

My first teaching assignment; ‘Hearts and Tulips’, design by Corrine Bridge, hooked by Laura Pierce

I taught my first class in 2006. I was given this little pattern and told to incorporate different textures. Along with textured wool, I used yarn, roving and some ‘creative stitches’. I developed a new stitch that I call ‘rip & wrinkle’; which is quite common in wide-cuts, these days. I over-dyed scrap wool with ‘Antique Black’ for the outer border. The class attendees were so supportive and several of the patterns came back the next year for the rug show!

Begin the Begin, design by Chizuko Hayami, hooked by Laura Pierce

Before I taught this class, I taught a class on Dyeing, then filled in for another teacher to teach this pattern with her interpretation. Asked to teach ‘Begin the Begin’ again, I got to hook it my way! This is a pattern that challenges your creativity and I’ve seen some amazing versions.

Circle of Croton Leaves, design by Corrine Bridge, hooked by Laura Pierce

I was not familiar with the leaves of my next teaching assignment and my research indicated bright colours; from green to yellow to orange to red to purple to blue! Wow! My assignment was to hook this piece in a dark fashion. I couldn’t… I had to go bright! My first shaped rug, I dyed the yarn to match.

Tribal Kilim, design by Jane Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce

I was in love with wide-cut #8, at this time. I’d hooked a little landscape in a similar method; straight hooking, changing colours as indicated by the pattern. With a simple palette, it’s easy to accomplish. Part of the fun for me was using Dorr’s Ombre wool; the triangles and some of the center motifs are hooked with the ‘burgundy’ Ombre.

Romance, design by Pam Chase, hooked by Laura Pierce

This was a very fun hook! Using #8 cut again, with outlining and swatch shading; 2 kinds. On the right, the flowers have 1 value petals; on the left each petal is shaded with several values. The background is filled in with a hooking technique that I call ‘random fill’. Then there’s some fun ‘echoing’ with several different blues, along the bottom. I enjoyed making this rug, but it hardly sees the light of day. I recently had to mend the edge, but luckily found the original whipping yarn and it’s all fixed up.

Fruit, design by Pearl McGown & Jane Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce

A small project, 8×10, with a painted apple! Gold outlining spiffs it up along with 2 swatches; lavender and seafoam. The ‘mock’ shading is not great; the swatches illustrate their lacking values. I brought my big electric fry pan and we all enjoyed painting the vivid apple wool!

Glade Creek Grist Mill, designed and hooked by Laura Pierce

A super challenging design with rocks, water, wood, perspective and shadows! I’ve admired photos of this grist mill and others on picture calendars for years, so when I was asked to design some rugs with buildings and perspective, I had to include this one. As these classes are 1-day affairs, we provide a small wool kit so students can get started. My kit included the wool for the wheel and the rockwork supporting it, as that is the beginning place.

Caswell Loving Couple, adapted and hooked by Laura Pierce

I got to use my own pattern for a class on ‘Miniature Portraits’! It’s a subject I’ve taught many times, so I was prepared. Students customized their bride and groom to match their own weddings, which was fun. Small portraits are challenging and I haven’t seen any of the rugs come back… boo hoo.

Barcelona Tile, design by Jane Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce

Outline and Fill with Values! That’s what I like to say… and do. 14×14″; it’s a small pattern for shading, especially as I outlined each motif. Assigned to teach ‘mock shading’, I used #3 cut for the petals and #4 cut for the scrolly leaves. The petals are shaded differently depending on where they lay in the flower. There is usually a top petal and a bottom petal; the rest would be under a petal on one side, and above a petal on the other side. So, use mostly light values on the top petal, mostly dark values on the bottom petal, and a combination of values for the other petals. Since the leaves are so slender, I decided to use 3 of the 6 values of my Seafoam swatch. Wanting some value changes, I used values 1, 3, & 5. Eventually, I used the rest of the swatch on the border; using values 2, 4, & 6. This pattern is advertised as a Crewel pattern, but I would say it’s too small; there’s not enough room to add patterns to each motif.

I’m happy with my latest project; I call it ‘Dancing Tulips’ and my assignment is to illustrate movement. It’s another small pattern and my insistent outlining makes it a bit smaller. Using bright complimentary colours and action lines; I’ll show it to you after our ‘teachers conference’ in late June. I like to save the first viewing for my audience at ‘Western’!

Wow! The Press Democrat put my little rug, ‘Golden Gate Sunset’, on the front page of their Sonoma Life section, naming their article ‘Fiber optics’! They snagged it from Sonoma Index-Tribune … https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/entertainment/rug-hookers-to-display-their-works-at-sonoma-valley-library/

Cover Girls; ‘Golden Gate Sunset’ hooked rug by Laura Pierce and Nancy Winn with hook in hand

A couple of friends dropped off copies, which was so fun! I was planning to put my rug, Golden Gate Sunset, in the rug show at the Sonoma Valley Library in Sonoma, CA, but backed out at the last minute. The photos and essays had already gone to the Library publicity folks, and apparently, they and the news agencies liked my photos! However, if you go to the show, I’m sorry to let you know that this rug is not included. It’s a great show of 29 rugs! Come, check it out!

A few notes about the article: we use scrap material… like old clothing, etc… not ‘scrap metal’ as mentioned. Further on, they mention the Caswell Carpet and my project; Caswell Impressions. I drew 67 patterns and invited other rug hookers to complete them all; I have a small book with photos of all the rugs… https://flyingdoghookery.com/supplies.html

Wine Country Rug Hookers . . . Sonoma Valley Library Rug Show

It’s a small rug show, just 29 rugs, but a good representation of our little guild. The walls are not curved as illustrated in this photo; it’s a panoramic photo from an iPhone. (click the photo and enlarge to see the rugs) It’s a nice space, the tables were helpful in organizing the rugs and the hanging system was very handy! Our rug hanging team was colour talented with industrious hands; it all came together easily. Come by and see it this April!

It was picked up by the local newspapers! https://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/entertainment/rug-hookers-to-display-their-works-at-sonoma-valley-library/

5 round Chair Rugs with ‘bias-wool’ edging, made with plaids or textures.

Since I’ve discovered the ways of making these beautiful edges, I use them for my round rugs. Monika Jones uses this method and enlightened me at one of our guild workshops! I used them for rectangular rugs with round corners first, and could see that bias-wool loves to curve! It’s a natural for round and oval rugs. If you want to give it a try, read on…

Measuring my bias-cut wool to make sure there’s enough to go round

I hope you know how to cut your wool on the bias: a 45 degree angle that you can cut with your rotary cutter, mat and ruler. You’ll need to attach several pieces to make up an edge long enough to go all the way around. I like to make them 3″ wide and then I fold over 1″ and iron it creased. It’s much easier for me to stitch the wool edging with the ironed crease. I use the ‘ladder’ stitch: 1 stitch in the rug backing right next to the hooking, then 1 stitch into the crease of the bias wool, side by side, and give it a good pull, then onto the next 2 stitches. This stitch pulls everything tight while still having some give; a good thing for a chair rug.

Getting started attaching the bias wool edging

I leave a bit of edge before starting my ladder stitching. When I get all the way around, I’ll need to sew the 2 ends together. The extra edge gives me some room to maneuver. Notice the roll of bias wool edging; you don’t need much for a chair rug.

Bias wool edge curls as you stitch around.

The bias wool starts to turn under as you stitch around the edge, you can feel the excitement!

A small roll of bias wool

I pin the bias wool to the backing, along with the roll, as I stitch it to the rug; this keeps everything copesetic while you’re stitching around.

Sewing on the bias to connect the 2 ends.

This part is a little tricky… Connecting the 2 ends diagonally requires a bit of finessing, but is definitely do-able! Mimic the other connections, pin it and check your work before trimming the extra away. Iron the connection after you’ve sewn it together; I hand stitch it one way, then back the other way to double my stitches. After sewing and ironing, fold the crease, iron again, then finish the stitching all around.

Edge lines and cutting lines

After the bias cut wool is fully attached and ironed, mark around the outer edge on the pattern linen. Use a ruler to mark an inner circle 1/4″ inside the outer edge.

Cutting away the extra linen

Connect the dots or dashes and cut along the inner circle line. This is because; as you fold-over the bias cut wool and linen together, the linen will ‘creep’. Cutting it shorter will keep it under the wool as you fold it. Next, we prepare to stitch the edge of our bias wool onto the back.

Linen trimmed and ironed

First 4 pins… north, south, east, west.

I start pinning the linen and bias-wool folded over, starting at the top, then the bottom, then one side and the other. Sometimes I pin to the second row of hooking, just past the outer ‘beauty-line’ and sometimes I pin to the edge of the hooking.

8 pins, evenly spaced

Keep pinning evenly; one side then the other.

16 pins… closing the gaps

You can pin again for 32 pins, if you like. Notice the linen edge just peaking out.

Pinned and stitched a little ways around

Stitching between the pins, with taupe thread, in through the linen.

Folding the bias-wool over, stitche it to your rug at the ‘Beauty Line’ or over it to the next hooked line. In this case, right to the outer ‘Beauty-Line’. Stitch into the linen, go in at a slant (see the needle) to create the visible stitch pointing straight to the middle. The double linen and wool create a substanial edge; worthy of many sittings!

‘Blue Columbine’ designed and hooked by Laura Pierce, 2018

Designed for ATHA Biennial 2019, Denver, my class was about blending wide cut wool to create this beautiful Colorado state flower. I painted the petal wool and dip-dyed the leaf wool. Outlined with my favorite gold texture, it creates a vibrant little rug. It’s only 16×16″, so really not a rug, more of a tapestry. I show my rugs at the county fairs, library shows, rug conventions, shops and art shows, so they are finished, labeled and ready to hang.

‘Barcelona Tile’ design by J. Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2019

Here’s another small square rug for a class I taught on ‘mock shading’ at Teachers’ Workshop. This time I outline with a bright ombre wool, which livens it up! The leafy scrolls use 3 values, while the pedals use 6 values. With the dark background, it pops! The flower centers and one of the rose hips are 3-dimensional; ‘sculpted’. It is a smaller tapestry and could go anywhere, but it might be very fun as a small pillow.

‘Persian Border Piece’ adapted and hooked by Laura Pierce, 2022

This little piece is based on a small section of the border on a Persian rug. Only 14″ square, this section of the border is in between two elaborate floral motifs, flowing in between, all leafy and scrolly. The palette is different for me and I enjoyed it! I plan to hook the two floral motifs, but have used ‘hand-me-down’ noodles and recycled wool for this first section. I wonder how well I will match them up. Meanwhile, I think this could be a chair rug for an office chair, rather than a pillow.

‘Heraldry’ design by J. Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2021

This was an old project from Teachers Workshop, that I hung onto. It has a William Morris feel to it with folding petals and swooping leaves. Outlined with a burgundy ombre wool, I used the dip-dyed leaf wool again along with hand-me-down noodles and a light texture wool in the background. The pattern originally had more leafy bits and lots of do-dahs, which I eliminated as they cluttered up the piece. At 20″ square, it will make a fine pillow.

‘Hollyhocks’ designed by J. Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2022

Another Teachers Workshop project, cut down to 12×13″. There were many more hollyhocks, but not much more enthusiasm for ‘fine-shading’! I got quite a bit done in class and wanted to save it, so I re-composed the pattern a bit; mostly by elimination. In trying to square up the pattern, I was limited to 12″ wide by the material, but needed 13″ to add the buds. Not quite square is fine with me. I was running out of my background purple and had to switch over to a darker purple. You can see how I ‘echoed’ the 2 purples until I ran out, in the upper right corner. It’s traditional to run out… when you’re recycling. I’ll probably make a custom pillow for this rug, since it is an odd shape. A commercial pillow 12×12″ would be too short and a 14×14″ would be too big. Maybe they make a 13×13″… I think it would work.

‘Cachemeres’ design by J. Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2021

I’ve never done ‘Paisley’ before, so taking this class at Teachers’ Workshop was my introduction. I immediately started to make changes to the pattern to simplify it and make it more balanced to my eye. The paisley is an ancient design element with many interpretations! Most are a tear shaped with designs on the edges and within. Tulips and paisleys are from the ‘Middle East’, so I included a tulip in one of the paisleys. Now I knew this little square rug would be a pillow, because the tulip goes one way and the other paisleys go another way. There’s no top or bottom, so toss it on the couch!

‘Ribbon Flow’ designed and hooked by Laura Pierce, 2022

Looking for a simple project, I used one of my sketches to create this design. The outlining is from a dye class where we spot dyed wool with paint brushes. It varies from light yellow to dark rust, so sometimes it’s an outline and sometimes it disappears! Using up rainbow noodles for the backgrounds; warm tones on one side and cool tones on the other. I was trying to create depth; there is a bit of push and pull. The flowing lines start to twist into ribbons at the dividing line. Another design to toss around!

‘Peace’ designed and hooked by Laura Pierce, 2022

This little rug started out as a 10×10″ starter pattern. Our guild had a ‘Garden Party’ to introduce rug hooking to friends and neighbors. This pattern with beautiful ombre wool was selected quickly, but discarded just as quickly! After struggling to pull a few loops, this friend was not interested in ‘work’… she came to ‘party’… ha! I was happy to hook it and expanded the pattern as close to the edge as possible. Now, 16×16″, I could add circles around and have more fun. The Ombre wool is a rainbow of colour, so I decided to colour each little circle with my rainbow pastel noodles. I had 9 pastel colours, so I squeezed in 1 more circle. I thought about making it circular, but needed space to leave my initials… a pillow it will be!

Autumn Leaves with painted wool 2012 by Laura Pierce

Back in 2012, I created a couple of round chair rugs for a mini-class. It was a take-off of a class I’d taken from Helen Connolly, where she showed us how to paint wool. It’s a marvelous way to create meandering colour in various palettes, especially suitable for autumn leaves. My class also included designing the small chair rug, using templates; in this case, leaf templates I found at a craft store.

Autumn Leaves II with painted wool, 2013 by Laura Pierce

Originally, I whipped the edge of the second chair rug with a gold, that complimented the leaf colours. It was always second choice to the first chair rug with the dark background, and I wondered why. Finally, I replaced the gold whipping with this darker, orangey, punch wool and improved it. So easy, as I had basted the edge before whipping the first time. This gives me that freedom to change my mind.

‘Here Kitty’ design by J.Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2019

This little pattern was one of our projects at Western Teachers Workshop, taught by Dana Rae. I knew I would hook a black cat… in plaid! The brown background is different for me, but works well. Another whipped edge and a word of caution; going around can be problematic because if you get too many whips on the edge, it will ripple. No amount of ironing will let the edge lay flat, so whip carefully.

‘Wild Roses’ design by J.Flynn, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2019

Another small project from Western Teachers Workshop; Laurie Wiles taught this class. I had to change up the pattern a bit; the pattern has 2 roses, 2 rosebuds and 4 petunias. I like odd numbers, so I changed 1 petunia into a sideways rose! The background is another dark plaid of purples and teals, so fun to hook as the colours come through. For this round rug, I decided to use a ‘bias-cut wool’ edge. The bias-cut wool has a lot of stretch to it and can go around corners beautifully. I love to use plaids for bias-cut wool, as you get that diamond design! It worked wonderful, easing around the curve both front and back.

‘Hobo Cat’, a hobo symbol for ‘Kind woman lives here’, by Laura Pierce, 2021

Hobos from the Great Depression left messages for fellow hobos, with marks in the dirt or piles of rocks. This rug is based on the rock symbol for the ‘Kind Woman’, that would give you a sandwich for a small job. I’ve seen this design around and knew I wanted to hook it. The brown plaid I used for the bias-cut wool edge is the same wool I used to outline the design. The background started out with a yellow green that was too edgy, so I calmed it down with a more medium green.

‘Burmese Tiger’ adapted from a Burmese container, hooked by Laura Pierce, 2023

I’ve inherited many Burmese items from my mother’s family. There are many stories about tigers from that part of the world and I was pleased to find this small tiger design. The pattern is from a small round lacquer container with a scratched design, so I had to colour it on my own. I studied tiger colouring quite a bit so I could understand the design of his head. Notice that there are wings on this tiger’s feet! The tiger and background are made up of ‘hand-me-down noodles’. The gold grass matches the tiger, lurking in the forest made from small snatches of greens, blending as they fill in. At first, I found the scrolls too hard to master, but simply filling in with values (top right) was too boring. I attempted the scrolls again starting with the darkest value on top (top left), which doesn’t really work that well. Starting with the light value on top works better (bottom left). Having only used values 1, 2, 3 with value 6 background, I used values 3, 4, 5 for the last scroll (bottom right). It’s okay and all together, I learned a lot! Finally, I finished the edge with another bias-cut wool; a beautiful wool that hooks up as ‘mud’. Here, it is able to show it’s beauty, while tying all the colours together.

‘Padula Mondala’ designed and hooked by Laura Pierce, 2023

A doodling design, I was looking for something easy and small. Nothing is straight and nothing is even, just outline and fill. I challenged my self to use a limited palette; beige, gray, black and red! For the finish, I happened to have the bias-cut wool edge already made! It was from a demonstration on finishing edges, that I presented to our guild. It was fun to be able to use it; a perfect match, after all.

Chair rugs are pretty nice to have. I also have braided chair rugs that my mother made. Sometimes I stack them up to make myself higher at the table.

Fog on the water… Colour in the air… 1st morning of 2023 Little River Inn Rug Camp.

Little River Inn is beautifully located… right above the coast road; Hwy 1 on the California coast. We all enjoy views of the ocean, which in October are particularly nice. We gather the last week of October for a Rug Camp each year and this would have been the 20th! … except for the pandemic. We’re back and are glad of it!

Rug over the Mantel: ‘Christmas Trees’; plus abstract, bats, leaping dog, owl, cat, butterfly, Eskimo, snippet minders, oh my!

My first task is to get the rug show up! Which rug will go over the mantel… a big one, for sure. Rebecca’s ‘Christmas Trees’ is so joyful; the design made by kindergarteners. The mantel itself is a great space for showing 3 dimensional objects.

A Multicolores design, hooked with t-shirts, by Gail Becker. Wonderful!

The colours are so bright and lively… a happy rug! It graced the hearth because it was heavy and sturdy.

North wall with rug show and happy campers! Gail’s beautiful velvets, silk and wool pile on her tables.

I start with this wall, so my teacher can get her tables set up. I start with a big rug and use its colours to guild my next selection. I hang the rugs as I get them… some of them linger until there’s a place.

South wall at LRI rug camp; the late comers.

South corner at LRI rug camp; starting with blue and beige.

Dana’s 2 ‘J’ rugs illustrate 2 different blue rugs… other blue and beige rugs joined in. Ellie was de-stashing; her bundles of wool, on the table, were free, and used up by the end of the week!

‘Drinks’ coasters designed by Brigitta Phy, hooked by Polly Webber

‘Hearts’ coasters designed and hooked by Polly Webber

Polly bought the ‘Drinks’ coaster kit from Brigitta and was inspired to design her own. She enjoyed the freedom of the small format and made many, to gift to all of her friends!

One counter was filled will Gail Dufresne’s beautiful Sari silk!

Laurie Wiles and Gail Becker brought their ‘Rainbow’ challenge rugs

Fishies in alternative fabrics! designed and hooked by Gail Dufresne

Lively, colourful pillows from Alex and Karole!

Old fashioned fun rugs

Pam brought ‘English Cottage’, a rug hooked by her father-in-law, several years ago. Hand-cut, the design is familiar. Jaynie hooked her rug, ‘Kids Having Fun’, designed for her by Janet Conner. A great duo!

A tiny piece… a lizard eye… hooked by Gail Dufresne … beautiful!

Another beautiful sunset glow at Little River Inn

It’s great being here in the last week before Day-light-savings Time ends… plenty of time to enjoy the sunsets and still take in one more activity at 7:30pm. We ended up with lots of extra activities; Ellie’s punching techniques, Gail’s fiber experiments, pumpkins and bats with Laurie. My contribution was a slide show about Alice Neel’s ‘People’ from an exhibit at the DeYoung and a snippet-minder class. All great fun!

Full moon rise at Little River Inn

On my way back up to Abalone Hall, the big yellow moon presented itself… gloriously!

Sewing snippet minders… Laurie’s probably made a few of these already.

A small group took me up on this little project… a gift to remember our good times!

Gail Dufresne’s class at 2023 Little River Inn Rug Camp

Laurie Wiles class at 2023 Little River Inn Rug Camp

We did it! Laurie Wiles, Laura Pierce and Gail Dufresne… 2023 Little River Inn Rug Camp!

Thanks to all… it was another great week and a great time. I won’t be continuing the Rug Camp, but will transition it into a Rug Retreat. Same place, same time, some of the same format; rug show, slide shows, mini-classes, show and tell, challenges…

https://www.flyingdoghookery.com/lrirc.html

Check out my webpage about Little River Inn Rug Retreat and send me an email or make a comment, if you’d like a copy of the registration form. I hope to hear from you!

‘Not So Fishy Stitches’ designed and hooked by Laurie Wiles

During Covid, ATHA Region 11 offered a Zoom Rug class on Creative Stitches with Barb Powell; many of us signed up! Barb had designed a pattern with a fish to learn and try out several different ‘creative’ stitches. As Laurie is a very creative soul, she made up her own design and employed all the Creative Stitches that Barb introduced. Viola! A creative Celebration Finalist! Yes, Laurie’s seagull was selected for Celebrations 32! You can certainly see why; the various stitches seem perfect for each part of the bird in a fun way! Waves and fog in the background! The colour palette and values create depth and separation… it all works!

‘Cinder’ designed and hooked by Laurie Wiles

This amazing rug by Laurie was selected for Celebrations 27! The black cat… lazing on the back of the old couch… thinking about something. Cinder is checking it all out… and is well loved, apparent by the heart… but I think there may be mischief about to happen! Laurie’s cat is so believable… shadows on the couch, highlights on that black fur, those green eyes! purrr…

Colourful Crow designed and hooked by Laurie Wiles

A great black eye! and beak in the air with attitude. Another great example of Laurie’s abilities with creating gesture and attitude in her animal portraits. I always appreciate a little shadow… this crow is squarely on the ground!

‘Klinger’ by Laurie Wiles

‘Clover’ by Laurie Wiles

During our yoga zooms, I noticed Laurie’s framed pet portraits on the wall in her home. Delightful! Not very big, but so well done. I need to hook some of those for our home. hmmmm…..

‘Felix’ 2002 designed, loved and hooked by Laurie Wiles

I hadn’t seen this rug until I asked Laurie for ‘Animal Rug’ photos… it’s so sweet! When you look close, you see that the window framing is unhooked linen. Each square seems to be hooked somewhat independently, but all together it’s a lovely portrait!

Laurie responds: “In the window Felix, each block was hooked using a different design element. The blocks were hooked one at time to completion, they were not put together until every piece was finished. You had to trust it would all come together at the end!”

‘Felix’ 2015 designed, loved and hooked by Laurie Wiles

Felix as an older horse… that watery eye has seen a lot.

Laurie is teaching at Little River Inn Rug Camp this October 22-27, 2023! It’s a great opportunity to study with this creative fiber artist, no matter what your project might entail. Laurie’s teaching style is fun and inclusive, her abilities are endless and she can conquer any challenge!

Visit my website for information about Little River Inn Rug Camp, then send me an email to get registered. We’ll be happy to have you join us!

Mt.Shasta in California, March 15, 2023, shadows in the snow illustrate the flow of the volcano.

Flying out of ‘Snoopy’ Airport… or Sonoma County Airport… makes the trip a little less difficult. It’s a small airport in Santa Rosa, just a few miles north of Petaluma. I recognize many of the landscapes as we fly north along the same route as Hwy 5. Flying into Sea-Tac was exciting as we made a big circle over Seattle to approach the runway!

Flying past downtown Seattle and starting our turn around

Lots of water in Seattle, including the lake visible beyond downtown, where the ‘Boys in the Boat’ trained! I love a window seat, and taking photos with my i-Phone… as the plane made it’s 180 degree turn, it looked like we would fly right over downtown!

Descending and turning… downtown Seattle coming up! See the orange top of the Space Needle just above the wing!

Sea-Tac is a huge airport… with trains to get you to/from your terminal. Following the crowd, it’s easy enough to find the baggage claim and your way to the curb to await your ‘chariot’! And my chariot did arrive… with Michele Wise and Janet Conner… it was so good to see them! After dinner out, along with Sara Judith, we settled in and got our classrooms ready for classes. An optional ‘hook-in’ on the first day was quite pleasant and gave us a chance to visit and reconnect with friends. Sara was busy with a single-day class on Punch Hooking.

Sunset at Dumas Center, Federal Way, WA. March 16, 2023

Puget Sound Rug School meets at Dumas Bay Center with views of Puget Sound, the Cascades and the lush rain forest surroundings. It’s a stimulating and exciting rug event each spring, in this magical place, and an annual gathering for rug hooking artists through out the Pacific Northwest. It’s wonderful to be included in their enthusiasm and generosity.

‘Opulence II’ – design by Emma Webber, hooked by Lynn Reed

It was lovely to reconnect with Lynn Reed and Ros Noble at Puget Sound. Both of them are previous members of my local ATHA chapter, Wine Country Rug Hookers. Lynn had purchased this pattern from me that’s based on one of my mother’s rugs. Lynn really did the pattern justice; keeping in my mother’s style, but using her own colour palette!

Nice to have a photo visiting with Tanya, but hard to smile into the sunshine.

The grounds of Dumas Bay Center include walkways, benches and a broad meadow, which are enjoyed by everyone. The Dumas Bay Center building, in the background, reminds me of San Francisco’s old ‘Jack Tar Hotel’; it had similar turquoise panels and windows, was many stories high, and had a grand entrance at Van Ness and Geary! It was a modern icon of the 60’s, but is gone now.

Towering firs and pines surround the grounds at Dumas Bay Center which overlooks a quiet bay, filled with birds and water fowl.

A walkway around the grounds includes several garden features and is possibly 1/4 mile around. It offers an easy and pleasant way to get in your daily walk and commune with nature, too. It’s also a great way to stretch out after a day of pulling loops!

Back lit Star Magnolia

This magnolia tree starts blooming in March, when Puget Sound Rug School is here taking place. This particular afternoon it was catching the light on it’s soft fuzzy bud scales and the creamy, almost pink, magnolia petals. Light outlines the cascading branches against the blue panels creating an abstract composition of light and movement.

A class on ‘Light’… we had a lively class at Puget Sound… with 18 different projects. Light can be illustrated with light colour, such as white and pastels, as needed… the light of a candle, a light line across the water, sunshine on buildings, a pearl earring or a silver cup. Reflections are an important indicator of light… such as that little light in your eye… a reflection of light on the surface of your eye. Reflections on water, a shiny table or in a mirror create a sense of light! Shadows and silhouettes indicate light, but they’re dark and can only be seen along with light.

‘Beauty Buick’ designed and hooked by Laura Pierce

After 3 years hiatus from teaching, I felt a little rusty. I decided to start off with a review of all of our projects together, one at a time. This way, everyone could get the benefit of each other’s projects. There were some fun prim pieces, some complicated pieces, some adaptations, some combinations, and some ‘finish it up’ projects! All with light and lessons to learn.

Ritchie hooks I like: 5mm, 6mm & 8mm; easy grip handles.

Flying to Rug Events restricts what you can bring… of course. Janet Conner flew with 2 huge suitcases… not I. Her classroom looked spectacular when she was done fixing it up! Meanwhile, one checked bag, one carry-on and one personal item is enough for me! I brought a small project to hook on during the first day hook-in; it didn’t take up much room. I selected some wool that seemed appropriate for the projects, along with a few hooks and patterns. I carried on some rugs to show various techniques and brought my mother’s rug book, ‘Evolving Design’. I asked my students to bring noodles to spare, as I like to have those extra bits of colour. A bit of colour can be just the right nudge needed to make things right. Thanks again for sharing those bits!

‘Evolving Design’ by Emma Webber

My mother, Emma Webber, started hooking and braiding rugs when she was pregnant with her last child… me! Many years later, when she was ‘coasting down her 90’s’, we put together a few books. ‘Evolving Design’ is the second of her 2 rug books. We self-published them through Blurb.com and used Emma’s photographs for many of the rugs. She was not a photographer, but she did start to document her rugs in the 70’s. Emma loved to sell her rugs, and those that sold were repeated, but since Emma used the supplies she had on hand, every rug was unique.

You’ll see Emma’s versions of Opulence I, II and III in her book. Opulence I was inspired by a class on Geometric Rugs by Katie Rainwater, sponsored by our Wine Country Rug Hookers guild. Emma drew out her design on graph paper, as I remember. After Opulence sold, Emma had to hook another… Opulence II! Yes, I have more of Emma’s books… and also my ‘Caswell Impressions’ book. Both are listed on my website: https://flyingdoghookery.com/supplies.html Also available are the Ritchie hooks in the 3 sizes, illustrated above; contact me.

As usual, a wonderful long weekend at Puget Sound Rug School! They are taking registrations for 2024… try it, you’ll like it! https://pugetsoundrugschool.wordpress.com/

The rug show is up by Monday afternoon

It was good to be back at Little River Inn for rug camp! My top priority is getting all the rugs that are brought by the campers, up on the wall. Yes, I get to nail the rugs onto the wall; the nails are very tiny and the holes from many years of rug shows are hardly visible. I type up rug labels for the show and a rug list for the rug camp booklet. Trying to be professional, I wish we had museum lighting!

The other big wall for our rug show.

It can be a little overwhelming when all the rugs arrive; how will they go together? With Tanya Graham’s 3 dramatic rugs, I could use each one to anchor a group of rugs. Lots of white and grey on this wall. Each teacher had a couple of tables for their wool and wares on the rug show walls; so I have to interrupt their process until I get all the rugs up. To cause as little disruption as possible, I hang the show from one end to the other without any back and forth. With only 61 rugs, it’s not too hard.

3 dimensions on the fireplace mantel

Michele Wise brought many of her 3 dimensional creations, some of which had to go on the mantel! ‘The Ramparts’, above, is a landscape created by Sara Judith with many different techniques and materials. ‘Madam’ is a portrait by Michele Wise in the style of Mondrian. ‘Little River Inn’ is a composite landscape created by Sarah Province, celebrating the many times that she and Phil attended Little River Inn Rug Camp! Sarah couldn’t come, but she was happily hooking at Hallowood Rug Retreat in Maryland.

Sara Judith leads a discussion on ‘Colour Charting’ out on the deck.

Sara brought colourful T-shirts to involve her students in a discussion and demonstration about colours and their effects on other colours. At the end of the discussion, Sara shared the same information on a colour wheel, showing the usefulness of that tool.

Bill Phoenix shares his Alpine Horn with us, after class.

Kathie Phoenix came out from Idaho Falls to attend rug camp, along with her rug hooking friend, Jana. Both gals live in an area of few rug hookers, and it was fun to share our rug camp with them. Bill and Kathie drove all the way and were able to bring the 12 foot horn, so Bill could practice everyday.

Michele Wise’s class at Little River Inn Rug Camp 2022

We used round tables this time, to create more space between folks. Not sure we were any less close, but everyone liked the layout better; there was more circulation and socializing. We didn’t have any mini-classes, but we did have 3 slide shows.

Sara Judith’s class at Little River Inn Rug Camp 2022

It was a great group with lots of sharing, lots of laughs, lots of great rugs and inspiration, and wonderful weather all week long!

Michele Wise, Laura Pierce and Sara Judith: Little River Inn Rug Camp 2022.

It was wonderful having Michele and Sara teaching at Little River Inn Rug Camp, again! It was great fun to be rug camping again, after such a long time! I’m making plans for next year… stay tuned.