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Rug Hooking

Dear Blog Readers:

If you have a hobby that I’m not interested in today, please do not tell me about it. Vince said . . seriously . . PLEASE!  🙂

There are so many rabbit holes that keep sucking me down. The rabbit hole I fell into today is called “rug hooking”.  

It started like any other day . . except it was raining in central Texas. That was pretty weird. At some point this morning I began reading my email and there was an email from a long time blog reader. She was talking about one of my bog posts and then she said “I recently passed through Brady (which is very close to me) on my way to the Texas Rug Camp and I thought about you!”

I wrote her back and said . . tell me about rug camp. We’ve exchanged emails all day . . lots of emails. She lives a good ways from me but she was perfectly willing to throw everything in the car, drive to Brownwood and teach me how to hook and strip! Whew . . we might have started this little hobby when I was younger and skinny!  🙂

Yes, I want to learn so we decided that in the spring we would get together. I thought it would be easier to meet halfway between us so I wouldn’t be here having to cook and tend to a biting, barking dog (Speck). We talked about why we should wait til spring but then we kept talking and . . maybe December, before Christmas, and then . . well, maybe after the first week in November. Now, we’re planning to meet next week!

We had friends over this evening and they thought it was hilarious that I was going to start another hobby. Vince isn’t thinking it’s so funny, especially when I told him how much it costs for the Beeline cutter, which I will surely need!

So, before I’m able to be spinning yarn, I may be hooking rugs!

 

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. LOL, that is so funny!!! Just think about all the fun rugs you can make for your house as well as friends and family!! Can you use your stash for rug-making or do you need other supplies?!?! Have FUN!!

  3. You crack me up sometimes. We’re a little bit on the same wavelength. Though I have no intention of taking up rug hooking (I did that with Artcraft back in the early 1980’s, from kits), but I am planning on cutting down my “non-quilty” fabrics and making crocheted rugs from them…at least until I figure I really don’t need THAT hobby either. That idea came out of cleaning out/reorganizing a small closet in my guest room today.

    • I think this kind of rug hooking is a little different, but I could be wrong. In this kind, instead of short strips, we use long ones (wof) and pull up loops.

    • He’d let me out when he got hungry and I’d grab my computer and place an order while dinner was cooking! 🙂

  5. Too funny. I actually made a latch hook rug a few years ago with selvages from my fabrics. At the time, people were using selvages to make all kinds of bags, so I thought I would try a rug. It worked great. The fabric is strong so It wears well.

  6. Good luck on a new adventure. Not sure how far you live from College Station/Bryan area, but the lqs, Lonestar Quiltworks offers rug hooking classes and has supplies. Sounds like you need to hit up thrift stores to look for wool.

    • I’m a couple of hours or more from College Station but I’ll make a note that if/when I’m in the area, I’ll check out the quilt store. We don’t have very good thrift stores in our area and wool isn’t a very popular fabric in this area but I’ll be watching for thrift stores when I’m in MO next time.

  8. Yes, I’m right there with you in that rabbit hole! I’d love to start a rug hooking project, and I’ll be there with you in thought when you tell us about your adventure.

    • I will tell you all about it. I think my teacher is going to be wonderful. She’s way organized than I am and she already has a notebook full of info for me! I’ll definitely share my experience with you all.

  9. Judy, I’ll admit I don’t know much (okay, I don’t know anything) about rug hooking but if you are using your fabric stash, can’t you use your AccuQuilt Go! and strip dies? I looked on the Woolery site and it said something about strips 1.5″ to about 2″. I have Go! dies that do just this.

  10. Mom tried it for a while but decided it was too hard on her hands. She and I made braided wool rugs instead. Still have a few of those packed away.

  11. Why did you bring this up? I have all the stuff downstairs, and two partially com- pleted rugs. One primitive and 1 traditional. I have the frame, the cutter, tons of wool, and the special pins, scissors, etc. When we moved to TN from TX in 1984, I didn’t have a job. We went to a Civil War re-enactment and there was a demonstration. I loved it and had a teacher in Chattanooga, about 30 minutes away. Our group met every Wednesday, all day, at our teacher’s house. It was so much fun. And then my fingers started bleeding and hurting because….wait of it….I’m allergic to wool. It was heartbreaking. I may have to get me some tight gloves and try again.

    • That’s terrible. I have no problem with wool yarn so I’m hoping I won’t have any problems with this wool either. I wonder if you used it so much you got sensitized to it and maybe after having not used it in a long time, you’ll be able to do it again. If you try it, please let us know what happens.

  12. Rug hooking is a lot different than the latch hooking of the ’70’s. This is done with wool strips and those are most likely 1/4″ wide. The primitive linen is great and not like that old latch hooking canvas. I am looking forward to many years of rug hooking and making new friends along the way. Way to go, Judy.

  13. Judy, you go girl. You don’t want to,getbtomthenend of your life and be saying “I wish I had done….”

    • Exactly! I’d rather spend a little $$ and find out it’s something I don’t want to pursue, than wish I had tried it and not done it. I’m sure I’ll love rug hooking . . I loved the latch hook rug making back in the 70’s/early 80’s.

      • Thanks, Carolyn, for responding. I wasn’t sure I knew enough to respond but I was thinking 1-1/2 to 2″ strips might be a little wide for the wool hooked rugs.

  14. Sounds fun! I wish I had more free time to fall down more rabbit holes of hobbies…maybe I’ll get my sketchpad and pencils back out…

  15. I have a friend who is a hooker. She makes the most beautiful rugs and is always going on retreats with the gals. I call her the happy hooker.

  16. There are different kinds of rug hooking. When we went to Nova Scotia in early September we saw beautiful examples of Acadian “tapis hooke”–the French word for hook is crochet so they use the franglais “hooke” to refer to rug hooks. Their technique uses yarn, not fabric strips, and a very short hook. I bought a kit for a little picture. I haven’t opened it yet (thinking of all the PTernayan and DMC I still have…..)

  17. I do think this is wonderful Judy! I have fulfilled my desire of so many new hobbies just by following your blog re: your new hobby rather than getting more stuff & doing the actual hobby for myself! I was so looking forward to you spinning for us but then ups destroyed your wheel so now I will “enjoy” that you will do rug hooking “for us!” You Go Girl!!!

  18. Please blog lots about this. I visited at AMAZING rug hooking store near Kansas City and really wanted to learn but it didn’t happen. I have a frame, wool, hook and cloth but no cutter. I would love to learn more so share what you learn. I need a night time hobby that I can do near a television.

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