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This Month's Meeting | Guild News & Events | "The Loop" Newsletter

This Month's Meeting

March Meeting – Friday, March 12, 2010 – The March meeting returns to our regular location, the Administration Building (Building #1), which is part of the Hunterdon County Complex, on Rt. 12 outside of Flemington from 10:00 to 2:00. The street address for the Complex is 1314 State Highway 12, although that does not appear on the road.

Guild Program – The program will be a fun filled, educational Round Robin of member led demonstrations. The great line up that covers a wide variety of interests is listed below:

Joyce Combs – Sleeve Applications.
Weezie Huntington – Transferring Patterns
Gisele Meader – Labels
Nina Seaman – Alternative Materials
Karl Gimber - Recycled Garments

Show and Tell — Bring your “Olympic Challenge” rugs or whatever you worked on and share what your Olympic goal had been. Current hooking projects are always welcomed at Show & Tell.

Hospitality — Sharon Ballard, Cindy Boults, Joyce Combs and Margaret Lutz are he refreshment volunteers for March. We thank them in advance for providing the treats that add to our meeting enjoyment.

Guild News & Events

Openings Still Available for March Madness – March 19-21, 2010 – Time is getting short, but there are still a few openings in Michele Micarelli’s Workshop. Her workshop will have two tracks. You can bring any project to work on or begin the pattern inspired by the fabulous Klimt painting, the Tree of Life.

Those electing to work on the Tree of Life will find amazing geometric configurations hidden in the branches and underground. The shapes that just seem to appear as stylized flowers and seeds are fodder for color and texture as well as some mixed fabrics and yarns. Michele will be coming loaded with wool and other supplies for your hooking adventure. Laughter guaranteed. Patterns can be purchased from Michele.

The “Purses, Pocketbooks, Handbags” workshop is currently full.

The Hampton Inn in Flemington will be the site for our 2nd annual March Madness weekend. Participants can stay over night or commute. The weekend begins with a wine and cheese reception with the instructors on Friday night from 5 PM to 7 PM. Our favorite massage therapist, Joy Andrews, will be there Saturday afternoon to help relax any stiff muscles.

The fee for members is $150 and $175 for non-members. Send your check made payable to HCRAG to Karl Gimber, P.O. Box 16, Carversville, PA 18913.

Guild Members Casebolt and Worthington Featured in ATHA Newsletter — Guild members Claudia Casebolt and Karen Worthington have rugs featured in the February/March 2010 issue of the ATHA Newsletter.

Claudia’s “I Love New Jersey” rug was created last year for the Jersey Girls Exhibit sponsored by the Alice Beatty ATHA Chapter. As a Washington State transplant, Claudia chronicles all that she has come to love about New Jersey. Her article also provides insights into the creative process used in designing her special rug.

“Leslie’s Hope” is the rug Karen Worthington designed and hooked for her sister, Leslie, who was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. Karen’s rug was used as a model for one that Leslie, a new rug hooker, would complete. Patterns and kits of the rug are available from Karen’s business, The Blue Tulip, with a percentage of the proceeds donated to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Fund Raising Hook-in and Rug Show - March 20, 2010 -- The Woolwrights ATHA Chapter is sponsoring a hook-in and rug show on March 20, 2010. It will be held from 9:00 to 4:00 at the Lancaster Farm and Home Center, 1383 Arcadia Road, Lancaster, PA 17601 (www.farmandhomecenter.com). There will be 15 vendors (including many of our favorites), a guest rug show and a mat swap. Proddy and punch needle demonstrations will take place during the day. A gorgeous stand and frame from K’s Creations will be raffled. A box lunch will be available. Raffle tickets for a hand crafted hooking stand and a 14” hexagonal frame from K’s Creations will be available at our meeting.

This event is a fundraiser for the 2011 ATHA Biennial that will be held in Lancaster, PA. For registration, directions, vendor names, photo of raffle items go to: www.woolwrights.com.

New Events Added to Guild’s Demonstration Schedule -- The Bouman Stickney Farmstead in Readington Township, NJ has invited the Guild to demonstrate rug hooking from 1 PM to 4 PM during their Open House on April 11, 2010. This will be our first demonstration for the year. Carol Kindt is the Event Coordinator. Please let her know if you can help.

Howell Living Farm will have its annual Sheep Shearing Day on May 1, 2010. Sheep’s wool and rug hooking go hand-in-hand, so it is natural for us to be there. The possibility of a rug exhibit for that day is being explored. The new barn room attached to the Visitor’s Center is an ideal location for an exhibit. The room is big and will accommodate a large number of rugs.

Guild Informs Public Through Rug Hooking Demonstrations -- Educating and informing the public about traditional rug hooking is one of the objectives of our Guild. Demonstrating rug hooking at local events is the major way in which we fulfill this objective. Our participation not only helps promote rug hooking and our Guild, but also helps support local organizations and historical sites. The current schedule for 2010 is shown below.

April 11	Bouman Stickney Farmstead (Readington Twp)	Carol Kindt
April 24	Peter Wentz Farmstead (Sheep Shearing)	Karl Gimber & Joanne McIllmurray
May 1	New Jersey State History Fair (Titusville, NJ)	Margaret Brightbill
May 1	Howell Living Farm (Sheep Shearing)	Karl Gimber
July 31	Mercer County 4-H Fair (Howell Living Farm)	Karl Gimber
August 25-29	Hunterdon County 4-H Fair	Dee Rosebrock
August *	Plumsteadville Farmers’ Market	Connie Coleman
September 11-12	Sheep & Fiber Festival (Ringoes, NJ)	Weezie Huntington
September*	Heritage Day (Trappe, PA	Joanne McIllmurray
September 18-19	Holcombe-Jimison Farming Festival (Lambertville, NJ)	Gisele Meader
September*	Historical Fall Festival (Hilltown, PA)	Karl Gimber
October 2	Colonial Market Day (Newtown, PA)	Karl Gimber
October*	Apple Butter Frolic (Harleysville, PA)	Joanne McIllmurray
October 16	Howell Living Farm (Lambertville, NJ)	Karl Gimber & Carol Kindt
October 2-3	Millbrook Days	Deanna Kinney & Joan Lucas
Nov 6-7	Thanksgiving in the Country (Stockton, NJ)	Joyce Combs

* date not confirmed

All members are encouraged to assist in our demonstration efforts. You can participate for an hour or two or for the entire day. It is a satisfying activity to share our commitment to rug hooking with others. Please contact the coordinators for information on how you can help.

14th Annual HCRAG 2010 Rug Hooking Camp – August 9-13, 2010 – Our rug hooking camp is shaping up to be another stimulating week with three exceptional instructors -- Cherylyn Brubaker, Jen Lavoie and Diane Phillips. Two workshops will be devoted to specific subjects – landscapes (Jen Lavoie) and portraits (Diane Phillips) – and one open workshop (Cherylyn Brubaker). The workshop descriptions are shown below.

Cherylyn Brubaker — You are invited to work on the pattern that excites you! All styles of hooking and pattern designs are welcome. Cherylyn particularly enjoys hooking in the primitive style with over dyed textured fabrics, but is equally at home with fine cuts. Achieving depth and richness in our rugs through value, texture and color is what she strives for. Discussions are planned during the week on topics such as color planning and background techniques.

Cherylyn resides in Brunswick, Maine and is the owner of Hooked Treasures. A former graphic designer and a certified teacher with the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia, she teaches at workshops in the Northeast and Atlantic Canada. Her work has been featured in Celebrations X and XVII. Most recently she was a contributor to the book "Pattern Designs for Rug Hookers". Her pattern designs and finished rugs can be viewed on her website -- www.hookedtreasures.com.

Jen Lavoie — Jen Lavoie lives in Huntington, Vermont. She was featured artist at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild’s annual show at the Shelburne Museum in 2007. Her work can be seen in Anne-Marie Littenberg’s most recent book, Hooked Rug Landscapes. She uses a variety of cuts and dye techniques, including painted wool, dip dye and gradation value dyes, to create landscapes and pictorials in a painterly style.

In class Jen will spend time with you problem solving and helping you find your own personal style and expression. Her focus is on discovering originality and true mastery of the medium. Class will consist of individual student sessions as well as short talks on process, wool as an art medium, dyeing and the principles of color, texture, line and perspective in rug hooking. Jen wants you to find inspiration to hook from your own personal experiences in life and even if you are working on a pattern, to discover what makes it truly your own artwork. All types of projects are welcome!

Diane Phillips – This workshop will focus on hooking faces, portrait style. The faces will be at least 8 inches from forehead to chin so that you can play with color and expression. An imaginary person, a family member, a national figure or YOURSELF- all faces are fair game. We will have individual lessons as well as daily demonstrations of hooking eyes, noses and mouths. We’ll learn how many lovely colors can enhance skin and learn some techniques of dying unique shades of skin for all the world’s people. Hooking hair gives us great opportunities for textures. Diane’s personal style swings from very folky to realistic, so you can work in your own style or try a new one. All cuts of wool from 3 to 7 are fine – Diane believes in cutting the size one needs to get the look one wants. She will provide lots of samples and inspirational materials as well as a DVD she produced for the Home and Garden Channel. Come have fun and hook a portrait that will become a treasured rug!

Diane lives in Fairport NY with her husband, Bruce, and four dogs. For eight years she directed the rug school held by the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. In 2009 Diane was the Featured Teacher at the Sauder Village Rug Show and School in Ohio and will be a featured artist at the Hooked in the Mountains Rug Show in Vermont this November.

The fee for the week is $150 for HCRAG members who paid their dues by November 13, 2009. It is $225 for others. To register, just send a $25 nonrefundable deposit to Karl Gimber at P.O. Box 16, Carversville, PA 18913. Make your check payable to HCRAG. CLICK HERE for registration form.

The Madeline Brightbill Scholarship Fund provides a full scholarship for attendance at our annual rug hooking camp. The scholarship can be used to recognize a member who has made an important contribution to the Guild, for someone who would not attend otherwise, to recognize a long time member, to welcome a new member, etc. In other words, the criteria are very broad. Nominations should be submitted to Weezie Huntington, who chairs the Scholarship Committee, by March 12, 2010.

Members who provide housing for a camp instructor attend camp free. All that is required is to provide housing, breakfast and dinner for the week. Lunch is provided by the Guild. You are not expected to entertain the instructors. They are tired at the end of the day and need time to relax, reflect on the day and prepare for the next day. If you have interest, let Camp Director, Dee Rosebrock, know.

Fraser Cutter Blades Needed - Annie Edwards recently purchased a Fraser Model A Bliss wool cutter. She was able to purchase a #3 blade from a Guild member, but still needs #2 and #7 blades. Please let her know if you have any for sale (215-297-8494 or anniechervinedwards@yahoo.com.)

More on Judging Hooked Rugs – Thanks to Susan Feller, we gain insights into yet another approach to judging hooked rugs. The Ontario Hooking Craft Guild (OHCG) will have a rug competition at their 44th Annual Meeting in 2010. For rugs hooked in the traditional manner, the scoring system is as follows:

Overall Impression (25 points possible)
Well presented
Clean
Neat
Visually pleasing

Composition (20 points possible)
Color is balanced – shows movement around the piece
Color selection complements or enhances each other
Appropriate use of textures (if applicable)
Appropriate choice of color for background - mottled or variegated
Uniqueness of design (applicable for original patterns)

Technique (35 points possible)
Even loops and height
Proper tension
No backing showing
No crossovers or twisted loops
Shading is realistic (if used)
Shading of flowers/leaves shows proper separation of petals and leaves
Motifs are balanced in piece

Finishing (20 points possible)
No raw edges showing
Neatness of finish
Well pressed and lies or hangs flat (if applicable)
Good corners
Neat stitching

Note: Oriental rugs may have a fringe added at one or both ends

The OHCG has an alternate judging criteria for rugs hooked in a non traditional manner (e.g., sculpting, proddy, punch needle and 3-dimensional). More on that next month.

HCRAG Library — Thanks to Marion Michel the Guild’s library has grown with her donation of the following books:

The Hooked Rug by Kent, William Winthrop, 1930 (1971 reprint)

You...Can Hook Rugs by McGown, Pearl K, 1951

The Lore and Lure of Hooked Rugs by McGown, Pearl, 1966

Rug Hooking & Rug Tapestries by Wiseman, Ann,1969

Our Librarian, Kathy Donovan, brings a selection of books to each meeting. If there is a specific item you want from our library, contact her by 12:00 noon on the day before our meeting and she will bring it to the meeting. Kathy can be reached at 908-755-1670 or freyja2@verizon.net.

Members who borrow books are reminded that they need to be returned in a timely manner, so that the books will be available for others members.

"The Loop" Newsletter

"The Loop" is the newsletter of the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild (HCRAG). It is published monthly (September through June). Articles, suggestions or ideas for the newsletter can be submitted to Karl Gimber at P. O. Box 16, Carversville, PA 18913 or by email to karlg@nni.com by the the 20th of the month.

Besides being a great hooker, Karl Gimber does an amazing job of compiling "The Loop" newsletter. It is a huge resource to our Guild members and has a wealth of information and inspiration for hookers!

Click below for complete printable copies of this month's issue as well as back issues of
"The Loop" newsletter.

"The Loop" March 2010
"The Loop" February 2010
"The Loop" January 2010
"The Loop" December 2009(File temporarily not available)
"The Loop" November 2009(File temporarily not available)
"The Loop" October 2009
"The Loop" September 2009(File temporarily not available)
"The Loop" June 2009 (File temporarily not available)
"The Loop" May 2009
"The Loop" April 2009
"The Loop" March 2009
"The Loop" February 2009
"The Loop" January 2009
"The Loop" December 2008
"The Loop" November 2008
"The Loop" October 2008
"The Loop" September 2008
"The Loop" June 2008
"The Loop" May 2008
"The Loop" April 2008
"The Loop" March 2008
"The Loop" February 2008
"The Loop" January 2008
"The Loop" December 2007
"The Loop" November 2007
"The Loop" October 2007
"The Loop" September 2007
"The Loop" Camp 2007
"The Loop" June 2007
"The Loop" May 2007
"The Loop" April 2007
"The Loop" March 2007
"The Loop" February 2007
"The Loop" January 2007