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

This Month's Meeting

June Meeting – Friday, June 10, 2010 — Our last meeting of the program year will be our traditional potluck picnic luncheon at our normal location – the Administration Building (Building #1), which is part of the Hunterdon County Complex, on Rt. 12 outside of Flemington. The street address of the Complex is 1314 State Highway 12, although that does not appear on the road. Please note that the meeting will begin an hour later at 11:00. sheep

Guild Program – For those who have not attended in the past, this is an inside picnic. It is a potluck affair and all members are requested to bring their favorite appetizer, entrée, salad or dessert. HCRAG members are known for their exceptional cooking skills as well as their rug hooking. The food is wonderful!! The informal nature of the picnic presents an excellent opportunity to get to know each other better.

Show & Tell – June signifies the end of another Guild year, so show us what hooking accomplishments you have achieved during the 2009/2010 Guild year! Current hooking projects are always welcomed at Show & Tell.

Hospitality – We thank all members who provided refreshments for our meeting during the past program year. The coffee, tea and snacks certainly add to our meeting enjoyment.

Guild News & Events

Message From Weezie — Thank you for being such a great group of people—I have really enjoyed my tenure of leadership. You have made it easy and pleasurable. Thank you for the gift certificate to one of my favorite restaurants, the flowers, and the scholarship to camp. I have been plentifully blessed by all of you.

I will be around for a while — our house is not quite ready to put on the market, and then who knows how long it will take to sell. Then we need to figure out where to go. I look forward to pulling many more loops with all of you—no matter where I live.

Thank you again, and I ask that you support Dee and Joyce in their leadership efforts the way you supported me. Continue volunteering to help out--that is what makes our guild so special, and so successful. Blessings on all of you. Weezie

Guild Returns to the Sergeantsville Farmers’ Market — Former Guild member, Jamie Miribito, who helps run the Farmers’ Market in Sergeantsville, NJ has invited the Guild to demonstrate rug hooking on June 26. Sergeantsville is a quaint town in the heart of Hunterdon County and their Market is an ideal venue for the Guild. Last year several visitors signed up for our Beginners’ Workshop. We will be there from 9 AM to Noon. Please let Karl Gimber know if you can help demonstrate. The Market is relaxed, friendly and you can shop for fresh produce too.

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
May 8	Mercer Museum	Karl Gimber
June 26	Sergeantsville Farmers Market	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 18	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 We still have a few openings in our camp workshops with Jen Lavoie and Diane Phillips. Cheryln Brubaker’s workshop is full. Jen Lavoie is known for her special wool dyeing technique and her creative use of the wool in landscapes and other rug patterns. You can work on a landscape or any other project. Diane Phillips is nationally known for her portrait rugs. Cherylyn Brubaker will conduct an open workshop where you can work on any pattern or style you want. More on each of these talented instructors is 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 — 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!

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.

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. Please note that for those who have made a deposit, the remaining balance is due on May 30, 2010. The full amount is due for anyone registering after May 30. Click here for Camp information form.

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

Beginners’ Workshop – August 12, 2010 — The Guild’s popular Beginners’ Workshop will again be offered during our annual rug hooking camp at the ESC School. Connie Coleman and Kay Weeks will be the instructors for the workshop on Thursday, August 12, 2010 from 9-12.

The mat this year will be of a robin or bluebird sitting on a cherry tree branch (with cherries). As in the past, Guild members are requested to donate wool that can be used for the kits. Kay and Connie can use wools in the following colors: blues, coral reds, browns, greens and neutrals (for background/sky). Odds and ends will do. Please bring what you can to the June meeting.

Workshop participants are requested to bring a 14” embroidery hoop and a sharp pair of scissors. All other supplies and equipment will be provided. The fee is $50. Click here for registration form.

Old Barn Rug Hooking Guild Hook-in — Saturday, August 14th, 2010 — Spend a wonderful day with new and old friends in a pleasant, relaxing (air conditioned!) atmosphere in the quaint town of Wyalusing, PA nestled along the Susquehanna River. Bring your lunch, or dine out in one of the eateries in town. Door prizes galore and a special raffle of a $100.00 “shopping spree” with the Hook-In Vendors! (Winner must be in attendance) This event is a fundraiser for the ATHA 2011 Biennial Conference in Lancaster, PA.

When: Saturday, August 14, 2010 from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM
Where: Blue Heron Art Gallery, 121 Main Street, Wyalusing, PA. (North East Pennsylvania)
Hosted By:The Old Barn Rug Hooking Guild
Cost: $10.00
Vendors: Heavens to Betsy; The Wool’n Gardener & Two Old Crows

Questions? Call or email Janet Schleeter; 570-928-9190; jschleet@epix.net

Brandywine Guild Hook-in and Auction – October 30, 2010 -- Terry Dorr of Dorr Mill Store will be a guest speaker at the hook-in sponsored by the Brandywine Rug Hooking Guild on October 30, 2010. There will be a special auction featuring antique paisley fabric donated by Cynthia Norwood and wonderfully dyed wool by Gail Dufresne. The event will be held at the Wagontown Fire House Founder’s Hall in Wagontown, PA. Proceeds will benefit the 2011 ATHA Biennial scheduled for October 2011 in Lancaster, PA. Visit brandywinerughookingguild.weebly.com.for more information.

Gail Ferdinando and Amy Korengut to Co-Chair Special Events — The last remaining position of our new team of officers/chairs has been filled. Gail Ferdinando and Amy Korengut have volunteered to co-chair the important Special Events position. The Special Events Chair oversees a committee to consider and organize special events such as retreats, hook-ins, demonstrations, exhibits and fundraising. We look forward to supporting their efforts.

Creative and Diverse Programs Scheduled — One of the valuable benefits of being a member of our Guild is the opportunity to learn about various aspects of rug hooking at our monthly meetings. By drawing on the talent within the Guild and supplementing that with outside experts, our members are exposed to techniques and ideas that help us develop as rug hooking artisans.

Our Co-Program Chairs, Lydia Lewis and Gisele Meader, have already established exciting monthly meeting programs for the upcoming year. The schedule for the 2010-2011 program year is listed below.

September -- Show & Tell of our Summer Projects
October – Tavern, Trade and Farm Sign Rugs (Karl Gimber)
November – Lettering (Claudia Casebolt)
December – Holiday Luncheon
January – Auction & While Elephant Sale
February – TBD
March – Round Robin (Led By Members)
April – Mola Mats – Lecture and Workshop (Norma Batastini)
May – Proddy Mats (Kay Weeks)
June – Annual Picnic

Gisele and Lydia continue to look for ideas, so pass your suggestions on to them.

Townsend Industries Closes Its Doors – The owner/founder of Townsend Industries died in February. The company’s inventory has been sold and the company will close on June 17. This is sad news indeed.

Books for Your Summer Reading – The June meeting will be your last time to stock up on rug hooking books from the Guild’s library for your summer reading. The updated HCRAG Library Listing is attached to the newsletter. Just let our Librarian, Kathy Donovan, know what you want to borrow 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.

HCRAG Exhibits Rugs and Demonstrates at Howell Living Farm – Thanks to Joyce and “Skeet” Combs and Carol and Ray Kindt, our rugs were creatively displayed in the Visitors’ Center barn at Howell Farm on Saturday May 1, 2010 for guests to enjoy during the annual sheep shearing festivities.

rugs Joyce reported that “The farm had an amazing amount of people visiting today. Our wonderful spot in the barn remained cool all day and many of our visitors were looking for a cool spot to relax for a while. We did have a steady flow of people who were interested and tried their hand hooking on our teaching rug. The lunch was exceptional with fresh foods from the farm.

Margaret, Kitty and I hooked from 10 to 4 and Giselle stopped by for several hours between her job and a wedding. (That deserves a gold star!) Kitty's husband Gerry visited for a while and took rugs some pictures while he was there. My Granddaughter Clara had her 6th birthday on the grounds and I was able to leave for a while to enjoy her party and watch the kids have a great day.
My son Jeff and his nephew Aiden took the show down in record time.”

The exhibit was very well received by the staff. Pete Watson, who heads up the Farm staff, sent the following message: “Thanks for a terrific exhibit! I was stuck driving a wagon so couldn't visit with you much, but it seemed to fit the program perfectly and I did hear some very nice comments about it from people riding the wagon. Thanks again to you and all your members for a great day.”

Guild Has Successful Afternoon at Mercer Museum — Joyce Combs, Annie Edwards, Karl Gimber, Cheryl Halliday, Joanne McIllmurray and Dee Rosebrock spent the afternoon on Saturday May 8th at the Mercer Museum in Doylestown, PA. sharing their enthusiasm for rug hooking with Museum visitors.

Museum Vice President Cory Amsler sent the following thank you message: “I have heard much good feedback on your group's display and demonstration. Thank you again so much for offering it. Especially noted was the hands-on set up your folks had that allowed visitors to try their hand at the craft - that is a terrific thing. Evidently there were a number of people who came to the museum especially to see your group.”

We look forward to returning to the Mercer Museum in support of their programming.

Designing & Hooking Primitive Rugs by Susie Stephenson -- Several Guild members met Susie Stephenson in 2006 at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild’s annual exhibit and workshops held at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont. Susie had just completed her hooked coat that was the talk of all who saw it. Susie, a very prolific hooker, recently had her first book, Designing & Hooking Primitive Rugs, published by Schiffer Publishing.

Susie now lives in Maine, but divides her time between Maine and Nova Scotia. Each of her rugs is an original design and hooked exclusively with recycled wool. Maritime themes of ships, water, mermaids and the simple life of fishing and farming are evident in her work. “As a rug hooker she expresses, without inhibition, the world around her in a simple and real way. Because she hooks alone and without a group, she doesn’t have the influence of other people’s ideas or rules.”

The book begins with several chapters on rug hooking basics before sharing images of Susie’s significant number of hooking projects, many of which are now in private collections. Her work is presented in the following categories:

Designing Rugs from Children’s Drawings
Pictorial Scenes
Beloved Animals
Mermaids and Other Nautical Scenes
Welcome Mats and Motto Rugs
Padullas & Other Flowers
Geometrics
Hooked Items Other Than Rugs

Guild members who enjoyed Jennifer Manuell’s recent March Madness Workshop on hooked purses will be delighted with the examples of hooked items other than rugs -- coats, vests, purses, hats and even a bikini.

The final chapter, Repairing and Cleaning Old Rugs, treats an important subject not often covered in current rug hooking books.

One way to use Susie Stephenson’s book is to literally take each image of her work and study it very closely. How does she hook faces? How does she hook the whiskers on the critters? How does she hook backgrounds? How does she use color? How about the borders? There is so much that can be learned.

Designing & Hooking Primitive Rugs provides a master’s class in creative primitive rug hooking and is an important book for those who hook in the primitive style. A copy of the book will be available for examination at the June meeting.

Therese Shick’s Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler Recipe — You could tell that it was good because it did not last long! The strawberry-rhubarb cobbler that Therese Shick brought to the May meeting was gone in no time. Several members wanted the recipe and we thank Therese for sharing it with us.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Cobbler (Good Housekeeping Magazine)

1 orange
1 lb. strawberries, hulled and cut in quarters
10 oz. rhubarb, trimmed and cut in ½ inch pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup brown sugar
½ cup flour
Salt
6 T. slightly softened butter

Preheat oven to 375°. Zest orange and divide in half. Juice orange and set aside. In large bowl, with ½ of zest, combine strawberries, rhubarb and sugar until well mixed. To orange juice add cornstarch, and mix until well combined. Add orange juice mixture to the fruit mix and toss until well combined. Pour into 9 inch glass or ceramic pie plate and spread evenly.

In another bowl, combine the other ½ zest, oats, brown sugar, flour and pinch of salt. With pastry blender or fingers, blend in butter until it forms coarse crumbs.

Sprinkle oat mixture evenly over fruit mixture. Place pie plate in cookie sheet to catch any drips. Bake about 45 minutes or until topping is lightly golden. Cool until filling is set but still slightly warm.

Eat as is, or with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

"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" June 2010
"The Loop" May 2010
"The Loop" April 2010
"The Loop" March 2010
"The Loop" February 2010
"The Loop" January 2010
"The Loop" December 2009
"The Loop" November 2009
"The Loop" October 2009
"The Loop" September 2009
"The Loop" June 2009
"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