HCRAG 2009
Calendar of Events
January 9, 2009
Monthly meeting*
Auction and White Elephant Sale
January 9-11, 2009
3rd Annual Rug Hooking Retreat
Hampton Inn, Flemington, NJ
February 13, 2009
Monthly Meeting*
Featured Members Deanna Kinney & Joan Lucas
March 13, 2009
Monthly Meeting*
Hooking Animal Eye
Gail Dufresne
March 20-22, 2009
2009 Spring Fling - Flemington Hampton Inn (tentative)
April 3, 2009
Monthly Meeting
Program TBD*— note date change
April 29, 2009
Bus Trip to Winterthur Museum
May 8, 2009
Monthly Meeting*
Computer Assisted Design for Rugs - Connie Coleman
June 12, 2009
Monthly meeting*
Annual Picnic
August 10 – 14, 2008
13th Annual HCRAG
Rug Hooking Camp
Educational Services
Commission School
* Unless otherwise noted, our meetings run from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the County Administration Building, which is part of the Hunterdon County Complex on Route 12, Flemington, NJ. As you turn off Route 12 onto the road leading into the Complex, it is the first building on the right.
This Month's Meeting
Hooking Events
Hooking News
Hooking History
Hooking Technique
"The Loop" Newsletter
December Meeting – December 12, 2008
The December meeting will be held at our regular location, the Hunterdon County Complex on Rt. 12 outside of Flemington. Please note that will begin at 11:00 — an hour later than usual.
meeting not to be missed. (The recipes of favorite dishes can be shared in future issues of The Loop.)
Christmas Tree Raffle — Members are encouraged to hook a holiday ornament that will be hung on a small Christmas tree to be raffled at the meeting This tree with ornaments hooked by Guild members will be a one-of-a-kind and will be a very special holiday decoration to be treasured for years.
Shoebox Surprise — The “shoebox surprise” is back by popular demand. For those who want to participate, bring a wrapped shoebox stuffed with hooking related items or other items rug hookers will enjoy. Sharon Ballard will have a fun way to exchange them.
Show and Tell —The December meeting is an ideal time to share with the Guild your wool “feather trees” and rugs/mats with holiday or winter themes. Of course, we are always interested in seeing current projects or recently completed rugs. Bring something to share.
Hospitality — A huge THANK YOU goes to all Guild members who brought refreshments throughout the year. Having coffee and snacks at our meetings makes such a difference!
Membership — Click here for a printable membership renewal form.
Spring Bus Trip to Winterthur Museum Planned — On Wednesday April 29, 2009, Guild members and guests will travel to the Brandywine Valley in Delaware to visit the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum.
The museum contains a collection of American decorative arts spanning the two hundred years from the seventeenth century through the early nineteenth century. In a great country house surrounded by a private park of striking beauty are examples of domestic architecture, furniture, textiles, silver, pewter, ceramics, paintings, and prints almost unmatched in quality, and in numbers and variety the most extensive collection of its kind.
Our successful fundraising efforts permits the Guild to pay for the bus, while members will only need to pay $20 which represents museum admission, a one hour tour, access to all exhibits, a tip for the bus driver and incidental expenses. Guests are invited at a cost of $30. Husbands who have assisted with past Guild events can participate at the member rate.
Departure at 8:30 am will be from the Hunterdon County Complex (where we have our meetings) with return scheduled for 6 pm. Members can bring their lunch or eat at the cafeteria in the Visitors’ Center or café in the main building. The museum has an excellent book store and gift shop for us to enjoy and there is no sales tax in Delaware! The museum has an extensive library that can be used by anyone who prefers to spend the day doing research.
We thank Kitty Platt and Connie Coleman for organizing and coordinating this wonderful event.
Please visit the museum’s website at www.winterthurmuseum.org for more information.
Guild Name Badges — Our special Guild name badges are ordered periodically throughout the year. We normally place an order when we have three badges to order so that we save on the shipping charges. If you want to place an order, just send a check for $8 made payable to HCRAG to Karl Gimber at P.O. Box 16, Carversville, PA 18913. Include a note that spells out exactly how your name should appear.
Third Annual Rug Hooking Retreat – January 9-11 2009 – Our popular retreat is now about a month away. There are four spots still available for the fun filled weekend. If you cannot attend the entire weekend, consider splitting the time with another Guild member. There will be an “early bird” drawing for a free massage session for those who registered by the end of November.
The retreat is scheduled for January 9-11, 2009 at the Hampton Inn in Flemington. Participation will be limited to 25 HCRAG members. A non-refundable registration fee of $35 must be paid in advance. Give your check made payable to HCRAG to Gail Ferdinando at the December meeting or send it to her at 4 Bonnell Road, Pittstown, NJ 08867.
Participants can commute daily or stay overnight. A discounted rate of $112 per night, plus tax, has been negotiated for all reservations made prior to December 9th. Please contact the Hampton Inn at (908) 284-9427 to reserve your room and mention HCRAG to get the special rate.
HCRAG Rug Hooking Camp – August 10-14, 2009 – Registrations for our 13th annual rug hooking camp have been brisk. Judy Quintman’s workshop is already fully booked with one member on the waiting list. There are still openings with Sandra Brown and Abby Vakay. Information on the three instructors appeared in the October and November issues of The Loop.
The fee for members whose dues were paid by November 14, 2008 is $150. The non member rate is $225. To register for camp, just send a $25 check made payable to HCRAG to Karl Gimber at P.O. Box 16, Carversville, PA 18913. The balance is due in April. The deposit is non-refundable.
We thank Gail Ferdinando, Irene Pasternak and Janet Williams for offering to provide housing for the instructors. By so doing, the Guild is able to reduce camp expenses by a considerable amount.
Madeline Brightbill Camp Scholarship Fund – Last year the Guild established a scholarship fund in memory of Madeline Brightbill. The fund is used to sponsor 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 13, 2009.
Contributions to the fund can be made by sending a check made payable to HCRAG to Guild Treasurer, Gisele Meader, at 74 Barry Road, Lambertville, NJ 08530.
Spring Fling — The Spring Fling is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of March 20-22, 2009 at the Hampton Inn in Flemington, NJ. Weezie is pursuing several instructors who were suggested by members. She will have an update at the December meeting.
Rags to Rugs: Hooked and Handsewn Rugs of Pennsylvania by Patricia Herr Now Available — Dr. “Trish” Herr is an authority of the textile arts of Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She presented a program on antique hooked rugs at one of our Guild meetings in 2006. In 2004 she and a group of other hooked rug enthusiasts presented the idea of a “rug harvest” to the staff of the Lancaster Heritage Center. That project culminated in the Rags to Rugs exhibit that the Guild viewed during our bus trip earlier in the year and now a book by the same title. Witten by Trish, the book is now available for $29.99 from Schiffer Publishing. Several Guild members assisted in the rug harvest and are acknowledged in the book.
The Rags to Rugs Exhibit will continue at the Quilt and Textile Museum in Lancaster until the end of this month. There is still time to enjoy this special show.
Visit the Guild Website at www.hcrag.com to find out what is happening with the Guild. Use it to check on membership information, the schedule of programs and to connect with other rug hooking links. There are also photos from our 2008 Rug Hooking Camp and a gallery of rugs hooked by HCRAG members. Laurie Rubinetti updates the site monthly. Take a look!
Rug Hooker News and Views Available —A collection of 62 back issues of Joan Moshimer’s Rug Hooking News and Views for the years 1974-1985 are being offered for sale. The asking price is $175 plus shipping. For more information contact Emily Locke at emily.locke@comcast.net or at 72 Ledge Road, Seabrook, NH 03874 or by calling 603-394-9930.
Guild Supports Thanksgiving in the County —The splendid fall weather provided an ideal setting for the house tours in Sergeantsville and Stockton, NJ. Guild demonstrators were located at Prallsville Mill which was the half-way stop for the buses. We were positioned in an ideal location as the visitors had to walk past us on their way to refreshments. There was considerable interest in rug hooking, lots of questions and brisk sales of our Beginners’ Kits.
Janet Bosshard, Margaret Brightbill, Claudia Casebolt, Joyce Combs, Karl Gimber, Barbara Lugg, Gisele Meader, Irene Pasternak, Linda Reitz and Dee Rosebrock supported this Guild event. The proceeds from Thanksgiving in the Country goes to the Facial Reconstruction Department of Children's Hospital, Philadelphia, PA. We thank Joyce for coordinating our involvement and those listed above who participated.
Members Head North — HCRAG members travelled to Vermont last month for the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild’s annual exhibit and workshops at Shelburne Museum. Among those participating in the activities were Gail Ferdinando, Tracy Fetzer, Weezie Huntington, Kim Kagan, Eileen Mahler, LeeAnn Metropoulos, Lisa Mims, Roberta Smith and Debbie Walsh. Former camp instructors – Norma Batastini, Susan Feller, Rae Harrell and Jule Marie Smith were vendors. Rae was also one of the featured artists. Trish Becker was an instructor. Thanks to Weezie we can enjoy many of the rugs in the exhibit by going to www.kodakgallery.com/weeziesphotos/main/shelburne_vt_rug_show_nov_2008.
Rags to Rugs: Pennsylvania Hooked and Handsewn Rugs Exhibition – Through December 31, 2008 at the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum. For more information contact Kim Fortney, VP, Heritage Center of Lancaster County at 717-299-6440 or kfortney@lancasterheritage.com.
7th Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show – Saturday October 4, 2008 at the Reed Intermediate School, 3 Trades Lane, Newtown, CT. Admission $10. Full program offered - speaker (June Myles), workshop (Trish Becker), juried and non-juried show and 35 vendors. For more information visit website www.newtownhookedrugshow.com or email nmh1792@hotmail.com or call 203-270-8293.
Historic Longstreet Farm Workshop – Susan Feller will present a workshop at the Longstreet Farm on October 20-24, 2008. For more information go to www.monmouthcountyparks.com or call the farm at 732-946-3758.
Winter Workshops at The Woolery— Join Guild member Trish Becker at her rug hooking art studio on January 15, 16 and 17, 2009 and meet Judy Long, Editor of the ATHA Newsletter! For more information, contact Trish at thewoolery@earthlink.net or 908 268 3949.
Jersey Girls Hooked Rug Exhibit – April 24 & 25, 2009 at the Firehouse in Oldwick, NJ. Visit www.jerseygirlchallenge.org for more information
16th Annual Maryland Shores Rug Hooking School – This McGown School will be held in Ocean City, Maryland on April 19-24, 2009. The teachers are Nancy Blood, Vicki Calu, Gail Dufresne, Sarah Guiliani, Betty McClentic, Eric Sandberg and Cynthia Norwood. For more information contact Janice Russell at 410-289-4110 or ocrug@aol.com.
The Mercer Hookers meet on the first Thursday of every month from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM at the Mercer County Library in Pennington, NJ. It would be a good idea to contact Weezie Huntington (weezie711@gmail.com) if you are coming for the first time. The hook-in is open to anyone sharing an interest in rug hooking. Bring your lunch.
A “Gathering” of rug hookers meet at Historic Longstreet Farm, Holmdel, NJ every Tuesday from 10-3. The hook-in is open to rug hookers of all levels. For more information, call the Farm at 732-946-3758.
HCRAG Calendar of Events
December 12, 2008 – Holiday Luncheon
January 9, 2009 – Monthly meeting – Auction and White Elephant Sale
January 9-11, 2009 – 3rd Annual Rug Hooking Retreat – Hampton Inn, Flemington, NJ
February 13 2009 – Monthly Meeting – Featured Members Deanna Kinney & Joan Lucas
March 13, 2009 – Hooking Animal Eyes – Gail Dufresne
March 20-22, 2009 Spring Fling - Flemington Hampton Inn (tentative)
April 3, 2009 – Monthly Meeting – Program TBD* — note date change
April 29, 2009 – Bus Trip to Winterthur Museum
May 8, 2009 – Monthly Meeting – Computer Assisted Design for Rugs - Connie Coleman*
June 12, 2009 – Monthly meeting – Annual Picnic
August 10-14, 2009 – HCRAG Rug Hooking Camp – Educational Services Commission School
What Makes a Good Hooked Rug? — The March/April 1986 issue of Rug Hooker News & Views begins a serialization of Stella Hay Rex’s long out-of-print book Choice Hooked Rugs. The following is from Chapter 1 – What Makes a Good Hooked Rug?
“Emphasis is placed on four prime factors that combine to make a good hooked rug – DESIGN, COLOR, TEXTURE, and TECHNIQUE. First come design and color. To decide which takes precedence is like trying to settle the old controversy on the relative importance or heredity and environment.
While good design in a hooked rug is basic and imperative, a pleasing rug pattern can be all but ruined by poor color choice and distribution. Conversely, a good color job will not completely counteract the effect of poor design. Thus both are vitally necessary.
Next in value after design and color is texture, a quality all too frequently disregarded by rug makers. Texture is brought into a hooked rug through the use of an assortment of weights and weaves, as well as through attention to the direction of the stitch; both factors contribute to vibration of light and reflection of shadow. A rug done for the most part in materials of just one weight and one weave, such as a fine, smooth flannel, means that all strips must be cut the same width. Therefore the work presents a surface so even that the pattern looks as if it might have been machine made, or even painted on the fabric, either of which is uncomplimentary to the sincere craftsman.
Technique is mentioned last in the essentials for a choice hooked rug. While good workmanship is a worthwhile quality in any product, there is a common tendency to place too much stress on the method of a craft, and too little on its artistic and creative possibilities. Hooked rugs are made by so simple a repeated stitch, that the operation practically becomes automatic.
Use your imagination, ingenuity, and skill in creating design, expressing it in color, and executing it through textured technique. Then, bearing in mind that simplicity of pattern is most pleasing on the floor, you may be able to capture the charm of the homespun craft of our ancestors; and through a feeling for the expression of the many cultures that have contributed to our country, create something that is truly American. A love of the genuine in any field makes one appreciate the simple hooked rug for what it is: an honest expression of the folk art of a sturdy people. There is no pretense of grandeur in a hooked rug.”
Tips from Heloise (a.k.a. Barbara Lugg)
There is much to decide as you start to design a pictorial rug. It may be stark winter, brilliant fall, lively summer or bloom in spring. Try to draw something familiar, maybe the farm you often pass, a quaint town you have visited, or a favorite vacation place, or even an old barn or interesting shed. Then take some photos and gather pictures relating to your theme. Start with the main object then decide on the sky, hills maybe mountains. The fun has just begun -- literally the sky is the limit.
When blocking a rug, several elements are needed - stream, pressure and duration of the pressure. In order to get a lot of steam, a hot iron is required. Generally when the hot iron is placed on the surface of the damp towel to produce the steam, the iron will cool. To maximize the heat you then need to wait for the iron to heat up again before you continue. This adds time to the blocking process. If you do not wait, less steam will be produced. One way to speed up the process is to use two irons and alternate using each one. When you are blocking with one, the other is heating up. Used irons can be found at thrift stores for under $10. The investment will speed up the blocking process and should improve the results too.
Have you ever purchased a rug pattern and discovered that is was printed “off kilter”? Over the years Barbara Lugg has helped many rug hooking friends correct the problem with a simple solution. She takes a dull pencil, places it “in the ditch” and pulls it down the border of the pattern to get a straight line. The process is repeated on all four sides of the pattern. Barbara then hooks a row around the border of the pattern following the light line created by the pencil. The hooked row can remain as part of the rug or replaced later. In some cases, the rest of the pattern may need to be adjusted as well, but most often squaring off the border is sufficient.
The most commonly suggested way to block a hooked rug is to place the rug face down on a flat surface, straighten it, and then place a damp cloth on the back of the rug. A hot iron is then used to produce steam and to apply pressure. Another way that many of our Guild’s veteran hookers believe produces better results is to roll the rug in a damp cloth and leave it over night. The backing absorbs moisture and becomes more pliable. This makes it easier to straighten and shape the rug before applying the iron in the normal manner.
"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" 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
