Rugcrafters Australia Guild – April 2009 News Page 1

GUILD NEWS: Next Guild Meeting - Saturday 17 April 2010 – will be held at Miriam Miller’s Narrwilly Farm Studio in Milton, NSW. During that weekend (17th & 18th) there will also be an exhibition of rugs. As Guild President and Convener of the exhibition, Miriam is asking everyone to think about making a rug to exhibit - so start now planning your stunning creation! The exhibition is limited to one rug per person. Workshops given by an internationally known rug hooking instructor will be held either side of the weekend – details regarding the exhibition and workshops will follow in the future newsletters. Membership: Jacqui Thomson, Membership Chair, advised the Guild’s Constitution and ByLaws along with Membership List have been sent out. As membership dues for 2010 are paid an updated membership list will be sent.

NEW SOUTH WALES: Elke Smith-Hill is looking for a pen-friend -

Elke is 59 years old, interested mainly in rug making as well as teddy bear making, reading, gardening, photography, travelling, writing and receiving letters. She would love to correspond with another rug maker.

If interested, send your name and address to rugcraftersaustralia@yahoo.com.au and it will be forwarded on to Elke who will contact you directly.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA: REVIVAL OF PIONEER ART

Judy Ingram, rug hooking teacher and

fibre artist, from Strathalbyn, South

Australia holds one of her latest “rag

rugs” hooked using recycled fabric

(clothing).

Judy will be in Perth, WA, in May and will give a workshop on Friday 15th - “Recycle – Rug Art” at Jack Kikeros Community Hall, Burns Beach. Tools and fabrics will be provided, along with a kit and instructions for the small workshop project. For more information and to register for this workshop, call Jo on 08-9467-2601 or email

rugcraftersaustralia@yahoo.com.au One of Judy’s small bag projects is featured in the current issue of “Inspirations” (#62) magazine.

West Australians on the Move: Jane Cobb is off to the UK to visit family in May. She tells me that she is hoping to get to the Bradford Museum Exhibition while she is there. A picture of her and Tulip Rug was one of the many photos sent to Bradford by Australian rug makers.

RugCrafters Australia News – April 2009

Rugcrafters Australia Guild – April 2009 News Page 2

Judi’s 1st rug/original design on hessian

2nd rug Woodland Indian theme - original

QUEENSLAND: Confessions of a Fabric Fondler - Judi Tompkins

The ‘trigger” Two years ago I discovered a heavy, unopened parcel I had shipped to myself in Queensland from the United States. I wasn’t surprised to discover an unopened box of “stuff” since we had moved twice and built a house since the box was shipped. Curious, I worked for some minutes to hack my way through kilometres of tape wound around the box, all the while muttering about how much extra it must have cost to ship all the extra tape! I continued to lever enough tape from the box until I heard the comforting “poof” that all well-wrapped boxes make as they desperately suck in as much air as fast as they can in an effort to free themselves from cardboard prisons. My “first time” I unceremoniously dumped the contents of the box onto my workshop bench and was pleasantly surprised to be inundated with an explosion of colourful fabrics in the shape of my grandmother’s quilt blocks, some wool remnants and antique fabric, along with several containers of old buttons. Gee! Did I really pack this? When, I wondered? And why on earth did I wait so long to open this box? Never mind. It would appear I had struck gold! I spent some minutes congratulating myself on my good fortune, then sorted the fabric into colour families and surveyed my handiwork. No, this would never do! So, I was forced to dive back into the soft, fluffy piles and handle the fabric (in my early days I still referred to my obsession as one of “handling fabric”) in order to sort it again, this time according to the type of fabric and how it felt (known as the “cheek test”). By the time I had finished the fourth “resorting”, I reluctantly pulled myself away from the luxurious piles of plaids and stripes and herringbones…(well…you get the picture) as my attention was drawn to a large plastic wrapped parcel that had stubbornly refused to leave the bottom of the box. Patience is apparently not my “long suit” as several people have felt compelled to tell me, so when I realised the parcel was not going to leave the bottom of the box willingly, I simply cut the card and freed the item that had for so long dwelt in the bottom of the box. Finding something encased in plastic bubble wrap cocooned in meters of packing tape is a bit like finding a Koala sitting in your fridge, smoking a cigar: you just don’t know what to make of it! So, after popping eleventy-two thousand bubbles (quite fun actually) I managed to pull a rather wonderful braided rug (my grandmother’s) from the confines of the plastic debris. Seeing this rug again conjured up memories of my gran’s home filled with sewing projects, cross-stitch samplers, tapestries and rugs (both hooked and braided). As a child I found these projects to be quite magical (“How’d she do that?”) but unfortunately, gran never showed the slightest interest in passing her skills to anyone…least of all me! (Hopefully the skill-sharing bug is alive and well among all the hooking groups!)

"Try? There is no try. There is only do or not do." - Yoda, in The Empire Strikes Back Gran’s rug, in combination with all the colours and textures contained in this “forgotten” box of fabric motivated me to learn more about rug making. I used the Internet to locate what I could about rug making and craft groups in Australia and after several months of research I knew I needed to simply make a decision on a particular technique and start doing it. I settled on primitive rug hooking as the most do-able one for me since I had actually seen hooked rugs being made and thought I would find the materials relatively easily (more on that later!) It was increasingly clear however that I would have to teach myself this craft (with books, and

on-line information) since most rug hooking groups and workshops appeared to be clustered near capital cities (I live in the Hinterland of the Sunshine Coast so it is expensive to attend a class).

Rugcrafters Australia Guild – April 2009 News Page 3

The Quest: My kingdom for a hook! I managed to locate some good books on the Net but quickly discovered I would need to order them from the USA, Canada or UK suppliers since these countries had long histories with the particular craft I wanted to learn. I did however find a locally produced book on proggy rugs by Miriam Miller (nice one Miriam). I ordered my books and waited…and waited until I was finally able to begin reading and compiling a “want list” of necessary materials and tools. I found it quite challenging to locate the appropriate materials and supplies in Australia in order to start this craft. I managed to order hooks and frames from mixed sources both in Australia and from overseas and generally found my international suppliers to be quite good and relatively quick (see note in previous section regarding patience and my “long suit”)! The foundation fabric however has been a mixed bag for me. I started out with hessian which I find to be awful stuff and plan to use the rest of my stock as shade cloth for seedlings! The terminology between Australia and the rest of the hooking world didn’t seem to quite jibe for me so in desperation I simply ordered some “monks cloth” and “linen” foundation fabrics from the USA so at least I would have a genuine sample to take to a fabric shop here. I quickly gave up trying to cut strips of cloth by hand since I was so inconsistent and ordered a Fraser cutting machine from the USA. I currently use a #4 cut – which a US hooker told me she considered to be like, “hooking with spaghetti,” but for the detail work I’m trying to do, this seems to make the most sense. I think the other reason I have stayed with the #4 is that I’m terrified to use a wide cut and actually stuff it into the linen foundation and really make a mess! The wool (and I prefer wool I think) has so far been blankets and fabric (Ooooo, sooooo soft and the colours sooooo nice….oops….that’s the fabric fondler in me I guess) from Vinnie’s and op-shops. So far I haven’t dyed much fabric – later perhaps – for now I’m trying to stay focused on all the other skills I need. You want to what? So far the hardest part of all this rug work is trying to keep myself from fondling and fingering the fabric coats, jumpers and skirts of people I encounter on the train and bus! For some reason people seem to be disconcerted by the perfectly natural request, “Excuse me sir, would you mind awfully if I felt your jacket?” Ah well, I guess it’s true what they say, “rug hookers are loopy”!

Australian suppliers: The search is ongoing for an Australian supplier of monks cloth, linen and good quality hessian foundation cloth/backing. Miriam Miller www.shoal.net.au/~narrawilly/index.html sells “stretcher frames” hooks & proggy tools Judy Ingram jbingram@bigpond.net.au has lap frames with or w/out gripper strips as well as hooks and progging tools.

Overseas suppliers who will ship to Australia (as recommended by our members)

UK –

1. Cilla Cameron www.ragrugsuk.co.uk The Rug Studio, 18 Elmcroft, Oxton, Nottingham NG25 0SB Tel 0115 9655287 8am - 6.30pm Tel 0775 277 2474 anytime Skype Cilla Cameron

2. Heather Ritchie www.rugmaker.co.uk Greencroft, Reeth, North Yorkshire DL11 6QT Tel: +44 1748 884435 www.rug-aid.org

CANADA –

1. Heidi Wulfraat at London-Wul visit http://thewoolworks.com 2. Doug Rankin : www.hookarug.com

USA –

1. Rug Art Supply www.rugartsupply.com Shelley Flannery and Barbara A. Hanson 3037 NE Brogden St Hillsboro, OR 97124 1-503-648-3979 Shelley-Barbara@rugartsupply.com

2. Dorr Mill Store http://dorrmillstore.com

Rugcrafters Australia Guild – April 2009 News Page 4

TASMANIA King Island Hook Rug Project Easter 2009 by Jo Wild

I arrived at Currie airport with three bags of especially selected colours of Tascot carpet factory wool &

was met by Val Titley who is the President of the Pegarah CWA Branch King Island. Val kindly looked

after me for three days. I was very impressed by the atmospheric town of Grasse on our tour of the island,

following the Hook Rug Workshop.

The two day workshop was held at the

CWA Hall in Currie on Easter Saturday

and Sunday with participants (aged 8yrs

to two ladies in their 80's) attending. The

autumn weather was superb for both days

and we listened to stories told by the

dynamic Shirley Stebbings. Visitors were

welcomed to the hall to see the Happy

Hookers exhibition of rugs which was

complimented by work by local artists.

People enjoyed the work and said so. It is

anticipated that a craft group will meet on

a regular basis at the CWA hall in the

near future (including new happy

hookers).

The secret agenda of rug hooking was quickly discovered by the group, who chatted about many things

concerning their community. There was talk of a community hook rug project, following a donation of

Art & Craft books to the CWA from the estate of Patti Partridge by her daughter Janet. The food supplied

during the workshop was excellent as was the King Island cheese tasting prior to catching the plane back

to Tasmania. I was impressed by the artwork at the Cultural Centre in Currie and the fresh crayfish Val

served me twice at her home.

On several of my island walks

I bumped into a couple of

tourists who had visited our

exhibition. One time the

woman said to her husband

"There goes the CWA lady"

(it was me!)

The night I returned home it

was initially difficult to sleep

as my mind tumbled over the

elusive amber colours of King

Island kelp. Possible future

projects from this enchanting

plant form include nature

printing, screen printing &

hook rugs.

VICTORIA:

Anne Churches - P.O Box 301, Kyabram VIC 3620 Tel: 03-5852-1878 advises that she is working on a rug for the Sheep Show competition in Bendigo. To see Anne’s work and for dates of her upcoming workshops, check out her website www.annesrugs.com.au

Rugcrafters Australia Guild – April 2009 News Page 5

ACT Rug Hooking in Canberra - Maggie Whyte

Having lived in Canada for a long time I had always intended to have a go at hooky rug making but never got around to it as at that time as I was busy working and bringing up two small boys. When we arrived in Canberra I was still interested but did not know if it was even practised in Australia. Then I heard about a talk that Miriam Miller and Jackie Thomson where giving in Canberra I just had to attend, from that night I have never looked back. I just had to get down to Narrawilly and get started. I suffered a week’s camping and fishing in heavy rain to get to Narrawilly but it has been well worth it. My only complaint is that I do not get down to the rug room anywhere near as often as I would like as other life keeps getting in the way. I love crafts and creativity and somehow get involved in quite a few. At the time that I found out about Miriam’s wonderful Rug Group I went to a feltmaking exhibition here in Canberra and found that I would like to have a try at feltmaking, so as the story goes I have ended up getting involved with the feltmakers but it is not all bad as I have incorporated rug making into my feltmaking.

While attending a Heather Richie workshop a couple of years ago, Heather showed us how to make flowers in our rugs. I came home and started playing with the idea and have ended up with a great variety of flowers in hand made felt that are made into brooches, hair pieces and flowers for felt hats that I make. I hand dye my felt and try my very best to make each flower a

different colour so that each one is a one off. I enjoy making hooky rugs but would love to make more than I do. My first rug was quite large but the rugs seem to be a little smaller these days, I make more wall hangings. I have a husband who says they are “too good for someone to walk on, all those hours you put into them”. At least he appreciates them. I am now working on a magpie rug so I think I will incorporate some of my felt flowers. My rug of the gum tree has gone to a friend in Canada and my grandfather in his WW1 uniform is about to find a home on my lounge wall.

UK Diane West and Penny Gardiner of the West Riding Ruggers have acknowledged with thanks the following members of our Guild who have sent photos of their rugs to be included in the 21st Birthday Exhibition, “A Rough Guide to Rugs” at the Bradford Industrial Museum :-

Ilka Landahl, Jane Cobb, Jo Franco, Joyce Emery, Judith Brooks, Judy Ingram, Maggie Lucas, Maggie Whyte, Marion Nefiodovis, Miriam Millar, Sarah Rogers, Trish Schulz,

From the Editor:

It’s very gratifying to see so many articles coming in from rug makers around Australia – Thank you all. Cheers - Jo Franco

REMEMBER : JULY 1ST

IS TIME FOR MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL