N&B

New – Reserve of wool scraps    Kitt has initiated a wool reserve which is stored in the drawers of the dresser in the front board room. Are you looking for a few wool strips of a particular colour? This treasure trove might have just what you need! This is meant as a give and take - you take a bit and you contribute a bit. All pieces are sorted by colour and stored in clear Ziplock bags. You will find both small pieces of wool fabric and pre-cut worms of various sizes. You will find wool yarn in the bottom drawer. Please feel free to help build up this stash! Great new resource, Kitt! Thank you! Laura, Claire, and Kitt sort wool for our new Scrap wool repository.

How to finish the edging of a rug using cording    June 6, 2022 At our last Monday hook-in of the season, Dawna treated us to a demonstration of how to finish the edging of a rug using cording.  Standing: Karen, Sue, Jacques, Brenda. Sitting: Kitt, Dawna. Here is a recap of the technique: 1) To prepare the cording, use masking tape to “finish” the ends, like the tips of a shoelace. 2) Lay the cord down snuggly up against the last row of hooking. Do not start at a corner. Baste the cord in place. 3) Using wool yarn, whip over and under the cord, covering it uniformly and completely. 4) Lay another cord, which could be a different thickness, tucked up against the whipped cord. Repeat the basting and whipping process. You could choose a different coloured yarn. 5) For the final cording, wrap the background fabric up and over to the front and tuck it underneath the outer cord and complete your final whipping. Again, you could choose a different coloured yarn. Thank you, Dawna...

Loretta Moore's project_    For those interested in Loretta Moore's small hooked purse project, we invite you to visit her Blog, Hooked on the Lake . She has published four more posts, with a lot of pictures and details, so you can complete this piece! Pick a fabric and follow the instructions for the body, the lining and strap of the purse. Follow the link to read her third post. Next step in the purse project The third post is about the body, the lining and the strap of the purse. Picture by Loretta Moore The fourth and  fifth posts offer details about the strap and how to attach it to the purse. Next step: the purse strap Attaching the strap The fourth and  fifth posts are about the strap. Picture by Loretta Moore The sixth and final post explains how to insert the flap into the body of the purse and how to stitch it in place. Final steps in the purse project The sixth post allow you to finish the purse. Picture by Loretta Moore

Loretta Moore's Little Project_      Looking for inspiration?       By Dawna Matthew       A post on Loretta Moore's Blog, Hooked on the Lake, shows a neat little project some of you may be interested in trying: a small hooked purse. This may be just what you are looking for to use up some of your stash and leftover “worms”. You can draw your own design and it looks quick and easy! Follow the links to read the first post  " New Little Project "  and the second post " Continuing the Project". Small Hooked Purse Project by Loretta Moore; Picture: Loretta Moore, Hooked On The Lake.

Andrée Lapensée _ Show & Tell by BHCG members of rugs in progress during Hook-In of  November 11th, 2019. Got lots of worms?? Look what our creative member, Andrée, did with hers!!! Amazing portraits of her two daughters. Andrée Lapensée

Other Techniques Many rug hookers also knit. Claire recommends cocoknits.com for interesting patterns (some free) for all the family and home decor. Site has tutorials, tips and when it comes to recycling,we especially like knitting rugs out of old bedsheets .   Follow the link to download the Rag Doily Rug Pattern. Rag Doily Rug Pattern by Cocoknits.com, knitted by Claire Fradette

Shelly Atkinson  is a self-taught visual artist and crafter from Nova-Scotia, Canada. She loves experimenting with styles, colours, textures and techniques in her paintings and illustrations. Shelly offers rug hooking patterns of animals, flowers, people, the four seasons, etc. She can create custom drawings of your pet or family and even revise her patterns, if requested. Her work can be found on greeting cards, journals, prints, rug hooking patterns, coasters. needlepoint patterns, calendars, posters, and a child's book. Go to  http://users.eastlink.ca/~shellyatkinson/rughooking/rughooking.html http://shellyatkinson.blogspot.ca/ Music Is Good For The Soul A Good Book Dog & 2 Birds Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe

Lady with Cat, By Maria Romero Lady with Cat. Copyright 2015, Maria Romero This free pattern is copyrighted and available for personal use only and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.  Please indicate the copyright this way:    Rug Title. Design by Maria Romero, hooked by (Your Name). All image modifications need to be mentioned this way: Rug Title. Design by Maria Romero, adapted and hooked by (Your Name).  *An adaptation means you have altered the pattern by changing, omitting or adding details to the image. We encourage people who use our free patterns to send us a picture of their work so that we can publish it on our Blog ! Send your pictures and comments to the  Webmaster . Lady with Cat. Copyright 2015, Maria Romero

by Mary Jane Peabody * * Mary Jane Peabody is a member of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild, in Vermont . She also belongs to the ATHA and the Hilltop Rug Hookers, New London , NH . She is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen and, when living in England , she is a member of the Lunesdale Rug Hookers. 1.   Get a 10 to 12-inch (30 cm) dowel ** about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter ***. A hard wood like maple is preferable to a soft wood such as pine. 2. Cut a 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) deep groove along the length of the dowel. (Have the lumber yard or a friend with a router do this for you.).   3.    Cut the wool into long strips, in whatever width you require. I use 3/4-inch (2 cm) or so. Some  people use slightly narrower strips .   4.    Starting with one end of the strip, just at the groove of the dowel, wind the long strip of wool around the dowel, taking care to overlap the edges of the wool as you coil it ...

Visit   Blue Ribbon Rugs    to download this cute Christmas pattern made by Donna Hrkman, a talented artist who has contributed articles and projects to Rug Hooking Magazine . As she suggests in her Web site, you can bookmark the "Free Pattern Download" page because she plans to make a new pattern available every season.   Remember that all free patterns are available for personal use only. Commercial use is prohibited. Visit the Finished Rugs page.You can buy patterns for each of her designs as well. And don't miss Donna Hrkman's Congo Rug !  http://www.blueribbonrugs.com/index.html

AndreaZuill is a very talented visual artist from California . She works in many mediums: oils, water colours, silk screening, sculpture and embroidery, to name a few. Every month, she generously shares free embroidery designs on her blog and she encourages people who use these patterns to send her a photo of their work, so that she can publish it on the blog. These charming patterns can be adapted to rug hooking.  N.B. All free patterns are available for personal use only, and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

Are you looking for a way to keep your wool strips in order? A helpful hint submitted by Maria Romero Here’s an easy way, which I now do. I sort all the wool by colour, for the current project I’m working on, and place it in a tackle box. Its size is practical; it is not cumbersome and is light to carry. It is made of clear plastic and has moveable dividers that allow you to increase or reduce the number of compartments you need. Gone are those plastic baggies where everything gets tangled!

© Jen Tabangcura   If you're planning to create a portrait or you want to design a human character, take a look at Jen Tabangcura's   drawing  tutorial  at Anatomy plz!

by Louise G. de Tonnancour This very old technique is still well used by ruggers in England especially the Yorkshire where Heather Ritchie  lives. I learned the Proddy   technique with   her in a workshop I took with her 3 years ago.  You will need a plyer or a sharp. Cut the strips. On the right side of the rug ...

Do you want to prolong the life of your rug? Click on the link to visit The Canadian Conservation Institut Web site and read  How to care for carpets and rugs . http://www.cci-icc.gc.ca/caringfor-prendresoindes/articles/430-eng.aspx

By Maureen Rowe Try hooking lettering with a plaid if your background is flat. Pick one of the colours, which picks up the background  colour or from another flat colour used elsewhere in the rug. Also when hooking letters, hook a row of background at the top and at the bottom of the letters to be hooked, then hook the letters snugly up to the hooked background rows. After hooking with your head bent forward for awhile, put your feet flat on the floor and let your head hang backwards for a few moments for relief of neck tension. When whipping the corner of a rug, hold a small piece of matching wool over...

Tips by Lois Morris_ 1 When hooking in a small area with a limited amount of space or when shading in a small area, remember this:  if you zig-zag your loops, it will appear to have more colour and the next colours will fit between the previous loops and you will not get a striped look. 2 The selvedge of your wool is not always good to hook with. Tear the selvedge off. Keep the strip and when you are making a dye formula, cut a few short pieces, soak them well and dip them in your solution and squeeze the water out and you will see the approximate light shade you will achieve. This will help you know if you have the colour you want and whether you need to make adjustments.    N.B.   Remember when you remove the selvedge to make some slashes in the top of your wool so you rip and cut it in the proper direction. 3 If you are hooking a piece that you plan to hang, this is a good idea:  by having it mounted on a stretcher frame, you can atta...

How to hook a stained glass piece _  by Denise Vandenbemden Hooking stained glass is actually very easy. The best thing to do is to go to a stained glass supply store and have a good look at the different kinds of glass. Some is mottled, some is spotted and some looks hammered and the choice is endless. Explain your interest to the store keeper and ask if you can take a few pictures. I would suggest you spot-dye your wool. Outline the "glass pieces" on the lines of your pattern and fill in hooking straight or in diagonal or circles to achieve the  desired effect. The outline should be black if you are using strong colors, with light colors charcoal looks better.  For a pattern you can use Ed Sibbet Jr.'s " Stained glass coloring books " from an art and craft store. The patterns may be used without special authorization. Special Show & Tell / Stained Glass Stained Glass. Denise Vandenbemden Stained Glass Denise Vandenbemden Stained glass...

It is as easy or as difficult as you want. The technique is easy and the pattern is up to you. A simple pattern can be just as pretty as a complicated one. There are no rug hooking rules, just a few guidelines, that is all. If you never hooked before and don't know anything about it, choose a small rug in a simple geometric pattern and you will not be disappointed. Any of our members will be more than happy to help and guide you.