New Books

Here are a few new rug hooking books recently released.

From "Rug Hooking Magazine" comes Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs XIX. Always a joy to look through and draw inspiration from. I love looking through quickly at first to see if I know any of the hookers.



The new book by Jane Halliwell Green called Pictorial Hooked Rugs was released in October. The description from the amazon.com Web site follows:

One of the most challenging of all rug styles is the pictorial rug or wall hanging. This full-color book guides readers step-by-step through the process of how to create pictorial rugs. This book is the definitive instruction manual on how to create the elements of a pictorial rug. Each section contains a description of techniques, materials, dye formulas, and hooked illustrations of the elements described. It contains tips and tricks for the rug hooker to take the guesswork out of planning a personalized rug.



Check it out. I'm always fascinated with a book on pictorials. It's a goal of mine to create a rug of the neighborhood I lived in while growing up.

Amy Oxford's new book is entitled Hooked Rugs Today IV: Expect the Unexpected. Here is a description of the book I found on an Italian (!) Web site:

Explore expertly crafted, contemporary hooked rugs with designs ranging from abstract to political statement, and from adorable pet depictions to painterly expressions. The Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild mounted a great exhibit for a few short weeks in November 2008 at Shelburne Museum in Vermont, and now displayed forever in the pages of this rich book. Two featured artists - Rae Harrell and Diane Kelly -display their personal styles through retrospectives of their work. Members from the guild were challenged to think "outside the box," and they came up with a variety of imagery and form ranging from lifesize, three-dimensional sheep to extraordinary miniature punch-needle works. Other categories include animals, florals, landscapes, penny rugs, and even a small section dedicated to the smallest members of the group: the children. The colors, forms, and variety will astound and inspire anyone with an interest in fiber arts.

Dyed wool

Here are some of the shades I dyed this past week. The first is called "Amber Glass" and is a set of grads. They remind me a bit of amber depression glass. Go to the store section of my blog if you are interested in purchasing a set.


This second photo is a new set of transitional grads. There are four pieces in the set that is called "Sun Phases." It ranges from an orange to deep golden shade. It will be in the store on this blog for awhile before going to Ebay auctions. Check it out.

Next photo is the fourth grad in a set called Cloudy Sky. This is a beautiful blue shade that a customer is using in a rug along with the other three grads. I sometimes forget when dyeing grads that each color is pretty enough to stand alone.

Dye Day

Well, I never made it up to Shelburne for the rug show. Due to a never-ending sinus headache, I just couldn't face the drive. Off to see the doctor tomorrow. His last suggestion for my problem was to have my nose broken! Can't seem to get my arms around that one!

Anyway, I'm dyeing wool today. Doing some grads and overdyes and this afternoon, I'm going to do a set of transitional grads. Will post a photo later. It's a beautiful day here today, so the wool should be able to dry outside. Trying to do my part to go green!