I’ve never had much patience. My mother claimed that I was standing behind the door when it was handed out. I want things done yesterday! Consequently rug hooking has been a growing experience. A rug just doesn’t unfold as quickly as you would like. Loop by loop you create your picture. It is as though you are painting in slow motion. Even mistakes take time to become visible.
The “23rd Psalm” Rug is large by rug hooking standards- approximately 8’ x 5’. My frame stretches 10 feet across the studio floor. I like to be able to see large portions of the rug at once, so I converted a king size quilting frame to my needs. The rug will only need to be moved twice before I am finished. Just getting it on the frame correctly requires a great deal of patience. It must be done meticulously so that the rug will not be pulled out of shape. Listening to my mind during this process is amusing. “Go slow. Take your time. Breath, this is part of the process. Enjoy it all”. I have to keep reminding myself that fast isn’t helpful here. I know I’ve taken pride over the years in getting things done quickly. Rug hooking just isn’t done that way.
Hooking the major elements of the rug is always the most enjoyable and creative part of any rug. I find it so interesting that time just flies by. Patience comes into play with the background. I need to break the rug up into smaller portions, hooking background as I go. This week it was grass. How could I hook it to make the process more interesting? Trying new ways to hook something always increases my attention and my patience. It was fun to hook the grass with 7 different shades of green and textures as varied as velvet, sweaters, tweeds, and blankets. Then scatter some rocks in there with a tee shirt and plaids. In previous rugs I have always hooked grass on the horizontal plane, so this time I am trying out vertical hooking. I can only hook small blades of grass at a time, requiring changing fabric every 6 loops. I use #8 cuts or larger, but the process still requires lots and lots of patience. I seem to be getting pretty good at it! I might even end up incorporating patience into my daily life. Now that would be amazing.
Have fun with your hooking. Try to enjoy every bit of it. If you tire, quit and do something else for a while. You will come back with a fresh mind and eye.
7 Comments
I will try to post a musing on some aspect of the zen of rug hooking each Sunday. so take a look each week if you like. Please post comments by clicking on the “no comments” or “comments” words at the bottom of the post. Mahalo, Sharon Faith
Love your website and blog, Sharon Faith. You inspire even us non-hookers with your beautiful artwork and wise observations about the nature of the artistic process. Thanks for keeping us in the loops!
speaking of “learning patience”!?!?! …you should see me trying to navigate the in’s and out’s of “blogging” on our dinosaur computer with a “dial-up” connection!
I think I’m at the right place to leave you a comment, so I’ll give it a try…..no promises that I will do it again though.
I understand how you “hook” the strips of fabric into the rug, but how in the world do you do it with the fluffy fleece? How to you get it to stay in place and not pop right out again? Once again, a true work of art in progress by a very gifted artist! love you, ginger
Aloha Ginger, In response to your question on the fleece popping out: With the smaller strips of wool, the loops are packed close together so you really have to pull to remove a strip. With fleece, the fleece itself is quite bulky and is hard to pull through the tiny holes in the backing. That pressure is enough to keep the fleece in the holes. As a matter of fact it is very hard to pull out when you need to. You can even vacuum it. Thanks for the question.
Love the sheep! What charming personalities! Their warm fuzzyiness comes through even on a computer screen. Amazing artwork!
I heard about the rug hooking workshop in Maui via Diane Learmonth and was wondering about the specifics like cost, lodging, etc.
I was pleasantly surprised and fascinated with your Ps.23 rug as well. Scripture has been a theme of mine in past hooked rugs and loved seeing someone else moved by it as well. Keep me up with its progress.
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