BirdBrain Designs

Hooking

Kenya report #4: the ultimate hooking class

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My time in Matangwe, Kenya is over for another year. It was a rich time, a time of learning and teaching. I was delighted with the response of the young women to the idea of hooking mats. We met every afternoon at the Community Centre and the group had grown to 11 by the time I had to leave. Of course, in many ways we were just getting started. It’s one thing to learn how to pull loops, (a challenge in itself using hand cut t-shirts with no frame), but learning the level of quality required for selling takes longer. But that said, I came home with several pieces for sale and  I left them all with additional pieces of burlap and plans for new mats. I am already friends with one of them on Face Book! I am hopeful that our connection and hooking production will grow.

Above is a picture of Alice, with the three pieces she designed and hooked. Below is Catherine, a new student who joined us the last week, being shown the techniques by Daisy. This is an example of the generous attitude which I met everyday and which made teaching this class so enjoyable. The afternoons were filled with laughter, but it was the underlying sense of mutual acceptance and support which was truly instructive. There is much to learn here.Below is Catherine’s piece after just one day, and the next day she brought it completed and ready for a trip to Canada.And here are some of the final pieces which I brought home with me. 

t-shirt houses

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Amidst the getting ready, I am hooking houses. T-shirt houses. This is a totally new medium for me. It has taken me a while to figure out the optimum width–and the general answer is that narrower is better–easier on the wrist and neater loops. But that said, each t-shirt has its own properties, its own heft and stretchiness, and needs to be tried out first. You can see that I have not made too much progress. That is because I have pulled lots out–to recut, to find a more suitable colour, to rethink. I actually really like t-shirts and am learning how to work with them. But they are not wool. They don’t come in subtle colours and interesting textures. They are for the most part bright and solid. And they don’t rip like wool. At all. Many have to be cut, painstakingly. If you are lucky they rip easily, and I have found the best t-shirts are the ones without side seams which rip around and around, like peeling an orange.
All this is because I am preparing to teach hooking in Kenya. Many thanks to all the local rug hookers who have donated burlap, hooks and t-shirts. We will have lots for our first project–and from there we will see how it goes. How wonderful it would be for the women to start a small business making mats and bags. Right now it is a dream…I will keep you posted.

another hooked bag

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I was at a meeting last night and re-encountered one of my hoooked bags. I made this bag about two years ago and it sold quickly–before I had even photographed it. It was like meeting an old friend! I took a couple of photos with my phone so that I could remember it–and share it with you.

I am about to begin hooking with the pile of t-shirts for a new project and the designs on this bag have  inspired me. I am amazed how easily I forgot it–just shows how important it is to document our work!

recycling t-shirts and leather

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I have begun to hook with strips of t-shirt material and it is taking some getting used to.  First of all the cutting of the strips is a challenge. I am currently using a rotary cutter, but that takes so much time! Then there is deciding on the width of the strip–wider seems better. And I am discovering that cotton does not behave in the accommodating way wool does. In addition, finding good colours is a challenge–I have slipped in some dyed lime green nylons in this square, just for some pizzazz.

With all these negatives, why am I doing this, you ask? Well it is a challenge. And it is recycling. But the main reason is I am going to Kenya in January and hoping to teach the women in the village there how to hook rugs. I was looking for material which would be locally available and thought immediately of this source of cotton. So I am experimenting with all facets of this new hooking and will keep you posted.

And here is the next leather bag–still very much in process. This will be a big travel tote with handles and a cross-body strap. I order to make something this size, I am using two leather sources, a pebbly bomber jacket and a pair of leather pants. The colours seem to work well together, so I am just trying to work with the many seams in the jacket. Will let you know how this goes as well. 

Birdbrain Greetings

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Happy holidays to everyone. Thank you so much for visiting the blog throughout the year. Your comments and interest mean so much.

Christine

it’s done!

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And so the Wedding Rug is finished. I began it last June in Vermont at Green Mountain Rug School. I drew the house and a couple of flowers while there, but had no overall plan. As with all my rugs, it developed over time, often taking over and directing me. As those of you who create know, the process is a mysterious one. At any rate, here it is, 4.5′ x 2.5′, ready for the newlyweds’ floor…well, not so newly-wed. As you can see from the date in the corner, this is their second Christmas together. But it’s never too late to celebrate a loving partnership!


wedding rug hooking done, now for the corners

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I finished all the whipping on the wedding rug yesterday, so today was the day to complete the four corners. (Yes, I missed the 12 12 12 birthday and am now aiming for Christmas.) This photo shows the corner before the point is cut off. I stitch across and then cut off the excess to reduce bulk. Below is the corner all basted and ready for whipping. I do not baste the sides before whipping, but find it is essential to baste the mitred corner.

Here is the corner half done and the fourth picture is the finished corner. It’s not often that I do corners, perhaps three times a year and each time I have to relearn a bit of the process. That is why I find the corners turn out better and more alike if I complete the whipping first, then do all four corners one after the other.

And finally, to complete the corner story, here is a picture of the back of the rug. I like to roll the linen forward as I whip because it gives a nice clean finish on the underside of the rug.

chair seat

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When I was designing the wedding rug I made 3 chair seats to try out some ideas. This one is the closest to the final rug, but still miles away. You can see the others in the photoblog on the right side of this page. It is a great idea to make samples, and I don’t think it is something rug hookers do too often. I learned so much from this one– that I did not want a light background for the rug, sky or not, and that I had to figure out a different way to do the grass and that I had to come up with a border idea which would not take away from the central motif. I did have fun with this, etching hearts and Carissa’s special birthday, 12 12 12, in the sky. And the idea of the birds on the roof was hatched in this piece. So it is related to the wedding rug. And lucky–because this is for Carissa’s birthday along with the comb-back rocker it was made for. What great design and paint this old chair has! And bonus — it is comfortable. Judging from the plane marks on the underside of the plank seat and its general construction details, we figure it has been around since the mid-19th Century. We hope it continues to provide many years of comfort and pleasure yet. 

hook-in

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Yesterday  I was at a hooking gathering with some wonderful people who are organizing next year’s OHCG Annual in Kingston. There was lots of talk about the workshops being offered at the Annual–and they sound great. There is even one for new hookers!

And this was the view outside the window! With such beauty outside and such warmth inside, I managed to get lots of whipping done–whipping interspersed with eating and great conversation of course. And I came away with a bag of burlap and hooks to take to Kenya for my rug hooking project there. Thank you everyone for your generosity and inspiration.

hooking done, now the whipping

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I have an antique swift, from my weaving days–Canadian, 1860’s, handmade, a little bit worn and missing one of its sticks (much the way I feel these days!). I don’t use the swift much any more, just when I am getting ready to whip my rugs. I like Briggs and Little yarns from New Brunswick the best; I overdyed this skein to give some slight variation to the colour. Getting from the broken swift to a ball of wool takes patience, but it is good preparation for whipping, which takes LOTS of patience. Some rug hookers hate the process of whipping a rug, but I love it. It is repetitive and meditative and puts me in close contact with the rug and my thoughts.I think I have said before that I whip all four sides first and then do the corners. It postpones the toughest part and doing the corners one after the other ensures that they will look similar. I don’t baste the sides, but I do make a careful mitre on each corner and baste it firmly before I whip. This is Carissa’s birthday week and I am still optimistic that I will have the rug ready for her visit on Saturday. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.