I had no idea that I had everything it took to make a spectacular hooker, but a few weekends ago, on a Saturday afternoon I discovered I was destined to be a pro. And so did my mother.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. Do you like to work with your hands?
2. Do you love to finish a job?
3. Do you have an instinct for when to pull out?
4. Can you happily sit with wood on your lap for hours?
5. Are you interested in a mindless activity and doing it over and over and over again?
If you answered yes to any of those questions you could be well on your way to disappearing into the dark underworld of hooking.
Rug Hooking, which is considered to be both an art and a craft, became popular after 1830 when carpets became all the rage. Of course, only the rich could afford carpets, so the poor had to figure out a way to make their own. Kind of like how the only way I could afford to have a pizza oven was to make my own.
The poor couldn’t afford to use good yarn or fabrics because those were needed for making clothing and quilts, but cruddy, old worn fabrics, those could be used for rug hooking. Strips of whatever they had on hand were either cut or ripped into strips then hooked through whatever backing they could find for free. Most of the time this was the burlap feed sacks their grain came in.
If you’re wondering why it is rug hooking isn’t as popular as, say quilting, the reason comes down yet again to money; poverty specifically. Quilting was considered a fine art in the 1800’s and it’s the sort of thing the daughters of rich families would learn along with embroidery and the fine art of eye lash batting. Quilting was always an art of higher status and more sought after by everyone because of that.
Rug hooking? That was for the common folk. People with scabs.
It wasn’t until about a century later, in the 1930’s that rug hooking started to develop a strong following with artists and it broke free from its lower status.
O.K., that’s the short history of hooking.
So what happened a few weekends ago was I accidentally ended up taking a Saturday morning rug hooking class. My sister, Pink Tool Belt, is an interior decorator and one of her clients is a rug hooker who offered to show my sister how to “do it”. She in turn, invited me, my other sister and my mother along to learn too.
I kind of thought we were just going for an hour or so to get a general idea of what rug hooking was. Nope. We were there for the day, we each got our own rug hooking supplies, complete with rug backing (which is linen), wool and hook.
These are hookers.
Rug hooking is probably the easiest craft I’ve ever tried. I’m not saying it’s easy to excel at, but in terms of technique, you can learn everything you need to know to get started in a couple of hours.
You get a piece of linen the size of the rug you want to make (start with something small like a kitchen mat) and draw a pattern onto it. You can get countless rug hooking patterns and kits from Etsy or you can design your own pattern.
Where skill and practice comes in, is when you get into shading and picking out colours and creating interesting textures and patterns with your wool.
Oh yes. It’s all done with 100% wool. This only became popular in the 1900’s, the idea of using wool. Before that, it was a matter of using what you had laying around.
Using wool means the rug will be durable just about forever and you can wash it.
And you’ll spend an insane amount of money and time trying to find the perfect wool.
Wools can either be solid colour, tweeds, hand dyed, dip dyed, or over dyed.
This is what my kitchen looked like a mere 5 hours after learning how to rug hook. Honestly. 5 hours before this I didn’t even really know what rug hooking was.
So how did this happen? It was a pusher.
This is how they do it. You go for a class from a nice, friendly lady who doesn’t seem to want anything in return. She gives you everything you need to get started and shows you how to do it for free. Or for a very low fee. And then … you’re in. You’re hooked.
This of course is not unlike what a skilled drug pusher does.
If you look closely at this photo, which was taken about an hour after I got home from my class, you’ll notice 2 things.
- I’ve completely pushed all the ingredients for the peanut butter cookies I was going to make out of the way, to make room for the more important thing in my life now, rug hooking.
- I’m a happy hooker. Look at all those bright, fun colours.
By day 3 I hadn’t left my living room, or as I like to call it now, my hooking den.
After seeing a wool stand that Pink Tool Belt made out of scraps of wood, I ran to my cupboard to pull out my pasta drying rack. Perfect wool holder.
Something else you might be noticing right about now is that my pictures are crap. I became so enamoured with rug hooking that I couldn’t be bothered to drag out my real camera, or set up lights or even really focus my iPhone camera.
It was a struggle to convince myself bathing was a necessity of life.
Because I wasn’t entirely sure what I was doing or even what this class was going to be I didn’t really put a lot of thing into what I was going to hook, so I decided to just to a sort of rag rug look with all kinds of colours. It’ll go in front of my sink in the kitchen and will be the one and only thing with colour in the room.
Now, of course that I’ve become addicted, I’ve had some time to browse around the Internet and find out a bit more about rug hooking and the different styles.
It all began with primitive rug hooking and that’s the classic look.
1963, $1,750
1940 (this rug is TERRIFYING to me)
1900, $6,500
Now, I love all the antique and primitive rugs, but I think my first real rug (one that has an actual picture in it) will be like these slightly, slightly contemporary versions from rug hooker Joanna Close. They’re heavier on the realism than the folk art.
I have no idea how this happened or why, but I’ve just added yet another hobby to my repertoire of things I don’t have time to do. At least these rugs won’t die if I don’t have time to pay attention to them, which would not be the case with bees.
The only thing that’s stopping me from really getting into this is the cost of the “cutter”. There are 2 ways to get wool for your rug hooking. You can either buy the wool pre-cut and ready to go in any colour you want (which is really expensive). Or you can buy the wool pre-dyed but not cut (which is still expensive) or you can go to thrift stores and find old wool skirts, jackets and blankets, wash it, dye it if you want, then cut the wool into strips yourself. This is the cheapest way to go but there’s a bit initial cost in the machine that cuts the wool.
You could cut the wool strips by hand, but get real. How would I have time for my other hobby of dressing my chickens like 1970’s sitcom characters if I did that?
The most popular cutter because of its general indestructibleness, speed and ease of use is the Bee Line Townsend wool cutter. It’s about $1,000 with tax.
Or, there’s the Canadian made Bolivar which is based on the same design as the Bee Line but it’s less money. I’d be happy with either. I’d actually really like to try the Boliver because it’s Canadian made and less expensive.
I know it isn’t right for me to ask you to support a habit but like any good addict I don’t care what you think, or what anyone thinks. Or that I have gum in my hair.
What I do care about is getting my hooker fix without having to completely blow a wad.
Oh my Goodness! You are too funny! I know the feeling well. The same thing happened to me with making interactive scrapbbook/photo albums. Now I just want to make them all the time in lieu of my other hobbies of crocheting, sewing and making jewelry!
Niiiice hooking! The variety of beautiful wool colours alone has soothed my soul. And I am especially fond of Betty’s roots. Nary a sign of grey to be seen!
I visited Cheticamp, Nova Scotia on vacation. One of our stops was Les Trois Pignons: Museum of the Hooked Rug and Home Life on the Cabot Trail. They have beautiful hooked rugs on display. It is well worth a visit for any hooker (and non-hooker). The rug designs were amazing; an inspiration to all. Enjoy the craft/obsession.
Karen, the Queen of Delicious Double-Entendre! Thankfully I’m laughing too hard to drive to the nearest hooker duly shop, or I, too, would surely fall victim to this obviously highly addictive pastime! Thanks for the hooker humor!
OMG that clown is nightmarish!
My mother hooked, and she painstakingly made a design that I off-handedly admired for me. It was for my dorm room. That allowed cats. And mine crapped on it… badly.
Never got the courage up to tell here what happened!
Fabulous! I love new skills and new projects. It is so energizing.
I would not want to buy a new cutter… have you thought of renting one? Maybe you could work out sharing one with someone? Maybe someone who has one will let you use it occasionally for a small fee?
Just some thoughts!
I crown you punster for 2016!!! I am still doubled over at your wit (and candor). Hook away crazy lady.
I’m guessing that you no longer have any wool skirts in your closet and that, instead they are lying on your counters looking much like wool fettuccine.
The eggs in a basket are still gorgeous! Stealing the picture show, gorgeous. But I’m shocked that you didn’t do a cleaver for next to your bed!
This sounds like my obsession with needlepoint. The cost of the ‘raw’ materials is getting to be out of this world! All I want to do is needlepoint but I have to work to support my habit.
How about sharing the cost of the cutter with your sisters and mom??
That was the plan, but we all realized we’d all be the one to want to keep it at our house, lol. My sister Pink Tool Belt has already bought a Beeline Townsend cutter. I’d like to buy my own. We’re the ones who are probably going to delve the deepest into this anyway, so we’ll share with my mom and other sister. ~ karen!
Wonder if you could design some kind of jig to make use of an existing table saw (yikes did I just suggest that?) or maybe a band saw? Assuming you have one . . . hmmmm. Oh heck how’s about a hand held circular saw, you gotta have one of them puppies! On the other hand, maybe not. Don’t want to hear about it on the evening news. Forget I said anything.
J in W,
OMG…you are just joking about the circular and band saw cutting of cloth…. please!?!
I’ve seen and heard of the disaster of cloth getting caught in a power saw.
As they say “Don’t do this at home”
Hah! “Don’t do this at home”? Where’s the fun in that?! My fella is a skilled furniture maker so I am well aware of the potential for blood and tears. Hence the “forget I said anything”. ?
Can’t wait to see your finished rug! You have peaked my interest!!! I’m guessing this is a fairly expensive addiction/hobby and probably not for those with measly paychecks. Great post!
Not at all Melissa. Spending more money just means things go faster/easier. So instead of buying the $500 cutter you use a rotary wheel and mat. Instead of buying your wool predyed and/or cut, you buy wool clothing from second hand stores and do it yourself. It can be as expensive or inexpensive as you want. A lot of people go in between and invest in the cutter, but only buy second hand clothing for their wool. ~ karen!
Don’t forget you can also use YARNS! If you do back of chair/sofa rugs, wall hangings, pillows, chair mats, etc. then yarns of all kinds will work fine. Wool yarns also work in floor rugs. Keep an open mind as to what you can use in a “hooked rug” because the list of projects is endless, as are the option for materials, which don’t necessarily have to go on the floor.
Loved your rug Hooking article. You have explained all the wonderful feelings we hookers get while creating and sharing with lots of new friends. I started two years ago and now totally “hooked”. Heading to Port Charlotte Convention Center in Florida to the Hookin. Can’t wait. Thank you!
Fabulous, funny post..you really got into it!
Hooked pieces are beautiful..how fun you went with your mom too..I’m going to paint night next Monday w/ my 2 daughters..thankfully I have paints and canvases..so I may not be running out to get more..
the peanut butter cookies made me laugh..and bathing….I love a great hobby.
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while and this is the first time I’ve been compelled to write. I want to be a hooker! I’m starting my wool collection today!
Thanks for the lovely source of enjoyment.
I don’t think I have the patience to do it. However, my dad has said that my grandma was a great hooker.
I’m not interested in being a hooker at all but of course I had to go look up the cutter. The Bee Line has a website, http://beelinearttools.com/products and has way too many options for the cutter heads.
I did notice that they are made in Bettendorf, IA and will rebuild older units if you happen to find one.
I always knew that you rocked! I became a hooker about 2 years ago. Never looked back. I am seriously impressed with the total destruction of your home. Most people only achieve this after many years. Over achievers…
I purchased a Bliss cutter on ebay. Try looking there. For wool fabric…Salvation Army. Wash, dry, cut. Nova Scotia has a proliferation of seriously great rug hooking stores…Deanne Fitzpatrick and Encompassing Designs for another.
I did a portrait of my chocolate Lab…in purple. Go for it. Worse case scenario…you have a weird wool rug. 🙂
Welcome to the dark side! (insert evil laugh) Addicting? you betcha – I’ve been hooking for 44 years now, am at a hook in here in Florida as I write this, and have no intention of stopping till they close my coffin lid. You’ll love it!
“How would I have time for my other hobby of dressing my chickens like 1970’s sitcom characters if I did that?”
That’s the best comedic line I’ve ever heard a hooker say.
A dirty hooker, at that.
Please bathe. A clean hooker is a happy hooker.
P.S – The subject matter/design for your next rug could be Cheez Whiz dressed as Mary Tyler Moore. Or Fonzie. Radar O’Reilly?
I’m a hooker, and let me tell ya, hookin’ ain’t easy, BUT it’s fun on many levels and the results are totally worth it. To save money (because it can be expensive), I use repurposed blankets, garments and fabric remnants. I always recommend that newbies go the traditional route to learn the basics and see where they want to take it. To see the direction I have gone, feel free to visit my Instagram page. I’m also on Facebook and Pinterest.
LOVE your pillows Lynda. Makes so much sense to make pillows. Faster, less bulky, fun! Great designs ~ karen!
Following! (But I still haven’t found that type of frame online yet. Pinterest has failed me)
And here I thought I was going to find out if I had the required aptitude for a back up career I could do on my back.
Love your colorful rug. Pleasantly surprised you didn’t go with black and white. I guess a pasta cutter wouldn’t work (even though those strips of wool look like so much beautifully died fettucini to me)?
Happy for you, Karen. I admit, my hopes were up when you said ‘hooking,’ thinking yout meant crochet, but you are making art! Wonderful! Please, don’t forget the chickens. 🙂 Happy crafting!
Karen, you have crossed over to the dark side! LOL
As a long time hooker I am thrilled you discovered this North American pioneer craft which today is considered fibre art. Our fore mothers hooked out of necessity but today we honour their tradition when we hook and create beautiful pieces of art for floors, walls, cushions, mug mats, 3 D items, the list goes on and on. My Australian rug hooking friends use any material that doesn’t fray so they will cut up tee shirts, jogging outfits, anything that has the colour they want. They use scissors or a rotary cutter to cut the fabric. To find a rug hooking teacher in Ontario check out The Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. It is also celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To me rug hooking is like yoga, pulling those loops is very soothing for the mind. Oh yes, check out Deanne Fitzpatrick and also Encompassing Designs for patterns, kits, etc. And Face Book has a lot of rug hooking groups. And check out pinterest for ideas too! Sorry, I’m rambling about my fantastic passion. In fact I’m heading off to a two-day hook-in today in Punta Gorda, Florida. We hookers like to congregate as well!
Hey Susan,
You hooking with Julie and Chris????? They are simply the best. (Searsport Rug Hooking) They have talent in their little toes!!!!! And since Julie is always barefoot……..you know what I mean. Two of the best.
Have fun.
I will tell Julie and Chris about your comment! They are the best and have organized this wonderful hook-in. Karen’s post has generated a lot of comments on the Wild with Wool Group on Face Book. We rug hookers love it when others find out about our wonderful world of hooking!!
What Susan didn’t mention is that she is a fantastic hooker and well renowned for her work. I, too, am a proud hooker, as all hookers are. And yes, the hooker jokes abound whenever hookers are together! Karen, you’ve opened a can of worms, and if you know that your wool strips are called worms, then you understand the double entendre there!
As Susan has said, there are lots of resources for hooking supplies, patterns, groups, and inspiration. A few of your readers are clearly hookers, so you need only ask if you want any more info. A used cutter, well, you may be waiting a while but they do occasionally pop up on Ebay, Kijiji, etc. Probably better to ask your teacher to keep her ears open for anyone wanting to sell one.
I just found your site and was amused and intrigued with all your projects. Now you’re adding hooking! You know that hooking can become a disease and the only cure is drowning yourself in WOOL! . I got a real chuckle reading your post and many of the comments. I could relate easily! About cutters. Check eBay and rug hooking Guilds for sales. There’s also a Rug Hooker’s Magazine. I have the Townsend and it’s the best cutter I’ve owned by far. Buy the basic cutter and the one cutter head that cuts the size/s you think you like best and leave the others for later. You’re hooked now! I look forward to seeing your new hobby blossom and reading about it!
Oh I could really get into this hooking thing
Love this! Do you know of any good online tutorials?
Could you cut the wool with a rotary cutter and quilting ruler?
For a really great tutorial, go to Deanne Fitzpatrick’s website. She offers a downloadable 45 minute lesson. $9.95 best money you will spend.
you can cut with a rotary cutter…it just takes longer.
I am a second generation stripper and hooker ( the wonderful gadget that cuts wool is called a stripper). I use only 100% recycled wool. There are guilds and hooking groups all over, and wonderful books, too. Check out Barb Caroll , Edith O’Neill, and the Rug Hooking Facebook group for primitive patterns and ideas. Keep true to the history by using wool ! happy hooking!
Ha ha – hookin’ an stripin’ – and doin’ a little thingin’ … KAREN … come out come out where ever you are … you’ve left all your little woollies wondering where you went – ha ha – we know where though – haha
How ironic that a creative activity designed to fill the long cold hours of winter when the garden couldn’t be tended to and using worn out clothing to create something useful and beautiful is so expensive. My grandmother was a hooker. Her rugs were treasures, just like her quilts, that we fought over more than money when she passed. They tell a family story and warm our feet. This technique makes beautiful covers for footstools too!
Thanks for this idea Karen, I think this would be a great classroom activity with a little more success for elementary students than quilting. Getting little hands to make tiny quilting stitches is just ridiculous. Hooking uses more thumb action than quilting (I think), which my students would excel at, if you know what I mean.
Your first rug already looks gorgeous! I am a relatively new hooker too and I use a rotary cutter, self healing mat and ruler to cut my strips, so now I am also a stripper. Your write up expressed everything I felt when I was first exposed to the craft too. Your pasta rack is a perfect idea and I am so looking forward to seeing your completeted rug!
These rugs are so beautiful. The first one with the flowers is so stunning. I would actually frame it, not use it as a rug, otherwise within a couple of days the furry babies would make it theirs and all that stunning hard work would become a fur ball.
Hi Karen
I am a ‘happy hooker’ too – only I make my own shaggy rugs.
Dead simple to do.
1. Crochet a base out of string. Nothing fancy – just need loops and gaps!
2. Cut yarn into lengths that can be folded over.
3. Using a (very inexpensive) latched crochet hook pull the yarn through the gap in the crochet base and then through the loop.
4. If you want a super dooper design – just draw your design and colour onto your crochet base and change colours when you get there.
5. Mow your rug down to the suitable height when you get there.
6. No need for fancy yarns – just use common acrylic yarn.
Have fun!
Thank you for this idea!
My friend buys silk, usually old curtains, at the clearance Goodwill where fabric is sold by the pound. Silk is very light so she gets yards and yards for almost nothing. After tearing them into lots of strips, she latch hooks the most beautiful silk rugs ever. Sigh. I’m to lazy. I throw pots and tear out walls instead.
Dream on Karen! As a matter of fact I was just looking for a cutter today on Kijiji! It’s not often they come up for sale. That hasn’t stopped me from stockpiling all of my wool suits from when I had a career. A friend of mine who grew up on the East coast got me started on this dream of being a hooker. She started when she left her job and on visits home she has taken classes from some true artists. Wool cutters come up for sale about as frequently as glass grinders for stained glass. Anyone have either item for sale? I could trade you for a smocking pleater! Ummm, no, I couldn’t part with that either.
Dear Karen,
Where oh where did you take this class?
Also I totally know that insane feeling of a craft taking over your life. It’s kind of exhilarating.
Love the post. I haven’t tried it yet but fear it would turn into an obsession for me like it has for you.
The cutting tool is pretty cool but, for a fraction of the cost, you could get a cutting mat, rotary cutter and quilting ruler (probably for less than $100). Cutting the strips would actually go pretty quick, unless you slice your fingertip off and have to go to the ER. That would also drive the cost way past $100–oh, forgot for a minute that you’re Canadian where you can afford to slice your fingertip off!
Bambi
Cutting wool with a rotary cutter is still quite difficult. I have tried to do it and I would not bother. Either buying a used cutter like Karen would love to, or sharing, or borrowing one is something I bet you could do.
I love the look of the modern contemporary funky rug you are working on Karen. Love it enough to consider a new hobby. Oh wait….stained glass comes first.
I’ve never found it difficult to use for cutting wool for my quilt appliques and those are often curvy, fussy pieces. Wool is certainly not as thin as quilting cottons so more pressure and fresh blades are a must. But, new gadgets are always fun and if it were me and the funds were available, I would go for the wool cutter!
Bambi
I’ve been successfully resisting hooking since 2009, when I saw a booth at a fiber fair. There’s something very soothing about those loops of rough wool, lined up, all the same height (ish)
It kills me, because I volunteer at 2 different fiber fairs, in the spring & fall, & those really nice, helpful ladies, who are only 2 towns away, are always willing to chat. ..
But I’d really like more info on those stands! They look a lot different than the ones I usually see, & a lot easier to replicate!
Gah, I have thought about (rug) hooking for years!! My grandmother got her daughters and granddaughters into (rug) hooking and I still remember watching my sister (rug) hook in the 1980s. I remember the (rug) hooking to be scratchy and smelly, but maybe we were just (rug) hooking wrong?
My grandmother taught me and my sibs how to hook when we were kids, but it was latch-hooking. That method made you a cheaper hooker, since you didn’t need a $1,000 machine (gak!).
Yes! I was trying to remember what that was called! I too was a cheap hooker as a kid. You get all the insanity of the addiction but none of the payoff since you end up with a synthetic, tragic looking pile of yarn you’d cross the street to avoid stepping on.
Ack! Yes! I remember well the latch-hook picture of a bee I worked on in juniour high. Literally zero payoff.
Karen’s hooking technique is a thing of beauty and class!
I was just thinking that this sounds like a much lovelier version of latchhooking. I suppose our 80s craft was actually a cheap knockoff of the original rug hooking? This is beautiful, though.
I did a little latch-hooking as a kid (I made a Snoopy rug and a Miss Piggy pillow- her eyelashes were longer than the rest of the yarn, for an extra bit of realism 🙂 ), and I enjoyed it, but that rough backing caused me to rub all the skin off my knuckles. I probably held the hook wrong.
Also, I just wanted to mention that bees won’t die if you ignore them; in fact, they like it better that way (this is spoken from my vast experience of a 1-year beekeeping veteran who bothered them too much the first couple of months).
Yes, I was totally into latch-hooking in the ’70’s. I did a very un-lovely owl rug using those crappy little pieces of acrylic yarn. Real hooked rugs look so much nicer! I’ve drooled over some of the vintage ones on ebay, but can’t bring myself to blow a wad (as Karen so aptly puts it) on one. And taking up hooking as a hobby seems pretty pricey, too.
This is hilarious, the best part is Karen is not replying…..she is busy! Can’t wait to see the finished rug.
Ha! I noticed that too. Not a peep out of her… She’s hooking away!
haha I noticed this too!
Fourth generation hooker here. Love designing my own rugs. Dyeing my wool… And the mindless, but so not mindless craft/art.
Both my grandmothers would hook rugs and a weave technique over a stretched rack. I have a few of them as family heirlooms. One has two crossed baseball bats and a ball glove with a baseball in it. Given to me for my 10th birthday, 56 years ago.
Yes…I’m ancient…. but still stayin’ vertical!!!
U. R. NOT. Ancient! Apparently, after seeing the 106 year old visitor to the White House, only 115 is ancient. Can you think back 49 years, then imagine going another umm, 49 years? Daunting isn’t it? Even 30 years is too hard to imagine.
I love reminiscing of the day the first TV came into my family home, mid 1950s. Three (3) channels. B&W. All signed off at 10:30 pm.
Yep, the good ol’ days!!!
What will TV be in another 49 years?
Karen,
You totally crack me up. You have described what it is like, to be a hooker, perfectly.
I started hooking in 1992 and it is just the best hobby.
We recently moved from FL to MO and my biggest house requirement, was that it have a huge area for my wool. Alas, I have this huge finished basement!!!
Hooking is a marvelous craft. Keep at it. Get you some stripes and plaids and hooking really becomes fun!!!!
Oh, forgot to add……..you know there are hooking camps, right? ?
Hook on, girlfriend!!!!
It..it looks like fun…have to… try… hooking…AAAAAHHHHHH!!!
Karen! The things you do to your loyal readers!!!
I started thinking, “Second hand shops for fabric to use; no problem! Backing, hmm…I could find something.” No! Just stop right now!
no.
I took a rug hooking class through Edmonton’s Metro Education in November. Husband recently offered to move out of the house to make room for craft supplies. I convinced him to stay, arguing that if I was going to quit my job to hook, bead and scrapbook, I’d really need his income.
Kelly you made me laugh. Your husband sounds like a keeper.
My husband laughed, as only a man whose wife has filled all available space with wool. A cheaper way of cutting strips is to get a cutting mat, rotary cutter and ruler.
Hahahahaha!
I sure can relate. I started making quilts in November and then I started noticing upcycled clothing on Pinterest and then someone gave me 3 trash bags full of clothing. I do not cook do not do dishes, it has taken over 4 rooms and I am freaking hooked and driven. My accelerator is stuck on full throttle!!
You are very blessed that you know how to sew. I think there is such a sense of satisfaction, when you wear something that you have made on your own. Or sleep under a blanket that was given to you, or you gave someone else. There is nothing better than something hand made with love.
I’m a garment sewer and have been for longer than I care to admit. I suggested doing a program on upcycling for our sewing guild. My suggestion meant I had to lead the meeting. I jumped in with both feet full speed ahead and I am hooked! For the program I did all sorts of things so it’d appeal to both garment sewers and quilters but the thing I had the most fun with is men’s shirt upcycles. I have a notebook full of sketches from ideas that keep popping up in my head. If my husband see’s me bring in another thrifted men’s shirt he’s liable to threaten to divorce me!
I fabricated slipcovers and window treatments for a living and I have never been more enthused about sewing. It’s very free-ing. Have also been asked to teach classes. Happily I have no husband so there is nothing stopping me. Have fun!!
Shoot! Now I want to to it too and you didn’t even give instructions on how to do it! As if I didn’t have enough that I already taking up space that I already don’t do…what you did describe sounded intoxicating. Watch it Lady, I may have to ban you for my own good.
Oh god, you’ve pushed me even closer towards being a hooker! I commented on your insta about this, and I’m so psyched you did a write up! I just learned how to needlepoint (turns out it’s 50% of the cross stitching I’ve done since I was six, so less learning, more realizing “I already know how to do this!”)so now I need something *learn*. This seems cheaper than my current plan to buy a letterpress and multiple drawers of type, so hooker it is!