Category Archives: Fiber Musings

Making Flowers with Nan at Sauder

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Nan Loncharich's how-to book

 
 
This book is published by Stackpole Books and includes great directions for a wide variety of fabric flower pins. The photographs of completed works inspire the reader to get the materials and begin. Nan signed books and demonstrated at the Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week.
 She includes our ArtWools in many of the creations and has a blog at fancywoolflowers.blogspot.com.  Visit her site to order the book. You can also go to the Westmoreland Museum Gift Shop in Greensburg, PA and purchase a special flower for friends or yourself. 
 
 

Loncharich flower using Susan Feller ArtWools

            This gem is made exclusively with our wools and a great button to anchor the petals.

Trip Memories in Fiber

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When there is not too much time to hook… but you need to record a memory, make a 5 inch square.  The following are vignettes of three great destinations where I have taught this summer.

Pacific Ocean, Central Michigan Sand Dunes, Prince Edward County, Ontario

Waves crashing on the black sand

  

 The Cambria Pines Rug Hooking Schoolwas site of my Pacific Ocean experience.  Thanks to Gene Shepherd this East Coaster has stepped into the cold, Pacific.

 
 
 
 
 
 
   

Vivid memory of Sand Dunes Lake Michigan

  Central Michigan is bordered on the left by Lake Michigan, there are giant sand dunes on the coast and inland they are covered with trees and grasses, hidden monsters.  This scene was during the Manistee Rug Hooking School in late June.

Square Bales in Ontario

While teaching at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario I travelled to Prince Edward County several times.  One visit caught their technique of stacking the square bales of hay into small pyramids prior to pick up.  Went back three days later and the field was empty.  Goes to show you, carry your camera and a journal to catch memories.

Retreat report

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Gathered at the Falls

Wonderful new friends, great outdoors and many steps along our fiber journey are some of the memories we took away from the RETREAT INTO THE MOUNTAINS 2011 at Peterkin Camp and Conference Center. 

Texture, Shapes, Form

 The design sessions were very rewarding.  Many of the 5 inch squares were completed by Sunday afternoon.  Plans are for the 5th RETREAT to be held on April 13-15, 2012.  Registration material available soon, contact Susan for a copy at rugs2wv@yahoo.com.   Sure to fill up quickly.

Results from one of the Dye Sessions with Jim

Four participants worked with Jim Lilly in the Dye Studio and created wonderful ARTWOOLS.

Entry accepted in WV Juried Exhibition

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Just received notice that “Winter in West Virginia” was accepted in the  Inspired: A West Virginia Series of Juried Exhibitions Historic Buildings.  The opening ceremony was on January 24, 2011 at the WV Culture Center, 1900 Kanawha Blvd, E. Charleston, WV.  Show up through July 25.

Yes that is the Capitol of West Virginia!  Visit www.wvculture.org, exhibits for details about hours of the Commissioner’s gallery.

Winter in West Virginia, Susan L. Feller

This piece was one of the 6 works reviewed by jurors for TAMARACK for the category FINE CRAFT.  It was created in 2009 for a travelling exhibit titled STRIPES.  The artists from Japan and the United States each interpreted that word using some type of rughooking.  I happily packed my work up and sent it off today, for one more leg of its journey.  Japan, NJ, IN and now Charleston, WV.  It is for sale, but I do hope to see its return at the end of the show, since the inspiration is a view right out our kitchen looking towards Short Mountain.

Studio Tour in Hampshire County WV

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The third Hampshire Highlands Studio Tour is over and was another fun way to meet neighbors, travelers and fellow artisans.  Although it was cold and very windy the snow we had last year held off allowing travellers to get to all 15 studios. 

From the reports by the artists we are going to put together a fourth tour.  Put the first weekend in December on your calendar and visit www.HampshireHighlandsStudioTour.com throughout the year to see who is added.  We plan to work with the lodging in our county to come up with great packages including tour a day, dinner in Romney, an art event (theatre or concert) at the Bottling Works and lodging in town.  This will allow out-of-towners who enjoy meeting artists to visit all of the studios and enjoy our other cultural benefits.

FINE CRAFT artist at TAMARACK

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Finally!  It took a year but on November 6, 2010 Jim and I travelled 5 hours to Beckley, WV to the afternoon session of jurying at TAMARACK-“the Best of West Virginia” and by 4:30 we got the good news: I was accepted for work in FINE CRAFT.  Six pieces were reviewed for technique, materials, design and I received a perfect score from the jurors. 

Rainbow of Trees by Susan L. Feller

This means that rughooking will be represented in upcoming gallery shows at TAMARACK.  I am proud to represent this craftform to an audience geared toward seeing craft at its finest..as ART.  The extra work I put into finishing the backs of the stretched pieces, and overall presentation added to the value and worth of the textiles.  One fine artist when I showed her my stitched cloth backing,  said “That looks professional.”  I will share these tips with rughookers in upcoming workshops and to anyone who inquires here.

Designing Challenges in Indiana

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Bev and Susan

The  last week of October took me out to Indiana, and Bev Stewart’s Whispering Pines Designs in Clayton.  Bev coordinated two wonderful classes filled with talent and eager people. In three day sessions they worked through the Basic Elements and Principles of Design.  The classes included three generations of fiber artists, and another mother, daughter pair along with people who were pulling their first 1000 loops to those who had spent thousands of hours enjoying wool.    

Bev and the locals coordinate a very successful hook-in the second Saturday of September, bringing in a wide variety of vendors and over 300 eager rugmakers.  The efforts of this organizing group validates the passions thousands have for pulling loops through backing whether the fabric is wool strips, yarns or plastic bags.

The wonderful Arts and Crafts home of Jim and Bev Stewart welcomed me along with its inhabitants.  Jim was “treated” each morning to a bowl of oatmeal I had prepared and the animals seemed to enjoy another person around. 

Kit Cat in Studio at Bev Stewart's

I will be back in May of 2012 to teach two more workshops. Interested students should contact Bev ..at Whispering Pines Designs 6583 S CR 400 E, Clayton, IN 46118 or see Calendar under About Susan Feller

Mountain State Fiber Artists Meet on Farm

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October 16th dawned a beautiful FALL day. 

MSFA meeting Fall 2010

By noon 22 members and guests of the Mountain State Fiber Artists had arrived at Ruckman Mill Farm.  They unloaded with desserts and salads (note the desserts were listed first, and were the most in both categories contributed).  And also brought along finished hooked , needle work and quilted, items which were displayed on the front porch during our show and tell. 

Leaf Peeping Season by Susan Feller

  We have accepted the ATHA challenge to make  a 9 x 12 mat inspired by the color RED.  Completed pieces will be shown at the Morgan County Fair next August and then contributed by members to the ATHA Bi-Ennial in Lancaster, PA October 19-22 to benefit the Education Committee.

Faces and Friends

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The newest batch of R.A.M.P.S jewelry has been received at TAMARACK, the Best of West Virginia in Beckley, WV.  Included are a variety of friendly faces, all hooked with wool strips of fabric through a woven backing and finished off with wool fabric and a pin back. 

Face Pins hooked by Susan L. Feller

These join the hooked mats and small rugs which were juried in last November and have been selling very well.  Another batch will arrive by early November, please stop on your journey through the southern part of West Virginia along I64 and I79 just outside of Beckley, WV.

Hooked on the River

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A retreat should slow the participants lifestyles down to just the focus of their work.  The Hooked on the River retreat does just that. 
New and old friends gathered along the Shenandoah River for three days creating fiber art, sharing words of wisdom, laughter and praise.  The core of this group is members of the Old Dominion Chapter of Pearl McGown Rugcrafters others from the region join in to make the 22 attendees.