Category Archives: hooked rugs

My muse …. nature

I gather nature – preserving the pieces for a while longer.
I use nature as the skeleton for my work.
I am nature and my actions reflect its energy.

: Blackberry patch

: with green behind, leaves pronounced

: Different color, no texture

I noticed when the green leaves are behind the mahogany ones we can see them better.

: Stuffed and embroidered

: Blackberry leaves 10-23

These leaves were not pressed and I decided to give my piece dimension stuffing two leaves and using yarns to define the veins.

finished with inspiration

After working the design I painted the linen. Best lesson here is paint surface FIRST then develop the motifs.

The year study lead me to reconsider how to approach each work. In rughooking the details are completed first, working out to background. But as noted in this square the surface needed to be painted before building up the leaves. I just have to remember to consider how before doing.

A Leaf Falls

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One day in high school English class Mrs. Bowen assigned us an EE Cummings poem. Minutes went by as I stared at the letters and then….. I read it!

Decades later I honored this experience with “A Leaf Falls”.

Welcome to my favorite season.

: EE Cummings

: A Leaf Falls, Susan L Feller

The design evolved from a sketch of migrating birds gathering seeds outside of our home one October day. The Carolina Wren’s tiny body with tail sticking up and beak down looked like a leaf. Gathering yellows and muted gold wools, I organically filled in defined shapes keeping three openings for my leaves. Two leaf shapes are stuffed and stitched onto the linen backing. Their veins and stems are copper wire anchored by gold threads. The third is partially stuffed but its edge flutters because of a layer of iron-on interfacing with wire inserted between two pieces of wool and bent to shape.

I sent off a card with the image and poem as a thank you note to Mrs. Bowen and received a lovely note back. It felt nice to have been able to send my appreciation after all these years.

: Beginning of hooking

: leaf shapes identified

: leaves cutout

: stuffed leaf with wire

: fluttering leaf edge

: A Leaf Falls, Susan L Feller

The finish makes the piece

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Attending the 20th Annual Rug Hooking Week at Sauder Village I studied the 700+ works looking for different, effective finishing techniques.

The border of a rug design, fringe on an oriental pattern, embroidered fabric edge on a primitive composition all enhanced the time-consuming handwork rughooking entails. Here are some highlights. I realize my focus was on the details and not capturing the completed image for comparison……all the better for inspiration I hope.

: Barbara Branch used flexible piping on a SteamPunk piece

: Kathy Gaul, Meetinghouse Hill Designs manipulates fabric

: Paty Parish Pitts applied hooked words on stretched fabric surface

: Sandra Hall applied “double linen” thick fringe

: Sandra Hall added embroidery stitching to fabric wrap edge

: Marsha Hockaday mounted work on fabric with an accent line

The purpose of a “frame” is to enhance the subject and introduce it to the environment. These techniques completed each design, emphasizing the style (steam punk), drawing attention to the subject (bulky natural linen fringe on colonial design), providing interest (the rippled tail of eagle by Meetinghouse Hill Design).

Learn to select the right finishing technique and your work will rise beyond completed. See Finishing Hooked Rugs for step-by-step lessons from experts and select the right technique so your work will be more than just done.

by Rug Hooking Magazine

Inspiration explored 50 years later

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Blanche McDonald, Letter Gap, WV circa 1965 with mixed media footstool

In a five year research project gathering personal background about Otha and Blanche McDonald from Letter Gap, WV I have been inspired by their textile work. Incorporating collage, embroidery, trapunto and stitching the ladies work embodies traditions, make-do, and balanced composition = art. This post will describe my approach to making a footstool as they did in the 1960’s.

seven cans for the base of footstool

Materials needed: seven same sized empty cans (I used one pound coffee cans)
batting used in quilting
fabric to wrap the circumference of cans assembled into circle
embroidery threads your choice of colors
variety of heavy weight fabrics or upholstery fabric sample
fabric strips to hook (usually wool but your choice)
foundation backing open weave for hooking and stitching
needles, hook, scissors
mat board cut the shape of circle (two pieces)

Tape the cans together, six around one in center. Trace this shape on paper and use as template for pattern. Draw onto backing and gather your fabrics, threads, tools. This is the time to play. The McDonald Sisters’ compositions all conjure up gardens and nature. They collaged scraps of velvet, brocades and drapery fabric common in the 1960’s in central West Virginia and any rural community in the United States. The shapes were defined with yarns unevenly anchoring the edges of each petal or stem. Some other materials used to embellish were unraveled copper threads from a Brillo pad which have tarnished over the years but still have a twinkle hint of metal.

top of footstool in private collection

I do not want to replicate their designs for a couple of reasons. One the copyright has not expired, the ladies passed away in 1975 and 1976. Two as an artist I prefer to react and respond. Using a supply of discontinued samples of upholstery fabric acquired from Dillon’s Furniture in Romney (eliminating their dumping them into the landfill), cutting up and rearranging the pieces into a pleasing composition then filling in the spaces with hooked wool fabric and stuffing some of the fabric shapes this footstool cover evolved.

: upholstery sample for footstool

: shapes outlined on monkscloth for hooking areas

: hooked, applique’, embroidery

: embellished wool wrapped cans with top attached

Piecing three colors of wool to wrap the cans, I attached the top and put on a bottom of corduroy with mat board buffering the cans and fabric. The sides were embroidered with simple flowers. I stuffed the two main flowers on the top but stitched the stems with embroidery threads anchoring them lower than the hooked loops.

This footstool will be part of an exhibit at Sauder Village August 17-20, 2016focusing on Otha and Blanche McDonald’s life and their exposure to economic opportunities thanks to President Johnson signing the Economic Opportunity Act in 1964. They and many craftspeople have been honored in exhibits, purchase awards, and sales for the past fifty years.

Susan L Feller with mixed media hassock

Fifty years later another footstool and craftsman outside of her log home… me.

Stymied with process

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I have a good design, pile of materials in a variety of values, and know the techniques I want to use why is this process not enjoyable?

Sketch of Seneca Rocks #2 Susan L Feller

I think the last two ingredients are lacking something….but what?

Check out my decision process so far: layering fabric, working trees in different values embroidered, hooked and appliquéd, embroidery of leaves and then the rocks.

: yarns for trees, needles, sketch

: applique including path

: stitching of trees, cutaway for hooked sections

: Dark and medium dark choices

: another decision value of trees

: Work at rest, light tree on left appliquéd perhaps

: stitched, applique’ details

: studio work in progress

Decided I need to set this aside and work on another project while researching skills and shopping for supplies.

Came back to the piece and kept going. By selecting the upholstery material for rocks in value and different textures the piece seemed to come together. Turned it over to my partner, Jim Lilly who created a custom frame continuing the layers of forest. Seneca Rocks #2 is complete.

: collage, embroidery, hooked, upholstery fabric, wool strips, novelty yarns

: embroidery, hooked, upholstery fabric, novelty yarns, wool fabric, variety of wood species in frame

History at Penn Dry Goods

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As one of 11 national speakers this year at Penn Dry Goods Market at the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, Pennsburg, PA my topic of rughooking was well represented in the antique dealers’ collections. The lecture presented an overview timeline of rughooking techniques from sailors using their tools to pull yarns through canvas for riggings, handsewn coverings to creations that evolved into rugs as an open weave material in burlap became available in the mid 1860’s. Here is the handout listing the resources I used to create this historical background. History of Rughooking from an Artist’s Frame

Spreading through the Maritime Provinces of Canada and New England where winters were long and wool fabric available, I mentioned the people along this journey from pattern makers, authors, collectors, teachers and the artists in every home. The talk encouraged all to think of the individuals pulling or poking fabric into designs which pleased the maker and now are purchased (or made) to decorate our own homes. This list is just the beginning referring to fine artists who use the technique of rughooking History People who used technique as art

Look at the variety of rugs, mats, framed work the dealers brought. Interested in one contact the vendor directly, see this list. I would recommend this event May 19-20, 2017 with another lineup of presenters and dealers. Exhibits in the museum are interesting anytime. Featured now is Within and Without: the Art of the Book in the Fraktur Gallery

Ani DiFazio Antiques – hooked on linen pillowcase novelty yarns early 1900’s

Rug published in Hooked Rug Treasury, by Jessie Turbayne now available

David Tuttle
sold

Gatchellville Store – Madonna hooked in PA early 1900’s

Cat Lady Antiques – Mother and children Esther, Philip probably from New England

Nailor Antiques
half of a runner, black is heart design

Neverbird Antiques – Hannah L Hale, Newburyport, MA 1845-1849 sheered yarn

Rose B. Berry

: Sandy Elliott Country Antiques – cat chair pad

: variety of mats hooked, and braided early 1900’s

Ninth Retreat Whitened

What am I learning?

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Sketches and small studies reveal patterns, address color nuances and encourage decisions.
What will be explored again, how large, using what materials, techniques, how many times?