The Executive Board met and decided to try to sell our plywood display panels — the cost of building materials being so high we might get a good price selling to someone who could use the plywood! The cost of storing the panels, the cost of the Vermont Expo building, and the declining volunteer base for assembling a big rug show led to this decision.
We’ve been asking for input on where you’d like to have a rug show, and we continue to look for appropriate venues and ideas. Please share your ideas with a board member. You’ll find all of our contact info on page 9 of the June Newsletter.
The Board met and came to the conclusion that there wasn’t time to plan a Hook In for July, and that many members were busy with vacation plans and finally getting to be with grand-children. We’ll look to schedule something in the fall.
We’re hoping your local groups are finding time and spaces to get together.
The Brattleboro Rug Social group was able to meet in our usual space for the first time last week. It was so good to be able to be in the same space together.
We still hope people are thinking about how to Hook in Public this summer, but the weather has been challenging! Maybe looking into the fall will be good for that too.
We’re not far in our 251 Challenge to Hook in Public in all 251 towns in Vermont. But please do let us know where you’ve been hooking or if you’re thinking about participating in a fair, Old Home Days, festival or other gathering. We want more people to SEE what we do and get interested in hooking or punching.
An edited version of our May workshop, via Zoom is available here for those who missed it. Thanks to Anne-Marie Littenberg for a great presentation and to Sharon O’Neill for facilitating, editing the recorded session and getting it up on our YouTube channel.
Hooking in Public in all 251 towns in Vermont. One or more members can host an outdoor hook in at a park, town green, gazebo, or other space. Share your plans on our Facebook Group, and then, on the day, take a photo with some identifying landmark. Submit photos, and town locations to barb@irislines.com for inclusion on a web page. — Our version of the 251 club.
The First of 251:
Brattleboro Rug Social will hook at the Brattleboro Commons on Tuesday, May 25th.
Mad River Hookers will hook at the Fiber Mill in Waitsfield, VT on June 11 (or 12th if it rains on the 11th)
Look at our events calendar and /or facebook page for details – On facebook these will just be posts, not “events”.
Faith Webster was our member – contributor for the March Newsletter. She will receive a selected bundle of Nancy Jewett donated wool. Congratulations, Faith!
You can be entered for the next newsletter drawing by contributing photos (with captions) or articles for our next newsletter. Deadline: May 15th. See suggestions.
The Board (including our FIVE new board members !) will meet via Zoom this Saturday to follow up on all the ideas generated at the January meeting. Bookmark this home page, and watch for new initiatives and projects.
All content for Newsletters should be sent to Barb barb@irislines.com (with GMRHG in the subject line, please!)
Newsletters for 2021 will come out early March, June, September, and December.
Deadlines are the 15th of the month before: so…. February 15, May 15, August 15, and November 15.
For each newsletter, we’ll do a random drawing from the member contributors for a great “door prize”.
Due May 15:
Please send a photo of your hooking/wool workspace, and in just one or two sentences, describe what you like about it and what you don’t, or what works and what you’d like to change about it!
OR….Send in a photo of you and your hooking, and the pets who “help” you! In just one or two sentences, tell us what you’re hooking and how your pet helps you!
OR….Have you hung or placed a rug or hooked piece that is your favorite in your home decor? Send a photo with a quick description of the rug and how you found the perfect spot for it!
Also for June 2021: Did you do some letters for our Eye Chart we were going to display at the “real” show last fall — the theme was Vision 2020, If you did, please send photos of your letters and we’ll include a page of them in the newsletter.
Due August 15:
Have you used unusual fabrics or materials in a rug or project? Netting, silk, ribbon, velvet? Send a photo of your project and just a few lines about what you tried, maybe why you tried it, and how it worked!
These Newsletter prompts were suggested by member Mary Jane Peabody. Send YOUR ideas for collaborative “articles” to barb@irislines.com.
All kinds of content are welcome — not just the suggested prompts. Please include photo of project, photo of yourself, and at least a caption, if not a paragraph or whole article.
Recently finished rugs
Works in progress
Results of a recent day of dyeing
Great new finds for your stash….. or stash busting projects…. or organizational tips!
This week’s Only in The Islands by You features the work of Champlain Islands Fiber Bee Lynn Soule of North Hero who hooked this incredible portrait of RBG in a mere three months from a painting by Florida artist Alicia Betancourt. Thank you Lynn for sharing with us all.
Ruth Bader Ginsberg
March 15, 1933 – Sept. 18, 2020
NORTH HERO – Champlain Islands Fiber Bee Lynn Soule hooked this remarkable portrait of RBG from a painting by Alicia Betancourt. Soule saw the painting at an art festival in Florida and immediately asked the artist for permission to recreate as hooked rug.
Granted permission, Soule began hooking the portrait in January of 2019. She told The Islander, “it took about three months to complete, which was quick because I was so into it.”
“It really took on a life of its own. The jewels in the crown are part of my aunt Lilyth Coates jewelry collection, sister of Joyce Chamberlain. The collar is from Jane Straiton’s grandmother and the earrings are actually lapel pins representing the Scales of Justice and Gender Equality.”
The piece will be featured in the November/December issue of Rug Hooking Magazine.
When asked what her plans are for the piece, Soule said “It is hanging in my dining room and will stay there.”
The board determined we needed to postpone the membership meeting until January. Watch this space for updates when things are finalized. We did get some folks who came forward intertested in serving on the board — so that’s good news!
Doing an online Show is a new venture for the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild and we have a lot of content for you. There are videos, essays, featured artists’ work and of course the members’ rugs themselves.
There are 3 jurors’ awards and 3 honorable mentions. We hope to return to an in-person show but we also hope this format helps get our work out there and maybe make it available to more people than ever.
Please send out the link to everyone you can think of, and share via facebook, pinterest, twitter or the platform of your choice.
The Show will be up and available for about a year.
I’m a bit swamped building the Virtual Rug Show website, but we committed to newsletters in August (done!) and November, February, and May.
Instead of a newsletter in November, we’ve just launched a Virtual Show with over 150 rugs, videos, stories, and more.
Help me out for the February issue — send stories and photos to barb@irislines.com.
The board has planned a membership business meeting for mid-January via Zoom. (postponed from December)
We sent out an email about board position openings, and have had some responses. We’re excited to submit the names for your acceptance at the mid-January meeting.
The Virtual Show is Under Construction
and will open mid-November,
and remain online for a year!
93 rugs were submitted from 58 members.
Many rug photos were accompanied by photos depicting the rug in progress, the rug artist, or the source material: photos, watercolors, etc.
Our two featured artists, Sandra Grant and Grace Collette will be videotaped in their studios, so you’ll get a sneak peek into where and how their art is created.
If you’re interested in volunteering for website testing or proofreading, please email barb@irislines.com.
Participating artists will also get a pre-launch opportunity to review their pages.
The deadline for submitting additional information or photos via email to barb was October 10th.
Join us for the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild Raffle Reception via ZOOM!
7:30 pm – 8:00 pm on Wednesday, October 7th
This night would have been our opening reception of our Hooked in the Mountains 2020 Vision Show.
Although our show was canceled, we can still gather and celebrate the friendship and fellowship that we have in the Guild. We will also be announcing the winners of our online raffle.
This is a “mask-arrayed”! Wear a fun and creative mask as you sign into our reception and we will de-mask to kick off the event.
Dress up if you want…this is a celebration!
Grab a beverage of choice for toasting the Guild and our raffle winners.
Bring a recent rug for a quick–lightning round show and tell.
The raffle closes at 7:15…so keep taking chances on your favorite items!
We look forward to forward to seeing you! You will receive the zoom link in your confirmation email.
Visit the site, buy tickets and submit them for the prize or prizes of your choice.
August 30 update: We’ve already collected $2500 from 69 individuals who have purchased 639 tickets. The raffle remains open until October 7.
Tell your friends — include the address in emails, facebook posts, etc.
Below are links to a one-sheet with all the prizes, ticket package prices etc., order slips for selling to your friends, and an ad which you can download and then send in emails to your friends.
You can also collect cash / checks from friends – but we’ll need full info from each of them. Then send slips and checks payable to GMRHG to Barb Ackemann, 101 Washington Street, Brattleboro, VT 05301 — be sure it will reach me by October 1!
The Board has decided to move forward with a different kind of Rug Show for 2020 — A virtual show that will allow us to share our recent projects, stories, and even videos about those projects.
Members only can submit one or two rugs for this virtual show. No rugs that have previously been displayed in HitM shows may be submitted, BUT rugs submitted for the virtual show MAY be re-submitted for our Physical show in 2022.
Juror Awards for Hooked in the Mountains Online Show 2020
(cash awards)
We have two gracious jurors in Susan Feller and Karen Miller. Each is a well known and fantastic fiber artist in her own right. Each has also judged for Rug Hooking Magazine’s “Celebrations”. Because they will not see your rugs in person they do need good photos to properly judge them. Do your best with that!
We are asking them to choose their 3 favorite pieces in the Show. They will not judge by category but choose their overall favorites regardless of category. I imagine agreeing on 3 will be a challenge. We have asked them to write a bit about why they chose them. That will be interesting and educational for us.
And as a first for us we will award $150 to each of the 3 winners. So send in your best and good luck!
Membership lapsed? If you need help getting renewed, please email barb@irislines.com. Janice McKnight has stepped down from Membership Chair, and in the meantime, Barb can work with the membership database.\
Rug Registration will be via an online form OPEN August 24 – September 15 — the usual questions — but with added ability to submit your main photo AND other photos of details, or the rug “in situ”, or yourself working on the rug. You’ll also be able to submit a .txt or .doc file with a longer story about your rug. You can even record a short video about the rug, or you working on the rug.
Our virtual show will be an introduction to rug hooking for some viewers — as the physical show often is. We have the opportunity to celebrate, demonstrate, and inspire a much larger audience — since no one will have to travel to Vermont, or get a hotel room, in order to see our show. Help us make it a great show!
Barb Ackemann, our Communications chair, agreed to put together the website for this Virtual Show — but only on the condition that we have great photos to work with.
Photography Service Available to Members
The board has decided to hire Anne-Marie Littenberg to do three days of photography for our members and to ensure that we have great photos needed for the online show.
Members will be able to request this photography service (provided free of charge by the guild) by emailing Jennifer Davey. A letter to all members went out Thursday July 23 — with all the details. Not a member? Join!
We are collecting names and home towns from members interested, and will schedule three Saturdays in August or September in three locations: northern, central and southern Vermont locations.
Here are the locations and dates:
South Royalton – Saturday August 22 9:30 – 2:00
Brattleboro – Saturday August 29 10 – 2:30
South Burlington – Saturday September 12 10 – 2:30
Flat work only and no larger than 4×7 feet. (Limitations are for the free photo shoot, not for the show. You’re welcome to submit excellent photos of 3-d projects and larger rugs.)
Members will be encouraged to arrange “rug-pooling” — designating a driver from a local hook in group to bring rugs in the morning and perhaps a different “designated driver” to pick up rugs at the end of the shoot.
Anne-Marie likes to photograph rugs outdoors, so we’ve chosen venues with good parking, some shade, and an indoor alternative in case of rainy weather.
Offering hand printed rug hooking patterns and supplies, Honey Bee Hive has more than 2,900 rug hooking designs, from Pearl McGown and Jane McGown Flynn, Kim Nixon, Carolyn Stich and more than 50 other artists.
Our Spring Hook-In, scheduled for April 25, 2020 is also cancelled, but REPLACED by a Virtual Hook In and Show and Tell using the web conferencing platform Zoom.
At 10:00 on Saturday April 25, members will be able to log into a Zoom meeting, sit in the comfort of their own homes, and see other members as they share recently finished projects, or their current project. Sharon O’Neill will moderate the session and call on members to share one at a time.
See Guild Events to RSVP. You’ll then get a letter with all the details for logging into the Zoom meeting.
Here’s a screen shot from our recent board meeting, to give you an idea of how this might work. There were only ten of us, so we could all fit on the screen. For the April 25 event, you’ll see one person at a time sharing their projects. And it can really be a hook in, because you can hook while you watch! Just be ready when it’s your turn to to share!
The Board of the Guild met April 15 via Zoom, and came to the decision that we should postpone Hooked in the Mountains XX to next year.
We will need to assess the status of the pandemic, and look into possibilities for 2021. We promise to keep you posted right here as decisions can be made.
When we met in June, we concluded, that to avoid competition with ATHA and TIGHR we’d postpone to late fall of 2022.
We are still looking into possibilities for other events in 2021.
UPDATE:
We will be doing an online raffle with multiple prizes, including a rug, a rug frame, and many more….
That raffle will open July 1, 2020 and winners will be picked in October.
A large group of hookers enjoyed the two-day Fall Hook in at the Stoweflake Inn in Stowe. The room was packed with enthusiasm. People from near and far shared the camaraderie of hooking. Several vendors were set up around the outside of the room. The colorful displays drew many a hooker over for a few more “must have” pieces of wool or accessories. Besides a Guild meeting run by our leader Gina and our very capable Board, we heard from two speakers and did some group sharing.
Judith Hotchkiss spoke to the group on Saturday afternoon. Judith has turned to punch rug hooking and punch needle embroidery and is currently most interested in combining punch and traditional rug hooking. She is an Oxford Certified Punch Needle Instructor as well as McGown certified to teach traditional rug hooking. She dyes all her own yarns and wool yardage and occasionally includes her own handspun wool. Judith lives and works in Deer Isle, Maine where she is constantly inspired by the colors and beauty of Downeast Maine.
Loretta Scena gave a presentation on Sunday. She shared the story of her rug hooking journey and displayed many of her creative rugs. Loretta is a McGown certified Traditional rug hooking Teacher from Long Island New York. She is a self-taught fiber artist who loves to create embellishments and ornaments using beads, yarns and scraps of fabric. She is a member of ATHA, TIGHR, and the Pearl McGown National Guild, as well as several east coast guilds. She is the past president of the Long Island Guild of rug crafting artists. She has had her work published a few themed rug hooking Books, as well as Rug Hooking Magazine. She is the curator along with Michele Micarelli of the Exploring the Tarot Rug Exhibit.
About 50 of us met April 27, 2019 at the Capital City Grange in Berlin, VT, from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.
Our presenter, Kathy Giroux, is a fiber artist who specializes in needle felting. Kathy gave a brief history of needle felting, and then focused on the process using many examples of how she uses needle felting in her art. We got a good overview of what Kathy means when she says, “I paint with fiber.”
We had two vendors for the spring hook-in in Barre/Montpelier:
Do you love rug hooking, but hate to do the finishing work on your projects? We’ll carefully hand-finish those projects for you. Mother and daughter team of second and third generation Rug Hookers with more than 25 years of experience.
The Hooked in the Mountains 2020 online Show is available to view NOW! 
A link to the 21-page August 2020 Newsletter was sent out to members on August 5. Check your email!
Members will be able to request this photography service (provided free of charge by the guild) by emailing Jennifer Davey. A letter to all members went out Thursday July 23 — with all the details. Not a member? 
The Board of the Guild met April 15 via Zoom, and came to the decision that we should postpone Hooked in the Mountains XX to next year.
Judith Hotchkiss spoke to the group on Saturday afternoon. Judith has turned to punch rug hooking and punch needle embroidery and is currently most interested in combining punch and traditional rug hooking. She is an Oxford Certified Punch Needle Instructor as well as McGown certified to teach traditional rug hooking. She dyes all her own yarns and wool yardage and occasionally includes her own handspun wool. Judith lives and works in Deer Isle, Maine where she is constantly inspired by the colors and beauty of Downeast Maine.
