Notice the new box in the sidebar about Virtual Show 2023! When this post moves down due to other “new” news, the box will remain! (On phones, the “sidebar” content is at the bottom of the page.)
This includes links to a FAQ page, which, if it doesn’t answer all of your questions, can be ammended! Send questions to barb@gmrhg.org.
Also included there is the link to Rug Registration, which will be open April 15 through August 15.
You have time to get your text and photos ready with all submissions due by September 15, but sooner is better!
Jennifer Davey has been combining felting with rug hooking techniques to create wonderful works of art.
For this workshop you’ll bring a piece of backing with ~some~ hooking already done. You’ll learn techniques of felting onto your backing material alongside your hooking.
We had just 5 people enter the drawing for the Felting and Hooking workshop, and just 2 for the Learn to Hook workshop.
The winners are: Marie LaPré Grabon for Felting and Heidi Geishecker for Learn to Hook. Congratulations!
There are still 4 spaces in the Felting and Hooking workshop and 6 spaces for Learn to Hook.
This is a terrific opportunity for members to invite their curious friends to come along, meet some other rug hookers, and take a workshop — and get hooked!
A gallery in Randolph called ART, etc. is just down the block from the Library where the new hooking group, the Randolph Ruggers meet on Wednesday mornings.
At 26 N. Main Street in Randolph, their current show includes Abstract Artist Amy Schachter and the The Randolph Ruggers. The show runs through March 26.
Yes, that’s Mary Jo Child’s rug in the poster. She’s been joining the Randolph Ruggers whenever she can.
Hours at the Gallery are Wed-Sat 10-5:00 and Sunday 11-2:00. Randolph Ruggers will demonstrate hooking at the gallery on Satruday March 11 from 10-2. NOTE: this is a date change due to snow on March 4.
802-279-5048
Contact Deb Campbell re: the meetings at the library on Wednesday mornings.
The agenda was emailed to 293 members last week, and is now available on the members’ only Newsletter page.
The meeting was held. 39 members registered but only 24 attended. Minutes and video of the Zoom session will be made available in the next week or two.
I had wanted to learn to hook a face, and thought what better person to start with than my Dad. I have many great pictures of him but decided on a picture of him as I most often saw him, in his barn frock and red plaid wool hat. I struggled with this rug but am now happy with the result.
Juror’s Honorable Mention at Hooked in the Mountains 2022
Mother nature had always been close to my heart, hence the inspiration for this rug. All that fills this rug, come from my surroundings where I live in Vermont.
2022 Judge’s Honorable Mention and Viewer’s Choice
My Kilpatrick ancestors came from County Antrim. I got to see that part of Ireland in 2005 and took the photo that inspired this hooking. I started this in a class on hooking Water and Sky but didn’t get very far. When I got back to it and actually got to hooking the water it was addictive and quick. This piece was selected for Celebration 32.
My rug honors the sheep which produce the wool for felting and rugs, and the rural landscape that supports them. Camel’s Hump and red clover added as a nod to Vermont. All wool hand-dyed. Used #3, 4, and 6 cuts. (Thanks to Karolyn Cooper of the Distant Drumlin Blog, and Hillsboro Gin & Feed for allowing me to use their photos in my design.)
2022 Juror’s Choice for Best of Show AND Viewer’s Choice.
For the 2022 Hooked in the Mountains Rug Show we had two jurors who together selected 3 Juror’s Awards and 3 Honorable Mentions. They took a long time deciding and looked closely at every single rug! And they wished they had been allowed to honor more rugs and artists.
Note: you can zoom in on whole page with your browser’s zoom commands or click image to open in new tab and then zoom on one image at a time.
Juror’s Awards
Happy to See Ewe by Mary Jo Childs
Brown Barn by Davey DeGraff
The Bridge at Cushendun by Barb Ackemann
Happy to See Ewe by Mary Jo Childs
Brown Barn by Davey DeGraff
The Bridge at Cushendun by Barb Ackemann
Juror’s Honorable Mentions
For the Love of Mother Nature by Kathy Hutchins
Playing Sea Tag by Phyllis Lawrence
Dad by Suzanna Brown
For the Love of Mother Nature by Kathy Hutchins
Playing Sea Tag by Phyllis Lawrence
Dad by Suzanna Brown
Viewer’s Choice Awards
Happy to See Ewe by Mary Jo Childs
The Greys by Sandy Ducharme
Sand, Sea, Boardwalk and Me by Nancy Thun
Beach Perspective by Judith Hotchkiss
Garden Bird Trio by Tricia Miller
Eurasian Blue Tit “Reflections” by Sandy Ducharme
Awakening by Kris McDermet
Green Mountain Tapestry by Stephanie Allen-Krauss
Perfectly Paisley by Gail Lapierre
Vermont Portraits by Jenn Davey
For the Love of Mother Nature by Kathy Hutchins
Happy to See Ewe by Mary Jo Childs
The Greys (63 Shades of Grey) – by Sandy Ducharme
Sand Sea Boardwalk and Me by Nancy Thun
Beach Perspective – by Judy Hotchkiss
Garden Bird Trio – by Tricia Miller
Eurasian Blue Tit “Reflections” – by Sandy Ducharme
Awakening – by Kris McDermet
Green Mountain Tapestry – by Stephanie Alllen-Krauss
Sample Press Release – NEW! Please email barb@gmrhg.org with names of papers / media outlets you send this to. Feel free to edit, add or delete. Adding images of local hookers and their rugs might boost local press — or not.
We’re working hard to get all the details together so we can get you as excited about a show next November as we are!
The March Newsletter should have lots more details about registering for the show and for the classes, and signup forms for volunteering to put on the show. Watch for the email on March 1 telling you the newsletter is ready to download!
Liv Aanrud is a textile artist who combines elements of weaving, tufting, painting and drawing to dimensional fabric paintings and installations. In her talk to the Green Mountain Hooking Guild, Liv will discuss how her work progressed from painting into textiles, and how intuition, improvisation, rhythm, and scale influence how and what she makes.
She earned her B.F.A with a painting emphasis from the University of Wisconsin—Eau Claire in 2001 and an M.F.A from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 2011.
Aanrud’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at New Image Art, Arvia, 1700 Naud, and TSA-LA in Los Angeles; Sierra Nevada College in Lake Tahoe, NV, Oasis Gallery, Marquette, MI, John Davis Gallery and Pamela Salisbury Gallery in Hudson NY, and Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects, NYC. Her work has been shown in group exhibitions across the U.S., Taiwan, Germany, and Spain. She has an upcoming exhibition in Lillehammer, Norway.
She currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
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.
Visit us at www.americancountryrugs.com. We specialize in primitive rug hooking pattern designs and instructions. Large selection of wool in great old colors.
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 251 Progress Report:
Members have hooked in 35 towns that we know of! But we think there are more to be reported. Send your reports of “hooking in public” to barb@irislines.com. Our goal is to be seen doing our art to raise awareness and interest.
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.