The Wool Palette: REVISED EDITION with STARTER PALETTE RECIPES, 115 pages, step-by-step instructrions for creating 67 kinship colors from three primary dyes, over 60 full color photos and illustrations
St. Nicholas Value by Value, ATHA Newsletter 186: 12-13, December 2010/January 2011
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Tuesday, May 22, 2012 at 10:41AM Sondra Ives just directed me to a video that Deanne Fitzpatrick posted on UTUBE about how she hangs her big rugs. She uses map pins every 2 or 3 inches along the rug. That is easy. I think that this might be the solution to hanging my Palette Constellation Rug. Well at least I am going to try it, and if it works great. If it doesn't, I will have to think about another option.
Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 11:38AM 
I am off to guild this morning and as I was packing up my rug, I snapped a shot of it to test out our new camera. I think we finally bought one good enough to handle low light indoors shots. I think it did a pretty good job.
The rug is coming along. I have two more rows to go, and am loving the power of the blue as it enters the rug and comes down the final columns. This rug is going to be really stunning on the wall behind my couch. I might even get inspired to actually do some decorating with it as the centerpiece.
Oh, the rug looks small here, but at this point it is almost nine feet long.
Monday, May 14, 2012 at 06:27PM 
If you have been reading my latest posts, you will know that I got excited by a creativity module I took in a leadership program. I came home from that training wondering why my living room didn't have a creativity center to inspire us daily, and why my rug stuff was all over the place spilling out of baskets and making it a pain to find anything when I wanted to sit down and hook.
The consequence was two trips to IKEA, first to get a creativity center set up in a corner in my living. That build in ended up displacing my rug hooking to a smaller area in my living room that would not hold the overflow of my baskets. So for Mother's Day, the boys and I went back to IKEA and brought home another shelf and set it up in the rug hooking corner. Now all my wool for my current projects resides in baskets that load in and out of the shelf easily. I put a few inspiring books and magazines on rug hooking in one of the slots, and a basket of rug hooking tools in another. Now I just have to pull the basket I need and flip on the light.
I am making headway on the Palette Constellation rug visible in the foreground. I only have two more rows of color to go. Then the royal pain of binding this monster. Not sure how that is going to happen yet.
Sunday, May 13, 2012 at 06:03PM 
Couldn't be happier. My son and I this morning in the garden we planted together.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 05:12PM 
Wow it has taken a long time to transfer my tree bark image onto my screening. I am too tired to get out my surger and linen foundation today. I will do that tomorrow. Have to have this done by Friday's workshop or I won't have anything to hook.
I don't know how well you can see this in the picture to the left, but this is the bark that I drew by laying the copy underneath the screening and then just tracing the lines I wanted.
The object is not to have an object, but just color and value patches where I can hook in my scraps. I am hoping to learn more about color composition through this rug. I understand value fairly well now, but color combinations from scraps is a different story. Wish me luck!
Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 08:46AM 
I am trying to get ready for a rug workshop next weekend that I am attending on backgrounds and borders. I want to create an abstract that I can hook with my scraps which have accumulated in a large basket. So I am thinking of my entire piece as a background. There will be no foreground or image.
I have been wanting to do a series of trees, exploring their textures and curves. So I took some pictures of tree bark when we made our annual trek a month ago to gaze at the bluebonnets in Brenham. I worked up the picture on my iPad and then downloaded it into Posterazor (what a great program!) to enlarge it. Here is the result. I have to transfer it to screening and then to my background, but I am relieved to have the image done.
The image is so thrilling to me - the depth of value, the curving lines, the pockets of dark and light - that I printed a second smaller copy to cut and paste in my Unintentional Art Journal. I smeared black and white acrylic paint, covering the page. I cut the image in half so that I removed the dark center. After pasting the images on either side of the page, I sat and looked at it for a while, and this is what I wrote across the core:
What is on the inside is what matters but where does that leave the outside is it only skin cracked open like birch bark peeling away from a trunk wood cleaved and stripped clean as a whistle gray the heart of things blown raw open and wide leaving what an empty core perhaps hollow and deep yawning with darkness pregnant with life is it something more a place where squirrels nest in leaves and cones and needles or fox or badger or owls only to be abandoned after sleep when the inside is turned outside and new life springs from the womb.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012 at 06:04PM 
So I promised to post a picture of the art journal page I was finishing yesterday. Here it is. I am thinking about calling my art journal: Unintentional Art. I will label my posts about my art journal accordingly. The text is tough to read in the photo, so here is the text written on the page.
Nothing is as it seems
Alex sees mud
Wade sees a map
vast land masses and open seas
me I see tea spilled dripping
tempera paint spread red green yellow and black
smashed firmly between pages
thin as butter
oozing and wet
filling the area with richness and textures that call out to me
to pen around to follow out the values
to see differently
what has become of the white pages which are no more
look closely nothing is as it seems
is it chocolate sticky melted
a bit of candy caught between the pages of my book
it could be, who knows
maybe this is fertile earth
the Nile before it was dammed
it could be waiting for a seed like this
to be planted to grow mushrooms or orchids
to take root and push through the soil
to break through the skin of the earth
to become something I did not expect.
Monday, April 30, 2012 at 09:03AM 
I was inspired by my leadership module on creativity. Although I am still not sure how to incorporate anything artistic into my workplace and my leadership roles there, I was inspired to do something at home. What I enjoyed more than anything was having access to art supplies. The centers of our tables at the leadership session were filled with crayons, pens, graphite pencils, erasers (the kind you can mold in your hand!), paints, and tons of other creative stuff.
I asked myself why the heck didn't we have a spot at home that encouraged creativity? All our art stuff is, well, stuffed away inside a cabinet that we have to bend over to get to. It is pain to haul the stuff out, get the dining room table covered in newspaper, and then put everything away after clean up. So I can count on my one hand how many times Alexander and I have painted in a year. Probably once.
I have also decided that I want to try art journaling, and not directed at the creation of my rugs. Why? Because I want some space in my life to do something that has no purpose other than getting my fingers in paint and being goffy with pens. To be unintentional. To be free with creativity. I guess I realized that although I am almost spiritual about living intentionally as Thoreau put it, I have found that we can live too intentionally too. Our right brains need release into the experience of creativity for its own sake. Release.
Enough of my philosophy. All of this thinking meant that this weekend I enlisted Wade and Alexander to drive over to IKEA and pick up a bookshelf and attachable desk unit, and we put it together in our living room. Wade immediately used the area to grade papers (so much for my creativity idea!) and Alexander is thrilled. He claimed a cubby for his own and stored his own art journals and books in it. He wants a pencil sharpener over there now. So I think he plans to use the area.
Last night after everyone was in bed, I began to create one of my first art journal pages. I will post a picture of it when I am done.
Of course now the trouble is that the creativity corner has taken over my rug hooking space. My rug stuff is now stuffed in another smaller corner of the living room. Too bad, it looks like I am going to have to make another run to IKEA, so I can create a separate rug corner.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 10:26AM 
From Martha Lowry
Our region has so much to offer rug hookers! Thanks to all of our rug hooking groups, ATHA chapters, teachers, vendors, shop owners, camp directors and workshop sponsors who keep us busy with plenty of opportunities to get together and do what we love to do. We are in your debt.
Don't forget to double check with event planners before travelling, as sometimes cancellations are unavoidable.
UPCOMING REGION 9 EVENTS
APRIL
RANCH DAY, April 28, Lubbock, TX. Members of the Hub City Rug Hookers will be demonstrating rug hooking at this festive event. For more information, contact Teresa Heinze, <mailto:tmheinze@sbcglobal.net>tmheinze@sbcglobal.net.
MAY
WILDFLOWER RETREAT, May 2-4, Round Top, TX, at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church. Three days of hooking, lunch included with registration. Katie Hartner (A Nimble Thimble, Tyler, TX) will have wool and patterns, Sylvia Hale will teach beginners, Martha Lowry will present a demonstration. A fun, relaxed time. Registration is $90 for 3 days, additional $10 for Wednesday night pizza dinner. Contact Sondra Ives, <mailto:twoives@swbell.net>twoives@swbell.net or 713-665-7749 for registration form and housing information.
BEGINNER/ADVANCED BEGINNER PRIMITIVE RUG HOOKING CLASS, May 10 and May 17, McKinney, TX. Adrienne Dykes will be teaching this two-session class at her studio in McKinney from 10:00-2:00 each class. Class cost is $40, plus $75 for project and wools. Please contact Adrienne to register at 972-542-3214 or <mailto:cliffpadd3@yahoo.com>cliffpadd3@yahoo.com.
SHADED FLORAL NEEDLECASE CLASS, May 12, Country Gatherings, San Antonio, TX. Class time is 9:00-11:00. For more information, contact Tricia Travis, 210-651-4470.
WOOL JOURNAL COVERS WORKSHOP, May 12, Jacksonville, AR. The CARHS (Central Arkansas Rug Hookers) invite you to join them and make journal covers. For more information, contact Aileen Anderson, <mailto:badger2573@suddenlink.net>badger2573@suddenlink.net or 501-915-0696. CARHS meets once a month at the Jacksonville main library.
BLUE HERON MERCANTILE SPRING ANTIQUE OPEN HOUSE, May 18-19, Jenks, OK. Tulsa rug hooker Mitzi Thomas will be offering her wools and rug hooking supplies at the event, which will be held from 10:00-5:00 each day at the shop, located at 1000 W. 111th St. S., Jenks, OK. Vendors indoors and out, specializing in quality Americana antiques and accessories. Mitzi offers classes and supplies at the shop yearround. For more information, see website, <http://www.blueheronantiqueshop.com>www.blueheronantiqueshop.com.
JUNE
SEVENTH ANNUAL NORTHWEST ARKANSAS HOOK-IN & RUG SHOW, June 9, Eureka Springs, AR. The hook-in will be held from 9:00-5:00 at the Inn of the Ozarks, Hwy 62 W, Eureka Springs. Admission $20 includes lunch and souvenir. Great vendors. AGAIN THIS YEAR! One-day classes will be held from 10:00-4:00 on Friday, June 8. Workshops include: Low Contrast Hooking with Janice Johnson; Fine Hooking with Victoria Ingalls; Creative Backgrounds with Aileen Anderson; and Using Needle Felting in Your Rugs with Vicki Hardcastle. Class fee is $50, which includes lunch; kit fee not included and will be paid to each teacher in class. For email registration form: Vicki Hardcastle, <mailto:rughooking@wildblue.net>rughooking@wildblue.net.
STAR OF TEXAS RUG CAMP, TYLER, June 10-14, Holiday Inn Select, Tyler, TX. Teachers include Maria Barton, Gail Dufresne, Jayne Hester, Carrie Martin, Kris Miller, and Diane Stoffel. Plans are in the works for a program by teacher Gail Dufresne on the history and evolution of rug hooking, with over 50 rugs featured in a power point presentation. RUG HOOKING MAGAZINE editor Debra Smith will also be at camp. Visitors are encouraged to come see the rug exhibit on Wednesday, June 13 (11:00-4:00.) Contact Cynthia Norwood, <mailto:canorw@aol.com>canorw@aol.com, for more information.
HOOKED COIN PURSE CLASS, June 12, Country Gatherings, San Antonio, TX. Make a hooked coin purse, class time is 9:30-2:00. For more information, call 210-651-4470.
TEXAS RUGFEST HOOK-IN, June 18, Grapevine Convention Center, Grapevine, TX. This annual hook-in is always held the Monday following Father's Day, and promises great vendors, door prizes galore, and concessions available on site. Admission $15 in advance, or $20 at the door. Also included: mini seminars, preservation demonstration by an experienced fiber art archivist, and rug show. ONE-DAY WORKSHOP the day before, June 17: Julie Burns from Among Friends will teach a life-size hooked and stuffed scarecrow. For more information, contact Susan Harper, <mailto:texasrugfest@yahoo.com>texasrugfest@yahoo.com.
KIRBY HOOKING CIRCLE'S THIRD ANNUAL MID-SUMMER HOOK-IN, June 23, Houston, TX. This popular hook-in will be held from 9:00-5:00 at Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer Rd., Houston. Their theme is "Life's a Beach and then You Hook!" Registration is $25 and includes a catered lunch, door prizes, rug show, and a relaxing day with your rug hooking friends. Vendors include Tricia Travis, Bea Brock, Deborah Neslage, and Dianne Owoc, representing Paula's Primitives. Contact Lurie McAdow for information at <mailto:luriemcadow@aol.com>luriemcadow@aol.com.
JULY
HOOKED OR PUNCHED CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS CLASS, July 6-7, P is for Primitive, Canton, MS. Come hook or punch a wonderful Christmas stocking at this Christmas in July event. This is a two-day class. Cost for the class is $35 (for both days) plus materials. Bring your own lunch. Contact Lisanne Miller, <mailto:lisannemiller1@aol.com>lisannemiller1@aol.com or 601-859-4252.
BEAT THE HEAT FIBER RETREAT, July 19-21, in Brady, TX. This retreat, sponsored by DESIGNS BY DEBORAH, will be held at the Heart of Texas Convention Center. Attendees can bring rug hooking, knitting, crochet, felting, etc. Anything to do with fibers! Lunch will be served the 20th and 21st. Snacks and refreshments throughout the day. Fee is $75. Contact Deborah Neslage, Designs by Deborah, at 325-597-2277 or <mailto:dneslage@hotmail.com>dneslage@hotmail.com.
MANTEL SCARF CLASS WITH FRANCES AND JANE, July 20-21, P is for Primitive, Canton, MS. Frances will be teaching the wonderful Santa Mantel Scarf (as seen at Jail House Rock last year) while Jane will be teaching the Nativity Mantel Scarf. Cost for class is $35 (for both days) plus materials. Bring your own lunch. Contact Lisanne Miller, <mailto:lisannemiller1@aol.com>lisannemiller1@aol.com.
SWEATER IN THE ROUND CLASS with DONNA PEYTON, July 28, P is for Primitive, Canton, MS. Details to come. Contact: Lisanne Miller, <mailto:lisannemiller1@aol.com>lisannemiller1@aol.com.
AUGUST
ELEVENTH ANNUAL ANGELA PUMPHREY WEEKEND RUG HOOKING WORKSHOP, August 10-12, San Antonio, TX. Hosted by the Heart of Texas ATHA Chapter, this workshop is held at the Holiday Inn Riverwalk, located on the beautiful Riverwalk in San Antonio. Teachers include Pris Buttler, Carrie Martin, Karen Maddox, and Norma Batastini. Contact Tricia Travis, <mailto:countrygatherings@mail.com>countrygatherings@mail.com or 210-651-4470.
FREDERICKSBURG FALL WOOL GATHERING, August 26-27, Fredericksburg, TX. Enjoy this annual hook-in, held at the Inn on Barons Creek. Registration is $25 per day, or $45 for both days. Mini workshops include Witch Face People, Finishing a Rug Without Binding, and Make It and Take It Acorn Pin Cushions. Great vendors, rug show, and a "flea market" pattern sale are planned. Call Country Gatherings at 210-651-4470 to register.
SEPTEMBER
STAR OF TEXAS RUG CAMP, FREDERICKSBURG, September 23-27, Fredericksburg, TX. Teachers include Barbara Carroll, Gail Dufresne, Cindi Gay, Carrie Martin, Kris McDermet, and Sibyl Osicka. The camp is held at the Inn on Barons Creek Spa and Conference Center, two blocks from historic Main Street in Fredericksburg. Enjoy the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and shopping in antique stores and specialty shops that Fredericksburg has to offer. Rug hookers of all experience levels are encouraged, and commuters welcome. Contact Cynthia Norwood, <mailto:canorw@aol.com>canorw@aol.com.
OCTOBER
ANNUAL JAIL HOUSE ROCK HOOK-IN, October 4-6, Canton, MS. Hosted by the Magnolia Wool Dust Society ATHA Chapter, the hook-in will again be held at the historic Jail House in Canton. Great vendors, catered lunches, goodie bags, rug show. Space is limited. Contact Lisanne Miller, <mailto:lisannemiller1@aol.com>lisannemiller1@aol.com.
DESIGNS BY DEBORAH'S FALL FLING, October 18-20, Brady, TX. The Fall Fling returns at a new location, the Heart of Texas Convention Center in Brady. Says Deborah--a lot more room and fantastic lighting. Fee of $75 includes hot scones, coffee and tea each morning, and great lunches on the 19th and 20th. There will be a tour at Three Waters Ranch for anyone that wants to do a photo safari. Deborah is working with different motels for a block room rate, and will have that info soon. For more information or an email registration form, contact Deborah Neslage, 325-597-2277 or <mailto:dneslage@hotmail.com>dneslage@hotmail.com.
NOVEMBER
OXFORD RUG CAMP, November 4-8, Oxford, MS. Sign up now for this popular annual camp in north Mississippi, handy to the Memphis airport, held during the beautiful autumn of the year. Next year's teachers include Pris Buttler, Tammy Easler, and Kathy Meentemeyer. The camp is held at the Inn at Ole Miss in Oxford. Contact camp director Donna Holdiness, <mailto:oxfordrugcamp@bellsouth.net>oxfordrugcamp@bellsouth.net or 662-289-7738. Website, <http://www.oxfordrugcamp.com/>www.oxfordrugcamp.com.
JANUARY, 2013
NEW ORLEANS RUG HOOKING GETAWAY, January 6-11, 2013, New Orleans, LA. Sponsored by Wool Rich Cash Poor ATHA Chapter and one rug two rug (<http://www.onerugtworug.com>www.onerugtworug.com), the camp will be held at Hyatt Place, located in the downtown Arts District, within walking distance of museums, galleries, the riverfront, Jackson Square, and the French Quarter. Teachers include Cynthia Norwood, Diane Stoffel, Carrie Martin, and DeEtta Gilland. Other highlights of the week: Dinner and Auction sponsored by WRCP, Flea Market to sell your handmade items, and entertainment by the Grocery Clerks. For more information, contact Carrie Martin, <mailto:mart3285@bellsouth.net>mart3285@bellsouth.net or Dorothy Delaune, <mailto:rdgdelaune@aol.com>rdgdelaune@aol.com.
FEBRUARY, 2013
RED STICK RUG HOOKING HOOK-IN, February 3-6, 2013, Embassy Suites Hotel, Baton Rouge, LA. It's never too early to plan your rug hooking calendar, so plan to join your friends and director Gayle Soileau for four fun-filled days of rug hooking, mini classes, and demos. There will also be door prizes, vendors, and an area in the hooking room where you may sell your handmade items. Lunch is included in your registration and if you are staying at the hotel you will be treated to full cooked-to-order breakfasts and complimentary evening beverages and snacks. Contact Gayle for more information and an email registration form at 225-603-1950 or 225-754-7554, or <mailto:candgsoileau@cox.net>candgsoileau@cox.net.
MARCH, 2013
YELLOW ROSE RUG CAMP, March 10-14, 2013, at Summers Mill in Salado, TX. Camp is filling fast. Teachers will be Jon Ciemiewicz, Capri Boyle Jones, Laura Pierce, Wendy Miller, and Tricia Travis. Go to the website at <http://www.yellowroserugcamp.com>www.yellowroserugcamp.com for more information or contact Martha Reynolds at <mailto:rugbug48@gmail.com>rugbug48@gmail.com.
APRIL, 2013
DON'T COOK JUST HOOK RETREAT, April 18-22, 2013, at the Wesley Center, 2350 Methodist Pkwy, Woodworth, LA. Sponsored by Baton Rouge Rugger Roux, the retreat fee is $400.00 double occupancy, $460.00 private room, and includes all meals, snacks. Get away from it all, finish those unfinished projects, and spend time with your friends. For an email registration form, contact Carrie Martin, <mailto:mart3285@bellsouth.net>mart3285@bellsouth.net.
NEWS FROM REGION 9 RUG HOOKING GROUPS
CENTRAL ARKANSAS RUG HOOKERS (CARHS), Jacksonville, AR, meets once a month at the Jacksonville, AR main library. For more information, contact Aileen Anderson, <mailto:badger2573@suddenlink.net>badger2573@suddenlink.net or 501-915-0696.
THE VILLAGE RUG HOOKERS, Hot Springs Village, AR, meets the first Monday of each month in Hot Springs Village. For more information, contact Aileen Anderson (see contact info in above item.)
HEART OF TEXAS ATHA CHAPTER, San Antonio, TX meets at Country Gatherings, LLC on designated Saturdays during each year. They also host hook-ins, workshops, and hooking demonstrations in the community. To join this large active chapter, contact Catherine Hickman, <mailto:catherine35@sbcglobal.net>catherine35@sbcglobal.net.
HUB CITY RUG HOOKERS, Lubbock, TX meet at the Garden and Arts Center on the 4th Monday of each month, from 10:00-2:00. The group members will be demonstrating rug hooking at Ranch Day in Lubbock on April 28. Contact Teresa, 806-794-3332 for information.
OKLAHOMA CITY AREA hooking group meets monthly at Country Collections in Moore, OK, on the second Tuesday of each month. Anyone interested in visiting this hooking group, may contact the shop or member Jean Farrer (<mailto:farrers2@cox.net>farrers2@cox.net).
TULSA RUG HOOKERS, Tulsa, OK, meets the 3rd Tuesday at Panera Bread located at 71st and Garnett at 1:00, and the 1st Thursday evening at Hardesty Regional Library in Tulsa, 6:00-9:00. For more information, contact Mitzi Thomas, <mailto:stitziandmyron@gmail.com>stitziandmyron@gmail.com.
DALLAS WEDNESDAY GROUP, Dallas, TX meets at the Lakewood Methodist Church on Abrams Rd. each Wednesday from 10:00-2:00. Bring your lunch. Cost is $2.00 donation to the church for use of the facility. For more information, contact Martha Reynolds, <mailto:rugbug48@gmail.com>rugbug48@gmail.com.
ROUND TOP RUGGERS, Round Top, TX meet the last Saturday of each month at the Bethlehem Lutheran Church Rec Center, 409 S. White St., Round Top, TX. All rug hookers are welcome. Bring sack lunch or enjoy area restaurants. To get on the email reminder list, contact Karen Kubeczka, <mailto:karen.kubeczka@mac.com>karen.kubeczka@mac.com.
HEART AND HANDS ATHA CHAPTER, Fredericksburg, TX meets the second Monday of each month, 1:00-4:00. This group invites all rug hookers to visit their meetings. Contact chapter president Veronica Strackbein for more information, <mailto:bvstrackbein92@gmail.com>bvstrackbein92@gmail.com.
KERRVILLE RUG HOOKERS, Kerrville, TX meet on the first Monday of each month at the First United Methodist Church on Thompson Drive, in the Activity Building, from 10:00-2:00. Contact Karen Maddox, <mailto:karen39m@ktc.com>karen39m@ktc.com for more information.
MAGNOLIA WOOL DUST SOCIETY ATHA CHAPTER, Canton, MS meets the second Saturday of each month at 11:00 in Canton, and always has interesting programs and projects going on. If you are interested in joining, contact president Lisanne Miller (<mailto:lisannemiller1@aol.com>lisannemiller1@aol.com) for more information.
GREY FOREST HOOK-IN GROUP, Grey Forest, TX, meets quarterly, from 9:00-3:00 at the Scenic Loop Playground Club, 18249 Sherwood Trail, Gray Forest, TX 78023. To join this active group, and to receive information about future hook-in dates, please contact Linda Darst, <mailto:lindapdarst@hotmail.com>lindapdarst@hotmail.com or 210-274-5203, or Ruth Zook, <mailto:fly0189@yahoo.com>fly0189@yahoo.com or 210-313-9849.
HIDDEN HILLS HAPPY HOOKERS, McKinney, TX meets every Tuesday, 10:00-2:00, at Adrienne Dykes' McKinney home. Her shop, Cal Creations Rug Hooking & Antiques is on the premises and is always open during group time, as well as by chance and by appointment. Adrienne is offering a Beginner/Advanced Beginner Primitive Rug Hooking Class in two sessions on May 10 and 17; cost is $40 plus $75 for materials; please contact her to register. Cal Creations Rug Hooking & Antiques has a new pattern catalog, just email Adrienne if interested in getting one. Contact her at <mailto:cliffpadd3@yahoo.com>cliffpadd3@yahoo.com or 972-542-3214.
STASH SISTERS ATHA CHAPTER, Houston, TX invites you to hook with them at the Octavia Fields Branch Library, 1503 S. Houston, Humble, TX. Meetings are at the library on the first Saturday of each month, and the 2nd and 4th Thursdays. Third Thursday hooking at the Hen House, 5701 Louetta Rd., Spring, TX. For more information about joining this group, contact Sondra Ives, <mailto:twoives@swbell.net>twoives@swbell.net.
KIRBY HOOKING CIRCLE, Houston, TX meets the third and fifth Saturdays, 11:00-3:30, at the Bethany Christian Church, 3223 Westheimer Rd. in Houston (between Kirby and Buffalo Speedway.) Bring your lunch, your projects, and maybe a friend! Parking is behind the church; no fee for the hook-in. Contact Lurie McAdow, <mailto:luriemcadow@aol.com>luriemcadow@aol.com.
KATY LAMBCHOPS, Katy, TX meets every Wednesday, 10:00-3:00, and the second Saturday, 10:00-3:00, at My Little House, inside Dovetail Antiques in Old Town Katy. The wool applique group, Katy Wool Krazies, meets the first Saturday. To reserve a spot at the hook-ins or to get on the email reminder list, contact Jan Peckenpaugh, <mailto:mylilhouse@hotmail.com>mylilhouse@hotmail.com or 281-687-2088.
HOOK ME UP GROUP, Carrollton, TX meets most third Saturdays, 10:00-3:00, at Carrollton Church of the Nazarene, 1529 E. Hebron Pkwy, Carrollton, TX. Next meeting is May 19. To get on the email reminder list, contact Janet Kersh, <mailto:woolgarden@hotmail.com>woolgarden@hotmail.com.
TEXAS RUG RUNNERS ATHA CHAPTER, Arlington, TX invites you to visit their monthly meetings. They meet at Town Village Arlington, 1250 W. Pioneer Parkway on the 2nd Saturday each month, 1:00-4:00. Contact president Ginger Smith, <mailto:gingerstephensmith@hotmail.com>gingerstephensmith@hotmail.com.
AGGIELAND RUG ARTISTS ATHA CHAPTER, College Station, TX meets twice monthly from 12:00-4:00 in College Station at the Art Center of Brazos Valley and in members' homes. They invite visitors to join them on the first Thursday of each month from 12:00-4:00 at the Art Center. Contact: Jolene Doyle, <mailto:ljdoyle5@verizon.net>ljdoyle5@verizon.net.
WOOL RICH CASH POOR ATHA CHAPTER, Covington, LA meets in the New Orleans area; contact president Carrie Martin, <mailto:mart3285@bellsouth.net>mart3285@bellsouth.net.
REGION 9 ARTICLES IN ATHA NEWSLETTER
These Region 9 rug hookers wrote great articles about their beautiful rugs for the April/May 2012 issue:
"Monsieur Paisley," cover feature by Cynthia Norwood, Austin, TX
"Step Back in Time and Make Your Rugs Special," companion article also by Cynthia Norwood
"Would I Write, Draw, or Paint?" by Linda Ellis Allen, Katy, TX
"Two Round Florals: Hooking Round Patterns" by Amzi Collins, Lake Charles, LA
"Spring Bunny Fashion Show" by Tricia Travis, San Antonio, TX
(Tricia's article featured hooked rabbits by the folowing rug hookers from a hooking group at Country Gatherings: Carol Rippa, Lu Lacy, Michelle Watts, Carolyn Tisdel, Denice Brockmeyer, and Tricia.)
"Rug Hooking Across the Miles" by Bette Bryant featured the Noah's Ark Sampler rug hooked by Hilda Young, Olive Branch, MS
Memorial for P.D. Hankamer by Sondra Ives, Bellaire, TX
Submitting an article and rug photo is easy! Please consider sharing one of your rugs in this way with all ATHA members. Submit articles to editor Judy Long, <mailto:athanews@peoplescom.net>athanews@peoplescom.net.
CALL FOR PRIMITIVE RUG HOOKERS TO ENTER CELEBRATIONS THIS FALL
We have many wonderful primitive rug hookers in Region 9. The annual CELEBATION OF HAND-HOOKED RUGS published by RUG HOOKING MAGAZINE has a new primitive rug category. CELEBRATIONS is a juried publication, filled with some of the year's best hooked rugs. Please consider submitting a primitive rug this fall!
REQUEST ASSISTANCE WITH ATHA BIENNIAL PROJECT
Missouri ATHA member Stacey White is planning to enter a mat in the 2013 Biennial Challenge, "Show Us Your Color." She is asking for each rug hooking group in our region to send her one worm to include in the rug. If you would be interested in mailing Stacey a worm from your group, please enclose your group name and location. Send to Stacey White, 20549 Mill Rd., Marthasville, MO 63357. Just one worm from each group. She wants to see how many geographical locations she can represent in her 10x12-inch challenge mat. Any questions, her email address is <mailto:fitvision@socket.net>fitvision@socket.net. For more info about the rug challenge itself, or the Biennial, go to <http://www.atharugs.com>www.atharugs.com.
Thanks for reading the Email Update and please pass on to rug hooking friends. If you would like to be removed from this email list, please contact me.
Martha Lowry
ATHA Region 9 Rep
<mailto:mlowry52@hotmail.com>mlowry52@hotmail.com
281-550-7562
Sunday, April 22, 2012 at 03:16PM The semester has been busy for me, and so rug hooking got the short end of the stick. As did my blog. So this is a check up post.
Alexander and I have been growing things this spring. He has helped me plant flowers and some vegetables on the patio, and tend them with water. We choose a couple of cherry tomato plants. So Alexander is showing off the few we picked yesterday and I ate. Alexander wouldn't try one. Oh well. I thought growing them might prick his interest in eating tomatoes. Guess I was wrong.
I bought a bunch of ranunculus. They are so beautiful in a cottage-garden way, that I have to post a picture. The crisp circular forms are so profuse and bundled. Love them.
Alexander and I went to an orchid show yesterday. I have always loved orchids. Yesterday as we studied their lips and flares, stunned by their elogence, I asked myself why I have neither bought an orchid before. And at that minute, I carried an orchid to the cashier and now it sits in my window. We named it Venus.
Also this week I had to attend a three-day workshop on creativitiy in leadership for my workplace. While I'm not sure I learned a whole lot about being a creative leader, I did decide that the time has come to build a creativity center in our home. It will have to be a small niche in our dining room, but it will be a place where all the art supplies are out and available for anyone to sit down and get creative. So more on this as we build the space up over the next week or so.
Part of our workshop involved going over to the Menil Museum and sitting with one painting for 30 minutes. Then we had to record our interaction with the painting in our art journals. I had so much fun seeing how much I normally don't see because I am in too much of a hurry, that I think I may go and sit in front of a painting once a month and slow down.
The workshop also convinced me that I need to be keeping an art journal in addition to my rug journal. So I am going to try to do that and see what comes of it. It was fun to scribble without purpose. My rug journal is too purposed and so I need another place to splatter and scribble and slow down.
Saturday, February 4, 2012 at 04:53PM 
Have been hooking more colors in the Palette Constellation rug. Marguerite's big frame is allowing me to hook two rows at once. This seems to be making a big difference.
So I have also been dyeing, since I am coming along in my rows onto colors that I don't have in stock. Pictured here is probably my absolute favorite of all my colors, Black Orchid 146, that I just hooked into the 10th row (Blue row). It is a combination of my blue dye and my red-orange. A lovely purple that I find myself wanting to use in everything I hook. Maybe I will make it my signature color. Hum...
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 01:13PM 
As I have been dyeing colors to complete the Palette Constellation Rug, I have been also working on dyeing the new colors for the Starter Palette that I included recipes for in the revised version of The Wool Palette (see sidebar to order). I created starter recipes to help people begin the palette process without needing to create their own colors if they don't want to. The recipes I created allow the colors of the second palette to be integrated with my original palette. This way I have extended my color palette to 134 colors instead of 67. The second Starter Palette contains foundational dyes that I use in my original palette, so there should be a seamless integration when I use colors from both palettes in my rugs. I am excited to extend my value options from 536 to 1076!
Pictured here is the red color wheel family: 201 (red), 202 (red-orange), 203 (orange), 204 (orange-red). These are some of the wools that I will be putting into my kits for the Glorious Color Caddy we will be hooking at Sauder in August.
Monday, January 23, 2012 at 10:05PM 
When I was at the Stash Sisters guild meeting a couple of weeks ago, one of the other women there noticed me struggling with my small frame now that my Palette Constellation rug has become so big and heavy. So she kindly offered to lend me the frame that she uses for big rugs.
I am so grateful to Marguerite Evans who has lent me her frame and Sondra Ives who dropped it by my home this afternoon.
I have set it up and already started to hook the final 1/4 of the rug. I have four more rows to complete and I will be finished with this rug.
I need to dye three more colors before I can go on much farther with hooking this rug. I hope to get to do some of the dyeing tomorrow afternoon after I pick up Alexander from school. Since it takes me about four hours to complete the hands-on part of my dyeing process (then I let the material sit overnight in the dye bath), I have to be home for a good chunk of time to do it. I should be able to get two of the colors done for the Constellation rug, and another one of the twelve new colors of my second Starter Palette that I am preparing for my Sauder class project.
QUESTION: Can anyone point me in the right direction for instructions on transition value dyeing? I don't want instructions for dip-dyeing transition, but for creating gradated values that move from one color to a completely different color (like from yellow to purple). I have been experimenting with this, but not with any real success yet.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 at 08:12PM 
Okay. The other day I received an email from Rug Hooking Magazine introducing their new online rug magazine called the Rug Beat. It cost about $10 a year. I said to myself, "Why not?" So I purchased it and just logged in today.
Wow. I am impressed. This is not just another version of Rug Hooking Magazine. This is trendy. This is edgy. This is wonderful. There are videos, pictures, sketches, stories, chats, and more. This is rug hooking pushing the boundaries.
I am so happy with this online magazine, I can't say enough about it.
Here is the link to sign up if you are interested.
http://www.rughookingmagazine.com/content/rug-beat-1-year-4-new-issues
Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 10:25AM 
THE STASH SISTERS
Seventh Annual Hankamer Hook-In
American Legion Hall
1704 South Main, Anahuac, TX 77514
JOIN US FOR ONE OR TWO DAYS OF FUN!
Friday, March 2, 2012 – 9:00 – 5:00 pm and Saturday, March 3, 2012 – 9:00 – 3:00 pm
WONDERFUL VENDORS: A Nimble Thimble – Katie Hartner; ONE RUG TWO RUG – Carrie Martin; COUNTRY GATHERINGS – Trisha Travis; DESIGNS BY DEBORAH – Deborah Neslage AND THE STASH SISTERS
VENDORS! DOOR PRIZES! FUN!: No Silent Auction This Year; Rug Show open to the public, Saturday – noon to 2:00 pm; Hookers bring your rugs and show them off
Reserve your place by February 15, 2012
Mail checks to Sondra Ives, 4522 Merrie Ln, Bellaire, TX 77401
Payable to The Stash Sisters
Questions??? Sondra Ives (713)665-7749, twoives@swbell.net; Pam Herrington (936)258-7828
Name __________________________________________________________________
Address _______________________________________________________________
City, State, Zip ______________________________________________________
Email _________________________________________________________________
Friday ________ Saturday _______ Both Days ______
Amount Enclosed _______________________
DIRECTIONS FOR NEW LOCATION
From I-10 between Houston and Beaumont, take exit 810 which is the 563-Anahuac exit. Travel south on 563 for 6 miles until you come to a 4-way stop. Turn right onto Miller Street and continue for .8 miles, turn left on Main Street and travel .9 miles. Turn right at the large green cannon. You will see the brown American Legion Hall on your left as soon as you turn. Parking is in the front.
Monday, January 9, 2012 at 06:42PM 
So my Palette Constellation is a BIG rug, although Alexander has grown taller than it is high. At least it is the biggest rug I have ever tried to hook. It is going to end up about 9 feet long and 4 feet wide.
I am measuring my progress by the rows I finish and I am now working down the 8th row. That means that I am almost 3/4ths finished. What holds up the show is when I come upon a color that I don't have dyed in my stash anymore. So I dyed a couple of colors last night and will work on a few more in between other commitments this week.
On the dyeing front, I have started to dye up a second palette which I am going to be using as my Starter Palette for my dye classes. The recipes will integrate into my primary palette, so that means I am creating a subsidiary palette that will give me another full range of colors to complement the 67 I already have. These are the basic Starter recipes that I included in the Revised Edition of my book, The Wool Palette. I have quite a bit of yardage of the Starter Palette to prepare for my Sauder dye class this August, so I am starting on it already with a yard of 201, my Starter Red. I liked how it turned out; just took it out of the pot so will post pictures another day.
Just for the record. It is fascinating hooking the Palette Constellation rug because I am getting to double check all my colors. When I see something off in the progression of color, I am going back and redyeing to see if something was off the first time around. What I am finding is that when the dry dyes go into solution, that blue dyes are unstable. If they sit in solution much longer than a week (and then they need to be refrigerated) they turn gray. When you go to use the old solution, the blue dye has turned into something else. So this means that any recipe that uses a blue dye of any sort is vulnerable. I have not found this to be the case with any other color which all seem to last quite a long time (not refrigerated) in stable solution.
Monday, January 2, 2012 at 09:24AM 
As the holidays come to an end today, I have gathered up the Christmas decorations and repacked them in their boxes. I reorganized my mantel which I decorate all year long as the seasons change. It is covered now in icy branches and cones.
I was at a lost for what rug to put in my shadow box since I have nothing yet hooked for January. I went upstairs and rummaged through my box of old hooked rugs and came upon a little rug that is perfect.
It is the only rug that my mom hooked for me. She and my sister started hooking two years after I began the craft. At the time, I was living in another state, so I never really got to hook with my mom before she died in '99. The last year of her life, she designed and hooked Fawn for me and gave it to me for Christmas in '98.
When I look at Fawn, I am drawn to the sweetness of the animal and the boldness of the flora she encounters. I am also struck by the the fawn as she stands alone, her mother nowhere in the setting. The metaphor is not lost on me. Only a few months after receiving this mat, I stood alone, my mother gone from this life.
Yet the mat leaves me not with feelings of loneliness or abandonment as you might imagine, but feelings of strength and direction. Like the fawn standing proudly on the bank, I can journey confidently in this world on my own. This confidence was shaped in me when I was a child by my mother who loved me deeply. So I am comforted by the mat, with the traces of my mother's hand that cut and hooked each strip of wool and worked her initials into the corner. In this mat, she is still here and she has left me with a powerful message whether she intended to or not.
In this New Year, if there is a mat that needs to be hooked for someone, hook it and give it. Our time with each other is shorter than we imagine.
Friday, December 30, 2011 at 12:38PM 
In August, when I was visiting my sister Tiffany, she wanted to try her hand at a big portrait of her daughter Madison. When I was creating the palette dyeing process and developing my own colors, my sister was also creating her own palette and testing the process with me. So she has a complete palette of her own 67 colors in 8 values each. So she had everything she needed for her portrait project.
As some of you know who have been following my blog, for the last year and a half I have been working with color in my hooking in order to create a simple procedure to hook gorgeous portraits. I call the procedure VIP (VALUE INTENSE PALETTE) Hooking.
My sister is the first person other than me to put my procedure to the test, and wow, the results are stunning! All I did was share the five color hooking principles with her, and three months later, she was done with this fantastic over-sized portrait of Madison. She brought the rug (Madison) to my house at Christmas and it knocked my socks off. It reminds me so much of the famous portrait of The Girl with A Pearl Earring by Vermeer. Madison is captured by her mother in this hooked piece better than any photograph could. She is a true Mona Lisa. Tiffany hooked it in a #6. It is about 2 feet by 2 feet, and bound with Canadian Show binding procedure.
Here is a picture of my sister and her daughter holding the rug in front of our tree.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011 at 10:15AM 
It has been a very busy holiday here. My sister's family and my inlaws are staying with us and we have been traveling around Houston, San Antonio and Austin. Today we go down to Galveston Island for a nice dinner on the pier.
Santa was good to all of us, but me especially. Wade and Alexander gave me a Snap Dragon frame for my stand. I declare it to be the Cadillac of frames now that I have been using it the last couple of days. Here is a picture of me hooking my Palette Constellation Rug on the Snap Dragon frame. It is getting BIG and finally I have a frame that can handle it! My goal is to finish this rug by the end of February.
Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 11:02AM Don't know if you have seen this video yet, but it is a wonderful review of Hooked on Mountains XV show. Wish I could have been there! Wow what fantastic rugs. It was uploaded by Stuck in Vermont vlog and passed on to me by Sondra Ives. Enjoy.
