Author: jess
The Year is 2020
The year is 2020. I spend an inordinate amount of time making cloth masks on my 1930s Singer. I’m hooking a Pandemic rug. It’s snowing in May. My hair is purple. Life is different. Worse. Better. Changed. Evolving. To be determined.
I feel like we are living in a Snow Globe. Shake it to enhance the innocence, naïveté, denial. Hide behind glittery objects. Oh, so sparkly. I can’t explain what’s going on. Why is data (science) a four letter word?
Still, I find joy in the garlic–planted last fall during more hopeful times–persisting in pushing through its straw mulch. The seedlings that lay in wait to put down roots in the garden until this snow and minor league temperatures pass. The patio slowly taking shape as I lay it down stone by stone. We have a home, a garden, a patio. All of them riches, by any measure. We are still trying to decipher the world and determine how to help make it a better place for everyone. And, yes, I entirely acknowledge there’s not much in the way of grammar going on.
Be well,
Jess
Scraps and Anger
Like many of you, mask making has become a significant part of my daily tasks. When I finished yesterday’s allotment, I realized a low grade fury had been building as I worked over my sewing machine. I grabbed discolored and worn antique flannel and a scrap of quilting cotton from the late 1800s and made my Vote mask. Born of scraps and anger.
Stay safe. Be well.
I Can’t Om Alone
There are so many things on mind, yet my head is blank at the same time. I’m a gifted worrier, which is usually a good thing because it keeps us prepared and ahead of the game. Now the only things I have control over are the little, frankly stupid things, and I feel myself getting edgy and raw. I miss my yoga classes, which generally help center me, among other things. And I’m grateful for the online resources that enable me to continue my somewhat hobbled practice at the edge of my dining room. I’ve always chanted, hummed easily and enjoyably in class, even tiny classes. But at home, I find I can’t Om alone.
I hope you are all safe, healthy, and well, though I know everyone isn’t whether you or a loved one is unwell or you or loved one is on the front lines of trying to save us all. My gratitude to everyone for doing their part. I look forward to the day that we can all take one big breath, chant one long OM, or do anything and everything else together again.
Be well.
Budget Garden Tricks
The news is overwhelming. I am not surprising any of you with that statement. Of course, I take solace in my hooking, my fabrics, my knitting. But I also find hope and inspiration in the newly popping seedlings lined by my windows preparing for garden season. I don’t usually attempt seedlings, preferring to defer that task to my wonderful neighbors at Morning Dew Farm. But there were a couple things I wanted for my garden this year that weren’t available, so I took the small task of starting a few thing on for myself. And immediately ran into problems. I’ve cataloged for you here a few of my little low to no budget garden tricks to keep this train on the rails.
Peg Loom Rag Rugs
I first came across peg looms at one fiber festival or another a few years back and was immediately enthralled. What I was seeing were gorgeous alpaca rugs and throws. My immediate thought, however, was that I might try my hand at peg loom rag rugs. The idea simmered for a time. And then a time too long.
I’m a tremendous fan of recycling and reusing. Much of my work involves the repurposing of old wools, cashmere sweaters, vintage and antique cloth and other materials. While my love affair with rug hooking is unequivocal, I’m always curious about other techniques, processes, and learning opportunities. New ways to use materials I may have collected, but aren’t necessarily my go to’s—cottons for example, are a constant tease. Weaving would seem an obvious destination for a girl with my fiber proclivities, but two things held me back: the space requirements of a number of styles of looms and the limitations of a shoulder injury. Here I circle back to my introduction to a peg loom and the possibility of it fulfilling my dream of creating rag rugs.
The Appeal
Unlike most looms I’d known, a peg loom is compact and requires very little space, is portable, and could work with the stash I already have. It is simply comprised of a wooden block base drilled to accept pegs. Each peg, in turn, has a hole drilled through the bottom diameter to accept your warp threads or yarns. That’s it. You can use as many or as few of the pegs as you like for a piece. The more you use, the wider your weaving will be. The length of your warp threads determines how long your weaving can go. When I divulged my plans to my hubby, thinking I could give this a go with a scrap of 2 x 4 and some dowels, he surprised me with a beautiful, well thought out finished maple piece. The pressure was on!
Getting Going
I had a few stops and starts with peg loom weaving. And I’m going to insert here a big thank you to Anne at Cape Newagen Alpaca Farm for the confidence building time she spent with me! The finished weave is a bit different than the more traditional under/over method. Fabric created on peg loom creates a weave that leaves only the weft visible. Rather than beating the weft into place as you go, the warp is cinched up at the end to create the density of the fabric.
My first few attempts found me experimenting with core spun alpaca, vintage flannel yardage, and recycled saris. The latter two were torn into strips that I joined as I went. I definitely have been bitten by the bug now and have more plans. I want to experiment with chunky warps and, alternatively, more delicate wefts. Visions of denim and antique silks are a tease. The possibilities are enticing. Rag rugs have always appealed to me, but different materials could make wonderful table runners or placements, window shades or pillows.
The Story of Unite
The Story of Unite, An American Hooked Rug has a querulous beginning. There are a wide range of thoughts and emotions lurking in the background of this rug. Unite was conceived and hooked while I was listening to and taking in the impeachment hearings and Senate trial. There is no doubt that it was a national event of wildly varied import and impact. This rug is how I captured this moment in history for me.
This rug has been an especially fulfilling project for me. I am not a gifted illustrator, but my doodles occasionally surprise even me. I’d been studying a variety of other rugs, both old and new, for angels, swimmers, flags. My wonky striped versions of the American flag, have always been a favorite motif to include, but I’m not quite sure how the mermaid element came in. When I was choosing my wools for her, I kept thinking of The Statue of Liberty. She must have been an unwitting influencer.
I dug deeper into the making of this rug than I usually do. Unimpressed with the color variety in my stash of wools and cashmere and committed to using as many recycled materials as possible, my long resisted dye pot was pressed into service. I learned so much and was so happy with the results of my efforts, that a little corner of our home is now being transformed into a dedicated dye studio.
As you know, Twenty Twenty (2020) is an election year, and my doodle session resulted in more than one successful rendering of a rug to be. While we march from one political fiasco to the next, I’ll continue to brandish my hook in search of patriotic harmony through my language of choice, fiber. The Story of Unite shall continue.
Unite, An American Hooked Rug:
Hooked with new, vintage, and recycled wools and cashmere.
Measures about 36″ x 22″
Signed and dated in embroidery on the back.
