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If I hook it, they will come. Really?

"Welcome to New Mexico", 29.5"x20", $225, Recycled t-shirts
“Welcome to New Mexico”

The rug that generates the most talk when folks come into my booth at the Rail Yards Market is the one I call “Welcome to New Mexico.” Many of you already know its story; that I started it right before I left Massachusetts late last July to move to Albuquerque. In my mind I’d work on it while the child and I crossed the country on our new adventure. I pictured myself contentedly hooking in motels each night as I decompressed after a day of driving. That didn’t happen once, not even when the kid spontaneously combusted in Scranton, Pennsylvania, when she thought her cell phone died. (I swear that I left at least a year of my life on the side of the highway there…)

No, I didn’t hook at all on the road. First of all, it was difficult just getting our things in and out of my Honda Fit each day. If you haven’t seen one, it’s a tiny car, and I’d packed it to the gills. Truthfully, it was enough every evening to find some dinner, catch up with important emails, call Tom (who was still back in Mass waiting for the movers), and brush my teeth before I fell asleep over my magazines.

The sanity-saving, hit-or-miss rug. Wonder where the inspiration for the color scheme came from? Hoping to put it on the floor in the new house.
The sanity-saving, hit-or-miss rug.

Hence, I started the rug in earnest when the kid and I arrived at the house we were renting till we found our New Mexican castle. (Therapy!)  It was designed to be a rug of convenience in that I was using t-shirts in the colors of the high desert and no set design. Old t-shirts in reds, browns, greens, and such are pretty ubiquitous; better, I’d found that Albuquerque had Savers stores. Savers has for years been my thrift shop of choice for used clothing to deconstruct and then hook with.

The hooking was done right quick – by the beginning of September. The finishing would have to wait until we moved (again) and I had more table room. To me it was an alright rug; it served its purpose, certainly, but I didn’t love it. Imagine my surprise when I put it up for sale at the Rail Yards this June. It was the mat that everyone pointed to when they perused my stuff. “Love that!” “Look, it’s got a Zia!” Even, “Hey, Sue, you should buy this one for your office.”

New Mexican flag courtesy of flags-to-print.com.

An aside:  For those who don’t know about the Zia sun symbol, here is a description from Pueblo of Zia:

The Zia logo is used by the state of New Mexico on both the flag and license plates.

The symbol originated with the Indians of Zia Pueblo in ancient times. It’s design reflects their tribal philosophy, with its wealth of pantheistic spiritualism teaching the basic harmony of all things in the universe. (http://zia.com/home/zia_info.html)

Maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised by its popularity. Zia suns are all over the place here: on our license plates, on t-shirts, worked into company logos, and so on. Silly me for thinking it would be seen as touristy or, at best, kind of kitschy. I mean, I’m from New England, but I didn’t have photos of sailboats or lobster statues throughout my colonial home.

A few weeks back a woman came through my booth; she had a marketing background and did a lot of work with arts and/or craft shows. The first thing she told me (after saying that she loved my work, that is) was that I needed to have more Zias. that people would eat them up. And that my mug rug concept should be “expanded,” that I should hook a larger rug, big enough to hold four mugs. That “if I hook it, they will come.” (And, concomitantly, they will pay more.)

What the hell, I thought, Let’s try it. Tom and I ran to Savers a couple of days later (if I go on Tuesdays, he gets me a senior discount of 30%!). There weren’t four matching mugs that would fit the New Mexican bill, but I did find two colored turquoise. Fine, we’d start small-ish. Below is what I came up with (minus one mug for the pic).

"Coffee for Two, NM Style" really came with two mugs. Sold!
“Coffee for Two, NM Style” really came with two mugs. Sold!

Fast-forward to this past Sunday. Everyone loves the “Welcome to New Mexico” rug, but, of course, no one wants to pay for it. (I know the owner-to-be is out there…) Lady comes in, is looking for a gift for her mother. Takes her a while to decide on one with the “perfect” colors that will match her mom’s home. I realize suddenly that I don’t have my Square, that I left it in the car. Tom makes a run for it. Lady walks around the market with her husband while we wait. Tom and she arrive back at the same time. I start to input the info into Square. “Wait!” she says excitedly. “Can I have this one instead? I think she’ll really love this one.” The Zia rug with its matching mugs is $10 more. Of course, you can!

So, I’m about to start making a lot more New Mexican-themed rugs and mats. That’s okay. I find it an interesting challenge to come up with different designs that don’t bore me, that have some panache beyond the typical tourist crap you find in Old Town Albuquerque. But I’m not one to design according to others’ preferences – unless they’re paying for a custom rug, of course. Fortunately, these will tend to be smaller rugs. For myself and my own “artistic sense,” I usually have another rug running, something that’s less work and more…therapy. Right now that’s a bedsheet rug. Pictures will soon be available.

"Desert Gone Wild"; 23"x9.5"; $90; Recycled t-shirts, SOLD
“Desert Gone Wild” is a rug that sold two weeks ago. Color, for me it’s all about the colors.

 

What about you? What do you like to hook? Landscapes? Geometrics? Portraits? Florals? Realistic versus stylized renderings? I know many love to do seasonal pieces. Me, I love pumpkins and other things fall, but I’m not a lover of Christmas rugs. It takes so long to make one, how can I put it out for six weeks at the most? Weigh in below!

 

 

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Here’s to hooking in 2016!

Just stopping by to dash off wishes for a wonderful end to 2015 and a hopeful beginning to 2016. It’s been a busy hooking week, though, ironically, I don’t have much to show for it. You see, I have to get a rug started for the Albuquerque Fiber Arts Council‘s April show. I believe I mentioned this before. Crunch time is coming. The theme is “Colors of New Mexico.” Designing this thing is giving me angina. I swear, I think about it in the shower, at 2:00 a.m. when I should be sleeping, when my kid’s begging me to go to the movies. I’m pretty sure I know where I’ll go with it now, but it’s still making me drink.

Behind schedule poinsettia.
Behind-schedule poinsettia.

Then I spent one whole evening pulling out most of my almost-completed poinsettia. In my attempt to do a little shading, I used colors with hues much too close to one another. There wasn’t enough contrast between them so I was left with a merlot-colored SPLAT. I’ve since started hooking with more of a rosé and a pinot noir. I think it helped.

Okay, I’m in a wine frame of mind. Whoopee! It’s almost New Year’s Eve, you know. Not only that, yesterday Tom and I went out to lunch then made a little field trip to a local winery, Gruet, which specializes in making bubbly in the Champenoise tradition. (It’s illegal to call any sparkly stuff champagne, so I’ll be technical.) We wanted to pick up a bottle for tomorrow night.

Celebrate with Gruet bubbly!

Um, we were more than successful. A lovely, young woman poured tastings for us and two other couples from Dallas and Portland. We had a great time talking wine, what it’s like to relocate to Portland (Oregon, hookers, not Maine!), Airstream trailers, vanilla lip gloss, and what-have-you. An hour and a half later, Tom and I were wine club members. Lucky you: If you’re thinking about visiting us here in Albuquerque, we’re apt to pop open a bottle for you.

Please share any hooking you might have managed to do this holiday week. If you didn’t get any done, who cares?!!? My wish is that you spend the rest of the week relaxing and enjoying friends and family. There’s plenty of time to work in 2016.

Happy New Year!

May your 2016 be filled with the most wonderful of fireworks and new adventures. Happy New Year!
May your 2016 be filled with the most wonderful of fireworks and new adventures. Happy 2016!

 

 

 

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Wishing you all a very merry Christmas!

Look who I met on Santa Fe's plaza Saturday evening!
Look who I met on Santa Fe’s plaza Saturday evening!

 

It’s Christmas week and I won’t even pretend that I’ll get a blog article out this week. But I do send fond holiday wishes to friends and family no matter what your faith. Eat, rest, celebrate, and enjoy each other’s company. Be kind and reap kindness in return.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

The pointsettia that's keeping me warm this week. What are you hooking this holiday?
The poinsettia that’s keeping me warm this week. What are you hooking this Christmas holiday?

Love,
Laura

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Frustration, artistic and otherwise

"Difficult" yarn to the left. Size N/15 needle/hook. Much friendlier yarn on the right.
“Difficult” yarn to the left. Size N/15 needle/hook. Much friendlier yarn on the right.

It was supposed to be a brief break from hooking, still creative, still fiberific; instead it was an exercise in frustration. To give my hands a rest, I’d made a detour in Walmart (where I am now forced to do part of my weekly grocery shopping – grrr…) and headed to the craft aisles to pick up some yarn and a crochet hook. No biggie. My aunt taught me how to crochet when I was in sixth grade or so, and I’d picked up that hook now and again throughout the decades. Last time I’d even made myself a lovely shawl,  using filet crochet and beading. This time all I wanted to do was a simple cowl-like scarf. How hard could it be?

Plenty, it turned out. I’d chosen a big novelty yarn, one that had a lot of…fluff, for lack of another word. But with double crochet, how hard could it be? Even with the giant needle I’d purchased. Again, plenty. I couldn’t see all my stitches. The little “hairs” tangled making it difficult to even pull errant stitches out. My rows weren’t even. After ripping multiple attempts out over and over again, I finally declared, “Enough!” Despite all my assumptions and confidence, I was a crochet washout. The years had finally caught up with me.

Not! Having to be out and about yesterday afternoon – another source of frustration, having to teach the kid to drive – I had my chauffeur take me to Michaels where they have plenty of less complicated yarns. While she headed to the Dunkin Donuts next door (you can take the girl out of New England, but you CANNOT take Dunkin Donuts out of the Massachusetts-born and -bred girl), I ran in for the yarn. After perusing a bit, I found a nice multicolored, kind of chenille skein. Very nice. On sale too. Always a plus. So, tomorrow night, after I purchase yet another needle… The new one is too big, and I haven’t unpacked my old ones. They must be hidden away in some hooking boxes.

I’d start it tonight, but I’m treating myself to a solo trip to Barnes and Noble’s cafe. To write. I’m one of those people who needs to be alone when I start a short story. The other people who live in my house are in the house ALL THE TIME! Worse, they want my attention. Being home, therefore, is not conducive whatsoever to writing anything more than a Facebook post or maybe a blog entry. (Presumably, a blog post is completely true and not fictional at all.) There may be others in B&N’s cafe, but I can ignore them, chalk them up to white noise in a way I just can’t at home. Hence, I’m off for a different kind of artist’s date. And I will drive myself, thank you very much.

Wool strips, though the pumpkin itself is hooked from llama yarn.
Wool strips, though the pumpkin itself is hooked from very fun, very orange llama yarn.

Lest you think hooking’s been neglected, I’ve been having some fun with the Bliss cutter guild-mate Linda lent me. I’ve chosen to cut by hand for so many years that it’s quite the luxury. To that affect, I’ve been laying down wool strips in a quickly drawn up pattern. I’ll let you know how I feel about using such “even” strips. I fear I might find the preciseness somewhat stifling, that my true Type A (for anal) personality might come out in a way I try to avoid in hookling, the one place I feel free to be…well, free.

As my pumpkin indicates, even here in Albuquerque  fall’s very definitely arrived. Our leaves are changing colors and even blowing off in the wind. We’ve had a first killing frost. The sandhill cranes, our resident snow birds, are flying in. Can’t wait to see that. Apparently, they hang around the Rio Grande for the winter. Pics to follow!

What strategies do you use when things are working out like you planned? Can you call someone? Go online? Spill your secrets here; help a gal out. And while you’re commenting, are you a precise hooker or more “anything goes”?

 

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On the threshold of an adventure…

Time’s running out. Quickly. Yesterday was my last day of work running the food pantry. I hope that I’ve passed on all the “wisdom” I’ve accumulated to Sue while I had the chance. Clients depend on it.

The truth is that even if I didn’t, there are still a few weeks before the moving van arrives to pack up the crap we’ve accumulated over 23 years. We’re on a precipice here, people – about to move from New England, where we were all born and bred, to the high desert of New Mexico.

Where we’ll be starting our new adventure.

When I say “we,” I mean me (the hooker), Tom (the husband), and the almost 18-year old daughter. When I say “born and bred,” I mean raised on Dunkin’ Donuts, trips to Rhode Island beaches, vacations in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, fresh seafood, East coast educations, fiery-colored fall leaves, and, of course, Providence‘s up and continually coming food and art scene.

The truth is that I was born on the western side of Connecticut closer to NYC than Boston. My elementary and high school field trips usually ended up in New York: the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, the Cloisters, the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Opera… (Who can complain about that???)  It was only after college and two degrees – in Rhode Island and then in Kansas – and two marriages, that I ended up in Massachusetts. Where I’ve been for 23+ years. Where I learned to hook. And haven’t looked back.

But for years I have looked forward. Back in 1990 or so, I headed to Arizona on business. It was October, 90 degrees, blue-skied, and glorious. I fell in love with the Southwest. A few vacations and explorations later, and new hubby and I espoused New Mexico, truly the land of enchantment with it’s big sky, clear air, art, hiking, and outdoor lifestyle. Sure, things stood in the way: careers, a kid who needed to finish school, and a mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s. (Life does indeed suck sometimes.)

But high school graduation finally arrived last month, and mother-in-law smiles down on us from up above, encouraging migration to a new and warmer climate. New Mexico’s not populated with quite as many hookers as New England and the Maritimes (you can all stop laughing at my understatement), but I’ll find them. And my hopes are to introduce the art form to new admirers. Preferably in trade for weaving lessons. I’ve always wanted to weave. Have you seen the tapestries of Donna Loraine Contractor?

The next few weeks will be busy. And potentially volatile. Emotions run high when you’re in the midst of a cross country move to a place with no one waiting for you. Just your dreams and hopes for a new adventure. Follow us and see where they take us.

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