My Very First Rug…

Pigs must be flying and hell must be frozen over because the Rug Hooking world has officially turned me into a hooker… and I love every minute of it!

It was about 2 years ago now that I began helping my mom, Stephanie Krauss, with Rug School.  I have always vowed that I was not interested in hooking.  Until this Christmas when my aunt, Pam Kirk, sent me a pattern.  I was strangely excited to start it.  I had it color planned the next morning by 5AM.  I never realized how great my moms shop was until I was color planning… SO MUCH WOOL! 

I then began hooking.  I took to it like a fish to water.  I told mom, “I had been watching her, my grandmother (Anne Ashworth) and my sister (Mariah Krauss) do it for 30 years, I likely picked something up in that time!”  My mom gave me pointers along the way.  Everyone had always said she is a great beginner teacher, now I see what they meant.  She has a way of guiding you and offering lots of ideas, while allowing you to go through the artistic process on your own. 

I learned a lot with this rug.  You can see how some of the bears look different.  The first bear I did I outlined and then I followed the outline all around.  The other bears I outlined and then hooked straight lines.  I also learned that pulling loops to make a straight line is difficult – which is why the pine cone tops look like a 5 year old drew them.  Lastly, I hooked the background in two different directions.  I hooked the top and the bottom – then I hooked the two sides.  I couldn’t really see the difference once the rug was completed and realized I could have hooked it all in the same direction.

I really enjoy my time hooking.  I have a pretty demanding job and I find it difficult to close my computer at the end of the night.  I also have trouble just sitting and watching TV – I always need to be multi-tasking.  Hooking has solved both of these problems for me.

Thanks hooking community for never giving up on me!