Feb. 24, 2014

In September, 2013, I received an e-mail from a lady who asked about hooked rug repair. This wasn’t unusual as I get about a dozen such inquiries  every month, but she got my attention when she asked if I knew someone who might stay at her house while doing the repairs. I replied that there are few enough people who want to repair; have the skill to do it; and certainly none that I could imagine who would want to be away from home for a length of time. I also mentioned that a good repairer would probably prefer to work in his or her own studio where they have all the equipment, supplies, and resources to accomplish a ‘good’ repair. But she piqued my interest further in her next e-mail by stating that she has about 40 hooked rugs in her collection from before the 1920’s. I could hardly contain my excitement when I read this!  If nothing else, I wanted a look at her collection.

We exchanged a few more e-mails about possible dates to visit, and finally with the arrangements made, I was off in October for my 2-day visit to help form a plan of action for the repairs. What I found was an amazing collection of old hooked rugs in varying sizes, including many room-size rugs. Here are some that I saw on my first visit.

                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've gone back to this house every month since my first visit in October for a 4-day stint of repairing. I joked with my hostess that she has a life-time of repair work, but I'm not going to live long enough. I love this 'new' job and will be talking more about it in future posts, and of course, showing more photos of rugs!