We have the same problem. I moved the mat to rearrange the furniture and noticed damp carpet. I smelled mildew in the damp area. I pulled up the carpet and nothing else besides the carpet and pad was damp or showed signs of water intrusion, either through the wall or slab. The smell however was bad. I sprayed bleach and water mix 50/50 on the pad, carpet, and slab and had a big floor fan on for hours. It dried but the room smells like the mold. What do I do now?

Minnie, I'm using a Joan Moshimer medium hook. Her hooks look like this: My wool strips are 1/8" (actually 5/32"), which is considered to be pretty narrow. Many hookers use these for shading flowers, or other realistic work. My designs are more primitive, but worked with narrow stips. One of these days I'll try using the 1/4" strips that most people use for primitive rugs. I have a larger hook to accommodate the wider strips. How does one learn to do that? Is it hard to learn? Is it an expensive hobby? I learned from reading books and subscribing to a rug hooking newsletter years ago. As a child, I watched my dad's cousin Peggy hook on a huge frame in Massachusetts. I was interested, but didn't try it until I was in my 30s and had inherited her rug hooking supplies. I still use her strip cutter and some of her wool. The pink strips in Mickey's photo above are part of Peggy's stash. I think it's easy to learn. It should be even easier today because beginners can go to rug hooking websites--and even find rug hooking demonstrations on YouTube. Trust me, I would never undertake an expensive hobby! Like anything else, it can become expensive depending on what you buy. Lots of rug hookers buy new wool fabric, some of it hand-dyed. That can get pricey. I use only used woolen clothing from thrift shops, plus some of Peggy's. This is fine with me, as I love the hunt. Also, dyeing wool can be fun. I was lucky to have inherited Peggy's strip cutter......to buy a new one today would cost $175. They come with one cutter head, which cuts one width strips. Extra cutter heads for cutting different widths cost $15 apiece. You definitely need a frame. Peggy worked on large rugs, so she used a big frame that stood on the floor. My pieces are smaller. I've used an oval hoop floor frame, and I've used an Erica Wilson "fanny frame." These days I mostly hook on a homemade wooden lap frame that I bought for $10 from the man who made them. Most hookers I know online use commercial lap frames that run anywhere from $90 all the way up to the Snapdragon frames at $395. My guess is that more of them use the Puritan frame, which is around $150. So the initial outlay might be a bit high, but it's like buying a digital camera: All the expense is up front. I would love to join a real life hooking group, but I still don't know any rug hookers. I'm thinking of giving a hooking demonstration at the library.....maybe I can create some people to hook with. :-)

Thank you, everyone, for your wonderful comments! Yes, the hutch is handmade. Several years ago I bought a few pieces from a man who uses some reclaimed wood in his work. One is an oak sideboard that features old horse fencing around part of the top. You can see where it's been "cribbed" by the horse. The hutch is called a Dutch Pantry. The doors open flat to display what's inside, but I have no intention of displaying my canned goods! When I get to making more chair pads I'll see if I can create a little lesson with photos. It'll be a while, though. By then you'll all have moved on to pysanky or watchmaking. :-)

I think they'd be lovely as a pillow top. I'd make a pillow covering in a colorful or dark plain fabric. Something that will show off the lovely handwork. Then play with draping them on the pillow until you get something that pleases you. If you have larger ones like for a chair back they could cover the whole pillow and others could be centered or placed at random. I have doilies and dresser scarves my grandmother crocheted and I have used them to make decorative bedroom pillows and I really like them