They are wonderful! Having been a "hooker" myself, I can appreciate the amount of planning and work that went into making them. They will be treasured forever.

Just beautiful. My grandmother and great grandmother were hookers and I have some wonderful pieces that they did. In my research of how hooking works, nothing says what holds the loops into the backer. Is it just friction on the tightly packed loops?

Very nice!!!

Better2boutside, the holes that the loops are pulled through are smaller than the strips of wool fabric, so I would say this is what holds the loops to the backing. The loops can be pulled out, but this takes a little effort since the ends are pulled to the top of the rug. Of course, a cat can manage it quite nicely. :-)

We try not to pack our loops too tightly.....but few of us succeed.

Thanks, everyone!

These are great, I would be hard pressed to pick a favorite! You do beautiful work, Susan.

Have you ever done any locker hooking? It uses a cotton twine under each loop to hold it all together, and rug hooking canvas. I bought the stuff I need to do it, but haven't found time to start yet, I need to cut some fabric into strips to practice. Some friends and I saw a class being taught at a quilt shop and she, the non-crafty one, was so intrigued she bought a kit and made a small rug all by herself and it turned out great. So I thought, if she can do it, so can I and I got the stuff I needed at Hobby Lobby. There are videos on youtube for free instructions. They are pretty basic, not as decorative as yours, but still look fun to do and fun to have.

Yours are super cute!

How adorable and practical. What size are they? I noticed your initials on the frog but not on the pie bird ...just went back and looked again. I think I see a small s and a j on the bottom. I remember your chair pads - do you have a hot pad too?

Those are really nice! I would love to have them. Thanks for the web site. I downloaded a pattern to use on my next project. I'm a new quilter and am unsure of how to do it, but I'll try to learn. Never done applique.

You do very good work, in everything you do!
I was just thinking about the bubble pictures through the glass, you posted long ago. Those were so pretty.

Very nice!

Foggy, how nice of you to remember those pictures!

Maire, both of these started out at 6x8", but I had to add some rows to the pie pad, which brought it to 7x10".

Nope, I haven't made one for myself. But I should--I like to work small. You'll never find me making a huge rug. Yesterday I noticed that some small mats in primitive designs, less detailed than the above, have sold for decent prices on eBay. I'm tempted to make something to sell. It would probably work out to a pitifully small hourly rate (hooking is a slow process), but it would be a fun experiment.

Flamey, I've never heard of locker hooking. I'm surprised, because I hang out at Rug Hooking Daily, a site where members hook in all sorts of ways. If it was mentioned, I guess I wasn't paying attention. Be sure to post your results!

Love those!!

The hotpads are beautiful, I just love the colors and details. You are very talented!!
And the thread title is great. :o)

Very nice, talanted you are!

Oh my, Susan. These are so darn cute. My heart would melt if someone made one of these for me. Just knowing they were made especially for me would be priceless. Your girls will love these and knowing you made them will made them extra special. They are something they will have to cherish for a lifetime. People don't make gifts like these very often anymore.

Very nice. Do you just make them from scratch or have a kit? I don't think they even sell the backing for rug hooking anymore, at least not around here? How do you start this? Do you have to cut your own yarn too?

Now that spring is considering springing ...

... I was wondering whether you were talking about going fishing.

Speaking of compensation levels for hooking ... I imagine that the original style may pay better?

o j

Those are wonderful!

Joann, no kits, and I don't use yarn. It's recycled wool fabric--old woolen clothes cut into strips. The hook, which looks like a crochet hook with a wooden handle, pulls the strips of fabric through the backing to make loops. The backing can be burlap, linen, or monks cloth. I buy mine online.

As a child, I watched my father's cousin Peggy hook rugs in Massachusetts. But I'm self-taught, having read a lot of books on the subject.

Here's a close-up view of one of my other mats to give you an idea of how the loops look.

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neato

Cool!

Too beautiful to put a hot pan on them!

You're an artist!