Cleaning with snow used to be a good way to clean rugs, but snow today is not that clean, and in some areas of the country is actually acidic. It's better to turn the rug face down and smack it all over with a dry scrub brush (use a white sheet under the rug). This gets out all loose dirt that is at the bottom of the loops. Then vacuum (low suction). Then mix up a bowl of suds (I used to use Ivory Snow, but don't know if they still make that) and use ONLY the suds, not the liquid, to scrub onto the top. Rinse (by wiping) thoroughly, and dry flat; vacuum again when dry. Of course this only works if your rug is color-fast and won't bleed all over the place. I have also used a commercial rug cleaning kit, but it wasn't any better, just different. Would it be better to clean the rug in the summer or fall? Maybe it would dry faster.

I've done quite a few of these, and they're dead easy.....you can use burlap as the basis for your rug, and other things, but burlap is probably the easiest to find. Draw your design onto the burlap...his name in the middle, being sure you leave plenty of burlap the other 'side' of what you plan to be the edges of the rug. If you have a sewing machine, you can sew around the edge of the piece of burlap, just to keep it from fraying while you're working on it. AFter you're all finished you'll sew on rug tape, pull it to the back and sew it to the rug, just to nicely finish the edges. You hook the design first...outline the letters and then fill them in...then, work your way out to the edges, pulling loops of what you select as your background color. Here is a site with instructions. http://www.woolbaasket.com/hooking.html I will tell you, though, that I never use a hoop or frame...I find them awkward to use (don't use a quilting hoop, either..I just hold the area I'm working on taut, with my other hand)..after finishing the center of the rug you could then do different colored lines around the edges of your rug..perhaps using the fabrics you use in the name, just to lend continuity to your work...sort of a border. It's always good to use the fabrics several different places in a piece. We have a lot of antiques, my daugher, too...so, I usually make sort of primitive looking rugs that go with our other things. Here's one of our daughter's dog, that I made her for Christmas a few years ago (she has a new pup so I reckon I'll be making one with the new dog for next Christmas) here's one of lady liberty, I made her last year.....for her kitchen ..it's made as a copy of the wall paper border she used

The first time I saturated an item like that I would do so in the tub, so any color bleeding or weakness in the backing material would be immediately exposed and could be dealt with before the problem got out of hand. If nothing untoward happened I would rinse the item in clear water in the tub, then send it through a spin-only cycle to extact the water and then let it air-dry. Even very fragile items stand up quite well to a spin-only cycle if laid carefully in the drum. It may be very heavy (not to mention drippy), so handle it with care as you lift it while wet. It will be at it's most vulnerable at that point. It the rug showed no signs of damage from that limited machine experience, then the next time I would send it through a hand-wash cycle with much more confidence. If you are worried about it you could baste two layers of netting or organdy over it (on front and back) and wash it that way. Is the tufting wool or cotton? And if wool, is it yarn or thin strips of woven material that might fray? Another thing you might do if you're in snow country is give it a snow "bath" by turning it upside down on fresh, fairly dry snow and beating it gently. Afterwards you can lightly "scrub" it with fresh snow, front and back, then broom it off and bring it back in and let it air dry completely. The essential first steps on this would be a very good vacuuming on both sides and an overnight outside beforehand in very cold (10-0F) temps, which is an excellent way to kill off case moth larvae. Then proceed with the snow bath and bring it in to dry. Snow baths are quite effective and I usually haul one or more of my semi-antique orientals out every winter. It can be a big, heavy job, however. You will be amazed at how dirty the snow gets even when you start with a regularly and freshly vacuumed rug. Snow baths are a traditional and old fashioned way to clean wool rugs and carpets. The "beating" should be done with something soft like your mittened hand or a broom, it is very easy to damage an old rug with a conventional wire or rattan carpet beater. I'm sure they worked fine when the rugs were new, but age must have its due respect. And I would be remiss if I didn't remind you to test every color carefully before immersing it, if you do choose to wash the rug in water. Squares of a cut-up white papertowel are excellent for these tests. And of course you should always inspect the item for weak points (and make any nec. repairs before washing - or at least stabilize the problem) and wash it in an appropriate detergent, with coolish water and little agitation if any of the materials are wool. And all cotton rug can take higher temps, of course. A important point to check for color bleeding is on any twill backing or binding - these are sometimes not pre-washed before being appliad to the rug - so they can be a disaster just waiting to happen. If . HTH, Molly~

Thanks for all the very nice comments! I think the quilters on this forum are the ones with the spectacular talent. Is rug hooking hard? I have never done it, but it looks really tedious. If someone tried hooking and didn't like it, I suppose it would be tedious. But those of us who do it really love it. Some rug hookers buy printed patterns and new wool. That's the expensive way to go, but it gets them hooking immediately. Others like me, enjoy the hunt for old wool clothes and like to do our own designs at least some of the time, and also play with dyes and color. This method requires patience because what we really want to do is sit down and start hooking. I find the hooking process relaxing. These days I'm working on the turtle rug while "watching" (listening to) old episodes of Law and Order SVU. It's perfect because I recognize all the regulars' voices and don't have to look up very often. No, it's not hard. Just takes a little practice to make the loops even. I always hear that the best way to start is to get a teacher. But there are no teachers (or other rug hookers) where I live, so I learned from books.