Bucky is done!

I have an announcement in Rookie Hooker Land...

I've finished my first rug!

Okay, not REALLY.  But I'm done hooking him.  I'm going to steam it tonight, and then I'll get started on the binding and such.  Here he is:

I did end up taking out the loops on the R in the circle, because it looked more like Bucky threw up than an actual letter.  The original letter was in a #7 cut, but I replaced it with a #4, and it worked much, much better.  I learned a lesson about wool - the Dorr Mill Store wool I used was fantastic, as was the wool I bought from Cabin Fever, dyed by Ginny Glover, but the black wool I used was from Hancock Fabrics, and no offense Hancock, I love you for other things, but that black wool would shred if the cut got to be too small.  Dorr Mill is one of our Bee Line Townsend distributors, and I've never gone wrong with any of their wool, and the blue wool I bought from Ginny was so beautiful and easy to work with.

Tonight, I steam.  I'm hoping it will cover up a lot of my mistakes, like all of my new hooker friends tell me it will.  That steamer has a lot of work to do!

First Things First, My First Lesson with Lori Rokusek

So much to report from the Rookie Hooker front, but first things first - I've had my first two hooking lesssons!  Yippee!

The fantabulous Lori Rokusek, who hails from Dubuque and is working toward her McGown certification, came to the Beeline Townsend shop and gave us all an education.  She was terrific.  For the first hour or so that she was here, nearly half of our entire company (which would be roughly 20ish people) sat in while Lori went over a brief history of rug hooking, showed us different backing materials and wools, and shared many of her finished projects with us.  Then, she showed us different hooks and had people step up and learn how to hook.  Of course, the men in the building turned it into a bit of a competition, as in who had the best technique, whose loops were most even, whose line was the straightest, etc.  I even caught some of them by my desk after the lesson hooking in secret when they thought no one was around.  Way to go Lori!

I really want my first project to be a rendition of our company logo, Bucky Bee:

I talked to Lori about how to get Bucky patterned out.  She gave me some Scottish Linen, and some tips on how to best represent Bucky.  Here is what I ended up with:

I'm just going to say it:  I'm kind of proud of my Bucky Bee.

However, dear sweet Lori had to break the news to me...my red wool had to come out because it wasn't felted.  DRAT!  It was for the best, of course - the wool I used is from a large chain fabric shop, and while it is 100% wool, I can tell the quality is not nearly as good as the other wools I am using.  My cream colored wool is from Dorr Fabrics, and it is fantastic, hardly shreds at all, and the blue dyed wool by Ginny Glover or Stillwater, MN I'm using for the backing is from Cabin Fever, which is beautiful and holds up great.  The red, however, shreds quite a bit, even felted.  I did the red and the black in a #6 cut, and I did the cream and the blue in a #7 cut.  I'll post more about that next time, with an updated picture of my nearly finished Bucky Bee.

Lori came back the following week and had a second session with just me and Shari, the BLT department, and Rhonda and Stephanie, the BLT production crew responsible for making all of our equipment.  Here are some photos from the last day Lori was in:

Lori and one of her fantastic works of art.

Lori and Rhonda talking turkey.



Shari working on the back end of a sheep. 

Someone has to take the less glorious job.

Stephanie takes the front end of the sheep.

That's me, Julie, fruitlessly hooking unfelted wool on my bee.



My new hooking mentor, Lori.  She rocks.

This is Bill, Lori's husband - the chauffuer,

unsung hero, and handsome pack mule.

It was really exciting to finally start actually hooking something.  And now, you all know the end of the story....I'm hooked.  I hooked in the hotel room in Lenexa, Kansas with Katie Lane from Townsend, and I hooked during the entire Oscars, and if I have 10 minutes before I need to leave to pick up my kids from somewhere, I'll think, "Oh, I can just do a couple of worms quick...."  I'm finding out that the more I learn about this great art, the more I need to learn, but it's fun and it's fascinating. 

I'll file a report on the Rock Creek Hook In with Marilyn Schmidt in Lenexa, Kansas in the next few days.

Julie, the Rookie Hooker

First Hook

Happy February from Julie, the Rookie Hooker!

It's been a while since my last post because honestly, I've had nothing to share.  However, things are now buzzing in my journey to become a full-fledged hooker.  First, I bought a new hook, and it was pretty darn exciting.

It's a brand spankin' new Hartman hook. 

And it's mine.  ALL MINE!

I tried the ball shaped handle and the pencil-style handle, but I have sort of long hands, and I found that my pinky finger and ring finger wanted something to hold on to.  It was really a window into my controlling tendencies.  ALL FINGERS MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO DO!  Hopefully I'll get over that, and I would imagine that in time I will get the other styles of hook as well.  I can already see the direction this new hobby is going.

The other exciting thing is that a hooking instructor, Lori Rokusek from Dubuque, is coming to the Bee Line Townsend facility to teach a group of us to hook!   Wow, the sacrifices I make for my job!  She'll be here at about 10 a.m., we're giving her a plant tour, and then she's going to give a mini-hooking demonstration in our conference room for our employees.  Most of the guys are interested in learning the mechanics of how rug hooking works, and why the cutter and cassettes are an important part of the final projects, but there is a handful of us who are excited to learn how to start actual projects.

My first project is going to be our company mascot, Bucky Bee.

I'll probably stay away from the words in the logo, since everything I read about lettering in Rug Hooking Magazine, Wool Street Journal, and ATHA seems to indicate that it can be tricky, and I do have the tendency to bite off more than I can chew.

Lori Rokusek from Dubuque came to the BLT plant last week to teach us beginning rug hooking.   A lot of the guys in the plant came in to see the mechanics of hooking, the history, how to do it, etc.  A number of them actually hooked a row, and they weren't half bad!  I have the frame with the sample piece on it outside of my office, and I've caught a few guys coming over to try it again.  I only got to do a few loops because I wanted the other people to have their chance, but Lori is coming back tomorrow and I plan to monopolize her time.

This weekend I get to travel to Lenexa, Kansas with the wonderful Katie Lane from Townsend, where we will attend Marilyn Schmidt's Hook In - I'll be excited to bring a project with me!

What hooks do you use, and which is your favorite?