Hooked Rug Show Returning For

Third Appearance On November 6

The 3rd Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show will be held at Reed Intermediate School in Newtown on Saturday, November 6. The show will run from 10 am to 4 pm.

Everything will be under the same roof — rug displays, vendors, hooking demonstrations, lunch, speakers and raffle — and there is plenty of free parking. The school is very conveniently located at 3 Trades Lane, immediately off Wasserman Way.

Admission is $7 per person, with all proceeds to benefit the Newtown Meeting House Music Fund.

Visitors are welcome to bring their pieces to display. This is not a juried show and there are no specific categories.

This year’s guest speaker is Jessie Turbayne, an internationally recognized authority on hooked rugs and the author of four highly regarded books that are valued by both collectors and contemporary artists. A resident of Westwood, Mass., she has been a conservation and restoration specialist of antique hooked rugs for over 30 years.

Ms Turbayne currently lectures on North American hooked rug history, as well as teaching the art of rug hooking throughout the United States and Canada.

In addition to her lecture at noon, from 1 to 2 pm Ms Turbayne will be selling and/or signing copies of her newest book, The Complete Guide to Collecting Hooked Rugs: Unrolling The Secrets.

At 2 pm Ms Turbayne will begin offering appraisals on visitors’ antique rugs. Cost is $10 per rug, which will also be donated to the meeting house’s music fund. The appraisals will run for one hour.

After her years of restoring hooked rugs, Ms Turbayne has specific advice for enthusiasts and collectors: “Educate yourself, then buy the best example you can afford.  Avoid a rug that looks like it has black sand in it; these are moth eggs.

“Avoid any rug with latex on the back; this decreases its value by 90 percent,” she also offers. “If you touch a rug and get powdery dust in your hand, or hear it crack, it has dry rot. And don’t be afraid to buy a rug that has just been restored.”

Hooked rugs are a truly American art form. Hooked rugs have recently surpassed American quilts in popularity in sales at galleries and fairs.  Experts concur that good hooked rugs are increasing in value by 10 to 20 percent annually.

“Collecting rugs is like eating comfort food,” says Nancy Druckman, director of the American folk art department at Sotheby’s in New York. “I believe that hooked rugs are homely arts that reach people as other forms of folk art cannot. People see hooked rugs in many ways — as paintings in wool, family mementos, even floor coverings.

“Hooked rugs make a place feel warm,” she continued. “People love the nubby, homemade quality of the pieces; they are irresistible.”

In addition to Ms Turbayne’s appearance, the show will welcome the return of Amy Oxford, who was a popular guest at last year’s hooked rug show. Ms Oxford’s work ranges in size from dollhouse to roomsize rugs and stair runners. She has developed a successful teaching training program and, for 17 years, has taught all levels of punch needle rug hooking.

Ms Oxford will be selling and signing her latest book, Hooked Rugs Today.

One of the show’s major attractions – the vendor area – is also returning, with 31 vendors from ten states offering all kinds of rug hooking supplies. Shoppers will be able to browse through quantities of accessories, backing fabrics, books, braid holders, cutters, dyeing instruction, lap frames, hooking utensils, patterns, wool — both hand-dyed pieces and bolt fabrics — and other necessities.

A special display of two punch needle rugs designed and made by students of the Sandy Hook rug hooker Liz Alpert Fay will also be presented. The kindergarten through eighth grade students from Members of ATHA/Nutmeg Chapter will have an ongoing rug hooking demonstration. Also, all show visitors will be invited to vote for the 2004 People’s Choice – selecting a favorite rug from the exhibition area.

For more information, travel directions and hotel accommodations, contact Sherry Paisley at 270-8293 or nmh1792@hotmail.com.