Second Annual Hooked Rug Show At Reed School This Weekend

The Second Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show will be held on Saturday, November 8, from 10 am to 4 pm. A speaker’s presentation will be at 2:30. Admission is $5 per person. Proceeds will again benefit Newtown Meeting House Music Funds.

Last year’s show was very successful, but organizers knew before it was over that they had outgrown their space at Newtown Meeting House. Over 400 visitors and 16 vendors participated (more of both will be returning this year); the Nutmeg Chapter of Association of Traditional Hooking Artists (ATHA) provided continuous hooking demonstrations; over 100 pieces were on display; and Marilyn Bottjer, of the Goodwives Chapter of ATHA, was the guest speaker.

This fall, the show will be held at Reed Intermediate School, at 3 Trades Lane (corner Wasserman Way). Everything will be in the same spacious room – rug displays, vendors, lunch, speakers and raffle – and there is plenty of free parking.

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

Members of Nutmeg Chapter of ATHA will again be offering hooking demonstrations during the show, allowing visitors to get a first-hand look at how these beautiful pieces are made.

Visitors will receive a paper ballot enabling him or her to vote for their favorite display entry. At the conclusion of the speakers’ presentation, a “Show Favorite” ribbon will be awarded to the piece with the most votes.

This year’s speakers are Dick LaBarge and George Kahnle, internationally known among folk art and hooked rug aficionados and collectors. Topics they will cover include design, color and dyeing. Their company, Hooked on the Creek, is based in Victory Mills, N.Y., and they spend large amounts of time on the road lecturing as well as teaching at hooking camps and seminars.

Mr LaBarge is a top rug hooking artist, known for his style and work with dyeing wool used for hooking. He was this year’s featured artist at “Hooked in the Mountains,” at the Shelburne Museum in Vermont, considered by many to be the premier hooked rug show in the United States.

Mr Kahnle is considered one of the best rug designers in the field. Many of Mr LaBarge’s rugs are Mr Kahnle’s designs. Since he began designing, Mr Kahnle has created over 360 original patterns — some are for fine cut wool, but most of his designs are for wide cut.

Amy Oxford will also be at this year’s show, signing copies of her new book, Punch Needle Rug Hooking. Ms Oxford is a veteran instructor who entertains as she teaches. A complete “how to” photo essay walks students through every stage of punch needle hooking. A question and answer section, interviews with professional punch needle hookers, a look into the origins of the technique and photographs of some of the field’s most innovative craftspeople make wonderful reading for any textile lover.

For additional show information, travel directions and hotel accommodations, readers are invited to send a legal-size SASE to Sherry Paisley, 38 Walnut Tree Hill Road, Sandy Hook CT 06482-1049; call 270-8293; or send email to nmh1792@hotmail.com.