Hooked Rug Show Returning Saturday

The 7th Annual Newtown Hooked Rug Show will be held in the cafetorium of Reed Intermediate School, 3 Trades Lane in Newtown, on Saturday, October 4, from 9:30 am to 3 pm.

Admission is $10 per person, which covers everything under the same roof: fiber art displays included a juried category, 33 vendors, hooking demonstrations, lunch, speaker, workshop and raffle.

Hooking artist and author June Myles will be this year’s guest speaker, while hooking artist and teacher Trish Becker will lead this year’s workshop.

For the second year, the show will offered a juried display entitled “Pushing the Limits: New Concepts in Rug Hooking.” Jurors Ellen Highsmith Silver and Terry Capuana have accepted 21 submissions. Winner will be announced at the show, pieces will be on display and a professionally-produced CD will be available for purchase.

Visitors are also encouraged to bring their hooked rugs for display in the non-juried area, free of charge. A Visitor’s Choice winner will be selected by visitors vote on show day, a blue ribbon will be awarded, and photos of the rug will be used for 2009 show publicity.

Members of the Nutmeg chapter of ATHA will be hooking throughout the day, answering questions and offering visitors a first-hand look at how beautiful pieces are made.

Thirty-three vendors from across the United States will offer all kinds of rug hooking supplies.  Shoppers may browse through quantities of accessories, backing fabrics, books, braiding supplies, cutters, dyeing instruction, lap frames, hooking utensils, patterns, wool (both hand-dyed and bolt fabrics), and more. An afternoon raffle will award winning ticket-holders $25 gift certificates to show vendors.

Four authors will be selling and signing copies of their latest books. Amy Oxford, the author of Hooked Rugs Today: Volumes One and Two; Jacqueline Handen and Trudy Brown, authors of Sculptured Rugs in Waldoboro Style; and June Myles, who wrote If Wool Could Talk – Hooked Rugs, a Memoir, are all planning to be at this year’s show.

Ms Myles, who has been booking rugs since 1988 – when she moved to Connecticut – will also be this year’s guest speaker. Her presentation will be “A Personal Odyssey in Rug Hooking: The Percolation and Expression of Ideas.”

Trish Becker, this year’s workshop leader, is a much sought after teacher, speaker and writer, who inspires others to enhance their rugs through the use of color and creativity. She teaches workshops in wide-cut and primitive rug hooking at The Woolery and across the country. Her specialty class at the moment is wide-cut animals, which is what she will bring to Newtown on October 4.

Students will work in #9 cut and hook “Folk Art Catã 2008,” a folksy cat in a choice of three color plans (tabby, tuxedo or calico) designed especially for this class. The workshop is limited to 15 experienced students, registration is required, and cost is $55 per person including pattern.

The workshop will run from 9 am until noon. Students will need to bring their own #9 cut wool or purchase it from Ms Becker on show day, as well as their own hook, frame and scissors.

Proceeds from the day will again benefit Newtown Meeting House. For additional information visit NewtownHookedRugShow.com or call 270-8293.