That was a piece of music in the movie "The Sting" with Paul Newman and Robert Redford. But that is not what I'm referring to in this title.
Wednesday at our Countryside Homemaker's Club meeting, we had a 'Certified Hooker' with us. Really...she is a professional hooker. And she was going to teach us how and let us practice a bit...really.
Her sister is a member of our little club. This is how the invitation was extended. She 'hooks' beautiful handmade rugs out of wool fabric.
When their grandmother passed away, she inherited two of the items her grandmother used to hook rugs. You see, her grandmother was a 'hooker' as well. Our instructor took a class and found she really loved doing this craft.
She brought her cutter which is just the coolest tool ever. You place a piece of wool fabric against a guide and turn a handle on the side and guide the edge of the wool fabric throught his little machine. It make 4 or 5 strands of wool that are called 'worms'.
Then you use a special fabric that is the backing for your rug. You can draw the pattern you want to hook or purchase fabric with the pattern already drawn on it. Then you use a 'hook' and pull this 'worm' through the weave of the fabric.
She had some burlap pieces and embroidery hoops for us to practice with. Burlap was what they once used for backing for these homemade rugs but it does not hold up well. I took a piece of burlap, an embroidery hoop and some worms and gave it a go. It was lots of fun and I could see how one would get addicted to that craft in a big hurry.
So there you have it, I can now 'hook'. Not a pro by any means but I did enjoy learning something new.
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