Tag: Bec Andersen QLD

Rughooking Calendar Updates

ISSN 2207-001X 26th May 2017

Question:- 

“If I don’t use Facebook – how can I find out about rug hooking events  around Australia before they happen?”

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In Strathalbyn South Australia  – this weekend  (27th/28th May) is your last chance to visit Judith Stephens Open Studio.

This Exhibition of hooked rugs and items made using 10 different rug making techniques by members of the Strath Matters rug hooking group; a collection of old SEMCO rug patterns and “Have-a-go” proggy demonstrations; is part of the South Australia’s History Festival.

The theme this year is “Transport”, which lends itself to  thoughts of “magic carpets” or the magic of rag rugs.

President, Judith Stephens, SA

From Judith :

“The History Festival lasts for the month of May, and there are hundreds of activities throughout the state – some major and many small projects of all varieties.  It’s a great idea, and people really get into the swing of attending heaps of activities, so it is worthwhile. 

We’ve had about a dozen people each day we’ve been open – lots of chat about ‘I remember my grandfather ….. etc etc!’  One lady saw the old tools and exclaimed ‘is THAT what it’s used for!”

Open Studio  –  13 Old Bull Creek Rd, Strathalbyn, SA 5255.     For times and more details email  Judith   studioblue20@gmail.com

Speaking of “HISTORY”, check out the History of Australian Rugmakers on the Guild Website.

Many thanks to Corinne Ball, Curator, who retrieved the rugs from the archives of the South Australian Migration Museum, to photograph and for her permission to show the images on the Guild website.

The Migration Museum, at 82 Kintore Ave, Adelaide, South Australia 5001 is Open Daily from 10am-5pm Mon-Fri and 1pm-5pm Weekends – Admission is Free.

Looking ahead in South Australia – the Strath Matters will be demonstrating rug hooking at the  Kym Jones Craft Fair   –  Adelaide Showgrounds  on the 14th/15th July – for details email Judith Stephens studioblue20@gmail.com  and on 18th & 19th August the group will be at the Strathalbyn Antique Fair & Crafts .

ALSO HAPPENING THIS COMING WEEKEND …..

Tasmania – Joanne Wild of the Happy Hookers in Deloraine, will facilitate a traditional hooking workshop “Small Hook Rug Workshop” on  Saturday, May 27, 10 am – 1pm at the British Hotel  80 Emu Bay Rd. Deloraine, TAS 7304 for information contact Joanne Wild (03) 6368 1373

 

For the next six weeks at the Bendigo Bank in Deloraine there will be an exhibition of hooked rugs by the Happy Hookers and Rowdy Ruggers .

The following description is shown at the exhibition –

“Deloraine & districts has a healthy latchhook rug making community who gather regularly in public places to work wool together and share.

Joanne Wild founded the “Happy Hookers in 2002 and many works have been completed at her gatherings.  Initially people met in each other’s homes then the groups became larger so they met in bigger spaces e.g. ETC bakery’s meeting room.

Currently two groups meet regularly and this exhibit represents some current members finished pieces.

The “Rowdy Ruggers” meet at Deloraine House on Wednesdays from 1-3 pm and welcome children.  Peter Burns from this group took more than 500 hours to complete his rug and he has almost completed a matching  NEFERTITI !!!!

Happy Hookers” meet on Mondays from 10-12 noon in the back room at the British Hotel. They welcome other woollen textile artists and according to Joanne Wild are rowdy too!!!!”

VICTORIA – in July – Plan a full weekend in Wangaratta  ……

8th – 16th July, the 14th Stitched Up Textile Festival & Community Textile Exhibition; “Stitching a Story”  will be held at  Gallery 2 at Wangaratta Art Gallery, 56 Ovens St Wangaratta

Bobby George, VIC
Maggie Whyte, ACT

Australian Rugmakers Guild members, Bobby George, from Victoria  and V.Pres & Secretary, Maggie Whyte, ACT will be presenting “The Story of Rughooking” and demonstrating the craft with the public invited to “have-a-go” at rug hooking.

Sun 9 July, 9am – 3 pm

 

Designed, hooked and photographed by Bobby George, VIC

The Stitched Up Festival celebrates all forms of textile art & craft in and around Wangaratta in North East Victoria. www.stitchedupfestival.com

Email: info@stitchedupfestival.com

Designed, hooked and photographed by Maggie Whyte

Also in Wangaratta – on Saturday 8th – Opening Day for the Festival the Wangaratta Woollen Mills are having a one day SALE !

In Queensland  –

Bec Andersen, Textile Artist, has a full calendar of events – you can see her workshops and rug hooking gatherings for 2017  here

 

A LONG WAY TO GO IN JUNE ……….

Alice Springs, Northern Territory  –   Beanie Festival  23rd  – 26th  June

Is this Rug hooking News?   Yes! definitely, several of the beanies created by the Wanneroo Rugmakers where made using rug hooking techniques and are for sale at Beanie Central, with a couple (not shown) entered in the Competition.

This year I’m attending the Festival – really looking forward to it, I hear they have over 4,000 beanies catalogued!    More news from Alice Springs.

Happy Hooking   Jo Franco/Editor

 

Members Rughooking Videos

RHM-JJA16_Cover11 and Beyond,

Bec Anderson’s Artist in Residency project,

teaching rug hooking in school, is featured in the latest issue of Rug Hooking Magazine with a link to a video on Bec’s website. 

While on the Guild Facebook page, there’s now two videos featuring the work of guild members, Judi Tompkins and Robin Inkpen.

Bec’s  “11 and Beyond” project was launched on December 4th, 2014, 2_punchneedle_hooking_chair_padthe inaugural International Rughooking Day. During 2015 at Tamborine Mountain State School in Queensland,  Bec took a class of 11 year olds through the process of learning how to design their own patterns and to use a punchneedle to hook them.

Members of Bec’s rug hooking group, the Happy Hookers, assisted Bec with these sessions in return receiving punchneedle lesson themselves.  

photo 1

  The local Men’s Shed also took part, building the frames for the students to use.

7_punchneedle_chair_pads_in_frames

The project “11 and Beyond” was inspired by the shift in Queensland in 2015 12_QLD_Government_logowhen Year 7 students became the first year of high-school and  Year 6 (11 year olds) became the leaders of the 11_Becs_Project_headerprimary school.

This special issue of Rug Hooking Magazine features article focused on children and rug hooking from  Australia, Canada, Japan, England and the USA.  

There’s an article by Gene Shepherd  (Calif. USA) Education Chair of ATHA featuring young rug hookers and an easy and safe dye experience designed by him especially for kids.  

As always, this edition is packed full of interesting articles.  The magazine is available in Australia by subscription. I’m always delighted when my copy shows up in the post box as it did today. 

Jo Franco, Editor/Membership Chair

Calendar of Events 2016

Events for 2016  have been added to the Calendar on this website – with more still to be entered.

The first for 2016 will be in Queensland – 19th & 20th February – Punchneedle hooking with Bec Andersen

Sally, from Brisbane, who introduced us to the gripper strips substitute available in Australia (shown on a frame in the recently published Guild newsletter) has taken a punchneedle class with Bec and recently sent these images ……… here is what Sally said –

This is a photo of the piece I did in Bec’s “Intro to Punchneedle”  class. I drew the design based on some of the source material that Bec had available in the class.   All of the wool yarn is hand dyed by Bec.

 Designed_and_Punch-hooked_by_Sally_Randal_QLD_Australia  

  The photo below shows preparing our backing, drawing designs and choosing wool, for the punchneedle class with Bec in her studio.

Designing_punch-hooked_piece_at_Bec_Andersens_QLD_Australia

I would strongly recommend Bec’s classes as she has a way of presenting information that is fun, and she was really well prepared for the class.”

Be sure and check out the Current Calendar & Events page for more workshops by Bec and workshops around Australia by other Guild members.

Community Art Installation

“Piece by Piece for Peace” 

(Designed & created by Bec Andersen)

Report by Jo Franco  – still in Queensland;

I had a free afternoon last Friday 7th August and Bec Andersen had an open spot on her Calendar so I drove alone, up Mt. Tamborine to Bec’s studio/workshop. I hadn’t been there before; knew it would be in the hills, but didn’t realize I was going to be traveling up 22ks of winding road with hairpin bends and 12% grade – and me afraid of high places!  My eyes were glued to the road ahead but occasionally I’d glimpse amazing vistas through the trees.

It was  worth the trip and I’d really like to go back another time with someone else at the wheel so I could take in the views.

I didn’t have any trouble finding the address and when I looked down the drive and saw the open veranda door to her studio I recognized it immediately from images in her newsletters.

2 Bec Andersens Studio-Workshop North Mt. Tamborine QLD Australia

Bec is putting the finishing touches to a community art project. She says it’s easy, fun and joyous – I was wishing we weren’t leaving on the 13th – as  it sounded very interesting and I would have liked to have taken part.

Below, I’ve added my comments to information and images taken from Bec’s newsletter:

If there’s anyone in the area who’d like to be in the fun and help, this is the last week to join in – she needs; knotters, sewers, bead makers, threaders and tea pourers.

3 knotted rag rug making

The knotted rug looks very much like proggy (proddy).

3a knotted rug

 Actually, the long ‘paper bead’ making is done! When I arrived at her Studio on Friday afternoon I found Bec up a ladder attaching long lengths of fishing line threaded with beads to a frame.

4 Paper beads

In all 11,000 papers beads have been made to create a circular curtain which will hang above a 3m diameter shag pile rug, estimated to take 24,000 knots and a whole lot of sewing.

5 Installation diagram

 Bec is planning to restore and reupholster (with upcycled denim jeans or skirts) this ‘found’ rocking chair – if you have any jeans to donate please take them along. 6 Found rocking chair to be reupholstered

 Helping her to work on this project is a really good excuse to get together, drink tea and make things, and share Make do and Mend stories – which she is collecting for the installation.

1 Make Do Sew and Save

Do you have any stories? What did your mum or granny used to do to save pennies? Bec’s nana used to save up all the old bits of soap and melt them down to make larger cakes when the jar was full.

7 tea drinking and rug makingThere will be two more of these fun filled get-togethers to help make, and to drink tea;

Thursday Aug 13 and Saturday Aug 15

from 9:30-12:30

at 8 Griffith St, North Tamborine

These morning teas will be followed by an installation at The Centre in Beaudesert on

September 19, coupled with an even bigger morning tea!

Even if you can’t make a working sessions, mark your calendars for

the Opening and The Long Morning Tea

Click here for Bookings and more information for the September event.

What a fantastic afternoon I spent with Bec – sharing our rughooking experiences, visions for the future of rughooking in Australia, and learning about her past projects and 100% wool yarn dyed using natural dyes sourced from around the world.

8 Bec Andersen

Bec teaches punch-needle rug hooking using the Amy Oxford punch-needle hooks. She also encourages her students to create their own designs and helps them with design concepts.

To turn her own designs into commissioned rugs, Bec uses an electric tufting gun – see some of her creations on her website

Rug hooking with a difference

Recently the Yarra Valley Rugmakers Group showed an interesting video on their blog of a rugmaker, Meg Little, who lives on the USA Eastern Seaboard and creates rugs using an electric tufting machine. It’s great video – click the following link and take a look

http://www.victorianrugmakers.blogspot.com.au/

Also mentioned is Bec Andersen, a member of the Australian Guild, who creates rugs using this ‘electric’ tufting technique, as they say “taking punch needle rug hooking to a different level”.

Bec hosts a rug hooking group who meet regularly at her studio in Mt. Tamborine, south of Brisbane in Queensland.  She also gives workshops in traditional rug hooking and various rugmaking techniques and works in the community on textile projects. You can contact Bec by email at   info@becandersen.com

Below is a video showing Bec using this tufting technique and creating the

“Wishing Chair”

The Wishing Chair was featured in the Australian Rugmakers Guild News and TIGHR’s Hooking Matters a few years ago.  It’s amazing to see her breath new life into a dilapidated old chair left by the roadside for a rubbish pick-up.

 

Bec Andersen “Rug Wishes” from Thor Andersen on Vimeo.