JULY

Tip of the Month

Linda Hershey had a wonderful tip to share with the guild today and it was all about "HOOK WHAT YOU SEE" when using a reference picture to hook a design. Linda labeled herself as a "primitive" hooker and began her love for rug hooking just about the time Covid hit back in 2019. She had only been hooking for almost a year and a half when she decided to jump from her comfort zone of primitive style rugs to more realistic looking subjects.

Her newfound adventure began by taking a class from Cheryl Bollenbach at Sauder Village. Linda wanted to use a photograph she had taken of her dog, Emi, and turn it into a wool hooked rug. She was instructed to hook the eyes first, so Linda enlarged the section of the eyes in order to see the colors needed to hook the eye. She used white nylon to create the highlight in the eyes.

There were times Linda had to rip out small areas to rework them because she was hooking from memory and just wasn't satisfied with the outcome. Cindi Gay was in this class as well and suggested to look at small sections of her photograph at a time then reminded Linda to "Hook What You See". This technique helps a person focus on where to add different values without getting overwhelmed.

Linda began her journey as a primitive hooker, but just look how amazing she has progressed in her confidence and skill level by just taking baby steps and remembering to "HOOK WHAT YOU SEE". Cindi Gay was so impressed with Linda's rug, she suggested to enter it into Celebrations magazine. Not only did her dog's rug get selected to be printed in Celebrations 33 magazine, but it was displayed on the front cover. What an honor Linda! Kudos to you :)