not a lazy suzen

A few days ago I got a package in the mail from my Mom. In it were mat hooking supplies that I cannot seem to find here in Montreal. She sent up beautiful linen burlap, a hook with a great foam “for arthritic hands” handle, and a beautiful book by Deanne Fitzpatrick. I’ve been doing a lot of reading about mat hooking / rug hooking, with the intention to learn how to do it but also understand its history. I think its neat that mat hooking is a craft pretty much indigenous to North America (its roots believed to be in a similar mat-making practice from Britain).

I’ve never hooked a mat before but ever since I got it in my mind to start, I’ve been pretty obsessed by it. I’ve watched videos, read a ton of books, looked at artist websites and began envisioning really ambitious ideas. However, before I get started on some kind of epic hooked mural, I figure its best to start off with the basics.

I picked up a scroll embroidery frame from a textile craft shop on Ste-Catherine Ouest. It’s the biggest one they carry, which isn’t all that big but it’ll do for the time being. My working area is a manageable size but I really wish it was larger. I think I will attempt to make something just like this only at a much grander scale. The problem with an embroidery frame like this is that getting the right tension is tricky. I decided to thread a thin cord through the edge of the burlap and sides of the frame just for stability. It’s not the best tension but much better than the sagging it was doing initially. If I make a similar frame myself, I’ll definitely have to do something similar since the working surface area will be that much larger.

The actual hooking part is a little awkward at first. I can’t quite get my hands to work but as with every other textile craft, it’s a matter of mechanical skill that develops through experience and practice. Just like it took me ages to get correct tension with knitting and months to learn how to be comfortable with a crochet hook, this new skill will take time but in the end it will be a part of the skill bank my hands can draw from. Like riding a bike and knowing how to drive a standard shift–bodies have funny memories for things like that.