Rug Hooking Magazine presents a new book Hooking With Yarn, written by our own NWRSA member, Judy Taylor of Auburn, Washington. This book should be of great interest to hand spinners because the main focus of the book is about yarn. Not only does it provide a way to utilize the handspun that spinners create, it provides excellent step-by-step directions and instructive photographs for hooking rugs with handspun as well as commercial yarn. Every aspect of hooking with yarn is covered including a history of rug hooking, a variety of hooking techniques, types of rug backing, exploring color and a chapter on dyeing yarn for shading flowers, leaves and scrolls.
Chapter 2 includes a discussion about different brands of commercial yarns and talks about the best yarn for rug hooking. Two outstanding charts visually show and help the rug hooker decide how much yarn is needed for a project: one is titled "Gauging Your Yarn Needs: and the other is "Some Good Yarns for Rug Hooking." The chart "Some Good Yarns for Rug Hooking" makes a comparison of a number of different brands of yarn such as Halcyon Rug Wool and Ewenique--singles, 2-ply and 3-ply yarns, against handspun wool and the different sizes of wool (fabric) obtained from the #4, #6 and #8 rug cutter.
Many books and magazines have been written about the Traditional form of rug hooking with fabric strips, but none have been written that are as extensive and detailed about hooking with yarn. Through the knowledge learned from raising Jacob Sheep and Angora Goats and a desire to do something useful with the fiber produced by her animals, Judy Taylor has discovered a creative and artistic way to utilize the fiber from the animals that she raises on her farm. She effectively explains techniques to use handspun yarn to hook rugs.
Hooking With Yarn is a beautiful book. It has color pictures on almost every page along with numerous illustrations of rug hooking that show the reader the basic techniques. An added advantage is that it includes four nice projects for the reader to try. The pages in the book are printed on slick paper which makes the book a delight to hold while reading.
The author's knowledge and enthusiasm for the craft of rug hooking is quite evident. This book provides new information and gives the new rug hooker the information needed to begin a rug hooking project and carry it through to completion. This book is highly recommended for spinners who are looking for a way to express their creativity through their beautiful handspun yarn and is an excellent resource to add to a spinner's library.
Reprinted with permission from Loose Threads, June 2003. Review was written by Diane DuBray.
