The Home Page

An Introduction To Rug Hooking

Sandra Brown's Gallery of Rugs

The Pittsburgh Rug Hooking Frame

Resources, Supplies Book & Links

Workshops, Exhibitions & So'Journey Farm

---

I. W. Designs: Interesting Women

Interesting Women - an integral part, as the abbreviaton suggests, of I. W. Designs - is a gallery introducing the hand-hooked rugs of students who've attended my workshops around the country and in England - or classes here in Pittsburgh - a gathering place of craftspeople who are determined to further their own expertise and skills by committing to study with the myriad of experienced rug hooking teachers available.

The joy of teaching and privilege of 'passing down the torch' led me into McGown Teacher Training and Certification many years ago. I realized that much of what I wanted to know about my craft was going to go to the grave if I didn't apprentice myself to learning and then passing on this store of knowledge. Whatever one's style of rug hooking, knowing all the techniques informs our own work and strengthens our creativity.

If you, or someone you know has taken a Sandy Brown dye or rug hooking workshop and would like to share your finished piece with everyone, send a photo along as a jpeg (.jpg) file to me at pghframe@aol.com. Including yourself in the photo would be a nice touch, and we will use first names only - unless you otherwise specify - when the rug photo is added to the website. This way your fellow rug hookers get see how the finished piece turned out!

- Sandra Brown

Here is Sue K. of Bozeman, Montana, with her Giraffe, which she started in the "Places You Love" hooked rug workshop held in Sun Valley, Idaho, in October, 2004. She revised the pattern to make it her own and used swatches of browns to gold, textures and dip-dyed "sky & clouds" wool to complete her piece.

Visit us again soon the see the finished work and those of others in this class!

About the image for the logo on this page: Minnesota Elm - 32" x 52" - hand dyed wool on linen - hooked rug by Sandra Brown. Another in a series of heroic leaves, this Elm Leaf is the closest in rendering to what one sees through a magnifying glass when looking at leaves - between the veins is a world of small cells - here conceived as changing in color and intensity from base to tip. An occasional color surprise reminds us that as artists, we are co-creators.