The First Rug

In an earlier post, I related how I first became exposed to hooked rugs. This rug is the result of my second experience with hooked rugs. My sister (who lived in Tulsa, OK) was scheduled for back surgery and needed help for a couple of weeks. I flew out to be with her, and one day on the way back to her house after visiting her in the hospital, I came across a great needlework shop. I was excited to find a section of rug hooking patterns and supplies! This was the Lancaster rug kit I chose that day. It had a "how to hook" video included in the package, and I also purchased a quilt hoop. Upon arriving back at her house, I prepared to watch the video and make my first attempt at rug hooking. It was then that I discovered that she did not own a VCR!! I was discouraged, but I thought to myself...."How hard can it be?" I just looked at the included photo of the finished rug and pretty much figured it out by myself. It was awkward for me and I felt like I was all thumbs, but I made some progress while there. It was many months later, while back at home after my sister's recovery, that I finally finished the rug. (I never did watch the whole video.) Now that I have spent years hooking, my loops look a lot different, but I still LOVE that first rug. It is hanging in my studio above my computer desk. (I'm looking at it right now!!) It measures 26" x 11". Do you still have your first rug? I hope you still enjoy it every day as I do mine. As an added note to this post, about 4 years ago, a customer asked me to hook a rug for her. She had purchased a kit but had never hooked it. She lives in Missouri, so she mailed the kit to me for completion. Guess which kit it was....YEP...it was the same Lancaster Log Cabin rug!! I hooked it for her and took a picture of it before I sent it to her. It was interesting to see how my style has changed over the years!