One of our many activities today, on top of yoga and Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day, was going to my mom’s weekly rug hooking group. Every Tuesday she meets with the same group of women at the Catholic Church in Richmond, and they sit around together talking, eating, and hooking. She’s been talking about this group for ages, but because I’ve been away for so long I’d never had the chance to meet them. Today she walked me into the room and we were met with claps and warm greetings.
“So Tina,” one woman asked after I was introduced to the group (Tina is my mom’s nickname, and yes, our names rhyme, and no, that wasn’t on purpose), “What’s all the fuss we’re hearing?” And then began my mom’s spiel to this group of concerned women. I watched Mom announce to the group, much like she would begin a lecture in her classroom, about what was happening. The women looked on and listened intently to her words, and then that was it. We ate food (an amazing chocolate cake with the chocolate chips, and warm cinnamon buns), I walked around to each woman to look at their projects.
First of all, I had no idea how intricate hooked rugs can be but also how absolutely relaxing it all looks. Here were these ten or twelve women sitting around, drinking tea and coffee and nibbling snacks, and all creating these beautiful, absolutely stunning rugs, of all sizes and colors. Some had patterns already drawn onto their cloth, others were inventing designs on the spot. Some were making huge rugs with tons of yarn, and others were making small projects to be hung on the walls or on chairs. I was so impressed and suddenly so eager to try to do it myself. One woman sat me down, gave me the small hook and her project to try out. I threaded a thin strip of wool through the cloth a couple of times and felt how fun it could be. I learned so much and felt rug hooking could really be something I could bring to New York as something creative to do to relax, repair, and honestly enjoy.
Look how detailed these projects are!
So this summer, when I come home, I am going to learn how to do this, make a beautiful rug, and then bring these skills down to New York with me and teach my students. I think it would be such a great way to spend time with kids, to teach them how to do something creative, and to work on a project in which I can see progress.
I think visible results of any kind of work at a time like this are really important.
And then, of course, there were free cones. Free Cone Day also coincides with my mom’s birthday, so she negotiated two free scoops instead of just the one. And she got her way, which is how things go all the time.
