MINOT – The Minot Historical Society met Nov. 14 at the town office for a program on rug hooking. Ruth Gammon said rug hooking is an old-time art born out of the desire to use things up, such as old clothes and burlap bags. The burlap bags were used as a base. Designs were drawn on the bags and wool strips of cloth were used to hook through the burlap.
Nancy Conant said using a wooden frame with nails was a way to keep the burlap in place for larger projects. She said linens have been used as a backing, but the burlap is still the best.
Frank Berry, in opening his talk, said, “You’ve just heard from the hookers; now I’m going to talk about dyeing.”
Berry showed several pieces of material that he has dyed to get the different tones of shading. In the 1800s they used natural dyes, such as goldenrod, birch leaves, wood from apple, pear and oak trees, as well as some vegetables. Berry showed several pieces of material that he had hand-dyed, going from light to dark. He described in detail how he has dyed his material.
Several rugs, pillows, chair seats and wall hangings were on display. There will be no meeting in December. The next meeting will be Tuesday, Jan. 9.
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