Michele is a retired high school teacher who has always had a hand in the arts and crafts. She has been hooking since 2000 and teaching for the last 20 years both nationally and internationally. As a life long learner she continues to take classes to hone her skills and experiences. Her work reflects a wide variety of hooking styles, including 3-D objects, hooked books, mixed media, purses, bags, and upholstery pieces. She continues with teaching classes in all aspects of using wool from quilts, wool applique, dyeing, felting and rugs. Michele has taken hooking trips to Mexico to hook the the Ranchero ladies and Guatemala hooking using t-shirts with those indigenous women teaching us to hook with these materials.
She is heavily involved in promoting rug hooking through her memberships in ATHA, TIGHR, GMRHG, McGown Guild, Aussie Rug Hookers and as director of the McGown Western Teacher’s Workshop, co-director of Puget Sound Rug School, and director of the Reiter Retreats. She also has been a judge for Celebrations an the Australian Southern Hemisphere Virual Exhibition, called "Re-Imagined". This exhibit is online and was shown at Sauder in 2019.
Michele has written articles for the following:
Rug Hooking Magazine
N/D 2010 - Making dolls pg 36-39
J/F 2016 -Making Slippers
O/N 2019 - Using Inks in Rug Hooking
Wool Street Journal July 2010 pg 12
TIGHR newsletter
Aussie Guild newsletter
Rug Beat 2011 online magazine
ATHA newsletters
#177 J/J 2009
#183 J/J 2010
#191 O/N 2011
#205 F/M 2014
#206 A/M 2014
#208 A/S 2014
McGown Newsletter Winter 2016
She has won awards for her rugs at Green Mountain Rug Show in Vermont, Kitsap County Fair and Washington State Fair, and Port Gamble Fiber Fest.
She has been chosen for Celebrationss two times.
Her rugs have been published in these publications
Hooked Portraits by Ann Marie Littenberg
Design Basics for Rug Hookers by Susan Feller
Hooked Rugs Today by Amy Oxford
Celebrations XXII
Celebrations XXIV
Story Rugs
Bainbridge Art Museum - two hooked pieces are on permanent display after purchase from a patron.
CLASSES I TEACH
Hooked Books
A hooked journal is one primarily made of small, hooked pieces combined in various methods to be viewed as a book. Everyday we go on a journey and it does not always include faraway places. Hooked books can chronicle your dreams, achievements, observations, family, and travels . A visual journal allows us to portray our lives in color and texture. Get ideas you have for rugs floating around in your head down on foundation without making a commitment to a large piece. Practice hones our art so journals are a great way to experiment and problem solving.
Hooking a travel journal, for example, is a wonderful take-along project because it is portable, you can use your scraps, and they are small enough to take with you to guild/shows to share your art. Experiment with the many different ways to bind the pages together. Your hooked journals will document your time here in the present and be a record for your family to share.
.Embellishments
Live by the phrase “what if” and find out over 30 ways to embellish your rug hooking or other projects. I will take you on a trip where some things may be familiar and other techniques you probably did not know existed or had not thought of using in your hooking. In class you will make a sampler of the techniques and receive handouts and presentations to use in your creative pursuits. We will explore how to incorporate findings from a craft store to a hardware store. There are endless possibilities for creativity in this class.I keep adding more ideas to the samples.
Upholstery in Rug Hooking
Learn the proper steps in getting your furniture ready for upholstery. Deciding what designs will enhance your piece. Design the pattern from the properly padded piece you have prepared. Learn about the best color plan for your design. My experience in this field is enhanced by my husband who is an upholster. Together we have covered chairs, benches and stools. There will be step by step instructions as handouts as well as just plain fun in designing that special pattern for your piece.
Fine Shading
As a McGown certified teacher I have taught fine shading using swatches. I also used shading in pictorials for realism. I have experience in shading flowers, fingering, mock shading and pictorials. I have also taught portraits of humans and animals.
Zentangles and Zendoddles
Learn about drawing zentangles and doodles to make up interesing backgrounds or designing an abstract piece. They are fun to play with even if you never use them for hooking. In this class we will learn how to draw these doddles; simplify the designs for the various sized cuts of wool, and then create the appropriate sized design for what you want to accomplish. No art ability is necessary as you find concentrating on one line at a time and filling in a space with a design creates a work of art. Learning how to color plan the piece is another lesson to be learned in this class.
Wool Applique Class - one day - needlecase
I taught this class at TIGHR. I made kits and most of the people finished their project in four hours of creatie fun, I have done many wool applique quilts and am working on new stitches all the time. I can design and teach a wool applique class for an extended time as well.
Zippered Pouch Class
I prepare a blank linen piece with a zipper and the students design the pattern. We color plan and hook the pouch and I teach them how to finish the projet with lining. It is a fun and different project.
CARPETBAG
I have designed my own pattern to fit a 16" or 22" doctor bag frame. The students need to come and have the hooking all down. We spend the rest of the time carefully putting the bag together along with pockets and zippered lining. There is hand sewing and sewing on the machine. I keep in touch with the students during the hooking time and bring supplies to help with construction.
General Classes:
Schedule:
2015
Puget Sound Rug School - vending March 13-16
Western Teachers' Workshop vending June 21-16
Prairie Rose North Dakota Aug. 2-8
Prairie Harvest Canada Sept. 13-18
TIGHR October 4-7
Fall Rug Show Oct. 14
2016
Mesa, Arizona - January 2016 three day course on zendoddles in texture
Vending - January 24-20 Reiter Retreat
Vending Puget Sound Rug School March, 2016
Vending and teaching at Western Teachers' Workshop June, 2016
Teaching Open Class ATHA Chapter - September, 2016
Teaching Zen-inspired designs - Victoria, BC Canada Oct.
Vending Brightwater Center Rug Show October, 2016
Vending Goldbar Retreat - Oct.
2017
Vending Reiter Retreat - January, 2017
Vending Puget Sound Rug School- March, 2017
Rockaway - Friends by the Sea - April, 2017eachin
Teaching at Western McGown Teachers Workshop June, 2017
Hooker Hill July16-20, 2017
Wine Country Guild Retreat - September 1-3, 2017
Praire Harvest Rug School, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada - Sept, 2017
Fiber Fest - San Juan, Friday Harbor - October. 2017
Vending Brightwater Center October, 2017
Vending Goldbar Retreat - October, 2017
2018
Vending at Reiter Retreat in January, 2018
Vending at Puget Sound Rug School - Federal Way- March 2018
Teaching at Friends by the Sea - April, 2018
Teaching at Western McGown Teachers' Workshop June, 2018
Teaching at Maple Ridge, Canada - August, 2018
Attending TIGHR International Conference in England, October 2018
2019
Reiter Retreat - January at Goldbar
Vending at Puget Sound Rug School- March-
Teaching at Friends by the Sea- Rockaway- April
Vending at Western Teachers Workshop- June
Teaching at Prairie Harvest in Edmonton, Canada
Teaching at Redlands, California, guild retreat -October
Vending at Brightwater Rug Show- October
Vending At Reiter Retreat in October
2020
Reiter Retreat Goldbar, Washington- January
Teaching upholstery class with Jay at Puget Sound Rug School
Teaching at Rockaway, Oregon-Friends by the Sea - April
Teaching at Western McGown Teachers' Workshop - June
Teaching at Sauder Village - 3-d and birds - August
Teaching at Blue Heron, Victoria, BC upholstery - October
Vending at Brightwater - Hook-In
Retreat - Goldbar - October
Teaching at Little River Inn, California - October
2021
Vending Reiter Retreat at Goldbar
Vending- at Puget Sound Rug School, Dumas Bay
Vending Brightwater Show
TIGHR attending the conference in Reeth, Yorkshires, England
Vending at Reiter Retreat
2022
Vending Reiter retreat in Goldbar, WA
Vending Puget Sound Rug School
Teaching at McGown Workshop Eugene, Oregon
Teaching in Edmonton at Prairie Harvest - Carpet Bags
Vending Reiter Retreat
2023
Vending Reiter Retreat
Vending at Puget Sound Rug School
Teaching at McGown teachers' workshop
Vending Goldbar Retreat
2024
Vending Reiter Retreat
Teaching carpet bags at Puget Sound Rug School, Federal Way, WA
Teaching at Western McGown Workshop
Teaching Wrapped Letters at TIGHR conference in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Vending Reiter Retreat
2025
Vending at Reiter Retreat
Vending at Puget Sound Rug School
Teaching at Western McGown Workshop
Teaching at Hells Canyon Guild, Idaho
Vending at Reiter Retreat
Contact Me for orders or teaching at
michele@wooletc.com - 360-509-0714