Welcome to our blog! A bit of this...a bit of that...a whole lot of wool working.

As I write this post I feel as though I am opening the door to my home and inviting in fellow fiber artists for a great afternoon of chat, mutual support, idea sharing and camaraderie. That's what we hope to achieve with this blog site, but first a little bit about Parris House Wool Works.

Not all that long ago, I learned the art of primitive rug hooking from experienced artist Connie Fletcher of Seven Gables Rug Hooking in Paris, Maine. Shortly thereafter, my dear friend Jen Rosenburg was visiting from Hermitage, TN and Connie taught her as well. While we did not quite realize it at the time, our shared passion for this nineteenth century North American hand craft would become Parris House Wool Works. And here we are!

Our goal with this blog is to be your on-line resource for all things hooking, to provide fun and interesting posts about what we're working on, places we visit (for example, last summer I visited the Rug Hooking Museum of North America and the Deanne Fitzpatrick Studio in Nova Scotia), and general essays on life in the simpler lane. Jen and I enjoy many aspects of a country lifestyle and hope to incorporate some of that in to our blog as well, perhaps including a little gardening, outdoor experiences, canning, baking, travel, what have you. At the same time we also have family and professional lives. Between us we parent six sons (Jen has two, I have four), take care of two husbands, have numerous pets and work other jobs. Jen is a microbiologist and I am a real estate broker. We feel that our environments and interests serve as muses for our rug designs, and make them more meaningful not only to us but to our customers who may share some of our interests. Just as a hooked rug is made up of a variety of colors, textures and patterns, so it is with aspects of our lives and yours, and we would like to provide an interesting and interactive forum for the wide variety of rug hookers who may visit our site.

In the nearby town of Norway, Maine, I have access to a fantastic support network of hookers through Artful Hands Fiber Arts Studio, where I can sit down in a home like environment with other artisans and share experiences. However, outside of New England and the Canadian Maritimes, hooking studios are less common. We hope to provide a warm and cozy virtual space in place of a physical space for those of you who may not have access to a local studio. Jen's Southern heritage is a fantastic resource for Parris House Wool Works as this art spreads all over the United States. We intentionally want to help foster a community of hookers all over North America and maybe even beyond (we got a European follower on our Twitter feed today!). We aim to be accessible, and we know we are still learning ourselves. If you send us a note or comment on something we don't know, we'll endeavor to find out and learn right along with you.

I think that's enough of an introduction for now. I'll turn the blog over to "Parris House Wool Works South," Jen Rosenburg, who will pick it up with a post of her own. Interestingly, snow is falling in her neck of the woods too, today - a perfect day for hooking! Best wishes to you - Beth