When I think of rug hookers, we are a bit like the "Borg" from Star trek. Not in the creepy, we-have-no-free-thought way. More like we are a huge collective, all connected through our love of this amazing art form.
I do realize we are all individuals with lives outside of hooking, but we tend to think about one another in the context of our hooking. I know people's colour palette - their preferred subject matter - I even know their style and their tension.
We do share stories about our husbands, our kids and grandkids, but it seems we mostly don't talk about our careers. I'm sure there is a good, therapeutic reason for that. We are hooking to get away from that part of our lives. But as in every cross-section of life, hookers do have incredibly interesting lives outside of hooking.
Becky in my class at Trent is an freelance accountant for TV and film production. She is the person who tells the producer whether or not there is money in the budget for that helicopter shot that the director just came up with and wants to do. She travels with the crew on location and punches numbers to keep the budget on budget.
I learned about Pauline's career because she had an amazing tip on her scissors - a special cap for surgical tools in the Emergency Room where she was a nurse for many years. I heard that Gwen's daughter Susan, in the classroom next door, is a doctor. But I knew her from the mother-daughter hooking team and from the incredible Maude Lewis mat she was creating.
We had quite a few recent retirees who are settling very nicely into their lives of hooking and spinning and knitting and creating. They are quite happy to leave their working lives behind. Others are still juggling non-stop to find time to do it all (I count myself in that group of late night hookers).
All of these things remind me that we are definitely much more than just hookers. We are writers and doctors and lawyers and teachers and wildlife biologists and as many occupations as we are people.
Our collectiveness (new word) is our hooking. Aren't we lucky to have this passion that brings us all together? That lets us escape from our other lives, if only for a while?
I think so.
2 comments:
Loved this post! Sometimes I feel less that worthy of talented, smart women who I have met through rug hooking, but they are a very accepting and inclusive group and I'm grateful to know them.
Well stated Wendi. Not only a wonderful and skilled rug hooker but a spiritual person too.
I too am in a medical field and over the years have always found comfort in my various crafting past times. I spent many hours destressing with my fibre arts.
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