Words to Live By

It certainly has been an interesting spring and summer, hasn’t it? Social distancing, to mask or not to mask, lots of Skype-ing and Zooming with relatives, friends, and coworkers . . . we’ve had to learn so much, so quickly.

Wash Your Hands, 41½” x 28”, #6-, 8-, and 9-cut wool on linen. Reversible wool/mohair blend for background, and sparkle wool for octopus. Designed and hooked by Nola Heidbreder, St. Louis, Missouri, 2013.

Thank goodness for rug hooking! Our art and creativity give us a way to use our pent-up energy and retain our sanity. A blank piece of linen, our wool stashes, and our ever-fertile and creative minds will keep us occupied.

If you are looking for a project these days, why not hook a word bubble? Join the RHM challenge, announced in the March/April/May issue: Send me a high-resolution photo of your word bubble by September 1.  We’ll publish the word bubbles in an upcoming issue—I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

The news at RHM is pretty exciting this spring. We’ve refreshed our Book Club with even more benefits. Look for:
»  Guaranteed discounts on new books
»  Go green! Hassle-free automatic book payments, free from pesky paper invoices or postcards
»  Exclusive monthly discounts on our online store
»  Secret sales only for Book Club members
»  Free eNewsletter with Book Club members-only content
»  No membership fees and no dues

If you’re already a Book Club member, visit www.rughookingmagazine.com/BOOKCLUB2020 or call us to update your account and to access NEW benefits!

Have you heard about the new Facebook RHM community group? It’s a great place to share your works-in-progress or finished works, and we have theme days just for fun. If you post a photo of your rug, it may be featured in our e-newsletter—come and join the community!

I hope that by the time you read these words, life is returning to normal again. In the meantime, let’s look to the rugs. Follow the excellent advice on one of my all-time favorite rugs, from the clever and creative brain and hook of Nola Heidbreder (nolahooks.com).

Take good care of yourself. I look forward to seeing you again at hook-ins and rug shows sometime soon. And remember those words of wisdom from your mother and Nola: Wash your hands!


Debra Smith
Editor