Lawrence woman learns craft of hooking rugs
By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Dee Rosebrock would be the first to admit that she was at loose ends when she retired from her position as general manager at the Mercer County Community College conference center in 2003.
For the first couple of years, Ms. Rosebrock helped out with a neighbor and adjusted to the new lifestyle that comes with retirement.
After a time, Ms. Rosebrock decided it was time to explore. When the Millerick Avenue resident saw an advertisement for a course in rug hooking at the Lawrence Branch of the Mercer County Library, she signed up for it.
”I started to go to class on Tuesday nights, and I got hooked. I had no idea that this (art form) existed. You don’t realize there is a whole world out there in rug hooking,” the 62-year-old said, adding she soon became acquainted with the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild.
Rug hooking is actually a form of recycling, Ms. Rosebrock said. The art form dates to the mid-19th century, when women needed rugs for the floor. They would cut strips of material — mostly wool or cotton — by hand and use a bent hook to pull the threads through the burlap backing to make rugs for the floors.
”They used whatever they had. They would use burlap for a backing or old feed sacks. Wool lasted longer. (Hooked rugs) can last for 100 years of hard use,” she said, adding that they were used as floor coverings or as blanket covers.
The early hooked rugs were sometimes primitive in design, she said. The makers did not worry about the size or the scale of the rugs. Some of those rugs — even those from the 1930s and 1940s — have sold for hundreds of dollars.
While rug hooking started out as a practical art form, by the 1940s it became a diversion, Ms. Rosebrock said. Women used to make hooked rugs on their own, but they began to meet in a group to hook rugs — often just for the camaraderie, she said.
Ms. Rosebrock said she meets weekly with a group of women who are engaged in the art of rug hooking and who also enjoy the friendships they have made. She also belongs to the Hunterdon County group, of which she is the co-president.
In fact, one of Ms. Rosebrock’s rugs — “Hooked on Bass” — was chosen as the winner in the Best of Show in the traditional category, and another piece entitled “Seaside Village” won second place at the Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair last month. She said she was inspired to make the fish design because her husband likes to fish.
Ms. Rosebrock said one can hook a fine rug design or a primitive one. The designs run the gamut. People make pocketbooks and clothing, but some people still make rugs, she said, adding that “it’s amazing the things that people make.”
”I like it because it’s a forgiving art. You can hook with a thinner wool strip or maybe a wider strip or a bigger hook. You can express yourself,” she said, adding that if a mistake is made, it can easily be rectified by pulling out the offending threads.
Ms. Rosebrock said she also likes rug hooking because of the preciseness of the form. Because she was involved in the hospitality industry, precision was important. She had to be detailed oriented, otherwise the event would likely fall apart.
Where does Ms. Rosebrock get the designs for her pieces?
”I do whatever is going on in my life,” she said. “I do things that appeal to me. My second (piece) was my dog, Butch. He had died. A lot of it is connected to your life and what you enjoy. I have no art training. You find what you like and you can do it well because you love it.”
”I work from a visual — a photograph,” she said. “One thing I have learned is that if you have a photograph in front of you, you will make yourself crazy. Don’t always look at the picture because you will ‘hook’ it and you will not do it yourself.”
Ms. Rosebrock said she feels the need to be creative, which is why she prefers to make her own designs rather than use a pattern made by someone else. It’s a good feeling when she completes a section of the piece because it makes her feel productive.
”When you are long gone, the rug will still be there,” Ms. Rosebrock said.

