What a Week in My Rug Hooking Studio Looks Like

Every week in my rug hooking studio has its own rhythm, but lately the pace has been wonderfully intense. I’m deep into preparations for the Wings of Art Rug Hooking Exhibit, opening August 9, 2027 at The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in Valdosta, Georgia. With a goal of creating one rug per month, my days stretch anywhere from 8 to 12 hours of designing, dyeing, cutting, hooking, and experimenting with techniques that bring birds to life in wool.

Here’s a peek into what a typical week looks like inside my creative space.

Mondays: Settling In and Setting the Tone

I usually start the week with a long session at my frame. Morning light pours through the blinds, and that’s when I get some of my best hooking done. Right now, my focus is on a heavily textured bird piece—lots of greenery, shading, and detail work that demands attention and steady hands.

The first few hours of Monday are quiet and meditative. It’s just me, my hook, and the slow pull of loops building something real out of dyed wool and imagination. Once I hit a rhythm, the hours disappear.

Tuesdays: Wool, Dye Pots, and Color Play

Color planning is one of my favorite parts of rug hooking, and Tuesday is usually my dye day. My studio fills with racks of freshly dyed wool—turquoise, lilac, sunny yellow, earthy neutrals. Watching those sheets of wool drying is like watching a painter’s palette come to life.

Dyeing for bird-themed rugs keeps me on my toes. Birds aren’t just “brown” or “blue”—they’re gradients, shadows, unexpected undertones. Every batch is a puzzle, especially when I’m planning for fine shading or subtle feather transitions.

Sometimes I dye for a specific project, and other times I dye just to have options for whatever ideas hatch next.

Wednesdays: Proddy, and 3D Birds

Midweek is when I break from the frame and switch to my sculptural work. The studio table becomes a staging area for feathers, shapes, wool strips, textures, and experimental techniques.

Creating proddy and 3D birds is a whole different world from traditional rug hooking. The flamingo and ostrich standing in the studio are great examples—full of movement, personality, and layers of texture. They’re whimsical, they’re bold, and they push me creatively in ways I love.

This exhibit isn’t just about flat rugs on walls. It’s about celebrating birds in every possible expression of hooked fiber.

Thursdays: Studio Organization and Project Prep

Thursday is all about resetting.

My studio shelves are stacked with wool sorted by color family, patterns in progress, bins of yarn, tools, and works waiting their turn. Keeping this space organized is the only way I stay productive at the pace I’m working.

I lay out upcoming rug patterns, gather wool, sketch changes, prep backing fabric, and make notes about technique. Sometimes I’ll cut piles of strips in advance so I can hook without stopping to prep materials.

This is also when I photograph my progress, tidy up loose ends, and plan social posts or updates for the website.

Fridays: Long Hooking Days and Creative Pushes

By Friday I’m usually back at the frame for a long stretch of hooking. The end of the week is when I aim to cross milestones—finishing a background, completing a bird, or getting that tricky shading section just right.

Weeks like this are demanding, but they’re also exhilarating. Preparing for the Wings of Art exhibit pushes me to dig deeper into technique, into imagination, into patience. Every loop is a step toward August 2027.

Weekends: Catch‑Up, Inspiration, and Breathing Room

Some weekends I’m right back in the studio for eight hours; others I give myself a little space. Creative work needs rest too. I’ll sketch new ideas, revisit dye samples, tidy the workspace, or simply sit with a cold drink and think through the next bird.

And then Monday comes, and I start again.

Why I Love This Pace

Hooking a rug a month is no small feat, especially when each piece has a personality, a story, and its own technical challenges. But this exhibit deserves everything I have to give.

The Wings of Art show is a celebration—of birds, of texture, of fiber artistry, and of the techniques that make hooked rugs endlessly expressive:

• proddy
• 3D sculptural forms
• primitive styles
• fine shading
• color gradients
• backgrounds
• fancy fibers

My studio is where all of it comes together, one loop at a time.