October 20 - 24, 2024: A Rug Artist's Holiday

LRI04 Enjoy three & a half days at this new Rug Retreat on the beautiful Mendocino Coast in Northern California! We welcome you to this special get together: we'll show our rugs and fiber art, bring projects to work on, share ideas and inspirations, offer our wares,and enjoy each other's company!

This new Rug Retreat has evolved from our Rug Camp and is still about rugs, but other fiber arts are welcome. In fact, let's make it a Pot-Luck of Fiber Arts: bring your projects, bring something for 'Show & Tell', issue a challenge if you like, present a slide show if you please, or just come enjoy it all!

Little River Inn offers fine accommodations featuring views of the Pacific Ocean, a full service restaurant, Ole's Whale Watch Bar, golf, tennis and a day spa. The village of Mendocino, just 3 miles north along Hwy 1, is full of art, history, vistas and shopping. There are many beautiful beaches and parks to enjoy along the coast, along with little inlets with fishing and boating communities to explore. Bring your projects, bring a friend, and join us for some inspiration, relaxation and fun!     www.LittleRiverInn.com

 Laura W. Pierce - Your grateful hostess - I look forward to seeing you!

Laura self-portrait Laura Pierce is director of Little River Inn Rug Retreat. A fourth-generation rug maker, Laura likes to pull a few loops every evening. She teaches traditional rug hooking and mentors fellow teachers and artists.

Laura brings her hand-dyed wool, washed as-is textured wool, Ritchie Hooks and patterns from the Flying Dog Hookery Catalog; which offers patterns designed by Laura Pierce, Emma Webber and Pattico.

 Little River Inn Rug Retreat

Little River Inn Rug Retreat begins late Sunday afternoon with Check-In at 4pm at the Main Office. Bring your rugs to Abalone Hall for the Rug Show when you arrive. We'll be there getting set up, with camp booklets and badges and you can set up your hooking nest. Abalone Hall has a fireplace, kitchen, window doors to a deck with ocean views. This is a small and intimate Rug Retreat with a maximum of 28 fiber artists. Husbands or companions are happy to be included.

Little River Inn Restaurant serves hearty breakfasts, some of which we can order ½ portions of. Our lunches are prepared specially for us and served in the dining room. Little River Inn Restaurant has a delicious dinner menu and famous service, (reservations required) while Ole's Whale Watch Bar has lighter fare, a congenial atmosphere and the sunset view!

Please note: Our lunches are included in the Rug Retreat Package. Breakfasts and dinners are available at Little River Inn Restaurant, but they are not included in our retreat package.

 Little River Inn Rug Retreat Schedule:

Sunday;	Check-in is at 4pm at the Little River Inn. 
	When you arrive, bring your show rugs to Abalone Hall, choose your table and pick up your camp booklet.  
	Meet & Greet: 7-8pm
Monday & Tuesday; 	Retreat activities planned; 9am - 3pm with a catered lunch at noon; 
	Free time after 3pm & possible Slide shows after dinner.
Wednesday;	Retreat activities planned; 9am - 3pm with a catered lunch at noon; 
	Review our progress from 3pm - 3:30pm. Group Photos from 3:30pm - 3:45pm.  
	Free time & possible Slide show after dinner.
Thursday;	Finishing up, packing up and taking down the Rug Show from 9am - noon.  
	Catered lunches to go, 'Good-byes' and out of Abalone Hall by 2pm.
Check out of your room by 10am.

Rug Retreat Prices

Prices are as follows: A check to Laura Pierce for $85 is the Rug Retreat registration fee and should accompany your registration form.

The Rug Retreat Package fee is payable to Little River Inn. The Rug Retreat Package includes 4 nights at Little River Inn, use of Abalone Hall and a catered lunch Monday - Thursday. *For those that 'Share'; Little River Inn will charge one person for the room and both packages; then splitting that cost will be the responsibility of the 2 attendees. 

Enroll early to choose the accommodations you desire.
Traditional Ocean-view rooms:
	$1102.72 for Single or with spouse or companion.	
	$1346.72 to *Share with a rug retreat friend and split the cost: $673.36 each.
Ocean-view Fireplace rooms:
	$1193.12 for Single or with spouse or companion.
	$1437.12 to *Share with a rug retreat friend and split the cost: $718.56 each.
Deluxe Ocean-view Fireplace rooms -downstairs:
	$1396.50 for Single or with spouse or companion.	
	$1640.50 to *Share with a rug retreat friend and split the cost: $820.25 each.

For more information ; email Laura at Lwpierce@comcast.net   or call  (707) 762-2595


Previous teachers at Little River Inn Rug Camp include: Gail Becker, Cheryl Bollenbach, Gail Dufresne, Suzan Farrens, Tanya Graham, Susan Higgins, Sara Judith, Trish Johnson, Barb Kennedy, Michele Micarelli, Brigitta Phy, Nancy Miller Quiqley, Judith Rippstein, Sharon Saknit, Ann Taylor, Nancy Terhaar, Anita White, Laurie Wiles & Michele Wise!

Gail Becker: a Fiber Artist with a broad experience in needle arts and fiber manipulations. She discovered Rug Hooking 12 years ago and studied with Nancy Miller Quigley. Gail teaches by demonstrating skills and concepts and then helps her students apply those skills and knowledge. She encourages collaboration. She is comfortable teaching fine cut shaded rugs to wide-cut (#10) rugs and everything in between. Gail attends camps on a regular basis and considers herself a lifelong learner. She continues to explore form, line, shape, color, texture, space, and value. You've seen many of Gail's fun and beautiful rugs in ATHA Magazine and on the internet via several challenges and swaps. Gail earned her McGown Certification in 2003 and has taught ever since. Gail belongs to the 'Wool Poppies' ATHA guild in Fresno, CA. she is active within her guild and writes articles for ATHA and Rug Hooking Magazine. Her CA Postcard Challenge was the first event at the Monterey Fiber Jam in February 2012! Check out Gail's rugs at her new website; Gail Becker Rug Hooking.com

Cheryl Bollenbach: Hooking has been my high fiber passion since 2005. I love and appreciate all styles of rug hooking, am a McGown certified instructor, and am comfortable teaching all cuts from #3 to wide hand torn. I confess that I am absolutely mesmerized by color, and I love to dye wool! My dye classes are informative and fun while we learn about color theory and the art of dyeing. If I have to have a specialty then it would be sculpting because that is what I am trained in - and 3D is how I look at things. I am familiar with and comfortable teaching faces, animals, landscapes, geometric and still life subject matter. Living in Hawaii during the 1980's, I attended the university and earned a BFA in 1990 - majoring in sculpture. My rug, "Remembering Spring" is featured in Celebrations XXII, and in ATHA magazine (Feb/Mar. 2012). Cheryl is also serving as the ATHA Editor. Visit Cheryl on the web at www.cdbstudios.com

Gail Dufresne: grew up surrounded by her mother and sister's rugs and soon was making rugs herself! Her work has been featured in numerous fiber art shows and contests, including Celebrations. She has written many articles for Rug Hooking Magazine and wrote the dye section of Elizabeth Black's book, "Hooked on The Wild Side." Rug Hooking Magazine has published two of Gail's books: "Geometric Hooked Rugs," and "Rug Hooking with Fancy Fibers." Gail is a McGown certified teacher and has been teaching at camps and private workshops around the United States and Canada since 2000. She has taught specific classes for beginners, as well as classes on inch mats, sheep, sunflowers, sculpting, proddy, mixed media, optical illusions, dyeing, geometrics, and abstraction. Gail most often teaches open classes where anything goes, as she finds them to be the most challenging and fun. 'They keep me hopping!' www.goathilldesigns.com

Suzan Farrens: Raised near the beach on Long Island, NY then along the coast in Santa Cruz CA, Suzan currently lives among the oak trees and sand hills of Ben Lomond CA. Suzan discovered rug hooking in 1996 through a local class taught by LeAnn Rudolph who is now a close friend. She is a member of ATHA and a McGown certified teacher since 2004. Through these organizations she finds support and connection to others who share her passion of making unique hooked rugs. Suzan has long been a lover of color, texture and balance. She is passionate about creating hooked rugs from all sorts of inspiration - road signs, photos, sayings and especially nature. Rug hooking helps her keep balanced with an aim to amuse herself and others. Always working on her growing edge she has several rugs going at once. Suzan looks forward to helping with your hooking and "growing edge" at Little River Inn Rug Camp.

Tanya Graham: - a well-known Rug Hooking Teacher in Eastern Canada; she'll soon be well-known in the West for her artistic approach to colour and design!   Born in the U.K. in 1944, Tanya Graham has taught in the public school systems of France, the U.K. and Canada.  She has been involved with the Textile Arts for most of her life, and has been teaching in this field since 1993.

In her own work, Tanya draws on her experiences of places and lives lived. Her work is exhibited in Canada and in the U.S.A. Tanya is an accredited teacher with the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild; and is a contributing member of the McGown Teachers' Workshop programme in the U.S.A. She is a member of the Education Committee for the Western Canada Rug Hooking Education Association, Saskatchewan. Tanya regularly changes things up, using her skills, her art knowledge and her latest muse to challenge and lead you to something a little different and new!

Sara Judith: "I have always loved colour, texture and fiber. After many years of weaving spinning and dyeing, I discovered hooking in 2003, during a chance visit to Deanne Fitzpatrick's studio in Nova Scotia. I was immediately drawn to its expressiveness, its forgiving nature and the lack of rules. It quickly became my passion and I explored the medium attending many workshops in Nova Scotia, Vermont, Saskatchewan and California. I love to share what I have learned with others, and so, as a teacher, I now lead workshops focusing on punch hooking, its possibilities and combinations with traditional hooking, as well as workshops on improvisation and creative exploration. It is a delight to show the craft to others and share the joy and pleasure this simple craft brings. With hooking and punching, and related fiber arts, I can explore an endless range of possibilities. I am passionate about rug hooking and punching as an art form."

Trish Johnson lives in Toronto with her husband, two sons and three cats. She has 4 children and 2 grandchildren. Trish's first rug hooking experience was in 1972, filling in a lot of sky of her Aunt Eliza's hooked sailing ship rug. Sixteen years later, she bought a kit for her first rug, pink roses on a black background. Trish was self-taught in the beginning; then she joined the Georgetown Rug Hooking Guild, where she enjoyed taking workshops with a great variety of teachers. As well as the Georgetown Guild, Trish belongs to the Toronto Guild and the teacher's branch of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. Trish's rugs have been included in RHM's Celebration many times and are often included in Rug Art Shows in eastern Canada. "I design my own patterns, mostly from my own photographs. I dye most of my own wool and always dye the skies. I like to use recycled wool. I have been hooking rugs about places that are important to my family history and trying to answer questions about what 'home' means to me. Home is where the heart is and all of my rugs are about those things and events that are dear to my heart. Many of my rugs tell a story."

Susan Higgins taught at our first 2 camps and was very much appreciated by her students. She is a certified McGown teacher, has taught at several rug schools and given many workshops in California. She is comfortable teaching a broad range of styles and subjects in both fine and wider cuts, in realistic or impressionistic styles, and primitive approaches that mimic older rugs. Susan excels at color, and is fond of florals, geometrics and portraits. She works well with students of all levels and hooking interests. Her work has appeared in the Wenham Museum, Rug Hooking Magazine, the ATHA and McGown Newsletters, and Celebrations VII, IX and X. Her articles have appeared in ATHA and in A Rug Hooker's Garden, published by Rug Hooking Magazine. Her rugs have been exhibited widely, including a tour of Japan.

Barb Kennedy has retired from teaching Traditional Rug Hooking. She taught many students in various venues in Western Canada and United States for 30 years. A popular teacher in the Pacific Northwest, we were happy to bring her to Little River Inn in 2010. Wide-Cut does not necessarily mean 'easier'; Barb helped many students develop the techniques required of big loops. Barb attended McGown Teachers' Workshop for many years, is accredited and still attends Rug Classes to increase her knowledge in the Art of Rug Hooking.

Michele Micarelli is a certified rug hooking teacher whose main objective is to unleash creativity. The classes she teaches are full of storytelling, imagination exercises, and laughter. With memories of her Father's hooked rugs, Michele began rug hooking in 1991. Her other loves are her family, making Sailor's Valentines, painting, collecting, and gardening. Michele has proudly served on the A.T.H.A. Region 1 board of directors for ten years. She is past President of the Northern Teacher's Workshop and a judge of Craft's Adventure in New England. Michele's rugs have appeared in several editions of The Celebration of Rug Hooking and she served as a judge in Celebration 13. Michele teaches at workshops around the country and in Canada. Michele was honored as a guest artist at the Shelburne museum in April of 2006.

Nancy Miller Quigley is a fourth generation rug hooker.   She practices the art of traditional rug hooking as it was handed down through her family from her grandmother.   Nancy's rugs have been selected for Celebration I, III, IV, XV and XIX and her articles have appeared in 'Rug Hooking Magazine'.   Nancy retired from teaching, and sold her Miller Hook business!   Nancy is back to teaching rug hooking starting at Rockaway Friends by the Sea in 2018.  Nancy taught at the first 8 Little River Inn Rug Camps and helped launch this little rug camp!

Brigitta Phy: has been hooking for over 18 years and has explored many styles; from fine shading, to modern wide cut, from impressionistic "wool painting", to 3-D wool art, using several techniques.  She is influenced by color and design and tends to hook what inspires her, not sticking to one style.  "I love the art of rug hooking because of that very thing, anything goes!"  She adores the periods of Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco and many of her designs of late have reflected those movements.

Lately, Brigitta has been creating 'Wonderscapes'; here's an example with the view from Little River Inn as her subject!  She is sharing her 'Wonderscape Techniques' at venues around the North American continent!

Brigitta has a casual teaching style and tries to make her students feel comfortable with their projects, try new things and most importantly; have fun!  "I always learn something new from every class I attend and like to promote a class of sharing so that everyone benefits from the questions that arise."   She is an accredited McGown teacher and has had rugs featured in several books including Celebrations XXIII. Brigitta has been a member of Wine Country Rug Hookers since the 2001 ATHA Biennial.   Brigitta is now serving as the current secretary for ATHA National.   Find out more about Brigitta at her website Green Valley Rug Hooking.

Judy Rippstein TexJudith Rippstein: was exposed to rug hooking for the first time when she moved to Fredericksburg TX in 1999. She attended the annual Fredericksburg Hook -In because the "public" was invited and it was only 2 blocks from her house. Judy was struck by the beauty in everything she saw! At the Hook - In, she found her first teacher and mentor, who lived in Austin but was from Massachusetts and sponsored Judy for McGown's Teachers Workshop. Judy started teaching in 2006, was McGown accredited in 2008 and loves to teach! Judy's work has been in Celebrations several times as have a couple of her students' work. "I started hooking using a #3 cut and now hook up to a size #8 plus some 'Cut and Tear.' My teaching includes all styles of hooking from traditional fine shading to primitive wide cuts. Decorative stitches are fun and can be used to enhance a student's work. Working with color is a joy to me, seeing students' work come to life is almost as exciting to me as it is to the student."
See more of Judy's rugs at her website Judith Rippstein Rughooking.

Sharon Saknit was introduced to Rug Hooking in 1992 in a chance encounter with rug hookers at a local craft fair. She found herself immediately "hooked" and has been creating pieces of art every since. She started teaching in 1997 and has received her McGown teaching accreditation. Her works can be found in popular publications such as The Rug Hookers Bible, Jessie Turbayne's book Hooked on Rugs - Outstanding Contemporary Designs, Celebrations XVII, and the ATHA newsletter. She has self-published a "dye by eye" book and a book on creating tessellations. She has owned and operated Sharon Saknit Rug Hooking since 1997 and expanded her operation in 2004 to include Nancy Miller's kits and dye formulas. Her repertoire includes over 75 pieces in a variety of cuts and styles. Her passion lies in the never-ending possibilities of this amazing art form and taking it to the next level.

Ann Taylor learned to hook rugs in eastern Canada before her husband’s career took them to Alberta. She took the Pearl K McGown correspondence course to become a certified McGown teacher while she was a young mother in western Canada. She was a popular teacher, served as ATHA President for 4 years and directed rug camps with Evelyn Brown in Calgary, Alberta for many years. I was lucky to have Ann as my teacher at Asilomar Rug Camp in 2003; and have her teach at LRI in 2006 & 2007. Ann passed away in 2020; she is sorely missed by all of us that have had the pleasure of knowing her and especially her local guild in Calgary.

Anita White is a well known teacher at rug camps and workshops around the country. She started teaching in 1997 and was McGown certified in 2002. She can encourage the new student as well as challenge the seasoned hooker. Her style leans towards a refined primitive using lots of textures, both as is and over-dyed wools and also antique paisley to create beautiful rugs. Her work has been in Rug hooking magazine, Early American Homes, as well as other books. While students may choose any pattern, Anita's style is best utilized in choosing a pattern that lends itself to a #6- to 9 cut using lots of plaids, stripes, textures and antique paisley. Good choices would be florals, geometrics, folk art, antique adaptations, wide cut animals, fruit and crewel. Anita will cover many subjects during the week including color planning, dyeing, finishing, etc.

Laurie Wiles: is a McGown certified teacher and has been hooking for over 20 years. She currently hooks in Edmonton, Alberta where she is the 'Learning and Development' officer for her local guild. Laurie has instructed students in Canada, the US, Mexico and Iceland. She has works in Celebrations and has published several articles for Rug Hooking Magazine and ATHA. Several of Laurie's rugs have won awards and the Royal Museum of Alberta has purchased one of her pieces. Laurie completed a month long stay in Iceland as an artist in residence in 2016. 'Whether you are a beginner or an experienced rug hooker I will enjoy having you in my class. I love all aspects of hooking from design to finishing and I'm comfortable with both wide and narrow cuts of all subjects. Animals and self-designed pieces are my favorite things to teach.'

Michele Wise is a Rug Artist and Rug Hooking Teacher from the Pacific Northwest. Recently retired from High School Teaching, Michele now enjoys traveling with her husband, Jay.  Michele is co-directing the new and popular Pudget Sound Rug School ; she also directs 2 Rug Retreats in Washington State.
Michele creates all kinds of Fiber Arts, from a Hooked Travel Diary, to a 3D Hooked Merman on a Sea Staff, hooked upholstery, and hooked rugs of various styles. Michele is a capable and caring teacher in the art of rug hooking!   Michele taught at LRI in 2011 and is back for 2022!