They're Hooked!

Crafters Create Rugs The Old-Fashioned Way

By AMY ASH NIXON

Special to The Courant

April 28 2006

When Jeanne Zook runs her fingers through the stacks of soft, hand-dyed wools sold at Yankee Peddler Hooked Rugs in Killingworth, the word "yummy" comes to her mind.

"To me, wool is better than gold," said Zook, who is 88 and began hooking rugs in her 50s, when she discovered some rugs her grandmother had hooked tucked away in a trunk.

Already a longtime craftswoman when she discovered the rugs, Zook learned how to make them and has been teaching rug-hooking, both fine hooking and primitive style, for more than 30 years at her home in Cheshire.

She and her students, some of whom have studied with her for years, make several outings each year to the Yankee Peddler, where the wools sold by owners Steven and Marie Azzaro are hand-dyed locally (and specifically for the craft of hooking rugs) using techniques that result in hues that are subtle and beautiful. (Open only by appointment, the shop also has online and mail-order components at www.yankeepeddler.com or 860-663-0526).

Zook's home is filled with the results of her rug-working - the staircase is a showcase of framed birds and other motifs she has crafted over the years. Downstairs, a frame is set up with dozens of colored strips, or "worms," of wool dangling from a homemade metal organizing caddy, awaiting use. "This is the love of my life," Zook said.

She and her students also are devoted to the Killingworth wool shop.

The Azzaros are the third owners of the shop, which, in its earliest days, sold patterns inspired by the original designs of Edward Sands Frost. Frost collected design motifs for hooked rugs from around New England, then set up a factory in Boston where artists re-created the designs.

One of Marie Azzaro's designs features Frost himself and his peddler's wagon full of goods, a tribute to his 19th-century ingenuity. The first two owners of Yankee Peddler, inspired by Frost, made their own patterns, and when the Azzaros bought the company a little more than 30 years ago, she acquired those patterns. But she relies almost exclusively on her original artwork designs for the kits she sells.

Steven Azzaro encouraged his wife to use her artistic skills when they bought the business and operated it - first in Fairfield County before moving to Killingworth seven years ago. On the shop's website, which he created, he delves a bit into the history of Frost.

"Sometimes, he even offered patterns ready-made on burlap with suggestions for design colors. His customers could use them to make rugs, bed coverings or wall hangings with ... colorful scraps of old woolens that were hand cut into usable strips."

Founded 65 years ago, Yankee Peddler sells everything one needs to hook rugs, including the tools; backing materials such as linen, burlap and monk's cloth; frames; books; kits and more. The business sells intricate kit designs as well as the more popular primitive designs, such as those of farm animals.

Zook said she finds the craft mesmerizing and relaxing, and her students agree. They say rug-hooking is enjoying a renaissance, rather like knitting, and that more people seem interested in learning the craft.

Kathy Buck of Washington Depot said she learned to hook rugs years ago in an adult-education class in Hamden. She was raising her family and looking for something productive to do - and an escape from home once a week.

"It's just like eating peanuts," said Virginia Parkhurst of Woodbury. "You can't stop doing it!"

Most of today's hooked creations go on walls or pieces of furniture as decorative accents rather than on beds or floors as they once would have, their makers say.

"People say you `get hooked.' And you do; it's true," Marie Azzaro said. "The majority of people who get into rug-hooking do stay with it." Her clientele includes crafters from throughout North America and France, as well as many retail stores. "The people are wonderful; that's one of the nicest things about the business. We've made wonderful friends over the years. They call here to order, and they ask about our kids."

On a recent Tuesday morning at Zook's house, her students were busy working on a variety of hooked projects, from Janet Hiller's medallions of tulips and snowmen to Paulette Bush's primitive, dark-hued floral rug, to Candy Greco's fine rug in a floral pattern. Another student, Laura Rousseau, was making a replica of a striped, dark-toned rug her daughter loves. And Norma Grossi was busy on a large rug with floral patterns, for which she had dyed all of the wool.

Dyeing their own wool is a big part of the hobby for many rug-hookers, Zook said, and there are many different dyeing techniques.

"I would recommend this to anyone," said Rousseau, who has been hooking rugs for five years. "Jeanne has given me such a gift. This really allows me to tap into my creativity."

Copyright 2006, Hartford Courant