ABOUT THE TEACHERS
LUCILLE FESTA started American Country Rugs IN 2002 and began teaching weekly rug hooking classes at her home in Wilton, CT. Lucille thrives on being busy and interacting with people. She quickly moved into vending at local shows and hosting hook-ins. In 2004, Lucille and her husband decided it was time to fulfill their lifelong dream of living in Vermont.
Throughout her long corporate career she listened to a multitude of speakers expound on the key to success: “Do what you love and you will be successful.” Lucille feels fortunate to have the opportunity to not only to do what she loves, but to spend most of her days lost in her rug hooking muse.
INGRID HIERONIMUS is the owner/operator of Ragg Tyme Studio in Mannheim (Kitchener), Ontario, Canada. She is an Ontario Hooking Craft Guild certified teacher, a certified McGown teacher, and has her certificate in Fiber Arts – Traditional Rug Hooking from St. Lawrence College in Brockville, Ontario, Canada. She has been featured in Celebrations Rug Hooking and is internationally known for her teaching, dyeing and rug hooking. Seminars, workshops and individual lessons are conducted in her own studio as well as in classrooms across North America. Ingrid also runs the Ragg Tyme School of Rug Hooking, which is held in May in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Ingrid is the author of three dye books – “Primary Fusion”, “Multiple Fusion”, and the most recent “Primary Fusion Spots”. She enjoys creating new and exciting colors in the dye pot using only the three primaries and black. Ingrid has been hooking for 30 years and teaching and dyeing professionally for about 18 years. Her expertise in dyeing and rug hooking is matched only by her skill at infusing the practical requirements of rug hooking and dyeing techniques with the excitement of creating and learning.
MICHELE MICARELLI is a master Rug Hooker. Her award-winning rugs have been displayed in museums throughout the country. Michele teaches frequent rug hooking classes at her studio in New Haven, CT. She also teaches workshops throughout the United States and Internationally.
LISANNE MILLER has been hooking since she was 9 years old. She is widely known for her folk art and primitive patterns as “P is for Primitive. Recently, Lisanne and Ron Miller purchased W. Cushing & Co and merged it with P is for Primitive. She also bought other pattern companies. This now allows her to service more rug hookers, needle punchers, spinners, weavers and fiber lovers than ever before. FULL
VIVILY POWERS is a skilled, McGown-certified teacher and owner of Colorama Wool. She is a member of the ATHA, McGown and Nova Scotia Guilds. She is the past president of the McGown Guild. Her hooked pieces and articles have appeared in Rug Hooking Magazine, ATHA, and the McGown Newsletter. She vends and teaches at the ATHA and McGown Biennials, rug schools, and Guilds all over the country. Recently she was a judge for the Rug Hooking Magazine, Celebrations Magazine.
She is a skilled teacher in a variety of subjects.
MAUREEN RUGAR was introduced to rug hooking in 1978 and has been teaching since 1983. It is fair to say that COLOR and EXPERIMENTATION are the two words which best describe her as a hooker. Hooking awakened her senses to the world of COLOR – “I became aware of the colors of nature, not just green trees or blue skies blue…every season was alive with color.” That love of color led her to learn various aspects of dying and she has held many dye workshops at her studio. While Maureen’s real passion is wide cuts, primitive, folk art, and oriental designs, she is skilled in the art of fine shading as well. Over the past few years EXPERIMENTATION has come into play. She has given workshops on how to braid, quilling with wool, hooking with hand torn strips, and hooking three dimensional items. In 2016 she was commissioned by curator Frank Frutal to recreate a rug for Eleanor Roosevelt’s sleeping porch at Val-Kill, Hyde Park, NY. The rug was accepted and installed on March 7, 2016.
Throughout her long corporate career she listened to a multitude of speakers expound on the key to success: “Do what you love and you will be successful.” Lucille feels fortunate to have the opportunity to not only to do what she loves, but to spend most of her days lost in her rug hooking muse.
INGRID HIERONIMUS is the owner/operator of Ragg Tyme Studio in Mannheim (Kitchener), Ontario, Canada. She is an Ontario Hooking Craft Guild certified teacher, a certified McGown teacher, and has her certificate in Fiber Arts – Traditional Rug Hooking from St. Lawrence College in Brockville, Ontario, Canada. She has been featured in Celebrations Rug Hooking and is internationally known for her teaching, dyeing and rug hooking. Seminars, workshops and individual lessons are conducted in her own studio as well as in classrooms across North America. Ingrid also runs the Ragg Tyme School of Rug Hooking, which is held in May in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Ingrid is the author of three dye books – “Primary Fusion”, “Multiple Fusion”, and the most recent “Primary Fusion Spots”. She enjoys creating new and exciting colors in the dye pot using only the three primaries and black. Ingrid has been hooking for 30 years and teaching and dyeing professionally for about 18 years. Her expertise in dyeing and rug hooking is matched only by her skill at infusing the practical requirements of rug hooking and dyeing techniques with the excitement of creating and learning.
MICHELE MICARELLI is a master Rug Hooker. Her award-winning rugs have been displayed in museums throughout the country. Michele teaches frequent rug hooking classes at her studio in New Haven, CT. She also teaches workshops throughout the United States and Internationally.
LISANNE MILLER has been hooking since she was 9 years old. She is widely known for her folk art and primitive patterns as “P is for Primitive. Recently, Lisanne and Ron Miller purchased W. Cushing & Co and merged it with P is for Primitive. She also bought other pattern companies. This now allows her to service more rug hookers, needle punchers, spinners, weavers and fiber lovers than ever before. FULL
VIVILY POWERS is a skilled, McGown-certified teacher and owner of Colorama Wool. She is a member of the ATHA, McGown and Nova Scotia Guilds. She is the past president of the McGown Guild. Her hooked pieces and articles have appeared in Rug Hooking Magazine, ATHA, and the McGown Newsletter. She vends and teaches at the ATHA and McGown Biennials, rug schools, and Guilds all over the country. Recently she was a judge for the Rug Hooking Magazine, Celebrations Magazine.
She is a skilled teacher in a variety of subjects.
MAUREEN RUGAR was introduced to rug hooking in 1978 and has been teaching since 1983. It is fair to say that COLOR and EXPERIMENTATION are the two words which best describe her as a hooker. Hooking awakened her senses to the world of COLOR – “I became aware of the colors of nature, not just green trees or blue skies blue…every season was alive with color.” That love of color led her to learn various aspects of dying and she has held many dye workshops at her studio. While Maureen’s real passion is wide cuts, primitive, folk art, and oriental designs, she is skilled in the art of fine shading as well. Over the past few years EXPERIMENTATION has come into play. She has given workshops on how to braid, quilling with wool, hooking with hand torn strips, and hooking three dimensional items. In 2016 she was commissioned by curator Frank Frutal to recreate a rug for Eleanor Roosevelt’s sleeping porch at Val-Kill, Hyde Park, NY. The rug was accepted and installed on March 7, 2016.