Fifty years ago, Americans embraced time-honored arts and crafts such as quilting, needlework, knitting, felting, tatting, rug hooking and more. Why? It was America’s Bicentennial and suddenly history and all it encompasses was being revived and celebrated. Those who have helped to carry on those traditions are hopeful that interest in folk and heritage arts and crafts will take center stage in 2026, when America celebrates its 250th birthday.
Mary Reider is a devotee of heritage arts and crafts such as rug hooking, punch needle, wool applique and needle felting. Her rug projects reflect the changing seasons and holidays.
The indications that younger generations are interested in such pursuits can be found on the websites of businesses and organizations such as Landis Valley Museum, the Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, The Felted Fox, Lancaster Yarn Shop, Woolwrights Rug Hooking Guild, The Old Country Store, Ewebiquitous, Flying Fibers and many others. Classes fill quickly and often sell out. Restaurants (such as Zoetropolis), breweries (Columbia Kettle Works, partnering with Flying Fibers), and wineries (Nissley Vineyards) also host regular, well-attended craft events.
Last summer, when we were doing photography for the magazine’s annual Senior Living advertorial, Nick and I traveled to Cornwall Manor in Lebanon County, where we photographed Mary and Kirk Reider’s home. From a decorating perspective, it was like walking into a cozy New England inn. You instantly felt comfortable. Then, I spied Mary’s handiwork: hooked rugs, wall hangings and other handmade items fill the house. I was mesmerized and knew we had to do a feature about Mary’s hobby.
Mary traces her interest in rug hooking to the early ’90s, when she and Kirk began their love affair with New England, where they always make it a point to stay at quaint bed & breakfast inns and visit antiques shops and museums. (She highly recommends the Hooked Rug Museum of North America in Queensland, Nova Scotia.) Everywhere she went, Mary noticed hooked rugs. Intrigued, she bought a copy of Rug Hooking magazine. What attracted her to rug hooking? “I’ve always liked to play with color,” Mary says, equating the myriad of wool colorations to paint. The heritage art also lent itself to Mary’s decorating style. “I’ve always leaned to Colonial and traditional decorating,” she notes.
Mary and Kirk in the loft area of their cottage at Cornwall Manor in Lebanon County. (Note the rug hangings on the walls.)
Back home, she was determined to learn how to hook rugs and made the acquaintance of Patricia Moyer, who lived in Terre Hill and was a masterful rug hooker. Mary took lessons from Mrs. Moyer and created her first hooked rug with her help. “It was of a lighthouse,” Mary recalls.
Since then, Mary has become a dedicated rug hooker. “I like the sense of accomplishment it provides,” she says of finishing a project. Mary also engages in punch needle, wool applique and needle felting, and has expanded her horizons by taking pottery and watercolor classes at Cornwall Manor. When Covid restrictions were initiated, Mary only upped the ante where rug hooking was concerned. “I was perfectly happy to stay home and work on projects,” she says. She has devoted so much time to rug hooking that she now can decorate her home with projects that reflect the changing seasons and revolving holidays. “I just love Christmas,” she says. “I could do Christmas projects year around!”
Mary credits her creativity to her mother. “My mom planted the seed,” she explains. “She knitted and crocheted and made the most beautiful Fair Isle sweaters.” Alas, she fears that creative streak may end with her, as her two daughters show no interest in rug hooking or any of Mary’s other pursuits.
The décor of the dining room alludes to the Reiders’ love of Colonial and traditional styling. Mary’s handiwork – the hooked wall hanging and the felt table runner – are evident. The Reiders were thrilled that the cottage was able to accommodate all their furnishings.
Like many devoted hobbyists, Mary is fully engaged. She’s a member of the Association of Traditional Hooking Artists (ATHA), which has chapters in such faraway places as Japan and Australia. Locally, she’s a member of the Woolwrights Rug Hooking Guild (a ATHA chapter). She’s also attended workshops (or hook-ins) in New England and other locations.
A Little History
The concept of rug hooking dates to 4th-century Egypt, where artifacts of fiber looped through a textile backing have been found in tombs. There is also evidence that the Vikings introduced a form of rug hooking to Scotland. In England, a rug-hooking technique known as “brodding,” as well as “thrumming,” existed in the 1600s (Shakespeare referenced it in The Merry Wives of Windsor). Instead of using costly yarn, the method saw scraps of fabric being used to create rugs. Experimentation with wool yarn began in the early 1800s, as workers in English weaving mills were permitted to retrieve pieces that had fallen to the floor (as long as they were less than nine inches in length) for personal use. Still, such “benefits” were typically utilized for necessities such as knitting and darning, as opposed to luxuries like rugs.
Mary at work on a punch-needle project.
The tradition of creating hooked rugs sailed with English colonists to America, where they became a mainstay of homes in New England (and north to Canada). “The rugs became a cottage industry in Nova Scotia,” Mary reports. Personnel on whaling boats turned to rug hooking to pass the long days at sea. The rugs also served double duty, as many were used to provide added warmth for sleeping during the cold winter months. Housewives also came up with an ingenious way to prolong the lives of the rugs by turning them over (loop-side down, which prevented them from becoming soiled) and flipping them right-side up when entertaining visitors. The rugs also served another important purpose, as they often chronicled family milestones, etc., thus becoming heirlooms to be shared with future generations.
During the 1800s, thrift-minded women discovered that burlap and seed bags could be used as backing for rug projects. Following the Civil War, Edward Frost helped to make rug hooking a little easier, as he developed a technique for printing patterns on burlap. He purchased patterns from creative rug makers and had great success marketing them.
By the late 1800s, rug hooking appeared to be a fading art; it even took on negative connotations as being a “country craft.” Machine-made rugs had become status symbols, making hooked rugs obsolete.
Mary’s rug-hooking projects are on view in the living room, as are the shore-bird carvings the Reiders have collected during trips to New England.
In the 1930s, two people, Pearl McGown and William Winthrop Kent, championed the cause of reviving rug hooking. McGown’s use of wool helped to create shading and other techniques that had never before existed, thus elevating the craft to an art. Kent successfully published many books about rug hooking. Easy-to-use hooking tools also helped to revolutionize the art. During World War II, the therapeutic properties of rug-hooking emerged, as soldiers recovering in hospitals were taught to hook rugs.
A New Home
Change is never easy and when the Reiders made the decision to become residents of a retirement community, Mary was reluctant to make the move. “I miss my house,” she admits. “But I appreciate the security that living at Cornwall Manor provides.”
A corner cabinet holds a display of more hand-carved shore birds.
The Reiders, who met through attending Shippensburg University, had lived for two decades in Mount Gretna, where Mary worked with a builder to design a smaller version of a house she had seen in Early American Life magazine. “That was in 2005,” she says of the design that harkened to New England. “The eventual buyer was the parents of a neighbor who stopped by minutes after the ‘For Sale’ was placed in the front yard,” Mary recalls.
The walls of the staircase are lined with projects that pay homage to summertime in New England.
To their surprise, the Reiders discovered that their cottage would provide them with more space than their house did. “We have a basement, which is great for storage, and a loft on the second floor that provides me with a storage area for all my supplies and a quiet place to work. I’ve never had an area to myself, so I love it,” Mary remarks. The increased living space also allows Mary to display more of her rugs and wall hangings. Kirk also gained a library in which he can indulge in his love of reading. Another bonus: they were able to bring all the period lighting fixtures from the Mount Gretna house, plus their furniture seamlessly made the transition.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
The Woolwrights Rug Hooking Guild will be hosting its annual Spring Hook-in on March 15 (9 a.m.-3 p.m.) at the Farm & Home Center (1383 Arcadia Road). Non-members/visitors will be admitted beginning at 10: 30 a.m., during which time they can view the rug show, shop the vendor area and visit the “Ask a Hooker” information area, where they can watch demos, see examples of supplies and equipment and interact with members. (There is a $15 entrance fee.)
The ATHA chapter, which is led by president Kelly Stork, dates to 2006. The chapter’s mission is to provide a venue for rug-hooking education and to help members develop their rug-hooking skills. Meetings are held on the second Friday of the month (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) at St. Edwards Episcopal Church (2453 Harrisburg Pike). For more information, visit woolwrights.com.
Love rug hooking. Beautiful traditional art. Would like to invite rug hookers to participate in the 37th Heart of Lancaster Arts and Craft Show. If interested, contact me for details. Marilyn Hobday. mehobday@comcast.net.
Awesome article!
Mary is one of many women, and men, who enjoy rug hooking. We learn from each other , The guild has classes during the year. It’s a wonderful hobby, no matter what skill level members possess. Visitors are welcome to come to one of the meetings , as well as the Hook In . The article about Mary was wonderful. Thank you for publishing it.