About Us
My introduction to rug hooking came in the mid -1990s when I first saw Vicki Calu working on her room size pictorial rug at the Goschenhoppen Folk Festival. Since my husband Fred and I live in an old Pennsylvania stone farmhouse, my goal was to create rugs that looked old and would complement the house and our antiques. I was also attracted to hooking with recycled wool because it made the rugs look older. I fell in love with rug hooking as soon as I had a hook in hand with wool strips. Primitive looking rugs are in my heart and soul.
Vicki Calu offered dyeing classes from time to time and I recall telling her many times that I did not want to get involved with dyeing, but I took the workshop anyway. In spite of my initial reluctance to get involved in dyeing wool, I slowly found myself being drawn to it. Vicki encouraged me to try over-dyeing the recycled wool with which I was hooking. Shortly thereafter, Vicki invited me to sell the recycled wool at the Highlands. People responded and liked what I offered. I had accumulated so much wool by this time that it provided a way to “support my habit”.
Up until the time I met Kay Leisey, owner of Homespun Woolens in Hereford, PA, my dying was primarily recycled wool. Kay was dying new wool for her shop, but needed more stock and was too busy to meet the demand for hand-dyed wool. Word of mouth soon resulted in invitations to sell at hook-ins and shows. Wholesale accounts in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New York soon followed. From that reluctant start, The Wool’n Gardener was born. Today dyeing new wool is a major part of our lives. (Please note: Homespun Woolens is under new ownership and now called The Bee and the Bear. Katie continues to carry a selection of my hand-dyed wool.)
My husband and I are active partners and share the work. I do all the dyeing while Fred handles the ripping, rinsing, drying and marking of the wool. About 1400-1500 pieces of hand-dyed new wool are usually in stock. Fred has also begun to hook! He has been inspired to hook Northwest Coast First Nations designs after a recent trip to Alaska.
We wish you many wonderful days of hooking, wool appliqué work or just surrounding yourself with wool, wool and more wool!!!
Jan Cole
Vicki Calu offered dyeing classes from time to time and I recall telling her many times that I did not want to get involved with dyeing, but I took the workshop anyway. In spite of my initial reluctance to get involved in dyeing wool, I slowly found myself being drawn to it. Vicki encouraged me to try over-dyeing the recycled wool with which I was hooking. Shortly thereafter, Vicki invited me to sell the recycled wool at the Highlands. People responded and liked what I offered. I had accumulated so much wool by this time that it provided a way to “support my habit”.
Up until the time I met Kay Leisey, owner of Homespun Woolens in Hereford, PA, my dying was primarily recycled wool. Kay was dying new wool for her shop, but needed more stock and was too busy to meet the demand for hand-dyed wool. Word of mouth soon resulted in invitations to sell at hook-ins and shows. Wholesale accounts in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and New York soon followed. From that reluctant start, The Wool’n Gardener was born. Today dyeing new wool is a major part of our lives. (Please note: Homespun Woolens is under new ownership and now called The Bee and the Bear. Katie continues to carry a selection of my hand-dyed wool.)
My husband and I are active partners and share the work. I do all the dyeing while Fred handles the ripping, rinsing, drying and marking of the wool. About 1400-1500 pieces of hand-dyed new wool are usually in stock. Fred has also begun to hook! He has been inspired to hook Northwest Coast First Nations designs after a recent trip to Alaska.
We wish you many wonderful days of hooking, wool appliqué work or just surrounding yourself with wool, wool and more wool!!!
Jan Cole
(Top left) Hooked Rug "Blue Thistle" 43x46 Designed and hooked by Jan Cole - 2000
(Bottom) Hooked Rug "Masks Of Native America" 39x13 Designed by Going Gray and hooked by Fred Cole - 2013
(Bottom) Hooked Rug "Masks Of Native America" 39x13 Designed by Going Gray and hooked by Fred Cole - 2013
