Calling all hookers: Rugmakers' guild wants to create a registry of work

The Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador wants to know what treasures you have underfoot or on your wall.

Winnie Glavine, the guild's publicity and social media director, says the guild has established a rug registry so the province's older hooked mats aren't lost to history.

"A mat needs to be at least 25 years old, hooked by a person living in Newfoundland," she said.

History of the rug

"Basically, all we do is take pictures of the mat, front and back, and we get as much history of the mat as we can, and the rug hooker, where she lived — we could say 'he' but at that time most of the rug hookers were women — where she lived, what kind of family was she living in, were they fishermen, were they merchants, were they teachers," Gavine said. "Did she hook the rug for somebody in particular?"

The guild also wants to do an assessment to try to determine what the rug was hooked with.

"Some people used old shirts, some people used woolen pants, some people used just scraps. We've had mats hooked with bark from trees — anything that they could get their hands on."

The information will be stored at the Provincial Achives, leaving the rugs in the hands of their owners.

"In doing all of that, we're able to educate people and make them aware of the value of the rugs — the value that they didn't have when they were first hooked, but the value they have to us now."

Glavine estimates there are a little more than 800 rugs registered so far.

"Last week we registered eight," she said. "We know there are 40 more in Bonavista to register, and we also know there are plenty in attics and sheds and basements … that people just don't understand what they have."

Glavine urged anyone with a rug to get in touch via the guild's website.