The inspiration for this rug began with finding the ruby slippers at a store. I thought, “what a fun gift for my relatives who are still fans of the movie The Wizard of Oz.
Next I came upon some sparkly red Illusion wool at the GMRH school and knew I had to hook a rug with ruby slippers on it.
The rug contains several of the iconic symbols from this movie that was first shown in 1939. Glinda’s advice still resonates with women today, even after eighty years:
“You have always had the power, my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”
Glinda
About the artist:
Pamela Finnigan is a McGown certified rug hooking instructor. She has been working on her skills in this medium for over thirty years and has been teaching a weekly class at the Montpelier Senior Activity Center for the past ten years. In addition to teaching, she has been a presenter at various rug hooking events and guilds throughout Vermont and Massachusetts.
She served as president of both the Green Mountain Rug Hookoing Guild and the Northeast Rug Hooking Guild. Her work has been shown at various venues throughout New England and has appeared on both local and the Hallmark channels promoting rug hooking.
She participated in the making of an award winning video about rug hooking, A copy of this video was donated to all the libraries across the state of Vermont.
Her first teacher was Sylvia Dole and her first rug hooking buddy was Cosette Allen.
This is in memory of two creative rug hookers who were very involved in the early rug shows. Judy Dodds – artist and creator of the video, The Heart of Hooking, and Susan Smidt – provider of Illusion wool and knowledge. Thanks for your contributions to my rug hooking journey and may you rest in peace.