An international group of hookers strutting their stuff this afternoon in City Hall prefer nylon stockings or wool to fishnet, but will try just about anything – to make a rug.

These crafty hookers generally stay below Police radar by using a hooking implement and bits of material including old stockings to make rugs, door stops and footstools.

Their work will be featured in a special one day show from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the City Hall foyer.

The show is being organised by a local rug hooking teacher, Jill Kempe. It features not only the work of some of her students, but also the work of 12 rug hookers from Ontario, Canada.

In the late 1800s in coastal fishing areas of Canada, rug hooking was such a popular past-time in the winter months that February and March were dubbed "the matting season".

The Royal Gazette recently spoke with two rug hookers in the show, local Flo Hall, and Canadian visitor Sandra Ogden-Denby.

"There will be examples of different types of rugs and hooking on display," said Mrs. Hall. "Each of the Canadian girls bought down at least one rug to put in the show. There will be a lot of things that will be from the Bermudian girls also."

Mrs. Ogden-Denby said the Canadian women met up with the Bermudian hookers through week-long rug hooking classes taught at Trent University in Ontario, Canada.

"A Canadian woman living in Bermuda, Eleanor Buntin, taught Jill (Kempe) and I to rug hook in 1997," said Mrs. Hall. "I had done some when I was a child in Canada. Rug hooking initially was started by ladies on farms in the 1800s. They used burlap bags from around the farm and they used old rags. When they were brand new they would have them as table covers.

"They didn't put their work on the floor until it became old. And often they would put their rugs upside down on the floor so that the wear was on the back.

"When they were entertaining they would turn them over the right way."

For this reason, the back of the hooking project needed to be just as neat as the front.

"You finish your work on top, so that you can't see it," said Mrs. Hall.

Today, anything could be the subject of a rug design. Mrs. Hall made one of her rugs with the image of her dog on it.

But traditional rug hooking subjects included rural motifs such as cows, dogs and sheep.

"They never used new materials," said Mrs. Hall. "They cut up old socks or clothes, things that were raggedy."

Among hookers, there is a preference for different materials. Mrs. Kempe uses all new wool materials. Mrs. Hall uses a combination of new, and she goes to the Barn and buys slacks and jackets and cuts them up. Mrs. Ogden-Denby uses nylon.

Mrs. Kempe dyes the materials for her students, or they do it themselves. The materials can be cut up into small strips by either a scissors or a special cutting machine that looks like a small meat grinder.

In Newfoundland and Labrador women were particularly well known for making rugs from nylon instead of wool.

"For some reason the ladies there had more nylon," said Mrs. Hall. "In one article I read a lady sat up all night hooking, because her husband was asleep and she didn't want him to see her spending so much time working."

Mrs. Hall said that hooking is a big stress relief for her.

"I find that it is very relaxing," said Mrs. Hall. "If I can sit and just hook, my mind is just on that and isn't on all the troubles of the world and not on what is going on outside. There is a lot of companionship when we go to rug hooking class. We learn different techniques, and meet other people.

"Everyone who does rug hooking is friendly. And you learn things from each other."

Mrs. Ogden-Denby said she got a sense of accomplishment out of it.

"It is just really satisfying that every time you walk over the rug, you can look at it and say, 'I made that'," she said.

None of the rugs in the show will be for sale. "I have seen rugs five by eight feet and they are a commercial project," said Mrs. Hall. "But I don't sell any of my work. Sometimes it takes me an entire year to make one.

"But they last forever. I have one done by my friend's mother in British Columbia. It survived children and dogs. It was done with old fabric, men's work clothes, sweaters and so forth. It was chewed up by the dog but I fixed that. It is on the floor of my bedroom now."

Washing the rugs can be tricky. Rugs made with nylon are washable, but washing isn't recommended for those made with a burlap backing. "We've been told that the burlap won't stand up to the laundry detergent," said Mrs. Hall. "There are other backings you can use such as linen or cotton and they would wash."

But Canadians have their own unique rug detergent – snow. "In Canada for our wool and burlap rugs to wash it we put them out in the snow," Mrs. Ogden-Denby said. "The moisture pulls the dirt out. You leave it for maybe an hour or so. Turn it over and sprinkle some snow. Then dust it off. That is how it has always been done. Naturally, that would be a little hard to do here." Anyone interested in taking a rug hooking class with Mrs. Kempe can telephone 238-1455. She runs periodic beginners classes, on either the last Friday of the month or on the Saturday morning following.