For Cathy, Simple is so often Sweetest.

A rug hooker wrote from Australia: 

hi Edyth

I have recently started rug hooking and love it .  I was looking through your blog and noticed you put a quilting hoop on your work - doesn't this squash the wool??  I would love your help on this as my quilting hoop isn't large enough to cover the whole outside of my pattern.  And there are no rug hooking shops anywhere in Australia!! 

I also want to say I downloaded your book and absolutely love it - thank you for your inspiration.

Have a wonderful Christmas - 

Blessings Leigh

My answer to her: 

Hi Leigh, I use a 14 inch quilter's hoop as my preferred hooking frame after having tried many other things over the years. Note 14 inch not 12.  This hoop is fairly sturdy, not a light weight one.  The trick to make it large enough to go over a thick thing like our hooked rugs, is to use a slightly longer bolt in it. A bolt very much longer will not go in it because of the curve of the hoop, but you can use a bolt 1 inch longer than usually comes with it. In my case it is a 5 1/2 inch bolt instead of a 4 1/2 inch one. I know your measurements are different from ours, but the idea is to get a slightly longer bolt.  

I do not think the hoop hurts any of my hooked passages at all.   Best wishes, Edyth