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Antique Vine, 29″ x 45″, punched with Karakul rug yarn. Designed by The Ruggery, punched by Satoko Uno, Tokyo, Japan, 2018.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELLEN KINZER
In 2017, I came to Washington, D.C., with my family when my husband was relocated for his job. I was teaching patchwork quilting before coming to America, and I was also interested in hooking. While I was researching rug hooking, I discovered rug punching.
There are hooking classes in Japan, but punching classes are rare there. I thought I would like to learn punching and maybe spread it in Japan.
I found Amy Oxford’s punch school online, but her class on punching was full. I was pleased to find Kathy Donovan on Amy Oxford’s website. I asked Kathy if she could teach me punching. It would be a challenge, because I can hardly speak English!
Kathy Donovan’s farm is very beautiful and the house is wonderful. I was able to make a rug with the sheep‘s wool from her farm. She taught me not only how to punch but also how to hook and how to dye.
In order to make this first rug I was able to learn the colors of the rug; I dyed the yarn, and I punched it and finished up.
I continued to punch and hook rugs after returning to Tokyo. And I think that I should be able to spread the word and teach some people so that many people can enjoy rug punching in Japan.