 From dream to reality!
After 25 years of being an itinerant rug hooking teacher my long-time dream has come true! I've purchased a beautiful 1816 Colonial house here in Cornwall, Vermont that will be the future home of my very own school, The Oxford Rug Hooking School, opening for classes on May 1, 2013! The school will specialize in punch needle rug hooking. The living room and dining room will be my classrooms and the kitchen will be great for dye workshops. Sara Burghoff from Violet Jane has agreed to
be the school's yarn dyeing instructor. I'll have nice small classes with ten students and there are enough bedrooms to sleep five students who'd like to stay at the school. (There are also lots of places to stay in nearby Middlebury.)
There's room for me to have my own studio and the school is only 2 1/2 miles from my home. I've been burning the midnight oil since I first fell in love with the house in August, and after a vast amount of work to get funding from my bank and The Vermont Department of Economic Development, my dream is finally a reality. I have to admit that I got pretty choked up when they handed me the keys. I'm still pinching myself to make sure it's real and apparently it is!
I'll be offering 23 different classes that will run from May through December. I've tried to include something for everyone. I have several beginner classes including the ever popular "Learn to Hook a Rug in a Day" and 4-week classes that will meet on Tuesday evenings. I'll have some interesting intermediate and advanced workshops as well including "Designing for Rug Hooking," "From Quilt Block to Rug Block," "Punch Needle Rug Hooking Sampler," and "Dye and Hook a Shaded Flower" which I'll teach with Sara Burghoff. I'm excited to start an ongoing rug hooking group that will meet on Thursdays from 10am-1pm and to have a special mother/daughter class that I'll teach with my own daughter, Alaina Roberts. There will be summer and fall foliage retreats and a special weekend "Quiet Class" for anyone who would like a more peaceful and meditative experience. Private classes will also be available. Last but not least, if you're interested in becoming a punch needle instructor, I'll offer two Oxford Punch Needle Rug Hooking Teacher Certification Programs, one in June and one in October (at the peak of fall foliage). Click here to see my 2013 class schedule.
I hope to see you at The Oxford Rug Hooking School soon!
All the best,
Amy Oxford
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Classes include a morning snack and afternoon tea at three served in the kitchen. The patio is perfect for relaxing and we have two bright and comfortable classrooms (the dining room classroom is shown here).
Click here for a list of classes, lodging and registration information
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Free McAdoo Patterns for Oxford Rug Hooking School Students
 The new Oxford Company office has 600 paper McAdoo Rugs patterns. In the spirit of generosity passed down to Amy by the McAdoo family, students are welcome to trace one rug pattern of any size for their own use at no charge (monk's cloth not included). Each pattern comes with a color photograph and yarn amounts needed to make the rug. |
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Tired but happy...
It took four of us many hours to move all the McAdoo Rugs patterns from the sea container they've lived  in for two years into their new home at the school. In addition to the 600 McAdoo standard designs in our office, there are also 400 plus custom designs (shown here in my new studio). We'll catalog all the custom patterns and store them in a climate controlled archive in the new barn.
Any volunteers who would like to help would be greatly appreciated!
Click here to view McAdoo patterns
We'll be adding more McAdoo patterns to our website soon and will keep you posted about that!
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The Original Oxford Punch Needle Handle is Back!
As many of you know we sold our punch needles with "unfinished" handles for several months last year. By popular demand we've decided to go back to our tried and true original handles with the polyurethane finish. We still have a few of the "au naturale" handles left so if you're interested in having any of these, please give us a call to order while supplies last. If you purchased an unfinished punch needle and would like to exchange it, please return it and we'll be glad to swap it for you. We'll even refund your postage. We want you happy with your Oxford Punch Needles!
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