It might have been money saving BUT .... rug hooking is hell!

I've been a knitter for years even running a small business supplying my own designs to  baby shops and I've done patchwork quilts and machine embroidery but earlier this year I decided it was time to get back to basics.  Our house has wooden floors downstairs and we needed rugs. A relative supplied me with a box of old rug making tools that used to belong to my great grandfather who apparently was a big rug maker. I found loads of info online about  the different ways rugs were made in the from proddy rugs in the UK to rugs woven around the spokes of a wagon wheel in the USA. I couldn't source a wagon wheel !! but we found a peg loom on ebay so easy to use Olivia and I had a rug made in no time at all.
I went to University in the USA in Kansas and my friends houses were full of hooked rugs I watched a video of one being made on Youtube and thought this looked easy!!
 After hours of searching for the special hook  which I finally located on Etsy I was donated a piece of hessian from my crafting mum  so I confidently sketched out my design, cut up my hubbies old t shirts (as I wanted my rug to use recyled fabric) and set to work......
                                                       
 BUT



The hessian is smelly and gave me an allergy - streaming eyes and sneezing for hours........
The hooking with t shirt fabric makes your hands hurt and takes forever...
Making rugs like this might have been money saving but it is the least fun I have ever had making something ... no wonder the rugs were passed down from generation to generatiion and vintage ones are worth a small fortune
Here's the rug so far - I  will finish it one day !