WESTPORT HOOKIN REMINDER…

I cannot believe that our summer hookin is only a week away. I just wanted to post a few reminders:

• if you  have registered but are unable to attend please let us know as we have a big group joining us
• we are now at the new location where the February Cabin Fever hookin was held i.e. North Crosby Community Centre 875 8th Concession Road just off highway 10 leaving Westport for Kingston(see the #1 on map below)
• please remember to bring your lunch – we will have drinks and baked goods and snacks
• please bring a mug if possible – this saves on a lot of styrofoam cups which take a long time to break down in landfill
• there is room for about 70 people indoors – outdoors there is a huge covered patio with picnic tables – if you prefer to sit on a chair or in the sun bring your sunscreen and a lawn chair and bug spray (in case) and enjoy the lovely lawns
• we have 5 vendors! 3 who are new to our hookin – Vince Tremblay who makes beautiful funky birdhouses and is our go to guy for barn wood and up cycled chippy peely trim frames – and much more; Wendo Van Essen will be back with her needlefelted items and kits and supplies; Maureen Robertson who is our Fraser rep will be joining us along with supplies and of course Carol of Willow Creek Rughooking and myself, Hooked on the Lake.
• SHOPPING OPPORTUNITY – If you were not able to register but would like to come just to shop you are welcome to drop in between 2 – 3
• Highway 10 from Perth to Westport was closed but is now open again – so no detour is necessary if you are coming from the north
• please watch out for the little critters who invariably decide that the other side of the road is a better spot to lay their eggs!

We look forward to seeing you, being inspired by your work and having a fun creative day.

A FEW RUGS TO SHARE…

Wellllllll, now I remember why nice gardens are a pain! I forgot – you have to weed, deadhead, water and then weed all over again! But it has actually not been bad – when I redesigned the gardens I was smart!!!! I put in BIGGGGG stepping stones and lots of rocks. That means less weeding and a way of walking through the gardens without stepping in dirt and on the plants. Gosh, sometimes my brilliance just overwhelms me haha – well that may be more laziness than brilliance! We got nice heavy showers yesterday so no watering and the weeding went fast fast fast.

Yesterday we took a trip to Trent University where rug school had just ended. I had supplies in the boutique and had to pick up the leftovers. On the way yikes!!!! MANY MANY SNAPPERS on the highways. However, for the most part they seem to have gotten a little smarter and were digging in the soft shoulders on the sides where they came up from the water – no crossing the highway to the other side. Except for one that we rescued – with a blanket! She was a bigggg girl and not happy about the rescue! But off the highway she went. I always hate driving at this time of year.  So many turtles on the highway – many which we are able to rescue but some which are beyond rescue. It makes me so sad because these poor things just don’t stand a chance. Well, except for the egg I dug up in the garden this morning – a full egg!!! not just a shell left behind by the coons! So I dug it back in in a safe location and hopefully we will have a baby or two this year as our lovely Map turtle is currently living in the pond!

On the way home yeahhhhh a little stop at Vintage Junction in Stirling where I got a fabulous shelf made out of – an antique wall clock!  It is beautiful.  Now where to put it 🙂 .

And now, a few rugs to share:

Sherri finished her 3 Blooms (one of the Karla Gerard patterns I carry). We elongated the pattern somewhat so it would fit her coffee table. I had fun dyeing the colours – but Sherri did all the work and did an amazing job… Last Saturday I taught a proddy sunflower class in Ottawa and here are some of the finished pieces …  Michelle is ready to make her E into a pillow…

And Kim finished her Canadian Flag which she is making into a pillow for company from Europe – what a wonderful remembrance of their trip to Canada…

ANOTHER FABULOUS FIBRE SHOW…

We had a fun trip to the fibre arts show in Fenelon Falls. We left early Friday morning so we could make stops en route and take some back roads. I love driving back roads – you find the most lovely spots and amazing shops! As we drove through the village of Warsaw Gord came to a screeching stop when I casually mentioned – oh, we just drove by the Buttertart Factory! Wellllll, it turned out NOT to be a factory but a lovely little bakery with a huge assortment of butter tarts and other baked goods. In we went, and out we came with 3 bags of goodies. We bought all the oooops tarts – the ones that did not come out of the pan in one piece!  Who cares if the tart is a little broken up – by the time I get my fingers into the bag it is broken anyway and sooooo yummy. The best flaky pastry I have had in ages – years ago Gord’s Auntie Dolly would make apple pies with a crust that just blew up when you put your fork into it – these had that same amazing crust!  Of course, the sugar fix knocked us out after about an hour! so we had to make a second stop! and a third and a fourth! just to walk around the various locks we drove past and wake up a bit. We finally made it to Fenelon Falls about an hour before set up time – just enough time to visit the local antique store 🙂 . Hmmmm, was that in the plan?!

Saturday was super – people lined up before the show started and it was busy most of the day. Gord did manage to get a few pictures of some of the vendors booths before the crowds arrived. We look forward to next year’s show…

GARDENING…

In between different types of biting bugs, rain and then too much heat. But loving it. For the last few years I have essentially given up on my gardens – the drought (I refuse to water from my well so of course plants died), the terrible winters (not enough snow cover and too much freezing rain and frigid temperatures) annnnndddddd the nibblers! Every time something would be ready to burst into bloom overnight the nibblers crept out of the woods and nipped off every single bud and all the big juicy leaves leaving me with stalks! and nothing else. It became a disappointing venture UNTIL my friend Sheila, introduced me to Scarecrows. No not men made of straw blowing in the breezes but rather a motion detecting sprayer which whoosh whooshes. We have them set to maximum sensitivity so even chippies set them off. Now the deer stay far away – they look at my newly planted gardens full of colour and delicious buds and drool but they don’t come too close! well so far! Maybe these gardens will be tooooo tempting! So it has been fun filling the gardens with lots of rocks harvested from the woods (that means fewer plants and less weeding!!! and they are free!) and colourful plants and ground cover. So today back in the garden as Gord schlepped home a trunk full of lovely mossy rocks again last night and I need to plant and move around a few plants that actually survived last winter.

We also put in decks and stairs down to the dock! Yeah, cause there is still no dock in the water! but we can now at least sit on the decks and enjoy the view and breeze (which keeps away the bugs!) in between gardening 🙂 ..

At the same time, yup, getting ready and packing up for this Saturday’s show in Fenelon Falls – The Kawartha Yarn and Fibre Festival (#KYAFF2019 #KYAFF #Kawarthayarnandfibre) 9:30 to 4:30 at the Fenelon Falls Community Centre. Hope to see some of you there. It promises to be a fabulous day with over 65 vendors!

Just a reminder that we have a couple of spots left in our dual workshop on July 27 – Carol Shewan is teaching her fabulous woolen Feather Trees and I am teaching Rebekah Smith’s wool appliqué mittens. Give me a shout if you need more details. We always have a fun fun day of creating, chatting, eating and boating (even swimming!).

REBEKAH’S PATTERNS…

Welllll, the cheese craving has disappeared and I have not grown whiskers or a tail yet so I think I am good!!!! But I am buying Irish Spring soap and placing that and fabric softener sheets in multiple places in the cars so that we DON’T have unwelcome invaders. Stay in the billy boots in the garage or the golf shoes but stay out of my car!

I have been busy busy dyeing wool and making patterns for rughooking but ALSO putting together some of Rebekah Smith’s wonderful wool appliqué patterns as kits. I have a few available (remember my prices are in Canadian dollars so if you live in the U.S. there would be about a 26% decrease in any of my prices). Send me an email if you love Rebekah’s work as much as I do and would like to try one of these kits (will have a few more coming up soon).  The price includes the pattern, wool for the project(s) and freezer paper…

Folk Hearts for Home $50.00…

Merry Mittens $50.00…

 

Sewing Roll Set $50.00…

Please email me for the kit price on Fresh Foliage and Garden Hearts…

PICTON FIBREFEST…

was wonderful. On the way I got rather peckish and reached into the armrest to pull out a package of trail mix so I could eat the peanuts! Wellllll after a few minutes of picking out what I wanted to eat I noticed hmmmm, nuts in my lap! where did they come from – YIKES there was a big hole chewed in the side of the package!!!! and chewing on the top! and bits of stuff in the armrest!!! UGGGGGGGHHHHH thank goodness I did not eat the chocolate covered ones! 🙂 Quickly put the bag back and the contents will now be given to chippy and little red squirrel. I think I am fine although I do have an inexplicable craving for cheese!!! and my nose twitches!!!!  How did that little mouse get into the arm rest – the crack is less than 1/4 inch. In the other car we opened the glove compartment to find it full of deer food!!!! Someone’s winter stash – NOT MINE!

So a few pictures to share:

And a few hooked pieces to share:

Marjorie did a wonderful appliqué finish on her Haida Woodpecker rug designed by C Edenshaw …

Diana finished her turtle – my sister, Betty, made the wire carcass…
Brenda send me a picture of her 3 finished punch needle pieces…Sheep Farm and Folkart Sheep are Karla Gerard designs I carry and the sheep at the bottom is my design, Floral Sheep – which originally started out as a rughooking pattern…

 

FINISHING CLASS…

Yesterday was a fun day working with a few ladies to finish off the edges of their rugs. We focused on show binding (my way 🙂 ) and pillows using the show binding as a flange.  There are so many fun and different ways to finish off the edges of your rugs. I love to try different finishes – I have done whipping (way toooo much), show binding (which I love because it allows me to play with a plaid or stripe along the edge, braided, proddy, appliqué, tongues and pennies. Finishing rugs is a job that many people do not enjoy – I try!!! to finish each rug once the hooking is done – trying different finishing techniques makes it so much more interesting – each rug becomes a challenge to try something new. Right now I am working on a tessellation as part of our Camp Iawah Retreat challenge. It will become a bigggggg pillow (since really, wall space is getting somewhat limited!) and I am thinking of trying something bigggg and chunky along the edge – exactly what, is yet to be discovered…

A few other finished pieces to share:

Lynda needle felted directly onto the linen and onto her hooking in this version of Lisa Ferguson’s Pileated woodpecker – how wonderful!…

Oooops how did this guy sneak in 🙂 … and Tara’s most recent finished piece using up reds and greys…