EXCITING WEEKEND!!!!

Well, first bit of excitement was Gord being cornered in the garage, as he was working, by a 5 foot (or so he said!!) rat snake who refused to leave! Everytime Gord with move him out towards the forest and field that darned snake would turn around and slither right back in. We figure it was the scent of the many mice we have moved into the garage over the years and who have made homes behind things, inside boots and basically everywhere there was a spot where they could store seeds and poop. As we cleaned out of course, the scent must have become very strong and Mr. Ratsnake discovered what he thought was a mousey smorgasbord! Pressure spraying him also did not deter him from coming back! Finally Gord had to pick him up with a pole and carry him into the woods – of course, Gord spent the rest of the day eyeballing the forest and field waiting for the return of the rat snake! Saturday we drove down to Plattsburgh New York through Malone! We were warned at the border that if we saw anyone suspicious to report it to the police immediately as the hunt was still on for escaped convict, David Sweat! Well, we saw noone! But Sunday on our way back we drove through Constable!!!!!! at noon and discovered when we got home that Sweat was actually shot and captured in that very little village about 3 hours after we had driven through! Which means HE WAS LOOSE AND AROUND WHEN WE DROVE THROUGH – yikes! Thank goodness it was cold and rainy and we drove with windows up and were not in the mood to lollygag! Although I did point out a few abandoned houses to Gord and mentioned that hmmmm that probably would have been a good place to hole up if you were an escaped convict!

This week I will be at Stitch by Stitch tomorrow, Tuesday June 30 for the morning. Hope to see a few of you there…

HAPPY Canada Day and Independence Day to all… Hope you all have wonderful weather and a lovely time with friends and family and MAYBE a bit of hooking!

And now pix of Linda’s completed Happy Houses (one of the Karla Gerard patterns I carry) and her wonderful carved canes…

SECOND ANNUAL WESTPORT HOOKIN…

Was such fun… Weather started off WET and rainy but by late morning it cleared up (well with another brief downpour) and was lovely. We had a wonderful turnout – thank you to everyone who joined us for the day, to all our kitchen helpers and to all those who donated amazing door prizes. In the end, almost everyone left with a door prize! We had a silent auction and 50/50 which both raised lots of funds and we were able to donate a very generous amount to the Lions Club, the food bank and PAWS. Cannot wait for Westport 2016! A couple of pix of our hookin… And!, a picture of Alexandra’s rug – an adaptation of a painting by Carol Ann Shelton(with permission) – fishing village in N.S. It is glorious!!!!! Can you believe it – I dyed those bright cheery colours! Not a bit of dirty anywhere in that rug 🙂

UPCOMING BEGINNER PRIMITIVE RUGHOOKING CLASS…

Yesterday Carol and I joined the rughooking group in Almonte at the wonderful Mississippi Valley Textile Museum for a few hours of fun hooking. Many of the ladies who were there are new to rughooking but have quickly become “hooked”. Susan organizes these monthly get togethers at the Museum and even brings donuts! There went all my thoughts of a healthy yoghurt for lunch!!! We hooked and then spent some time at the lovely shops in Almonte. If you have never been to Almonte you NEEEED to visit as it is a vibrant artistic community.

While I was there I almost finished NEIGHBOURS (Karla Gerard pattern I carry) – this morning I finished it and oh I sooooo loved doing this piece… I tried to make things a little wonkier i.e. fewer straight lines and a bit more squishing of loops. I like the way it turned out – all 8.5 cut with 6’s thrown in for the outlines and trees. A fun fun pattern for using up lots of scraps! I thought I would post the following information about a class I will be teaching in Napanee in July. This is either for rank beginners OR for people who have only ever hooked in narrow cuts but who would like to try a wider cut (8.5 is my favourite wide cut!)… So if you know of anyone who might be interested in joining us for the day please pass the info along…

Heritage Arts Workshop at Historic Macpherson House, Napanee July 7th Beginner Rughooking – Primitive Style

(10 am – 3 pm)

Instructor- Loretta Moore $35/person – Pre- registration required. Payment due upon registration

Description: If you have ever wanted to try primitive rug hooking, this is the workshop for you. We will start with the basics and cover the supplies and techniques of primitive rug hooking. Students will learn the technique of pulling up loops of wool and possibly alternative fibres and see why we’re all “hooked” on this fun and creative textile art.

Level: No prior rug hooking knowledge or experience required.

Kit Description: A starter kit must be purchased from the teacher on the class date or can be preordered. There are many designs, size and price options available. To see possibilities refer to the online store at hookedonthelake.wordpress.com – page down to KITS. Kits will range from $45 – $75. Students need to bring: Scissors and either a good quality quilting hoop with a long bolt or a Qsnap frame. Appropriate hooks will be available from the teacher.

REGISTER IN ADVANCE 613-354-3027 http://www.macphersonhouse.ca

BEAUTIFUL DAYS AHEAD…

The weather was perfect today – warm but not hot, breezy and low humidity so it promises to be a wonderful weekend and hopefully that will follow through to next Tuesday for our Westport Hookin. Just a little reminder if you have registered for the hookin – assuming weather is lovely we will be able to use the huge covered decks that overlook the lawn down to the lake!!!! How wonderful is that! So if you feel inclined to sit outdoors and hook bring along your lawn chair, a jacket (in case the breeze is cool), your lunch and mug oh and of course your hooking! There will be vendors so you may also want to bring along a few $ or a cheque (or 2) as most of us do not take credit cards! We will have snacks and drinks. If you are coming with a few friends please try to car pool as we do have limited parking – of course you could park in the village and walk over as well… Although we all know hookers always pack a bundle of stuff!!!

A few rugs to share… Meryl’s fun version of a Shelly Atkinson pattern… and a few pix from last week’s hookin at the Poplar Hills picnic grounds outside London. It was again a wonderful day with perfect weather – well until the breezes turned into mighty gusts that sent things flying and tornado warnings were announced!!!!… It’s amazing how quickly hookers can pack up!!! This stunning rug was inspired by a photograph… A glorious geometric… And another big rug by the same hooker… hookers hard at work…

EATIN AND HOOKIN AT LAC SAM!…

After our wonderful hookin in Merickville a group of us drove up to Lac Sam where we spent the weekend (well 3 days) hooking, dyeing (a little), cooking (a little) and eating (a LOT)… It was a lovely weekend with good friends – we missed a few who could not come but we reminisced about the years we have been doing this weekend retreat and the fun times we have had. So, a few pix to share…

Louise’s beautiful floral geometric…

Andrea’s Carol Feeney pattern all done in yarns and sari silks and velvets – and STUNNING…

Hmmmm where did those poppies come from????

Karen had to leave us for a few hours on Saturday so each of us hooked in one of her poppies…

So is Karen thrilled or is she secretly thinking – hmmm, gotta rip out those poppies!!!…

My scrappy geometric DONE!!!… 

Donna finished her beautiful wonky diamonds which will cover a footstool…

Wendy – the speed hooker – started and almost finished these two pieces of Peggy’s Cove and Mahone Bay…

Louise our hostess with the mostess – who said no more pix of her UFO’s so I had to cut out the rug!!!

Sandi and her fun version of a Deanne Fitzpatrick and although I did not finish!!! Neighbours I did make some headway…

WONDERFUL DAY AT THE RVBB HOOKIN IN MERICKVILLE…

Weather was perfect, location was huge and airy with lots of room for 5 vendors and over 100 hookers!, treats were numerous and delicious, lunch was catered (if you forgot yours) by Nana B’s Bakery in Merickville who do amazing baked goods and delicious sandwiches! – it was a perfect and fun day for everyone. We had great door prizes donated by local businesses and artists and our vendors, a lovely display of some of the works of our guild members and a nice show and tell of the rugs being hooked on that day. So a few pix… Carol Shewan our local OHCG rep and Cathy Ivory our RVBB president and owner of BAA BAA Bundles…

ME CRITCHLOW BRANCH 40TH ANNUAL PICNIC…

Will take place on June 10 from 9:30 to 4 at the Poplar Hill Picnic Grounds outside London Ontario. If you are in the area this is a fun day of hooking in the park. Hope to see you there as yup I will be vending!

Almost all packed for tomorrow’s hookin in Merickville and Lac Sam weekend. I NEED A BIGGER CAR! Gord suggested we just hook up the trailer to the back of the SUV and fill it as well! Plus we have to pack in a tire – yup the flat went flat again – for Gord to have fixed during the day. Hope he does not plan on taking his golf clubs cause THERE’S NO ROOM IN THE CAR!

Had to start NEIGHBOURS and am having sooooooo much fun! Thank you Jill for motivating me to start this pattern – half the first row of houses is done! So I hope to have a picture of it finished (well maybe!) next week – 3 days of hooking at the lake and I should be done!

So a few pix in the meantime…

Another beautiful rug by Elaine (a McAdoo design)…

and a stunning William Morris (adaptation of a Beth Russell design with permission) by Lois…

RVBB 35TH ANNIVERSARY HOOKIN…

Our guild (Rideau Valley Boots and Baskets) is celebrating its 35th anniversary and this Thursday is our open hookin. We have over 100 people registered to come – how wonderful is that! We will have 6 vendors, a rug display, door prizes (yippee) and snacks. Should be a fun fun day and oh my goodness, right afterwards I am leaving for our LAC SAM rughooking retreat weekend. I hope to come home with a completed rug and unfortunately probably 5 extra pounds! But I am sooooo excited!!!! Here is the pattern I will be working on (well firstttt I have to finish my old and dirty recycled geometric rug – only 5 5-inch blocks left to do, balance of border and show binding). This is one of the Karla Gerard patterns I carry called Neighbours and this is how Jill is hooking hers (soooooo want her rug!): I had all my wool scraps picked out and because they were hmmm too bright! and did not all relate well I over dyed them to dirty them up a bit and marry the colours. So my version will be a little dirtier than Jill’s but I know it is going to be fun fun fun to work on… So back to packing up for the hookin where I will be one of the 6 vendors!  Hope to see some of you there.