NO HOOKIN’ JUST CLEANIN’…

So, I knew there were many reasons to go to rug camp – not only to learn and be inspired by those around us but ALSO TO AVOID WORK!  Since my return home Sunday I have washed windows (pine pollen encrusted), washed outside walls, washed porch floors, washed outdoor furniture – and NO HOOKING has been done! Today we are off to take a cruise on the boat, park, swim and I am taking along a little punching because YIKES it is tooooooo hot to hook outdoors! So punching it will be and hmmm has been after all the cleaning was done. Started this little 5 x 6 (which grew a tad) project at rug camp in the evenings to give my wrist and shoulder a break and finished it the other day and this morning mounted it to one of the wonderful hornbooks made by Wendy’s hubby, Vince. I painted this one mustard and distressed it with my usual brown shoe polish and then buffed it up and I love the combination of the smoky blue sky and the dirty yellow hornbook. I have these in stock painted, unpainted and also sheep shaped! So if you are wondering what to do with that little punch needle piece these are a great way to display…

5th ANNUAL WESTPORT HOOKIN…

is coming up this Tuesday, July 3, at the Lions Club Beach House just outside Westport. We will have balloons on display to guide you on your way. If possible, please carpool as we have a good but limited amount of parking. Gord will be available to help you find parking spots. Since it is supposed to be outrageously hot and humid and since we are located on a lovely sandy beach feel free to wear your bathing suits and go for a dip to cool off! If you are unable to come please let us know.

Last year Wendo and I held a couple of joint workshops – she would teach something needle felted and I would teach something either hooking or punching related. We have decided to run another workshop as advertised below. Please let us know if you can join us. If the weather is good Captain Hiliner may even take the boat out from under the cover and yeah, swimming!!!

 

GREEN MOUNTAIN RUG CAMP WAS FABULOUS…

It was a lovely 4 days – well we threw in another one to do a bit of junkin in Essex Junction! I am having way too much fun hooking my spiky girl – see if you can spot her!

So a few pix from our exhibit and classes – taught by Jule Marie Smith, Pam Kirk, Tracy Jamar, April Deconnick, Karen Miller, Lucille Festa. As much as possible I tried to include the name of the designer and hooker but in some cases the pieces being worked on were designed by the hooker. Please acknowledge people if you post these on Pinterest…

 

GREEN MOUNTAIN HERE WE COME…

Tomorrow morning I leave bright and EARLY for Vermont. Cannot believe the time is here already… I am so excited to be finally getting to my Porky rug which my friend Diane who was here for the weekend named “Porkzilla”. We also gave her a somewhat more French moniker – “Porque-zilla”. She will be wild – well I hope! One never knows how a rug will turn out – some are easier than others and just seem to flow off the hook and others hmmmmmmmmm – not! As I just said to my friend Anne – if the porky does not work out she will get a hair (or quill) cut and become a beaver!

While Di was here we hooked on the dock alllll day Saturday – it was WONDERFUL. Lovely breeze kept us nice and cool under the canopy (one of the smartest buys we ever made) and we worked hard. I decided it was time to finish hooking something that had been hanging around for quite a while – one of those NOTs – and it is finished!  For some reason it just was not flowing but it all seemed to come together on Saturday and is done and bound – yeah. Now I just need to tackle a few other unfinished projects when I get home again. I always feel soooooo good when a piece is finished – well don’t we all!…

This is an adaptation of one of the Karla Gerard patterns I sell – Sheep Farm.  I didn’t want to do the full pattern and decided one half was enough – Gord says it looks quite Tuscan – yup that blue sky!…This is available as a pattern or kit…

Yesterday 3 lovely ladies came from Ottawa to put their purses together. We had a fun and lively day and purses were finished by the time they left…

OFF TO VERMONT…

Almost time to leave – bags to pack, wool to dye, oh and hmmm, pattern to draw. But it will be done by next Wednesday and I will be off to hook hook hook – well, and learn learn learn. How exciting!

In the meantime a few pix to share…

Nancy sent me a picture of her completed rug… an amazing Dead Leaf Moth I discovered on my front porch (living!)… and a most beautiful Io moth that would NOT leave the tip of my finger… Although I was not able to attend our Annual Lac Sam retreat I do have pictures to share – where was I – at my lovely niece’s fun fun wedding. So, although I was disappointed to miss our retreat, I had a lovely time celebrating the marriage of my niece and her fiancé…

Sandi was working on her amazing Boston Terrier rug at the Lac Sam retreat…

Wendy’s Lac Sam project…Karen’s project… Andrea’s Deanne Fitzpatrick Santa…Donna’s little chickens – pattern by Briarwood Folkart…
and Sherri sent me a picture of her completed Red Bird Punch needle (one of the patterns I carry)…

It seems word has gotten around that this is the place to come to if you are an animal of any sort – be it deer in the gardens, moths on the porch, snakes on the steps and nowwwww something erupting from my garden – knocking out plants and leaving eggs behind…. ZOOM IN! this honking big snapper has decided the heck with the gravel driveway – she found the nice soft earth in our new garden, knocked plants out of the way and is now busy laying eggs. Which means the darned raccoons will be in there digging them up tonight.  See that lovely little plant by her front foot – well its staying there until she is gone!!!!! No way is my hand going near that jaw!  Well I left for about 15 minutes and just went to look at her progress and she was gone but there was a huge crater left behind.  Not sure where she went as they usually don’t move too quickly but I needed to fill in the hole and replant my grass so out came the rake and hole was filled and plant replanted and yikes 2 feet away, what I THOUGHT was a dirt covered rock was actually Gertie! digging ANOTHER HOLE in between the lavender plants. Hopefully this will be last one for today!

   

STITCH BY STITCH DONE TILL SEPTEMBER…

Summer – too hot to hook? Well, not for me as I usually hook on the dock where there are lovely breezes.  But for some it is, so I will only be back at Stitch by Stitch this coming September. However, I will still be updating the stock in the store so if you are a regular and need something please let me know.

I finally finished my rug started at Camp Iawah – yeah. Gord was away and because it was wet and cold out I felt nooooooo compunction about sitting in front of the TV watching episodes of Victoria that I recorded months ago and hooking. So all that is left to do is show binding and my usual clean up… I had a lot of fun working on this pattern – each tulip each crescent and each bird is different. I played to my hearts content. This wonderful pattern is available from Teresa Kogut at http://teresakogut.com/store/hooked-rug/ and is called Two Birds.

In 2 weeks I leave for rug camp in Vermont – I am sooooo excited to be taking a class with Pam Kirk on Whimsical Animals. I toyed with many ideas for this rug – my cats drooling over the chippie, the deer eating my gardens, the turtle, maybe the snake!!! but in the end I decided to immortalize the miserable porky who insists on eating my wooden house at 3 a.m. So how to make her “whimsical”? ahhhh you will have to wait and see – of course MY thoughts may change drastically when I get to class but …

This will be part of my Wolfe Lake animal series – the fox, the otter, the beaver, the loon, the Canada geese and now the big toothed prickly &(^(&%%&(_%# ! I have also decided to make my otter rug into a punch needle piece – patterns are 8 x 6 and I may punch this in the evening while I hook during the day at camp… And of course when I return from rug camp it is only days till our Westport hookin so if you have registered but are unable to attend please let us know so that we can offer your spot to someone on our waiting list.

FUN DAY IN BELLEVILLE…

The weather was lovely, the treats were delicious and there was a nice turnout for the Moira Mat Makers hookin in Belleville yesterday. We left bright and early – no rescues on the way there – however!!!! we had 3 rescues on the way back!!! A big old snapper who was not in the least interested in being helped off the highway. Every time we would try to grab the back edge of her shell she would flip around and try to bite. What to do????? Usually we look for a stick that she will grab onto and then we can drag her off the road however this time NO STICKS and NO UMBRELLA in the car (not that we would have found it under all my suitcases and bags). So, off came my flip flop and yup she grabbed and grabbed again and again. We finally got her off the hot highway and far enough into the side ditch that hopefully she plodded home but hmmmmm did a number to my flip flop – although these girls have no teeth they do have VERY strong jaws. Then, a lovely big box turtle that needed to be moved off in the right direction and lastly, yikes (Gord did not help me on this next one) a 3 foot long skinny black rat snake! For that I DID use a stick but Gord would not get out of the car to take pix or help 🙂 . So a fun day at the hook in and satisfying rescues on the way home…

Oooops I am wet – I did it again! 5th time now!  We decided to try a deterrent to the deer eating our new garden down to nubs. We installed a Scarecrow – no not the man on a stick but a watering device triggered by motion. The minute it detects motion it does a whip back and forth and sprays. Well for the last few mornings I have wandered out the front door in my pj’s to check on the gardens – forgettinggggggg that I also create motion that can be detected and whoosh whoosh I have been sprayed – just went out to feed the chippie and hmmm whoosh whoosh!

And now a few pix to share…

Toni sent me a picture of her favourite song challenge rug…

my lovely but shy box turtle… snapper safe and sound and watered… my poor flip flop but better the flip flop than my fingers!!!… 

SUMMER IS HERE…

And now all the garden (not that I have much in the way of gardens as my darling deer crops and nibbles) and general outside work begin. But also lovely mornings with coffee on the dock! afternoons with lunch and hooking and reading on the olde fogey boat (pontoon – no more ski boats for us). So yup I have been hooking and soon will post a picture of my completed piece but in the meantime here are some others to share…

Yvonne took my fish bones class at the Annual in Ottawa and send me pix of her finished fish (yes I have more of these patterns and bones in stock!)…

and her mini fish bones punch needle (yup still have some of those kits in stock as well)…

Michelle sent me pix of her purse flap which we will put together in our upcoming purse workshop…

and her first hooked piece a Deanne Fitzpatrick…

and her latest punch needle project…(yes she is rather prolific!)

Tomorrow I am vending at the Moira Matmakers hookin in Belleville. This is always a lovely hookin – in a huge, well lit and air conditioned venue. I hope to see some of you there…