 Saturday had steady traffic through the shop. Some were regulars while others saw the sign, were curious and thought it might be worth a check. A man and a woman came in, she said they were browsing and he looked around a bit and then approached the desk where I was working. He wore a long overcoat and had pointed, sharp features that forged together in an Ebeneezer scowl. From the look he was giving me, I got the distinct impression that he wanted to step on me, squash me like a bug.
He said rather gruffly while thumbing the wall behind him, “How come my friend, who raises sheep, can’t sell his wool for 10 cents a pound, but you can sell that rug for $1000.00?” There was something about him that raised the hair on the back of my neck. I sensed anything I said would never appease his need to stir the cauldron in his head, but his piercing eyes demanded a reply. I didn’t want the peace and tranquility of my studio to be cracked with a berating so as not to aggravate the situation further, I replied with head tilted down in the quietest of demeanors. I explained rug hooking; the process of designing, purchasing wool that had been handled from the shearing to the end product, cutting into strips and the time to hook, etc. He replied loudly. “Well, my FRIEND, who can’t sell his wool, will be using it to insulate his house!” In a few short breaths, he tried to devalue wool and our fiber crafts, all the while staring me down as if to provoke fight. He wasn’t interested in my shop, other than to degrade it. I can only assume what was causing such contempt. The woman with him might have forced him in against his will, she wasn’t a rug hooker and he was probably following at her heels with the enthusiasm of getting a root canal. I really shouldn’t assume although I’ve seen plenty of men dragged into my store that didn’t want to be here. Whatever the cause, the effect was unleashed on me. I wondered if this was his normal personality or if he was just having a bad day. My mom always threatened, “if you make mean faces, it might grow that way”, perhaps she was right, because this mans face clearly evolved from anger, the deep ruts on his forehead and the ring of stress cracks around his mouth, told a tale. The fact that he failed to measure the distance between the sheared wool on the barn floor and the finished rug, spoke volumes to his ignorance. Saying his friend couldn’t sell his wool was a rather hollow statement without more information to understand it. Bitter in his reasoning, he clearly didn’t realize all the hands that would have worked the wool along the way; the shearing, washing, carding, spinning, weaving, dyeing and hooking meant nothing to him. There wasn’t any respect for me or the shop, he was only interested in trying to take away its value. Interestingly, the rug he referenced wasn’t even close to $1000.00, he had pulled that out of the air to use as ammunition for his critical approach. Other than a little unease, he didn’t bother me, I thought him silly. I don’t have to justify rug hooking. Unfortunately, he is one of many that don’t understand how much expense, time and effort go into making a rug, or a quilt, or any fiber craft where the labour to create the goods isn’t appreciated as part of the value of the finished item. There will always be those who ridicule and refuse to pay a fair price for a hand-made item. Sometimes, I wonder if the utilitarian rugs of the past, made from rags to cover uninsulated and sometimes dirt floors are haunting the modern-day rug’s ability to be seen as a work of art? Is it because the medium is generalized as a covering for the floor whereas real art exists for the wall? Some thing we walk over with the dirty appendages of the body can’t hold as much value? Why is it that a painter can work on a painting and charge an intrinsic value but someone who worked months or perhaps a year, painting with wool instead of a brush, be seen as unworthy to apply a value for more than raw materials? Times are changing and I know education is key, and we will drag one person at a time into the mindset until our handiwork gets the respect that it deserves. I’m not sure why people do and say some of the things they say. My mother’s wise words echo in my head, “If you don’t have anything good to say, keep quiet” and she would also say, “Mind your manners!” a habit that has clearly lost its appeal in today’s society. Mostly the depreciation is a lack of understanding. Once educated in the process of rug hooking, once they see the work from inception to finish, they would applaud instead of insult.  he story I am about to tell you is a bit embarrassing, but I’ll suck it up buttercup, it needs to be told, maybe it will help someone not make the same mistake. I’m not gullible in any way, shape or form. I’ve had enough crap inflicted on me in 66 years to be wary, do a bit of zig and zag to protect my back from the knives, and I follow the old adage, if it’s too good to be true it probably is. In this world, it should be a mantra we all practice to protect ourselves from scammers because they are everywhere. I was in the bank yesterday and there was a leaflet on the counter on fraud and the first item listed was that the bank will never phone you to enlist you in an undercover sting. What? OMG what? This actually happens? Enough to make it to #1 position on the long list? Before, I might have laughed at the incredibility of it all, but after being scanned myself I had to dust off my empathy and shake my head. A few weeks ago, I was on my phone and a business pops up on Facebook called Logan – Toronto. Of course, this Maritimer immediately thought Ontario, as I’m sure the scammers hoped. Ontario, Canada has a safe, hometown, neighborly kind of feel., after all most Canadians have a reputation of being warm and fuzzy. And, there was a believable storyline that two sisters, who have loved running the company for decades, selling top quality clothing for men and woman, had decided to retire to spend more time with grandchildren. What a sweet story right? Highly relatable and believable. They were reducing their inventory at sell out pricing, by 80%, blah blah blah, sweaters priced at more than $300.00 were now going for $59.95 - $69.95. Wow, almost too good to be true. Right? Momma didn't raise no fool, I went on Google and checked to see if it was a legitimate company with a website and sure enough, there it was with a beautiful storefront photo and links to all their merchandise, pages of gorgeous, high-end sweaters and clothing with exciting, slashed pricing. I won’t say that I was salivating but I dabbed the corners of my mouth while I visualized some of these beauties on my back. A new knitter, I could really appreciate the craftmanship and colour work in the sweaters, so I went ahead and ordered three off the website. The very next day, on Facebook again, Logan – Toronto came up with the same ad and when I perused the comments, that had not been there the day before, there were lots of complaints, saying that it was a scam based in Hong Gong. I thought crap, did I just throw away $188.00? Some of the people who posted said that once they realized it was a scam they demanded their money back and got a refund. Refund? Scammers give refunds? I wondered if these were real people or the scammer making themselves look legit? I was mulling that over when I checked my email and was told my purchases were on their way with tracking numbers that I could click on to view but I worried if I clicked, I’d get a virus. I figured something was coming and was curious to find out what and played the waiting game. I figured if I didn’t receive what I’d ordered, it would be a good lesson learned and figured my credit card might bail me out if I was scammed. In two weeks, the package arrived with a Toronto address on it. They must have shipped the items to Ontario, and someone there redirected my parcel to make it look legit? The package that arrived at the post office was about as weighty as three sweaters and I held my breath until I got to the shop to open it. Well, my oh my. In my wildest dreams I couldn’t have conjured up this scenario. The beautiful sweaters I’d ordered were nonexistent, replaced with cheap polyester garments that I would never be caught dead in. What they are is some sort of computer printing of the similar, basic image from the sweaters. Fake as laminated flooring with the image of real wood printed on it. I’m no fashionista, I like simple, natural, breathable fibers and no offence to older ladies, cause I’m one, it looked like grandma clothes styling from back in the 80’s. Hipster, smartly dressed grandmas today wouldn’t look twice at these items on a rack. The material is gross to touch, my hands are a bit rough and they catch on the manmade fabric as if touching pantyhose with sanding paper. I had ordered size L and two would have fit me but the third one, although it was labelled L, was big enough to fit 3xx. No quality or control at all, probably sweat shop knocks offs, manufactured at lightning speed. The laughable part is I received an email saying that my items had been delivered and quote, “We hope we met your expectations and look forward to welcoming you back as a customer soon.” I replied and told them exactly what I thought but it was bumped back as undeliverable. My next move is to phone the credit card company and admit I’ve been taken and deliver the items to the nursing home to be shared with a couple of residents. These garments are washable so they can be thrown in the machine without risk of shrinking and will deliver a little colour into someone’s life. And guess what? All those TEMU ads on FB that keep popping up have been posting the VERY SAME SWEATERS with the very same model wearing them. Just beware folks. These three gorgeous sweaters are what I ordered. (See above photo as well)
And this is what I received.....
 After 25 years in the business and 26 under my belt as a rug hooker, I’ve pretty much seen and heard it all, although I often still manage to learn new things. Over the years, I’ve been asked a myriad of questions and have provided assistance, explaining and sharing all the knowledge I’ve learned. I am an open and honest, tell-it-like-it-is kind of gal, so if you need assistance, it’s guaranteed I will share. I am a bit of a fountain that way, quenching the thirst of eager beginners, even offering tips and tricks to experienced rug hookers that might need a bit of tweaking to make their rugs shine even more. Is it okay to toot my own horn? Am I sounding full of myself? Well maybe I am; full of something that is…. love for this craft and all that imbibes in the making of a rug.
I marvel at how much rug hooking has influenced my life. I’m truly immersed in this craft, its on my mind a great deal, running like a hamster on a wheel in my head. I’m always thinking about how I can improve the studio, thinking about new designs, always looking at nature to discover a new colour. Remembering customers that made my day all the better, smiling knowing I may have done the same for them. It doesn’t get much better than this. My life has meaning outside of myself, providing a service to this tightly knit community and it brings me so much satisfaction. My hat size has expanded from all the kindness and appreciation from the customers that frequent the studio, and I’m proud knowing they can expect the very best quality and products that we create here. I have a met so many wonderful people, many who I call friend. In one way or another, rug hooking and my passion for wool has infiltrated every part of my life, especially all the dust. LOL. The studio is like being wrapped in a comfy, woolly cape, surrounded by a rainbow of colour. Every day I walk through the door of my studio, I smile and feel lucky and wonder what adventure and excitement will happen today. I’ve brought countless numbers to the rug hooking fold through beginning classes and inspiring people who visit the studio. I’ve witnessed many taking it a step further, becoming shop owners, teachers and artists holding gallery exhibits of their work. As an ambassador for this craft, nothing pleases me more than to see how the love of fiber, has brought so much joy to so many. Endless hours of discovering colour in ways you never thought possible. Having an inspired vision, selecting a pattern or designing your own and bringing it to fruition through the advent of colour pretty much sums up what we are all about. I think we all need to slap our own backs once and awhile. We are all truly a magnificent! That brings me to Jeanne Denton Cosman who visited the studio to find out how to finish her first rug from a kit she purchased a while back. For a first project I was suitable impressed but what shone even brighter was the enthusiasm she exuded. We might be adults but when we create beauty, making colour bloom before us, we become as giddy and excited as children. For me, it brings tears to my eyes to see one of our designs made into a rug. Silly ole me I think, but it’s like endorphins when seeing a newborn baby all the joy and amazement wrapped up together, bubbling over and manifesting moist eyes. Jeanne and I we talked cording, whipping and rug binding, the final destination in every rug hooking journey. I could see she was proud and truly smitten and I wonder what delights will come next?  I thought I’d give an update on what’s been happening to me over the past year. I’ve not posted on social media what I’ve been going though but I have confided to customers that came through the door and because many have asked me to let them know of my progress and wished me well, I thought I’d reach out to all. I want to thank everyone who have given me advice, much needed hugs and assured me that cataract surgery was a walk in the park when I was clearly freaking at the prospect. Anyone who knows me knows that I harbour an eye phobia and at first, I was terrified. Cataracts have been on my top six, worst nightmares list, but as time dragged on and I lost more ability to see, I didn’t care if I had to walk barefoot over hot coals to get them removed. I desperately wanted/needed the surgery and was prepared to pull up the big girl panties and get on with it.
I’ve been struggling with my eyesight since May of 2023, with the onset of fast-growing cataracts. Within a two-week period, I went from seeing normally to not being able to identify the birds from squirrels at our feeder. When I say fast, I mean each new week I would have killed to have what I had the week before, each day bringing forth a greater despair as it systematically stripped me of my independence and any purpose and self worth that I’ve been lucky to embrace for most of my life. At first, I coped with minor inconveniences, but things really started going downhill over the past eight months. October 2023, I was still driving periodically and almost caused a head on collision with a car that didn’t have daytime running lights and was the same grey colour as the pavement. It scared the crap out of me and I turned the keys over to hubby who became this ‘Miss Daisy’s’ permanent chauffer. I’ve aways been fiercely independent so this was a tough pill to swallow but it was what it was and without any medical intervention I had to adjust and accept my new reality. Rug hooking was the first fatality of my creative side. I couldn’t see the holes in the backing or the lines to follow. I could no longer determine the difference between darker colours, they were all black to me and the light colours seemed to bind me. Then any design work was impossible when I couldn’t discern the pencil lines on the paper. I’m not that proficient an artist that I could confidently draw with a thick, black marker and be happy with the result. Generally, when I design, the floor is covered in eraser dust as I tweak and re-tweak until the lines make final sense. I was rendered useless as my eyes failed me. Basically, it was like looking through waxed paper or fine steel wool. My world was grey and blurry, stealing details and robbing colour from my life. Luckily this was an affliction that could be rectified but I found out quickly there was no immediate help and no hope for surgery any time soon. Our medical system is too over burdened and broken for any kind of timely attention. Although I felt my case was more serious than someone with cataracts forming over decades, there was no provision for me. They either didn’t believe how serious it was or they were tired of people and their complaints. The fact that I ran a business and had employees meant nothing. I was in a line and had to wait my turn. Most have cataracts that grow over time, sometimes so slowly the person doesn’t realize that their world is slowly going unclear, but like I said I could see a difference almost on a daily basis. I struggled at work and when using the computer became impossible, I really reached rock bottom. I wasn’t able to read or write emails. The words dissolved into the background. Hubby fiddled to change the screen brightness and make fonts bigger and letters bolder but it was only a matter of weeks when that was no longer helpful. When I was a kid, I used to hear the saying ‘useless as tits on a bull’. A bit vulgar, but that line kept rolling through my mind. It described me perfectly. I felt useless, and as time stretched into almost a year, I was useless. Life as I knew it was gone. Waiting for an appointment was grueling until I was so sickened by the powers that be and their lack of concern for me, I fell into a deep depression. I am the type of person that doesn’t like the unknown. All I needed was an appointment, no matter when it was, even a year from now. I would have something to hang on too, a goal, a light at the end of this darkening tunnel. But, that’s not how it works. You wait and wait and wait, did I say wait? And then when there was a cancelation, they phoned me with a time for a consultation with a surgeon. It brought hope and excitement until I went back home and more months dragged by while I waited for the call for the actual surgery. I explained to them how deteriorated my sight was, how I still needed to work, run a company with employees that depend on me. My words were wasted. Someone I know well, told me they had theirs done with only a month wait and said his cataracts were so mild he hardly knew he had them. Customers also told me of their short wait times. In my frazzled brain I started to think the doctor didn’t like me, maybe didn’t like the way I look, a personality thing? I only called a few times to see where I was on the list and I would be told that they are juggling 300 patients. Despite my concerns, I felt empathy for the assistant who had to juggle and schedule the surgeries, it was not a job I’d relish. It’s not a system for someone like me who needs timeframes, a mark on a calendar with an ending in sight, pardon the pun. Not knowing hurt even worse than all the seeing struggles I was going through. I am a diabetic that can only control blood sugars through exercise and diet but the need to comfort eat to stave off the depression led me astray many times so then I threw that guilt and anguish on the heap of stress and self loathing that was now my life. I also could no longer read, the only way I can fall asleep at night, so insomnia plagued me racking up a major sleep deprivation that messed with me mentally. If the truth be told, morbid thoughts passed in and out of my brain like a cowboy through singing saloon doors. Not so much that I would take my own life, I couldn’t see well enough to act on that, but I thought at 65, I’d lived a good life and was ready to move on. There was no sense to my life. I questioned what my purpose was. In my depression and self centredness, I had little thought for anyone else. My heart pup, Henri passed away May 1, 2023 and I was struggling with overwhelming grief for him and struggling with the enormity of that and my eye’s predicament, it was a lethal cocktail. My eyes failing was a great lesson for the future. I know now that I would never be able to exist without a purpose. I’m not built that way. I’m not one to sit and wear out a chair. Hard work is my jam. I have to be busy. Functioning. Creative. Going to the bathroom will never be the highlight of my day. At the end I couldn’t even walk outside without hubby holding my hand and giving me a blow-by-blow account of the condition of the sidewalk, the driveway or any dip in a path where I could stumble and fall. I lost all depth perception when I couldn’t see what was beneath my feet. The range of my vision was a bit less than two feet and that was questionable. Anything beyond that was a confused blur so any elevation or dip I was literally stumbling. I felt like a child and looked like a feeble old woman creeping along. I could no longer cut or peel veggies. I had little slices all over my hands because I couldn’t decern my flesh from the wooden cutting board and the knife didn’t care. Apparently, my dishwashing skills failed miserably and hubby said that perhaps he should take over my half of the duty after scraping off dried on food from dishes in the drain tray. Hmmm maybe there were perks after all……? Watching Netflix was frustrating as my chair was moved closer and closer to the TV and I still could not see much more than shadows. I would holler at hubby, “What’s happening? What do you see?” The only positive slant was that I couldn’t see how much dirt was in my house. I logically knew it had to be nasty and dealt with it by not inviting anyone in. I was a pity pot, a deep and cavernous pity pot. All of my self worth abandoned me. I had been a person who did many things and well and I grieved the loss of me. I wear many hats in my life and my hard-working hands created beauty for myself and others. Now I couldn’t help customers with colour planning, and much worse, sometimes I didn’t recognize them until I heard their voice or got within two feet to make out facial features. When customers came in, I couldn’t remember them from visit to visit. One woman who had come in and actually knitted a hat to display in the studio, I stupidly asked if she was a knitter on a subsequent visit. I realized my mistake once I got close enough to talk to her, I mean what must she have thought? I wasn’t fit to be in the studio, faking my way at being okay and trying to run a business. I had many foot stomping meltdowns and there were rivers of tears. I bought magnifying glasses with lights for every room in the house, car and studio, ringing in sales and trying to view emails and placing orders for products, menus when eating out, etc. In the last two months they didn’t work so I became totally reliant on my wonderful husband. He became my eyes. For better or worse eh? The funny thing is, since my first eye surgery so I can now see infinite distant details with the clarity of a sharp shooter, I realize now that I saw even less vision than I thought I did. My right eye was much cloudier than my left eye which I depended on more, I even thought deludedly, if I minded the surgery at all I wouldn’t bother getting the left eye done as it wasn’t that bad. Wasn’t that bad? I’d laugh if it wasn’t so sad. Comparing it now to my sighted eye, it’s a very sad joke. I can’t see diddly squat. My left eye is beyond useless, a tit on that bull! Its funny the small things you take for granted. Are my socks the same colour? A matched pair? Many times, they were not. Trimming and painting your toenails, cleaning your fingernails, tweezering that rogue chin hair. I have a lot of testosterone so I’ve been a chin and eyebrow plucker since I was 35 years old where most have to wait until after menopause to groom the old man wires. At first, I had hubby help me, lying on the sofa with a flashlight to highlight the hairs for him, oh joy on that front, but after awhile I managed by blindly feel my way to the offender and use the tweezers to capture them. Of course, that isn’t as easy as it sounds and I would end up with little cuts from the metal tweezers all over my chin that bled as the hairs eluded them. A couple of months ago I was on the way to the shop and pulled down the visor mirror to see if I remembered to put on my sunglasses. Yes, that’s how grey my world was, I couldn’t tell if I was wearing sunglasses when it was about as dark and grey without them! Anyway, the sun was shinning brilliantly that morning and a ray shot through the window and highlighted a grey wire about an inch and a half long, coming off the side of my chin, looking like a zig zag bolt of lightning. It was so long I was able to twist it with my finger and rip the bloody thing out. I’m not an overly vain person but I take pride that I’m neatly arranged so it embarrasses me to think that over the past months, the time it would have taken to grow a wire like that, I was talking to friends, customers, cashiers and anyone I’d come in contact with and that thing was wagging up and down as I spoke. If anyone noticed they didn’t say anything. People are just too darn nice. There is a need to have a pact with good friends to check on each other, offer incentives if need be. Let me put it out there. If anyone sees a rogue hair on my face, and tells me, there’s a 1/4 yard of hand dyed wool in it for you! When I told one customer of the experience, she laughed and told me that she had a friend that crimped a bead on a long chin hair. I have to admire that gal’s bravado. Driving at night was scary. The oncoming car lights were huge, bleeding into our side of the road so that many times I shrieked that we were going to be hit front on. Most times at night I had to wear sun glasses to dull the oncoming lights or sit with my eyes closed. We avoided night time driving as much as possible so I wouldn’t reflex kick the passenger side floor out, going for a brake. How many times did food slam into my face or fall on the floor as I couldn’t seem to find my open mouth? I still don’t understand that one but it must have something to do with depth perception? Little Jake learned to shadow me because mommy was always dropping food to be hoovered up. Filling a glass with water, I had to put my finger in it so I would know as it reached the top. Stairs were scary both going up and down. No one really understood how bad it was, and how could they. I looked perfectly normal, I was cracking endless jokes with my usual self-deprecating humour, faking it till I made it. After a while I stopped trying to do things for myself, the frustration was too great, so then I became lazy and dependent on those around me. All I can say is thank goodness one can still wipe their own bottom when they can’t see, to me that would be the ultimate degradation. I once worked in a nursing home; I know about such things. The one saving grace was knitting. I learned to knit a lifetime ago for my Brownie badge but hadn’t done anything since. Once we started carrying yarn, I thought I’d give it a whorl and with an Ott-Lite and my hands fairly close to my face, I was able to knit with big needles and bulky wools. Not well, but good enough. I made a lot of mistakes because I couldn’t see where I was sticking the needles to make the stitches, there were lots of holes, accidental added stitches, screaming and swearing but I had friends who fixed the mistakes and kept me on course. Gradually I gained a rhythm and was able to knit with fewer errors but discovering how to felt hats saved me, when I realized that any mistakes would shrink up and hide the flaws. What knitting provided was something creative to do. Something tangible to give me purpose and I was almost manic knitting and felting hats. Knitting saved me and for that I will be truly grateful. I tell people that I will always be a rug hooker, it’s been my first love, but I am having a mad affair with knitting and now that my one eye is fixed, I hope to learn how to make socks and perhaps read and follow an intricate pattern. I may need a second surgery before I go down that avenue but now there’s hope. I do have to laugh. I blamed my eyes for every error, every hole, so now that I can see and if I still make mistakes, I might just be a crappy knitter. In the meantime, I’ll keep making felted hats with the 8mm needles and simple knit stitches and fill the store with demos for the patterns I’ll create. I’ve been asked many times for patterns and I said I was working on them but truthfully, I wasn’t able to see to create them in a document, but in the next while I will. I’ve been asked to run a workshop on hat felting in the fall and I’m looking forward to it. Because of this journey I’ve been on, I have been pretty much a no show on social media. No longer wishing all the people who are my friends or follow me happy birthday or commenting on their pages. I posted very infrequently, when I did the comments were filled with miss-spelled words. Its difficult to hold a magnifying glass and type. Even using my voice to text, it doesn’t really do that flawlessly so there were always mistakes to rectify. It’s hard to be a perfectionist when you can’t see. It’s all harsh lessons and bitter pills. Except for 24 font and bold print from the pre-surgery days, I haven’t written for so long I’m enjoying seeing the normal sized words filling the page. I don’t want to stop but I need to whittle this burgeoning novel down to my point. I’m back! I’m friggin back!!! I can see clearly now the grey is gone!!!!! My future’s so bright I gotta wear shades!!!! Some claim that exclamation points have no place in writing and shouldn’t be used to convey strong emotion or surprise but tough!!!!!!!!!! The creative juices are flowing once again baby! That’s why at 65, I’m still running the studio and loving it. I’ve also expanded the business to encompass knitting and crocheting. We are now Encompassing Designs Rug Hooking Studio & Yarn Emporium. Yay! Three days post surgery I entered the studio and stood in awe inside the door. My shop was so incredibly, breathtakingly beautiful, like receiving a hug from a rainbow...... It was hard not to cry, the salty tears would not have been good for my eye so I choked them back and let pure joy wash over me. I have so much to be thankful in my life now that I can see clearly. I have to admit I was surprised at how much I’ve aged in this past year. The mirror doesn’t lie or spare your feelings. I’m wearing every bit of the past year’s stress on my face with crevices so deep I can hide snacks, but I’m ready to laugh, and sing and dance. I told everyone that when you hear on the news of some crazy woman in Mahone Bay dancing up the center of main street naked, you’ll know I’ve had my surgery. Not sure where the naked part came from, the dancing would have sufficed. I imagine anyone seeing this aging broad in the buff would wish they had their own cataracts…….. Cheers peeps! Christine P.S. The surgery was a piece of cake. Totally painless, physically and mentally. It's cured my eye phobia and I'm happily waiting for surgery #2.  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April creating a new pattern every day from Monday to Friday but life got in the way and on the last week I got overwhelmed and too busy and couldn’t produce. Then Henri passed away and grief held me prisoner, I’m still reeling and finding it difficult to to function normally. But, life goes on….. This is the design I was working on before my life crumbled. I plan to launch the other four patterns that fulfills my promised commitment of 20 in the coming days. Design #16 – Jacobean/Geometric Tree Skirt 54” wide from opposite points. This may look fairly uncomplicated but it was a chore to design and draw on the linen so that everything lined up perfectly. The grid had to be symmetrical and I don’t know how many times I had to erase and start over until I got it right. The Jacobean part was easier and whipped up faster. I got the idea from a tree skirt I saw made out of men’s ties all sewn together. I thought it was clever and beautiful and the idea was born. This pattern has eight points, a bit different from the typical round of a tree skirt. Four segments have a geometric pattern and then the other four segments sport a Jacobean pattern, two each with the same design. At first, I was working on four different Jacobean designs but a wise bird told me that it would be more complicated to colour plan with extra variations of Jacobean motifs and unless the skirt is viewable from all sides the two towards the back wouldn’t be seen as much so why not keep it simple. Besides, a tree skirt is a decorator item that isn’t usually shown for more than two weeks to a month so why make it more complicated when it’s not going to be viewed all year long. Trust me it is going to be spectacular. An heirloom in the making that will be passed down from generation to generation. For those of you that love Christmas so much that a decorated artificial tree is in your Livingroom twelve months of the year, it’ll being the wow factor time and again. I would hook the grid of the geometric in a wide cut #6 or #7 so it has prominence and it would be a gold or a green in keeping with a Christmas colour theme. I was thinking red behind the grid just because there really isn’t a better colour for me or the season. I haven’t given much thought about the Jacobean segments, but they would have an alternating-coloured background from the red geometric segments, perhaps a green, or white? I don’t plan to hook this one myself so I will be thrilled to see what the rug hooker chooses to do who buys the pattern. Of course, if you should need help, I am here to lend a hand.
DESIGN #16 - JACOBEAN/GEOMETRIC TREE SKIRT 54" From point to opposite point
https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #15 is called GEOMETRIC MELANGE Although I really like this design, I question what I was thinking. Every line has to be straight on the grain so that means 95% of it had to be drawn by hand, not with a red dot but with a pencil in the grooves of the weave and then darkened in with a marker. Labour intensive to say the least. Maybe, just maybe this might be a one off, once sold it could be retired just because it wouldn’t be cost effective unless the price was reflected in the labour and materials. There is only so much of a ceiling to what I can charge for a pattern, but then again perhaps I’m wrong. The other day I saw a pattern that would take me five minutes to draw and was 11” x 14” and priced at $58.00. I’d call that was highway robbery with a side order of gouging but people are paying those prices while I have detailed patterns that take hours to draw that I’m told are too expensive. My patterns are priced for size and detail. If you like my kind of designing and see the love I put into each one, you are greatly appreciated. I’m a diverse designer, never the same pattern twice with a full gamut of topics. I like to think there is something for everyone. And you know that whatever comes out of the studio is top quality, perfectly drawn designs that will stand the test of time. Every purchase of every pattern is a feel-good moment for me. Something funny happened the other day when a long term customer dropped by for a chat. The person saw my sketch book on the desk featuring a new design I was playing with and said, “That’s nice”. Then added in a question form, “You can draw?” I chuckled inside but kept a straight face and said, “Who do you think draws all these patterns?” This person has hooked for a number of years and has completed many of my patterns so I’m not sure where it came from. Perhaps a bit of foot in mouth? Just in case others wonder as well, our designs don’t come from China and they don’t fall off the turnip truck, they are inhouse creations by myself, Deborah Sweet and others. So this little gem is a geometric lovers dream. Once again, hubby named it, perhaps I need to put him on the payroll? The name is kind of perfect actually, like him. Design #15 – Geometric Melange 20" x 31" https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
DESIGN #14 – LIFE’S A BEACH! A friend was in the Bahamas and posted a picture of a sign on a post pointing to a beach and I thought, bingo! How about a post with all kinds of slightly skewed signs with words that a day at the beach promotes. The play on words of Life’s a Beach makes me smile. I beat hubby to the punch and named this one. I can see this pattern in all kinds of wild, funky, bright colours. Some of the words are striped and can have a rainbow of colour. There are small motifs on some of the signs to help add a little extra pizzaz. Use all the bright crayons in the box for these! I remember drawing out the identical stylized letters that are in the word LOVE, back in the day of bell bottoms, hippies and flower power. I guess I’m showing my age. This colourful pattern will spark a smile all year long and chase away the drudgery of winter. It would also be perfect for a cottage on the beach or a vacation home. DESIGN #14 – Life’s A Beach 18 1/2" x 35" https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat. DESIGN #13 – Gingerbread Treeats No I haven’t spelled treats wrong, it’s an intentional play on words, trees and treats combined. These are the accessories for the Gingerbread House village I’m working on. So far there are the two gingerbread house patterns that are available for purchase and these fillers for the display. A third building design will come soon so stay tuned. It will hooked and ready for this coming holiday season. I’ve completed the two smaller trees with a medium walnut for the gingerbread and a soft mint and coral piping for the details. The larger tree will have a darker walnut dyed wool to be a bit different, with white piping. I might start hooking it this weekend. I love gingerbread cookies and I swear I can smell them as I hook these trees. The lollipops will add a hint of Candyland to the scene and will be hooked and mounted on wood sticks and then placed throughout the scene. It will be a candy coated, but sugar free display. I get a smile and a toothache every time I think of it. DESIGN #13 – Gingerbread Treeats https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html   I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
DESIGN #12 – Santa’s Wish; Christmas Snow This cutey depicts what everyone wants for Christmas, snow. Young or old we want it white during the holidays. Years ago, it was pretty much guaranteed, and those toboggans, sleds and ice skates Santa brought got a lot of use that very day. Nowadays, its not a given, and it can be more brown than white and because of it, I’m not sure if sleds and skates are still top priorities as gifts under the tree. As a child I had a lot of questions. How did Santa visit us when we didn’t have a fireplace with the customary chimney entrance, but apparently he had a magic key to unlock the front door, not a grand entrance but he got the job done. If it hadn’t snowed I kept an eye on the weather until bedtime, waiting for the snow to come fearful that Santa was not going to arrive in his sleigh with his eight tiny reindeer. Dad would make up a tale of horses and wagons, planes, trains and automobiles, whatever was necessary to reward all the good little girls and boys. Much to my delight, the old fella came no matter what and never disappointed. Truthfully, as a child in the 50’s and #60’s I don’t recall many Christmases that weren’t white, in December there would have been at least an older storm with snow still lingering. I remember those snowstorms of the past, snow ploughed almost up to the top of telephone poles, banks so high houses were lost from sight. We used to tunnel and make forts that we could stand up in, not that I was that tall back then but still, pretty impressive. We played outside until our mittens were soaked and our fingers were numb, we had red cheeks and nose candles. Those were the days. Santa always preferred the reindeer and sleigh of course, he could land on roof tops and slip down the chimneys. He only ran into trouble if there wasn’t a chimney and had to land in the driveway. I don’t think anyone wanted snow on Christmas Eve more than Santa, I would imagine the view from his sleigh with the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below. How brilliantly super. DESIGN #12 – Santa’s Wish, Christmas Snow 25” x 32” https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat. Design #11 is called GINGERBREAD HOUSE II Once again life has gotten in the way of getting out the next design. I haven’t said much about my poodle Henri being ill unless you have visited the shop and it got brought up, so most don’t know what we’ve been going through. He started with a murmur and now his heart is so enlarged that it presses on his trachea making him cough and choke when excited or if he does the downward facing dog stretch or holds his head a certain way. I bring him to work with me because he would get so excited when I arrive home, he’d probably pass out. In his final weeks, months, possibly a year I want him with me 24/7. Covid has made this easy, hubby and I haven’t eaten out or had any kind of social life since the plague hit and if I go into the grocery store hubby is in the car with him. Henri had an appointment at the vet college in PEI last October and we were told that by April of this year he would probably be in congestive heart failure but knock on wood, he has not progressed any further since that visit and his resting heart rate is anywhere between 14 and 18, down from 20 when he first saw the cardiologist. Fantastic proof that his lungs aren’t filling up with fluid as the water separates from the blood while pumping through the malfunctioning heart, signaling the end is nearing. I home feed him so he’s healthy so we are hoping things progress really slowly. He really wants to go sailing this summer, yup he told me, he loves the breeze in his hair, his ears flopping in the wind. He's my soulmate pup and I can’t think of what will come, of a life without my precious peanut, so we are both living in the moment. Yesterday Henri had a bug of some kind and threw up his undigested breakfast around 3:00 PM in the shop followed by a splash of diarrhea so I left work early to bring him home and care for him, make sure his electrolytes were good and kept him hydrated. Today he is back to his normally jolly self so whatever that was passed. My pups come first in my life so the pattern was left on the desk waiting for the remaining darkening and photo today. So here it is folks. My second gingerbread house. This one is a bit smaller and the front and back of the house is oriented differently. I plan to make another one, different once again, for a set of three and create a small village scene in the back room on the antique mantel. Each one has different elements so they are exciting to hook. I haven’t assembled this one yet but I took a photo of the pieces already glued to their backings. I’ve designed and hooked two gingerbread trees with a third one in the making and there will be hooked suckers added to the village for splashes of candy colours to add to this sweet-toothed scene. I loved designing and hooking these houses. They are better than the real thing without all the calories and messy, crumbling with age. Every year you can haul them out of storage looking as good as the day they were made. And if you are a Christmas kid at heart maybe you’ll leave them out to enjoy all year. Gingerbread House II 10 ½” Tall at the peek https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html   I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat. DESIGN #10 is AUTUMN PAISLEY Well, I seem to be one pattern behind because today is supposed to be #11 but I will catch up this week. This project was probably more ambitious than I realized but I guarantee by the 28th of April I will have launched 20 new patterns, come heck or high water. I'm having a great deal of fun, and after what I've been through with Long Haul Covid, it's a breath of fresh air to be creating again. The smart thing would have been to design them all in advance and then launch them each day with ease, but when do I ever do anything easy or simple. I stopped beating myself up over the weekend end when I couldn’t make it to the shop to do up an extra one to fulfill the quota for last week. It’s a big deal to draw a pattern on paper, work out the details and make sure it is hookable, create the red dot and then draw out the design on linen with a sharpie. The lines are always too light after the red dot is removed and they all need going over with a marker to darken them. It’s very labour intensive to be as neat as possible. Most of these new patterns, and most of our designs in general, are not simple with few lines and little detail. Most are crammed with creative elements; interesting borders and a lot are of decent size. Today’s #10 is the largest so far in this project and I must be honest and admit that it was actually created several years ago so it isn't new to me but it is to you. It was forgotten in the heap of semi-finished designs, in various forms of completion, that are cluttering up my office. I truly forgot this one, being distracted by the business of running a shop. I’ve been digging around my office for various bits and bobs of ideas and notes and discovered it. I also unearthed a pattern I created back in 2000 that is the largest one to date, that I only made once, it sold and was hooked by a very talented rug hooker in Yarmouth in yarn and although I’ve not seen it finished, I heard it was spectacular. The poor pattern was then retired by a slip of memory. I was tickled pink to see it again and plan to make it up at a later time as it would take me all week to draw it out. I used the center of Autumn Paisley as a free pattern in the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia newsletter The Loop back in 2016 so it’s been around awhile. I love the marriage of paisley and an October harvest of pumpkins, pomegranates, flowers, leaves and acorns. I even coloured it in at one point with these gorgeous autumnal colours and still managed to forgot about it. The initial drawing was small, 8” x 10” so I sent it out to be enlarged to 34” x 41 ½”, made the red dot and transferred it to linen today. For those that like hooking with wider cuts this pattern is perfect with the larger details and motifs, but for those that prefer the finer cuts, it would be perfect as well. Autumn Paisley 34” x 41 ½” https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  Autumn Paisley coloured in using Photoshop.
 I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #9 is called VANISHING POINT Sorry I am two days late. I’m here in the shop on my own Thursday and Friday and it’s been busy. Then I bungled the first of this pattern and had to do it over. For all those that struggle drawing patterns I can relate. Although with 24 years experience drawing them on a large scale, I might be considered an expert at it but I still goof up occasionally. This morning I was distracted by hubby asking for assistance hanging a shelf in the dye kitchen for the big box of tin foil which I happily complied with, but when I started back at the pattern, I’d forgotten how the center went and put lines where they shouldn’t have been. The air was blue for a bit and my toe hurts from kicking the desk and when I couldn’t erase the marker lines, I resigned to the fact that it had to be done over and done right. A blood pressure meter would have come in handy to check to see if my head was about to explode but then again, maybe it's best not to know these things. I was under pressure to get it done for Thursday and now late, I wasn’t in the best form for taking it easy so my brain was rushing and the marker hand followed suit. This one was a lot of hand drawn lines and the first pattern has to be perfect for the website photo. A photo will highlight a mistake as if a blinking neon arrow is pointing it out. The vanishing point comes out of each corner, criss-cross and then diminishes into a fine point in the middle of the rug, creating a diamond pattern in the center that houses squares within squares. I think they play well with the triangle's created in each quadrant by the vanishing points. Once again Hubby named it. I love geometric design, anything ranging from traditional to contemporary. I once visited a home where the floors were covered in large hand-hooked rugs. They were the perfect complement to a step back in the past his home represented with all the wonderful antiques the owner, a past dealer, had accumulated. It struck me that even though the colours varied from rug to rug they were all perfectly cohesive. The common denominator was the geometric designs and they blended beautifully. Vanishing Point 21 ½” x 36” https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #8 is called HOO-TIFUL Sorry I am day late with Design #8. The shop is busy so I had little time to draw it on linen, I had to clean the upstairs for the hook-in and then I had a medical appointment in the afternoon. I can’t seem to find the time to do them up ahead, and the lighting isn’t good enough for my eyes at home. There isn’t enough hours in the day! This second design of whimsical features in the body of an animal came about from a customer request. I rather enjoy this whimsical way of designing, taking something already beautiful in nature and adorning it even more with fanciful features. On this one I placed a colour band of patterns along the bottom to give the owl some weight, and to add a little more interest to the overall design. This pattern has the potential to be lively and bold with bright colours and lots of textures. It will be delightful to see it done by one of you talented rug hookers out there in Hookerville. Once again hubby named it in this perfect play on words, he is worth his weight in gold. HOO-TIFUL 20” x 29” https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #7 is called DASHING ST. NICK What can I say about this festive design other than he’s dashing and debonair while dashing to his sled on Christmas Eve. He's a lively old chap, but then he's in a big hurry to deliver presents to all the good little boys and girls all over the world. So step on it buddy. I love designing Christmas patterns as it brings out the whimsical in me. I have almost 70 stocking designs so that tells you I’m a bit of a Christmas fan. I'm very comfortable in the month of December. I was born the week before Christmas and my name is Christine so I blend well with the holidays. And of course, one of my favourite colours is red so need I say more? Dashing St. Nick 15” x 21” Check out our New Designs Page https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #6 is called WORK BEFORE PLAY Although this pattern says DAD for the coming Father’s Day in June, we can leave it off the pattern for any person’s name that works hard and plays even harder. I know man isn’t a dad and lots of women work with tools and love sports so I’ll leave it up to you to fill in the blank. I added “Dad” to show how neat it would be to honour them because sometimes guys are forgotten when it comes to rug hooking patterns. Most patterns are more geared for women. The Design #5 “You Grow Girl” is a prime example so I wanted to celebrate dad’s, brothers, uncles, grandfathers and the like. The name WORK BEFORE PLAY came about as a memory of my mother-in-law who liked to preach “work before play” although the play part never really got endorsed. She was what you would call the fun police in that she constantly said the main goal in life is to work hard and pay taxes. Play didn’t really come into play. Which is, of course, rich considering she never had to work after she married and travelled the world with their children because her husband was a 747 pilot for Air Canada. She had a grand happy life, never wanting for a thing and being blessed with it all. The only time she condoned us travelling was when we had tickets to fly to BC to visit them. Even though we are adults we had to sneak out of the house to go for coffee, because that was a frivolous waste of time and money and we didn’t want to have to hear, “Are you flush with cash?” Ah well, she was of a generation that came out of the depression and I guess she lived in fear that it would return so a savings account was more important than seeing tropical beaches and traversing the globe. WORK BEFORE PLAY 18” x 18” Check out our New Designs Page https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #5 is called YOU GROW GIRL! A snappy “You Go Girl!” is adapted for the avid gardener for a fun play on words. Spring is here and thoughts of seeds, nursery visits and flowers fill our daydreams. With Easter weekend upon us, it seemed like the perfect whimsical design to promote seasonal colour and fun lettering. This pattern would make the perfect pillowtop for a sunroom or covered deck. Art imitating life as it looks out over a garden lovingly planted and tended. So “You Grow Girl!”, get ready to don those gardening gloves, watering can and trowel for another season of flowering beauties. Because there isn't a border, I've left a small space at the bottom of the pattern to fill in the name of your garden, or the name of the rug hooker and date. You Grow Girl! - 18" x 18" Check out our New Designs Page https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat. Design #4 is called RANDOM RADII (Rad-e-i) This one has a neat little story behind it. I bought a new 4 cup glass measuring cup for the dye kitchen that came with a free 1 Cup measure inside. It was supported by a cardboard insert to keep the two from knocking together. I thought it was an interesting shape and wondered what I could use it for. Everything I see is a potential pattern that I usually file away for future reference but this one spoke to me a bit louder and got my immediate attention. I immediately thought circles, with all kinds of different features in them and moved paper and pencil phase. I was at home and started hauling plates, bowls, glasses and anything that had a round base to make the various sized circles. Once all the circles were drawn and I was happy with the layout, I had to fill them so I started sketching out various patterns that would fit cohesively with the overall design. I was pleased with this contemporary pattern and I hope you will be as well. It was a bit of a struggle to come up with the name. Quite frankly I find it easier to whip up a design than figure out what it should be called so that’s where I call on hubby. Once he starts rattling off names there seems to be no end until I say, “Okay, that’s the one!” Random Radii is perfect. Random Radii - 27" x 39" Check out our New Designs Page https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  This was the cardboard insert that inspired this design. Sometimes the most insignificant thing can bring about creativity.
 I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat. Design #3 - SNOWBROS I’ll be injecting a little Christmas whimsy during this month of new designs. I know my customers love snowmen so I’m giving you three chaps decked out in hats and knitted scarves, the perfect place for splashes of colour. And by the way, top hats don’t need to be black! A swirling night sky and twinkling stars is the perfect backdrop for these frosty bros. Enjoy! SNOWBROS 27 1/2" x 13 Check out our Seasonal Designs page for Snowbros and so much more. https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/seasonal-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary choice, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
Design #2 is called EWE IN DISGUISE This drawing came about when a customer asked if I had any designs of animals with all kinds of patterns in the body. I said no, not at the moment, but give me a few minutes because the thought of this as a new pattern was immediately exciting to me. A half hour after she left, I had an owl and shortly after that, a sheep. The owl will be launched later in the month and there might even be a horse as well, it’s still in the thought stage and will either be part of this month-long creative blitz or at a later date. Hubby named it, he’s my go to guy for that sort of thing. Get out your leftovers and slap some colour down on this baa-d design. This pattern has the potential to be lively bold and bright colours with lots of textures. I can't wait to see this one completed. EWE IN DISGUISE 20" x 28" Click this link to view on our New Designs page https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  I thought I would do something fun for the month of April. The creative juices are flowing and I am working on twenty new patterns to add to our line of designs. I will be launching them all this month. Five patterns a week from Monday to Friday, starting today and winding down on Friday 28th. Some are smaller, some larger and all else in between. There are a few new Christmas designs, a bit of whimsy, a geometric, an interesting contemporary pattern, etc. Let’s see what I can pull out of my hat.
This first one is a cutey if I say so myself. HAPPINESS IS A CUP OF TEA….. It is the perfect sized hooked rug to hang on a wall next to your comfy chair, plate of biscuits and cup of tea at the ready. Tea is one of life's small pleasures, to sip and savour after a long day of work or for a break in our day, evening hooking or just because….. HAPPINESS IS....... 16" X 20 1/2" To view our new designs page click this link https://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html  This blog is for all the people that think it is more of a hindrance than a help to use their left hand for crafts. I’ve written about this topic back in 2014 for International Left-Handed day, a special day reserved for roughly 10% of the population that are left-handed, and after last week’s comments from two customers browsing in the studio, I thought I’d revisit the topic at hand, pardon the pun.
I have this corny line I use on new visitors to the studio asking in a cajoling way “Are you hookers or lookers?”. A conversation always ensues. I am delighted when I hear, “Yes, I’m a hooker” and we chat enthusiastically about what is on our frame, but if they say “No, I’m not a rug hooker.”, I hear wistfully that, “I’ve always wanted to try.” or, “My grandmother did it.” or, “I admire rugs.” but sometimes I hear, “I’d love to learn but I’m left-handed so I can’t do it”. Sadness and indignation well up in me. I’m so sorry for anyone that’s been led to believe that they can’t do something solely on their left-handedness. It’s not like we are attempting brain surgery, it is rug hooking. We are colouring with wool, following the precursor of colouring with crayons. How unkind to be told they are incapable because of the dominant hand they use. These statements start early in life stealing one’s confidence or failing to build it up in the first place. Being a left-handed person myself, I have never been told I have a useless appendage so I never thought twice about attempting new things. It is absolutely ludicrous that someone might struggle to complete a task because they use what is perceived as the wrong hand. I’m here to tell you, STOP THE NEGATIVE DIALOG IN YOUR HEAD, IT’S A BALD-FACED LIE. Now, I will admit that both right- and left-handed people may struggle with a craft. I’ve taught enough students to know that rug hooking is not for everyone but the success or failure has never been dependent on the hand they use. It might be a lack of patience, a clumsiness in the hand eye coordination, arthritis, allergies to wool, some of the more common handicaps that thwart the efforts but, I’ve never failed to teach and not make an impact because of left handiness. Many of my students have been left-handed and astonishingly, I once taught ten beginners and the entire class was left-handed! No one failed that day and what they produced in class held promise for future projects. At this time, I would like to send out this promise to anyone thinking that they can’t rug hook because of their “southpaw” to come and see me and I will show you how utterly simple it is to excel. Little tricks about how to hold your hook can be all it takes to master the technique. I will encourage you and praise you, as we climb over the fence to the green grass on the left-hand side. The personal anecdote I like to use to explain how negative comments can impact on how we think is my inability to swim. I can do a mean froggy dip in shallow water but I can’t seem to stay afloat in water over my head. I’ve almost drowned three times, once after foolishly jumping into the deep end of the town pool, it looked so easy what could go wrong? I was hauled to the side with a life ring while the little kiddies stood along the deck staring at me like I was from another planet. I am physically fit. As a matter of fact, I have a lot of upper body strength from years of hard work, stirring and lifting dye pots to the sink, gardening and all the other labours that require those muscles. But, put me in the ocean and my limbs go rigid, taking me directly to the bottom like a downward torpedo. How can this be? Why can’t I at least float, especially in salt water? Why can’t I use my arms and legs to push my way to the surface? I’ll tell you why. FEAR. INSTILLED FEAR. Fear is what immobilizes me, telling me I can’t do it and turns my physical body into a sack of rocks on a one way trip to the bottom. Interesting, one evening in my early twenties I drank a bottle of beer and not having done much elbow bending I was pretty tipsy. A bunch of us were hanging out at Clearland lake and someone said, lets swim to the raft. Inebriated I ran into the water and swam like a mermaid alongside my friends to the middle of the lake. The beer killed the part of my brain that told me I couldn’t do it, the fear melting away like ice in the sun. Even thru the alcohol haze I was amazed. Obviously, physical ability wasn’t holding me back, a mental road-block was. That evening provoked self analysis and a memory floated to the surface. I remembered, as a small child, how my family always went to the beach Sunday afternoons with a picnic lunch and Dad’s guitar and mouth organ. What a grand time we had building sandcastles, collecting seashells and dipping our toes in the surf with a backdrop of Dad’s country serenades. All was wonderful until we ventured further out in the water up to our calves. The music stopped, Dad was on his feet cupping his hands to his mouth to megaphone the warnings, “Don’t go out any farther, you’ll drown and I won’t be able to save you!”. Dad’s toes would cramp and curl in the cold water. He never had the fun of playing in the ocean and now he was killing our fun as well. To him the ocean depths meant death, drowning our fun without even getting our bathing suit wet. Even today from beyond the grave, Dad is still quelling my ability to swim as his warnings play on a loop in my subconscious. So, it makes me wonder what happened to these left-handed women that think they can only sit on the sidelines and admire what others have done. I have lost count of the number of times this has been confessed to me. I’m shocked momentarily and then my mouth is in gear sharing the knowledge that I am left-handed and don’t really see any difference between the outcome of using either hand to complete tasks. There is no difference, I’m proof of that and because we lefties draw literally and figuratively from the creative, right side of the brain we are apparently gifted. I launch into all the reasons this is an ugly rumour that needs to be relegated to the dust bin of history. These mental blocks start in childhood and stay insidiously with us into the present, perhaps with a little ill-placed discouragement from parents and teachers that didn’t understand how to help and encourage our abilities. Perhaps their righthandedness confused them when teaching a left-handed child for example, to knit or play guitar, perhaps they gave up leaving a lasting imprint on the child’s mind. Left handiness has had centuries of negative connotations, built on tales, not facts, but its time to bust that myth and show the world we also rule. Another customer told me last week that in elementary school she was forced to keep her left hand behind her back as not to be confused while forcing the dominance of her right hand. The customer told me she became so distraught that at one point she wrote an assignment backwards, from right to left. I can’t even imagine what traumatic rewiring was created in her brain. What a horrible message she received, alienating a part of her body that was naturally dominant. In my childhood tale of woe, my left-hand knuckles were whacked with a ruler as a sharp reminder to stop what I was doing naturally to conform to a certain way of holding a pencil in grade three. I was forced to position my left hand in a very uncomfortable and sometimes painful way but at least the misguided teacher allowed me to use my left hand. My dad, also a lefty, was punished by the same old spinster decades earlier to conform to her demands. He unfortunately did and his writing was a mess, other than his signature we couldn’t make out a word that he wrote. Being the secretary for the United Church, I’m sure all the minutes were illegible, basically on par with trying to read a foreign language. Being singled out, my shy demeaner took a hit in front of the classroom and I was left stigmatized from the trauma. I felt like the freak of grade three and I never took a left-handed seat for the rest of my elementary years, hiding my difference in an uncomfortable right-handed seat. A century back, I might have been burned at the stake after being accused of dabbling in witchery. A complete contrast today from being slapped on the back for my right brained talents that flow from my left hand. “Educator” and spinster, Miss Ernst was a breaker of children’s spirits. If she couldn’t strap the boys into submission, it wasn’t from a lack of trying. I saw that leather strap come out more in grade three than all others grades combined. Spare the rod and spoil the child seemed to be her mantra that she practiced often. No one would allow a brute like that in the school system today. Any teacher that can empty a child’s bladder with a piercing stare shouldn’t be in charge of their young, impressionable mind. The shaking that initiated from the fear I felt as I opened my report card at the end of that long year to see if I graded out of her class, could have been mistaken for a palsy. How many children did she crush with her cruel, archaic ways? Miss Ernst tried her darndest to break me, but I was able to secretively rebel, not because I was strong willed, because it physically hurt to use my right hand and what came off the end of my pencil was hen scratch at best. Some will ask, did a teacher ever change your life? Well, yes, they did, although in a very negative way, but luckily it had a positive outcome for me. Others haven’t fared as well. It’s ironic, all these years later we now have a special day to commemorate our left handedness. So, I get a little perturbed when I hear the stories of others that received the same fate with varying outcomes. I feel so sad for those that feel they are incapable of rug hooking or knitting or any of the fiber crafts that bring us immense pleasure. I send out this pledge to anyone that feels they are limited by their left hand. Come to see me and I will do my best to stop this negative dialog and show you that the left hand can fulfill your will and erase all the negative aspects of why you feel challenged. Unless you have a physical impediment, if you can brush your teeth, write your name and put a fork up to your mouth you should be able to push a hook down through a hole and bring up a loop. Let me show you how.  As I perused the store shelves for a new iron, it struck me that I seem to be doing this often, perhaps every two years? How many irons have I owned since I realized the merit of being neatly pressed? It seems they have a limited lifespan, either wearing out or falling to a shattering death. Of all the appliances I've used, the iron is a constant fatality for me. This new one should be afraid, yes, very afraid.
The last time I was in need of a replacement, Covid was raging so I sent hubby out to do the shopping. They all seemed to do different things and confused the poor guy but I said I wasn’t fussy, the only function necessary, besides steam, was an automatic shutoff. There is nothing more anxiety inducing than coming home after work to find the iron has been left plugged in and hot as hades all day. So, I had to splurge for yet another iron. This one replaces the huge, heavy one hubby bought me the last time. He figured bigger was better in his attempt to please me. I said nothing, after all I gave him the go ahead to make the decision, it just isn’t fair to criticize after the fact. Unfortunately, I couldn't see how much water was in the tank. There was a line drawn that said Max Fill but I couldn't see the water level through the opaque plastic and unless I shook it, I couldn’t tell if it had water in it or not. And, the stream function button was on the right side of the two buttons on the top, one for spray and the other for burst of stream. The previous iron had the steam button on the left which worked well, my thumb lined up perfectly. It’s a small nit-picky thing that plays with my ‘I hate change personality’. Quite frankly, it was an iron for a man, big and heavy and awkward, the reason it fell off. Top heavy and tippy, it fell to its demise from a light jiggle to the board as my hip brushed against it. I picked up its shattered bones and wiped up the spilled water bleeding all over the floor. Irons aren't cheap. They range from a low bells and whistles price tag in the high twenties to over one hundred dollars. The less expensive ones had little heft similar to a plastic toy and the higher end one was heavy in the box. I don't need anything fancy, just a steam and shut off function so I chose one in the medium price range of forty something. The bottom has a shiny and smooth coppery metal plate. An iron for a crow like me, blingy and awesome, fits in my hand like a glove, the buttons are all in the right place and I can see the water in the tank. I used it and had a fabulous experience. We were made for each other and I’m in love with yet another inanimate object. If all goes well, this could be the iron I end my life with. Hopefully it lasts longer than two years! Thinking back, I don't remember my mother ever needing a new iron and after she passed, her old faithful was still ready for service. It landed in a yard sale and is probably still accommodating the new owner. At the time, I didn’t realize the struggles I would have with irons or I would have snapped it up for me. Everything was made better back then and sadly, today’s appliances are all throw away, used for a short period and then into the land fill they go. |
Christine Little has been ranked #5 out of the 60 top rug hooking bloggers by Rug Hooking Magazine!
 
Max Anderson, Australia, recipient of my Nova Scotia Treasures rug. An award of excellence for promoting Canada through his writing.
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