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Day 9 - 10, Pattern a day challenge.

3/29/2018

Helm-it and Weigh Anchor 16" x 16" Pillow Toppers

It’s short and sweet today. There are three new patterns for the challenge today to cover the holiday tomorrow. Helm-it and Weigh Anchor, two lovely nautical pillow tops for the boat or cottage. The rope borders will really make these cushions pop and set a distinct vibe for life on or beside the ocean. I plan to do a couple more in this line of patterns, a lighthouse and a life preserver, all with the rope border. I meant to do them today but mailing took precedent with Shane on vacation this week.

And we are adding a new sized William Morris Hammersmith for those that love the design but didn’t want to hook the large runner. Deborah expertly shortened it with all the same beautiful elements of the big one but the charm of less time to hook it. William Morris celebrated a posthumous birthday in March, what better what to honour his many talents by hooking one of his wonderful designs. If you order this one before the end of the month we will pay the shipping. We are closed Friday but I’ll be in the shop on Saturday to take orders. Cheers and have a wonderful Easter holiday everyone, fill up on lots of candy and chocolate goodies and loosen the draw sting on the pants!

William Morris Hammersmith III 46" x 37"

www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html To view all our new designs click the link:

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Pattern Challenge - Day 8 - Princess Pearla, Peacock of the Sea

3/28/2018

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Princess Pearla, Peacock of the Sea. 18” x 29 ½”

You are going to think I’m obsessed with mermaids, first there was Tidal Bridal a couple of days ago and after this one there are several more coming. Sue Cunningham is the mermaid queen and she presents ideas to me all the time and I start designing them, get distracted so they are in various degrees of completion and then they end up stacked in the corner of my office. With this Challenge of a Pattern a Day, it’s the perfect time to haul them out and complete them along with others I’m working on that pop up day to day.

This idea was presented to me in a picture Sue found of a 1920’s flapper beauty wearing a peacock dress and she asked if I could come up with a mermaid adorned with a peacock tail. The sea siren was easy, but then I needed a border to enhance her so I added a simple but lovely geometric motif inspiring an art deco feel. I purposely didn't put her in an ocean setting, leaving nothing to compete for the blues, greens and turquoises that will represent her peacocks plumage in that exquisite tail.

Sue had asked for pearls but no matter how much I tried to integrate them into the design, I wasn’t satisfied so my eraser rubbed them away. The pearls had to be too large to be able to hook them with a highlight, a pearl has to show a glimmer line or they look like flat orbs and then when I drew them larger, they overpowered the focal point, the peacock of the sea. She is the show stealer, with the royal plumage of peacock tailfins and her turned up nose lets you know she thinks she's all that; demanding all the attention and won’t settle for less.

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Day 7 of A Pattern A Day Challenge - Fairy Tale Princess

3/27/2018

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Today’s pattern for the challenge is small but not less. They can’t all be two day masterpieces and this little fairy tale princess will be exciting to a child who believes in the magical tales of happy every after, or the romantic grown up children at heart. It’s definitely speaking to the little girl in me…..

Imagine this little sweetie in pinks, with her cone hat, that is actually called a hennin, a highly identifiable accessory for the fairy tale princess of today. A flowing piece of organza sticking out of the top of her cone will top it off; I don’t know where I’ll find that but I’ll work something out, perhaps a piece of pink roving will hang nicely down her backside. I’ll put on my thinking cap.

We have several cone shapes at the shop now. Cone Santas, Snow Cones (snowmen) and Deborah’s Cone Coven, (witches) and her Fishmas Tree, so this little princess will fit right in. She’s so cute I might go home and hook her this evening. She will stand 14” high when curled and sewn into a cone. I have curly mohair dyed pink from another project years back so I’ll hook all the fur trim with it. I can’t wait to close the shop and go home to start on this little beauty. Stay tuned!

FAIRY TALE PRINCESS 14" High

http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html Click this link to view on the website.

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A pattern a day - Day 6 - COD JIG

3/26/2018

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For fun, click for a sampling of Newfoundland jigs while you read this blog. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5QYhGKHdhE

I’ve had this design idea dating back to the beginning of the studio, somewhere in the vicinity of sixteen to seventeen years.   This design concept moved in and out of focus over the years but I never seemed to have the time to lay down the drawing that swam around in my head. I remember discussing it several times with Susan Leslie, she was always a lover of anything in, on or around the sea and she thought it would make a fun pattern. She even offered to hook it for me as she often did with my designs, but for some reason it never came to fruition.

Recently I unearthed a preliminary sketch, discovered at the bottom of a box of design ideas, rough outlines of sea creatures playing musical instruments scratched across the back of a torn envelope. When I say rough I mean rough as you can see, I usually quick sketch an idea as it flows between my ears or risk losing it to the nether regions of my brain. Once an idea is cemented on paper, no matter how crude, then it's always there rattling around until I pull it out of the strange and wonderful filing system of my mind. You wouldn't believe how many bits and pieces I've collected since I hung out my shop sign, all I can say is don't light a match!

This particular design is a pure bit of whimsy. Called Cod Jig, a double entendre for both fishing cod with a jig hook and an underwater Newfoundland jig being performed by a cast of sea characters. It doesn’t get more fanciful than this. Be prepared for a bit of #3 cut for some of the smaller detail but overall a #5 and #6 will cover it, maybe even #7 for a lot of the ocean background and sand bottom. Alas, it's too late for Susan to hook it for me, she would have loved it, so I hope someone else out there in hookland will do the honours and pull the loops needed to conduct this sea orchestra from the beginning note to a standing ovation.

There’s a shark sawing on a fiddle, an animated lobster pumping an accordion, a crab playing the spoons, an octopus hitting the makeshift turtle shell drums and shaking the hullabaloo out of a tambourine, a squid banging on the symbols, all on an underwater landscape richly adorned with sunken treasure, delightful red coral, an old ships anchor and a derelict, rotting boat hull. There are starfish dancing and a dolphin moving in to get a better view and two cod looking at the giant worm wondering how in heck they will eat it.

COD JIG 26" x 38"

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A Pattern a Day.....Day 5 Sunflowers

3/24/2018

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SUNFLOWERS 16" x 20"

It is Saturday and the shop was crazy busy so I didn't have time to get out the latest pattern for the Pattern A Day Challenge. Normally I would have stayed after work to complete the design on linen but my printer gave up the ghost and this shop can't go a day without printing something so we are off to Bridgewater to invest in a new one. Hopefully I can buy one that takes the same cartridges because I have a stock pile of them, bought in bulk on Amazon for cheap pricing. This old Canon has served me well and I was familiar with its workings so it is sad to see it die.

Luckily, Van Gogh stepped up to save the day. My second favourite of all his paintings is the famous Sunflowers, big beautiful flowers that represent and inspire happiness.

The Sunflowers is one of the most popular paintings in the National Gallery. It is the painting that is most often reproduced on cards, posters, mugs, tea-towels and stationery. It was also the picture that Van Gogh was most proud of.

It was painted during a rare period of excited optimism, while Van Gogh awaited the arrival of his hero, the avant-garde painter Paul Gauguin. The lonely and passionate Vincent had moved to Arles, in the South of France, where he dreamed of setting up a community of artists with Gauguin as its mentor.

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A pattern a day - Day 4

3/23/2018

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For those that are wondering what happened to a new design for yesterday, I have the perfect excuse....Thursday was a storm day, a nor easter blew white powder all over the place so the shop was closed. Then to add salt to that wound, the power went out for several hours so I didn’t get to the shop to prepare a new design on linen. I tried working on a few drawings for as long as possible at the dining room table, and as the sun began to lower, I lit a candle. Several times I bent over the design and felt the heat of the flame too close to my hair. I don’t have much left so singing the rest off was scary so I blew it out before anything bad happened. Then I napped to ride out the greyness. The power came on around 8:00 pm, hallelujah!

When the power is off, what we lack in water convenience we make up in warmth. Our Waterford wood stove keeps us cozy and in coffee. It has a cook top so we can heat water and a Bodem is all you need to make great tasting coffee. It also heated our soup, brought up out of the basement deep-freeze that I make for these moments. It doesn’t take long to thaw and heat over a hot flame.

The wind wasn't blowing that hard so the outage was unexpected and we weren’t prepared with pitchers filled with water. I drink a lot and once the power failed I got a powerful thirst, freaking that I could be dry until the lights came back on, something akin to a crack addict awaiting the next fix. We are on a well system. No power, no pump, no water. We had some stored in big jugs brought from the shop during our last power outage for toilet flushing, but it tasted like swampy plastic and as desperate as I was, I would have turned to beer to quench my thirst instead of suffering that putrid taste in my mouth.

One of these days we have to get a generator. Our town never used to have power outages but now they seem commonplace as the weather goes a little mad, so if this is the new trend with climate change, we’ll have to invest in one to keep us drinking and flushing because one begats the other for sure.

Considering this is spring, I’m not sure what Mother Nature is up too. She gave us a lovely winter, hardly any inconvenience at all, and now that Spring has sprung she dumped a load of snow and has been sending nor'easter after nor'easter with a vengeance.

Hubby has been out of work all winter, a sad circumstance of the Alberta oil downturn and because he was here to shovel and pile fire wood, jobs that usually land on my dance card, I’ve been feeling pampered for the last couple of months. If he had been away working, the temperatures would have plummeted, the snow would have come in droves, piled six feet between the house and the car every second day or so, shoveling until my arms nearly fell off, then had to haul firewood into the house every other day. Yup we should all thank my hubby for being out of work, providing us with the best winter we’ve had in years, because if he was away, I would have been persecuted with the cold, bad weather and wet wood and therefore, so would you all.

This latest design isn't original and I'm not sure of the year it was created, but it's an oldie and a goody. A customer brought in this tired and faded rug and asked if we could dye the original colours and transfer the pattern to linen so they could hook it. I've not seen this design before and I'm familiar with a lot of the old ones so perhaps it was created by an individual home rug hooker and is a one off.

The Union Jack was hooked using peach instead of the red, white and the medium blue, possibly from lack of choices back then. The leaves also sported a wild, burn your eyes hot pink that rivaled Pepto Bismal.

The colours have faded beyond bleached. Amazingly the background was originally a light blue and the outer border behind the leaves was a delicious medium blue. The leaves were various greens, peach, yellows and oranges and that in your face bright pink. The person didn't want the pink so we substituted a creamy yellow everywhere it was used. Although the client wanted the original colours, they weren't exactly a palette to scream about so I made some changes so they tonally matched and married well together, which will make for a much more pleasing outcome.

When we squeezed the rug the loops splayed so we could see the original colours at the root of the loop. The material used to hook the rug wasn't wool, I think perhaps it was a cotton.  The outside border has faded into oblivion as the original colours were antique green and a dark brown, some of it survived its colour more than others due to a different material used.

The sun wasn't the main culprit causing the fading as the bottom of the rug was almost as pale. The dyes just lost their pigment over time, I've seen this before especially with blues that turn to a pale, dirty sort of cream. Today's dyes seem to be more colourfast, at least we all hope so.

As we were reproducing the pattern another customer came in and fell in love with the design but asked for the Canadian flag which was a perfect change due to the wonderful maple leaves, so we indulged her whim and in turn we've added another pattern to our portfolio. It's as patriotic as we Canadian's can get with our wonderful flag and the stylized maple leaves adorning the edges. This could also be designed with the American flag with stars in the corners. Let us know if you are interested!

TRUE NORTH STRONG AND FREE 26 1/2" x 42 1/2"

Click to view on the website http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

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A Pattern A Day - design challenge

3/21/2018

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Starry Night 20" x 25"

Day two of my self imposed, daily rug design challenge. Whew! So far I'm going strong, ha ha, cheer me on peeps!

This isn't an original of mine by any means but it was a challenge to interpret Van Gogh's painting into lines that can be hooked. I've always loved this painting, in fact it's my favourite of his port folio. I would imagine he would be chuffed knowing his paintings are inspiring many fiber artists and that his body of work is as recognizable as the sky above us.

I think perhaps my attraction to this particular piece of art is due to the fabulous blue hue that emanates from it. Blue touches my soul like no other colour and this one is a virtual feast for my eye. Thank you Vincent for your incredible talent!

I probably won't hook this one any time soon, so I look forward to seeing it brought to life through your interpretations.

All new patters are posted on the website under my New Designs page. Click this link to view:
http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

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A pattern a day keeps the doctor away......

3/20/2018

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Call me insane, but I think I’d like to design one pattern a day till the start of the Nova Scotia Rug School coming up in May. Our studio is going as the vendor so we want lots of news things to excite you.

I’ll have to first figure out how to stretch my days as they never seem to have enough time and I’ll definitely have to work at home nights as drawings don’t fall off the turnip truck all ready to print, but, I’ve stayed up late for worse reasons, like wasting my life in front of a TV. So, although it’s a lofty pursuit, it’ll be a productive one, and if I fall short some days, it’s not like the design police will hunt me down and make me walk the plank!

Today’s effort is Five Salty Dogs, a bunch of older, retired, seasoned seamen and an old dog watching the fishing boats come in at the end of the day. You can imagine they’re spinning yarns and reminiscing about their days on the water.   The forever longing, the ebb and flow of the rolling waters pulling on their heart strings.

The ocean grabs ahold of men, settling in their blood. When they aren’t on it, they are beside it, never far away from the brine that oozes deep into their souls.

The waves beckon, calling them to the water’s edge and beyond. The sea is a powerful and seductive mistress; erasing the hardships of eking a living out of her, keeping the longing resurfacing like a rising tide.

Also we have Ornament-al Christmas Stocking, Tidal Bridal, Under-toe, Vintage Suits with Waves, and Gridlock from last week’s effort. Click this link to our New Designs page for details:
htmlwww.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

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ME TOO All for one, and a rug for all!

3/15/2018

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While working in the studio last Saturday I was listening to a program on CBC radio called White Coat, Black Art and they were featuring stories of up-and-coming female doctors who have been harassed, abused and even assaulted by the higher-ups who are supposed to be mentoring them into the world of medicine. During the interviews, as a steady stream of women spoke of their experiences, I was creating a new design and as my pencil worked the lines my mind started drifting and an idea was borne.

The Me Too Movement has taken center stage in the media and it’s well overdue. A few brave women started the ball rolling and now others are finding their voice and unburdening their terrible truths, letting the world know that we will no longer stand by and take it anymore.

Before jumping into the rug hooking forum, I was a young woman in a male dominated work force. I was lucky, never having been pressured or bullied into doing anything that crossed a line. Once, while I was still single, I had a little office fling, a lot of harmless flirting that never went any further than smiles and chatting on the phone. I wasn’t interested in having him as a boyfriend, after coming out of a bad marriage and then kissing a few toads, all I needed was a bit of an ego boost until it fizzled out.

I was one of very few women in the company, so relationships formed with men, friendships that is, and I used to go to lunch with some of the guys. Unfortunately, one or two of them tried to get friendlier in a subtle, non-threatening way, men behaving badly more than harassment, and they were more peers than someone governing over me. A wise person once warned me in a vulgar, yet matter-of-fact kind of way, “Never poop where you eat Christine” and it stuck so I never wanted to get involved in office romances. Besides, most of the men were older, some the age of my father but if my co-workers had been younger, perhaps underwear model quality, maybe it would have been worth dipping my toe in a little hot water.

One guy I played chess with during break, not so subtly, begged me to kiss him after the Christmas Eve party and too many rum and cokes, but he was married and I would never cross that line and it put an end to that friendship. I learned that it was difficult nurturing causal relationships with some men, stories would come out about how their wives neglect or misunderstand them, the hint of hopeful prospects rearing its ugly head.

And then there was, let’s call him Dave.   He was someone I really thought I could trust, but spread a nasty rumor when he helped me deliver a rug to my apartment in his car at lunch, that I’d purchased at Sears. I thought he was harmless, he and his wife had been in my home before, we all went to dances together but he told the good ole boys club back at the plant that he “laid more than my rug” that day.   I wondered if anyone really believed it considering I was half his age and twice his size. Boy, if naivety was an Olympic sport I’d have brought home the gold. I still don’t understand why he did it, what was the payoff?

One of the foremen from the plant floor phoned me to say that Dave was bragging about a conquest and filled me in. He told me that he thought I was really nice and didn’t deserve it. It had to be true, how did anyone know I’d bought a rug? I asked Dave why he said it and although he denied it at first, he eventually laughed, telling me it was nothing, that’s just what men do. Really? That was a very educational tidbit for sure and one to keep in the back of the mind for future reference. That was it for Dave and the end of friendships in general with men where I worked.    I wasn’t willing to be a fantasy notch in any small minded man’s belt. From then on, I ate alone at my desk and read during break.

Then there was the annual kiss, no longer acceptable in today’s work environment but common practice years ago. Once again, the office Christmas Eve gathering, the afternoon we received our turkeys and exchanged gifts and had a bit of rum punch. That’s when the boss came at us with puckered lips. We office girls didn’t look forward to it but it was nothing more than a peck, no lingering or touching, just a quick smack, perhaps a hug and a bunch of Merry Christmas Wishes. At the time, it was accepted as ordinary, no one got their back up or put any stock in the action and it was forgotten immediately.

Really, the only experience of line crossing I can relay came from further up the food chain by the general manager of the company. We were at the annual Christmas dance and while mingling I was standing in a circle of guys chatting. They were all telling jokes, clean ones and funny, and when I offered my old standby and laughed at the punch line, I gently elbowed him, so softly my drink didn’t even slosh in the glass but within the beat of a hummingbird’s wing, his hand reached down and WHOMP!, he grabbed my butt, pushing my hips forward in the force and spilled my drink. The shock had my mouth in gear even before my brain connected and I shouted above the music, “What the HELL did you do that for?”

His response matched the speed of the grab.   “You touched me first”, he said, nodding his head as he dumped all the blame at my feet. Boy, all I could think was, that was one hell of a hair trigger, knee jerk response to a light tap on the arm.    I shot him a look of disgust and walked away. I thought about the incident plenty, trying to analyze if I’d done something wrong but came to the conclusion, he was a class A ka-nob, pure and simple. For the life of me I couldn’t understand what he got out of a handful of my arse or why he’d do it. Was it supposed to turn me on, be some sort of moronic foreplay? Me being from Venus, I don’t get the Mar’s state of mind. Nope, I don’t get them at all.

Anyway, that was all my experiences in the work force and I know I got off lucky compared to so many. It’s almost an epidemic of sexual harassment and abuse.

So I’ve designed a ME TOO pattern for all the women finding their voice and standing tall for the truth. Sistas unite! ALL FOR ONE AND A RUG FOR US ALL!

The rug can sport many colours of hands, especially the two hands clasped together in solidarity. The colour shots can be in the sleeves and clothing and lettering of the words. Don’t forget painted fingernails, French tips and plashes of bold colour for the fancy nail art of today’s manicures.

And if you are not into the Me Too Movements, take out the words and hook all the lovely hands. The pattern is 22 1/2" x 37 1/2". $74.95 on linen

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The ugly side of life....

3/1/2018

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Something happened Monday that hubby and I were witness too. It was ugly and revealing; it left me speechless and saddened, ashamed to be fair skinned in a day and age when racism should have been long since eliminated. I suppose living in a small town that isn’t as diverse as it could be shelters me from this ugly aspect of humanity so when it so blatantly appears, it cuts deeply.

We were in the city on errands and having missed lunch hubby and I dropped into Harvey’s for a hamburger. I like Harvey’s burgers, it’s the only fast food joint we ever frequent…..because, wait for it……Harvey’s makes a hamburger a beautiful thing.

I was waited on by a very handsome young black man with eyes that sparkled like diamonds. Normally when I write, I don’t distinguish a person’s skin colour but this time it’s relevant to the story. I placed my order, we chatted a bit about the weather then I moved aside and an older gent behind me stepped up to the counter.

While the business of his order was being addressed, a very beautiful, young black woman came out front and was checking on the apple turnovers in the warming oven, she pulled one of the packages out and was surprised to find it empty. She laughed saying something about the missing tart to her co-worker who was taking the man’s order. The older gent, who obviously didn’t hear or understand what she said, instantly accused the young woman of laughing at him. He was livid, demanding to speak to the manager. She arrived and there were loud words for several minutes before she diffused the situation. The young girl stood back by the fryers, her face looked deflated, her whole demeanor went south, shoulders slumped and appeared diminished, her eyes looked fearful.

Standing close by I could hear and see what was happening, the ugliness and utter unfairness of it permeated the room. The young girl’s face told a story, one that she’d clearly read before. It was painfully abvious; she was being persecuted because of the colour of her skin. He glowered at her and there was ice in his stare. How can anyone hate another person with that kind of ferocity? I don’t understand but I hear it all the time on the news; prejudice, profiling and persecution for the colour of someone’s skin and seeing it firsthand hit like a wrecking ball.

Our food arrived and the young man dressed my burger and as our eyes met, his weren’t so sparkly now. I wanted him to know I was appalled by the man. Being born white I really have no idea the pain suffered by others because of their skin pigment, but I can be sympathetic and supportive. I shook my head and rolled my eyes in the man’s direction, and then I winked to try to lighten the mood. His brilliant smile came back online. I went to my table wondering how many times these kids had to deal with that kind of crap while serving the public.

The man’s rant swallowed time and left a line up behind him several people deep. When the manager had come out and took over, she was a white woman, someone acceptable and obviously ‘his kind’ of people and he grumbled but settled down. She defended the young woman as best she could, but the man was ugly both figuratively and literally, his toothless mouth muttering, he wasn’t willing to believe any other story than his own warped account. He took his meal to a table and ate alone and a part of me, the part that believes we are all equal, except for the stupid that will never get it, wished he would choke on his burger. Nothing boils my blood more than someone being treated unfairly without justification.

As we left the restaurant, hubby went back to the counter and told the young woman rather loudly, his voice reaching the entire eating area where the man sat, to “keep on smiling” and she flashed him a beautiful grin, her face radiant once again. I hope our small gesture of support helped to balance out the unfair discrimination of that small minded bigot.

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