The Dye Guy has been dyeing like crazy. 80 plus yards have gone through the dye bath this week and more coming! The elves are working the evening shift as well! The shelves are looking plump!
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Friday April 19th : CLOSED Saturday April 20th: 10-5pm Sunday April 21st: CLOSED Monday April 22nd: 12-5pm  A couple of years ago I’d never heard of a Dorade box. Then we buy our first sailboat and we remove them and I find myself getting an education on refinishing tired teak. The wood was in pretty sad condition and I remember arguing that we needed to replace them with new, because the crumbling finish was exposing mold and the wood underneath looked dyer than the Sahara. Surely it had breathed its last breath and would fall apart in my hands. But then I stripped them with the heat gun, cleaned them with a teak product and after only one coat of varnish, I had to tell hubby he was right. That doesn’t happen often, well not as often as it should, but he just smiled and reminded me that he had 50 years’ experience with boats and I barely had a couple of months under my belt….point taken. So I stripped the boxes, the cockpit table, cockpit floor, cup holder, the wheel, the swim ladder steps and the handrails and made them look brand new. It was magic. Teak is hard and tough and amazing wood and working with it has bumped its way to the top of my list of things I like to do. It gleams of gratitude. Twelve coats of Epiphane later, the boxes were installed and looked good as new and will last our lifetime with a light sand and recoat every couple of years. This year I hope to have canvas covers made for them to slow the sun damage and cut down on the work needed to keep them looking fresh. One disappointing thing I have learned, nothing lasts forever on a boat, maintenance is ongoing, the sun and salt guarantee it. The deck under the boxes was a sad sight. Forty years of grime and hardened sealer took a while to remove. The sealant now dried and hard, had filled in the dips of the nonskid surface that would need a lot of gouging out with a small chisel. There were a few broken fingernails, scraped knuckles and a bit of cursing, the air a sickening shade of blue under the canvas cover. Our Nonsuch 33 has two boxes so that meant double the work but there is a deep satisfaction knowing these newly rejuvenated boxes sit on top of a pristine area. Call me crazy but I wish the boat had more teak items to refinish like a lovely combing top that I drool over on other boats, but hubby thinks I might change my mind over time so we could use less.
  This year is the 40th anniversary of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia. Forty years! Wow! This is a big deal peeps! Of course, rug hooking has been going on a lot longer than forty years, but organizing it into a guild and starting our rug school has really brought this craft into focus in our province. It brought us together and made us part of something bigger than a simple little past time, giving many the opportunity to explore and share this passion. Like a tiny seed the Guild has grown like a mighty, 40 year old oak. Rug hooking has provided many with added purpose, something outside the day to day comings and goings, something creative and special. Ask any rug hooker that travels across North America and even further afield to take workshops, attend schools and congregate for hooking events, how this craft has enhanced their lives and you’ll be inundated with smiles and abundant tales. Most of us will agree rug hooking has enriched our lives and for someone like me it’s been life altering. I’m immersed up to my chin with both feet planted in this business providing quality supplies, unique designs and wool to drool over. It has certainly added a dimension to my life that I would have never thought possible back in the day of 9 to 5, pushing a pencil in the office grind. Being able to explore my creative side in a profession that can’t really be classified as work, I thank my lucky stars every day that my circumstance has allowed this blessing to happen and continue. When I turn the key and walk through the door of my studio, I’m met with the most beautiful array of colour and this visual feast shapes a broad smile across my lips and a flutter in my heart. Truly, entering the door is like receiving a hug from a rainbow. I can hardly believe my good fortune and I pinch myself occasionally to make sure it’s real. I’ve been thinking about a commemorative pattern to celebrate the four decades of the guild. I think about the rug hookers I’ve met, some have passed while others continue carrying the torch; some have been here from the start while newbies continue to join in. I’ve been hooking for 20 years, have been a guild member since day one, yet it seems only yesterday that I pulled my first loop. Although when one thinks of rug hooking people come to mind, all the many friends we have made, teachers that had given their time and shared their knowledge, but we mustn’t forget the real hero behind our passion, the magnificent sheep. Whether you hook with wool yarn or wool fabric cut into strips, it is clearly the most desired medium for this art form. The blissful, peaceful sheep; heavenly creatures working behind the scenes, growing and providing us with the best, hard wearing, soft and abundant material to create our rugs. So obviously my vision for the guild anniversary had to represent a sheep. It’s leaping through the number 40, perhaps being counted by a sleep deprived soul tossing and turning under the covers. I made the legs and feet primitive hooks, the most important tool of the craft and deserving of a mention. The background has fireworks, stars and steamers shooting out in all directions for this grand celebration of our guilds birthday. I envisioned hit and miss for the four corners, an old style tradition to use up leftover worms. A simple design of the past that has been carried to modern day rugs, a style never aging, never losing its appeal. I wasn't able to create that in Photoshop, my skill level there is a mere one out of ten. I hope you like this pattern and if you do, it can be yours. I am offering it as a paper design that is free with any purchase, either from shopping at the studio or mail order. Please remember to ask for it when placing an order as it won’t be automatically put in your parcel. This pattern is copyrighted and meant for a one time personal use only so please respect this. For those not interested in transferring it to backing on their own, we will be selling it made up on Linen as well. If you hook this piece and send us a photo we will vote on the one we like best and there will be a reward of a $150.00 Gift Certificate to the studio to add whatever you desire to your stash. The cut-off for this contest will be June 30th, 2019 so that’s plenty of time to hook it. I’m not worried about numbers, if only one rug hooker sends a photo; well that’s a guaranteed prize! The size is 18” x 19. The paper pattern will be available until the end of April at which time the 40 will be removed from the design and we will sell the pattern on Linen. Who doesn't love to hook sheep! I look forward to seeing this design spring to life in full colour from the creative minds of our customers. Cheers! I used Photoshop to tint the pattern in a soft and simple plan to show how delightful it might be once your wool colours it in. Cheers fellow rug hookers!   I’m torn. Back in 2014 I designed this flying horse to commemorate the Year of the Horse in the Chinese calendar. The Horse is the seventh in the 12-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac sign. The Years of the Horse include 1918, 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002, 2014, 2026... The 12 Chinese horoscope animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. About 25 years ago, Hubby and I were visiting his parents in BC and spent a day wondering around China Town on the waterfront of Vancouver and came across this little gem in one of the many shops. He was always interested in the flying horse; feeling it was unique from all the other horse statues, art and stories in history so we purchased it. When I set about to design the pattern my first thought was the Flying Horse to represent this year in the Chinese calendar and even used our statue for the reference. The Chinese characters in each corner stand for Happy New Year and felt they framed the horse perfectly. I thought running the animal through the 0 of 2014 would be clever and create a balanced picture. I like the design, but I’m not sure if I should remove the 2014 and characters and finish only the horse and swallow with the background and a border, perhaps making a pillow for our home study. Although I love the look of this pattern I’m not sure if I want the already outdated year to be such a focal point and I’m not Chinese, so this symbolism means little to me. We are going to produce patterns with the horse only as I it will make a lovely rug. A photo of just the horse would probably be less off-putting to anyone purchasing the design, than having to ask what all the other stuff is for? I can easily remove all the red and fill in the body and background but my dilemma is that I love the red influence, how it plays off the antique bronze green finish of the animal and that creamy beige background. I can’t only remove the year and leave the Chinese characters either because the horse is balanced on the date and if that is removed the horse is too far to the left and although I’m not a great fan of symmetry, this would be too lopsided even for me. I want to finish the hooking but I’m stymied by indecision on which way to go forward because there are as many pros as cons for me. A week later after digging it out of storage, it’s become a stumbling block because I’ve promised myself to complete this project before I move ahead with another and I don’t want my frame being empty when there is so much I want to do. Just make a decision Christine and stick to it instead of pitching it back and forth like a ball. I usually know exactly what I want but for this case I could use a bit of help. What would you do? If I choose to erase the motifs in question I will set some red in the border, a line or two before the outside plaid I’ve selected to frame it. A brief History of the Flying Horse Of Gansu Eastern Han dynasty, 25 - 220 AD Gansu Provincial Museum This outstanding bronze horse has become an iconic emblem of China. Racing through the skies, it treads on a swallow (base of statue) that looks up in amazement. Unlike Pegasus, the Western flying horse, the wingless Han steed is meant to be understood metaphorically rather than literally; it represents an ideal horse that can gallop so fast that it seems to outrun the wind. The sculpture is perfectly balanced on only one hoof, to complete the illusion of flight. The Five Elements of Horse is Fire (Huo), which symbolizes enthusiasm and energy. The animal gives people an impression of independence and integrity. Its spirit is recognized to be the Chinese people's ethos - making unremitting efforts to improve themselves with passion and diligence.  |
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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