Blog Archives

Happy Canada Day!

6/30/2013

We at Encompassing Designs Rug Hooking Studio
want to wish everyone a safe and fun filled Happy Canada Day!

The shop will be open from 11:00 - 5:00
1 Day only, any plaid, dyed wool fabric or yarn
with the colour red in it will be 10% off!
View our stock on the web or drop by the shop!
http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/wool.html

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Lorrie's Table Runner

6/29/2013

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I surveyed what is left of my gardens this morning and became angry that the rains pulverized my peony patch and all the other flowers trying to bloom. All that beauty wiped out; gone.....stealing their limited lifespan and cheating me of those few weeks of gardening reward. Flower heads pounded into the ground by the force of driving rain, lying in ruin as if they didn't have the right to exist. For a few short moments I felt bitter but that was replaced with shame as I remembered what's happening elsewhere in the world.

Everywhere you look there seems to be weather related devastation. Mud slides, floods, hurricanes and fires, maybe the latter is set by the carelessness of humans but then fed by the wind and vegetation. Bad weather seems to be running rampart across the globe. Every morning I leave for work burdened with a heavy heart after being inundated by the news on every station. It makes you weary of owning real estate as you see the billions worth of property damage. I think it wise for everyone to devise a disaster plan as you can be hit from any direction, sky, land or sea at any time and it seems the more prepared you are the easier it is to land back on your feet.

I sit watching TV wondering what I would grab in an emergency situation. All the memories one accumulates, your documented past and that of previous generations can all be wiped out in a heart beat. Maybe I should have a plan, store precious memories in an easily accessible area protected by waterproof Rubbermaid or fire resistant steel. Things you can never replace like childhood photos, artwork of children, pictures of parents and grandparents, wedding pictures and certificate, documents of importance.

I wonder how people rebuild. They must be made of stronger stuff than me or maybe you gear down to survival mode and grow stronger?    As long as we endure it's easy to say the loss is only stuff, but that stuff is our past, proof that we existed to future generations. And yes, we have it all locked safe in our memory banks as long as we walk this planet, but there is nothing tangible to pass down to our children when they ask about their family tree.

This world needs a day of rest from all the devastation. A day for everyone to catch their collective breath. A day without tragedy and destruction from the force of nature stomping across their life.   I'm not sure if the world is more worse for wear than usual or if television is delivering it to our living rooms on a larger scale.   Maybe ignorance was bliss, not knowing made it easier to go about your day as if the world is warm and fuzzy for all.   My daughter-in-law had to leave her home in Calgary and won't get back for another week. Actually knowing someone going through this disaster makes it more real. She's one of the lucky ones, her condo is on a higher floor so her personal effects will be intact when she finally makes it back home.   So many others won't be as lucky........

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Lorrie's Table Runner

Lorrie asked me to design a table runner with pineapples as a gift for her daughter. So I used the dimensions provided and came up with a pattern reminiscent of an old fashioned rug. Traditional elements of scrolls, twigs, and leaves paired with the ageless appeal of the pineapple, commonly refereed to as the international symbol of welcome, will mean all eyes will be focused on the table, not on the food!

I left the center area uncluttered to display a bouquet of flowers or candelabra without covering design elements. It always seems a shame to concentrate motifs in the center of a design when they might be hidden from sight, so I opted to put the focus on the two ends. This rug is also large enough for a narrow hall runner or along the bottom of a bed, a flashback from the past when one made bed rugs.

Lorrie has hooked several of my designs and uses yarn as her medium. The burnt orange leaves are one of our spot dyed yarns giving the maple leaf a bit of life whereas a solid colour would have made it flat and less interesting. Done in an autumn palette and cream background the piece is very earthy in its feel.

I don't know much about yarn hooking but I do know that a 4 oz skein of 2 ply yarn will cover about a square foot of area so I am able to colour plan and dye for projects when requested to do so. I'm not a big fan of yarn myself but I can appreciate its fine appearance after seeing a lot of Chetticamp pieces in local craft shops. I did try hooking with yarn once so I'm basing my opinion on experience but for some reason my hook liked to snag the fuzz and pull out the entire hooked row. I work quickly and anything that slows me down is immediately corrected and after pulling out several rows of hooked area I decided wool fabric was less frustrating. Now if yarn was the only wool available I would be happy to use it but because we are spoiled with what seems like an unlimited supply of woven fabric, I'll stick to it until the sources dry up!

Pattern size 18 1/2" x 60"

This pattern can be viewed on my New Designs page of the website.....click the link:
http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

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Exciting new coffee station and fabulous java inspired rug!

6/28/2013

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"I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee." ~Carly Simon

Steve (left) and Shane doing all the work!

We had an exciting morning at the shop. We took delivery of our new, custom made coffee station designed and constructed by Steven Scott, a very talented cabinet maker and all around handy guy. He designed and built my "precious" tilt top work desk and makes our Sit On Frames and those fabulous coloured Scott Hooks. He's like a magic genie, you make a wish, he takes a few measurements and poof, you have your hearts desire!

Before I had to bend or squat down way too far to retrieve cream from the fridge that sat on the floor. At my age one could dislocate a hip or put out the back! Way too much risk! The phone had no room next to the machine with all the sugars, coffee K-cup carousel and clutter. The entire set up was a dog's breakfast with little room to maneuver.

The boxes of coffee were all over the shop hidden in a cupboard here and a cubbyhole there, behind the sales desk on the floor and in the way. No organization or rhyme or reason for a caffeine call. So I listed my needs and Steve made it so. A work of art it is, with hand turned knobs and raised panel drawer and door fronts. Now every coffee related item is contained in one area, the shelves behind the door are built to hold the boxes of 80 K-cups perfectly. The top was sealed with three coats of spar varnish so spills won't be a problem. How I love efficiency and pretty!

Steve just happens to be Charlene's hubby, she's a rug hooker and occasionally one of our guest bloggers. Lucky gal having that kind of talent at her beck and call. Steve made her some beautiful jewellery cases for her budding little hobby business selling antique and hand made jewellery at the Sunday flea market. Charlene's a clever one when it comes to antique pieces, she's probably forgotten more about silver than the rest of us will ever know.

In place with fridge installed.

All set up for business!

And to top it all off, literally, a sweet finished rug came in that is now hanging proudly over the new coffee station. If ever a rug found a perfect spot for a forever home, this is the one.  Last weeks pattern of the week, Café Au Lait, arrived hooked and I was so pleased I plan to buy the rug so it has a permanent home over the station.   What does a rug hooker do when they don't have time to hook it themselves? They buy without shame!

The rug is definitely an eye catcher with its red accent spoons and brown tone herringbone background, a stock item from the shop. The border was a medium hand-dyed Walnut, one of Shane's latest creations. The writing was done in Dorr Antique Red and the rug was whipped with a yarn that we dyed to match.   The black and white coffee cups pop from the background with the swirling steam adding a bit of motion.  Coffee beans are an interesting background filler to make for a cohesive design and a tidy separation for the border of coffee related words.

Adena Clark hooked this piece and said the colour plan fell together easily but she struggled with the spoons, hooking one colour after another and pulling it out. Then she saw a Dairy Queen ad on TV that featured their new red spoons and that was the light bulb moment. So she hooked them in Heart Red herringbone and knew instantly the right choice had been made.

I always loved this pattern but because of the round shape it was less desirable to the masses and only sold one or two copies so when Adena decided to give it a go I was pleased that I would finally have a picture and be the beauty I knew it could be. She did the pattern justice, I couldn't be happier with the colours.   It would be perfect on the wall of a hip and happening café but in the meantime it will adorn my wall and lead customers to the brand new java station. So come on down and select a designer K-cup, whether it be a light, medium or dark roasted bean of ten or so different brand names. For those with a sweet tooth several flavoured choices such as Hazelnut Vanilla, French Vanilla and a Mocha are available.  Earl Grey, Green and an English Breakfast for those who prefer tea and we even have a hot chocolate, so delicious it's even worth drinking on a hot day. So get away from your chores, come on down, sip a brew, stay for a chat and visit a while.    Bring your hooking too!

34" dia. Café Au Lait hooked by Adena Clark

"You haven't had enough coffee until you can thread a sewing machine while it's running." ~Jeff Bezos

3 Comments

91 and still hooking!

6/27/2013

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My mom, Anna May Austin, by Guest blogger Mary Schlech

Anna May gave this Blue Rocks rug to Mary's younger sister.

Here's a picture of my proud Mom who is 91 years old and still a hooker! I just got back from the states where we celebrated Mom's birthday!

My dear mom began hooking in her late 40's with her best friend in Darien, Connecticut. Her friend never completed the first piece, Mom never stopped. She is an avid sports fan and hooks while watching her favorite Met's baseball team. It is a joy to sit and hook with her. She lives in Florida and when I visit I bring my rug and my wool. She has Alzheimer's now and I sometimes have to push her to work on her project but she is always happy when she picks up her frame and gets to work.     Mary Schlech

The rug being held by a smiling Anna May is Blue Rocks. (Can be viewed at http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/signature-designs.html ) This is one of the most popular designs with tourists who come through the door and fall in love with the scenic beauty of this small fishing village just a short hop down the coast of Lunenburg.   The scene depicts a summer's day and a boat waiting to be launched on the skid. Maybe it will be pushed into the water for a day of fishing or just motoring along the coast to enjoy the salt air. If you go to Blue Rocks you can stand and look at this view, maybe the boat won't be there but the building is and the houses across the water dot the hillside. When you look at this rug, you can almost hear the waves lapping on the shore and feel the ocean breeze brush by your face.

I've drawn this pattern and made a kit many times over the years and a finished version of the rug graces the wall of the shop. It was originally hooked by Blaine Allaby and when he expressed an interest in selling the finished piece I jumped on it to represent the pattern.   Mary's mom did a fantastic job hooking her version and I'm sure it is a treasured gift of a mother's artistic talent, an heirloom to be treasured for decades to come.   If I did the math correctly, Anna May has been hooking for over 63 years, longer than some of us have been alive.  Sorry to hear that she is now struggling with the terrible disease of Alzheimer's but knowing, she is surrounded by love and encouragement is heartfelt.

Mary has been coming into the shop for many years. The acorn didn't fall far from this family tree in that she is very talented designer and rug hooker. Some of her pieces are regional to places she's visited or lived and she enjoys a challenge, taking on projects that evoke much thought and careful colour decisions. I wish I had some picture to post of some of the projects it has been a pleasure to see but alas there are none. She just called me with an emergency for a piece of wool she though maybe her husband used as a rag and when I delivered the bad news that it was no longer available she pleasantly said she would make it work with a bit of altering to the design, a clever solution to what could be a challenging block. Personally I'd pull my hair out and on go on a chocolate bender!   I always look forward to a visit from Mary to see what she has been laying her hand to....I'm always filled with wonderment and awe at the creativity of her vision.

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Anniversary or just another day........?

6/26/2013

8 Comments

Good gravy it’s hot and sticky! I’m sitting here in my bra and panties and my fingers and wrists are sticking to the laptop.   My hair is up per the usual but the few sprigs that lay on the back of my neck are an irritant, causing extra heat as it blocks the moving air of a fly buzzing by...that's the only breeze to be found! My air conditioner is upstairs in the bedroom closet and too heavy for me to schlep down the stairs so I'm trapped in this sweat shop of a house mired in misery. There isn’t a fan for the asking. The bloody weather snuck up on me….I wasn’t prepared but this gal will be in Gows Home Hardware tomorrow evening stocking up on whatever it takes to get through the summer heat.

I spent my anniversary alone as hubby is away on business. Boo hoo for me. No fancy dinner out, no flowers, no nothing to mark it as a special day, and yes that might be a double negative but I'm in a double negative mood!   There are so few things to celebrate in life you have to grab on to whatever you can and 22 years of marriage is nothing to sneeze at. Of course we'll celebrate at a later time per the usual. In our life, there's always two days for every event. The actual day and the day you honour it. Having a bad case of the poor mes all day and maybe whining a bit too much to a customer, I got a nice hug! Sweet!

After our orientation on Monday, Sue and I went to the gym for out first workout. Thankfully it was in air conditioning comfort. It was quite the hour and I’m sure I’ll be feeling it tomorrow. I love to exercise once I start…it’s the getting there…excuse after excuse pops up. I suppose we all think we’re infallible but at some point we have to face reality and know that our life is half over and it's time to make changes. The first five decades were a cake walk but this second half is all uphill and we have to do the work to get to the end as healthy as can be.    Those ads on TV that say the last ten years of our life will be sick ones, well I don’t want to be cast in that mold. The Mahone Bay Center has a lovely gym facility, top notch, well maintained, lots of equipment, clean rooms and a trainer available for special requirements.

There won't be any exercise tomorrow as the building is closed due to the TV show Haven filming an episode on the premise. A bit of excitement for our town as The Mahone Bay Centre has once again been transformed into "Haven Medical Centre." They will be shooting there all day today and into the evening. This will be the second such event for our town. Once they shot an episode right outside my shop window and we watched Jason Priestly in make-up... I have to say he is pretty cute in real life. It was a hook-in night but instead of working on our projects we all clustered around and watched the proceedings through the front window. The star of the show, Emily Rose loved my poodles and the director actually came into the shop for a snuggle...with the dogs that is.... The outside of my shop made it into some of the scenes and although I don't follow the show I did watch that episode for the familiar scenery.

So back to my exercise. I’ve decided to go at this with a realistic approach, not blitz it like a dog charging a bone. I plan to workout moderately so I don’t burn out and grow tired of the routine. A fast weight loss might build momentum for a while but it’s the slow and steady that will win the race and keep the weight off and retain the newly built muscle long term. So wish me luck with this new addition to my routine cause we all know about the road to the nether region being paved with good intentions!

It's all about managing time. I've always felt bad for poor little time, always getting blamed for everything. You can always find time if you look for it, a few minutes here and there to do what's good for your body. At this point in my life, I can’t afford not too. That emergency visit a few weeks back was an eye opener. As I lay there hooked up to a machine I projected ahead and realized I didn’t want this to be part of my future. My heart might be all over the place with menopause but that will pass and if I build that wonderful muscle into a kick ass ticker it should last my lifetime. Our heart sends out a lot of love, but we need to give some of it back.

I tested my heartbeat yesterday and it didn’t have any skips and I was over the moon. I’ve been off of white flour and sugar and coffee for a bit over a month so I’m thinking I isolated the culprits. Sugar acts like shards of glass coursing through your veins, cutting at the walls which the body repairs with plaque, the same plaque that clogs your heart leading to nasty problems. So it’s clean living from now on, some good ole cardio, pumping a bit of iron and the right food to sustain my body! It's time I give my body some love!

Last evening I waited for the temperature to cool down to work in the gardens but that didn’t happen so I went out around 8:00 and turned a bit of soil. Fresh from my workout I was still pumped and wanted to do something other than play couch potato. In no time I was drenched like a contestant in a wet T Shirt contest. Ten minutes of that and I was wiped and I gave up before the neighbour got out the binoculars.

I took a few minutes to smell the roses though, well actually the peonies. I was surprised that the deep magenta ones don’t have any scent....a bit disappointing. The smell is what makes a peony the royal stunner that it is so I can’t imagine why someone would genetically alter a flower to remove the smell. That's what attracts the bees! The peony should be a feast for all senses. Petals of silk to touch....breathtaking beauty to see.....and a delicious fragrance to inhale; the trifecta of gardening gold.

I’m beating back the weeds and grass one wheel barrow at a time.   The grass is four feet high, dwarfing the plants around it. Grass is a nasty bugger to get rid of once it grabs hold of a plant’s roots. You have to pull it out one piece at a time and hope the entire root system comes with it or you’re back to the drawing board in a few days.   Grass is a bully, stealing the nutrients in the soil and gradually pushing the plant right out of the way.   Give grass an inch and it will take the yard!

So now for a bit of fun. This rug is a hoot! To actually draw out a design and hook this message sort of seems like someone was royally pissed off at their in-laws or maybe in this case, out-laws!

This rug lives in the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine Florida. Charlene came across it hanging on the wall when taking a tour during one of her snowbird vacations. She brought back a postcard depicting the rug for a show and tell for our hook-in. It makes us laugh every time we see it. If anyone knows anything about this rug please leave a comment.

http://www.lightnermuseum.org/

Inlaws are rodents in human guise
Who eat me out of cakes & pies
Oer hill & vale & rivers & ruts
They gather for dinner
I hate their guts

8 Comments

Beginner class on Sunday afternoon

6/25/2013

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From shoplifting to uplifting...like Nova Scotia weather, just wait five minutes for an improvement. What a great beginner class this past Sunday! There were only two students but good things come in small packages and these two women were stellar. The weather was warm so we set up downstairs with the heat pump on dehumidify to kick out cool air.

Angela came toting all her mother's paraphernalia. She's been in a nursing home for five years and has lost her desire to create so the proper thing for a daughter to do is pick up where her mother left off and she fit right into her mothers shoes, her loops mirroring her mother's beautifully. I could see pride in her eyes as she told of her mother being the entire rug hooking package, designing her own pieces and dyeing the wool. Angela tried fooling around with hooking before but got frustrated and set it aside but now seemed to take to it like a fish to water. She's originally from Winnipeg and refers to herself as a CBC - "Come By Choice" to Nova Scotia.

I knew Susan would be an enthusiastic student just from the way she expressed herself in previous conversations. She'd been wanting to hook for awhile and decided the time was right to start. She'd been preparing the hooking nursery for a bit and had gathered a number of supplies.  Someone had given her some lovely hooks, one was the Hartman (or Irish Hook) which she is using for this project.   She purchased our "Loons" pattern and decided to hook with yarn. She came with a lot of colours and I dyed the Loon's head in a dark green. Most of the wool she'll be using will come from MacAuslands Woolen Mill from PEI mixed in with a bit of Briggs & Little Woolen Mill from New Brunswick. She was delightful to teach and I'm sure we will see her at one of our hook-ins.....Tantallon isn't that far away!

Angela is planning on finishing a sweet pattern her mother had been working on of a cat sitting on a fence all cut in a #4. It is evident that Angela will have no problems merging their work to complete the piece.

Angela had a very interesting wrap for holding wool strips that's a must have guys. She thinks you can buy strips with snaps from fabric stores and I plan to check it out because I'd like to have them made for the shop. What do you think Pam???? This wrap is perfect for rug hookers on the go, heading out to hook-ins and visiting friends with projects in tow and of course at home just to keep the wool organized.

The pink masking tape was a gift from Susan. When she phoned before the class to ask a few questions she wanted to know what were the ways to protect the edges of the pattern from fraying while you hook. I said the usual way was a machine zig zag stitch but there are those who use masking tape for a quick and easy approach.   Susan went to a hardware store and bought a bunch of rolls that came in multiple colours, pink representing Cancer awareness so she thought I might like a roll for the shop in case anyone should need any. Sweet!

Susan practicing straight lines and a circle with yarn. She breezed both techniques and will have no problems tackling the rug.

Angela, finished her straight line and the circle with a natural talent...this acorn didn't fall far from the tree!

Angela, happy to pick up where her mom left off.

Susan Doyle, a very contented hooker!

This clever wrap for wool bits can be made with a ready made quilted place mat. The inside holds the snapped strips that secure the wool. It doesn't have a closure but it could have a little Velcro tab to keep it rolled or maybe a tie although it rolls beautifully without it. This clever idea will fit nicely in a hooking bag and keep all the strips clumped together by colour. It's so easy to pull out one piece at a time when hooking! To get even more creative this could be a small hooked mat with a lining inside for the snaps to attach.

Outside of the wrap. This one had a delightful crewel/Jacobean quilted fabric. There is an edge sewn around the outside. The inside is a plain while flannel.

Just wanted to share that today is my 22nd wedding anniversary to the best guy ever. We rushed our little ceremony because he was on his way to Marblehead for a sailing race so we had one day of a honeymoon and then he was off. We joke that he spent his honeymoon with seven sweaty guys on board a 40 ft boat for the Mablehead-Halifax race. Romantic!

We planned to have the reception after his return but then my mother died so it never felt right and then there was never time. We always talk...or I talk and he listens...about having a big affair in the backyard with tents, music and all the fluff. I'd love to have the fluff and a pretty dress! Hubby said we could renew vows and that was sweet but a little too hokey for me as there isn't much in the way of romantic bones holding up my frame! Maybe next year...at least that's what I always say as the date rolls around......

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Five finger discount......a Monday rant!

6/24/2013

7 Comments

A lot of comedians write about real life, drawing on everyday occurrences for their shtick. In this crazy world you don’t have to make stuff up because truth is always stranger than fiction so there's always a long string of things to poke fun at! Working in retail can be an eye opening experience and if I was hitting the stage every Friday for open mike I'd be drawing on most of the stuff I've learned through the customers I can't afford to keep.

Now 99.99999 percent of the people who enter my shop are absolutely top notch and they are what keep me going.....it's that wee percent that provide the fodder for rants and stories.  We all like to hear nice things about nice people, but it's those titillating, juicy tidbits of the not so nice that get the reaction and the laughs.   Now don't worry, if you come into the shop after having a bad day and are a bit on the rude side, you won't end up in any stories. We are all entitled to a bit of woe and as humans we forgive one another the little transgressions and move on. It's the outrageous stuff, the unforgivable things like shoplifting that make the headlines.

Whether the person in question reads this blog is of no consequence to me; if only they would!  We share a bond she and I, we both know the truth. I'll bet she won't be telling anyone, "hey Christine wrote a story about me". When I finally stick her to the wall and she's arrested, then I might drop her name so take head lady, this blog is a warning to you to smarten up before it's too late. Please....stay away and leave me alone, I don't want to to deal with this!!!! If she doesn't read it, maybe someone else will and mention it in passing and then my troubles will be over because she will never darken my doorstep again.  I'm reminded of that murder movie, "I Saw What You Did" accept in this scenario no one dies. I'm trying to let this woman know that I know what she did...truthfully it infuriates me that she thinks she's pulled the wool over my eyes when stuffing it into her purse!

I take offense at people who steal. I've worked my fingers to the bone my whole life, I've never expected handouts or feel I'm owed anything so I don't get why people take what doesn't belong to them and justify it. Some say it's a sickness and these people can't help themselves but that's a cop-out. They know they're doing something morally wrong and there's plenty of help out there for the asking...and morals aside, it's illegal to shoplift, it comes with stiff penalties, it's not worth it!!! There is light at the end of the tunnel, it's a behaviour that can be changed, if you do nothing to help yourself, that makes you culpable.  And besides, if you believe you can't help yourself, stay the heck out of shops, don't put yourself in a position to do these things. Don't give me excuses, there are none, it's black and white...get help!

So a customer comes into the shop last week that I haven’t seen for awhile but is well known as a thief. On immediate alert, I slipped my son a note to watch her closely. She only ever comes into the store with other people, usually the hooking group she belongs too but this time there was a non hooking friend in tow. In the past the MO is to separate herself from the crowd while the others have distracted me with catching up on news and the business of hooking, so she wanders off and starts filling up the handbag and the one pocket. I say "one pocket", because the other one in her overly baggy coat is reserved for the wallet to pay for the items she legitimately takes from the store. The wallet is in the pocket because opening her purse would expose the contraband. That point alone proves her intent to steal before entering the store or the wallet would be in the purse where it belongs!

In the past, she went about the business of stealing as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do...I'll just pick up a few things..... And, let me tell you, this thief has techniques choreographed to a science. She has one move I refer to as the Squat, Snatch & Stuff. She walks up to the basket of ends on the floor and in one fluid motion she squats slightly, snatches a handful and as she stands back up she makes a half turn while stuffing the wool into her pocket.  Cool as a refrigerated cucumber!   I read once that the best thieves don’t look around to see if they’re being watched…that actually triggers attention. You have to be a cool cookie to steal without knowing if the coast is clear or else confident in your craft. I know little about stealing and maybe there's a thrill in there somewhere but I do believe they think they're smarter than the average storekeeper. Well, this chick is not the average bear!

Another trick she's pulled in the past is to take the little bags of wool ends I sell, open it up and grab more bits from the baskets and fill it to capacity. She would bring it so stuffed full to the cash counter I worried it would explode and take out an eye. I know how much wool I put in those bags, so after that I started stapling them shut and quite enjoyed watching her dismay as she came back and realized that source had dried up.  I'm sure she thinks I’m about as sharp as a bladeless knife and too dim to notice her shenanigans and I think that injures my dignity more than the loss hurts my pocket book.

So after all this history she comes in last week, said she hadn’t hooked for a bit and had a good peruse through the shop before heading to the basket of ends on the floor. Shane and I are on her like butter on toast, he’s busy straightening the wool in the racks in front of her and I’m behind wrapping a parcel doing a Marty Feldman, with one eye on her and one eye on my work.  Our sandwich surveillance left little opportunity to pull off her famous move so she was forced to spend money if she wanted to haul wool out of the store.

Now this is where the amusement part comes in…or at least I think it's hilarious. Words come out of her mouth that struck me so bizarre I almost burst out laughing. One look at my son and the incredulous look on his face told me the irony of her words hadn't been lost on him either.

So she says in all seriousness......“If I buy all of these, do I get a discount?”

I’m usually not good at quick retorts; I only come up with clever responses after the fact, but I replied ever so sweetly, “Do you mean you want to buy the entire basket full of wool?”

She didn’t know quite what to make of that but maybe thought I was joking and we went up to the counter and I made up the slip for 15 pieces of wool at $2.00 each plus tax. She looked at the slip and said “Oh” at the lack of discount, paid with cash from her "pocket" and was off, mumbling something to her friend about wool being expensive and how she needed all of those pieces for some flower she was hooking.

A discount? Was she friggin serious? Can you see the irony of this?   After all the wool she’d stolen from my shop she had the gall to ask me for a discount? Discounts are for honest people and friends, neither of which you are missy.   When I told my quick witted hubby what happened he said, “You should have told her that she already got the five fingered discount in the past”. Now I wouldn’t have said that and embarrassed her in front of her friend although it would have been the perfect thing to say. But, I know she has all the rights; that I can’t accuse her after the fact or without physical evidence and that of course is long gone, hooked into various projects over the years.

This woman was well known at rug school among the vendors. Back in the day when several shops attended some of us shared our klepto list. Things were always taken from the shops and we would tally up our losses at the end of the week and compare notes. This women did the vendor circuit as an outside visitor and would come into the warm building wearing a Colombo style baggy coat with large pockets and get to work filling them up. That’s where I was introduced to the SSS (Squat, Snatch and Stuff). It was so swift I had to see it the second time to actually believe my eyes. Wish I could do a video to show you the smoothness of her action. If I wasn’t so incensed it would have been a performance to be admired, like a magician’s sleight of hand. Now you see it, now you don’t!

So you ask, “Why didn’t you ever report her Christine?” Well, that’s not as easy as one would think. First of all you have to approach the culprit out on the street, once they’ve taken the stolen merchandise outside the store. Then you have to deal with them physically, what if they decide to hit the pavement running or jump in their car and speed away, or god forbid hit you with that purse full of wool? What are you supposed to do? Chase down a 70 year old woman and detain them until the RCMP arrive? What a spectacle that would be. What if they burst out crying and singing the woe song, telling you all their problems and why they steal....that's another kind of spectacle I can live without. I'm not a cold-hearted bastard but crocodile tears would slide off my back so to the casual observer I would look like a brute!

This particular woman always came in with five to eight members of her hooking group and used them as a shield to cover their actions. What do you think would happen if I accused her of stealing? One of their friends, someone they’ve known for years? Unless I could get her to dump out the purse and pocket contents on the sidewalk I would come off looking badly.  I'm sure she's got an "out" planned in case she's apprehended. I couldn't think of all the scenarios that might happen, all I know is that it would be my word against hers and I could become an instant pariah in the rug hooking community. I could be boycotted by that entire group and possibly the entire province as word spread like a gasoline accelerant brush fire that Christine accused an innocent hooker of stealing from her shop. Honestly, who's word would you take as gospel if your group came into the shop and I said one of you had stolen goods and that person adamantly denied it and refused to show what was in her purse because I'd insulted her and she wouldn't dignify it with a response.  Yup...I'd have to close my doors for good.

Then of course there’s the old, “Oh my, did I put that in there? Or   “How did that get in my purse? I’ve been so forgetful lately, my my….so sorry, let me pay for that.” I’ve had that one pulled on me a few times before. And who looks bad there? How dare I accuse a poor, dear older woman who didn’t realize that she was putting wool in her purse? What a meanie that Christine is.   How can you argue that one without coming off as the jackass in the room?  Older ladies have the senility card that they can whip out and use in a pinch. Hell, I've been using it lately myself, saying I'm having a senior moment to cover the embarrassment of forgetting something. So the hands are tied on that one. No way to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt if their actions were intentional or not...but you know.....

I've spent a great deal of time analyzing this and because I think in terms of what can happen next, I’ve deduced, in the past, that it was better to leave well enough alone and eat the loss, but I don’t plan to be as accommodating when it happens the next time. I’ve resigned to the fact that I’m going to have to act on principle but know it will be an ugly experience and undoubtedly leave a sick feeling in my gut. I don't like controversy at all, never have, but something has changed that takes the fear out of it the outcome.  I now have a spade in the hole....this blog. When I confront a thief and it all goes amuck I have a forum to present my side of the story. Before I've never had a voice but now I have the means to defend myself.

There is another funny little part to this story. This same woman was always trolling the shops at rug school. School shops are busy and I'm usually at the cash ringing up sales so have no time to keep an eye peeled so I can only image what she's put in that purse that I missed. The big ole purse that comes through the door hollow, sides sunken and concave and then leaves bulging at the seams like an inflated balloon.

On this one particular day, it was a few minutes to noon and I was getting ready to close up to head to the cafeteria when she came in. I always tried to get lunch before the crowds hit, eat quickly so I could get right back in case people wanted to shop. I told the woman I needed to lock up. She said to me as sweet as sugar, “I’ll watch your store for you Christine.” I said, "thanks but I can't do that".   Again she insisted that I go for lunch and let her watch the store. I firmly said no, and gave her another couple of minutes to look although I was anxious to leave.

I couldn't believe my eyes! Given the bums rush, she actually squeezed in a little pilfer by pulling the Squat, Snatch and Stuff before she left, telling me she would come back after lunch. Oh joy for that! If I’d let her alone in the shop she would have looked like the Michelin Man, padded with wool insulation, barely able to fit through the shop door!   So life has it's humour or at least that's my way of dealing with it.  When handed lemons, make lemonade. Turn these experiences into stories to laugh at. It's always best to make light of the matter to release the tension, or else hold it all in and go a bit nutty from the absurdity of it all........personally, I think I'm a comedian at heart and missed my calling!

“Enter, stranger, but take heed
Of what awaits the sin of greed,
For those who take, but do not earn,
Must pay most dearly in their turn.
So if you seek beneath our floors
A treasure that was never yours,
Thief, you have been warned, beware
Of finding more than treasure there.”
J. K. Rowling

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New stock of our exclusive hooks!

6/23/2013

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Just like a box of crayons, something for everyone! I'm torn between just playing with them or working! http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/hooks.html

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Ladybugs.....

6/22/2013

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Short and sweet today. It's Saturday and I'm usually run of my feet..but in a good way! Lots of tourists wanting hooking demos and asking questions. I love to see the spark form and grow into a healthy flicker as I talk about all the wonderful aspects of this passion we all share.

This morning I passed up on coffee for a big olfactory cup of the sweet smelling peony. My garden is ablaze with huge flower heads. Hundreds of them in a full range of colour from white to a deep magenta pink. The yellow tree peony bloomed earlier and are now gone, leaving their pinkish cousins to carry the scented torch.

The rose may be the preferred flower of romance, but for me a bouquet of the aromatic peony hits the spot, creating the swoon factor.    They come and go so quickly you have to savour their heavenly essence.   For some reason this is the year for the peony as they are heavy laden with hundreds of flower heads and all for me!

The new plants that went in the ground last year, after a peony shopping blitz, have all come up and are blooming. The entire end section of my garden is peony nirvana. Their only flaw is the ant boarder that always accompanies the flower, which keeps me from cutting them for inside. Ah well, some things are to be admired from afar.   They last for such a short time it's better to leave them for all of nature to admire.

I haven't been able to get out in the garden to weed so the plants are being held up by all the growth around them. Usually the dripping flowers heads bow to the ground under their own weight. This year they are all upright and ready for sniffing. I suppose I should accept this gift horse although I'm starting to feel pretty guilty about not attending to them as I normally do. I've hung up my super woman cape as the stress of having to wear it all the time outweighed the good it was doing, so now I pace myself and work within my means. Live is better but some things are suffering. Maybe I need to find a dependable gardener to lend a hand and a hoe.

My garden is also full of ladybugs this year and I'm finding them in greater numbers than usual wandering about the house. It always makes me smile when I find one and an "ahhhh" escapes my lips. There's something magical about that little red bug with black spots so they get a gentle removal and relocation out of doors where they can do what they do best, rid us of garden pests. In many cultures they are also revered as good luck, so you never want to harm the lovely little ladybug.

A client came in the shop and asked for a ladybug kit and that's what they got! I designed and quickly hooked the piece so she would have a picture to use as a guide. She wanted the traditional red ladybugs, although since then, I've seen this hooked with multiple bright colours and it was so sweet, I got a cavity just looking at it. She told me that a friend's mother told her daughter just before she passed away that every time she sees a ladybug it would be her. The customer wanted to hook this piece as a memory for her friend to be a constant reminder of the mother who is no longer with her. Well, it worked! Every time I see this piece I think of that mother and I've never even met her, so I'm sure the daughter smiles every time she sees the chair pad! The power of suggestion is a marvelous thing and what a lovely sentiment to leave her daughter.

I tried that with a boyfriend once as he dumped me. I told him every time he kissed another girl he'd think of me...but that didn't work so much.....

This larger rug is just two of the smaller ones fused together by computer magic.

The ladybugs are hooked with Heart Red formula dyed over herringbone, a solid and hound's tooth wools. This allows for different levels of colour for a bit more interest. The background is Sage Green done as an abrash in a pot on the stove. The leaves are a very pale green with a light abrash and Antique Black Dorr for the veins. Straight black was used on the border and the head and spots of the bugs. A bit of Anjou Pear for the eyes and the rug is colour planned! I hooked this using #6 strips. The pattern can be viewed on my site under Signature patterns. http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/signature-designs.html
Kit can be view under Kits http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/kits.html

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OMG.....no chocolate?!

6/21/2013

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Bzzz...I Can't recall who hooked this piece!

Well, I think I'll extend the crawly things theme for the rest of the week. Bees today and maybe end with ladybugs on Saturday. It's the wiggly season for all kinds of flying and crawling things and nature's creatures always make wonderful subjects for interesting rugs.

I've was lethargic all day yesterday. For some reason sleep eluded me the night before. I tossed and turned and tried to get comfortable until 4:30 and then finally dozed off. Henri was acting up and I thought he was warm so we have this routine where I put a wet facecloth on his belly to cool him down, did that and he was still restless so I put him on the floor to see what he would do and he just laid there so I assumed he was appreciating the cool floor. This morning I found a little deposit in the hallway and he looked a bit sheepish as if to say, couldn't help it mom! Guess he needed to go outside....so ooops for me and poops for him although I suppose that was for me too...to clean up!

I don't know why I was sleepless, but I've been working late nights and I think that revs up the engines so it's difficult to wind down. I just got home from the shop at close to 11:00 and my house guest was pouring himself a glass of wine and when it was offered I thought heck yes, maybe it will make me sleepy tonight. That's a legit reason to drink around midnight so that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

A few years ago, I designed this little piece called Bzzz...I & II to take to the Rug Bees Spring Fling, and annual event in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. I thought it might be cute considering the bee theme of the hook-in but no one really said anything about it and I didn't sell any.   Over the years a few people thought it was cute and it's been hooked in difference colours, two of the examples are here.   The rust tones was a beginning project that I coloured planned as per a customer's preference and the one below was hooked by a Krista MacDonald. The bees are cute and easily hooked with delicate wings and striped bodies, no worries about colour planning there, and they are surrounded by a garland of half posies, with a full trio in the center.   The wings almost make a pattern within the design, sort of a kaleidoscope of sorts. You can almost hear them buzzing as they go about the business of pollinating.

The bees in north America are in danger of extinction which will greatly impact our lives. Hubby and I are very careful in the yard not to disturb any bees and the dogs seem to naturally leave them alone. The loss of one bee is a tragedy.  Some think it would just be a question of learning to live without honey, but bees play an incredibly important role in agriculture as pollinators. Cereal crops are wind-pollinated but virtually all fruit and many vegetables are insect-pollinated, overwhelmingly by bees. Without bees, crop yields would fall off dramatically. It's estimated that one-third of all the food we eat relies on bees for its production. That includes virtually every fruit you might make into jam, but finding something to put on your toast would be the least of your worries. Over evolutionary timescales, other insects would probably take over the empty ecological niche but in the short term you could expect the apple, orange, coffee, chocolate and rapeseed oil industries to collapse. (OMG....no chocolate?) This wouldn't be an extinction-level event for humans, but it would cause widespread economic hardship and possibly famine until alternative cultivation systems and crops could be developed.   We must protect our bees so give them a wide birth. Once they sting they die and we can't afford to loose a single one!   They are unBEElievably important to our wellBEEing!

Bees love my garden. I seem to have the right mix of what they love so I like to think that happy little buzzing sound is their way of saying thank-you dear gardeners!   I love the sights and sounds of summer. I sit on my back porch and watch the hummingbirds and bees do their thing and enjoy the sparrows taking cautious dips in the concrete bird bath.   The coo of doves, the melody of the yellow finch and the caw of crows are a musical background to the goings on of my sanctuary.   At night the looms call from across the harbour and the peepers serenade you to sleep. There is never a dull moment in nature so who needs TV?!

Bzzz...II Hooked by Krista MacDonald.

Bzzz...I This is the center of the rug on the left. We offer the pattern in two sizes, one with the extra border of flowers.

P. S. Some people are still leaving numbers for the guessing game we were playing last week. Sorry but that contest is now over. Every winner has claimed their prize except for Monica. Still waiting to find out who she is! If you know a Monica tell her she might be the winner. She voted for #16 and won All Gulls No Buoys.

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Butterflies

6/20/2013

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Butterfly; butterfly fly away, teach me how to be as free as free can be..... Ashley Landrey

As many will agree, I’m not usually speechless. If I can’t haul my brain in gear and say what’s on my mind something has either knocked the wind out of me, the cat got my tongue or I’m too astonished to find words.

When this rug walked into my shop I was just that. Flabbergast! From a distance the hooked detail of this piece made it look like a photograph of actual butterflies. When I finally found my voice I couldn’t relay enough flattery or add enough sincerity to portray my pleasure. This was truly a magnificent depiction of nature at its best. Doreen Burke truly made a connection with this subject and proved her talent as an artist.

When she bought the pattern and we picked out wool for the background, border and some of the butterflies I never realized the talent to which I was speaking. And when later she brought the rug in finished I felt humbled before her.   You just never know what talent rests beneath a friendly smile!

By the dated signature this rug was hooked in 2006, back when I was in the old shop.   I don’t remember much about when Doreen bought the pattern other than we did pick out some wool together, but I will never forget her show and tell after it was finished.   This rug loved the camera. Back then, I wasn't that great with photography (not that I'd win any awards now) but the rug was so magnificent it couldn't take a bad picture. I cropped it badly with an unsophisticated photo program but you can still make out the scalloped border that blends beautifully with the gentleness of the butterflies and moths, making the piece feel feminine and soft.

We have this pattern in two shapes. The above oval and then for those who requested it, we designed a rectangle for those who prefer rugs with corners. This rug would fit beautifully in a lepidopterist’s study, someone who investigates or collects butterflies and/or moths or for anyone who loves these magnificent metamorphosing creatures. To know these lovely winged insects derived from grubs is amazing; one of natures incredible miracles. Their wings appear like delicate lace to caress a summer's breeze.

The very same butterflies that are in the oval pattern have been repositioned and is now offered in a rectangle shape. Not everyone wants to hook a round or oval rug so this keeps everyone happy!

Butterflies Rectangle
Size: 33" x 28"
Burlap - $52.95
Linen - $71.48

Butterflies (Oval)
Size: 27" x 35"
Burlap - $52.95
Linen - $71.48

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Bugs....do they bug ya?

6/19/2013

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What's the last thing that goes through a bug's mind as it hits the windshield?........its butt!

Colour planned and hooked by Sue Cunningham

There's no shortage of little creatures in our neck of the woods. The mosquitoes are out in droves and the black flies, n0-see-ums as we call them are out for the yearly feast. Something that small can do a lot of damage and make you run screaming inside while waving your hands in the air., frantically trying to fend them off. We are bigger than they are but the "harder we fall" thing applies to our battle with the bug.

Bugs don't play fair. They have equipment to track you and although we've clawed our way to the top of the food chain we still get served up like an all you can eat buffet. Mosquitoes are nasty little heat seeking devices, you can't do much to put off those irritants, other than keel over and die. No hot breath, no nibbles.

I have nothing against bugs in the out of doors, we have to share the world no matter how unfair it seems. But if they stupidly cross over my threshold, well I get out my vacuum and suck them out of the air or else grab the Executioner, a gift from a house guest last year. A tennis racket type device with a battery that zaps the pests into the next world. I don't like things that crawl or fly around in my house. My domain....so bugs take your chances! As long as I'm paying the mortgage, I don't want any freeloaders or unwanted guests.  The survival of the fittest baby....and although it's an unfair fight one to one, like shooting fish in a barrel, I turn my love of nature switch off and do the deed.

We had company a few weeks ago and I was told they take their gadgets outside and swat away anything that comes into their personal space. I hate to sound like a hypocrite but it kind of turned my stomach. Killing flies outdoors in their natural habitat seems more like murder on some level. Seek out and destroy type of mission. Those bugs are a food source for birds and snakes and although most don't like the latter, we all love birds; happy, singing little birdies.   But on the flip side, they are from Northern Ontario and the bugs seem especially brutal there. Until I walk in their shoes I have no right to judge. If the bugs are so bad in that area that people have written songs about it, maybe they have a point. I've never been chased down by a wall of black, vampire-like insects. Luckily I live in a place where the list of my complaints doesn't include air borne irritants.

We actually didn't buy a house we wanted because of black flies. They swarmed us as we left the car and my oldest dog, Honey, must have been allergic and swelled with bumps all over her body. She looked like porridge gone wrong. Pretty bad when you can't even take your dog out for a pee without being attacked. I wondered why there hadn't been much landscaping done and that experience answered the question.   I love to garden so that would have been devastating to find out it wouldn't be happening. Luckily we visited the place a few times to get a feel for the area or we would have signed on the dotted line and walked into a nightmare for two months each summer.   Maybe that's why the house was on the market for years until it sold......pity the couple who bought it during the winter months.

Now I know we all have the right to sit outdoors and luckily there are screened in porches for that. I guess I'm lucky in that I live close to the ocean and that slight difference in air temperature puts them off. I can go outside and not see any no-see-ums but once the darkness sets in the mosquitoes are out, they don't mind a little wind and they are heat seeking missiles, find the target and destroy it mercilessly.   So I get even by going inside. You can do things to keep the mosquito population down to a dull roar. Keep standing water sources empty, after a rain don't let wheel barrows or rain barrels sit full of water, empty them or put on covers. A bit of cooking oil in a water barrel will prevent them from laying their eggs or kill them if they're already there. They hunt pretty close to where they hatch so do your best to not provide damp little places to nest their kin in.

Maybe if I lived closer to a wooded area and the air was black with swarming flies all hell bent on taking a piece out of me, maybe I'd head to Canadian Tire and stock up on insect dispensing devices, maybe turbo Executioners and do my Clint Eastwood, "Make my day!" impression as I zap my way to victory. So I shouldn't have an opinion on the suffering of others, we all do what we have to do to survive and of course stock up on Calamine lotion.

Don't you just hate being in your bedroom all tucked in. Just about to doze off when you hear a mosquito coming at you with a vengeance? You wonder where it will land and slap about your head like crazy every time the buzzing stops.  I don't know the anatomy of the bug but it obviously can't steal your blood and make that infuriating noise at the same time.   Unless you successfully slap it into yesterday, you fall asleep and awake in the morning to bumps that itch like mad.   And now, with all the diseases that can be transmitted thoughts of bug nets surface so at some point as the temperatures rise and our moist, warm houses become the nests for their incubation, we might all be laying under fine woven netting.

It seems there are a few more bot flies out at this time of year. Rot and decay are front and center so the bot fly is right at home. These are the bugs that look like the common housefly but are dark green and iridescent. They can sniff out meat and swarm you in seconds to get a taste. Not to gross anyone out but a bot fly can find a dead body within fifteen seconds of it's demise and if any of you have dogs that do their business outside, you know how there won't be a fly in the vicinity but as soon as the deposit is made on the lawn, they swarm the warm appetizer by the dozens. These are the flies that give birth to the maggot, those pesky wiggling rice-like creatures that hang around our composters. The warm weather promotes mating and egg laying. If there is any food left out in the house, they'll squeeze past the screen door through the tiniest of cracks to get to the morsel. It's a constant struggle to keep food at bay.

Maybe you've noticed how the common housefly will follow you up the stairs at night and buzz around your bedroom, especially around the lamp by the bedside. A little tip. They are motivated by light. To get rid of them turn off the bedroom lights, go out into the hall in the dark and turn the light on in a spare room or bathroom, wait two seconds and the housefly will buzz right by you. Quickly turn out the light and close the door, trapping the little noise maker in there until morning.

Luckily I don't see many bugs where I live down along the water but I do hear the occasional dragonfly buzz by on the way to a very important place. They're always in a hurry to get somewhere fast. So beautiful with their iridescent wings. They're little fans to keep fairies cool in the summer's heat and if the fairy needs to visit a relative in a neighbouring forest, the dragonfly provides a taxi service. Honest.....a fairy friend told me that when I was a wee girl.

So although some bugs can be horrible, they can also be extraordinarily beautiful. Dragonflies are a prime example and when someone asked for a rug with a Dragonfly theme, I jumped on it. This pattern has been very popular over the years and the above rug was hooked by Sue Cunningham.

She hooked the background in Antique Black (dark green) that was abrashed with black dye to give it a mottled appearance and depth. This was the perfect backdrop to all of the brilliant colours used in the dragonflies and each colourful body pops off the page.   She used a lot of our bright, spot dyed formulas and had lots of bits and pieces leftover from other rugs. This is actually a great rug for scraps.

The border was done in alternating colours from each dragonfly and then she whipped the rug with a skein of yarn that was spot dyed with the SkyBluePink formula in the book "SkyBluePink with a Green Smell"    I made a few kits while the rug hung around the shop, its beauty drew people in and they wanted to take a piece of it home. The rug sold last year to a very lucky buyer.   Sometimes having bugs in the house can be a good thing!

This Dragonfly kit is on sale this week at 10% off.

How timely, this was posted on Facebook last evening as I was writing this blog. I thought it might be useful to those who appreciate natural fixes. Most of things are in our houses and a quick grab when needed.

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New Abrash and Spot Dyed Wools!

6/18/2013

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Blue Suede

Juniper

Clamato

Deep Purple

Shane has just added 6 new Abrash wools and 18 new Spot Dyed wools to the site. Here's a few examples! All of the new colours have "New" written beside them.
To view click the link
http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/wool.html

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Geckos on the floor, not the ceiling!

6/18/2013

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After yesterday's blog featuring the Gecko chair pad I thought it would be timely to show the rug that inspired its smaller version, but first a bit of history on the evolution of the chair pad.

A customer prompted this the idea by wanting a kit for her daughter for Christmas, but felt something smaller with a gecko design would be more appropriate as a starter than the full sized rug. So I said I would downsize the design to a chair pad and make up the kit.

I designed a 14" in diameter pattern, colour planned it and as I was doing the work the colours were so alive and fun I felt moved to hook the piece. The palette reminded me of my childhood crayon box filled with jewel tones and rich saturated colours; my favourites being the tantalizing teal blue and purplish pink. I've never been comfortable providing a kit without a photograph to use as a guide for colour placement so because the pattern was small and would total about two evenings worth of hooking I made up two kits and took one home. This piece was so much fun to work on it practically hooked itself! Now that I had a finished sample, I felt more confident the present would have a greater punch for the recipient than just a burlap pattern, bundles of wool, written instructions and colour placement chart.

Hooked by Mary Doig.

This is the original version of Geckos hooked by Mary Doig. Doesn't it look like an explosion in a Crayola factory? What child or kid at heart wouldn't love this vibrant rug! Wowza! A few years back, this pattern was hot off the press and Mary said she would hook it for the shop as a display piece to sell the pattern. She welcomed the challenge to work outside her comfort zone with colours that didn't normally appeal to her autumn palette appetite. Of course she did a fabulous job that exceeded my expectations!

For me this rug just glows and all those who cross my threshold tend to agree. The rug has served the shop well as I have made countless kits over the years. The rug is now for sale and once gone so will the request for kits but I won't be sad, we've had a good run....every rug has its season and then on to something else. So this pattern has brought a lot of joy to those who fall in love with its whimsy. Although lizards are perceived as icky little creatures, these critters have a charming personality so no one would be bothered seeing them skitter across a hotel ceiling on their tropical holiday. To view these patterns on the site click the link and scroll down the page: http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/signature-designs.html

Hooked by Joan Sponagle.

This story is by Joan Sponagle......Well after doing my first piece, your round hummingbird design, I knew I would be doing your gecko rug. I've always loved lizards, have even considered getting a tattoo of one on my ankle ( haven't yet done that). When I saw the finished rug in your store as I was picking out my first pattern, I knew I couldn't do it first because it was so big. I was worried that hooking would be too hard but made a pledge to myself that if I couldn't hook that I would save up and buy your rug.

As you know I love hooking so my husband bought me a cutter, my son and his girlfriend bought me some wool and I got your pattern and the rest, as they say, is history. The rug, done in some of your brighter colors, is hanging in my front entry way and I love it more every time I come in the house. By the way, I really don't like any live lizards no matter how cute but I love that rug design ( and my Catch of the Day rug ). Keep up the good work!

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How to bind a round rug

6/17/2013

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“Each day when I awake I know I have one more day to make a difference in someone's life"...... James Mann (Author)

To sew the rug binding on the back of a round chair pad or mat first measure the amount needed in a colour that matches your creation....well if you're the matchy, matchy type otherwise black is fine!

Work from the outside edge first and place the binding up against the edge of the yarn whipping to hide most of the backing. Stitch it on with a needle by catching a bit of the chair pad beneath the binding with what is referred to as a running stitch.

Once the outer edge is all stitched on, tack the inside down to the chair pad using a hemming stitch. The rug binding will be rippled like ribbon candy because of the round shape, leaving excess bulk on the inside as it is smaller than the outer diameter. So every two inches or so you will need to overlap the binding by making a pleat for it to stay flush with the rug. You can stream press the pleats flat or sitting on the chair pad does the trick.

I'm puzzled why some people shy away from round rugs or chair pads because they are very simple to whip and bind in that they don't have corners to slow you down. This fact actually makes them easier to finish than ones with corners. I do know when I first started rug hooking round rugs were frowned upon and from experience designing, oval and round patterns sell the least. People tell me in the shop that they've been told to stay away from round rugs so there's a boycott afoot. Poor little round rugs, sadly passed over for their square cousins.

I've hooked round pieces and quite frankly feel they are much easier so I don't understand why finishing is viewed as such a problem. As long as you use cording to whip the piece it will lie flat and have a spectacular edge. If you don't use cording there will be rippling as you struggle to manipulate the burlap edge into a round shape. That cording gives you a hard core to whip against making it a perfect edge.

I have a theory as to why round rugs get a bad rap. If a negative opinion is what a person hears, they shy away from tasks perceived as difficult, never giving them a chance. A beginner would never know they were doing something perceived as hard and would probably do amazing things, but once we're told something is difficult, we shut down and never try. So give round rugs a chance. They fit so beautifully in any space, not having to be oriented to look straight! If you have trouble come by and see me and I'll help you out. I'm a rebel, round rug rooter!

To be fair, as far as hooking round rugs go, they can pose a problem if you pack your loops too tightly or hook in continuous round rows. Starting in the center of a round rug and working your way out pushes the fibers of the backing outwardly so this reduces the chance of buckling. Hooking from the outside in works in reverse, pushing the fibers toward the center and will undoubtedly cause buckling. People who pack each row can run the risk of creating a nipple effect as the center of the rug takes on a cone shaped, bump in the middle. This needs immediate attention. Slack off hooking too tightly by skipping rows, maybe hook two and then skip one or depending on the width of strip be the judge....but just skip! Then stream press the area to force it flat before continuing to hook the border.

Geckos chasing each tails. Hooked by yours truly.

P.S. I just need a moment to rant. Thank-you to the person who allowed their dog to lift its leg and pee all over the sheep outside my shop door. I'm sure the person responsible doesn't read my blog or anything for that matter, not because of disinterest just lack of ability, so this isn't directed to them, although I would love a chance to chat! I just want to clear the knot in my gut....tap off the aggravation of having to wash the sheep, yet again!

Who in their right mind would allow such a thing? Urine in the heat dries like sticky wax and you might ask how do I know this? Because several people have allowed it to happen in the past. Do we live in such a world of care nothing that we'd allow a dog to pee or defecate on someone's personal property, no not the grass, but someone's possessions? The #2 problem happened more times then I like to recall and then gets walked through my shop as people step in it unknowingly...so much for a bylaw that dictates picking up after their pet. I don't blame the dog, the poor guys are dragged around and left to do their master's bidding......but come on pet owners, there's grass to the right and grass to the left...pick a better spot! A woman once allowed her dog to lift its leg right on my shop step, it careened across the top and almost hit my door, soaking all the wood in its path. A lovely golden stream, I watched it happen and the shock of it paralyzed me ineffective. By the time I came to grips with what happened they were down the street.

So it pisses me off, pardon the pun....really....enough already with the golden showers on my sheep. It's not like they're dressed in slutty leather and look like they want it. They have Nova Scotia Tartan scarves for goodness sake, have a little respect for our province! Ah....feel better now.....

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Saturday Morning.....sunny at last!

6/15/2013

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I awoke this morning to the radio alarm and the voice of Stan Carew, the host of Weekend Mornings. The broadcast runs from 6 - 9:00 Saturday morning and 6 - 8:30 on Sunday. IT is so nice to awaken to a familiar voice, almost a friend since 1997.   Stan plays a variety of music so you never know if you'll be listening to Patsy Cline or Def Leppard but no matter you'll be entertained by stories and commentaries.   He has a voice that could sooth a baby to sleep so that's what I did, fell back to sleep and didn't wake again until 9:00, jumped out of bed with a fright to begin the day in panic mode!

This morning his guest was the founder of the North American Rug Hooking Museum Hugh Conrad, promoting the grand opening of the Museum and all the hard work that brought them to this day. The opening is by invitation only but they will be open 7 days a week up until Thanksgiving so there is plenty of time to drop by to find out how rich our North American rug hooking history has been.

Over the last few days I've had a number of people through the door on their way to the museum for the fanfare. Americans and Ontario hookers are flooding the area this weekend so I hope to see a few old friends and maybe make a few new. Yesterday Mary Sheppard Burton's granddaughter and a friend were in, they both bought one of the Scott Hooks, a colourful reminder of their trip to Mahone Bay. Mary Sheppard Burton was responsible for the creation of Noah's Ark that is on display at the museum, a definite must see, A number of her pieces are there, unfortunately she will be posthumously admired but her work lives on to be treasured. I never met her but have her fabulous coffee table book showcasing her amazing talent as a rug hooker and artist.

"Noah's Ark" is a magnificent multi-media production combining both ceramics, wood burning, and rug hooking. It was created by Mary Sheppard Burton (noted USA Rug Hooking artist) and Leonard E. Feenan (distinguished artist) with the involvement of more than 20 rug hookers from both the United States and Canada. It has had several debuts including: the 2009 TIGER Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, Hooking by the River in Charlestown, WV, a local museum in Charlestown, WV, 2010 Sauder Village Show in Archbold, OH, and at Halton Hills Cultural Centre Gallery in Georgetown, Ontario.

It has been transported to Queensland, Nova Scotia where it will be permanently displayed at the newly created Hooked Rug Museum of North America (founded by Suzanne Conrod). The Ark's creators have been strong supporters of the Hooked Rug Museum. The pairs combined skills and devotion to rug hooking and its evolvement to a fine art level are epitomized in the contribution of the Noah's Ark masterpiece HRMNA's permanent collection. The museum will showcase some two to three centuries of the crafts evolvement in fine art from a utilitarian purpose introduced by early European settlement.

Jenny Zamora (right), Mary Sheppard Burton's granddaughter came back to the shop today so I snapped a picture. Her good friend and fellow rug hooker, Barbara Barton, needed another hook!

Two more visitors from the Museum opening. Gail Jones, (right) and Robin Dunkelberger (left) drove all the way here with hubbys from Pennsylvanie. These gals hook with a group called "The Woolwrights". They said to say they were grateful I stayed open for them and made up patterns while they were out for dinner. http://www.woolwrights.com/

Well the sun is out. Don't blink, it could be gone in a second. My garden was all smiles this morning and I felt torn coming to work when the rain has played havoc on all the new bloomers so they need help. My Iris's are kissing the ground, heavy laden with rainwater in their petals. Two new yellow tree peony, planted last year are showing off a gorgeous lemon yellow with deep crimson centers that also bow down to the rain god. The pink poppies bloomed over night knowing the sun would be out today, my reds are bursting to follow; they are always a bit behind and when they bloom it will be "move over" as the flower heads are almost a foot wide. My garden is beginning to be ablaze with colour. Time for sitting out to enjoy the view!

With all this rain preventing getting outside with trowel and spade, the weeds won the race for dominance. I have dandelions that are almost four feet high with seed globes that will ensure coating the entire area for a hardy crop next year. Too many to make salad with, the only way I know how to get even because any kind of weed killer is out of the question. Most of my revenge is physical, yanking them out by the roots. I don't mind the ones on the lawn, you have to get along with nature, but if they grow in amongst my darling flowering plants I grow incensed as they grow bigger than life. I'll spend a few hours this evening pulling them out of the ground, the roots probably a foot long and resistant. A good workout for sure. At least weeds of that size make easy work,each one pulled will clear an area of about one square foot!

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Winner of Sharla pattern!

6/14/2013

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My goodness, this pattern got a lot of votes! We have a winner for Friday's "Sharla" pattern! Debra who picked #5! Please email me your full name and mailing address and I'll send out your prize. Congrats!

Thanks for everyone playing along. Hope it was as much fun for you as it was for me! Maybe we'll do it again sometime!

Just a reminder the shop will be open this Sunday from 11-5. Happy Father's Day to all you guys, and to the moms who are both moms and dads!

Heather MacDonald guessed #1 to win the Gnome Santa.

Still waiting for Monica to claim her prize for guessing #16 for All Gulls No Buoys.

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A green day at the shop and Win another pattern!

6/14/2013

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Shane was busy in the dye pan yesterday pumping out some of our popular spot dyed wools. A full range of greens from yellow to blue and all in between. That's a lot of scrunching! From left to right the colours are as follows: Evergreen, Grass Green, Emerald, Meadow, Chartreuse, Juniper (new formula), Antique Green, Spring Green, Triton Sea and Mermaid Tail. These are but a few of our spots that can be found on our website under the wool category. http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/dyed-spots.html

I was remiss in not taking a couple of photos of Lauri Troutman and her friend Cathy when they visited my shop yesterday. I should go around with the camera strapped to my neck for photo opportunities. It's a mindset I need to embrace as everyday occurrences make for great little stories. Lauri and Cathy are in Nova Scotia for the opening of the North America Rug Hooking Museum this coming weekend and have made a trek across the province to visit as many rug hooking venues as possible. It was really nice chatting and I hope to see them again!

Two sisters, Gail Mueller and Cheri Hempseed dropped by the shop while visiting the area from Orillia, Ontario. It's delightful to chat with rug hooker from other provinces.

Today's blog is short. I've been working nights to get orders done up and the shop is so busy again this morning there's no time to write! So here's the pattern up for grabs today. Select a number from 1-50 and if you hit the number in my head it's yours! Leave your choice in the comments section of this blog. Good luck! Someone saw this "hot of the press" pattern this morning and bought it already so it's a hot one! A sweet and simple design. Sharla (named after a favorite childhood cousin from Springhill, NS) The pattern 28" x 43" - On Linen

To view this pattern on my New Designs page click the link: http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/new-designs.html

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How to hook Gnome Santa!

6/13/2013

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By Guest Blogger Charlene Scott

I have not had a Christmas stocking since I left my fathers home, many years ago. As children, we all used one of my dads big socks.    I have not thought much about them till I took up rug hooking and saw the ones made by my fellow hookers.   Christine has a wonderful line of stockings, and Mary Doig is just amazing with the ones she has hooked for her family.

So, no one was more surprised than me when I was seized with the intense need to draw one, right around Christmas. I had been wrapping presents for hubby and a small figure on one of the seasonal papers caught my eye.   I stopped wrapping, picked up a pencil and immediately drew the initial sketch to cement it in my mind and then went back to the presents.

Later I drew the pattern in a 8"x11" sketch and coloured it.   With that done I passed it by my hooking friends and they all agreed it would make a great stocking.   The pattern was drawn up, put on burlap and then set aside as I had a rather large paisley rug to finish.

I waited till I went took the dye course at the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia May school and on the last teaching day we were encouraged to dye something for a personal project.   I had a picture in my mind of an orange red with some yellow highlights for the suit. I am very pleased with the results.   It was a casserole dye using pure red and pure yellow.   It came out perfectly.

The flesh was another puzzle but our instructor Sarah Ladd had the perfect solution.   Pro chem #504, French Vanilla.   1/16th tsp using the crush method with 1/8 yard.   My wool was in 3" strips that had been torn for another project.   I took one strip out just before I put in the citric acid and placed it in a bottle with a few drops of red, the water was barely pink, just enough to change the colour for the cheeks.

For those who aren't familiar with the crush method, Sarah gave us all a large tin can of restaurant size.   You put in the least amount of water needed. Put in the dye and the citric acid/vinegar. Put the material in loosely crushed. The colour gets sucked in at different strengths on the crumple. You can give it a little poke but not much. Then let it go till the colour is set.

The white was Dorr natural wool and the deep blue was a leftover from Pendleton woman's suit that had been over dyed for a previous rug. The yellow came from my paisley project.   The hat band was natural curly mohair.

The wonderful grey line was an interesting small ball of wool I found in a second hand store in Florida in February.   I saw it and instantly knew it was going in my Santa piece but just not sure where.   It is a two piece yarn. A silver grey thread runs continuously throughout with some small bits of straight mohair attached.

I had fun hooking the pattern.   It was a welcome change after my last two projects, one big rug and then a small piece I completed for the Art Hits the Wall kaleidoscope theme.

My next small piece that I like to call the world's smallest rug is a cute little design I won at the silent auction at the RHGNS school.   A story for another day.

Thursday's Name The Number Contest

I've been working like a demon trying to get a new pattern ready for today's contest but the shop is so busy it looks like it might not happen until late this afternoon! So I am going to offer this delightful Gnome Santa pattern as the prize today. It is new to the shop as Charlene just brought in the pattern yesterday and it will come with a picture of the finished stocking so how great is that! So add your pick from 1 - 50 to the comment section of this blog and try to hit the number in my head. Lots of time to hook it for Christmas!

I'll offer the pattern I'm working on now for tomorrow's contest!

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Encompassing Designs will be open this Sunday June 16th

6/12/2013

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With the Rug Hooking Museum of North America's official opening this Saturday I'll open my shop on Sunday for any hooking drifters who'd like to mosey on by.

Come in for a coffee and a chat!

Open 11:00 - 5:00
Sunday June 16th

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Winner for "Sock It To Ya!"

6/12/2013

3 Comments

We have a winner! Danielle who guessed #50! Please email me your full name and mailing address and I'll send out your prize. Congrats!

Stay tuned tomorrow to guess and win another hot off the press design!

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Sock It To Ya!

6/12/2013

43 Comments

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” ― Albert Einstein

When I think of socks I think of laundry and that leads me down the trail of thought to my dear, departed mother. I never got the chance to say I’m sorry for all those times I caused her hair to turn grey and fall out. I know it must be hard to believe, but I was a trying child. Not in the sense that I was bad or precocious, I suffered from delusions of grandeur, stuck between the real world and a reality I created in my head. I lived in la la land for the first decade of my life; physically present in body but no one was home. There are few surviving real memories from that time and I think it's because I was so busy pretending real life played second fiddle. My mind was always in a far off land with make believe casts of characters that were far more intriguing than the real world I was forced to dwell in. Truly…I should have been born in a storybook, a fairy-tale world where anything was possible. I literally daydreamed most of my childhood away, traveling to far off lands and seeing the wondrous sights of the world, all without ever leaving my room.

Under the constant scrutiny of my mother, I was able to accomplish the things that were necessary to get ahead, like homework, but other than that I was busy solving crimes as an amateur sleuth, slaying dragons to rescue folks from a fiery breath, hanging out in the wooded area behind our house with my fairy companions; no not the fake ones who supposedly bring money for teeth, but the real, ordinary, everyday kind, that dwell in the forests, hiding in tree trunks that most will never see because they foolishly fail to believe.

Yup, my head was in the clouds and maybe the high altitude played a part in the fact that it was difficult to focus on any task at hand especially weekly chores or bedroom cleanliness. Saturday was the day to clean the house, not that it needed cleaning, our mother was a bit of the white tornado sort, eat off any corner of any room, sort of deal. She thought it would build character to be entrusted with a little light cleaning duty and although her motives were admirable it had to eat away at her as she watched my room transform into a nightmare, housing goodness knows what as I dragged in all kind of bugs and filth, things necessary to perpetrate my rich fairy-tale life. Yes, at times there were bugs and worms, little sentinels for my castles, pollywogs from the pond in the back yard swimming around in bowls, substitute sharks for the castle moat. A few toads and frogs for the kiss the prince thing; so I was literally kissing toads long before I actually dated. Crickets refused to be seen and not heard.   Usually mom would just give up and give in, push the mounds aside and run the vacuum around but it seemed easiest to just close the door and forget that part of the house if only to keep the crawly things in.

So every Saturday my chore was to clean the upstairs bathroom. While school was in session I had to get up and keep a normal schedule but once summer holidays hit I didn’t do much and stayed in bed until late afternoon. My curtains were dark and filtered out most of the light so it was easy to just lay there and play pretend. My surreal world was always more exciting so why crawl out of a warm cocoon?

I think my mom finally gave up on me because I overhead her tell dad in a frustrated tone “At least I know where she is…” so she just let me sleep or do whatever it was that I did and when I got hungry enough I’d readily emerge from the room on my own terms so it didn’t wreak havoc on her nerves trying to scream me out of bed.   But on Saturday she'd brave my room and stand over me until I awoke to remind me of the dreaded chores and tempt me with the notice that it was once again allowance time. I did like money, it meant candy, so there was motivation, just not enough to zip through the work and be on my merry way.

No lie, I would go into the bathroom shortly after breakfast and I’d be there until five o’clock with only a break for lunch. I would dilly dally the hours away on a sojourn to another place and time. She always gave me a deadline to work within but time meant nothing to a kid bursting with make believe. I would sit there and pretend away the afternoon, playing with the Avon perfume bottles, looking out the window wondering about the people in the neighbourhood, watch the rain, name the shapes in the clouds drifting by, follow a spider’s expedition across the bathtub, mist the mirror with breath and draw things, do crazy stuff with my hair, pull it back into a bun, pretending to be a sophisticated movie star "dawling", sing with a toothpaste tube microphone, flush the toilet and watch the water spiral down the drain, taking with it the spider. Whatever it took to kill five or six hours I did it in spades.

Occasional I had to leave if someone needed to use the john but I’d be back at my post sitting and daydreaming, ignoring the threatening calls of my mother in an attempt to force some kind of motivation to get the job done.   I didn’t want to be in the bathroom, my bedroom would have been more desirable, but I just never learned to do the work first, get it over with and then enjoy myself. I was too full of fancy and doddled until the very last minutes of the clock ticked toward 5:00 and then I would swing into action and scrub that room lickety split just in time for my mother to abstain from a coronary at the frustration of me. I’ll bet she wondered more than a few times if there was a mix-up at the hospital, or if I had something borderline wrong with me.

Anyway, that was the young, lackadaisical me. My desire to clean or lack of also carried into the weekly maintenance of the bedroom. In my secret haven there were hundreds of distractions to procrastinate or daydream on. My poor mother hollering for me to pick up clothes that she’d washed and ironed that I’d worn for less than five minutes and then discarded as if lifting an arm for a hanger was a threat to my person. I threw everything on the floor, sometimes the clothes were ankle deep. A rake would have come in handy but I never thought of it back then. That was something my current hubby said when he saw me in action after we moved in together.  Old habits die hard and I’ve never been able to pick up after myself. Maybe I was meant for a real castle where servants do that sort of thing. Maybe I was born without the gene to pick up after myself, that bend over and grab a handful of laundry kind of action…I’ll betcha there really is such a thing!

So to get to my point of this story.....when the clothes came off they were thrown on the pile and somehow socks would always go missing. My mother was always frustrated trying to make up a pair until she gave up and bought all the same colour so I would be assured a matched set right down to the last surviving two.

Socks are a very interesting phenomena in that they travel, maybe in the dark of night they succumb to sibling rivalry by their twin and run away from home. Maybe sock gnomes invade while we sleep or night critters crawl out of the cracks and drag the tasty treats away. Who knows where the socks go but we can’t always blame the innocent dryer!

So my bedroom is always a mess. Right at this moment I would be ashamed to show you the room. Socks and other things are everywhere. It isn’t a room I spent time in. With a bathroom downstairs I hardly go upstairs until nighttime to sleep, so out of sight out of mind. I am better though, get into a fit every now and then and gather it all up and throw it in the laundry room; a closed door on that puppy solves all the problems. I love the feel of a tidy bedroom and for one or two nights I’m a queen......but it never lasts. So I don’t fight it any more. I am what I am whatever that may be. I heard on TV that messy chaos is genius…and I’m inclined to agree.

So when I was drawing out this sweet little rug I was thinking about my mom and how I must have dangled on her last nerve. I wish she could be here so I could hug her and thank her for being kind to what had to be a thorn in her backside.

Sock It To Ya! 22" x 36"

So today's design is a collage of socks. Kids usually leave them all over the floor anyway so why not hook a rug to fit as a backdrop to their mess. This pattern is part of the series I am working on for the Fashionista theme of previously designed shoes and purses. Next will be hats.

Lots of funky socks to add all those bright and wonderful colours. Stripes and zig zags with animal prints and dots, this happy little pattern will be a conversation piece or make for a lovely gift for someone special. I called it "Sock It To Ya". Hope you enjoy! Remember guess a number from 1-50 and leave on the comments here on the blog and this new "hot of the press design" can be yours!

No one guessed my number yesterday' which was #1....Ern was the closest with #2. So we have a winner for Bottoms Up! Please email me your mailing address. Congrats!

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Wool, flannel and rugs.....

6/11/2013

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Yesterday was another banner day at Encompassing Designs. No exposed flesh but something better! Wool! Shane dyed up a storm with new abrashes and spots to drool over. Two show and tells came through the door as people brought in eye candy.......I was all a quiver! I'll post the second rug tomorrow.

My son Shane with his new chapeau. I love that he inherited his father's head shape to sit a hat on. I love to see my boy looking snappy. He spent the day in front of a steaming stove abrashing the standards for the racks and inventing new colours to tantalize. Great job!

He's been coming up with new formulas for spots as well. Two brighter colours to add to the collection plus two more antique ones. I really love the tone on tone spots as they give you a mottled look even though it's one colour.

From left to right, The Abyss, Bananarama, Night Blooms and Clamato

What a gorgeous abrashed piece of wool. I can see individual leaves and tree foliage, flowers in the garden and all manner of things needing a bit of fall colour.

Below...Pam delivered an armload of gripper frame covers to the shop. Pam Haughn is more than just a rug hooker......she has many talents in the craft and fiber arts department. Once I learned she could sew I jumped on her to make my gripper frame covers, lovely flannel protectors to prevent gripper rash and cuts while hooking. The deadly little grippers prick through the backing and scrape up your arms and pull on your clothes so these covers ensure no blood on you or the rug! I buy the flannel at the local fabric store and Pam cuts them out and sews them up. I like to offer as much choice in colour and design as possible so there's something for everyone! This batch yields a sexy leopard print for all those hooking divas who have a wild purrrrrsonality!

Miss Pam with her armload of goodies. A shop needs all kinds of talent to be successful so it is great to have her as a resource person that supplies a quality product.

Finished all but the whipping remains!

Much to my delight, Beverly brought in a very jazzy version of Courtyard. I've always loved this design so much so that I hooked it for one of my spare bedrooms. My colour palette was chosen by the elements in a velvet quilt and gives me a fabulous custom look in the room.

Sue hooked her version to match her decor but she also changed up the colour placement to make a pattern within the pattern......this design actually has endless possibilities...let me count the ways! Her outside border is made up of the various colours used in the center of the rug giving it a striped appeal. She also used plaids for a textured interest.

Beverly's design is much simpler in that she only used two colours for the interior design with rust as the accent. A totally different look from the other two and I must say, it might be my favorite of the three. The colour choices blend beautifully and were all done in "as is" plaids raided from sister Sue Cunningham's stash. Get a padlock Sue!

This was Beverly's first experience with wavy and squiggly lines and she mastered it beautifully. My comment was that it looked machine made, perfectly flat like a pancake! Talent runs deep in this family and I look forward to following her progress with future rugs. She did say this kind of repeat pattern can be a bit monotonous but she plugged away, off and on, and completed the project in two months. This was also her first time using linen and decided it is much softer on the hands than burlap. Being that this pattern has little in the way of intricate design she was able to work in a #6 cut for faster progress.

Courtyard is 35" x 50 1/2" and can be found on my signature design page.

Sister Sue's version

My version

Beverly's vision

Tuesday's Contest - Guess the number and win the pattern.....good luck all!

Bottoms Up! 20" x 11"

So here it is. Today's pattern free for the winner who can guess the number in my head from 1-50. Sue Cunningham brought in two great new designs to add to her collection of Women of Abundance so what better way to launch them! To play leave a comment on this blog page and I will announce the winner at the end of the day. The name says it all "Bottoms Up!" It's smaller but packs a big punch! This delightful gal is riding the crest of a wave to shores unknown.

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We have a winner for All Gulls, No Buoys

6/10/2013

3 Comments

We have a winner! Monica guessed #16! Please email me your full name and mailing address and I'll post your prize on Tuesday! Congrats!

Stay tuned tomorrow to guess and win another hot off the press design!

3 Comments

Every day is like a box of chocolates.......

6/10/2013

52 Comments

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind
don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind. "– Dr. Seuss

My shop is magical in that it’s always full of surprises. Like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re in for when you walk through the door. Sometimes I wonder while driving to the shop what will happen next and so far I’m never disappointed. Someone or something will unravel a story whether good, bad or ugly, but assuredly as I’m sitting here, something will liven up the day. The best days will be someone bringing in a finished rug for show and tell, the eye candy of this business that's sweeter than maple syrup. I don’t know if every life is this exciting but there’s a silver lining following me around, sometimes disguised as a black cloud, but every day yields a story to exercise my chops on. Either someone comes in and is so delightful you feel like a warm and fuzzy Care Bear or there will be an "incident", someone being rude for no reason other than they think the world uses them as its axis, but I'll tell you now, there's only room for one on that pole and I've been swinging off it for some time! But seriously, whatever happens is novel, something to be excited over or bitch about; fodder for blogs and my stand-up routine at Wednesday evening hook-ins.

The week before last we had a surprise visit from Deanne Fitzpatrick who was combing around this part of the province visiting with old friends and meeting new. She's a long term friend of Doris Eaton so they had a lovely catch-up and then visited the surrounding studios in the county. This was her first trip to our new shop and I was happy to show it off. She’s hooking royalty around these parts….more people know her name than the pope. She bought some wool and then was gone but we squeezed in a quick photo op.

Deanne, me and Jake posing. Don't really know what happened in this picture because I look like I'm wearing maternity wear. To dispel an potential rumours, No...I am not pregnant! Note to self: Throw shirt in trash!

With the rain pouring down as if Noah launched a boat, I figured Saturday would be a laid back kind of day but of course I was wrong. Sue came by to hook on her latest project, a rug for a friend’s shop, Linda Ruth of Come By Chance antiques, the best antique shop on the south shore. Linda Ruth has opened a section of her large barn to display and sell her hooked rugs and Sue has a number of pieces for sale as well. This area is so rich with rug hooking history and hookers per capita that it’s well worth a visit to Nova Scotia. As well, the Rug Hooking Museum of North America will soon have its official opening and that should bring people in droves, not only rug hookers but rug enthusiasts, people who love and appreciate our craft. The shops, rug hookers of note and those of us who just do it for fun combined with the museum should put Nova Scotia on the map for Rug Hooking.

So, Saturday Sue was in doing some hooking and keeping me company on a miserable damp day and I was drawing off a few new designs when a group of women popped in that had been at the museum and were told my shop was a must see. As the doors swelled open and the women swarmed the shop the energy they brought was palpable. Fun gals from all over Canada, out for a good time and in search of a laugh. They were a group of friends who decided to meet up for a bit of holiday fun and were hitting the shops. None were hookers, although one had tried it. One was self proclaimed craft challenged, but one from Halifax thought it would be interesting to take a class, as long as it was “fun” being the prerequisite. Three stayed behind while the rest left to check out the consignment shop next door.

How talk got around to boobies is lost on me but complaints about the weight and size of the larger chest was mentioned and before we knew what was happening one of the women had lifted her shirt to show us her reduction from a G to darn near perfect C. I haven’t seen anything that perky for a very long time and maybe never did as I don’t recall a time not being able to stash paper money under mine for safe keeping...who needs a fanny pack! They’ve been laying on my chest since I was a teen, an unexpected lifelong reminder for getting married and having a baby way too young.

The female breast is a beautiful thing. I used to think that back in the day of life drawing classes. So round, so smooth so fully formed. And I‘ve seen a set or two on television that can make a girl green with envy.   Breasts so firm they wouldn’t move if their owner jumped up and down on a trampoline, whereas I might sustain an eye injury!

At this point in my life the breast barely gets a second thought...I’m more interested in hooking perfection than anything to do with my anatomy but the shock of seeing breasts in the shop, especially such fine specimens, caused my jaw to bruise my foot as it dropped and all I could say through the drool was a very sincere “OMG they’re fabulous!”

Her breasts still showed the fading scars of surgery but you could see they were well on the mend and on their way to being a chest that wouldn’t need a bra. It would be a crime to conceal them behind lace and material after the surgeon had sculpted perfection. These breasts needed to be shown, used as examples or modeled for artists, papers need to be written about them…made famous as the poster breasts for augmentation.

In the woman’s opinion, the result was well worth the 10 weeks of recovery and there was no pain except for taking one Advil the first day after surgery. She said she had it done for medical reasons. A smaller woman, her G sized breasts caused surmountable back and shoulder pain, and truthfully I had no frame of reference of anything that size but it sounded way bigger than any number I’m familiar with, maybe Dolly could relate, I don’t know.

So now she is a C and loving it. She’s a nurse so did all the research and found the best surgeon and was completely happy with the results and recommended it highly. The thing that made me squirm was the nipple replacement. They cut off her actual nipples and sewed them back on where they should be…somewhere between the elbow and the shoulder. I didn’t know that…I always thought the bellybutton was a good level…..

She left the surgeon’s information but I’m too much of a coward. If it is needed for medical reasons the operations is free and if it’s cosmetic the price tag is $5000.00. The money was inconsequential, if I wanted it done badly enough I wouldn’t blink. I probably have enough discomfort to warrant it done for medical reasons but if not, that’s only the price of three or four poodles and I don’t drink or smoke so I must have a credit somewhere for good living!

I do have problems with bras. They cause cramps in my chest as the back strap wheedles its way between my ribs and makes the muscles sore. Lately I’ve been more sensitive to it with my heart skipping all over the place so I am wearier about my posture and any discomfort in that area.   Sometimes it hurts while I hook because I am leaning forward just a bit too much and there was that humiliating story about the hospital run I wrote about not so long ago. And let's face it, some of the bras we bustier women are forced to wear make you feel like you’re armoured and heading into battle like Zena the Warrior Princess!

If…and there’s that big if…I thought I would make it through the operation without any complications or infections etc., I might consider it more seriously.  It would be nice to not suffer cramps from bra bands or wear clothes without having that peek-a-boo gap between the buttons.  Finding tops that fit would be nice and I could do without always shifting clothes for comfort. My chest could be more a part of me instead of entering a room before the rest of my frame.   Despite my complaints I'm happy with my body, this is the lot I've been handed and I'm fine with that. My chest is really a non issue if not for the occasional discomfort from muscle cramping. I believe everyone has to do what's best for them and for me, I'll never go for it, I’m a big coward. My worry wart dad ingrained a cautionary personality. I hear the horror stories, and yes, of course, that’s all one ever hears, but where there’s smoke there’s fire so it’s something that needs to weigh in on the decision making. Even a one in a million screw up is grim odds for me. I wouldn’t want something nasty to happened and be that person who died due to complications of unnecessary breast augmentation. I’d never live that down……

So not every day you get to see boobies at work. It was definitely a different, educational and thought provoking day. Sue and I were impressed by the woman’s candour and ability to bare it all. She is definitely the poster child for breast reduction with her amazing success story and I just have to add, she has one incredible rack!   So....one wonders what might happen next……………..

All Gulls, No Buoys 22" x 16 1/2"

Today will be another guessing game for a free pattern. Hot of the press I thought one of Sue Cunningham's Women of Abundance would fit the theme of today's blog. There isn't any frontal indulgence but plenty from behind. "All Gulls, No Buoys" is a fun play on words and in this delightful design both slender and large women share equal billing. If you would like a chance to win this pattern on linen, click on the comment and leave your vote for the number in my head from 1-50. I will announce the winner at the end of the day.

Coincidentally, there must be something in the water as the two previous winners were both from my neck of the woods. So lets see if we can get a winner from across Canada or from one of our hooking sisters south of us. Good luck all!

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