Encompassing Designs
  • Home
  • Shop
    • Kits
    • Patterns >
      • Christine Little >
        • Signature Designs
        • New Designs
        • Seasonal Designs
      • Deborah Sweet
      • Susan Leslie
      • Patricia Perry
      • William Morris
    • Supplies >
      • Backings
      • Frames
      • Hooks
      • Books
      • Extra
    • Wool >
      • Abrashed
      • Custom Dyeing
      • Dyed Bundles
      • Dyed Curly Mohair
      • Dyed Spots
      • Dyed Values
      • Dyed Yarn
      • Jacquard Dice Dyes
      • Natural & Colours
      • Plaids & Textures
      • Dye Books & Swatches
  • Ordering
  • Blog
  • Workshops
  • Our Story
  • Contact Us

The apple of my hubby's eye....apple pie.

9/25/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
What do I do when I thaw a pastry dough for butter tarts and realize I don’t have enough currents or pecans?  

Considering the house is now filled with Gravensteins I opted to make a pie.  Not a shabby substitute by any means and hubby started drooling so it’s all win, win.  So one full sized pie for us and a mini for Shane, who loves his momma’s apple pie!

It’s Gravenstein time again and I wasn’t sure I should put you all through another ode to of my passion for this apple.  I’m on the fence about it though so perhaps one is coming.  I wait for these apples every fall, I love their flavour so much I need to sing it from the rooftops, perhaps I’ll recycle the last two blogs to the almighty Gravenstein, but shrink it all down a bit into a doable read.  As hubby says, you need to be novel, not write one. 

Brrr, it was cold this morning and it was difficult getting my feet warm in bed last night so much so I had to get up and find wool socks.  It’s time for flannel sheets! 

The frost of last night turned the top of my rather large basil plant to a sickening cadaver colour.  I planned to dry it but now I’ll have to settle for only the lower leaves.  The broccoli and kale are hardier, actually snow and the cold temperatures of winter don’t do much to effect the greenness of kale.  I’m not sure if freezes well in bags but it’s worth a try.  Maybe blanch it first?  Fresh kale from the garden is wonderful; we use it as lettuce in our sandwiches as well as steamed in a pot. 

We haven’t lit the Woodstove yet although it’s tempting.  We put it off until icicles hang off our noses because once you open that Pandora ’s Box there’s no turning back.  (That reminds me, the guy hasn’t delivered our firewood yet.) At the moment a shawl can take the edge off and a blanket over the knees but the time is coming and more rapidly than sound through the air.  There doesn’t seem to be much of a transition from summer heat to chilly winter anymore.  Fall is a bit of a misfit without purpose.   The leaves are falling on our driveway as fast as a heavy snow, they crunch under my feet when I walk to the car.  Aren’t they supposed to turn fantastic colours first then drop to the ground? 

We can still get some nice weather, at least I hope.  Except for the Nonsuch Rendezvous, we didn’t do much sailing in this summer so we hope to get in a few days leading up to October.  Hubby is still out of work so nothing should stand in our way if there’s a small window of double digit warmth. 

I’m waiting for the pies to come out of the oven and then go out to the garage to wrestle with the spider webs to hunt for seasonal decorations for the Scarecrow Festival this weekend.  It’s our biggest festival and there will be standing room only in the town.  I checked the weather and it should be cooperating for a fun filled weekend.  (Take note, the shop will be open Sunday as well.) 

The scarecrows are out all over town and people are here early with their cameras.  I see a lot of new ones this year which is exciting.  Once again it’s snuck up on me so I’ll have to stick out my sheep photo board and called it my contribution.   We’ve been busy repairing and painting the second floor apartment of the building we have to get it rented for October.  What disaster the last tenant perpetrated on our property.  The most damage we’ve ever sustained.  A dog chewed the antique baseboard moldings and door frames and there are monstrous holes in the walls and of course it was left dirty.  We are sick and tired of cleaning up after people that don’t have respect for the property.  I wish someone would take it off our hands.   My dream was to live there someday when we downsize and sell our house, but I can let it go now and refocus my dreams of retirement elsewhere.  There might not be anything left of the place after today’s generation full of selfish indifference are finished with it.   We’ve been in our house over twenty years and the woodwork is almost as pristine as the day it was painted.  Every time a tenant moves out, even if it’s only months or a year later, it looks like they were doing the tango with a chainsaw.   I’ll be sixty this year and I sure am getting tired of cleaning up after people.   Please someone buy it and turn it back into a single family home, run an Airbnb, make condos, open a restaurant or keep it as rental income. 
​
Anyway, the pies are out of the oven and smell divine.  Sure wish you could do a scratch and sniff on the screen.  

0 Comments

Celebration's Maritime Christmas mix-up

9/20/2018

2 Comments

 
I received the shop copies of 2018 Celebration magazine and I discovered an unfortunate error in the print.  Being a designer and knowing how I feel when my patterns are not accredited to me, I felt compelled to say something.  Not being recognized for artwork happens a fair amount, dozens of opportunities have been lost to promote my business. Only recently there was a pattern posted in a newsletter that not only failed to give me credit as the designer, but the rug hooker completely changed the name of the pattern and it read as if she designed it herself.  Its the part of this business that’s irksome, to put it mildly, but ironically, in this particular mix up, I received credit for a design that isn’t mine to own.    

I’m talking about Angie Myers, MARITIME CHRISTMAS.  The moment I saw this design that Janet Boates (Angie’s mom) was hooking, I wiped the drool off my chin and contacted Angie. I knew it would be a good little seller and a pattern I’d be proud to offer my customers.  Angie gave me permission and the red dot to produce it to sell.  We pay her a design fee every time we draw it off and we write along the side of each pattern that it is an Angie Myers Design. 

Someone bought the pattern, hooked it and submitted it to Celebrations Magazine and it was accepted. Quite a coup, as these rugs represent the best of the best in hooking and design.   To have one of your rugs in this publication comes with a pretty hefty bragging right.
  
Somehow through a miscommunication or misunderstanding it got listed as ‘Adapted by Angie Myers from a design by Encompassing Designs Rug Hooking Studio’. Mix-ups happen at times no matter how many t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted and I felt the need to set the record straight to give Angie the credit she deserves. My company name got mentioned, the pattern was purchased from us, but I can’t take credit beyond that.  
​   
Congratulations to Donna Culp, the rug hooker who completed Angie’s pattern so beautifully.  She added a clever rope border to the already fantastic design and her beloved Portuguese Water Dogs.  She well deserves the accolades for her interpretation, it is a striking piece. 
​
I hope this blog reaches the four corners of the rug hooking community so that Angie can also share in this prestigious glory.   
Picture
MARITIME CHRISTMAS  23" x 24" design by
Angie Myers

Picture
2 Comments

FYI - Blade sharpening and cutter maintence

9/19/2018

3 Comments

 
Picture
Please correct me if I’m wrong, I would never want to relay a falsehood, but I have been told by several customers that Crawford Purdy from Truro, NS is no longer sharpening blades or servicing cutting machines.  I called him last week to order hooks and he told me he retired and no longer makes them. 

Crawford has been taking care of all the rug hookers for decades and I wish him good health and hope he is reclining in his favourite chair and putting his feet up.  Cheers for his long and appreciated contribution to rug hooking!

It has been brought to my attention that someone has been taking over the sharpening and cutter maintenance business right here in Nova Scotia and that’s pretty important information not to share for all Canadians.

So I’m passing on the information to the rug hooking community.   Please spread the word.  A customer told me today that she was very satisfied with her blade sharpening and machine clean.  
3 Comments

Nicholsville RugRats Fall Fling 2018

9/10/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
Saturday hubby and I took the shop on the road to the Nicholsville RugRats annual Fall Fling at Kingston, NS.  This year there was almost double the participants in that they opened up the other end of the hall to accommodate more attendance. 

The hook-in itself is a draw but I wonder if they also come for the turkey dinner served for lunch?  It’s pretty impressive, made by the Lion’s members that have the whole meal down to a science, cooking, serving and cleaning up.  You’d think preparing food for 140 or so people would compromise the flavour, perhaps have watered down, flavourless gravy, but not these guys, it was plate licking delicious.  The grain fed, free range turkeys were tender and juicy, barely needing teeth to chew it.  Funny, the first thing I think about when I’m asked to be a vender is that meal, but then I’m pretty motivated by my stomach.  Hubby was with me this time, did the driving and heavy lifting and helping me with sales and he was certainly impressed by the grub as well. 

Oh, and I need to mention the dessert, get all the food chat over before I talk hooking.  Strawberry shortcake, need I say more?  But of course I will.   There’s strawberry shortcake and then there’s strawberry shortcake.  I judge all by my mother’s biscuits and these guys seemed to channel her finesse so every spoonful was a memory as well as a flavour sensation.  The strawberries were crushed, not sliced, as mom always did and they weren’t over sweetened so the fruit part was perfect as well.  I would have preferred vanilla ice-cream, as a child I didn’t know that whipped cream existed, but it would have melted and quite frankly their whipped cream was pretty delicious as well.  
 
I took photos of most things but didn’t think about the food because I was too busy stuffing my face so you have to take my word for most of it and speaking of that I must mention the rolls.  I try to stay away from bread as much as possible, the  starch converts to sugar in my mouth and flows directly into my bloodstream so I limit it as much as possible, but those rolls looked homemade so I fell to temptation.   The taste confirmed they were homemade.   I chose a white roll even though there was a whole-wheat choice and I’m not sure if the Lion’s folk made them or if they were baked off site, but OMG they were a blast of my past.  The butter spread on the warm roll like frosting on a cake.   I would have gone back for more, my mind actually made the trip, but I was pretty full and one was certainly enough of a memory to last till next time. 
 
So enough about the lunch, let’s talk hooking, after all that’s what the day is all about, what brings us all together.  Smiling faces were wall to wall, the atmosphere was thick with enthusiasm; the aura in the spacious hall glowed with the love of our chosen craft.   You could feel the energy radiating off each participant, they were here for a good time and weren’t disappointed.  
 
I was one of two venders there to sell our wares.  This year I was allowed to bring more than just patterns so we loaded up the car to full capacity, even adding a roof rack carrier to take as much as possible.  We spread out along the far wall, patterns and wool and all else in between.  Shane’s wool was like gold at the end of a rainbow.  We’d dyed up a lot of yarn, the colours of autumn and the greens were grabbed up as folks were thinking about fall projects. 

Deborah made sure we were stocked with pumpkin and sunflower patterns and they were a hit as well.  Fall is in the air even if it officially hasn’t arrived yet, the nights are cooler for sleeping and the winds carry a bit of nip in the shade areas, making one button up in the daytime.  It’s coming; we can’t fight its ascent, so we jump right in and work with the palettes of orange, golds, browns and greens.  Shane dyed a lot of our standard seasonal spots, his art imitating life in the turning of the leaves and the bountiful harvest. 

Towards the end of the day, when things quieted down for the shop, I was able to walk around the hall to see what everyone was working on and I must say my chest was sticking when I discovered a number of people were hooking Encompassing Designs patterns. And there were two finished rugs in the display, our Pussy Willows and Fancy Flounders, designed by Susan Leslie that we produce.   There is no better feeling, than seeing a pattern I’ve designed making a connection to a rug hooker and then seeing how they lovingly make it into a personal heirloom. 

The rug hookers congregated from all over, representing many hooking groups from around the province and farther afield, even one member from our Main Street Hookers crowd, yeah Christine!  So many familiar faces and yet new ones as well, this burgeoning traditional art form continues to mushroom through new techniques, innovative designs, and the abundance of variant wool fibers. 

Paul Depress did a fantastic job as always.  A beautiful rug hooker as well as an organizer, he commanded the day in his usual congenial way.  Everything ran smoothly and there were squeals of delight over the many prizes, 50/50 draw, gift bags and numerous draws kept the crowd excited.  The entire day was like consuming unlimited candy without getting an upset tummy or a toothache.

Donna Gas gave a speech and had us in stitches with stories of her follies.  If you see her, ask about her elevator story; although it was an excerpt from a very trying time in her life, she created lemonade from lemons and made it a stand-up routine.   Her surname kind of describes her winning personality, she’s a gas, and to call her fun would be an understatement.  It’s abundantly clear how much she loves this craft, dedicating her time teaching rug hooking and spreading the joy.   

There was a NS Guild table selling wares.  I bought two of the posters for the 40th Anniversary we will be celebrating next year and plan to have them dry mounted and hung in the shop.   What an exciting monument for rug hooking.  1979 – 2019 of our Guild; forty years of talented rug hookers that have come and gone, that are still here blazing new trails and those that are newly emerging, an anniversary encompassing and rejoicing the love of rug hooking. 

So now it’s down to photos.  I took quite a few, mostly shots of the work in progress and then the finished rugs on display.  It was so inspiring I wanted to run home and begin a new project.  My frame has been empty for most of the summer while our boat took precedence but now the itch is back.   


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Janet Boates took second favourite with her incredible lifelike portrait of a child.....and the sunflower was pretty cool as well.  
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Toni Gallagher won viewers choice after the votes were tabulated on the rug display for her lighthouse on the left.  On the right is the one she is working on now.  Perhaps we will see it in the show next year! 
Picture
Anne Jones presenting the poster for the Guild's 40th Anniversary coming in 2019.  I'm having mine dry mounted for the studio.  
Picture
Paul Despres, one of the many who make this Fall Fling such a well attended and fabulous event!  
1 Comment

Fall is full steam ahead....

9/6/2018

5 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Summer is still here with its sunny warmth and swimsuit temperatures, but fall is full steam ahead at the studio.  It's actually beginning to take on an orange glow.  Yarn and wool are being dyed daily, all day long, and even in the after hours the elves are working on the magic of autumn palettes.  

For those that hook with yarn and the many punch needle enthusiasts out there, we have hand dyed, richly saturated colours to do your autumnal rugs the justice they deserve.  Remember we will gladly put our patterns on in reverse for you!  

And for the rug hookers that prefer dyed wool, Shane has been creating spot dyes perfect for the changing leaves on your trees.   We all love fall.  It is one of the most colourful and scenic times of the year, the varied palettes bring our hooked landscapes to life with bursts of colour.  Yesterday, as yellow leaves were falling from the birch trees in our yard, it struck me that this marvelously beautiful season is actually all about endings, even death.  Trees preparing for the cold temperatures, dropping their plumage to prepare for the long hibernation of winter.  Annuals drying on their stems, crumbling to powder.  The foliage turning golden shades of brown, red and orange, the grass giving up its green.  It is all about one season ending; the colourful slide into the slumber of winter to reawaken for a renewal in the spring.

Orange pumpkins or white we have you covered.  And if there is a particular colour you have in mind for your Autumn projects, The Dye Guy can make it happen.  

We are busy dyeing plaids for our Fall Bundles once again.  Stay tuned!  

Picture
Some spot dyed wool from yesterday's yield.  The pans are in the oven again today. 
​We're filling the racks with fall colour!  
5 Comments

Putting our best frame foot forward...and aft.

9/1/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
The Nonsuch 33 has a trench down the port and starboard side that drain into the scuppers.  We like this trough, everything settles there, the dead flies, sand and pebbles that accumulate from shoes and things the wind carries on board.  It is so easy to wash it all down the scuppers with our fresh or salt water deck wash hose.   Our three pups use a pee pad on the bow and all the golden liquid runs down the trench into the scupper drain followed by a good rinsing, keeping the deck where we walk pee free. 

Although this gutter design was a genius idea (thank-you Mark Ellis), when we bought our boat it came fraught with cuts, scrapes and holes along them, unsightly damage to the gelcoat with potential for leaks between in the outer hull and inner liner. 

This summer I bought a gelcoat repair kit with colour matching paint and got to work.  I prefer hands on to reading instructions and Gregg is well versed using epoxy so he gave me a demo on how to mix the two liquids.  I thought, how hard can this be? Pardon the pun. 

I vacuumed the areas to repair and wiped them down with lacquer thinner to remove any grime to prep them properly.   The Popsicle stick provided for spreading was a disaster, smearing it in uneven levels and going well beyond the area I needed to fill.  There was little control and because the wood stick is curved on the end only one part of the applicator touched the surface, cutting a channel through the applied gelcoat.  After my first try and subsequent sanding, I quickly discovered the less you put on the easier it was to finish the job.  

There were a lot of holes and because the mixture went hard within 15 to 20 minutes messing around with the stick would have meant making up many batches of gelcoat, so I had to come up with a way to make the application faster and smoother.  I cut a piece of plastic from a yogurt container and used that as an applicator, it was flat to the surface and flexible which targeted filling the hole and conformed to the shape of the surrounding surface so that it didn’t leave any excess gelcoat behind.

So I filled all the holes and scuffs, sometimes needing more than one coat to build up in the deeper areas.  I was pretty lucky matching the faded smoke white original colour, a wee bit of brown and an even tinier bit of black, the amount that would sit on the tip of a toothpick with room to spare.  In the brilliant, blinding glare of the sunlight on the deck, it’s almost a perfect match.

I’m wasn’t sure why the gutters were  so cut up but Gregg thought perhaps the metal frame that is erected for winter storage was the culprit.  The rubber feet that usually protect the boat were old and chalky and the sharp metal edges punctured through grinding back and forth as the winter winds caught the cover and shifted the frame.  Like scissors cut paper, metal is going to slice plastic every time. 

Gregg replaced the rubber feet and then built bases for each frame pole out of wood.  They are 4” x 4” in size with drilled out depressions about half way into the thickness of the 1 ½” block of wood.  A hole saw cut the circle and then he chiseled out the inside of the cut.   The first year of use worked as far as preventing further chaffing but the underside drew moisture and mold formed so the next year he painted the bottom to seal it and they were clean the following spring when we removed the frame.  Prevention is always the best medicine.  In the never ending work a boat requires, if you can pre-empt problems, there’s less repairing and more time for sailing. 

Picture
Picture
0 Comments
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Christine Little has been ranked #5​ out of the 60 top rug hooking bloggers by Rug Hooking Magazine!

    Picture
    Picture
    Max Anderson, Australia, recipient of my Nova Scotia Treasures rug.  An award of excellence for promoting Canada through his writing.  
    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2023
    January 2023
    July 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012

    Picture
    Picture
    Gift Certificates are available for that special rug hooker in your life!  Any denomination, no expiry date! 

    Picture

    Categories
    (Click on the categories for past blogs)

    All
    Announcements
    Beginner Class
    Christmas
    Colour Planning
    Contests
    Copyright
    Coupon
    Customer Rugs
    Cutter Servicing
    Dyeing
    Equipment
    Featured Hooker
    Giveaway Draw
    Guest Blogger
    Guest Blogger
    Health & Fitness
    Home & Heart
    Hooked Rugs
    Hooking Groups
    Hook In Talk
    Initially Yours
    Jibber Jabber
    Just A Bit Of Fun!
    Life's Experiences
    Life's Experiences
    New Design
    New Ideas
    Pattern Of The Week
    Patterns Hooked
    Pets
    Rants
    Recipes
    Rememberingfbe7326ff7
    Rug Schools
    Show & Tell
    Show-tell
    The Rant
    Tips Technique
    Tips Techniquef0cd117ab4
    Visitors
    Workshops

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture





















    Picture
    We have a pot to "Fiz" in!

Shop Hours:
Monday - Friday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM 
Saturdays 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM
We are closed during ice and snow storms
​so please call ahead.  If school is cancelled we probably are as well.  

Toll Free: 1-855-624-0370
Local: 1-902-624-0370​
encompassingdesigns@gmail.com

498 Main Street
P.O. Box 437
Mahone Bay, N.S.
Canada B0J 2E0

​Follow us and keep up to date
on our specials, new products
​and events!
Picture
Picture
Picture


Home
Shop
Ordering
Blog
Our Story
Workshops

Contact Us




​​​© Copyright 2023 Encompassing Designs. Website by SKYSAIL