Blog Archives

Stocking Contest Winner!!

11/30/2016

I am very tickled over how many people put on their thinking caps and offered Christmas stocking design suggestions! Between the emails, the website and Facebook I was gob smacked at the response. All were brilliant.

The ones that tweaked my interest, I listed on a piece of paper to help pare down for the final decision and the list kept growing and growing! Of course I want to do them all but one has to be the winner, not that any of the suggestions were losers!

I really liked the Flamingo idea and that one came in really early after I posted the contest. I imagined the possibilities and could see that pink bird as clear as day, but then other great ideas kept flooding in to take me in all directions artistically, I was dizzy from the shear numbers.

Several people requested trains filled with toys, which I’d never thought of before and it sounds like something I should do. One response was that I do a busy Christmas bee in honour of Honey with her recent problems, that one touched me for sure.

There were several dog suggestions, including poodles but the winning suggestion has to be a design that is globally interesting and a poodle, although my favourite breed, isn’t on the top of everyone’s list.   Speaking of dogs, that cute King Charles pup was adorable and I would like to do a series of canines on stockings so if you have a fur kid and want to hook a stocking for them, let me know and I will come up with a design. I would really like to add to the doggie collection, we have a few now, an Airedale, a Chihuahua, and a Welsh Terrier but we are open to any breed, let us know!

The one suggestion with a snoozing rug hooker while Santa peeks at her from behind her chair was cute, and a little mouse in bed covered for “Not A Creature Was Stirring” made me smile. There were lots of suggestions for our new Canadian national bird which is something I will consider for later, but for this contest, I couldn't leave our American friends out of the fun.

I even had three suggestions from as far away as Japan, along with drawn examples of a bunny and a cat and a beautiful Mahone Bay Three Churches.   How cool is that?

The old mercury ball idea is a design I already have in progress and needed to put the finishing touches on. I need to dig that out and revisit it.

So, get to the point Christine, everyone is waiting! The stocking idea that really knocked my socks off, pardon the pun, was “Rug hooking hooks would be awesome especially if you found the stocking Christmas morning filled with Shane's beautifully dyed wool.”     I thought, how clever and I can’t believe I didn’t think of it before. I do have a rug pattern with lots of hooks but these will be special Christmas Hooks, colourful with fancy handles, sporting seasonal sayings and festive motifs with wool worms between them, waiting to be hooked. I was so thrilled I whipped up the design last evening and just now drew it on linen. I'm so tempted to hook it! I've been designing stockings for years but nothinbg specific for the rug hooker so this one's for you! Hopefully Santa will stuff it with all kinds of beautiful wool!

So the winner is, A stocking called "Hook Me A Stocking" suggested by Suzanne Chaddock I’ll mail it out pronto so you have it well in time to hook for the holidays if you so choose.   Please send me your address and we will pop it in the mail! Congratulations! Thank-you everyone that participated!

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Stocking Contest

11/27/2016

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A BIT OF FUN!

Here is blank outline waiting for a 50th Christmas Stocking design to add to our collection of 49.

IMAGINE, 50 CHRISTMAS STOCKING DESIGNS!!!

What should it be? Hmmm....let's have some fun. Whoever is the first to suggest an idea that tweaks my interest, something I don't already have, I will design it and send you a
free pattern on linen.

So suggest away! As many times are you like!

You can check out the ones we have by clicking this link: http://www.encompassingdesigns.com/seasonal-designs.html

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Honey by any other name would be as sweet.....

11/24/2016

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I’ve been very quiet of late; I’ve been waiting for word from a cardiologist about one of our pups and it’s been a cloud over our heads. Last Friday Honey, our oldest toy poodle had an episode in the middle of the night that was concerning. I thought perhaps it was an asthma attack. I rocked her in my arms and caressed her ears, a relaxer for her, until the moment passed and she slept. The following morning she coughed and wheezed again. I called the vet and they said bring her in right away as they close at noon. I was slated to teach at 1:00 and I hadn’t bathed or washed my hair yet so I donned a hat, threw on some clothes, called Deb at the shop to let her know I would be a bit late for the class and we headed for Chester Basin Animal Hospital.

The news wasn’t great. After the stethoscope exam, followed by an x-ray and blood test, we were told our baby had a heart murmur, an enlarged heart and two lungs full of fluid. The words congestive heart failure were mentioned along with other possibilities, some not so good, others an easy fix. Diuretics were prescribed and we went home a little more dismal than the drive there. Honey responded well to the meds and her lungs cleared quickly, I could tell by the depth of her breathing and slower heart rate. I was feeling optimistic as my heart wrestled with my intellect. I was working on the premise that until the experts call it she was fine, but after the followup visit and ECG I had to accept the verdict, congestive heart failure.

Honey is 11, our first poodle. She is as dear to me as if she birthed from my womb. Experts say that we spend a lot of time starring into the eyes of our furry kids creating bonds that equal that of a human child, mother relationship and I'll agree. I can’t begin to explain my connection to all of my babies, but its love it its purest form and although I care for them, protect, love and feed them, they give me far more in return.

Since this all happened I was happy to dwell in Denialville. predicting easy, fixable stuff. There is always hope until it’s taken away. Apparently there’s a study going on researching slug slime. As slugs move along the ground and grass they leave a trail of slime that carries a parasite that causes all her symptoms. This is easily fixable with Advantage Three, the tick and flea killer. I had my fingers crossed for this option and it could still be the underlying cause, but the word came down today that she is in the first stages of heart failure and although somewhere down the road there is a bleak ending for my Honey, she should live for a few more years comfortably. She will be on meds that sometimes destroy the kidneys and she will have to play less hard and be constantly monitored for decrease in heart function. Not exactly the most fun for a little dog that won’t understand.   It wouldn’t be the worst thing to die while running with her pack, catching the ball or chasing the one that does. She would die with a smile, not a bad way to go. She has this funny habit of running back and forth in front of the one that catches the ball as they bring it back to me. She runs offense like in basketball, blocking the player so he can’t make a move. If she’s the one catching the ball she expertly works it back and forth with her paws like a pro soccer player. She’s adorably hilarious!

I had a German Shepard that passed a few years before her and I handled it badly. I loved that boy more than life. He was my first dog; he came to live with me at 18 months old and had a teddy bear temperament. He was smart and beautiful and our life together was pure bliss. He died at age nine and I suffered greatly; mourning for years, and his collar still hangs from the backdoor knob. I didn’t think I would ever love another dog, it broke my heart to even think about betraying his memory. Somehow I thought another pup would replace him and it felt disloyal. I thought I loved him more than I could ever love another dog, but it’s funny, I love my four poodles even more, above and beyond, my heart must have grown bigger to fill it all in. I asked someone once who always had a new pup soon after the older dog had passed, “Which dog have you loved the most” and he said without pause, “The one I have now”.   I thought a lot about what he said and I began to see it differently, a new dog is not a replacement. Anyone that loves and has lost a pet knows they can never be replaced. They always keep that special piece of our heart exclusive to them and our hearts grow to accommodate all of them. The new pet is just that, a new experience, a new beginning....simply new.

If not for rug hooking I wouldn’t have my sweet Honey. A customer’s husband wanted to purchase an Ott-lite for his wife for Christmas and I told him I was planning a trip to the city that weekend and could deliver it to save shipping costs. So we planned to meet in front of Staples. He called to say that he was running 20 minutes late. A friend and I had already completed our Staples shopping and thought we would go into Pet’s Unlimited to see the animals. Okay, stop that....don’t be saying “Oh Christine, puppy mills....at that time, I didn’t know such a thing existed.

So we go in and there she is behind the glass. My friend notices how I’m lingering in front of that particular window and say’s “You should buy her” but I shake my head. I hadn’t even thought about another dog, but there was a tug on my heart strings, I could feel the tingle of it as I looked at her sweet, little face.

She was a mess. Covered in excrement she was a sight, but her little tail wagged and she pranced around having fun with the other pups in the cage. My friend said, “you should hold her”, pushing me closer to the ultimate decision. The staff wouldn’t let me touch her because apparently, crazy nut jobs would come in with parvo on their hands and try to touch the puppies to make them sick. Parvo is a death sentence to puppies. I can’t even imagine something so completely insane.

Anyway, I called my husband who was working in Alberta. It didn’t seem like a decision I should make on my own and I needed a push over the fence I perched on. I asked what he thought about a puppy and he asked if it was already in the car. I laughed and said no, and he said because I’m left alone so much I should have company and that cinched it. They let me hold her then, she was no longer their worry. She was a stinky little critter; a bath was going to be high on the list. I bought a carry cage and off we headed home, wondering what I’d just done. A poodle for goodness sake. About as far a cry from a German Shepard as they come. I knew nothing about this little bundle and her needs. This was going to be a learning experience for us both.

We were inseparable.   She and I had the best times together. Life seemed to have more purpose; a hole had been filled that I never realized existed. She went everywhere with me and hung out at the shop, greeting all the customers like it was her job. She was the cutest little peanut ever.

She was born on September 11th so I always said good things happen on that day too. She turned 11 this year and I was planning on having her for another nine, 20 years being the only acceptable age before thinking about the inevitable. Despite the horror stories of pet shop dogs, she was always the healthiest of our pack and the other three came from reputable breeders. She’s the most fun with toys and balls and loves everyone, gets along well with people and pets. She is just a Honey of a girl.

The initial shock hasn’t worn off yet so I’m misty, my throat seems lumpy.   We are entering into a world I know nothing about so I need to get educated. Once familiar with all of this it will be less scary. I’ll do whatever needs to be done to give her a quality life as long as possible. We’re pals she and I, we’ll continue to look after one another for as long as we can......

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Riser #1

11/16/2016

1 Comment

I've finished my first stair riser and I'm pleased as punch. It's as nautical as it gets with the compass rose front and center, the port and starboard red and green stripes on the edges, the deep blue border to represent the ocean and the rope cascading down each side.

It is sitting in place waiting for some Velcro. I think that will be the simplest and easy way to hang them in place. I'll need to make a trip to the fabric store but in the meantime on to number two. I'll wait until I have a few of them to install to see which order they will be hung, hoping they flow well.

Tonight, at the Wednesday evening hook-in I'll start the mermaid. I can hardly wait to pull the first loop. Even though I've been busy at the shop, I've thought of little else all day and can't wait to see the results from using our new Glaze sparkle. I hope her tail turns out as fabulous as it is in my head. I hope I can bring it home! I look forward to shading her body in skin tones, giving her life. And her wild and crazy curly hair, oh my.

Starting a new rug is like falling in love for the first time or perhaps the second or third or more; really any time you fall in love is wonderful. So much Adrenalin and endorphin's floating around I'm a bit high but then I don't have to explain this to any rug hookers out there, you get where I'm coming from. Pure joy baby! Hadn't had this much tingle since we bought our boat!

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All through the house a creature was stirring....it was a mouse!

11/15/2016

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I’m a nature lover. I understand how all creatures exist to create equilibrium and most is good. But there are a few things I don’t like, a couple of examples would be fleas and ticks, parasitic nuisances that taunt my fur kids, but I know they have a place in the food chain and fill a biological niche so I just have to deal with it.

Unfortunately I spend a lot of time picking over four pups when the ticks are running rampant or if a flea infestation occurs. Both of these crawlies are in the grass so it’s unavoidable unless you can teach the pups to use the porcelain throne and flusher.

Ticks have been rather harsh this fall, and it seems every time my pups go outside for a pee I’m picking off invaders. Henri is a cream boy so you can usually see where they’ve hopped on his legs or ears and get them before they settle in. The same for Apricot Honey and Red Fiz, but poor Jake is as black as coal so a visual check is difficult. Then I've discovered the odd flea, even harder to detect but such is life, it’s our lot and I don’t mind putting the health and welfare or my little family first, even when I lose sleep because of it. Why do I lose sleep you ask? If I find a flea on one of my babies at bedtime I will stay up until the elusive bastard is dead! I can't curl up all snug in my bed knowing something is crawling around and biting one of my babies!

I feel the same about our home. I don’t appreciate or want creatures crawling around my house either, acting as if they own the joint. Unless they contribute to the mortgage these unwanted pests need to respect boundaries. At 5:00 AM the other morning I heard a heavy footed mouse walk across my bedroom floor, went under the bed and disappeared under the baseboard molding, squeezing itself as flat as a pancake to make it through the crack. In my half dazed state, I thought Fiz had gotten out of bed and was walking around, her nails clickity clacking along the floorboards. I looked over the side of the bed and seeing nothing, I called out to her. She didn’t come. That’s when the light bulb blinded me to the creepy truth, what scurried under the bed was a mouse, and by the noise it made, a rather large one.

Then I hear the critter scratching through the wall as it headed to wherever it hangs during the daylight hours. Honey, a keen mouser now fully awake heard it too and was immediately up and looking over the side of the bed, ears perked. Now I know why she spends so much time hanging in that area sniffing and obsessing.

I don’t like killing the small creatures of the earth. I find it difficult to dispose of an animal just because it’s in search of a meal. I always think, ”Imagine how I would feel if a giant squashed me like a bug; my body exploding under the pressure of a large digit”. But now, they’ve crossed the line, leaving the basement and walls to infiltrate the inner sanctum of our life.

I say the mouse was heavy footed because it sounded big, like one of my dogs with nails scratching across the floor. I was a bit nervous as I swung my legs over the side of the bed in search of my slippers. Visions of a rat running up the inside of my pajama leg was a very detailed picture as I fumbled in the dark.

We had to kill a mouse a few weeks back that got into stored almonds in the pantry under the stairs, dragging away a pound of them into its basement den. He even stored some on the shelves, hidden in the vacuum cleaner hoses stored there, a stash for future reference. That close to our canned goods was upsetting but vindication for being anal about washing the tops of the tins before opening them. I read a story once in Reader’s Digest about mouse pee on a pop can that almost killed a man.

So we laid a trap and sure enough the next morning we found a rather large granddaddy of a mouse pinned under the metal bar. It made me sick and I thought of it for days, the buggy eyed death stare playing on my guilt. Although many are grossed out about mice, you can’t dispute their cuteness and it only wanted food to feed its family so I felt miserable for our actions. I thought of the killing for days and stopped hubby from reloading the trap to go for other family members. Plug up the hole I said, stop them from stealing in the first place.

But now I’m angry at the little buggers, crawling around inside my house in the still of night, probably leaving turds and toxic urine for my dogs to find. Crawling over our things, infiltrating our cupboards where we store our food. So it’s full on war now. Traps will be laid and the numbers will fall if they don’t keep to the basement because anything above the main floor is fair game.

There seems to be a large number of crawly things of late. Ticks are rampaging, looking for that last warm body before the cold temperatures send them underground. A friend had one on her face last evening after hugging her pup. I’ve been averaging three to four a day for a week.   Having four pups ups the ante for their success. They are members of the spider family, have good eyes and lie in wait. Some of them are so small you can barely discern them from a speck of dirt.

An then there are fleas, not as ominous in that they don’t make your pets ill with limes, but it’s a parasite that multiplies quickly and will lay eggs that slide down the hairs of the dogs, dropping into the rugs, beds and any place they lie. One night last weekend we stayed up late watching Netflix and I was hooking. At 2:00 am before crawling into bed I checked the pups one last time and found a flea on Honey.   Although I scraped across it with my fingernail, usually rendering it motionless until I can finish it off, Honey moved and the flea escaped into the surrounding underbrush of her fur. Knowing it was there I couldn’t in good conscience go to bed so we went downstairs under the Ott-lite and I checked every square inch of her for an hour and a half until I found the elusive little bastard. A flea moves quickly so it was always one step ahead of my nimble fingers but finally I found it and it will never bite again. I squished the blood sucking parasite between the nails of my thumbs then gave it a watery grave down the drain.

I can’t use chemicals on my guys. Anything that will kill a flea or tick on contact for up to 6 months repels me. No one can convince me that that kind of killing power on flesh doesn’t affect the animal. Understanding how absorbent the skin is, and how everything we put on our bodies from lipstick to shampoo ends up in the liver, it has to be in all the animal's body tissue and organs. I want my babies to enjoy optimal health and I want to be able to bury my nose in their warm bodies for snuggles and kisses without absorbing God knows what.

So back to the mice. Creatures scurrying around the house and under my bed is just wrong. I’ll let hubby do the dirty deed while I turn my head and try to put it out of my mind. Lie in bed at night waiting to hear the snap! I promise I won’t gross anyone out with the details but we will pursue our hunt until the walls are silent. No more scratching and clawing their way through our domain, keeping us awake and Honey on guard. Be warned Mickey, Minnie and clan, it’s time to find new digs so vamoose or succumb to traps at breakneck speed, pardon the pun......

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Rising to the occasion...

11/14/2016

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I've been requested to sell the Country Flavour stair riser designs so I’ve gotten off my duff and redrew them. The pictures I posted way back when were only quick, rough sketches and then I got distracted so never got to finish them properly.   Now someone wants to hook 12 of them for their home so I was happy to finally add the polish.

While tweaking the patterns I kept thinking about the idea of doing a set of nautical ones for the shop. I’ve toyed with hooking some of the country version designs because I can visualize them in my head and know they will be fabulous, but I’m really more of a nautical gal, loving anything near, in or on the sea.

Anytime new thoughts cluster in my head they are always the most exciting and pressing and the other evening while in bed, ideas were rattling around keeping me wide awake. So by morning I was sold on the idea and needed to make it so. I’d finished my compass rose rug for the boat and had the compass on my mind so that was a first choice for a design and I’m using up some of the leftovers from that project.
The designs will each have the rope borders hooked in “Straw” 6 value so they will frame each side causing the eye to travel up and down the steps with ease. There is a stripe on each side that will be red for the left or port and green for the right or starboard, once again offering a continuity between the risers.

Red will be the common denominator throughout the series, marrying them all together with a rich glow as only red can do. I love red, and I love the primary colours so they will be used more than others in the crayon box but I will deviate at times with other wonderfully nautical turquoises, teal’s oranges and greens for an eclectic feel. I’ve already planned the wool for the mermaid and it kills me not to jump right in on that wonderful tail, but I have to finish one before starting another.   As much as I love mermaids, I’ve never hooked one before so I plan to put my all into this vixen of the sea. She will be exciting to watch come to life with wild curly hair and a beautifully detailed scaly tail.

The background of the compass rose riser is what I refer to as my port and starboard herringbone that we sell in the shop. It’s beautiful wool to hook with and has two distinct stripings of colour, one green and one red, thence the port and starboard name. When hooked the two colours create twists and turns like a swirling ocean.   I also used this is my large rug for the boat and loved the look, alternating the two colours throughout.

The wonderful rich green is our "Green With Envy", a 6 value swatch that created a bit of shading in the S for South. The N and the S both have curls on the ends that represent a stylized wave action, adding to the overall nautical feel.

I’ve been working at home on the designs and have five ready to go. The whale might be next or perhaps the signal flags or maybe the colourful buoys, so many to excite me, how do I choose? I might not get them all done immediately, distractions do come up, but I can pick away at them in between other projects. They are small designs, 5" high by 29" wide and can be completed in two to three nights so we will see. I know these risers will look smashing in our beautiful shop, real conversation pieces. I'll have to be careful not to fall down the stairs or perhaps fall up, when I can't take my eyes off them......

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Winterizing my life....

11/3/2016

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Catalyst leaving Mahone Bay harbour one last time for 2016. Hubby at the wheel, friend Peter is hauling up a fender and hubby's brother Terry is waving from the bow. A male bonding day on the water. Me taking the picture from the shore wiping at the tears. Parting is such sweet sorrow.....

I’ve had a very jam-packed summer and early fall. Between recreational pursuits and the shop, each day was filled to capacity so there was little time for extras. In the past I’ve only had work on my plate but now with our boat, I’ve had a large serving of smelling the roses which has made me remiss in my blog, the easiest to sacrifice as I run out of hours in the day and fall into bed with a tiredness that runs bone deep. I’ve never played so hard in my life and I like it!

But all good things come to an end and the sailing was put to bed last week; although that doesn’t mean the work is over. Catalyst II has to be packed up, winterized and covered, drained of her fluids and replaced with anti-freeze. I joke it’s like we’re pumping through embalming fluids to preserve her.

Like a fish out of water I hate to see her wallowing on land, resting on jack stands surrounded by a sea of boats all waiting for kinder weather. As much as I love the changing of seasons it would be nice to drop winter, or make it milder like the west coast so the boats never have to come out of the water.   But then of course, we would be inundated with settlers to our mild climate and Mahone Bay would have high-rise development and traffic jams.   I think I’d rather have our beautiful harbour-side town kept more on the quaint and charming side of living.

So now with the boating behind us and the weather turning cold, it’s time to get to work on the neglected house. I took last week off to scrape and paint, up a ladder to work on the second floor windows. I’m no stranger to ladders or staging and I do enjoy the work, but once again I’m pushing the envelope waiting this long as paint goes on hard at 13 degrees Celsius and should not be applied below 10.

Then I look at the sad gardens. I didn’t pull a weed all summer so the backyard is packed with dying matter, drying and turning the colours of autumn, but not pretty like the trees along the highway, this is one ugly mess. From past experience I can gauge that every couple of square feet is a bulging wheel barrel full of dead growth to dispose of. I groan thinking about winterizing the gardens but its necessary and better done now while it’s crisp and dry than waiting until the dank wetness of spring and its flourishing mold.   There are still a number of days left for yard work, I just have to make time and do it. Help is welcome, drop by with rubber boots and gloves anytime…

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Stocking Contest Winner!!

Stocking Contest

Honey by any other name would be as sweet.....

Riser #1

All through the house a creature was stirring....it was a mouse!

Rising to the occasion...

Winterizing my life....

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