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!
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......
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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