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

Say Cheese!

10/10/2014

4 Comments

 
Picture

By Guest Blogger Cheryl van Varseveld
While out for a springtime meander in May of 2013,  I spotted flags beckoning on the breeze, announcing the opening of the new Hooked Rug Museum of North America.  I had to go in and snoop.  Twenty-five years ago a friend and I found a beautiful hooked rug with purple pansies in an antique shop -- she bought it and I've been looking for another one ever since!

On entering, the walls were a riot of colours and subjects, crammed floor to ceiling with amazing examples of hooking.  As I tried to take it all in something on the back wall caught my eye.  By the time I walked over for a closer look I was "hooked"! The staff told me a little about the museum and I told them I have wanted a purple pansy rug for a long time.  What  caught my eye had nothing to do with pansies, but there was a bit of purple in it! This rug is a maze of cats in every size, shape, and demeanor imaginable.  A few birds are perched cheekily on heads and tails.  The colours are chaotic and happy.

My friend could not believe I was drooling over it!  You need to understand that I have worked hard for a very long time NOT to become "A Crazy Cat Lady" -- I live with a few of the real things so all my friends and family know I do not accept "cat gifts". As I agonized over if I could buy it and how to justify this major breech in my "No Cat Presents" rule, one lady very kindly mentioned the lay-away plan the museum offers people who fall in love with something after arriving without sufficient funding!  That convinced me I could work out the financial angle and I decided I'd figure out how to deal with all the people who know me while I paid for my rug.   I emptied my wallet to give them a down payment  and promised to return in a few weeks.

The staff knew the rug was hooked in Ontario, but they thought the design was the inspiration of a Nova Scotia woman.  I went home to see what the internet could tell me. It turns out rug hooking in Nova Scotia is alive and well.  There are a few prominent designers and hookers mentioned often on Google search.

Back at the museum (armed with more money to top up my deposit), the ladies were really excited to show me the book they had found detailing when this treasure was created and who did the work.  There were also patterns, a colour photo and notes from the artists who had named some of the cats they hooked.  Apparently it's rare for rugs to arrive with information detailing their creation.  How lucky am I!

The people who have seen "Say Cheese" hanging in my home have all leaned in for a closer look at the design and they seem just as fascinated with the details in the book as I am.  When I went to work in Mexico last year, the rolled up rug came with me and the people there loved the colours. Before leaving for Mexico, further internet study lead me to the rug's original creator -- Christine Little and Encompassing Designs in Mahone Bay.  I e-mailed her, she e-mailed back and I promised to bring the rug down to her shop and show her.  Last weekend I finally got there.  It was wonderful to meet her and her husband and see some of her beautiful work on display.  I'll never be a rug designer or a hooker, but I do love colour and I've done enough other handcrafts to recognize  quality work when I see it.  Her store is brimming with quality, unique designs and beautiful colours.    I will be stopping in whenever I'm in the area to see what new treasures she is creating.


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
4 Comments
Marye
10/10/2014 04:32:25 am

Really love all those cats...must have been lots of fun to hook too.

Reply
Patricia
10/10/2014 05:31:41 am

Great design. Glad a cat lover now owns the rug.

I did not know the museum sold rugs. I thought its' purpose was preservation of rugs. Good to know.

Reply
Tina
10/10/2014 10:31:09 am

Small world! I live just outside Powassan, but have not been able to join the Powassan Padulas because I am still working during the day when they meet. Someday!

Reply
Gloria Warren
12/29/2014 02:09:09 am

Hi There,
I am so glad you enjoyed the rug. I was the first one to hook on it for our group. Rags to Riches in North Bay ON. My friend Denise was the one to organize this for our club, and she is the one to supply the book and all the details. It was a labor of love for the museum, but would have not been possible without the brilliant designer Christine Little.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    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

    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