Finally on the floor! Live Simply is finished

It has been way too long in the making, but I finally finished whipping my Live Simply rug last night. Not steamed / pressed yet, but I couldn't wait to get it on the floor and it did make me smile when I woke up this morning, which was the whole idea in hooking it. Most of my other mats are on the walls, chairs or tables, rather than on the floor, but this one was always destined for the floor by my bed. It did use up a fair amount of woolly worms in the hit-or-miss portions, but not as many as I'd hoped, so I'll be starting another scrappy rug soon.

There are so many wonderful rugs out there, and inspiration at every turn. The first border of this rug echoes the quilt pattern 'flying geese'. There are thousands of quilt patterns and many of them would make great rugs. I've always loved paisley, so the final side borders are paisley-ish. It's been a fun rug to hook; mostly in #6 cut wools, with some #8 and a bit of woolen yarn, here and there, when the colour was right. It's approximately 3 ft wide by 2 ft high, on primitive linen, bound in wool yarn from Cottage Craft Woollens, right here in St Andrews, NB [Canada]. They didn't have any black in stock, so I overdyed some darkish purple with Cushings black dye. It kept looking navy to me, so I added more black and was finally happy with the colour - it actually has some liveliness, rather than being a flat black, which was a happy accident.

I love the feel of the cushy soft wool under my feet as I get out of bed. So long as our cat Katie doesn't think that it is a new thing to scratch at, all will be well.
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Christmas in July

Here's a cheery winter scene - Christmas Village, a Deanne Fitzpatrick design, which Carol has hooked in brights (28" x 8" framed). Carol is one of our newer members, and has done some lovely mats. She mostly works in #4 to 6, and also uses woollen and novelty yarns......................................

The striding Santa is designed by Monika Brint; Carol has accentuated the elongated trees and tall Santa with a vertically hooked sky in novelty yarn, with a festive metallic glimmer. He looks like he's in a hurry! (16.5" wide x 14.5" high)

We may not be celebrating Christmas, but we don't seem to be experiencing summer, either. It has been relentlessly cold and damp, and we've had way more fog than we are used to, in the last three weeks or so. It is sunny right now... long may it last.
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Super Sandra finishes another great mat!

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It's pretty hard to keep up with Sandra. Here's her latest mat, "Washday", designed by Patti Armstrong and hooked in 4 & 6 cut wool, some of it hand-dyed.

It shows how the most mundane subjects can make a great mat. The crows here are rather whimsical, but since crows seem to appear in rugs frequently [especially 'primitive' style rugs] , I thought I'd see if I could find out why.

Wikipedia says: Many mythologies - Celtic, Norse, Chinese, Hindu, Buddhist and North American aboriginal, esp the Pacific Northwest bands - feature crows in their legends. [They are generally regarded as] "harbingers of doom or death, because of their dark plumage, unnerving calls, and tendency to eat carrion. A group of crows is called a murder" - which indicates how kindly crows are perceived by some. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

I liked this WikiAnswer to why crows are so often used in folk art: "Crows and ravens figure largely in pre-Christian faiths and practices, and folk art draws heavily on past beliefs and practices. An artist friend of mine is more pragmatic. Crows, she tells me, are just easier to draw and paint than multicolored birds." So maybe it is neither philosophical or deep; simply convenient.

Then there are the superstitions regarding crows, as collected by CrowBusters. Did you know this one? "It was unlucky in Wales to have a crow cross your path. However, if two crows crossed your path, the luck was reversed. 'Two crows I see, good luck to me'."

Perhaps the crow is considered a lucky symbol and that's why so many primitive rugs have crows in their design, and have had, historically. Plus, they are smart - here's a neat video from Japan.
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Golf, anyone?

Here's another of Sandra's delightful mats - this one based on a photo of her sister playing golf. Note the flowers alongside the green and the water beyond... PEI is a haven for golfers.

St Andrews by-the-Sea isn't a bad spot either, for golf or anything else! We've got our fair share of water, the Passamaquoddy Bay off the phenomenal Bay of Fundy, and the Algonquin golf course is laid out alongside the Ste Croix River, overlooking the bay.

There have been more than a few people who have come for the sea breezes, quaint and well-preserved architecture & heritage, the whales, artisans, college, golf or for many other reasons, who have subsequently picked up stakes and moved here for the gentler, more human way of life. The beauty, clean air, safe and comfortable lifestyle are bonuses. We are blessed with well over average services for a town of 1850 people: the historic and beautiful Fairmont Algonquin Resort, Kingsbrae Horticultural Garden, a raft of creative people in many genres... and some of the best cuisine you will find anywhere. Naturally the seafood is as fresh as can be, and there is plenty of choice for delicious dining at many levels.
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in vino veritas

This rughooked mat was done for my sister's birthday. She and my brother-in-law also celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary, which surely calls for a party! I travelled up to Toronto/Beeton/Wasaga Beach for the occasion and our brother Colin also made it across the pond from Leeds [England]. Surprised whoops and glee all around, as we enjoyed a festive luncheon at the Globe Restaurant in Rosemont, Ontario. It's a lovely old building, set in charmingly old-fashioned landscaped grounds. There were all ages, from our grandson Ruben at 18 mos to the slightly wrinkly set, and lots of kids in the mix. They had a blast playing outside between nibbles, feeding and cooing at the peacocks, and generally doing what children do, in a happily well-mannered way. Lunch was delicious, our waiter couldn't have been more charming or helpful, and their daughters put on a marvelous party.

The weather up there was delightful and the lilacs and apple blossoms were astounding, everywhere we went, including an area I hadn't explored before - Thornbury and all around the Beaver Valley in the Blue Mountains, Grey County. We were glad to see that there still were loads of apple orchards, despite all the development and building going on. No recession there, it seems!
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Meeting on the Path... more of Deanne's work, hooked by Cindy

This is another of Deanne Fitzpatrick's designs: Meeting on the Path, hooked by Cindy Needler, the instigator of our group -- we saw the wonderful things she was hooking about 5 years ago and had to learn how! The group has grown steadily since then to include 19 full and part-timers. Visitors always welcome.

Cindy used a Pendleton plaid wool shirt to very good effect in this mat - coordinating the house, roof and path by judicious use of different values stripped out from the plaid. Cindy works in the heavier cuts - mostly #6 and up.

Weekly Quoddy Loopers meetings: Catholic Church of St Andrew parish centre --210 Parr Street (corner of King and Parr/side door) in St. Andrews, NB -- 6:30 to 8:30 pm

News from Deanne Fitzpatrick -

"The Big News is I am on the move, but just around the corner. In early June we’ll be moving the studio around the corner to 33 Church Street, two doors up onto the main street from our current location. We’re growing , making more room for our workshops, a fancy little tea kitchen, where you can make your own cuppa when you come in, and a dye kitchen at the studio.

Dreams are coming true."

It will be just around the corner from 7 Electric Street, behind Mansour's Menswear, where she is now. We have been discussing a road trip to visit her in Amherst, Nova Scotia and Heidi at London-Wul in Moncton [NB], so now we really must, to see the new space.

If we leave really early, we might even get a stop in at our favourite local wool shop - River Gallery. If there's a special spot in heaven for rughookers, this trio of creative and wonderful women must surely be represented there!
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Louise finished her 'old mat'

Louise has just finished her first primitive [wide cut] mat and found it goes very quickly. This was an old burlap pattern, inherited from an aunt, that had been painted to indicate colours. Louise kept to the old colour scheme and did it in an 8-cut. The burlap must have been of a good quality originally, as it was still in good shape, who-knows-how-many years since it was purchased.


This is a lovely traditional style mat, evoking a cozy time and slower pace.
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Rugs, glorious rugs

The Heritage guild's hook-in in Fredericton (New Brunswick) was wonderful last weekend, as hook-ins tend to be. We saw some amazing rugs in the making, and ogled a display of finished rugs that were brought for 'show and tell'.


I apologize for not having names to go with these rugs [or rughookers], but it was a great day of sharing and hooking, buying and looking.

Great hook-in by the Heritage Guild

Six Quoddy Loopers travelled to Fredericton to the Heritage Rughooking Guild's Hook-in -- a day of hooking and looking, eating and shopping from the River Gallery's wares. Sande was off in Saint John at a quilting show today, so her husband David did the honours, bringing a vanload of yummy wools, patterns, dyes, hooks and books... and managed to lighten the load considerably, going home. It seems there is never too much wool; any rughooker worth her/his salt can always find another colour or texture to round out their stash. Two of our group [Sandra and myself] won door prizes, which were pretty little baskets stuffed with... wool! How lucky is that?

There were all sorts of wonderful rugs being hooked today - from little trivets, chair pads, small and medium sized hangings and mats to area rugs - a glorious variety of styles, colours and designs.

This is another of Sandra's many mats - a commercial pattern with shaded flowers and leaves.

More rugs from Sandra

Sandra is one of our most prolific rughookers -- and has been at it for longer than most of us. I inadvertently missed posting some of Sandra's mats, so here are a few for today:

Two different lighthouses, of which there are many on Canada's east coast [both commercial designs: Searsport on left and unknown origin on the right], and a fun SmokeyJak Penguins mat [Pam McIsaac-Adams design].

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