Mary's special rugs for Megan and Diane

Megan's Garden, designed by Denise Chessie and hooked for Megan, Mary's 6 year old great niece, for Christmas, 2009. The design offers a bug's eye view of a garden, with delightful, expressive crawlies and winged insects. The fun colours make it a special gift and one that Megan couldn't wait to tickle her toes on. She got it right away that it would be delightful to step onto her rug with her bare feet each morning. It's always a happy thing when a recipient really appreciates their hand crafted gift of love.

Megan's rug is done in #3, 4 & 5 cut on cotton rug warp

The next is also by Mary J - Ann Hanging Wash. Mary says "it was designed by Joan Kays and hooked for my best friend Diane on her 67th birthday in 2007.  It was returned to me by her son after she lost her battle with cancer in May of 2009."

Joan Kays holds the rights to sell the 'Anne'© designs, featuring Prince Edward Island's beloved Anne of Green Gables™. Mary uses her favourite spot and specialty dyed wools (in #3, 4 & 5 cuts) to create a beautiful vignette. Joan's patterns come on a wonderful smooth linen that is a joy to work on.

More from the Quoddy Loopers' latest Hurricane Hook-in

More of the Quoddy Loopers' and visitors' rugs on display at the Quoddy Loopers' 3rd annual Hurricane Hook-in and more shopping, rughooking and looking.

It was a great day, with a wide variety of styles, colour-ways and methods. Traditional, primitive, modern, bright colours, muted, pastels or darks... a bit of everything.


A delicious lunch, thanks to the Guild of the Catholic Church of St Andrew, where we meet weekly, as well as holding our annual hook-in, the first Saturday of November. Our regular vendor, Sande Gunning of River Gallery, was on hand with her gorgeous wools, patterns, tools, books and other wonderful implements of the art of traditional rughooking.

Mark your calendars, but please let us know you are coming!

The welcome mat is always out in Atlantic Canada

This was an entry in an online challenge on The Welcome Mat rughooking forum. The challenge was to use 20 colours in 10" - aptly due in early 2010. Every pillow, rug, mat or knitting needle case was different. This is 10" high and about 24" wide, in various cuts and weights of wool. I've always loved quilts and the clamshell pattern is an oldie and goodie, so I wondered what it would be like hooked. It's mainly blues, greens and yellow/golds with a bit of brown for balance - or ballast - hooked in a semi-random hit-or-miss fashion. It used up a good amount of odds and ends of wool, and is itself a welcome mat, of course.

Speaking of which, our traditional rughooking group meets weekly -- Wednesday evenings, 6:30 - 8:30, in St Andrews Catholic church parish centre, corner of Parr and King Streets -- and visitors are always welcome!

more Quoddy Loopers at work over the holidays

Carol B is no longer a newbie - she has been hooking for a couple of years now with our Quoddy Loopers group and has quite a few mats to her credit. This latest one is a Deanne Fitzpatrick design, depicting a Newfoundland Harbour, titled "Looking out to Sea". It was a kit, with #8 cut wool, plus some extra to 'frame' it. Carol has captured the care-free feeling Deanne is known for.

Then we have another mat from Sandra -who says "The Gift was [a free pattern] in December 2009 Create & Decorate Magazine.  It was designed by Jo Ellen Dismukes. I hooked it in my usual 4 cut." Sandra had this happy mat completed by Christmas!

And another of Sandra's rugs - this one an adaptation of van Gogh's painting "Flower Beds in Holland".  Completed January 2010, using many of Sandra's own dyed wools, in 4 cut.

Spring is coming... eventually... and this mat sings of spring!

a little more of this and that

For me, Christmas and Chanukah are a time to give to people I love and to some I don't even know - sharing and hopefully putting a smile on the recipients' faces. The chalkboard was a gift for my niece, Sarah, and she did like it. The wooden 'frame' was bought, I dip-dyed the wool fabric for the sunset/sky, the wildflower grass is a novelty yarn and the tree is as-is brown tweed. I painted the lower section with chalkboard paint and found some chalk and a tiny eraser at the dollar store - backed it with wool, inserting a loop in to hang it from the peg. I think my fellow Quoddy Looper, Nancy, found the frame at a garage sale - two of them, in fact, and gave them to me. I love a challenge!

The gift for another niece, Cora, is a little shoulder bag made from a jeans pant leg, the flap is hooked with hit-or-miss blues in "cat's paws" on a black background [on linen, mostly #6 cut 100% wool] and the strap is wool as well. I figured most teenagers wear jeans and like black, so it would hopefully be something she'd like and use. I sewed on a little cell phone pocket under the flap, it being a constant accessory! Her brother Charlie is an astronomy enthusiast; they are both half English and half Canadian, hence the flags (above). I think that covers all the nieces and nephews, and most of our great-nieces and nephews; there are just a few who haven't had a name mat or something. Not sure what I'll do for gifts once they all have mats! I did try to get Cora and her sister Lily interested in hooking when the family was visiting from Leeds [England] a few years ago, but they were maybe a little young. I'll try again on the next visit.