The Quoddy Loopers

Maureen's batch of mats

2011-06-10T14:49:00.153-03:00

The fantasy mat on the right I call "tall skinny crewel"; it was hooked in wide-cut bright colours right into a fairly loosely woven Cottage Craft wool, to brighten up a dark corner by our back door. Because no flower is meant to be recognizable, it was fun to just play with colours and shapes; these type of flowers are often called 'padulas' in rughooking circles. Hooked in many cuts, from #3 to hand-torn 1/2" wide wools. As-is and specialty dyed wools; 10" wide by 39" tall.

Cottage Craft is a wool shop in the heart of St Andrews, NB (Canada), right on Market Square: "Producing quality Canadian woollen products in St. Andrews by-the-Sea for over ninety years…." They offer handknit sweaters, exclusive tweed apparel, woollen skeins in a wide array of colours and sweater kits. Cottage Craft yarns and hand-woven tweed are 100% wool, made here in the Canadian maritimes.

A funky cat (left), hooked for a friend's sister-in-law. Hooked in wide cut yarn fabric; 10" x 8".

Georgia's mat, below, was made for our one-year old granddaughter.

The mat is 29" W x 20" tall, hooked on linen; mainly #6 to #8 cut (6/32" to 8/32", which is how rughookers measure the cut wool strips that we use to hook our mats and rugs) with some hand-torn, up to 5/8" wide.

Georgia trying out her new mat, before it was finished (also her new birthday bathing suit, ready for summer fun!)

Here are some more mats, in various stages. I guess I should finish up a few!

Two Deer & a Tree
(Mostly wide hand-torn and cut 100% wool fabrics,
on burlap; 22" x 19")


abstract hit-or-miss, scrappy little mat (10.5" x 12"; unfinished)

stained glass workshop little mat
(10.5" x 14"; unfinished)

Another crewel play piece, destined to be
a pillow someday. Fantasy flowers are fun!
(#5,6 & 8 cuts; 13" x 12.5" on Verel; unfinished)

(all original designs, Maureen Mc, except stained glass sailboat, from a workshop with Doris Norman)

Louise's rendition of Deanne Fitzpatrick's little portraits of women.

2011-05-22T02:29:00.001-03:00

Louise is hooked on Deanne Fitzpatrick's free style of hooking and has done several of her mat designs.These two are her women, as Deanne says, reminiscent of her family and neighbours from Newfoundland (and Labrador).

On the left, Hortense and on the right, unfortunately, I don't have a name for her. Both are very expressive, with some details merely suggested. The viewer supplies the rest.

These are both done in wide cuts for small mats, not meant to be realistic, but rather 'impressionistic'.

Carol's been busy again!

2011-05-15T16:32:00.001-03:00

Here are two wintry mats from Carol - both Deanne Fitzpatrick designs. The snow-covered trees were to be lupins, in Deanne's mind, but Carol asked if it was okay to change them to trees, and Deanne was agreeable. While we are glad to see the back of winter, I was slow in getting these posted, so I hope you'll forgive me the lapse back into snow and Santa.

Deanne's shop/studio is in Amherst, NS, about 3 hours' drive from us in St Andrews, NB. Well worth the journey! Quite a few of the Quoddy Loopers have done at least one of Deanne's patterns and several keep going back for more.

The third of Carol's mats was actually done before the other two. It is from a free pattern out of Rug Hooking Magazine, "Yellow Ware Pitcher Floral Pattern Insert" (designed by Wendy Miller, Jan/Feb 2006). It is hooked mainly with woollen yarn, on burlap. Carol added some nice interest in the background with random bits of colour. She has whipped these all in the traditional way, with wool yarn.

For most rughookers, doing a lot of solid background is not appealing. Me included - I'd far rather hook squiggles, circles, lines or something besides a solid area. Then there's whipping - my least favourite part, though it does a very good job of eating up time spent in an airport or any sort of waiting room.

All sorts of mats to show today - from Hella, Karen and Sandra

2011-05-15T14:24:00.004-03:00

On the left, a stained glass design, taken from one of the gorgeous stained glass panels in the Saint John Art Centre, a well-preserved Carnegie building in Saint John, New Brunswick.

Several of the Quoddy Loopers attended the hook-in of the Carnegie Rug Hookers in that building. Last year, the welcome gift for each visitor was a small pattern on burlap with a colour photo of the skylight. Several have done the pattern and all have taken artistic liberties; it's interesting to see each interpretation. Hella's has a luminous coppery-bronze sort of feeling. Hella's mats are done in 3 cut and yarn, with her usual meticulousness (10" sq).

Another exquisite small piece of Hella's on the right - a floral sampler. It may have been designed as a chair pad, but it will not likely be sat on! (14" across)

Below is Hella's version of the Rug-Rave mat for Rug-Aid.Rug-Rave mats are 18.5"W x 14"H.

And below, Karen's version of the same design by Heather Ritchie, begun in November, 2009, to raise funds for Rug Aid, which is a charity helping the blind in Gambia to make some money through hooking rugs.

Now for Sandra's recent rugs. On the right, a sweet little mat inspired by her grandson's drawing. Sandra said, "Here is a small mat measuring 4" X 11" that was taken from a drawing done by my 6 year old grandson Alexander. I hooked this piece to give to his mother as a keepsake."

The next, below, is done for Sandra's youngest grandchild, simply titled "Leigha's rug". Sandra works in #4 cut almost exclusively and uses commercial patterns as well as those, like these two, done from imagination. (approx 25" x 20")

The final mat today is also Sandra's, a traditional 'hit-or-miss' design that approximates basketry, and is done with all the leftover woolly worms that all rughookers pile up over time. These 'scrappy' geometrics are quick to work on, especially if one follows the tradition of no colour plan at all, but rather allowing a natural eruption of whatever colour comes next to hand. (approx 35" x 22")

Quoddy Loopers 5th Annual Hurricane Hook-in

2011-04-22T22:07:00.001-03:00

Everyone's invited to the Quoddy Loopers 5th annual Hurricane Hook-in, Saturday, November 5, 2011.

As always, located in the parish centre (lower hall) of the Catholic Church of St Andrew. Starting at 10 am, with snacks and a soup and sandwich lunch - plus gifts for everyone - free! Tickets sold on great 'hookey' gift basket to benefit the church, and on RugRave-Rug Aid rugs with proceeds to Rug-Aid.org

Just bring your hooking and a recent mat (or more) to share for show and tell, if you like, and PLEASE do let us know you are coming, so we won't run out of food!

We'll wind up around 3:30, after a day of hooking, looking, shopping (www.RiverGallery.ca), eating and visiting. It's always fun

Please RSVP here or email Mary at mcbjones (at) rogers dot com

A very loose depiction of St Andrews, still in the works

Two deer and a tree

2011-02-06T22:46:00.000-04:00

Here's my latest rug in process... came out of a doodle in a boring meeting.

The colours aren't quite true - the beiges, rust and green are warmer. Mostly hand-cut and torn, 100% wool on burlap.

Cindi Gay's new guide to rug hooking on the internet

2011-02-02T20:39:00.075-04:00

Cindi Gay is a beautiful rughooker - well, I've never met her but her hand hooked rugs are beautiful and she acts like a beautiful person; ergo...

One of my absolute favourite rugs ever is her Village of Pemberville (an historic town in Ohio where she lives... the love shines through). She teaches, dyes, sells wool, patterns, etc, blogs and hooks and most recently started a new website to share other rughooking websites and blogs. She calls it "Your guide to rug hooking on the internet" and was kind enough to ask to post this blog on her new site.

So, if you have a rughooking site, please contact Cindi, who says:

Do you have a rug hooking website you want to get noticed?

For a limited time, get your site added to this listing for no cost.

Get Listed

If you are not familiar with Cindi's gorgeous rugs, visit cindigayrughooking.com (more on Cindi's rugs, below, including her ongoing blog topic of a really big rug she's been working on for a few years).

Cindi says, "I started my website in 2001 with beginners in mind. Since I had just started hooking, I was very aware about how hard it was to find information.

"My current project (and probably for the next few years) is a room sized rug. I started posting about the rug from the first day, October 1, 2007. Read the articles to follow along as I put the pattern on the backing, start hooking and then struggle with the borders as I design them as I go.
"The website includes an online store where you can purchase wool, red dot, my patterns and other rug hooking supplies."

Sandra's 'vintage' mat for grandson Nolan

2011-01-23T16:21:00.000-04:00

"Nolan's Rug" (design by T Heather Lewis)

Sandra's sister Heather drew out a vintage garage and truck scene, then Sandra hooked away on "Nolan's Rug" at her usual speed - fast forward - and had it ready for Christmas. No mystery about origin - with a Canadian flag flying over the scene!

It measures a hefty 42" X 24.5", mostly #4 cut, with the sky in #6. Sandra dyes much of her own wool.

Annual rug display at the local Ross Memorial Museum

2011-01-11T19:28:00.002-04:00

Every year, the Quoddy Loopers, along with other St Andrews and area groups and residents each decorate a room at the beautiful decorative arts museum. The Ross Memorial Museum is housed in a gracious red brick home, bought expressly by the Rosses to house the collection they had built up over a lifetime. We are fortunate to have such an exquisite little museum, and the community pulls together, baking cookies for the hundreds and hundreds of school children who come through each year, just before the Open House on the first weekend of December. Others decorate, host, welcome and feed the many more hundreds of visitors who start off the festive season with a wonderful tour of all the enthusiastically, creatively decorated rooms.

A selection of the rugs & mats on display - the floor was covered, the walls and just about every other surface, plus a few non-hooked items to add more festive fun.

Quoddy Loopers, not surprisingly, decorate their chosen room with rugs, mats and the varied paraphernalia of rughooking. Wools of all kinds, burlap or linen patterns in different stages of completion, hooks, magazines and books... rugs on the floor, mats on the walls, furniture and screen. Sprinkle with an array of Christmas ornaments, stockings and a couple of little trees, and the room is ready. Just add demonstrators working on a rug or two throughout the long weekend, and wait for the questions. Children are invariably fascinated by all the rugs and we set them a few questions - how many Santas can you find? And snowmen? Birds?

Mystery clamshell and hit-or-miss rug

2010-11-26T10:36:00.001-04:00

Judith Dallegret posted a mystery rug on her blog "Just go hook it", with a lovely runner - partially completed - using a clamshell border and a beautifully conceived and hooked hit-or-miss central motif. It is an excellent example of using a traditional design or motif - in this case, two quilt patters, clamshell and feathers, to make a terrific geometric mat. "Scrappy" rugs like this are a great way to use up those spare woolly worms we all end up with, or tiny scraps of special wools from other projects, although scrappy is not really the right adjective for this one. Delish!

http://gohookit.blogspot.com/2010/11/quilting-motifs-to-hooked-rugs.html?

Have a look, and if you know the creator please let Judith know by clicking on the link to her blog under the photo. I'd love to know too, so I can attribute it properly.

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Of Petals and Wool: Food Court Mob, Hallelujah Chorus ...

2010-11-26T09:29:00.002-04:00

I have to wonder how many were plants (from a community choir, for instance) and how many just joined in for the love of singing. I bet there were a lot of people in the food court and mall that day that had never heard the splendour of the Hallelujah chorus sung in parts by a 'mob'.

(link to) Of Petals and Wool blog: video - Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus ...

Religious affiliation aside, this is a vocal tour de force. The acoustics aren't bad, either!

The greens look a tad grey here, and the letters need tweaking, but it seems to fit with today's post. A traditional style hooked mat with padulas - imaginary flowers - in 100% wool, woven and sweater/knit strips. #6-8 and handcut on Verel. (Maureen M)

Another Hurricane Hook-in, come and gone...

2010-11-11T12:12:00.012-04:00

Mats on display - great when visitors bring their
show & tell to add to ours!

The Quoddy Loopers of St Andrews NB held their 4th annual Hurricane Hook-in Nov 6th--always the 1st Saturday of November, so please mark your calendars for next year (Nov 5th, 2011).

There were over 40 people in attendance and it would seem a good time was had by all. Unfortunately, I had to miss as a family visit coincided. Thanks to Sandra L for taking these photos so I didn't feel totally left out!

Three of Deanne Fitzpatrick's wonderful women... not sure who they are hooked by. It's neat to see so many of these women and how different dress/hair/background colours give individual character to each one. Two mats by (I believe) Mary G of Fredericton: a crisp Celtic and monochromatic self-portrait. The different styles available to us are legion; this shows three distinct and delightful takes on rughooking.

A few Quoddy Loopers in the background
with guests enjoying a visit in the fore

a happy mat, marking seasons of the year

I love the mat on the right, which was inspired by a decorative tin, left, by Carol-Ann N of Carnegie Rughookers in Saint John. It's been interesting to see it progress over the last year or so; looks like binding is all that's left to finish.

Sande and David Gunning of River Gallery.ca brought their roving shop to St Andrews (from Glenwood, NB, not far from Saint John and GrandBay/Westfield). As well as supplying rughookers with great wools, patterns, notions, etc, they bring some delicious batik and other quilting cottons every year, as the Guild does a lot of quilting to support the Church. River Gallery generously donated several yards of luscious wool to add to our door prizes and raffle baskets, which is much appreciated, helping everyone to have a wonderful day.

Two generous gift baskets were raffled off, with funds going to the church where we meet every Wednesday, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, missing the very occasional stormy or holiday Wednesday. Our group is smaller these days, with members having different priorities in life, but it's good to see some out at the hook-in (minus hurricane) and wonderful that even those who could not be present contributed so we would have a fun gift for each guest as well as these baskets to raffle. Kimm M of Fredericton HRHG won the big basket. Carol-Ann N, Gwen H, Sandra S, David G and Rhonda B were our other winners of door prizes. We hope those who come infrequently, continue to come and that those faces we haven't seen in awhile will return to hook with us!


More visitors, some from HRHG and at least one from Carnegie. Mary J is holding the front line, with surgery recovery getting in the way of wielding her hook. Of course, a lot of the 'business' of any hook-in is looking at each other's rugs and mats, chatting, enjoying the camaraderie... and the food. As always, the Guild ladies of the Catholic Church of St Andrew presented a lovely lunch, with sandwiches and sweets provided by the Loopers. Hope to see everyone next year, or sooner!

More mats on the go by Quoddy Loopers...

2010-11-03T00:00:00.028-03:00

Mary J's wedding rug for Natasha

Mary J designed a sunshiney yellow mat for her niece and new husband... "Live Love Laugh Forever" - good words to be going on with in a marriage!

Hella H put her current mat on hold to work on her Rug Rave rug for Rug Aid. (designer, Heather Ritchie)

Hella H's Rug-Aid Rug Rave mat in progress

I am, unfortunately, late in getting these posted, so will hope to soon have finished photos of them all!

Lynn K's mat is nearly finished!

Lynn K has a couple of mats done. This one is adorable and so close to being finished; designed by ????. The apple tree, saltbox house, padula flower, stars and crescent moon make an appealing scene, out of scale as many primitive rugs are.

Lynn is currently working on Sylvia Squirrel, a free pattern from Rug Hooking Magazine. Sept/Oct 2009 issue, designed by Mary Johnson, Designs in Wool. Her squirrel has sparkly fluffy grey tail and accents - very cute!

Here are a few small (approx 6" in diameter) funny faces that I plan to stuff and stick on branches gathered from our little woods, with ribbons around their 'necks'. From there, who knows? Perhaps stand in a plant or a vase, just for fun. (Thanks to Pauline, on Rug Hooking Daily / RHD for letting me 'borrow' her idea! However, the designs are my own, such as they are)

RHD is the free rughooking forum started by Heidi Wulfraat of London-Wul for Atlantic Canadian wool addicts, but now the membership is global.

more Quoddy Loopers' mats

2010-10-15T15:00:00.059-03:00

More of the Quoddy Loopers have been busy over the summer, while some have taken a hiatus from rughooking. Not so with Sandra - currently on a very large rug for one of her grandsons, drawn by her sister, Heather.

Sandra hooked this hit-or-miss mat to use up odds and ends of woolly worms, but she says that they seem to be multiplying, as her grab bag never gets any less full! The basketwork effect of the scrappy mat is a great simple and effective geometric design.

Next is Sandra's Kings Landing Peddlar, drawn from a photo she took at Kings Landing Historical Settlement, near Fredericton, New Brunswick. Also drawn on the backing by sister Heather... then Sandra went to work. Another beautiful slice of history to add to her collection!

Now Louise has finished a "Big Boned Girl" (pattern is Deanne Fitzpatrick's, with dashes of fun, as most of her mats are). I think I missed getting Louise's winter hooked pillow up, but we'll have snow before too many more weeks go by, I imagine! This 'fat-bottomed boy' is also one of Deanne's designs. I think there was some novelty wool used to add a little sparkle.

Progress on the St Andrews pictorial rug

2010-10-10T14:59:00.002-03:00

The photo is a little misty - colours are actually a little brighter than they appear on my screen, anyway. It is a very loose depiction of St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick (Canada), the lovely little seaside resort town I live in. Only the elements I wish to include are in--the windmill from Kingsbrae Garden, the Pendlebury Lighthouse (magically restored to its former glory, though that work is ongoing), Ministers Island & Bath House, the historic Blockhouse and just two of the numerous churches in town. I've also taken the liberty of moving a bit of the Algonquin golf course to adjoin the Hotel.

This 4.5 x 5ft rug has been on the go for three years, and I keep it at the church where the Quoddy Loopers meet every Wednesday, so it is only worked on in small hunks of time (6:30-8:30pm, year round). Others of our group have taken turns working on it and I hope to have more working on the borders when the Algonquin Hotel and the top water/sky is finished; perhaps this fall will see it done. I do miss the odd week, either by not being able to make it to the group or by hooking on another mat that has a deadline. This one is purely pleasure, so it will be done when it's done.

This week was the first time I took it off the rolling frame, so we have only seen it in sections since it went on the frame in, I think, fall of 2007 (possibly summer '07). Other members have also donated wool for the project, as well as time, which is much appreciated.

The rug is mostly 100% wool, both fabric and yarn, with the odd dash of novelty yarn for sparkle, on primitive linen, with cuts ranging from #3 up to 3/4" hand-torn strips. Much of the wool is as-is fabric; a great deal is purpose dyed, especially the greens and blues.

Quoddy Loopers 4th annual Hurricane Hook-in November 6, 2010

2010-09-29T16:31:00.006-03:00

The Quoddy Loopers of St Andrews, NB (Canada) are holding their 4th annual Hurricane Hook-in on November 6th, 2010, from 10am to 3:30pm in the Catholic Church of St Andrew Parish Centre.; side door, corner of Parr and King Streets, St Andrews by-the-Sea. It's a bright and capacious hall, with a great kitchen where the women's guild cook us up a lovely soup and other goodies, and the Loopers all provide sandwiches, sweets and muffins. Just bring yourself and your hooking, as well as any finished or not-finished mats for show and tell. But PLEASE do let us know you are coming, so we don't run out of food! Or space. Or prizes - our aim is to have one for every guest, plus a few door prizes.

Sande Gunning of the River Gallery will be our vendor, as usual, with her wonderful wares! If there is something specific from her website that you would like, please give her at least two weeks notice so she can be sure to have it to pack in with the rest of her roving shop.

Please email Mary at kgoffice (at) kingsbraegarden dot com or call 506 529 3790 with your RSVP for the hook-in.

NOTE: as I cannot be at the hook-in this year, we will not be doing this on the 6th; hopefully, next year:

We hope to have our finished Rug Aid Rug Rave mats finished and will be selling tickets on them - with all proceeds to Heather Ritchie's wonderful Rug Aid empowerment project for the blind in The Gambia. She has taught them to make 'rag rugs' and is raising more money for supplies (though many are donated) and especially to be able to build them a centre where they can work and keep their materials and mats and not have to tote them home and back to the centre where they currently have occasional use of a room. They sell their rugs locally and internationally, thus giving them a way to earn some money. The rug at the right is Heather Ritchie's; all around the world on November 21, 2009, people hooked the pattern bought from Heather and are doing different fundraisers. Heather has galleries of photos from the day on her website.

thanks

PS Our traditional rughooking group meets weekly -- Wednesday evenings, 6:30 - 8:30, in the Catholic Church of St Andrew parish centre, corner of Parr and King Streets -- and visitors are always welcome. We hook year-round and only miss a rare Wednesday when a holiday falls on the day or we get a (very rare) wicked storm.

PPS I was going to bring my ATCs to trade but have foolishly double booked myself and now will be seeing the grandbabies instead of attending the hook-in. VERY sorry to miss it! (maureen)

Artist trading cards - ATCs

2010-08-07T16:06:00.000-03:00

There's been a lot of buzz recently about artist trading cards, or ATCs, so I thought I'd jump in and try a few.

The parameters are pretty simple, in any medium, it seems -- size is standard, at 2.5" x 3.5", with information on the back to say who you are, when it was created, contact info and whatever you want, after that. Then, you just find other willing traders and collect little expressions of creativity.

Because they are small, the cost in materials and time invested in each one is fairly modest. I used backing that was cut off a large project (which appeals to my thrifty nature), and woolly worms I had on hand. I've also collected buttons for many years, as well as being a fabricoholic, so I used some cute little buttons on the geometric ATC. Embellishments are fairly common, so you could mix felting and hooking, add bits of fancy ribbon and trim, and generally have fun!

Looking at the photo, I see my little crooked house tree should have been in a punchier green, the paisley is not immediately recognizable as such, the tree with the sunset is rather fuzzy.... but I enjoyed the process and will try some more. I'll probably do the next batch in finer cuts of wool. These tiny mats are in #6 to handcut strips of woven and knitted wool, as well as yarn. Some specialty dyed wools give an extra dimension of colour.

Summertime in St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick

2010-07-11T15:22:00.000-03:00

Rughooking might be only a wintertime pastime for many, but the Quoddy Loopers in St Andrews meet all year long, every Wednesday, from 6:30 to 8:30pm, in the Parish Centre of the Catholic Church of St Andrew. It is below ground--refreshingly cool in the summer and cozily warm in the winter. The only exception is when a holiday falls on that day or the weather is too treacherous to venture out. Those are both rarities. Do post a comment on the blog, if you like, to let us know you'd like to join us. I will then email you and confirm that we are indeed meeting that day.

I have been busy on several Wednesday evenings lately, so I am missing my Quoddy Looper 'fix'--it is lovely to get together and see what each of the others is working on, might have finished or is planning to start. Hopefully some of the other members will have photos of their rugs for me to post. These two are ones I've done to satisfy a challenge - a semi-abstract (above, left) and what I call a fall colour study (right) - an effort at impressionism. I have quite a ways to go, and will likely do another few such studies. It's a great way to use up leftover woolly worms. Both mats are on primitive linen, #6 to 8 cuts. The colour study used up the last of my shaving cream dyed wool (left); time to get the dye pots out!

New Brunswick Mat Registry - News Update May 2010

2010-05-02T20:27:00.005-03:00

Judy Morrison, administrator of the NBMR, sends out this information regarding this exciting project. It is a brave undertaking to catalogue histories and images of rugs and mats in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick Mat Registries

§ Spring registries are being held in St Andrews and Bouctouche., New Brunswick. The Quoddy Loopers and Kingsbrae Garden are hosting a NBMR registry on May 29, 9am to 4pm. Les Hookeuses de Bouctouche and Kent Museum are hosting a NBMR registry on June 5^th. These will be our first public registries and we are excited to see what treasurers are out there!

§ If you have a mat or rug you would like to enter into the registry, please leave a comment here on the blog and we will contact you to make an appointment on May 29th in St Andrews.

§ In the fall we are planning registries in Fredericton and Moncton. Dates and venues to be confirmed.

§ It has been suggested that we start a waiting list for registries. So... if you know someone that has a mat to register– send me their name and phone number. When there is a registry scheduled for their region we can phone them.

(image is of Louise M's rug, made from an old pattern inherited from her aunt, done in #8 cut wool)

Growing Support

· The support for NBMR is growing both with our fellow hookers and with others interested in protecting this unique resource for the people of New Brunswick.

· The University of Moncton – Acadian Museum have offered resources to support the project.

Financial Support

· The NBMR has obtained a major financial sponsor - Briggs and Little Woolen Mill. They are providing a portion of funding to support our registries for five years. We will be printing our brochure showing their support. Please support them as a customer when you can! The mill is located inbetween Fredericton and St Andrews, NB. They make a wide range of wonderful colours of 100% Canadian domestic wools in different weights (up to 46 colours in each one), milled at their factory in York Mills, New Brunswick, Canada, the same place it's been for over 150 years. "Try Knitting with the same yarn that your Grandma and Great Grandma used!"

click on image below, for more information on the mat registry:

· Fredericton’s Heritage Guild sponsored a great project hooking ornaments that sold very successfully, contributing a large donation to the registry.

· New Brunswick hooking groups continue to donate monies to the registry. These are so important – whether $10 or $100. This support is the foundation of the project’s longevity and shows other contributors that the project is supported from the ground up.

· We are working on a financial campaign with a package (letter, information and donation form) that will be available to approach potential contributors. Let me know if you know someone who could be interested in contributing to this project, and I will pass along the info to the group.

Please note: the registry is not a financial assessment of rugs, but an effort to gather information that might otherwise be lost to future generations.
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Heather Ritchie's Rug Rave fundraiser for Rug Aid

2010-04-16T12:03:00.000-03:00

Several Quoddy Loopers are working on their Rug Aid mats from the November 21,2009 international Rug Rave event for Rug-Aid, a not-for-profit organization begun by UK rughooker & teacher Heather Ritchie, who has been helping blind and vision-impaired people and their families, in Gambia.

Heather is from Reeth, in England, and is helping the community in Gambia towards their aim of having a building of their own in which to keep their supplies and meet to hook rugs. They sell the rugs they make to visitors. The image to the left is Heather's version of the pattern that people all over the world purchased from her to help with the fundraising.

Heather has been working with the group, teaching, providing materials and spearheading the fundraising efforts, with the aim of eventually providing a building for the rughookers to work and store their materials in. For the time being, they have the use of a community room to work in but have to carry everything home between their sessions. Rug Aid also pays their transportation and provides some food for the workers. Sighted people hook outlines, sort the fabric into colours and the blind rughookers fill in the spaces. At the Rug Rave, we were to each try hooking blindfolded for 30 minutes – it’s not easy! We each paid a fee to Heather for the use of the pattern and everyone is hooking their own version. The intention is to raffle off the rugs by our 2010 hook-in and remit those funds to Rug-Aid as well.

More info from the rug-aid.org website: "Heather Ritchie first visited the Gambia in 2007. She was amazed at how quickly the blind people she taught at the GOVI (Gambian Organisation for the Visually Impaired) Resource Centre learned to make rag rugs, even though she didn't know their language. They learned very quickly and used second hand t-shirts to create their rugs. The aim of Rug Aid is to provide opportunities for women and children in some of the poorest communities in Africa. They will make rugs, wall hangings and decorative items for sale locally, nationally and, maybe later, through fair trade organisations world wide. By providing opportunities for women and children, the aim of Rug Aid is to bring about change 'from the bottom up'."

This one is hooked with mainly as-is recycled wool, in #6 to 9 cuts, on burlap, or 'hessian', as it is called in the UK.

Rug Bee in LIFE magazine, July 1951

2010-04-16T11:53:00.001-03:00

Looks like fun - plein air rug bee or hook-in; it's all getting together to enjoy rughooking!

posted by Gene Shepherd.

more photos from the LIFE article, July 1951

[not for commercial use]

Nancy G, on The Welcome Mat, nosed out the info on this huge rug bee/hook-in:
"In the book Color in Hooked Rugs by Pearl K. McGown on page 295. 'In July, 1951, the first PUBLIC Hooking Bee was staged on the green at Storrowton Village (Eastern States Expo) in West Springfield, Mass.' It was supervised by Mrs. Ione Winans, Over one thousand women [and at least one man] came with frames, rugs and of course a lunch! That's a lot of rughookers in one spot!"

1000+ rughookers - almost all women - together on a beautiful sunny day to share their love of the craft and art of rughooking - heaven! Except, these days, if we were to get that many at an 'rug bee', there would be a serious scarcity of corsets, hats, pearls, dresses, hosiery, heels... it's a different world.

Family matters... rugs for families

2010-02-26T12:08:00.005-04:00

Karen E, one of the Quoddy Loopers, was asked by her daughter Leigh to make her a rug in the style of a stained glass window in their home - diamond panes, in bright colours. She certainly succeeded! This is a happy rug, with an almost hit-or-miss placement of colours (you may notice that the opposing triangles do match each other, for the most part, framing the mat nicely). It's almost hypnotic, gazing at the colours and watching different groups of diamonds forming themselves into patterns within the whole. So this is a 'scrappy' rug that is beautifully harmonious; about 3ft by 2ft. Karen hand cuts almost exclusively, the old-fashioned way, and whipped the edges with black woollen yarn.

I was asked by our elder son to hook a mat with a pig theme, for a friend who is unwell and collects things piggy. With the assurance that the recipient has a good sense of humour, this rug came to be. Pigs can too fly! ...with a little help from their friends.

The mat is mostly #6 cut, with odd details in #5. Some of the 'fields' are hand torn and cut wools, about 1/2 to 5/8" wide.

Mary's special rugs for Megan and Diane

2010-01-25T10:52:00.004-04:00

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

2010-01-19T19:38:00.002-04:00

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

2010-01-19T18:32:00.003-04:00

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

2010-01-15T16:58:00.009-04:00

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

2010-01-08T16:09:00.010-04:00

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.

Sandra's December mats

2009-12-29T15:57:00.005-04:00

Sandra's been busy again - here is a sweet squirrel mat from a free pattern in RHM [RugHooking Magazine, Sept/Oct 2009]: "Miss Sylvia Squirrel - Woodland Gatherer"... likely a play on sylvan, with her leaves and pumpkins. It is designed by Mary Johnson/ Designs in Wool, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

The second mat is Sandra's own design, 'Yankee Peddler', after a photo from a trip to Kings Landing Historical Settlement in New Brunswick. Both are in #4 cut, with lots of interesting detail.

International Rug Rave for rug-aid.org

2009-11-22T12:02:00.010-04:00

We were a smaller group than hoped-for, but four Quoddy Loopers got together yesterday, November 21st, along with rughookers across the world, to hook on a pattern drawn especially for the Rug Rave event by UK rughooker & teacher Heather Ritchie, who has been helping blind and vision-impaired people and their families, in Gambia. She has taught them the craft of rughooking, helped to supply them with 'hessian' [burlap, to North Americans], hooks and recycled T-shirts [wool being scarce there]. Sighted friends, family and caregivers hook outlines and the blind rughookers fill in spaces, or hook abstractly on their own. The resulting mats are sold to tourists. Begging has recently been outlawed in Gambia, so this is a far more satisfactory option for the participants to earn an income.

The aim of the fundraising effort is to help defray cost of materials and to eventually afford the group their own building, so they will not have to lug materials and mats back and forth to the community centre, where they now have occasional space and time for making their rugs.

Each of the Rug Rave participants in Europe, Canada, the USA and Australia have given a donation for the use of the pattern. There will be 3 or 4 of the Rug Aid Rave mats by our group raffled off and the funds raised will also be sent to Rug Aid. Ours are being hooked with wool, as usual - both cut strips of woven wool and woollen yarn. We will sell tickets on them all year and pull the winning names the first Saturday of November, at our 4th annual Hurricane Hook-in in St Andrews [NB, Canada], November 6/2010.

It was suggested that we hook blindfolded for 30 minutes to get a bit of an idea of the challenge the blind rughookers face, which we did. Not an easy task! Those who couldn't make it yesterday will hopefully still be on board for hooking a Rug Aid rug for the raffle, so our numbers could improve. It was a good day and a good feeling to be helping people with difficulties we can only imagine.

Hurricane Hook-in was a blast!

2009-11-10T20:43:00.008-04:00

The 3rd Hurricane Hook-in was loads of fun! There were nearly 50 people and we could have managed several more. Many beautiful rugs were on display as well as all the wonderful work that was going on around the room. The parish hall is bright and spacious, and the buzz of friendly chat around the room was constant.

Sande Gunning was there all day with her wonderful wares from the River Gallery, and business seemed pretty brisk. Of course, the wools are fabulous, Joan Kay's patterns were in high demand, and then the tools of the trade, books and accessories were tempting, too.

Visitors came from Fredericton, Sussex, Saint John and Moncton. Hooking seems to be a secondary component of hook-ins, generally - there is a lot of looking and talking about rughooking, but that's all part of the appeal. Rugookers may use the very fine cuts or the wide chunky primitive style, but all appreciate each others' work.

Show and tell of Quoddy Loopers' mats and a few from our visitors.

Here are four of our Quoddy Loopers taking a break from hooking [and talking, eating, etc.], with two of the Church Guild members working on their quilting in the corner, inbetween feeding us yummy snacks and lunch. Nobody went hungry!

There were special visitors to the hook-in - three adorable kittens, looking for a good home. Susan W, one of our group, had a pregnant cat show up on her doorstep. She already has 3 of her own, but couldn't turn away a cat in need. So, she will keep the mother but would like good homes for the babies - with shots, neutred - a deal too good to miss!

last call for Nov 7 hook-in in St Andrews, NB

2009-11-06T09:38:00.007-04:00

For any who were wavering, this is your last call for tomorrow's hook-in. We have approximately 55 now registered and there is room to squeeze a few more in--we'd love to have you join us. Do please call or email Mary -- mcjones(at)nb.sympatico.ca or call 506-529-3790 to let us know you're coming, so we don't run out of food! Lunch, snacks, door prizes, good company.... all free! There will be room for show and tell, so please bring your latest mat[s] as well as the one you are working on. The WELCOME mat, above, is one by Mary J. Hard to see the 'bling' bits in the photo, but it is lovely--the fairies do sparkle!

Vendor for the day is Sande Gunning of River Gallery, with her travelling shop, full of wool, patterns, hooking accessories, Cushing dyes and something for the quilters, as always. "Established in 2005, the River Gallery is a southern New Brunswick destination for fibre enthusiasts everywhere. A place where quilting, rug hooking and other fibre arts are celebrated."

So, Saturday, November 7th, 9:30 to 3pm [or thereabouts], please join us for a day of wonderful wools and inspiration, in the parish centre [side door] of the Catholic Church of St Andrew, in St Andrews, NB, corner of Parr and King Streets.
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Cindy's latest mat from Doris Norman's workshop & call for Hook-in Nov 7/09

2009-10-12T17:31:00.007-03:00

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On September 26, many of the Quoddy Loopers took a one day workshop with Doris Norman, a Fredericton, New Brunswick rughooking marvel; she does beautiful work and is a patient and generous teacher. This latest session was 'Primitive Shaded Flowers & Leaves". Cindy N was the first one to finish her rose. Mine is nearly finished - hooked and ready to be bound, backed and stuffed as a pillow.
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Cindy N's pink rose and Maureen M's blue/yellow version.

As more Loopers finish theirs, I'll post them.

Next on the agenda, our 3rd annual Hurricane Hook-in, November 7th at the Catholic Church of St Andrew [in St Andrews, NB]. All rughookers welcome, but please do let us know you are coming so we can be sure not to run out of food - and door prizes! Lunch & snacks provided; 9:30 to approx 3pm. RSVP to Mary at "mcjones at nb.sympatico.ca". [remove spaces and replace at with @]. Vendor will be Sande Gunning with a full display of River Gallery wools, patterns, quilt cottons and tools.
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Aqanu-te, a Malecite welcome

2009-10-10T15:56:00.007-03:00

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Aqanu-te is a Malecite (or Maliseet) welcoming word. Mary J made it for her sister's best friend, in celebration of her 60th birthday. It is an original design.

The wallhanging is done in 4 & 5 cut, spot dyed and as-is textured wools on cotton rug warp. The feather seems ready to lift off the mat, or perhaps it just recently landed. It is bound with woollen yarn and then a teal yarn is overlaid to bring the central background colour to the edges. The Dream Catcher is done with novelty yarn, beads and feathers.
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Floral message board

2009-10-05T11:19:00.011-03:00

I know Verel is a dirty word to many rughookers, but I thought it would have some practical applications, so have made a few tote bags with small hooked motif and a message board with a hooked padula floral border.

The pushpins are a serendipitous dollar store find. There are loads of interesting options now available, at various price points.

Verel has been used for office dividers and the like before, and while it is a synthetic fabric and not suitable for rugs or mats on the floor, it works fine for smaller decorative items and wallhangings. The 'board' part of the floral message board is 3/8" styrofoam and 1/4" cork, so that the pushpins will stay and not degrade the styrofoam. I hooked the edges, leaving the corners unhooked so I could 'mitre' it and reduce bulk at the corners. The padulas [fantasy flowers in the rughooking world] are done with hit-or-miss like colours, as are the stems and leaves, in various greens.

Once I sewed the verel around the backing material, I connected the opposing sides along their length to make it taut, then lined it and affixed a label with name, date etc.

I haven't 'road tested' the willow tree tote bag, but I am fairly certain it will hold up - the question is not if the Verel will last, but whether, over time, it will abrade the wool strips. I have used a light fabric 'lining', adhered with fabric adhesive over the hooked area only. The other thing I like about Verel is that it comes in several colours, not to mention being economical.

While the weave is rather tight, I find it easy, with a large-shafted hook, to hook up to an 8-cut wool strip, in primitive style. It will take a wider cut, but does buckle a bit. The close weave makes it suitable for a tote bag. Knitting needles would likely pierce the fabric, but they will do that to most textiles.

My other plan for the message board is to make one to display our grandson Ruben's latest art project. He's just coming up to two, and is enjoying daycare in Toronto [too far from New Brunswick, but that's life--thank goodness for webcams!]. I haven't settled on a border pattern to hook, but maybe will use a variation on the Noah's Ark rug I made him.
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Vincent Van Gogh

2009-10-01T20:28:00.010-03:00

.Vincent Van Gogh not only made wonderful art, but this quote from him speaks to those of us who love to create:

"Happiness... it lies in the joy of achievement,
in the thrill of creative effort"

.Room at Arles, 1888, Vincent Van Gogh

Absolutely! Not that I am comparing my creations to his... but the feeling is there, and I would imagine for most rughookers, fibre artists and artists in every field. It feels good to be sharing an emotion with a great man. He put it so well, that feeling of well-being and satisfaction when our hands make something that we love.

Sandra's been busy again

2009-10-01T08:51:00.014-03:00

Sandra has just completed two new rugs - "Four for Mirth" by Joan F Kays and "Catnip", designed by Patti Armstrong. Her favourite brights make these fun and happy mats.

False alarm... Quoddy Loopers will meet Wednesday this week, as usual

2009-09-29T14:36:00.003-03:00

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In case anyone was concerned, Quoddy Loopers meeting has been changed back to its normal time of 6:30 to 8:30 on Wednesday this week. The conflict for the hall has been resolved.

I don't have a new rug to show you, so here's one of my favourite photos of Kingsbrae Garden, where I work. I could post one a day for years, with all the great images we have, but I will refrain.
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Rughooking moved to Thursday this week & thanks for visiting on the studio tour

2009-09-26T16:53:00.011-03:00

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Quoddy Loopers will meet Thursday evening this week, as the church hall is booked for another group; still 6:30 to 8:30pm.
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Thanks to everyone who came out to the Two Countries One Bay art studio tour. There was some lively interest in both rughooking and in Ray's unique pictorial quilting method. Some people sat down at the rug frame and pulled a few loops and we may have made at least one new convert!

Home Sweet Home mat by Maureen McIlwain.
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Workshop today with Doris Norman

2009-09-26T16:37:00.014-03:00

Our group has the luxury of an excellent teacher living nearby, and Doris Norman comes down to St Andrews from Fredericton [approx 1 1/2 hrs] a couple of times a year. She has a busy schedule and teaches around the Maritimes, New England, etc. Just back from teaching in Newfoundland and Labrador, and one of our group actually went for the rughooking camp. The rest of us are green with envy, and would have loved to hop along in Diane's suitcase or Doris' basket. No such luck.

Today our workshop was 'Shading primitive leaves & flowers'. We mostly all used Doris' pattern - a largish double-petalled padula (fantasy flower) with three buds and several leaves. There was a fair bit of unhooking going along with the various hooked versions of the flowers, but we all ended up with something at the end of the day. Visit Doris' blog for more.

Doris also did a demo of marbleizing wools to marry them in the same colour family. She sandwiched a white length of wool between a brightish cerise and a purple/plum plaid, then rolled them from the short end to make a fat sausage, tied it in several places and put it dry into a pot with water and some dishwashing soap [she suggests Ivory as being a gentle one and easy on the wool]. This simmered along for about an hour while we hooked and then Doris added some citric acid to set the colours and simmered some more. Next, the reveal -- the central white piece picked up pink and purple dye in bands so would make a gentle background or some lovely clouds above a pinkish sky. Some wools bleed more of their dye into the water than others, but they all came out looking like they belonged together, which was the intent. The cerise piece didn't lose a lot of colour, but enough that it provided a different value, with a matching piece that hadn't gone into the pot.

If a few of us get our padulas finished, I'll post some photos. Brought the camera today and didn't remember to snap any pics - too busy hooking and yakking. An excellent day.
."Happiness is not a station you arrive at, but a manner of travelling" (quote from Margaret Lee Runbeck - an American author, 1905-1956) - another mat to use up spare woolly worms in the border - traditional flying geese quilt pattern [Maureen; original design]. It is not quite a hit-or-miss, as the spare worms are hooked in colour families in the triangles, but it appeals to my thrifty soul, as I can use quite short pieces and group them.
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Two Countries One Bay Art Studio Tour

2009-08-30T17:23:00.010-03:00

The 2nd annual Two Countries, One Bay Art Studio Tour is a great opportunity to see a variety of inspired art work, visit the studios of creative artists, and experience the international cultures of two distinct countries — eastern Maine, USA, and southern New Brunswick, Canada — while enjoying en route the breath-taking coastal scenery of Passamaquoddy Bay. Ferries facilitate completion of the Quoddy Loop.

September 19-20, 2009, Saturday and Sunday
10am to 5pm, Atlantic & Eastern time

Ray and Maureen will be demonstrating and exhibiting their work for sale at the Kingsbrae Garden Visitors Centre*, St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick [Canada]. Ray's work is pictorial quilting in her own style, inspired by the scenery around the province. Maureen practises traditional rughooking with original designs created with woollen cloth or yarn on burlap or linen. Patterns will also be on sale.

Ray Peterson's pictorial quilting & Maureen McIlwain's mats
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During this self-guided tour you’ll meet world-class artists in the places where they create their work — their studios. This setting provides a unique opportunity to watch demonstrations or try your hand at techniques, inquire about the artist’s creative process, or experience art in an intimate setting — with the chance to talk with the artist directly. Organized by the Tides Institute and Museum of Art / CulturePass, Bertha Day Art and Craft Gallery and Michael Chesley Johnson and funded by participating artists and sponsors, this juried tour has found the best of the creative work being produced in this international coastal region.

Offering a wide range of media, from painting to printmaking, textiles to stained glass, from contemporary sculpture and jewelry, to traditional crafts, you'll find the unique and unusual — an art adventure not to be missed!

Additional support provided by the Maine Arts Commission, Maine State Office of Tourism, the Province of New Brunswick Department of Tourism and Parks, and East Coast Ferries.

* no admission fee is required to access the studio stop at Kingsbrae Garden, but 2 for 1 Garden admission is offered to Art Studio Tour participants. Pick up a coupon after viewing the artwork on display.

The licensed Garden Café is a great spot for lunch or afternoon tea — or just a coffee and dessert! The Café is open 10 am to 5 pm in September.

Full info on the tour is available online and the poster, as a PDF file

Ten minute rughooking challenge & giveaway - Red Jack Rugs

2009-08-01T17:18:00.008-03:00

April DeConick is a rughooker, author and designer living in Texas. She has had rugs featured in the Celebration juried series and Rug Hooking Magazine. She has authored articles for the ATHA Newsletter and Rug Hooking Magazine. Her rugs have been exhibited at Sauder Village and local events.

April decided to house a few rug hooking challenges on her Red Jack Rugs blog "in the hope that together we might support and inspire each other to 'make rugs' even though we live far apart. So my thought is, let's apply that to rug hooking and make it even more fun by including a prize give-away, one of my 10 by 10 pocket packs which I will hook and sew and give to one of the formal challenge participants every January 31st for as many years as this challenge goes on."

This is the first challenge:

Work on your rug at least 10-minutes a day, six days out of the week, except holidays, for at least six months. "Work" includes anything rug-related: designing, drawing, laying out, dyeing, hooking, binding, even shopping for materials and attending guild. NOTE that the 10-minutes is not accumulative, so if you hook for 30-minutes one day, this does not count as three 10-minute days. The challenge is to work on your rugs at least 10 minutes every day. You are your own log-keeper.

Click on the badge or link above to go to April's site to join up!
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Scrappy rugs & wonky perimeters

2009-07-30T11:52:00.010-03:00

The recycling and 'use it up' nature of scrappy, hit-or-miss rugs and mats is very appealing to me. They are like fun snacks rather than a full meal or formal banquet of a pictorial or fine design rugs/mats. They are less work, requiring very little thought and I find them mostly cheerful and charming. Having just finished my first biggish [2 ft by 4 ft] scrappy rug, Live simply, in an effort to use up my woolly worm leftovers, I was interested to see a lovely hit-or-miss rug on Gene Shepherd's blog. A friend of Gene's wrote in, asking for advice, as her simple oval was losing its regular shape, partially due to the use of different widths of wool strips from her scrap basket. Gene had several very good ideas on how to correct the problem and restore the rug to its original oval shape.

The problem of rugs with wonky borders/edges is one that most of us have probably faced, and this is a great lesson on how to deal with it. I went looking for a hit-or-miss rug from our Quoddy Loopers group to illustrate this, and realized that either no-one else in our group likes doing scrappy mats or else I don't have enough photos, because another of mine is the only one I have--Live, love, laugh.

It illustrates the wonkiness of the outline [now pressed and hung, looking much straighter!] as well as using hit or miss in the log cabin border and to a lesser degree in the background, with different darks.
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Celtic Knot tote bag

2009-07-24T12:44:00.007-03:00

Celtic designs move me - must be my Irish and Scots forebears... and the sinuous charm of interlocking curves and lines. I'd had it on my to-do list for ages to do a Celtic rughooking, and finally found the perfect project. I bought a new to me [and unused] tote bag at one of our local Frenchy's stores [treasure troves for rughookers, with woollen clothes ready for recycling], and used a classic Celtic knot from a book of designs that a friend gave me [thank you, Mary!] -- the Ulbster Stone from Caithness, Scotland.

I hooked the Celtic square with nylons, rather than wool, so as not to add too much weight [as-is, handcut, on monkscloth]. It hooked up quickly. Lots of pockets, a good wide strap and light [until I get it loaded up]. The thing I learned from this first time hooking with nylons was that I don't like cutting rings across the legs [too many ends], but rather cutting spirally, like paring an apple, to get continuous strips to hook with. Also you have to be careful not to twist underneath, just like with wool, but the idea is to keep the rolled edge of the nylon strip uppermost, not the cut edges.

Free patterns!

2009-07-17T15:26:00.006-03:00

There are numerous websites with free patterns, some specifically for hooked rugs and others that are easily adapted to hooking. Try P&B Textiles - meant for quilting, but many would make lovely rugs. I particularly like Bella's Blooms and there are many geometrics that would be great either in hit-or-miss or in a planned colour scheme. Here's a page with 1295 sites, all offering free patterns, and categorized by theme, holiday or subject [Fish, Frogs & Bugs or Snowmen, for example]. Again, this is a quilting site, so some of the paper piecing patterns might not translate so well, but for anyone who is shy of drawing their own pattern, these are treasure troves!

Donna Hrkman, a talented rughooker, shares a free snowman pattern on her site: at Blue Ribbon Rugs; it may change seasonally. Her Women of the Congo rug was featured in RHM/ Rug Hooking Magazine (Jan/Feb 2006) and is a powerful work of art and compassion.

Stained glass patterns are also ideal for hooking; though this 'fantasy' site has a strong cartoon and juvenile bent, it does have many free stained glass patterns! And yet more, at Spectrum, where you are asked to log in with a password, but it's quick and easy, and free patterns are searchable by category.

For some fun free primitive patterns, Jennie Baer at Homeberries has 'freebies' - just click on the category you are looking for - seasons, ornies, nursery rhymes and everyday (e.g. "A Happy Home is Early Heaven"). They are meant for embroidery but I think would make sweet mats.

Ship to Shore

Well, that was my browse for today. Here's a doodle of mine that you are free to hook, if you like, but as with most free patterns, it's for personal use only, please.

Finally on the floor! Live Simply is finished

2009-07-10T19:20:00.007-03:00

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

2009-07-10T10:19:00.012-03:00

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!

2009-06-27T10:45:00.018-03:00

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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?

2009-06-18T19:30:00.009-03:00

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

2009-05-30T18:08:00.005-03:00

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

2009-05-16T14:06:00.006-03:00

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'

2009-05-03T17:29:00.005-03:00

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

2009-04-30T18:43:00.013-03:00

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

2009-04-25T19:17:00.007-03:00

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

2009-04-24T12:14:00.011-03:00

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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"A silk purse from a sow's ear"

2009-04-21T17:11:00.009-03:00

Hella has been rughooking for three years... or is it four? In any case, she is a master of the fine work that is so admired for precision and subtlety of colour. But her granddaughter Catrina is of a more vivid stripe, so Hella created this very finely hooked panel to dress up a utilitarian PC tote bag. You would never notice its humble origins. As Catrina is unique, so is her gift from Hella!

Our group is already talking about our own "Hurricane hook-in" this fall, as some of us plan this weekend to attend:

Hooking By The River

St Peter’s Parish Hall

2365 Woodstock Road

Fredericton (NB)

April 25

10 am to 3:00pm

Hair with Flair

2009-04-18T16:33:00.004-03:00

Mary J, one of our Quoddy Loopers group, made this lovely mat for her sister Barb's hair salon-- Hair with Flair--here in St Andrews.

Deb Carr designed it, based on Barb's business card. It came out great--#3 cut for details and #5 for background. You could just about pick up the scissors and start snipping!
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April is here - and so is the snow...

2009-04-12T13:23:00.011-03:00

It is hard to believe that we are a good way into April and Mother Nature has seen fit to give us more snow -- just when we had nearly gotten rid of the winter pile-up, which was unusually generous this year. So, with winter on the way out an spring surely just around the corner, I have just finished a traditional holly mat for a friend [who is doing her holiday shopping very early] and adapted another mat for a much-needed burst of spring and flowers.

Having been 'out of the loop' lately, I don't have any photos from other Quoddy Loopers, but hope to redress that situation this week! I'm sure they've been up to some wonderful work while I've been away.

If you love rughooking and haven't found it yet, there is another relatively new web forum called The Welcome Mat, started by Wanda Kerr, the wool dyeing maven from Wiarton, Ontario [Canada]. Do drop by and take a look - sign up if you are a fibre enthusiast, crafter or artist. Delightful array of rugs, mats and other hooked items - bags, purses, 3D creations, a bit of felting, some great braided/hooked rugs... loads to wander through and get inspired by.

Wanda's website has a full description of her classes, hook-ins, etc. www.wandaworks.ca
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No Quoddy Looping tonight

2009-03-11T15:58:00.004-03:00

It's snowing in St Andrews... again... so we won't be meeting tonight for our regualar rughooking group. Hope to see you next week at 6:30!
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I was hoping for a couple of new winter mats to post, but that will have to wait for next week. This is one of my favourite winter photos from Kingsbrae Garden. It's not a trick of the eye -- that Adirondack chair is super-sized!
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Snow days are great for rughooking!

2009-03-03T10:33:00.007-04:00

Making some more progress on 'live simply... I think the lettering is better now, unless I go to one colour, or one colour per thought.

The next challenge is what hit-or-miss border to use for the third and final border..I am testing two ideas - sort of paisleys on the left [but using a plaid for background, so not using up as many odds & ends as I had hoped] and then a zig-zag hit-or-miss along the bottom. I'll do some more of that and maybe use both borders, or just one. Depends how it looks when I get more hooked. I want to have this done and on the floor before too long - though we're not about to run out of winter weather anytime soon!

Something to brighten up the winter - and all this SNOW!

2009-02-21T19:42:00.005-04:00

I felt like something bright and cheerful to work on, and to use up leftover worms. so this is what I am working on now: the wording is hard to make out in the photo [I think I need to change some colours here and there], but it will say:

live simply, laugh often, love much

The last border will be totally hit-or-miss and I hope to power through my odds and ends that way. The flying geese are hit or miss, as are the big padulas [fake flowers]. It is on primitive linen, mostly #6 cut wools - as-is, marbleized, casserole dyed... whatever I have on hand.
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Natalie, Nancy and Louise make progress!

2009-02-20T18:05:00.015-04:00

Nancy has been working on a Grenfell style mat, dyeing many of the nylons to order, and using some as-is. She's the first of our group to finish one of these alternate material mats - and she's done a great job! The Eskimo/Inuit fisher people are a traditional Grenfell subject as well... this pattern comes from Doris Norman. Luminous sky and colourful ice make this mat sing.

Natalie is working on her very first mat - Yo Yo Kitty from Yankee Peddler. Though she's not a cat lover, Natalie has given this woolly feline a sweet expression, and she's loving the yo-yos!

Louise, another of our more recent members, has just finished two mats and is working on an old [elderly?] burlap rug pattern that she inherited. On the left, the Covered Bridge, a Joan Moshimer pattern and her first mat, Erin McKenna's St John House, on the right. Lovely job on both!

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This traditional old pattern has the colours painted on the burlap, as was often done in the time before the cheap colour print options we have today. Also, Louise is finding the 'primitive' #8 cut a lot faster than the 3&4 cuts she used on her first two projects!

Lots of activity at the Quoddy Loopers this winter!

More wedding bells for Quoddy Loopers!

2009-02-14T17:53:00.004-04:00

I have been remiss in getting this latest sweet wedding rug posted from the Quoddy Loopers group - this time, Carol made the mat for her son, Matt and new daughter-in-law, Des. Their marriage took place in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, July 26th, 2008. ...........................................................................................................

Red Saltbox tutorial on binding hooked mats & rugs

2009-01-16T16:41:00.005-04:00

People have been talking lately about different ways to finish rugs and mats and hooked items of all sorts. One name that keeps popping up was Wendy Miller of The Red Saltbox -- rug designs, etc.

Very clear and complete directions on how to bind a rug or mat with wool fabric-covered cording, just like pillows are often done. Tidy, easy to coordinate the colours with your mat and as Wendy says, if you use a plaid in the hooking, you can cut the wool fabric on the bias/diagonal, getting instant pizazz and a very professional looking finish, pulling the colours from the rug into the binding.

Neat!
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RugHooking Daily - Atlantic Canada

2009-01-13T08:56:00.008-04:00

A forum to provide rug hookers and mixed media artists with contacts and communications. Post your artwork, special interests and events.

Visit RUGHOOKING DAILY

One week in existence and this great new rughooking forum now has nearly 200 members and over 300 photos posted of wonderful rugs, mats, hangings, purses, 3-D items... amazing!
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Atlantic Canada's new rughooking forum

2009-01-09T16:03:00.005-04:00

Just this week, Heidi Wulfraat of London-Wul Fibre Arts started a new rughooking forum for Atlantic Canada's diverse group of rughookers at RUG HOOKING DAILY . Of course, since rughookers are wonderful people and love to share, the online forum is open to all rughookers and creative types who would like to join.

As Heidi says, it's "A forum to provide rughookers and mixed media artists with contacts and communications. Post your artwork, special interests and events." Also: "Here's how it began.... while attending a hooked bag class by Jennifer Manuell (during Deanne Fitzpatrick's Creativity Symposium) I accepted the challenge to develop a register of rug hooking contacts for Atlantic Canada. So here we are...... rughookers unite! From Atlantic Canada and beyond..... All are welcome."

It didn't take long for the word to spread and now there are dozens of members, in only a couple of days!

Cindy Needler's mat of Cottage Craft wool shop in St Andrews

Ruben's mat

2008-12-31T22:55:00.009-04:00

This is a name mat for our grandson, Ruben; the most adorable baby ever (as all grandchildren are, I'm sure!). I've done them for most of my great-nieces and nephews, and this one is a little bigger than the others... once I decided on a Noah's Ark theme, it needed to be a goodish size to get a few of the animal pairs in. [post edited with finished photo of Ruben's rug]

If I'd only known that Ruben already knows how to say 'moo' for a cow and 'quack, quack' for ducks, I would have tried to work them into the rug as well!

In this photo from his first birthday party (in Ottawa, which we couldn't get to... sniff... sigh...) Ruben is exploring... and found an interesting set of shiny ribbons, connected to balloons!

Then there was cake, with chocolate icing--I'm sure you can imagine the glee! And presents, of course, and cousins, great grandparents and loads of other family. But not us; I've made the trip up to 'Upper Canada' six times since Ruben was born, but couldn't get there for this event. I'm saving my pennies for next year!

We did visit over the holidays and had a lot of fun. Living on the east coast, many hundreds of miles/kilometres away is getting to be harder and harder, the older he gets. Thank goodness for the internet and its facility of sharing photos; we don't feel quite as separated as we might have.

Christmas Day give-away... free!

2008-12-08T09:57:00.002-04:00

Here is a very generous offer from a rughooker on her blog: just click on the wreath to take you there for a chance to win goodies! Trudy will pick a winner on Christmas Day, right after dinner.

Hella's chickadees on a sunflower

2008-11-22T14:42:00.002-04:00

This lovely mat was a gift from Hella to her grandson Alex and new granddaughter [in-law], Jennie as a wedding gift. She did an exquisite job, carefully keeping the strips of painted wool for the sky in order, so that when worked in reverse hooking it would make a lovely background for the main motif. By hooking from the back and skipping several holes [4, I think, in this case], being very careful not to twist the 'worms', a flat basket weave effect is produced. Painstaking, but absolutely worth the effort!

It is a beautiful expression of love, something to treasure always. Jennie has now joined our group and is doing really well. Our circle grows and we have a lot of fun seeing what each other is working on.

Getting set for the Ross Museum open house

2008-11-14T17:15:00.006-04:00

It is time again to be getting ready for St Andrews' winter festival, "A Season of Lights & Wonder'. The Quoddy Loopers decorate a room in the Ross Museum each year... with rugs, of course! Their open house is one of the highlights of the season, always the first weekend of December. Different individuals, groups and families take turns decorating each of the rooms of this exquisite small museum, which houses the furnishings and decorative arts collected by the Rosses many years ago. It is a delight.

This is their 25th anniversary year, so the theme is silver. Not a lot of silver in our mats, but Mary Jones made a lovely dolphin mat for one niece

and fairies for another! Both of these were designed to order by Deb Carr, so they are one of a kind. Mary works in mostly #3 cut wool on linen.

Also, quite a few of our group have done or are working on the "Fill in for Fall" challenge from Searsport - and we will have those on display, whether completed or not. Most of us take turns sitting and hooking in the room as well, so visitors can enjoy the demonstration of the art of hooking rugs.

Another successful day -- great turnout!

2008-11-03T17:21:00.002-04:00

Sandra Palmer, one of our guests at the 2nd annual Hurricane Hook-in, kindly took this photo of our group. Great to see so many smiling faces - nearly all our group managed to be there on Saturday. We have added a couple of new members lately, and looks like one more from the hook-in, which is great. There were nearly 50 of us, altogether and it was a great day. Inspiring to see the mats & rugs that everyone else is working on, as well as some finished ones for show & tell.

The ladies' guild of the Church of St Andrew did a terrific job again on the lunch, which we are very grateful for. Sande Gunning's travelling 'River Gallery' shop was wonderful, as always. The positive energy was palpable, with rughookers chatting, hooking and admiring all around the room. Everyone left with a little gift, and the pleasure of meeting with like-minded rug buffs.

Hopefully we will have some photos of our guests to post soon.

All are invited to come next year, the first Saturday of November--same place, same time.

A really cute mat!

2008-10-24T22:32:00.004-03:00

Here's a fun mat for the upcoming season - an original by Cindy Needler, one of the leading lights of our group.

Nov 1st hook-in in St Andrews

2008-10-24T21:46:00.006-03:00

I forgot to stress that we would really like to know how many people are planning to come to our hook in on Saturday so we will be sure not to run out of food -- that would never do!

So please email kinghort @ nb.aibn.com if you are coming - the more, the merrier! [you'll need to remove spaces from email address]

I had a look at the NS rughooking guild website (http://www.rhgns.com/) and they have our hook-in listed as 1 Nov, 08, so it might look, at a quick glance, as if it is the 8th but it is definitely the 1st of November -- next Saturday! Please let us know if you plan to come!

Pillow to the right is a Rittermere design, with an added geometric border. [6-8 cut wool on burlap]

2008-09-28T16:50:00.004-03:00

....and more of Sandra's work. On the left, a Deb Carr design, and on the right, one of Deanne Fitzpatrick's [which, if you have a little time and want to see more of, visit http://www.hookingrugs.com/gallery]. Deanne has a unique style and her rugs are inspiring!

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Thanks for stopping by!

2008-09-23T16:51:00.011-03:00

Thank you to the people who took the time to visit our Two Countries One Bay Art Studio tour stop at Kingsbrae Garden over the weekend. The two days spent rughooking, along with Ray Peterson and her beautiful quilted creations, were a pleasure. We greeted about 65 people on Saturday and 50 or so, on Sunday.

The weather was lovely and the hours flew by. There were about 60 artists around the Passamaquoddy Bay, in Maine and New Brunswick, doing demos and displaying their wares. Some sales were made, many thoughtful questions were answered and hopefully our visitors enjoyed it as much as we did.

Door prizes were given to Betty Tucker and Nancy Carson.

We're back on track for Wednesday nights

2008-09-16T17:05:00.007-03:00

Things have been resolved at the Church of St Andrew parish hall; the other group kindly moved to Tuesday nights, so Quoddy Loopers will continue to meet on Wednesday nights as usual. Come on over to 'our house'! Visitors are always welcome.

Here's another of Sandra Lewis' mats - a Patti Armstrong design. Sandra has fun with her rughooking and lively colours, as you can see. Cute kitty! Bottom left flowers are done in proddy, a 3-D effect, and the whole is done in #4 cut wool on linen.

Change of Quoddy Loopers' meeting night

2008-09-08T20:48:00.006-03:00

Change of nights for Quoddy Loopers:
From September 24 to November 5th, the Church of St Andrew parish hall is booked for a church group. So, we will meet on Thursday night for those 7 weeks, still at 6:30 to 8:30.

Here's another view of a winter covered bridge, this time by Sandra Lewis [commercial design, designer unknown]. Sandra works in 4 cut on linen and binds traditionally with wool yarn.

Here's an update on Sandra's St Andrews Water Street mat in progress. It is to be one of a series designed by her sister, Heather Lewis, depicting the shops & historic buildings along the main business district of our little seaside town.

2nd annual hurricane hook-in

2008-09-05T18:36:00.006-03:00

On November 1st, 2008, the Quoddy Loopers will hold our second annual hook-in, 9:30am to 4pm, in the Catholic Church of St Andrew in the town of St Andrews, New Brunswick. All are invited to attend, but we hope not to actually have hurricane weather that weekend. Last year, the weather was wild and woolly, somewhat appropriate for all us wool addicts. It did keep some people at home, unfortunately, so they missed the day of fun, a great lunch put on by the ladies' guild, prizes and a chance to purchase [or be lucky enough to win] some of Sande Gunning's River Gallery goodies.

PLEASE, if you are planning to come to our hook-in, let us know so we can be sure not to run out of FOOD!! thanks.

All rughookers are welcome, the newbies, the experienced and all those seriously 'hooked' on this great art form. Our group has recently added four new members, so it's growing in variety and colours, just like our ever-stretching stashes of yummy wools and yarns.

It's terrific to see everyone's work, so don't forget to bring some show-and-tell, if you have it.

Here is Louise McGrattan's charming covered bridge with birch trees, in winter. She is a relatively new rughooker, and is doing a great job.

2008-09-05T18:17:00.003-03:00

This is another name mat — this time for the cherished adopted daughter of friends, with her 'Canadian' name, her Chinese name and some flowers for fun. Sadie will soon be three and is bright, lively, curious and indomitable. A tiny enchanting force of nature.

more on the St Andrews pictorial

2008-08-17T14:24:00.008-03:00

We have made the first turn of the St Andrews pictorial at the Quoddy Loopers rughooking group. There are approximately two more turns to go, and I hope we will finish it by the end of the year. It is a very loose representation of the town, with the windmill representing Kingsbrae Garden, the Pendlebury Light house, and at the top, the bathhouse on Ministers Island. Churches and trees in the middle, and then more to come as we turn the work on the frame—the St Andrews Blockhouse and the historic Fairmont Algonquin Hotel, among other sights. This is my first try at a big rug, and it seems odd not to be able to see it all at once, but it is too big for the frame we have, which is one that Susan Waddy, one of our group, inherited from an aunt who was a rughooker. Rughookers are great people--sharing and caring!

Before that, I am participating in the Two Countries, One Bay art studio tour, Sept 20/21, so am doing more hooking for that than on the pictorial, lately. Ray Peterson will have her beautiful quilts and ingenious quilted wallhangings and small items and we will both be demonstrating all day Saturday and Sunday, 9am—6pm, at the Kingsbrae Garden Visitors Centre [no admission required for the show, but 1/2 price entry to the Garden is offered to all studio visitors!].

"Two Countries, One Bay Art Studio Tour is a great opportunity to see a variety of inspired art work, visit the studios of creative artists, and experience the international cultures of two distinct countries — eastern Maine, USA, and southern New Brunswick, Canada — while enjoying en-route the breath-taking coastal scenery of Passamaquoddy Bay."

more mats & rugs

2008-08-17T14:17:00.004-03:00

Karen Eagles finished her beautiful job on Jane McGown Flynn's "Birdland Bed & Breakfast", by adding a faux wood border/frame and whipping the edges in the traditional manner with woollen yarn. Very generously, Karen is donating her great mat [approx 3 x 3.5 ft] to Wesley United Church, here in St Andrews, for its fall sale: Labours of Love. A wide variety of items from members and friends will be on silent auction for the last two weeks of August and the first week of September.

a work in progress

2008-07-19T16:46:00.007-03:00

Art is Life -- Life is Art

At our weekly hooking sessions, we are working on a group project -- a St Andrews by-the-Sea pictorial. It's fairly large and we only work on it at the group [Wednesday nights, and only one or two of us at a time, so it's going to be quite awhile before it's finished]. I took a photo of it just before we turned to the next section, so I thought I'd share it. It is 3 1/2 ft by 4.75ft , I think, on primitive linen - mostly as-is wool, but I dyed some, too.

Hella Haun hooked the windmill [and she's only two years into her hooking!] and Jan Hunter did a masterful job on the lighthouse. I work in wide cuts, so most of the rest is mine, with a couple of people doing a tree or some rocks, here and there. This picture was taken just before we turned to the middle third 'panel', and it is coming along. I was particularly pleased with the wool I dyed for the church stained glass windows - it worked - though basic multi-colours, it gives the effect I was looking for.

We are going to do the lettering later and finish the sky when we have the main hooking done.

more mats and rugs

2008-07-06T10:58:00.015-03:00

The group has been busy, and here are a few more mats we've made or are working on:

Water Street shops, in the National Historic District of St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, as designed by Heather Lewis and hooked by Sandra Lewis [as yet unfinished].

Lighthouse by the Sea [hooked magnificently by Jan Hunter; 3 cut on linen] Jan generously donated this beautiful piece to the Green Point Light in Letete, NB.

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Jumping Katie Cat.[Maureen McIlwain, original, 6, 7 & 8 cut on Verel]

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Mary Jones crafted this lovely made-to-order wedding mat for a friend; 3, 4 & 5 cut on linen. [it was designed to order by Deb Carr, including the wedding flowers of lilies, calla lilies and very green 'Kermit' mums!]

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summer's here in St Andrews

2008-06-22T11:45:00.027-03:00

Six Quoddy Loopers went to the wonderful hook-in in Fredericton, hosted by the Heritage Guild in May. The hooking was fun, show-and-tell gorgeous and inspiring, and the lunch was lovely. Sande Gunning was there with her River Gallery goodies, so shopping rounded out a perfect day.

The city and outlying areas were starting to recover from the scary flooding of the St John River, and we took a walk afterwards to see the swollen, fast moving river, with huge old tree trunks, roots and all, beached on the shore as the waters receded, inch by inch. A sobering look at the unkinder aspects of Mother Nature, though it pales in scale against some of the disasters in the US and elsewhere.

The Quoddy Loopers meet all year long and welcome visitors - no matter their level of rughooking experience - any Wednesday evening. The group tends to be a little larger in the cold months; now that everyone is gardening or just enjoying warmer weather, there is competition for hooking time. Once the heat of summer gets stronger, the lure of a cool bright space to hook in brings a few more back, but there are always a few die-hards, each week.
Inspiration for rugs comes from so many places, but for me, at least, nature provides a wealth of ideas, and looking at others' rugs and mats is also inspiring - everyone has a different palette and way of putting colours together. One of the rughooking online groups I visit frequently is: http://groups.msn.com/WoolSnippets/ -- even for those who are far from a 'real' group, online visiting, displays, encouragements and advice are always available. Being part of a virtual group is another joy of rughooking, meeting people you would likely never get to know otherwise. There is also a list of rughooking groups in the US and Canada, and a list of blogs.

The Fairmont Algonquin Hotel, golf course & the Town of St Andrews, NB,

Canada's premier seaside resort town
...

I just had a great visit at: http://bitsofwool.blogspot.com/. Trudy's daughter and friend are working at the old and beautiful [Fairmont] Algonquin hotel here in town this summer [above]. It's just a few steps from the superb 27-acre Kingsbrae Garden, where I work.

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Kingsbrae Garden windmill with lupins--the popular maritime wildflower--and Cora & Lily with the armillary in the Knot Garden [on a visit from Leeds, UK]

Kingsbrae Garden: under a horse chestnut tree in the Perennial Garden and Alice & Angelina [alpacas]

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These are two of our four alpacas at Kingsbrae Garden, mother and daughter. We also have two males, Alfie [cream] and Albert [black], so when the experts from Legacy Lane and the Scenic Valley Alpaca Farm, where we got our alpacas, come to shear them later this month, they will have different colours of wool to make into yarn and roving for us. Several of us who work at the Garden are looking forward to the products to use in our own knitting and special hooking projects. At the environmentally responsible Legacy Lane mill [near Sussex, NB], they use alpaca, merino, soy and bamboo fibres, for strength and sustainability.

.......

Will winter ever end?

2008-03-30T19:52:00.007-03:00

The Quoddy Loopers have been busy over the winter, still meeting weekly, and enjoying each others' mats, large and small.

We are looking forward to the Heritage Rug Hooking Guild's hook-in in Fredericton on May 3rd [10 am to 3pm], by which time surely winter will be over. Can't count on anything, though; snow could persist into May. Hopefully not!

Quoddy Loopers are planning our second annual hook-in, the first Saturday of November, Nov 1/08, 9:30 to 4pm.

Roll on, spring!

Karen's "Birdland B&B" by Jane McGown Flynn, top left, Nancy's Easter Eggs
(yes, we know Easter has been, but we're thinking SPRING!)
and my bluebirds, at right .

Quoddy Loopers around town

2007-12-02T20:18:00.000-04:00

The Quoddy Loopers' hook-in on November 3rd was a warm success, in spite of the inclement weather. In the face of dire storm predictions, intrepid rughookers from Saint John, Sussex. Fredericton and Moncton came to St Andrews on Saturday, November 3rd, to join the Quoddy Loopers at our first annual hook-in. Sande Gunning came from Browns Flat/Glenwood to tempt us all with her beautiful wools and other supplies. Our brand new member, Natalie, was lucky enough to win the River Gallery grand door prize, a sampling of the new Dorr wools and bent rughooking scissors that Sande graciously donated. Everyone went home with a prize. It was a great day, with a tasty lunch, lots of hooking, sharing and inspiration.

For the first weekend in December, our group again decorated a room in the Ross Memorial Museum of St Andrews for their annual Christmas Open House. Several members took turns demonstrating rughooking for the visitors. A few were surprised to see the 'mannequins' come to life, and all were fascinated to observe the process. Quite a few had family memories to share of grandparents, fathers or mothers who hooked rugs.

Rug Hook-in in St Andrews, NB

2007-09-10T17:19:00.000-03:00

Calling all rughookers - the Quoddy Loopers are having a hook-in on November 3rd, 2007. As usual, we will meet in the Catholic church hall [lower level, where we meet every Wednesday evening... cool in the summer and warm in the winter!]. We will provide lunch, and hook like crazy morning and afternoon, 9am to 3:30pm. [Nancy Carson's Puffins on the Shore, right]

Location: Church of St Andrew (Catholic) hall--210 Parr Street (corner of King and Parr/side door) in St. Andrews, NB

Sande Gunning of River Gallery Fibres will be on hand with her yummy wools, wide variety of patterns and rughooking supplies.

Feel free to email for more information or to let us know you're coming: maureenm(at)nb.aibn.com

River Gallery fibre extravaganza

2007-05-20T11:41:00.000-03:00

Sande Gunning's River Gallery in Browns Flat (not far from Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick... and just a little further from St Andrews) is a wonderful spot for fibre enthusiasts of all stripes, dots and weaves. Rughooking, quilting, appliqué, knitting, felting, ribbon embroidery---pick your passion! Sande carries a full line of supplies, tools, books and patterns; also related ornamental items, just for fun. The warm wooden walls and warmer proprietor welcome you and the vibrant display cheers the spirit. I'm always in awe that Sande remembers all our names and often what we were last working on... the personal touch is much appreciated! It is always good news when Sande brings her goods on the road, to a workshop or exhibit, as we know there will be new 'must-haves'.

On the walls of the studio shop are finished mats and wallhangings, showing the talent and ingenuity of our New Brunswick and Nova Scotia rughookers. If you are new to the craft, you are welcome to sit down at the frame and hook on a rug sampler in progress. Or to try out various hooks until you find the one that feels just right. Sande will happily advise you on a pattern, wools or cotton fabric for your rug or quilt; her practiced eye can make it easier to pick just the right colours, if you're undecided. 100% wools: solids, plaids, hand-dyed, swatches... goodies galore!

http://www.rivergallery.ca/
contact@rivergallery.ca

Toll-free in North America 1-877-468-9004
Local (506) 468-9004

Deanne Fitzpatrick has a new Studio!

2007-05-08T12:59:00.000-03:00

If you like hooked rugs... and I assume you do, if you've stuck around after finding this blog... please visit Deanne Fitzpatrick, either online at http://www.hookingrugs.com/ or in person at her wonderful new studio at 7 Electric Street, in Amherst, Nova Scotia [Canada]. Deanne was kind enough to open her studio for me yesterday [not usually open on a Sunday] and I spent a happy hour browsing, soaking up the beautiful rugs and mats on display, the fabulous colours in wool, yarn, silk and other media, and chatting with Deanne as she effortlessly drew her characteristically bold and breezy designs right on to burlap and linen. Deanne's Newfoundland roots and her inspirational artistic talents are infused in her spirited designs; her sense of colour and form is magical. I wanted one of everything, but had to settle for a modest haul of beautiful wool, silk and a divine mohair hand-dyed yarn for my current projects. Deanne very kindly looked at my Tangled Garden mat and offered some excellent advice; now to get back to it with her encouragement fresh in my mind!

Deanne’s workshops and symposia are generally sold out well in advance. Currently a symposium for October 2008 is being planned.

Several of our Quoddy Loopers have done or are in the midst of doing Deanne’s patterns. They are full of life and vitality. If you visit her hookingrugs website, you’ll be doing yourself a favour.

Rugs at the Ross Museum

2007-04-29T14:47:00.000-03:00

In posting photos of our group, the Quoddy Loopers, I drew mostly on photos from our room at the Ross Museum Open House, 2006, as those are the ones I have handy.

Every year, the residents of St Andrews pick rooms in the beautiful Ross Memorial Museum in town, and decorate according to that year's theme. The Quoddy Loopers brought out mats, rugs, ornaments and equipment to illustrate how "The Spirit of Christmas warms our hearts as the hand hooked mats of yesteryear warmed the homes of our forebears". Several members also took turns throughout that weekend to sit in the parlour amongst our mats and holiday decorations and do what we love to do -- hook rugs! These demonstrations were well-received and attracted a couple of new members. The open house is always the first weekend in December, a much-loved part of the local winter festival, "A Season of Lights & Wonder".

http://www.townsearch.com/rossmuseum/

http://www.kingsbraegarden.com/xmas.html

Hooks, loops, stitches and mats

2007-04-27T13:23:00.001-03:00

The Quoddy Loopers [formerly known as SeasideHookers, until we noticed another group by the same name] come from St Andrews and St Stephen, two of the communities in the "Quoddy Loop", which includes communities in Charlotte County, New Brunswick and Maine that surround the marvellous Bay of Fundy. There is a standing invitation to others to join our little group; we meet Wednesday evenings at the Catholic Church of St Andrew lower hall, through winter and summer, unless a scheduling conflict arises. These are rare. Generally, there will be anywhere from 5 to 15 of us meeting each week, sharing stories, advice [when sought], expertise and enthusiasm for this wonderful craft. Rughooking is a terrific stress-reliever and a very adaptable, forgiving method, creating functional and artistic pieces of amazing diversity.

Loops are what makes a rughooked mat -- a simple stitch, making the craft an easy one to learn, yet giving an astonishing breadth of expression and individuality to each person's design. Most of our group uses strips of wool, cut by ingenious Bliss, Fraser or Rigby slitters into various thicknesses, from #2 [VERY fine] to #8 [1/4" or 8/32nds of an inch, commonly called 'primitive'] or handcut strips that may be even wider than a #8 cut. Wool yarn is also a good material for rughooking; it has the dual advantages of being readily available in many colours and thicknesses and also ready to hook immediately, not requiring prewashing to shrink or 'full' the wool fabric so that it does not unravel in the process of pulling up loops with a hook. Woollen cloth, on the other hand, comes in many weights and colours and takes dye beautifully. New wool fabric or recycled wool clothing or blankets -- making beauty from cast-offs appeals to my thrifty nature. I can't bear to think of something going to overstuffed landfills, or up in smoke, if it has another useful purpose. There is so much to learn and experience; dyeing your own fabric is exciting!

Back to the Quoddy Loop... it is a breathtaking voyage by land and sea around and on the Bay of Fundy, which boasts the highest tides in the world and some of the most beautiful scenery that you will find anywhere. The area has many qualities to recommend it as a place to play, work, visit and live, aside from its abundant natural beauty: people care about each other, the tradition of handcrafting is strong, the weather is moderate and heritage is rich and respected. Communities on the mainland and numerous islands yield fascinating stories and rambles, bringing history to glorious life. Ste Croix Island, just up the coast from St Andrews, bears the distinction of being the first European settlement in North America [north of Florida], due to Samuel de Champlain's bitter winter on that island in 1604. The survivors then decamped to Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia, across the Bay of Fundy, making it the oldest continuous settlement north of St Augustine. This was also the beginning of l'Acadie, still a thriving presence in Canada, adding a strong French thread to our country's tapestry. Loyalists fled the United States and some even floated their homes on barges across to St Andrews, on the more tolerant shores of Canada. Evidence of these settlers, especially the shipbuilders, is plentiful in the area's architecture.

So, we hook and chat, following the traditions of ages, while bringing modern ideas and methods to this ancient and enduring craft. Every week we follow each others' progress and marvel at the output of a small group of women, truly 'hooked' on this wonderful art form!

all about us

2007-02-26T17:17:00.001-04:00

A group of avid rughookers in St Andrews by-the-Sea, New Brunswick, Canada get together weekly to work on rugs, mats and wall hangings in the traditional manner, from the very fine cuts of wool to the chunkier 'primitive' styles.

We make rugs for the floor, chairmats, table mats and rug hangings to be displayed on the wall. Big, small and inbetween, colours of every description, either from as-is wool off the bolt, recycled wool from whatever source [always well washed and dried to slightly felt or 'full' the wool and get rid of any moth eggs or surface dirt that might be clinging to the fabric] and the limitless results of our dye pots. Some like the pictorials, others are fond of geometrics or abstract designs, some go for realism and others like the naive or primitive look. We share our wool, our stories and our strengths. Some of the group members have been 'at' rughooking for 30 years or more, and others are very new, working on their first little mat.

Years ago, rugs were hooked out of whatever came to hand — old clothes from the ragbag or leftover yarn from knitting sweaters, hats & mittens, made to fend off the cold Atlantic winds and spray. Necessity was truly the mother of invention — those draughty homes and chilly floors cried out for cozy mats. Today, the St Andrews “SeasideHookers” meet weekly to fashion mats and rugs of various designs and styles... some original, others from traditional or commercial patterns. It's recycling at its finest! All are welcome… experience not required… just bring your imagination.

April 28/07 note: our group is now called the Quoddy Loopers