Thursday Changes

The Thursday gathering of rug hookers is moving!  We have been meeting at Halcyon Place for quite some time now, but as of January 11, 2018 we will be moving to a new location!  

Greg's latest - behind the 8 ball

Dianne has gotten permission for us to use the lounge at Grace Church on Thursdays from 9:30-11:30.  She will be announcing this in the church bulletin shortly, and will be inviting other crafty folk from the congregation to join us.  Most of us are "multi-craftual", doing other things like knitting, quilting, embroidery etc, so I think it will be a good gathering.

The room we are going to be using is very similar to the one we're leaving - it even has a mini kitchen.

There will be one final visit to Halcyon place on January 4, and then as of January 11 we will be meeting at Grace Church.  Looking forward to seeing you there!

Calling all Canadians

Did you see the Sept/Oct 2017 issue of Rug Hooking Magazine?  There was a request on the Editor's page for photos of rugs created to celebrate Canada's Sesquicentennial.

They've set up a web page to feature these rugs, and ask that we upload them to their site before June 30, 2018.

I'm pretty sure we have a rug or two among our group that may qualify!  To upload, you need to go to THIS page.  Scroll down until you get to the section shown below, enter your info and include a photo.

If you aren't comfortable doing this, email me your photos & a brief description and I will upload them on your behalf.

(PS - there's also a great deal on page 4 of the OHCG newsletter, for a reduced price subscription to Rug Hooking Magazine - check it out!)

How to Sew a Spacesuit

(file this one under "and now for something completely different".....)  In the lead up to the busy holiday season, it's always good to have something that allows you to relax and unwind, even if only for a few minutes.  Of course, there's always hooking, but sometimes an interesting story will do the trick.

This link (click here) takes you to an interesting article on 'How to Sew a Spacesuit'.  It details the efforts of seamstresses from Playtex (you know, the girdle people!) who were responsible for designing and creating the spacesuits worn by NASA astronauts, including those used on the moon!

The article is excerpted from a book called Spacesuit: Fashioning Apollo by Nicholas de Monchaux published by MIT Press in 2011.  

Extra special stocking stuffer

Ooooh.....just saw these on Deanne Fitzpatrick’s website....while they’re a tad out of my price range, they are indeed lovely.....

Perhaps you could drop a hint to Santa (aka the person who fills your stocking) that one of these would go well in there.....

Click here for pricing

....edited to add.....

For a different kind of stocking stuffer, hows about one of these?....a gift pass for a visit to the textile museum in Toronto?? Includes a discount in the gift shop....

Click here for details.

NOVEMBER POTLUCK FIND

WE all had such a great time at the November Potluck visiting everybody that someone left behind this beautiful scarf that Dianne is wearing.  She loves it ..........maybe someone left it behind as an early Christmas gift, Santa?
Anyway Dianne will hold onto it, or wear it until someone claims it.
Happy Hollidays!!!!!

YARN IT!!!

YES YES!! 
There is a new business in Cobourg called Yarn it!!! The owner Cathy Witlox has a yummy selection of wool, knitting needles and is really interested in rug hooking. She is located at 513 Division St. Unit 3B, Cobourg, On phone 289 252-1200 or email   cathy@yarnitcobourg.ca.  It is right across from No Frills grocery store.
Please join her today at her grand opening!!! It's going to be fabulous! I saw some yummy cupcakes being brought in!!!

OUR FIRST WORKSHOP

                                                                  Mary Lou

On November 9th at Trinity United Church we had our FIRST workshop in YEARS!! Jayne Nevins was our teach and SHE WAS FANTASTIC!
We learned so much and she was patient with all of our questions and most of all, we worked and babbled with some great folks and met some news ones all the way from Pickering.

Eagerly Mary Lou has already completed her sampler.

Of course with all rug hookers it's all about the food  and we brought our lunch and coffee, tea and goodies were provided. We had a great full day and plan to have another workshop next fall with Carol Shewan on "The group of seven" so stay tuned!

A Great Meeting

We gathered for our annual holiday potluck today, and i think we all had a pretty good time!

As usual, food was a big focus of the event, and boy was there a lot of great stuff.  Rug hookers know how to cook/bake (and eat!).

We also had several vendors: Karen Kaiser, Pam Duncan and Debbie Harris, with lots of fantastic stuff to choose from.

There were a couple of guests and new members.  Most notably was Liz Brock, who was a co-chair of the 2017 OHCG Annual held in Cobourg.  Northumberland Rug Hookers were one of the host organizations, and it was a busy but rewarding time for us all!  Most recently the OHCG Board has determined that host branches may have a share in the profits, beginning with the 2017 Annual!  Liz presented us with a cheque for over $1300!

Needless to say we have some ideas about how to put those funds to good use!  One of the options could be new cutters.  We're looking at :

• Townsend/Beeline, 
• Honeydoo and 
• Bolivar cutters, 
• and maybe even Sizzix.   

A decision won't be made for a while yet, but you can click on the blue text above to visit the websites of these manufacturers.

There were a lot of rugs in progress - and some people even managed to pull a few loops (not me)!  Here are just a few snaps we took - works in progress, finished and almost finished:

Holiday Decorations

We saw these cute decorations on another blog and thought they would be fun to make.  There's a station to make your own at today's pot luck!

All you need are two worms and a needle and thread.  Through trial and error we've found that the best worms are blanket weight ones.

Hold two worms together, and insert your needle about 1" from the end.  You'll do the entire process by loading everything onto the needle and THEN pulling it through.  Fold over the uppermost worm on to the needle, and make sure you're happy with it - too wide or too narrow?  Take the lower worm and fold it over on to the needle.

Keep doing this, reducing the length of the "branches" until you're satisfied with the size of your tree. Pull the thread through (you knotted it at the bottom, didn't you?) and then secure the thread.  Sew or glue a pompon or bead on the top, et voila!

At this point, you can add an ornament hanger, if your project is destined for the tree. Or....you can glue a brooch mechanism to the back and use it as a pin....or if you want something really goofy, you can add earring wires and make a pair of earrings!

HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS??.........WHOA MERRY POTLUCK!

                                                pattern by Ingrid hooked by Dolores

Can you believe it?????? We had a few snowflakes and where has November gone??????  Christmas?

Come celebrate the season with a True Pot Luck, yes folks we have no clue what we are eating on Monday November 30th from 10-2 at Grace Church but I know rug hookers and it is always abundant and delicious. 
So bring your favorite dish to share and see you there! Oh and did I mention your rug hooking?? I don't know about you but I never seem to get more than 6 loops pulled!

As a special treat we will have 3 vendors this year, Pam Duncan, Debbie Harris & Karen Kaiser so maybe a little Christmas shopping can be done as well.


Remember as we enter into this special time of year it is a time to reflect on what has been and be excited of what is yet to come!

Also please remember those you are less fortunate than yourself and give any way you can. I know we all try but the little extras are always appreciated in our communities.

We ARE fortunte!!!! pass it on!

Rug Mystery

This lovely rug is the subject of a mystery.  It is based on a drawing done by a soldier named Oscar Rogers who was stationed at Fogo Island's radar station in Newfoundland during WWII.  He asked a local woman to create a hooked rug from his drawing.

The completed rug has had pride of place on the wall of Oscar's Minden, Ontario cottage for as long as the family remembers.

It is also thought that a second rug was created for another soldier stationed at Fogo Island - he was smitten by the design and asked the same woman to create one for him.

Oscar's son Norman travelled to Newfoundland this past summer, and tried to find out who hooked the rug, but hasn't yet been able to connect with anyone who might know.

Are you familiar with Fogo Island's hooked rug tradition?  Maybe you know who created the rug?  Or....maybe you know something about the second rug created for another soldier?

If you have any clues, please send an email to nrhookers (at) gmail (dot) com.

Franklin Carmichael

During our hook-in I noticed a beautiful Franklin Carmichael hooked rug called Mirror Lake.  Our Northumberland Group is organizing a Group of Seven Workshop and I am wondering who hooked this rug and where they got the pattern.

I was also struck with aw at this beautiful tea cozy, not your traditional choice but wow! was it breathing taking, whose is this and where did they find a pattern for it.
Can anyone help?
Please email to this site Northumberland Rug Hookers!

Thanks!

What a great day we all had!!

Fantastic Hook In!

We had a great time yesterday at our biennial hook in.  There were more than 100 hookers in attendance and all enjoyed a lovely day of friendship (and hooking!).

Stew Sprague gave a great presentation on the theme of "The Art of Rug Hooking".

There were lots of vendors, and they seemed to have a pretty busy day:

We enjoyed some wonderful food, courtesy of many of our members!

There were some great table decorations, thanks to our very own Sheila Simpson!

We had the opportunity to vote on our favourite rugs and here are some of the winners.

The vendors donated some very generous prizes for our draws, including a lovely frame from John Boorman.

By the end of the day, we were all pretty pooped:

And now....for the rugs!  Hopefully I've captured all of them.  If you have any more photos to add, please send them along!