Hooked on Newfoundland: A Rug Hooker’s Road Trip
Part 3 - The Inspirational Fogo Island
What is the one thing you think of when you hear “Fogo Island”? It is only in recent years that Fogo island has become an ever increasingly popular destination for travellers to Newfoundland. Certainly the distinctive architecture of the Fogo Island Inn, has created an international awareness of Fogo Island and a curiosity for many visitors.
Fogo Island is a small remote island located in the New World Island area and it is here where the Newfoundland Rug Hooking Guild celebrated its 30th anniversary in May 2025.
Fogo Island was both a challenge and a delight to explore. It is also an artisan’s meca. The barren island landscape is scattered with windswept and dwarf trees and shrubs. Caribou roam across the island and small traditional coastal fishing villages scatter the bays and inlets. There is a beauty in this harsh landscape that I have experienced only once before in Canada’s arctic.
We spent a cold, windy and drizzly day exploring various art and craft offerings on the island. One such stop was located in a traditional Fogo Island wooden house. A quilt thrown over the front porch rail caught my attention and I directed my husband to pull over. Inside, each room is filled with handcrafted items such as mitts and table runners. What is just as interesting is the interior of the home, which reflects life circa 1960s or 70s. Having been born in the early 1960s, it is a little strange to refer to many of the gems I recognize from my childhood, as artifacts, but I guess that is what they are. Miniature ceramic animals that came in boxes of tea, metal biscuit tins, and certainly the upholstery suggested a by-gone era. Heading up a creaky narrow staircase to the second floor, I find quilts displayed throughout the hall and former bedrooms. One bedroom is full of Christmas themed quilts draped across the bed and hung from the walls. I begin to wonder how one of these quilts, depicting my favourite season, would look in the campervan. Even though its only 6 C out today and winter-like, I know a Christmas themed quilt will be a hard ‘no’ from my husband. I sigh and head back downstairs.
In the kitchen I find shelves of preserves for sale. I select a couple of interesting and new to me jam flavours made with partridge berries, bid my fairwell and head back to the van, where my husband is quite pleased with my jam purchases.
We continued on to Tilting enjoying the wild scenery of rock and waves, and colourful traditional salt box houses and fishing outbuildings. Settlement here was based on access to the sea and not the traditional British grid system the way much of Canada was developed. The road meanders up or around the rocky coast. We follow the road to its end and find ourselves at an active fishing pier on the edge of Tilting. Our dog, Elsa becomes excited when the smell of fish reaches her. We decide it’s time to stretch our legs and pull in to park. I read the sign on the building in front of me and realize I have hit the jack pot! Before me is “Winds and Waves Artisan’s Guild”, the Fogo Island Art and Craft Centre run by the Guild for Island artists to learn traditional crafts and a place to sell their work. I can easily stretch my legs as I wonder about the centre. My husband and dog head out to explore the pier while I make a beeline for the Centre.
Inside the Centre I’m greeted by Carol, a friendly volunteer, and immediately experience a delightful sensory overload. Every nook and cranny showcases beautiful work. The Guild displays an impressive collection of quilts, knitwear, felted pieces, and books about life on Fogo Island written by local authors.
Hooked mats are displayed on tables and walls alongside quilts, weaving, and woodworking. A rack of brightly dyed yarn drying nearby catches my eye. Beyond the riot of colour, several vintage Eaton’s rug patterns hang behind a desk. It’s inspiring to see these vintage rugs and patterns hanging on the walls next to newer pieces hooked by talented local artists. They sell Briggs & Little yarn in a wide range of colours, some of which is dyed in-house. The yarn, dyed by the Guild’s aptly named “Dye Witch,” is also available for purchase. Only a few skeins remain, and I choose a dyed silvery grey with hints of “Blueberry”.
I’m then treated to something truly special: a commissioned piece by a local hooker.
As the sizeable work is slowly unrolled, I’m struck first by the back-don’t all rug hookers check out the back? The back of perfectly neat rows, evenly spaced, is a testament to the care and skill the piece was completed. Then comes the reveal. Wow. The front is a vibrant geometric design. I learn that a similar piece is hanging in a gallery in Korea. Carol pulls out the gallery booklet and shows me the original work, making the moment feel all the more extraordinary.
Tally of rug hooking supplies: 5 skeins of yarn, one pattern, two cards
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