Centennial Rug

Our group has been working on an old Rittermere Hurst pattern.  It was published for Canada’s centennial in 1967, and was featured in a contest by Chatelaine magazine.

So far, we’ve gotten all of the motifs completed, and now have the difficult task of figuring out what colour the background should be.

Here’s the rug as it stands right now:

Here’s an example from our very own Laurie:

Here’s the winner of the Chatelaine contest, from this article (very interesting….also, the reference to Rittermere archives at Brock, and the links in there, all lead to some great stuff on the history of rug hooking, etc):

Here’s another one i found online - for sale.  The front is quite faded, but the back shows the original colours….similar to Laurie’s. (Could it have been a full kit with all wool supplied?)

Reverse side of the rug

Front of the rug

…and finally, here is an example of a colour scheme we are considering….but not so sure it is a winner just yet (the elements don’t quite line up in this mockup, but you get the general idea….):

And an even earlier example from before we had the motifs finished:

Here’s a suggestion from Martina (currently checking in with her now to see if I’ve interpreted the colours correctly!):

More suggestions (need to verify I’ve correctly interpreted their suggestions):

Lynda

Brenda

Tanya

Tanya #2

This one was developed by group consensus at today’s monthly mtg.

Another group effort

……and the verdict (for now) is:

Watch this space for more examples as we “audition” other colours…..or better yet, reply in the comments with your suggestions/preferences!

Edward Jones Display

 

The display at Edward Jones is Live!  This is a business in downtown Cobourg that curates displays of works by local artists.  This project was spearheaded by Lynda Johnston and Dianne Algera.  They met with the folks at Edward Jones to arrange for the display, collect the pieces and deliver them to the business.

The rugs were delivered this morning, and they’re already up!  There may be a few tweaks to the windows, but here’s a taste of what’s there now.  Note also the sign in the window explaining a bit about rug hooking and directing them to this blog (hello  👋 to anyone joining us from the link on that sign!).

If you can, make a point of stopping by the window to see all of the wonderful works.  There are new pieces, antique pieces, whimsical pieces and traditional ones.   They’ll be in the window until the end of December.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Many of you already have paid up your 2023 membership dues for the Northumberland Rug Hookers.  If you haven’t, check out our latest email for details on how to send in your dues.  We haven’t really done much about collecting dues during the pandemic, but now that we’re back to in-person, dues are important!  Note that future emails will only be sent to paid up members.

Here are some photos from this past weekend:  Dianne, Laurie, Cathy, Audrey and Judy were at Lang Pioneer Village, demonstrating rug hooking.  Don’t they look cute in costume???

Living Wall Workshop

We hosted a fantastic workshop yesterday (yes, an in-person one!), on creating a Living Wall.  This is a project that mimics the wonderful living walls of plants you often see in public spaces (and some lucky homes)….but without the hassle of watering and caring for the plants (my kinda thing).

The teacher for the class is the wonderful and talented Wendie Scott Davis who trekked to Grace Church with samples and bags of goodies (wool and chocolate) to share.  She inspired us with photos and videos and more.

She’s a very hands on teacher and we all learned a lot, and developed a new-found appreciation for things like Proddy and quillies.

Here are the samples that Wendie brought.  They are even more wonderful when seen in person.

The attendees represented the spectrum of rug hookers - from new-ish hookers, to several very experienced ones - there were 15 of us.  Everyone arrived with bags and boxes full of stash….and we barely put a dent in it!

Here are some samples of works in progress. (Dang: i didn’t get photos of everyone’s work!)  Can’t wait to see the finished items!

A BIG thank you to Dianne, Christine and Iris for organizing this affair!

Port Hope Fall Fair

This weekend is the Fall Fair in Port Hope - lots to see and do there.  Try to get there tomorrow if you can!

Rug Hooking was prominently featured, in both the displayed and judged projects.  Competition for prizes was stiff, but there were several winners!  We’ll post photos of some of the winning projects after our monthly meeting on Sept 26.  In the meantime, big congratulations to the winners:

(23) Fine Cut:  

1st prize: Carol Rolph

2nd prize: Jennifer Wiber

3rd prize: Debbie Harris

(24) Not a Rug:  

1st prize: Carol Rolph

2nd prize: Debbie Harris

3rd prize: Lynda Johnston

(25) Original Design:  

1st prize: Debbie Harris:  Also won Best in Show!

2nd prize: Lynda Johnston

3rd prize: Julia McParland

(26) Recycled:  

1st prize: Jennifer Wiber

(Msg from jennifer: see how easy it is to win when you’re the ONLY entry in a category 😂😂!!)

(27) Rural Roots:  

1st prize: Debbie Harris

2nd prize: Carol Rolph

3rd prize: Cathy Hazel

(28) Wide Cut:  

1st prize: Carol Rolph

2nd prize: Dianne Algera

You should consider entering something for next year!  It’s easy to do (online, even!), and there are CA$H prizes - first prize will get you the grand sum of $8 (2nd prize is $5 and 3rd prize is $3).

In the meantime, here are photos of the other rugs that were on display.  Cathy Hazel and Judy Cross (wo-)manned our display in the morning, and Judy stayed on with me (jennifer) in the afternoon.  Tomorrow there will be a whole other crew.  It’s a great chance to meet old friends, and make some new ones….and get a wee tad of hooking done while you’re at it.