My takeaway.

"Stay inspired. Inspire others. Play with Ideas. Dream. Make people happy whenever you can. Let your hook dance across the mat. Keep good notes. Draw pictures. Seek out happy people. Take deep breaths. See beauty. Throw your head back in laughter. Be kind to others. Gather lots of wool and use your hook to show the world who you are." DF

This is a quote that appears on the back of Deanne’s new hoodies that she had in the studio. I hope she doesn’t mind my using it to write this summation.

Not only does it summarize her philosophy about hooking, it captures the essence of the entire experience at the symposium.

I am inspired. I will continue to try to inspire others. Certainly the experience encouraged a sense of play. And we saw the saw the results of the dreams of so many talented presenters, we know the power of dreams.

Make people happy whenever you can. It really isn’t that hard to do, but maybe we all need a reminder once in a while. Having it on a sweatshirt isn’t such a bad idea – then you can share it with the world.

Let your hook dance across the mat. How eloquently said. Next time you are sitting with a group of hookers, just watch the grace in the hook. Each person moves it a little differently – some waltz while others do the two-step, but we all dance.

I think these entries on my blog are my good notes. I will always be able to look back at them and remember this special time.

I am a picture drawer anyway, but now I will do it even more often. Writing notes about good ideas and putting the down on paper in a sketch will help you remember – like a visual journal.

The happy people I spent time with in Amherst are exactly the kind she is talking about. I find hookers to be mostly happy people anyway – which is why I love being among them.

Laughter – so much of it there. I am smiling just thinking about them all. And it takes me back to my first week at hooking school, when I was overcome with the sound of laughter ringing through the air. It is inspiring on its own.

Use your hook to show the world who you are. That was the biggest lesson of all. Sometimes who we are gets lost in trying to be someone else. But seeing all these amazing people – hearing their stories about creativity and realizing how personal each story was is the real pearl in the symposium. We all gather different wool – we all come with a colour palette inside – we all have a different hooking style and a different story to tell. The secret is in finding our own story and telling it to the world.

My rugs have always been a personal story about a person, a time or a place in my life. I will remember to make sure that they continue to reflect me and show the world who I am.