The Rugged Moose

Max and the Nightshirt

2009-07-06T05:57:00.000-07:00

I have many moose things that people have given me over the years. In fact, I've had to curtail moose gift giving as I am running out of room for any more. But one thing that I love are the moose night shirts I have received over the years. On Friday night, I hauled out an old favourite and had a eureka moment. This particular shirt has a moose with only one antler and the caption is "Is that your final antler?" ha ha ha.

But when I looked at the face on this moose, I realized that poor Max was looking more like a horse than a moose, so some changes were in order. In fact, I spent most of my Max time ripping and re-drawing with green marker. I think I replaced all the undoing, so I don't feel like I went totally backwards.

This is a picture of Max with a new lease on life. He now has an eye and a nostril drawn in - neither of which were in the original plan. I think he is looking quite stately, and I like that he is watching me as I hook him. The weather was so amazing yesterday that I actually carried my big Cheticamp frame upstairs and out onto the deck. It was wonderful to hook outside. Very peaceful listening to the birds and the water. I think he enjoyed it too.

This morning, as I looked at this picture I took on the trusty Blackberry, I noticed my foot at the bottom of the picture. I decided that rather than cropping it out, I'd leave it in for scale. See, I told you this was a big piece!

We're having company next weekend, so I'm not sure how much I will get done. Max is just too big to tote back and forth to the city, so progress is a bit slow. I'm secretly hoping for some rainy days on our holidays so that I can get a big chunk of hooking time.

If Mother Nature falls for reverse psychology, by saying that the first two weeks of August will be gorgeous! If not, we may have typhoon season like last year....stay tuned.

Canada Day Projects

2009-07-02T06:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Canada Day. It was the first time I can remember it falling on a Wednesday versus being part of a long weekend spent at the cottage. But, because we stayed in the city, it turned into a day in which I got lots of projects done.

This was my first one. Organizing my wool on the new shelves I got for Mothers' Day - which meant rearranging the whole room in which I store it. Sorry the very fuzzy picture(taken with my Blackberry). These are the wire shelves that Cindi Gay raves about in "favourite studio equipment page" and since the price is right, and you can add to them indefinitely, they seemed like the perfect choice for me. I got them at Canadian Tire, since we don't have Target here - yet.

They were easy to assemble and once I took my wool out of all the various tubs and containers, and arranged it (loosely) by colour, it was the first time I was able to look at all my wool at once. I know compared to many (including Cindi Gay), this is a modest stash, but now that it's all out there, it seems pretty big to me. (My worms are all stored in see-through shoe boxes on a shelving unit in the laundry room, but someday, I'll add extra cubes to hold those as well. And I definitely count my worms as part of my stash - it's amazing how many times I go there first.)

Amazingly, the actual stash is pretty much as I remembered in my head. More than half is recycled and there are quite a few pieces from my dyeing experiments. I need to start adding by colour - definitely some yellows and greens. But now that I have the space to see everything, I'll make a list for myself.

The rest of my mid-week holiday was spent sewing drapes, helping unpack and hanging art at my daughter's new apartment: then preparing an appropriate Canada Day feast for the family - steak, potato salad and caesar salad - always a crowd pleaser.

Now that my wool is organized, I feel motivated to do the same with my desk and filing cabinet. I hope I get to both of those before next Canada Day (ha ha).

Maximum Moose

2009-06-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

This is your first peek at my newest project. In case you can't tell what it is, it's the 21-inch head of a moose - Maximillian Moose - aptly named because he will be 6 feet tall when done.

He and a couple of other woodland creatures (including a bear and a raccoon) will be hiding my stacking washer/dryer in the main floor powder room at the cottage. I was going to have something built to hide them, but then had this idea to hook something instead. The dimensions (2 feet x 6 feet) sort of called for a moose - what with all the sightings this summer. For sure, it was a sign!

As I transferred the pattern onto the backing, I had an inkling of just how big a project this was, but it was when I pulled my first few feet of outline loops that it really hit me! This thing is huge and is really going to take a lot of wool

Luckily, I have decided to do this in a primitive style - to go with all the folk art fish etc. in the room. I can use a multitude of browns in Max and I'm doing a log background to match the walls in there. I'm hoping for a primitive tremp l'oeil effect - that they are actually in the room with you. Should be lots of fun in there when it's done. A little (or should I say big) surprise when you first open the door, that's for sure.

But with gardening, weeding and feeding my flesh to the deer flies, I didn't get much hooking time this weekend and really don't think I'll be steaming ahead at my usual pace.

It's set up on the Cheticamp frame and I'll try to devote a few hours each weekend, so I will keep you posted on the Max progress.

A bit of a dog and pony show.

2009-06-24T06:09:00.001-07:00

Here are my two latest "Jeanius" bags that will both be wending their way to their new owners today.

I took both of these hooked fronts with me to Trent, thinking I would get them finished there. But my days were long and full and I really didn't have any time to get even the whipping and assembly done, so they got put together last night.

The dog bag is for my friend Linda in Fredericton. She is the Florence Nightengale who has been looking out for my brother Bill since his heart attack a while ago. "Breeze" is one of her golden retrievers, and I found out from my sister Nancy that she is the dog that Bill walked during his recovery. If that isn't kismet, I don't know what is. I hooked the bag using a picture from Linda's website, Ten Penny Kennels - I just really liked her face. I think I captured her likeness. I hope Linda thinks so too.

The horse bag was a commission for my friend Gaye (also from Fredericton), whom I have known since childhood. We grew up on horseback together, and Gaye still lives in the horse world, albeit here in Toronto at Woodbine Race Track. She sent me a clipping from a magazine to see if it would make a good bag design and I ended up finding the artist, Jennifer Mack, who painted the original work. I posted about her earlier (May 19th to be exact) and you horsey folks should all go and visit her website. Her paintings are incredible. I'll be sending Jennifer a copy of this picture today as well.

I really enjoy doing "custom" bags, since they have such an emotional connection to their owners. And they give me something new to try, which is always good. It's also good to have them done. I am sure that both new owners will show them off with great pride.

The great equalizer.

2009-06-23T06:40:00.001-07:00

When I think of rug hookers, we are a bit like the "Borg" from Star trek. Not in the creepy, we-have-no-free-thought way. More like we are a huge collective, all connected through our love of this amazing art form.

I do realize we are all individuals with lives outside of hooking, but we tend to think about one another in the context of our hooking. I know people's colour palette - their preferred subject matter - I even know their style and their tension.

We do share stories about our husbands, our kids and grandkids, but it seems we mostly don't talk about our careers. I'm sure there is a good, therapeutic reason for that. We are hooking to get away from that part of our lives. But as in every cross-section of life, hookers do have incredibly interesting lives outside of hooking.

Becky in my class at Trent is an freelance accountant for TV and film production. She is the person who tells the producer whether or not there is money in the budget for that helicopter shot that the director just came up with and wants to do. She travels with the crew on location and punches numbers to keep the budget on budget.

I learned about Pauline's career because she had an amazing tip on her scissors - a special cap for surgical tools in the Emergency Room where she was a nurse for many years. I heard that Gwen's daughter Susan, in the classroom next door, is a doctor. But I knew her from the mother-daughter hooking team and from the incredible Maude Lewis mat she was creating.

We had quite a few recent retirees who are settling very nicely into their lives of hooking and spinning and knitting and creating. They are quite happy to leave their working lives behind. Others are still juggling non-stop to find time to do it all (I count myself in that group of late night hookers).

All of these things remind me that we are definitely much more than just hookers. We are writers and doctors and lawyers and teachers and wildlife biologists and as many occupations as we are people.

Our collectiveness (new word) is our hooking. Aren't we lucky to have this passion that brings us all together? That lets us escape from our other lives, if only for a while?

I think so.

My Classy Class of Trent '09

2009-06-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

Here are the 12 lovely ladies with whom I spent my week at Trent. How do I describe these wonderful women, other than to say they made my week the best it could be.

They came from all over the province. Some stayed and some commuted every day. Some were veteran hookers – others were relative newbies. But the one thing they had in common was their love of this wonderful craft.

We laughed – a lot. Sometimes we laughed so hard we cried. We learned. We listened. We shared - wool and yarn and beads and candy and stories about our lives. Every single day was jam packed from the time we arrived in the classroom until we reluctantly left.

We created incredible works of art – a lot of them – as you can see from the above pictures. Nearly everyone created one bag and started a second. There were belt buckles and pendants and glasses cases and business card holders and signs.

It was the fastest week of my life, and one of the most rewarding. I’m sure that no matter how many week-long schools are in my future, this will be the one that I will remember the most. This first time will be the benchmark against which all others will be measured.

Thanks again ladies for making it so special.

Tuesday at Trent

2009-06-16T06:38:00.000-07:00

Well, I survived Day 1 - more than survived, I thrived!!

I have an amazing group of women who are all enthusiastic hookers from all around the Province. They are all well into their first "Jeanius Bags". In fact the first purse is done!!! Truth be told, Jill had the flap hooked when she arrived, but it turned out beautifully! A perfect example of how a simple design is so effective. A couple of other bags are just slightly behind her.

We have such variety among the bags - cats, stars, flowers, a robin, a native art symbol. They are all reflections of their makers. Colourful, vibrant and fun.

I'm sure our class will be the envy of the school when we have finished projects for show and tell on Thursday.

The days race by and there is real progress and satisfaction in each one.

I'm enjoying my first full week as a teacher - and I'm not fried yet. Mind you it's only Tuesday.

Check back Thursday for an update.

My not-so-empty nest.

2009-06-11T06:38:00.000-07:00

After getting used to the idea of having no kids at home, all of a sudden I have both of them back!!

My son is finished university and has taken a summer job to buy him time before looking for a "real" one. He has no idea what he wants to be when he grows up and I think he's a little shell shocked about the prospect of starting that journey. So, he's doing property maintenance for the summer. He's already buff and tan - but I think a little bored with the work.

My daughter, who is three years older than her brother and has been living away from home for a few years, is suddenly back - with her cat. The classic scenario of a relationship she was in not working out and needing a place to re-group until the dust settles, the lease is up on her apartment (at the end of the month) and her heart mends (I'm pretty sure not by the end of the month). Her 6-month old kitten Jasper is part of the deal.

So, we have gone from just Rick and myself to two grown kids, a lizard, four fish and a cat!!!! Yikes. There's too much of everyone's stuff everywhere and no place to put anything. There's too much laundry, too much food, too much volume for our tiny, perfect house. So, we have to accept our everything-in-its-place norm until these two sort out their situations.

I love them dearly. And I really hoped we weren't going to join the statistics of empty nesters with rebounding kids, but there you go. We are parents for life and we will do what we have to to help them along. And I guess this is just part of that deal.

I think I am beginning to believe that we may not be doing them any favours by giving them such a soft place to land. When we were their age, we certainly did not have the same options as they do - for a number of different reasons. (Don't I just sound like an old you-know-what when I say that.)

But I'm pining for my nest to be empty and organized again - soon. For their sakes and my own. And I'm glad I'm escaping to Trent next week where meals will be made for me and there aren't piles of laundry waiting to be done.

I'm sure the nest will be just fine without me - and vice versa.

Countdown is on.

2009-06-08T06:26:00.001-07:00

Now that the Annual is behind me, I am counting down to Trent. I will be teaching there next week - my first week-long gig. And trust me, the prep time is onorous at best.

As I keep remembering MORE things I have to pack, it reminds me of the friendship rug that Elaine and I hooked for Trent a few years back. Although I don't need to bring the drying rack, dyeing jars and hot plate this time, I have more than replaced those with things I do need. It's quite incredible how quickly the car fills up. I'm hoping there will be enough space left for me.

I have been in touch with most of my students since just after Christmas, which seemed so far away at the time. But the organizing and corresponding are pretty much done, so now I am just making lists and checking them thrice so I don't forget things.

My class is called "1-2 Hook a Few" and everyone will be making a few small things instead of starting another big project. It seems to appeal to the instant gratification in all of us, and I have 12 eager students.

Among the lists of little projects are belt buckles and pendants, for which I need hardware. I am anxiously awaiting one last shipment from the States and I sincerely hope it arrives this week. Otherwise, I may have to take apart my own buckles to donate the hardware. I'm crossing my appendages.

And, as luck would have it, work is crazier than ever. Which goes to show that Murphy is alive and well. Following months in which the pace was normal, we are now in high gear trying to meet an impossible deadline for a new client. And for me to get all the changes in hand on a presentation for another. It never fails!

So, today's task will be printing out all the handouts for the class and organizing them into file folders for each day. (Don't I just sound like a real teacher?)

Stay tuned.

Oops. Missed one.

2009-06-08T06:18:00.000-07:00

I realized that I didn't include this rug in my posts last week, so I apologize for the oversight.

This was the winner in the Primitive category and it is a wonderful interpretation of a Deanne Fitzpatrick rug, hooked by Elaine Alerton. What a wonderful palette in this rug and her colour plan is excellent and really balanced. Sometimes the Deanne rugs can become a bit of a mash of colour if not planned carefully. This one truly succeeded.

I'm sure that judging this many amazing rugs was no easy feat. There were so many great entries in every single category, it must have been very difficult choosing just one winner.

Kudos to all the judges and the winners.

A new rug blog.

2009-06-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

I received a link to this new blog this morning and went to take a peek.

It is called Red Jack Rugs and is only a few days old. However, there are already a slew of great links and resources and a wonderful rug display. April DeConick is the author and you may already know her - and her work - from the Welcome Mat.

We all love to visit back and forth and see what's new with everyone. So here's another place to go. www.redjackrugs.blogspot.com

Enjoy.

More amazing animals.

2009-06-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

There are fewer days in the week than category winners, so I have decided to double up today.

This amazing Chimpanzee portrait was the winner in the fine cut category and you can definitely see why. It is an adaptation of a photograph and the detail here is extraodinary. I can't remember the name of the winner and will need to see if I can find it for you. But in the meantime, you can enjoy it.

The canoe crew was the winning entry in the wide cut category, and again, I cannot dispute the choice. This rug is so full of joy, it was a great crowd pleaser. All the details are incredible and come together nicely to create a timeless classic piece. The sky simply glowed in real life and I hope you can see that effect here. Again, I do not have the name of the hooker of this piece, although I did have the pleasure of sitting with her at dinner on Saturday night. I'll do a follow up post, when I find out all this information. Jennifer (FishEyeRugs) was much better at getting details than I was, but she didn't feature either of these in her posts.

I am sure there will be a feature on the winning entries on the OHCG website as well, so I will link you to that when it is done.

This year will be a tough act to follow, I'm sure. But I think I say that every year, and I am never disappointed with what I find each show.

Next year it will be in Coburg, so again, not too far to travel - at least for me.

I'd better get busy planning my entries. The theme will be "Hooked on the Waterfront", and I think I have an idea already....

Stunning Swan

2009-06-04T06:20:00.000-07:00

Here is the rug that won the Pictorial award, and it's easy to see why - even in a picture. It is hooked by B. Nonnemitz, who is apparently a second-generation hooker - daughter of another amazing hooker.

What you may not be able to see is the incredible sculpture in the top of the wings.
Or the detail in the background. The texture that she has incorporated into the water is amazing. Such movement, it's nearly as hypnotic as real water is to me.
Be sure to click on the image and look at it more closely, so you can fully appreciate the work here.

It's funny, because I wouldn't have considered this a pictorial at first, but I guess in my head a pictorial is more in the landscape category. But when you think about it, this definitely is "pictorial", just as the word describes.

A couple more to show tomorrow. And make sure you go see what Jenn has been posting on her blog, if you haven't already been doing so.

Well Deserved Beginner Award

2009-06-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

Each year, the OHCG Annual judges two categories for beginners. One is a general category for all styles of rugs. The other is the Rittermere Hurst Field award for fine shading. Some years there are many entries. Other years, not so many. But this was a good year for entries. The display looked great. The caliber of the new hookers was very good. And this is the winner from the general category.

It is a Maud Lewis pattern, hooked by Jane Pilskalnietis. Jane is the daughter of Mary Anne P.(our or recently past President of the Upper Toronto Branch), so there may just be a genetic predisposition for her abilities.

I would also like to believe that Elaine and I played a small part in Jane's auspicious beginnings. Jane was one of our beginner students at Fairlawn Community Centre winter before last when we did a 4-week sampler workshop. She was a natural. Her extensive needlework experience probably gave her head start. She already was adept with the hook and her colour sense was intuitive.

From our little launch, Jane went on to have classes with Barb D'Arcy, who was her teacher on this endeavour. As one of Barb's proteges, I can assure you there is no better teacher to guide through the finer points of colour planning and all the little details that take a rug from good to great. And this is a true example of just how amazing Barb is.

Ironically, there were a couple of other versions of this rug on display at the show. And none held a candle to Jane's. It was definitely head and shoulders ahead of the others, because of all the details.

Congratulations to Jane on a rug well done. Rumour has it she is already well on her way to the next project.

No rest for the addicted. You go girl!!!

Alternative Techniques Winner

2009-06-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Here is the second piece in the "Awesome Annual" collection.

This is Ruth Emmerson's entry into the Alternative Techniques category, and I must confess to not having noticed it before it was announced as the winner. I'm sure it must have been its placement in the branch display that made me not notice it as I walked around. Unfortunately, some of the displays were so crowded that it was impossible to see all the pieces - and you did notice different ones each time you walked around. A little more space around each one would definitely showcase it - but then we'd need a display area multiple times the size.

However, with this piece, once I knew of its existence, I couldn't take my eyes off it. It's absolutely incredible! Ruth has a real talent for realizing a concept in a way that is truly unique every time. Compare this to her cabbage from last year and you know what I mean.

The drama of this piece, combined with the sculptured hooking in the hands, is quite rapturous. The details in the hands are unbelievable. Ruth told me that it was part of an artist's exhibit titled "Reach for the Stars" and this was her submission. Amazing isn't it?

When you think of this piece compared to yesterday's, it truly demonstrates the breadth of not only of the talent in the hooking arena, but the diversity of styles and subject matter.

Had these two pieces both competed in the "Original" category, it would have been a monumental task to judge. And I'm pretty sure the judging was tough enough as it was.

I'll try to post another category tomorrow.

Another Awesome Annual

2009-06-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

It's the Monday after the Annual, and my head is recovering from an overload of everything!

Too many amazing rugs to process. Too many reunions with friends I only see at hooking events. Too many new acquaintences swimming in my head whose names I hope I will remember when I seem them next. Too much bad conference centre food. Too many wonderful vendors to whom I gave too much money. And all in all too good a time to recount in one post. So I will try to do one every day this week. Some posts will feature other award-winning rugs. And some will just be rugs I like.

This photo is the rug that one first place in the Original Category and also the Rowan Award (which is our name for Viewers' Choice). Isn't it incredible!!!

It was hooked by Trish Johnson, an incredibly talented artist/hooker who belongs to both our Upper Toronto Branch and the Georgetown Branch of the OHCG. Not only is she one of the most creative designers I have ever met, her hooking is impeccable. Put those two things together and she is an awesome adversary in the original category.

Her rug was the first one that caught my eye on Friday when I arrived and I knew that poor Totem 40 was completely blown out of the water. But there is not a single spec of me that holds a grudge - just huge admiration for a talent that is so large the rest of us get left behind.

This rug is called "Memories of Oak Point", I think, and it's a historical piece based of photos of Trish's grandparents place in Oak Point. Not only are the photos incredibly well done (complete with those wonderful old-fashioned corners), but placing them on the map with the leaves scattered on top just makes it feel like a wonderful scrap book page. You can almost smell that newsprint smell that permeated your nostrils when you opened a scapbook to look through.

The detail in real life is unbelievable and I kept coming back to it over and over again all weekend to simply gaze at it. So did many other people.

Congratulations Trish. You continue to amaze me with your talent.

Exciting Sightings

2009-05-25T06:12:00.000-07:00

After nearly 20 years at the cottage without seeing a single moose, this spring has brought two sightings in two consecutive weekends and I am in moose heaven.

Last weekend, my sister, her husband, my niece and her husband came for dinner. I was sitting at the end of the table facing the driveway. Just as we were finishing our meal, I looked up to see a moose running down the road past the end of our driveway.

We raced from the table and arrived outside to see a very confused young moose trotting down the road, being herded by someone in a small silver SUV.
Not sure why they thought this was a good idea, but after a brief conversation, we learned that the youngster had come onto the road near the portage between our lake and the one across the road, which was in the opposite direction to which he was moving. (After looking at as many pictures as I could find, I think it was a young male, about a year old.)

We managed to get him turned around and headed back the way he came from. And also managed to get him on a side road off the main one, which made me relax a bit. We decided to head back to the cottage and leave him alone. After all, it was the Victoria Day weekend and between too many people, cars and fireworks, I'm sure this little guy was totally freaked out. We left him in the woods, hoping he would not return to the road.

(This picture is not our moose - in fact, I believe this is an older female, but her coat is about the same as the young one we saw, and I loved this picture, which I'm sure will be reference for future projects.)

I swear there were a couple of times I could have reached out and touched him. He was about the same height as me and have a very scraggly greyish coat with very long hair around the withers and head (another reason why I think he was a young one). It was very exciting indeed!!

Then this past Friday night, as we were heading in from the highway, Rick saw another moose in the woods. It turned out to be a much-older male with a medium rack of antlers. We stopped the car to stare at him. He stopped and stared at us. We both held positions for a good 3 minutes and then we headed off slowly so as not to frighten him. Again, he was much too close to the road for my liking. I think the black flies are particularly bad this year and we've been told the bugs drive them out of the woods, which unfortunately often puts them in danger.

Both sighting were at about 9:30 at night, which according to my research is when they are active. That is also when the bugs are active, so it makes sense that they come out of the woods at that time to escape.

As exciting as both these sightings wee, it makes me wish they would stay deep in the woods and be safe. But they were both magnificent animals and have been an inspiration for my next piece, which I have already designed.

This blog is not called the rugged moose for no good reason.

Another Amazing Artist Says "YES"

2009-05-19T06:39:00.001-07:00

This is the latest “Jeanius Bag” front that I have just hooked for my lifelong pal Gaye. She sent me a clipping from a magazine that featured a painting by an artist named “Jennifer Mack” who lives in Calgary and does incredible paintings of horses, mostly mustangs. She wondered if it would be a good design for a bag and without question, it was.

But, as I told Gaye, I needed permission from the artist before I could proceed. Since the ad also contained the URL for her website, it was very easy for me to find her. To my delight, Jennifer responded to my request in less than 24 hours, not only saying yes, but telling me that she was a textile artist in art college and really only started painting after graduation. She is keen to see what I do, so I will be sending her an email later today to show her progress.

The original piece is very large – 48 x 60, so my little 7 x 9 purse flap had to squeeze a fair amount of detail into a tiny space. Please go and see her website so that you can enjoy the real deal. www.jmackfineart.com

This makes 3 for 3 “Yes” replies from artists whom I have approached for permission to adapt their work. It never ceases to amaze me the willingness in the artistic community to allow others to be inspired.

I think my friend Gaye is going to be more than thrilled with her bag. And I hope that Jennifer will feel that I have done her proud.

My version of The Artful Hooker.

2009-05-13T06:49:00.000-07:00

I finished whipping this mat on the weekend - my little indulgence for Mothers' Day. And I am very pleased with the final result.

I sent a note to Deanne to show her the mat finished. I think it's the perfect combination of the two of us. Her pattern and her words. Me hooking my cottage. And I am wearing the "little blue coat" that she admired so much when I was there.

The words really are inspirational and I look forward to hanging this rug in my studio space as a constant reminder to stay inspired. And as a tribute to a fantastic experience I had with a wonderful group of people - led by a truly gifted hooker.

A Better Week for Brother Bill

2009-05-13T06:41:00.000-07:00

An update on brother Bill is that he continues to improve, and although there is still some concern about internal bleeding, so far tests are all coming back normal, which may mean it is a by-product of the heart attack.

Hopefully, he will be travelling back to Fredericton from Saint John today, which means he will be closer to his friends and support network - not that they hesitated to make the trip to see him in hospital there. They continue to be incredible!

Sister (and most-time matriarch) Nancy is back here in Oakville, and monitoring things via long distance. She is planning another trip to see him later in the month, by which time we hope he will be home and recuperating.

A big WHEW from all of us here.

Family Matters

2009-05-11T04:46:00.001-07:00

This past week has been one that has galvanized my siblings - because one of us is in trouble.

My oldest brother Bill, second from the left in the black and white picture (taken in about 1954) and standing next to me in the colour picture (taken last fall) had a heart attack on Wednesday.

He is the only sibling still living in New Brunswick. The other 4 are all within an hour's distance of Toronto and we can get together as often as we like. In point of fact, we don't do that as often as we should, but there is comfort in knowing that we can.

Brother Bill comes every couple of years for either a week in the summer or Christmas vacation - on rare occasion, both. We are in touch with him on a regular basis, but at the end of the day, he is a thousand miles away.

He is the third male in our family to have a heart attack. My dad died from his just days after his 60th birthday. My other brother Peter had one at age 53. Peter was able to get to hospital at the first symptoms and they reversed all signs of it within hours of his arrival in ER.

Bill has not been so lucky. The week has been filled with ups and downs - with a couple of miracles thrown in for good measures. Luckily, he had his heart attack while at work, so a series of good things, involving a volunteer firefighter administering CPR, a doctor upstairs in his building, and the ambulance arriving in under 10 minutes all got him to the hospital. But, the ride has been bumpy with many unknowns and surprises along the way. And they are still coming.

He is still in a precarious place and we are going from hour to hour, day to day watching and waiting for updates from our sister Nancy who flew to be with him on the day of the attack.

It's a horrible thing to be this far away and unable to be other than a spectator as this all unfolds. But we feel that going there en masse would only send worrying signals to him, since we don't often go there when he is well. But the silbing hot line is in place - Nancy calls one of us and the rest pass the news along. It's becoming the rhythm of the days - and nights.

I hardly knew my brother Bill growing up, since 8 years is a big difference, and he was mostly away at school by the time I would come to know him. But as an adult, I have come to know that he is an amazing person who has a support system that we would all envy.

His peers from work, his friends and even those who aren't that close to him have rallied to cheer him on, visit him and be there for him, even if he's not totally aware that they are there. And I envy them the proximity to be able to do that.

I dearly love all my siblings. We lost our parents very early and it created a stronger bond among us. But, like most, we probably don't tell one another how we feel nearly often enough. And I only hope that Bill contiues to improve to the point that I have an opportunity to do so.

It's been a very reflective Mothers' Day for me. Luckily, both my kids were able to be with me. My ma-in-law was also here and she is an amazing woman who has truly been the best mother figure in my life since I lost my own. But the precarious nature of the week reminds me again that we must continue to tell the people around us how much we care. How special they are to us.

Because when all is said and done family matters more than anything. And that doesn't mean just mean blood relatives, but those we love like family too.

Sheer Jeanius - Again!

2009-05-04T06:04:00.000-07:00

These are pictures from the Jeanius Bag Workshop that I taught this weekend at Karen Kaiser's amazing home in Belleville.

Karen's home is on an incredible farm, which we walked after dinner both nights. We hooked in her four-seasons sun room, with a view of her pond and the wildlife who visited there.

Once again, the bags are as different as the hookers who created them. As you can see, the subject matter ran the gamut. And each and every bag turned out beautifully. Kudos to Joan, Liz, Janis, Kerry, Jackie and Lee.

The group was mostly commuters who live within an hour of Karen's. Only one of the students. who came from Guelph, and myself had "sleepovers". Many in the group are fiber artists who spin and knit and weave and hook, and it was fun to hear about their backgrounds and how they came to hooking.

The cat bag (pictured by itself) was created by Jackie, who is wearing it in the non-group shot. She was unable to come on Sunday as she was doing her M.O.B. (mother-of-the-bride) duties at a shower. But, she put the pedal to the metal and got her bag done in the nick of time on Saturday. (Hope the shower was fun, Jackie.)

The large bag in the upper right hand corner was actually hooked by our 'hostess with the mostest'. She had done a 'hooking with pantyhose' workshop and turned her mat into a bag over the weekend. (It's the perfect size for a laptop.)

The group shot shows the students (plus Karen) with their bags. Liz, second from the right, is actually holding my bag with the proddy flower, since she left her finished one at home. However, Liz is my testament to just how addictive these bags can be. She is making 13 of them for a party in September (don't you wish you were a guest at that party!)

I enjoyed meeting Karen's husband Kurt, who worked outside the whole time we were there, stopping only for meals. I also loved meeting Woody, Karen's Bouvier/English Sheepdog cross, who serves as doorbell and escort on walks around the farm.

All in all it was another fabulous workshop. The students, the projects, the food - everything was fantastic.

Thanks everyone for making it great. You are all now official "Jeaniuses". I hope you get tons of compliments on these bags and the many you will create in the future.

A Poem to Share

2009-04-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

In my job, I do a fair amount of internet research - on lots of different topics and it is almost always fascinating. Sometimes my journeys are very linear - other times very meandering. Today, I found myself on a blog where I discovered this wonderful poem.

Her website is www.communicatrix.com and it is very brash and sassy. She's a gal from L.A. who speaks her mind. It is the type of website/blog that could potentially offend just about everyone who visited, but if something this wonderful comes from her mind, then you have to respect that talent.

I felt like there are lots of truths that she speaks. I'm just not sure she has to push that hard.

Enjoy.

Everyone has her basket.

And in that basket
are all the things
a body gets
in a lifetime:

The long legs
the natural grace

The way with words
or people
or numbers
or animals

The force field that makes money
or love
or ideas
or children
come to them first

The gene soup
that makes eyes blue
stomachs sturdy
loins fruitful
brains prodigious

Even the luck—
the ponies
the Kojak parking
the pair of pants on sale
or the person of their dreams available
at the exact moment
where need and want meet—
even that
is in the basket.

There will be days
when you look down at your basket and marvel
at the wonderful
wonderful
things inside

And there will be days
when you cannot bring yourself to look
at all
or rather
where the only place you can look
is at the basket next to you
and with longing.

But every day
someone is looking at your basket
with longing

Every day
someone would trade baskets with yours
sight unseen

I have been
in all of those places
and mostly
I am grateful
for the grace
that forgave my foolishness

This is my basket
to carry
and uncover
layer by layer
day by day
year by year

And sometimes
story by story.

May your basket overflow
with beautiful things
of incomparable joy
and wonder

And when it does not
may you be visited
by the same grace that sat down beside me
to show me the beauty
and the joy
and the wonder
I could not see

xxx

Crossing the Border

2009-04-27T05:53:00.000-07:00

I am about 85% finished my Deanne Fitzpatrick mat "The Artful Hooker" and am very happy with how it is turning out.

However, I experienced a definite Aha! moment with the border above the lower mat.In the rug pattern, a hooker is working on a mat, so there is the border for the upper mat (where the lettering sits) and a second border under the lettering that defines the lower mat.

I had already hooked a big portion of that border, using the colours from the upper part of the mat. My suspicions were that it was a little strong and I was already contemplating pulling some of the brighter colours.

But, because I had changed the lower design from Deanne's houses to my cottage (another way to personalize the rug) once the cottage and trees were in with a more natural palette, the border was totally overpowering.

I knew I needed to find a transitional border that was quieter, but would still connect the upper and lower designs. And eureka! It didn't take long. Instead of bringing the upper part down to meet the lower part, I came up with a design solution that let them meet in the middle.

I brought the colours from above in simple horizontal lines that hugged the border. Then I created a "log" design which brought the cottage up into the border.

So now I have a border that connects two different places with something special for each. And no passport required.

Things we learn about ourselves.

2009-04-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that no matter how old we become, we are always learning, or re-learning things about ourselves.

In our new class of rughookers with my friend Elaine, I am reminded of things forgotten in the time since we pulled our first loops and took our first classes. But these eager new students are running into the same issues that we did when we were starting out. And when they bring them up, we are reminded of what plagued us in the beginning as well.

One of the things they have already decided they don't enjoy is hooking on the diagonal. It came up twice last week. One student was working on lettering and had lots of capital A's in her piece. The other was not happy with the diagonal roofline on her building.

Aah. It all came back to me, how hard that was the first time. I reassured them both that once they get the wool on either side of that diagonal line, they will feel much better about it.

But the piece in this picture really hit a nerve on the weekend. It reminded me that "I hate diagonal lines" too. This is a wonderful purse pattern called "Bar-Jello" designed by my amazing friend Jennifer Manuell. I bought it from her ages ago and it sits at the cottage as an in-between project. I picked it up again this weekend and started to laugh when I came to the realization that it is all diagonal lines.

I also realized this is probably the reason it is not finished yet. In fact, I started on one side, wasn't happy with the work, pulled the whole thing,and started on the other side (which is what you see at the top). But in looking at it again,(although I has happier with the hooking) I knew that I wasn't going to enjoy finishing a project that has every stitch on the diagonal.

So, I decided to modify it. (I'm sure Jennifer is quivering as she reads this post.) I decided to keep the Bar-Jello at the top of the bag, but to introduce circles in the same colours, in various sizes, over the rest of the expanse. I will duplicate the same elements on the other side (which means I will have more diagonal hooking at some point - just not as much).

Come to think of it, circles are another thing that trips up new hookers, but for me they're an element that I have been incorporating into lots of projects, and I don't mind them in the least.

Let's face it, a life of straight-line hooking would be a boring one. But I think I will keep those diagonal lines as few and as far between as I can.

And I will undoubtedly be reminded of other little things about my hooking self that I have forgotten.