March Marched Right Past

Not sure how I missed a blog post last month, but I did. And now it is mid-April. The "showers" have arrived. Grass and trees are very happy, but it puts a damper (pun intended) on my daily walking. Despite best efforts, I have come to realize that I am a "fair weather walker". 

Lots of stuff going on in the studio. I hooked a little version of my Jeanius Bag (with a little proddy) for my front door, for the "shoulder season" - and I put some proddy flowers  on stems in my front entry planter.

It's been a busy time with lots of Zoom teaching. The OHCG is hosting its first ever "Virtual Annual" and I am delivering 4 workshops. I am loving Zoom teaching for many reasons: the no-travel part is great. No loading things into the car - and having everything I need right there with me in the studio. Everyone in the comfort of their own homes - no masks!! 

I think the students enjoy meeting and spending time with one another.  And I share any "lesson in the moment" just as I would in an in-person class. One 2-session Jeanius Bag class done, as well as the first Hooking in the Age of Technology. Two more Tech classes to go. Then it's off to the Virtual School in Nova Scotia to deliver the Jeanius Bag workshop again.

Speaking of Jeanius Bags, the students who have joined me in this class are creating so many wonderful bags, and everyone is giving me permission to share. So here are a few to be dazzled by:

The first two were hooked by Karen in a workshop in February. 

The next two are hot off the frame from the OHCG Virtual Annual Workshop - which just had the second session today. Andrea just took the idea and ran with it. BTW, she wove the strap to match this first bag. 

Here's her second one. Love that braided strap. It makes the hooked design SING.

Based on what I have seen from these students, I will have lots more bragging to do in the next while.

So much fun to see what everyone comes up with. No two are alike, that's for sure - students OR bags. 

Happy Sweaters. Snappy "Jeanius" Bags.

I am a knitter. I have a wardrobe full of hand-knit sweaters and I love them all. For me, store bought sweaters come and go, but sweaters that I knit stay forever.  

For the first time in a decade, I am home this winter instead of in my winter place in Barbados. I wear one of my sweaters virtually every day. They keep me cozy, make me happy, and I like to think they are happy to be worn again.

Here is a pic of what is in the wardrobe, which truly demonstrates my lack of "need" for any more sweaters. That said, hand-knit sweaters are as much about the journey as the destination. The therapy of making a new sweater is much better than retail therapy would ever be. And the pattern selection is unbelievable. 

Two days ago, I was wearing this one that I knit in 2008, December 10th to be exact. That's right, this sweater is a "teenager".  (This is the picture I posted on my blog that day.)

During COVID, I have knit 8 sweaters, 3 hats, 4 pairs of socks and a 2 baby blankets. And like most knitters I know, I still a stash that promises many more. 

Here is the latest sweater off the needles. It is called "Stripes" and is a fun pattern by Andrea Mowry. The bright colours were a perfect choice for a winter knit and watching the colours change kept me knitting, so it was quick as well. (Wow, the pose hasn't changed much, has it?)

 My COVID time is split between knitting, sewing and rug hooking. I break my days among projects, so there is always something waiting for me. I have also started teaching rug hooking workshops on Zoom. I started in the fall and have now done several, including my "Jeanius" Bags which are enjoying a resurgence in popularity.

It is the perfect two-session workshop and students have registered from all over North America. It is as much fun to do on Zoom as it was "in person" many years ago. For me, the best part is seeing the finished bags, which are as different as the students who create them.

The best part for a teacher of any class or workshop is seeing the finished projects. And being able to share them is the icing on the cake. Here are the first ones that were finished by the latest group:

A fabulous geometric with a full-length flap. 

Perfect lining and a hidden phone pocket. 

Two smaller flaps that are fastened with buttons. 

I look forward to seeing - and sharing - more, as I receive them from my awesome students!

Every class gives new insight into the class and I am learning some new flap finishing ideas from the questions students ask. I will do a few new samples for the upcoming classes in April and May. 

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!! And who says you can't have fun in a long, cold Ontario winter. 

GROUNDHOG DAY - EVERY DAY!

It's always been funny to me that Groundhog Day is an actual thing - sort of.  If you believe that 3 "rodents" can predict spring. Once I saw the movie "Groundhog Day", the importance of the rodents was greatly diminished. And Groundhog Day took on a whole new meaning. 

As we approach a full year of pandemic living, I have started referring to time as "Groundhog Day: Not the Movie". Here are a couple of my favourite Groundhog memes:

That said, since retirement there has always been a sort of rhythm to my days. But before COVID it was at my preference, not the pandemic's control. So now, the rhythm is sometimes a bit suffocating.

Thank heavens for technology! In particular Zoom and FaceTime. Without them, I wouldn't see my friends or family. And thanks to them I do, on a regular basis. Probably even more often than before this whole odyssey began.

And I wouldn't have been able to teach without Zoom! If you had told me a year ago that I would be teaching workshops and classes on Zoom - and loving it - I would have told you to give your head a shake. But there you go. As my friend Lisa would say, COVID isn't just "thorns". There are a few "roses" in there too. 

My Jeanius Bags are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, and today I will be teaching the first session of my third workshop on Zoom. It was always one of my favourite things to teach and works perfectly on Zoom.

I am teaching it again at the Virtual Annual of the OHCG in April. And in May with the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia's Virtual Rug School. Instead of rug hookers giving up and waiting for this to be over, teachers and students alike are embracing the Zoom. 

Add to that my Hooking in the Age of Technology, which I am teaching 3 times at the Virtual Annual, and you can see that my dance card is filling up quickly. 

Because I enjoy this so much, and because I think there will be a lot more Zoom teaching time, I am looking at other workshops to see how they could be adapted. I think in the future, virtual teaching will still have a place, even when schools and "in person" teaching are safe again. 

What are the benefits to Zoom teaching? Not having to go anywhere. Not having to load the car. Not having to unpack and repack your classroom at the other end. And students can come from anywhere. East Coast, West Coast, all across the US and even England. We may look like the opening of The Brady Bunch, but we actually do get to know one another a bit. And we all have fun!!

My hooking and knitting and mask making continue as well, so I am not lying on the sofa, and not binge watching too much Netflix. The mask making has seriously put a dent in my fabric stash, and I need to figure out what I will use for men's masks, since most of my remaining fabric is decidedly female. 

I just knit a pair of socks for each of the grandkids and made them each a Valentine's Day necklace. Little people socks go very quickly, but I know they will also be outgrown very quickly. I take comfort in thinking that J's socks may last long enough for E to inherit them.  Hopefully Canada Post will get the there before the 14th.

The "Stool Pigeons" are progressing nicely, and I love how happy I feel when I work on this piece. It's only the second mat I have hooked in yarn, and it's not the fastest piece, but I love it. Once the top was done, I realized that the birds were the most fun part of the design, so I have added them to the 4 side panels as well.  Here is a progress shot.

With many Groundhog Days ahead, I don't feel pressure to get things done. I just enjoy the doing and am very grateful to have all these fibre addictions to keep me busy. 

Hope you are all getting some projects done during this time. They sure keep me sane. 

Stay safe. 

A November to Remember.

It is incredible to believe that we have now entered the eighth month of "life with COVID-19". And I am pretty sure we have the same amount of time ahead of us before we see a vaccine.

Over and over again, I talk with friends about how grateful we all are to have a fibre arts addiction to get us through this. And as the winter looms, I am appreciative of a stash of materials that appears to be never-ending.

I move between knitting, rug hooking and mask making at will. Whatever I feel like doing, I do. And if I feel like starting a new project, I do that too. 

Here's a little hooked wall hanging that I created for a new baby. The design is to compliment a very graphic feature wall treatment. She seems to like it. 

I have a few other hooking projects on the go, and alternate between those, as the urge dictates.

And, I am thrilled to report that I have jumped on the Zoom Workshop bandwagon. Just last week, I did the second session of my "Jeanius Bags" on Zoom. I had eight eager hookers sign up for the session, plus a step-by-step booklet. And their enthusiasm was wonderful. I have been receiving pictures as they finish their bags.

This first one is indeed timely, although the maker did not set out to do a Remembrance Day bag. She just wanted to hook a beautiful poppy. And she did! And she found amazing lining fabric. 

Here's a wonderful bag called "COVID Kitties" and is an adaptation of a pattern designed by Karen Kaiser. Look at their little eyes!! Makes me smile. And more yummy lining.

I warned everyone that these little bags are addictive, and one student sure believed it. Today, she sent me her finished bags photo of THREE bags, and she said there will be more to come. Yes!!!  Great lining fabrics again.

I will share more as I get them.  I am also considering running another Zoom workshop on these bags before Christmas, if there is interest. 

On the knitting front, I started my third stranded-work project during COVID. I alternate it with solid colour knitting and love how it seems hypnotic following the charts. This project is "Ninilchik Swoncho". I got the pattern from Ravelry and all the yarn came from my stash. Amazing how it's not a colour palette that I would pick in a yarn store, but I am very happy with it, all the same.

I continue to make masks and have experimented with many different patterns. Lately, I have been on the search for the perfect "no fog" mask. And after trying a couple of different versions, I found the perfect one!!! It is designed by my friend Mary Dean, who created it for her husband. I am thrilled with this new design, and will make them for my glasses-wearing relatives.

The design above was posted as a YouTube video and started with a circle. It has the required "nose flap" that folds up and fits under your glasses, so was quite effective. It just didn't fit well on the sides.

This is the perfect pattern. Thanks again, MD. The flap that folds up and fits under the glasses like the other pattern, but this one also a great fit on the sides. Plus, it is self-lining, so is the fastest pattern yet. I am making a batch in flannel for a nice cozy mask on the cold days ahead.

I don't think the hospital will take this kind, as they need a light cotton lining, So I will continue to make the "bra style" that I have been making all these months.

So, onward and upward. We will wait as patiently as possible for this virus to loosen its grip. In the meantime, we fibre folks will be just fine until that happens.

Stay safe everyone. And stay sane!