Merry Christmas from The Rugged Moose.

It's 11:51 and I'm at the office - doing a bit of work, but mostly revisiting all those lists in my head. Who have I forgotten? What did I miss at the grocery store? It will soon be too late to worry about it, and I'm sure everything will be just fine.

The most important thing is to be with family and friends and try to de-stress from all the other stuff in the world. And that is what I hope to do when we scoot up north on the 27th.

I hope you all find a way to do the same - not go up north - but relax into the new year. It seems the older we get the more frazzled life becomes. It's good to catch your breath from time to time.

All the best for the holidays. Talk to you all again in 2010.

Counting Down.

The tree is trimmed, the gifts are wrapped (mostly bagged actually - what did we ever do before the reusable gift bag?) and I think I am mostly ready. This will be the last Christmas in the house we've owned for 26 years, so it's proving to be quite an emotional time for us - and especially the kids. I took extra care in the trimmings, putting three more stands of lights than usual on the tree.

On my "Santa" list, I've completed: 10 hooked snowmen, 2 hooked santas, 1 hooked cat, 1 hooked footstool, 1 sign, 1 knitted snowman hat, 1 pair of yoga socks, 3 aprons - I can't think of anything else. 

Now just one newsletter to finish putting together and shoot out the door before Thursday. 

And I'm pretty sure there will be a bit more last minute wrapping and "second guessing shopping". But mostly I'm done.

My ma-in-law turned 85 on Friday, so we treated her to a birthday lunch on Saturday in Peterborough and brought her back to stay until Boxing Day. She's like the Eveready bunny - in the 30 years I've known her, she hasn't changed very much. Knock on wood she's still healthy and strong and I can't see that changing much in the next little while, God willing.

So now I can just get the work work done that haunts my sleep and look forward to some nice downtime between Christmas and New Years.

I hope all of you who have been following along with me have an incredible holiday, filled with family and friends and good cheer. May 2010 be an amazing adventure for all of us, and may we all find good health and happiness waiting for us there.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.

Much love.

Wendie

Aprons for Christmas?

I am a recent lover of aprons. Perhaps because in the past few years, they have become beautiful and things that you would feel wonderful wearing – versus the ugly utilitarian things of days gone by. I think the love of all things retro has had a very positive effect on the apron business.

There was a woman selling wonderful ones at One of a Kind. And the ones at Anthropologie are incredible. But a beautiful apron comes with a price tag, so I decided to make some instead, after finding a pattern called Emmeline at Sew Liberated (an online site with beautiful patterns).

It’s a very feminine reversible apron that really appealed to me and I immediately thought of my daughter who is just learning to cook. How wonderful to put on a lovely apron and create things in her freshly painted yellow kitchen. (The bright yellow, blue and purple one with the striped reverse is for her.)

When I went looking for her fabric, other combinations kept leaping out at me, which is how I ended up doing three (or 6 when you count both sides of each apron). I spent a good deal of this past weekend cutting them out and sewing them. But at the end of the effort, I think they are really beautiful.

Living in a house with two men folk doesn’t bode well for the construction of aprons as Christmas gifts. They just kept saying Aprons???? Incredulously, which nearly made me second guess myself. And they did beg the question, is an apron the sign of oppression, which I’m sure the feminists would support, or are they a practical item that can also be beautiful?

Like every gift I give, the acid test is whether or not I would like to receive on as a gift. And the answer is a resounding “YES”. Now having made three, I know the pattern by heart. I have visions of all my leftover fabrics being put to good use in 2010. I can see these becoming a staple in my life.

The flakes and the fur flew.

Sorry about no post yesterday (to my regular tea and post folks). I was up north - taking yesterday in lieu of Friday. I'm still loving these longer weekends, regardless of where the extra day falls.


It was a weekend FILLED with snow. Amazing how just two hours north of the city and you're in a winter wonderland. We hit the storm on Friday night about 90 kms south of Parry Sound and it stayed with us all weekend. It snowed so that you couldn't even see across the lake. It snowed in slow motion. It snowed heavy and light. We shovelled twice on Sunday - about 8 inches each time. Definitely time for a snow blower....

On the studio front, I was definitely feeling like one of Santa's elves and my list got quite a few check marks. The snowmen are moving right along, with four of them stuffed and waiting for arms (too snowy up norrth to pick any). But some new fun things this weekend were this stool for my sister Nancy (hope she's not reading this week) and a stuffed cat for my friend Sheila. Nancy's cats Gus and Sam are depicted here and as you can see, Gus is like Garfield without the love of lasagna. Mostly lies around and eats a lot. Sam is like an electric cat who never stops moving. Their personality difference is really reflected in their body shapes, which made this little stool cover so fun to do.

And while on the subject of cats, I decided that instead of a snowman for my friend Sheila, I would hook her cat Hank. He is a wonderful cat who loves people and loves to fetch. I think he thinks he's a dog. He's getting up in age (and weight) now and suffers from diabetes, so we're not sure how much longer he'll be with us. This seemed like the perfect gift. He was very fun to do, and if time permits, I will do my grandcat Jasper for my daughter too. She'll love it and I'm sure he'll appreciate the company.

I must confess to surprising even myself with how well I'm staying on track to get everything done. If the hooking stuff is all finished this week, then it's time to dig out the sewing machines and tackle a few more goodies.

And I still have more than two weeks left to go.

The Hooked Snowman vs. The Punched Snowman

Following my friend Jennifer’s lead, I decided to make a few snow folk this year as Christmas gifts.

So far, I have hooked 2 large ones and punch needled two more. I have also hooked some half-pints, which are adorable and very fast to do. I have also thrown in a few Santa’s for good measure.

Looking at them finished (but not assembled), I am faced with the question, which do I prefer, the Hooked Snowman or the Punched Snowman? Both have good things going for them, and I’m pretty sure I’ll like them all once they are put together and have their eyes and arms and hats, etc.

The punching was definitely faster, and I do like the texture I got in mixing two yarns. But there’s something about the strip mixture in the traditionally hooked fellow that I really love.

Before I do any more, I think I’d better see how tough the assembly process is, cuz I have no idea and may end up with some flat ornaments instead. I’ll take pictures again when they are assembled and you can see for yourself which you prefer.

(I actually finished the punched fellow last nite, but I'm waiting till I have his arms and nose before I show the final result.)

See Jane hook.

This is my friend Jane’s first hooking project. Isn’t it great????

Jane is my longest non-Frederictonian friend. I met her when I first moved to Toronto nearly 40 years ago. In fact, it might be exactly 40 years ago.

She has moved around a fair amount – well anyone has compared to me, but we have always managed to stay in touch. She’s definitely one of my “quality not quantity” friends and we seem to be able to pick up where we left off, no matter how much time passes between visits. I love that kind of friend!!!

She lives outside Peterborough Ontario, which makes it far enough away that visiting spontaneously is a bit difficult. But email does help a bit, and one of her daughters is working here in Toronto and I got to have lunch with her a while ago. So, arm’s length, but still connected.

Two summers ago when I pitched my class idea at Trent, Jane came to see the rug display at the Open House. She was quite taken with the hooking and while at the show introduced me to her Wendy who is an experienced hooker, and another Jane, who also wanted to learn to hook. They cooked up a scheme to get together for lessons. And, although it took a year longer than expected, they did in fact get together. She calls the group she gets together with on Wednesdays, the Group of Seven. LOL.

I’m not sure why it’s such a thrill for me to have love of rug hooking be another connection with Jane, but it is. I guess whenever your passion “rubs off” on someone else, it’s exciting. I know I was thrilled when my sister Nancy fell in love with hooking.

So here’s to Jane! I think she did a fabulous job on her first project. And I hope there will be many more. I also hope that I can make my way to Peterborough and pull a few loops with her new hooking group. In the meantime, we will stay connected through email, this blog and our latest shared passion.

A very special studio.

From the moment you pull into the driveway of Martina Lesar's studio, you know you are in for a treat. This is the log building, with the amazing window box, that greets you as you park your car.

Then you venture inside and a warm wood burning stove and a cacophony of colours from wool and yarn and silk and more hits you in all your senses. Then you are greeted by Martina who is as warm and welcoming as her studio.

And then, when you're me, you give her a huge hug and thank her for sharing this special place with visitors. Here are a few of the pictures I took to inspire me when setting up my future studio.

And there's even more upstairs - this is magical place where the workshops are held and the patterns are drawn and kept, along with big bolts of wool. Isn't it perfect????

I am a huge Martina fan and have been sending students to her studio, particularly if they like primitive patterns - which she does oh so well. I had met her briefly at the last Annual, along with 4,000 other people. But this was a chance for Elaine and I to do a road trip to her studio and see what all the students were raving about. I'm so glad that we did. Because I, for one, am continuing the raving BIG TIME.

Her supplies are a bit different from other studios and she has a selection of frames to try from vendors I had never heard about. I think in her pursuit of the perfect frame, she has become quite the expert on frame suppliers, gripper strips and ways to improve upon existing frames (she gave me a great idea for my Cheticamp, which I can't wait to try).

Elaine and I left with lots of goodies (including one another's Christmas gifts) and wool and patterns and studio stories to share with others. And,best of all, (I believe) a new friend and great person to know in the hooking world. Martina has a warmth and geniuneness about her that few people possess.

To top it all off, we went for lunch at the Belfountain Inn and enjoyed the picturesque drive along the Forks of the Credit before returning to the reality that is Highway 10.

Before we left, we invited Martina  to be a vendor at our Hook In February And happily, she has accepted. So, if you haven't already done so, visit her website and see for yourself what wonders await you there.

Thanks again Martina for letting us trespass into your little part of hooking heaven.

The Jeanius of Port Perry.

These pictures are the Jeanius bags that were done at a workshop on Saturday in Port Perry. Aren’t they fantastic? All but one of the ladies are from a group that hooks together on a regular basis – constantly coming up with interesting projects and workshops, so I was flattered to be invited.


The one non-Port Perry hooker found out about the workshop while at Rittermere. She was doing bags for Christmas gifts and was using the article from A Needle Pulling Thread, so she was excited to come to the session. Hers are the adorable, non-Mola animals at the bottom of the images.

Actually the workshop was an “assembly” day, since all the flaps were hooked when everyone arrived. Thanks to a Mola workshop with Iris Simpson a month ago, there were beautiful, colourful Molas waiting to be turned into bags. And some other pretty wonderful subjects as you can see from the pics.

So the day consisted of making sure the flaps were the right width for the jean leg, whipping if they were and hooking additional or pulling loops if they weren’t. And then we were off on the assembly line. Among the group were a master quilter and another sewing machine maven who had both figured out how to attach their pocket using the machine. I still haven’t been able to figure that out yet, though am in full agreement that it would be much faster.
Every time I run a workshop, some kind of improvement that comes from the group. Since everyone approaches things a little differently, the cumulative thinking is always coming up with ways to make it easier.
As a result, the bags just get better and better.

The quilting guru also figured out a way to do a mitered corner border on this bag. It looks really good, doesn’t it? And it’s the perfect way to make a small image larger without additional hooking.

A ready-made shoulder strap from another purse (that had clips on the end) became a strap for one bag with built in key holders at the end. The clips were fished in through the lining, but will be most useful for holding keys. People just keep coming up with these brilliant ideas.

The group treated me to a yummy buffet lunch and lots of good hot coffee, which was great since we were working in a mid-reno church basement, in which the heat had been turned off. By mid day, we were all donning scarves and jackets to fight the chill.

All in all it was a very good day. They are a great and active group. It was great to spend the day with them. And as usual, they did me proud.

I can 'bearly' contain myself.

I love my new 3-day weekends!!! The very best thing about them is how much more hooking time I seem to get. And for me, more hooking time means I get to pick and choose which projects to focus on. This weekend, I spent time on three different things. I know that for some that appears a bit ADD, but for me, I like to think of it more like a curriculum – a way to divide my time and get a little bit done on lots of things.

So Friday after I did all my errands and grocery shopping, I spent a bit of time working up some more sketches for my 5 x 7 series. (I had a little exercise last week that convinced me that not every idea will work in this format. I would show you the result, but I’ve ripped it out already and will use the frame for another piece.)

After doing that, I designed a couple of pillows for our new quilt on our bed up north. I decided to base them on some cotton pillows that we have around the cottage that are piecework with a featured item in a centre window. I decided to make R and W be the featured visuals, and this picture is the first one well under way. They are polar fleece, which makes them really soft on the bed.

On Saturday, I decided to get back to the giant Max project and ended up focusing on the bear’s head, which is shown here. I ended up giving him quite a snout after doing some black bear research and I think he has real personality. He will definitely hold his own against the raccoon and the moose.

To put the size of his head in perspective, two of the little 5 x 7 sketches are equal to his head. That’s another reason why moving around among projects is so much fun. Scale and perspective are very different, as you might well guess.

Next weekend is an in-town rarity with a workshop on the Saturday, so who knows what projects will get my attention. But the city weekends end up being more work-oriented with less time for hooking, so Bear and the initial pillows will have to wait until I am back in Parry Sound.

Second sketch.

Here is #2 in my series of "on the waterfront" sketches. It is also a 5 x 7 study and was very quick to do - I think the design went on the backing on Sunday night (just before bed) and I hooked the entire piece in less than three hours on Monday night. Once I get going in such a small area, I just want to see what the next "bit" will look like, and so I stay up much too late getting them done.

I love the palette and everything is from my stash of yarns and wool bits. Again, it proves that you can fool the eye into believing there is a lot of detail when, in fact, there isn't very much. I have a few more waterfront ones planned, but may interrupt this series and go into my cottage picture stash this weekend. I'd really love to do a "fuzzy sketch" for each of my kids as a Christmas present, so will look for the perfect photo to begin the process.

A series of sketches.

As I am somewhat in between projects (that's only if you don't count all the UFO's - and Max up north), I have decided to do a few "sketches". This first one was completed in two short hooking sessions - probably a total of 4 hours from putting the design on backing to finishing. REMEMBER, it's only 5" x 7". (Sorry the image is a tad fuzzy, but my real camera isn't downloading properly so I used my phone camera.)

Since I am a huge fan of impressionism, I wanted to create a few "sketches" that would require minimal detail, but still capture the light and convey the impression (exactly what it's all about). I was inspired by this partly by one of the exercises that the lucky folks at Deanne's Impressionism workshop did, and partly by a little website of impressionist painters that I visit regularly for inspiration. They do 3.5 x 5 sketches that are amazing!! Check out this blog. This artist, one of my favourites, blogs and sketches daily. I know paint is faster, but the approach is the same.

When I used to paint, I always did small sketches before deciding whether or not to do a larger painting.
And I realized that there is absolutely no reason why this shouldn't work for hooking too. And I would say, based on my first one, that I think it will.

The first series I am going to do is all about water - since the theme for the 2010 Annual is "On the Waterfront". With all my cottage images, I have more than enough visual memories to create a series of these little practice pieces. And they would be wonderful as a collage - just the way they are.

I also figure that as a gift for friends and family, the sketches would be perfect! I can create something very personal that doesn't take a ton of time, and it will just be a little piece of textured artwork that should fit just about anywhere.

Plus it will be incredible practice for me to improve my impressionist skills.