Seed Catalogue Therapy

What should be in the mail box last night on the way home. The Stokes Seed Catalogue. The garden gods must have heard my whining and tears about the weather and the darkness.

So I had a good read and circled some potential choices for next year's garden. I will be making some changes as any good gardener does; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but at least, the gardener hopes for the best!

Garden Withdrawal!

I am having serious garden withdrawal. Last night, on the way home from the day job, it was almost dark by 4:45. Between the H1N1 pandemic, lack of sunlight and too busy a schedule, I think I am starting to look forward to seeing some seed catalogues in the post.

I still hook at least for a half hour or so everyday and almost finished the second Santa this morning. I saw this beautiful quilt on someone's blog, and thought it was a great idea for a rug. Interesting the way the four seasons are presented.

In the Distance

These are the Blow Me Down moutains which are in the distance. They are beginning to be covered in the horrible white stuff that falls this time of year.

It was a beautiful day yesterday and unlike my dear rug pal, Anne, only got my ten minutes in rug hooking or so. Still a few jobs to do outside and we weren't going to pass up a day with warm sunshine and calm winds.

By the way, anyone wonder why they call these mountains, Blow Me Down?

Ho Ho Ho!

I finished the first of the little mats on the weekend and I think he turned out pretty good. I added the "2009" as a last thought as I feel it personalizes the gift even more. I started the second one, but didn't get to far as the continuing saga of NL winter preparations took priority.

The snow that fell is all gone and only a grim reminder of things to come.

Quietly, it came

And quietly, it left again.

Nothing changes faster in NL than the weather. If you don't like the weather out the front door, go on out the back door. Here is a picture of my inukshuk, Gabby, on Saturday morning. By Sunday, morning, it was gone.

It was a busy weekend with final preparations for the winter. Solar lights are put away, plastic sheeting around the front deck to keep the weather out. Only one or two more jobs.

Seems like there is always a job or two left, does there?

Cleaning Hand Hooked Rugs

I asked Mary from Victora BC, a question about cleaning our rug hooking projects and as she is heavily involved in the "business", she posted these tips which I would like to highlight in today's post.

The cleaning concerns about hand hooked area rugs are as follows:

-the colours could bleed

-the backing could shrink, making the rug bumpy and mis-shapened

-stitches could unhook

-the stitches could shrink, causing the design to look funny

These are possible things that can go wrong if hand hooked rugs are improperly cleaned.

Since hand hooked rugs are mostly used as wall hangings they don't need to be cleaned very often, about once a year or so. Vacuuming them about once a month with the little brush attachment on your vacuum will remove the dust that the rug collects on a daily basis.
Ask your local rug cleaner if they clean hand hooked rugs and how they clean them. It may be best to use a rug that you don't like or make a sample rug with lots of bright colours and get them to clean it.
A reminder if you don't feel comfortable with the way the cleaner is answering your questions, then follow your gut. You put a lot of effort into making your works of art don't leave it to chance that it will be cleaned properly.

When we get in a hand hooked rug for cleaning I explain the following:

We test the colours to make sure they won't run
We do try to do a wet clean, but most of the time hand hooked may get dry cleaned depending on the types of fibers used and the delicacy of the rug
If our cleaning guy has an hesitation about the cleaning results of a rug he simply will not chance it.When it comes to your hand hooked rugs find a cleaner you feel comfortable with.

Again let them clean a sample rug and see if you are happy with the results. Not cleaning hand hooks rugs can make a rug look dull and make you fall out of love with it. That is not good.

I also learned from Mary's blog which is listed here in hOOkwOrM, is that vaccuming the underside or backing of carpets and mats is almost as important as vaccuming the topside.

Thanks Mary!

Many of the rug hookers I have contact are all over the world and quite often have no idea where Newfoundland is in Canada. I thought that in this dull, grey month, it would be nice to show off my adopted province. It is easy to see where our inspirations come for our rugs in this beautiful land.

Sounds and Sights of Newfoundland

thoughts of Christmas

As I was saying last week, I always like to make small Christmas gifts for a few people in the office. So this year, I decided to use my new skills of rug hooking to design a small keepsake.

I liked this Santa and went ahead started with the first four. This will be small trivets or mats with the year, 2009 on it. I found a great tip from Cindi Gaye and used it to make sure the border was straight by using a pencil and drawing it along the "ditch" of the fabric.

I mounted this little Santas on my lap frame and will work on them. I need a total of 10 or so small gifts, so I better get busy!

Puffin all Finished

Well, another of the icons of NL completed and only two more to do. The weather was very wet and this was a great weekend at home with lots of rug hooking too.

With all the threats of picking up H1N1 virus, it is better if most people stay out of public venues and nested at home.

I am going to stop working on the icons for now and turn my thoughts to Christmas. I have some ideas and I will post tomorrow, the results.

Tails and Feathers

Kim of Millie's Mats got me thinking about what common ground most of the rug hooklings have together. The love of our little fur/feathered friends!

It was almost one year ago that Lily, seen in the foreground, took up residence at chez Julie. I shouldn't do this but I always look into various local animal rescues as part of my usual routine. There is one animal rescue in Central NL which looks after critters such as ferrets and rabbits and also birds.

There she was! Lily, a very old cockatiel who was once again being given up. As she was around 15 years old, there was little hope of adoption. We have had cockatiels before and in fact, the last of the bunch, Henry T. Byrd, seen behind Lily is about the same age.

Lily had a bit of mysterious and checkered past. She was found at large on her own in the wilds of NL, rescued and adopted but then, only to be given up again and again. I made arrangements to adopt her knowing that she was a senior with her clock ticking.

Lily is a very quiet, well behaved bird with a penchant for millet and sunflower seeds. She is also very independent and has not succumbed to Henry's whistles, songs and flirting.

Henry and Lily make the trip to the Mainland several times per year in their travelling cage and in fact, Henry has made the crossing more than most people in the province. Never once do they ask "aren't we there yet??"

Simple Pleasures

I was able between naps, coughs and sneezes to work on the puffin icon over the weekend. With all the bad news of pandemics, bombings etc etc, it is wonderful to have a simple pleasure of hooking for distraction.

Down with a Cold

I have been down with an old fashion head cold for the past couple of days. I have always wondered why dogs never seem to catch colds. Maybe scientists should study that fact and we may come up with a cure.

Feeling much, much better now and working on Mr. Puffin and taking my time on the last couple of icons. Starting to think, ponder and plan the next project. Of course, with Christmas two months from today, I may switch gears and hook something for Christmas presents.

I try every year to do something crafty for the people I work with; one year, I knitted those old fashion cotton dishcloths, putting three in a nice basket with Christmas candies. Last year, I tried to make marmalade so I could give a jar of it with some other sundry items. The marmalade didn't set and was a total failure. So I wrote a poem about it and gave chickens instead.

Chickens, you ask?? I donated money in every one's name to a Canadian charity that gives a variety of animals to people in various countries. I bought two lots of chickens to be given to a single mother in Africa. A couple of my coworkers were very responsive and liked the whole idea of giving something worthwhile, instead of things that are nice, but unnecessary, in our land of plenty.

Buying Rug Supplies

I posed a question yesterday about choices in rug backing and got some good advice from Debra, Kim and Corrine. As such, I started to search the internet for rug warp and it made me think about buying rug supplies in general.

As a Canadian, I always try to source out any rug supplies through Canadian companies first. Not just for the exchange but for other reasons such as duty, shipping costs etc. Over the past few months, I have found a great Canadian supply company out in Alberta called Shuttleworks. Cal Harvey is the owner and very knowledgeable in all things fibre. This includes spinning wheels, yarns, fabric, gripper strips etc etc etc.

If you get a chance, have a look at www.shuttleworks.com.

Pictures of Corner Brook

Nine down, three to go!

Well, nine icons now complete and three more to go. I am now working on the puffins and will take a picture in the next day or so. I tried something different on one of the rocks; combined two different colours of wool and hooked them together. By taking a picture, I will get an idea of how it looks.

I am wondering from my fellow hOOkerS, if you have ever used other types of rug backing other than burlap? I see that some hOOKerS use Monk's Cloth, with its 2 x 2 squares and lines. It might be a nice alternative for something say, geometerical and when you have to stay square and all in line.

I am mulling around the next project and have some ideas.

Rug Progress

My dear mother flew back home very, very early yesterday morning. What a nice visit we all had and shared much good food and chats.

I was able to finish some of the garden chores yesterday and wash the trucks. They are gleaming this morning and of course, as "murphy's law" would dictate, it is going to snow/rain.

Here is the map of NL and I added a couple of cities/towns. The left one is my neck of the woods, Corner Brook. The middle lower is the little town of Lord's Cove, where Anne Kirby, the designer of the project, lives. And the final right one, St. John's.

So Busy!

I have been so busy that I haven't even had the time to post on hOOkwOrM. Well, the Mill is down for two weeks in a effort to reduce inventory but let's face it, the newprint industry is in big trouble. As I am not in production, and as I have no vacation left, I am working.

It is a myriad of problems; from the high Canadian dollar, the economy, the internet, etc etc. I enjoy my dayjob but I do have a Plan B as I am sure all people have or at least, should have.

I have had a really nice visit with my mother who is flying back home on Sunday. I am afraid the weather has been cool and wet but it is warm and toasty by the fire at chez Julie.

I am almost finished the 9th icon...the map of NL and it is simple, straightforward and plain. I am not sure how I am going to "tweak" it up abit; afterall, a map is a map. Having said that, have you ever noticed how many NLers put the map of the province on the back of their vehicle? It is very recognizable to NLers, that's for certain.

When did you last see anyone from B.C. or Ontario, put a provincial map on their vehicle to proudly state their origins!

What's in a Name?

In NL, your last name seems to be an important thing. For years, I have heard people talking at kitchen tables and the one question that always comes up is, "who was she before....?."

At first, I wasn't even sure what this meant. Before what? Maybe like native people, once we are at certain age, we could choose our adult name; usually befitting some great accomplished feat. But no, who was she meant before she was married. Ah, the great feat of marriage!

My surname is not of the island and in fact, I know that I am the only one of my kind here. This tends to un-nerve some people; after all, it proves that I am a CFA (come from away) and have no island history to determine just who I am and where did I come from?

And don't get me started on the term of "maid". Another NL term which seems well entrenched into colloquial days.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I would like to start out by wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States.



In today's fast-paced, high-stress world, I think it is important to stop and give some thought as to what we are thankful for this year.

I will go first:

I would like to pause from my busy schedule to give thanks for the love and support of my family. It has been a good year as we are all healthy and happy, and we are celebrating this day together.

I am thankful for my dayjob which allows me to have financial security when so many do not.

I am thankful for each and every day I wake up and greet the day, whatever, it holds for me. Sometimes the pigeon, sometimes the statue!

I am thankful for my interests in rug hooking and all the wonderful people I have met through this interest.

I am thankful for choosing to live in the most beautiful place in the world and making living more important than sitting in traffic for hours.

Now it's your turn. Let's hear what you are thankful for this year. Leave your comments and lets all take some time out to give some thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

Coming Along!

My rug hooking project, We Love Thee Newfoundland, is coming along. Many of my hooklings asked if this is my design. It is from Anne Kirby, a wonderful artist from Lord's Cove, NL. If you get a chance, have a look at her site which is listed on my blog roll. She really epitomizes the NL culture in her artwork.

I will finish the bottom border in the next day or so, and then, I will start on the top four icons and the border with the words, We Love Thee. For those who are not aware, the phrase is from our anthem. The only province in Canada that has its own anthem!

Sad News

When I was in Toronto, I had an opportunity to visit with some dear friends that I miss. There were two couples that we socialized with, travelled with, played with and worked with for more than 25 years.

Over the years, we have all had serious illnesses, myself included and we lost dear Mike, a NLer from Stephenville last year. Yesterday, we got a call telling us that quite suddenly, Donna (56) passed away at home. I was shocked to say the least, only seeing her two weeks ago. I thought at first, heart attack but Donna was quite ill and didn't let anyone know, choosing to suffer in silence.

Rest well, dear Donna, you will be missed by all.