Beautiful Days in PEI!

Liam and I at our beach.. It was his first time at the ocean and he loved it. Couldn't wait to see what that rolling water was all about. Time to give mommy a dog lick of appreciation for this great walk in new territory - all those smells.. the tail was a wagging!

Vast blue skies, an ocean breeze and red sand...

There is a great rug hooking show taking place in Summerside at the Eptek art Center until October 19th. If you have not been yet, please do not miss this show. It is absolutely wonderful with so many gorgeous rugs. There are so many talented rug hookers on the island. Sorry no pictures! You have to go see for yourself.

As I was in town I made a trip to a couple more places, Homestead Antiques on Fitzroy Street. I have been meaning to go for a couple of years now and finally got there this time. It is a treasure trove of primitives and reproduction antiques. I walked out with a couple of storage boxes for my sewing room (on sale too) and a Colin's Sheep. I collect them so was happy to get one here and not have to pay shipping. You can see them here.. Colin's Creatures.. these are some of his seasonal sheep - a little whimsical. I have one as an elf from last year.

The next stop was the harbour to pick up some fresh lobster meat. I had a yearning for some lobster rolls. Really they are so easy to make and I paid $9.30 for enough meat to make two. So tonight I made a mixture of lobster, celery, sweet onion and Hellman 's mayonnaise. Seasoned it with salt, pepper and grated rind of lemon. Got my rolls (have to be the ones that can be toasted on each side), layered baby spinach and added the lobster. so yummy! As a side I made fresh island potatoes, boiled with skin on, mashed with skin on, milk, butter, summer savoury and some garlic scape.. oh heaven..

Just so you think I have not been thinking rug hooking - did a new design of a cardinal on dogwood (on the website here) and I also have one on pine cones (not yet on the website) and have lots more ideas to get my own designs out there. Have a great evening....Joni

Amherst - The Electric Street Knitting Room

Beautiful silk - perfect for a shawl

On our way to PEI we had to stop in at Deanne Fitzpatrick's rug hooking studio in Amherst, NS. I wanted to check out the new Knitting Room that she had established in the back studio. I had been hearing about it all summer and was anxious to see what she had done with it. I was not disappointed! It was a blaze of colour. The whole shop was overflowing with colour and creativity! Needless to say I made a few purchases of yarn and some wool fabric bundles.

If you are around the area this Saturday - check the shop out as it is the grand opening and there will be lots of fun things planned along with a discount on the yarn.. have a great day. 

Banana fiber yarn, fleece packages, some lumpy,bumpy black yarn for outlining and a wonderful tweedy looking yarn

some more yarn for rug hooking and a couple of colourful bundles for landscapes

New Basket New on the Frame

Have to show you this wonderful basket that I purchased from Kay Kjeldgaard, which I use for current hooking projects. I just love it. She is a real master at basket weaving and thinks of all the little touches. Well worth the price.

The little clay snippet holder I got at Camp Wool in Maine. They have changed location and their store is a treasure trove... a wool lover's delight! If in the area of Kennebunk, do drop by. You will not be disappointed. I could have spent hours there. 

On my frame is a pattern by Deanne Fitzpatrick... poppies, which I love. I needed something quick and easy to hook while I was mulling a design in my head and on paper. I like doing other people's designs. It contributes to their livelihood of making these wonderful patterns and sometimes you just need something where you don't have to think about it being your design but just an exercise in colour.. I call it playing with colours like when you got a new pack of crayons when you were a kid...

I have been coming to terms with my wool stash..I am a collector of darks and mediums. I am woefully lacking in brights and pales. So my goal is to start gathering, dyeing this colour palette. What I love to hook is changing or rather what I am designing is changing and it calls for a broader spectrum of hues. I am trying to jump out of my comfortable box and start exploring more colours...

Just another little item I picked up at Dorr Mills. I could not resist! It sort of found its way into my basket along with my wools....Beautiful Sheep  - Postcard book of all kinds of sheep by Ivy Press. I think if you are going to use a product you should know more about it. So I am reading up on wool - what with my rug hooking, knitting, dyeing and spinning...it would make sense. 

Isn't this guy wonderful...look at the coat!

Happy Birthday Sis!

I was madly hooking this rug all last week to give to my sister yesterday for her birthday. We had a great time going out to lunch and did some shopping. I wanted to make her something special as it was her 50th and bittersweet as we lost our sweet mother a month ago.

I had Deanne Fitzpatrick draw up a design for me based on one of her original pieces. I love this design. Since my sister loves brighter colours than I do this was going to be a bit of a challenge to hook. I hemmed and hawed over the colours for weeks and kept changing my mind. Finally settled on a palette last Saturday. The countdown was on to finish it by the 22nd.

I used some hand dyed wool, as is wool, sari silk, hand dyed fleece, and hand dyed yarn. This is also the first time I had hooked a person. I had so much fun hooking this rug and I think brighter colours our in my future!

Sunday Drive

Studio Door....

I am a country girl at heart. I love the rolling hills dotted with sheep and cows, the ocean views and the vast blue sky. Last Sunday we went to the eastern side of the Island by-passing Charlottetowne.  I am perfectly happy to just stay in the countryside.


We visited Pastimes PEI Rug Hooking Studio in Millview. I visit these ladies every year and we have some lovely chats about rug hooking and this and that. We agreed simple is beautiful. They have some wonderful original designs which speak of Island life.

 If you get a chance drop by - they are always welcoming and Jack will greet you with his own friendly bark. Peter stayed outside with Liam and they had their own little visit with the resident ducks. Liam behaved very well for his first encounter with his feathered friends!

Beautiful sunny day on the North Shore of the Island - wind from the ocean a little brisk with white caps on the water just over the dunes. Have a great day - off to do some rug hooking!..Joni

Half Gone Half To Go

Half the holiday gone - two weeks to go....
I put away my Shore Birds rug as I ran out of wool. I did not intend it to be that big, so not enough wool was available to continue working on it. I did buy this kit from Deanne.. shhhh it is supposed to be a gift for my Mom. I wanted a kit as I wanted all the wool cut and at hand. I also wanted to work outside my usual box which is muddy muted colours and this rug calls for BRIGHTS! So I was hemming and hawing to sub some colours but decided no I would go with the colour of these houses as they are the colour of the houses you see along the country roads in the Maritimes. I just love the windows. One thing I've learned is instead of hooking a solid colour for the windows - hook a tweed. This is a white and black one and gives you the illusion of the play of light on the window or maybe someone peeking out the window. Don't be afraid to use textures. While hooking this I was making supper....

Supper tonight - fresh Island haddock (coated in Panko)from French River, local PEI potatoes and fresh island broccoli... yummmm my favourite supper fresh fish. Made enough for lunch tomorrow. Off to do more hooking. Enjoy your evening! Joni

Workshop on Colour

Today I thought I would talk a little about the class I took with Deanne Fitzpatrick of Amherst NS. I had never been to any class related to rug hooking so I was ready for anything. I had no preconceived notions so I was coming in with a clean slate. I loved the whole process- the venue and the class itself. It was so nice to be among fellow hookers as it is a rare opportunity for me. I tend to work in a vacuum and rely on my on line friends for inspiration and encouragement.The following pictures are from Deanne's blog which is a great read. I was so busy hooking and listening I forgot to take pictures!

picture by Lorna from Deanne's blog

picture by Lorna from Deanne's blog

Deanne's studio is beautiful so inspiring - lots of colour and textures. I could have bought so much more! Where we created was lovely. Bright and clean with books and pictures surrounding us - lots of great working surfaces and comfy chairs to embrace us. I should have taken pics of the before but you get the idea. A bunch of hookers and the wool is everywhere! The class was on the theory of colour given by Phyllis Cameron (fiber artist), who was a fountain of knowledge and opened up a whole new way of looking at colour.

Colour work boards by Phyllis from Deanne's blog

Colour work boards by Phyllis from Deanne's blog

I have this instinct about how to put together colour in a rug, but sometimes there is something very jarring about it. Something is not working. You don't know quite what it is but you play around with the fabric and the design and you get that AHA moment. This course was on the theory of how colour works together. the terms to describe their relationship and how you can make colour work. One thing I learned was that NO COLOUR is wrong - it's just how you put it together. You can make any design sing. You just need to know what your goal is and work towards that. There are so many great books and tools available at your fingertips and that discussion is for another day...

Vintage Rugs

Bath Time c. Sharon Smith

Sharon Smith, one of my favourite designers has just done three patterns that to me evoke a feeling of the 30-40's. I love the style and the colours and hope to hook them all at some point. I think they make a great addition to a child's room or even to your own collection of rugs. At one time in my life, I collected children's books so can appreciate these rugs even more. I think they would be a lot of fun to hook! I especially love The Sea and plan on hooking it while on holidays in PEI surrounded by ocean and sandy shores. I'll have to make that red sand though :).

The Sea c. Sharon Smith

The Readers c. Sharon Smith

They are all available on my website. Fully Wooly Primitives.
Happy Hooking! Joni

Buzzzzzz......

Honey Bee - copyright Notforgotten Farm - please respect the designer. 

This is the new rug I will be working on. It's a simple primitive pattern by Lori of Notforgotten Farm. I will be hooking the background in my new favourite colour - Robin's Egg Blue. The wings will be a hand dye and the body a wonderful antique gold from Heaven's to Betsey. I will also be hooking a round border on this one to make it a little bigger than it's 11 inch size.


Once I am happy with the colours I will be offering a kit to do this pattern. You can find the original paper pattern on my website right now, but you will have to transfer the design to linen yourself. My kit will include the original paper pattern, the pattern transferred on linen and the wool cut to #8. It's a great pattern for a beginner or a really quick project for an experienced hooker. There will be a limited quantity available - depending upon how many of Lori's original patterns I have on hand.
My finished mat will go on my antique rocking chair. 


My husband just got a new camera and I have been playing with it. Haven't posted any new pics of the little guy, Liam, now 4-1/2 months and a going concern!  Here are a couple.....

and this is where we sit most afternoons...a lovely cool spot in the garden. Just waiting for the clematis to start blooming.

Have a great day! Joni

Maine Jaunts

Nubble Lighthouse

I am back from holidays in Maine and had a super time. I was able to feed on fresh fish every day and the weather was gorgeous. Did more sightseeing this year and managed to take some lovely pictures of lighthouses only to have my app on my phone go bust and lose most of the pics. :( so upsetting! 


We made our way to Camp Wool in Kennebunkport. What a glorious place. So much wool - so many patterns - too much to see that I went back twice! I was only allowed to take a picture of the front of the store so can't show you any of the goodies inside.

Camp Wool - Kennebunkport

 I did buy a wonderful prim pattern there with pomegranates and birds that I want to hook in oranges and blues. It's by Edith O'Neill but this wonderful version was hooked by Pat Freasier....

copyright design - Edith O'Neill - Woolley Fox


Also made our way to Cushing Dyes.. where of course we picked up a few bits of wool and dyes :) On the same trip we dropped in for the best donuts in Maine at Congdon Donuts. Their Boston Cremes are to die for. Bought enough to pig out for a couple of days!


After going to the same place in Maine for years we finally discovered the best fresh fish place down the road in Pine Point, Maine - Bayley's Lobster Pound.

There is even a little eating area that juts out into the water. Unfortunately this was the one and only cloudy day that we had - but it must be a pretty spot when it is sunny and clear. Right across the street is a park with a beach. Great place to eat your lobster roll for an impromptu picnic.

 Can't believe we did not find this place before this year and it is only about a 10 minute drive to it. Needless to say we were there every night after we discovered it. The first night I made fresh local haddock in coating of Japanese bread crumbs. So deeelicious!

After all the eating, I did manage to have the energy to finish my Coastal Girls rug which I will post this week once I bind it and make it more presentable. I am glad I got it done and love the way the sky came together. 


And just a few more pictures of the southern Maine coast that I was able to save...

A view from our place overlooking the water while hooking...

Some pictures of the southern coast of Maine....

Now 3 months to wait before we are off to PEI for a holiday in the cottage by the sea :) Hope to get lots of hooking done then!
Have a great evening.. Joni