It's Fall and It's Baking Time

It's been almost a month that we have been away from home and loving every minute of it, but all good things must come to an end. Until next year - we'll be Island bound again. Yesterday I took a wonderful baking class at Annie's Table. On the menu was pie making - yummy. Now I can make cookies and squares but my pie crust has a lot to be desired. Well after this class - pies will now be baking in my oven. The most important thing I learnt was everything must be COLD. We made an apple pear rustic tart (pictured here) and a mock cherry pie. The latter is a pie made by Lucy Maud Montgomery using cranberries and raisins because cherries at that time were not available on the island and by the time they got here they were rotten so islanders made do. 

To be honest I am not fond of cherry pie but this one with the cranberries is delicious! The crust was so flaky - I had never tasted any pie like that. Along with that we made lemon lavender scones - delicious little three bite scones perfect with a cup of tea. Another use for my lavender growing in my garden. If you are on PEI , take the time to check out Annie's Table - Culinary Studio, well worth the visit and a class!!

Just a couple of pics from my deck... you can see the Cabot Provincial Park - I think that may be a rug in the works. When I am here I often just go down back roads and explore bits of the island I have not seen. I love old barns and this was one I saw just perched on the cliffs overlooking the ocean. A beautiful spot! Off to do some more exploring - have a great day! Joni

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...

Changes to the Blog

Hi
Just finished a course with Deanne Fitzpatrick on colour - had a super time and learnt lots. More about that in the coming days.

I am probably going to be changing the format of my blog and talk more about rug hooking and wool applique and everything to do with wool. I'll still talk about baking - cause I love it and anything else I don't consider too personal. I have learnt the hard way that I was too open with comments about my personal life and they were twisted and turned into something ugly by a family member. So I won't be posting any personal stuff on my blog anymore. It will be more about the pleasure and passion of rug hooking :) ... 

I will continue with my FB page as Joni Black and there I will post more personal items...pics etc and that is because I can control who sees it. If you are a FB member and want an invite just send me one. My Fully Wooly Primitives FB page is again all about rug hooking or anything else I find inspiring about fiber arts.
Thanks for your understanding....have a great evening. Joni