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

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!

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...

Working on...

Peter took this one...

So we had a huge storm come through. Heavy, beautiful white snow stuck to everything! Then of course, the wind whipped itself up to a frenzy on Saturday. This was the day sis (new hooker) and I had decided to go down to Champlain NY to pick up the Betsy wool waiting for us. Driving on the 15 and then into NY is highway but unfortunately travels through large empty fields of shorn wheat and corn. With wind gusts and snow flurries this equals whiteouts and slow going. But we made it (a few tense moments) and picked up my stash of Betsy Wools. Way worth it! Got lots not shown to overdye and I'll get some bundles on the website. We then treated ourselves to going to Mainely Lobster for a yummy lunch of haddock nuggets, homemade fries (bad girl), stewed tomatoes and a shared piece of coconut cream pie (two bad girls). Nothing fancy but very satisfying for two gals who knuckle drove 50km of white out highways.

Some of my Betsy wool along with some wools I have been auditioning for a project. These are the wools covering all of my dining room table awaiting mass reorganization of the studio upstairs with new shelving units. Right now wool is spread over three rooms.. ahhhhhhhhhh. 

 So what am I working on right now is this scarf below but using the colours above. I am really enjoying these DROP patterns. There are a couple more I want to do. The wool is a good price and it can be found through Nordic Mart in the USA. They do ship to Canada.

Source: garnstudio.com via Joni on Pinterest

I am still working on my Coastal Girls, a pattern from Deanne Fitzpatrick. I changed up the sky and decided to add some paisleys (you can see my markings). Since the paisleys are all different textures of blues, I decided to keep the background surrounding the paisleys simple using two wools (a plaid and a herringbone) this would calm the sky down a bit. I also ripped out some of the hooking from the paisleys and hooked in some wool slub yarn. I used the same ones I sell on my website. 

The final picture is an exercise I did for the Deanne Fitzgerald on-line course I am taking. It was to randomly draw some stars (I chose hearts and stars) on canvas and hook them without much thought. Just hook! I picked these colours and just randomly hooked lines and did not follow the shape of the heart or star. It is a more painterly approach to hooking. I then backed them with glue/ black wool and they will hang in a window or door. 


Oh one more thing - I have to show you the cutest sheep I just bought from Colins Creatures on Etsy. I just love his sheep! Another addition to my sheep collection. I am sure it won't be the last!

Now I am off to do some more fun assignments for the class. Enjoy your Sunday afternoon...thanks for stopping by... Joni

Creative Musings!

This book was recommended by someone on another blog. I ordered it and it is a fabulous book on American Folk Art. I have been looking through it and it has given me lots of creative thoughts. This week I have been spending time just mulling and cooking in my mind. Looking at things around me with a different eye. I have been madly pinning to my pinterest board, which to me is a great tool for inspiration. It can be a colour, a design element, the line of something in a photograph or a feeling from a photograph. It is a whole lot of everything that gets melded down to one or two thoughts of what I would like to put on paper and then hopefully a rug. It's been a week of dyeing fabric and cutting it into little rectangles. It allows me to let my mind wander....freely....

The second book of the collection, which I have not received yet, but if it is anywhere as good as the first it will be worth the price.

This was another book recommended on a blog. I have always wanted to add a braided border to a rug and this book has loads of information and is beautifully put together!

... and this is what I have been up to - dyeing yards and yards of wool to cut up in these little rectangles. I also learned something new about photography from one of my pins on pinterest.. white balance - now who knew about that - not me. I am terrible about not reading manuals that come with things. Let alone finding them after the fact. So the wool above was taken with white balance - and how true is that to the colour - pretty true I can say. The next picture.. hmmmm.. not so good..before white balance trick. You'd think it was a different wool. I have a really nice camera - I should use it more instead of my quick and easy iphone LOL...lesson learned. Important if you want to sell your stuff - good pictures will make or break a sale...

Oh - and exciting news for today - February 1st...this is THE DAY when I start my on line course with Deanne Fitzpatrick. Can I say on top of the world - buzzing with creative thoughts.. hook ready to wiggle across my linen. So the last couple of nights I have been reading her book "Inspired" - wow! A wealth of information and talk about a confidence builder. Loved it....and I can see I will be going back to it often. I don't know where this course will take me. I want to revel in the feel of the wool and be free of constraints. So maybe my loops won't be oh so perfect and maybe they will squiggle, wiggle here and there and maybe there will be a tuck of sparkly yarn hidden among the wool loops but if I love it and think it is a thing of beauty then that is ok. I have to hook for myself and maybe that is a whole new path I am taking... we'll see. Have a great day.. Joni

Settling in for the Winter

Roby loved the snow - look at that fur - no wonder!

Time to settle into the winter activities and no it is not skiing or trekking on skis through powdery snow (although very pretty). Done all that! Nowadays I am rug hooking, reading, dyeing wool and baking.  Our winter so far is not looking like the above picture. I can actually see green grass. Now we were hoping for a white Christmas which we got - very pretty large flakes. It has mostly melted and we are having a bit of a deep freeze. I am ok with cold though. I prefer cold to heat any day. I have come to the inevitable conclusion - I am a winter person. Perhaps I am a winter person because I can get out of the cold and seek shelter in my warm snug house. Maybe if I did not have that escape I would not be a winter person. But I am...I love the calm and peace of winter, the quiet, the light and the sparkle of snowflakes. I like that everything looks clean and is sleeping to be reborn in the spring. Yes - I am a winter person.

 One of my favourite rugs by Deanne Fitzpatrick. I love the winter clothes the people are wearing (so typical in our cold climate) and the gently falling snow. I would be the lady in the red coat and the pink hat. Ok so I don't wear pink as a rule but I love a good dull looking pink, which is what I had in the dye pots yesterday. Oh so pretty - Antique Pink Posey! Threw in some textures to overdye and yes maybe I will use them in the rug I am going to do next.. 

Oh yes a pretty pink skirt with a matching pink hat.......

Karla Gerard - available at Fully Wooly Primitives

or maybe I will do the sky a mottled pink and grey - who says we need realism. Be creative - Think outside the box. I think that will be my credo this year.. take it one step further and then another.....and then oh my you will have something that says "This is me"....
G'nite...Joni

My Sister is a Hooker - of Rugs!

I am using it as a chairpad

Close up of wonky house

Introducing some yarn bits for texture

That is a rug hooker! She has asked me in the past few months to show her how to hook rugs. I took her to Deanne Fitzgerald's studio in Nova Scotia this past fall on our way to PEI. She walked in and she was hooked. She bought her first canvas ( Wonky House and Lupins) and some skeins of yarn. I have enough of a wool stash that she could raid mine. Then I took her to the Green Mountain show in Vermont and she bought another pattern. Next I will have her designing her own.


She hooked that first pattern so fast! She called me a week before Christmas as to how to finish it. I wondered why the rush, but she came over and we went through a couple of methods. 


On Christmas Day when I opened my gift from her it was HER first rug that I received. I was so touched. We had a sisterly hugfest, a few tears and an understanding that went beyond words...as the men looked on scratching their heads :). So now I have my first rug gift. I have always given mine away or sold them so I have few of mine on hand. Now we know what to give each other as gifts - rug hooking STUFF! Always nice to have a fellow hooker in the family...What did I give her for Christmas?.. well another pattern of course and a pair of offset scissors LOL


Have a great day...Joni

Blog Giveaway

 December 13th Announcement: The winner of the blog giveaway is Annie C.. I sent you a message through Google so if you could contact me with your address that would be great! Congratulations and thank you everyone for having participated. Merry Christmas!


To start off the holiday season I thought I would have a giveaway. I have never done one of these before but thought I would start with a calendar for 2012. I think everyone uses calendars unless you are really high tech and only use digital media. Me - I like to have a paper calendar especially ones that mean something to me.


Deanne Fitzgerald's new 2012 rug hooking calendar is beautiful...

This calendar is filled with beautiful images of Deanne's rugs and her writings. Each month there is a diary entry and an image. This 11 by 17 (opened) calendar has plenty of room in the large squares to keep your notes, and appointments.



This is how it will work.. very simply either become a follower (you can find the link on the left hand side further down the page) or leave a comment for one chance. If you add a comment and become a follower you get two chances. If you are already a follower and add a comment you get two chances. Your name is automatically entered once if you are already a follower. Please note that the comment must be added to this posting and it can be on anything that interests you.


The draw will be held on December 12th, where a name will be randomly pulled. I'll get that mailed off to you right away so you can have it for the start of the year. Make sure to check the blog post on the 13th for the winner's name. I will need your e-mail address for your physical address. Thanks!


Good luck everyone!

My Gals!

After a frustrating morning driving downtown I needed some relaxation so picked up my hook to finish my gals. They are ready to hit the shops - them rug hooking shops of course that sell gads of wool in all the most beautiful colours. Now on to the background. Thought I would do a paisley sky a la deanne fitzpatrick. By the way this is her design. I just love her big boned girls. My last UFO to get done and then.....
got lots more new projects/ideas stacked on the shelf - ready to have wool and hook taken to them.

Have you seen Susan Quicksall's designs from Holly Hill? I am sure you have in the various rug hooking magazines. She is amazing. Just ordered her dye book - these use Prochem, which I have not used as of yet so that will be a new adventure! There is a colour I have seen which is gorgeous - vergis.

So sorry for all you folk having rough weather down south. I think it should be me, up here North of you, who should have some of that snow - but I would be happy if it held off until December 20th.  

Happy Halloween...Joni

Fibers Galore

Before crossing the bridge to the Island we visited Deanne Fitzpatrick's rug hooking studio in Amherst, Nova Scotia. If you want to give your creative muses a jolt this is the place to go! Fibers abound in saturated hues of all kinds. There are piles of fun yarn and fleece to incorporate in your rugs to give it some interesting texture. What intrigued me were the packages of fibers that were wrapped up in pretty yarn to whet your hooking appetite. I could not resist and fell upon this rose/pink bundle. I have a specific design in mind - a traditional island scene.

 Also picked up a Fall bundle ( my favourite season) and an ocean bundle to use in the design I bought at the studio.

You can't see it here but this is a lady mermaid with Deanne's trademark Wonky Houses. These houses will be hooked up in Maritime colours - a little out of my comfort zone as they are bright colours. She has also drawn up paisleys for the sky which is a new touch of hers in her designs. Certainly adds some whimsy to the piece. Can't wait to get started on this one but I do have a couple of others that have to be completed. You would think being a stay at home person would give me more time to hook but time just seems to fly right by. My goal is to hook more and do at least half an hour a day if not more! I've come to the realization that I love it too much not to.