Zoom zoom

Happy Wednesday —if that’s what day it is.

Two Zoom rug groups were pretty successful.

Not many glitches and it was so good to see everyone!

Normally this local group meets twice a month thru June but

now we will meet online every week.

Most of the ladies are retirement age+ and I 

think they’re particularly lonely as several have lost partners.
Heck, we’re all lonely.

Deanne Fitzpatrick of Amherst, NS hosts

a free Facebook class every Thursday,

 at 2:00 Atlantic Time...

She has the most laid back hooking style but it seems to work
 as she is popular.

This Thursday people are invited for a casual

hook-in— join us!

My 1840’s rug is coming along—

almost done! 

There’s a big nipple in the middle where the rug

is bulging but I will iron it several times.
Also, I think I will use a brighter gold on the
third ring out from the centre.

The corners have rainbows which aren’t quite
visible and which I did to add color and motif.
Just realized they could be covid rainbow tributes.

New Brunswick has had only two covid cases in three weeks

so we opened retail stores today. 

I went into our local book shop and coffee store
and tried to support them.
There were only two other shoppers.

Why do we feel reluctant to jump back into the world?

For me, I’ve gotten lazy and hate to dig out my bras 

and make-up again.
And yes, the virus has made me cautious.

Perhaps you feel the same?

Our family member is fully recovered from the
virus but continues to check oxygen levels.
Their province is short on hospital beds;
thanking the Lord a stay wasn’t necessary.

Here is what we are contending with in New Brunswick :

We are sooooo ready for warmth.

And after two months this is how our new cat
and old dog have bonded

Blessings of the week and safety to each of you!

CSA Wisdom

Well didn’t Sunday’s birthday parade just 

go great?

The 60 year old birthday girl had no idea what was 

going on as her daughter got her settled in the yard 

with a glass of wine...

A line of cars, decorated with balloons and banners

came around the corner and slowly passed

in front of her.

We honked, we yelled, we sang,

and we circled back to leave gifts and tp on her lawn.

She cried.

Top photo is birthday girl,

Bottom is two friends.

And she loved the hooked dog!

I finished another UFO:

“Pumpkin Perch” is sold by W. Cushing.

It’s hooked in a 6.

And here’s a bit of advice to take or leave...

In anticipation of possible food shortages AND

to support local growers,

hubby and I enrolled in a CSA 

(Community Supported Agriculture)

to take weekly delivery of a large veggie box.

This begins in June and lasts 20 weeks.

Since there are only two of us 

we will eat some and freeze some. 

Our CSA offers meat boxes too but meat

isn’t high on our needs list.

We will grow a few things on the deck but 

this will ensure a steady supply.

A family member has fallen ill to Covid

but is young and a runner and so far

headaches and fatigue have been the 

only issues.

Prayers abounding...

Hooking Dog

I set my 1840s rug aside to hook up

a facsimile of my friend’s dog for her 

60th next Sunday.

“Willie Nelson” is about 10”x5” and will

be a wall hanging.

(I’m going to work more on his eyes.)

Willie came up from NC with 10 other unwanted dogs.
Eastern Canada has a shortage of dogs for adoption so the
dogs found homes quickly.
My friend was so pleased to find him;
they’re a good couple!

I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies-
added oatmeal to half as hubby can’t have it.
I took some to another friend who turns 81 today.
Her bigger gift was a load of garden dirt.
This friend is both blind and deaf and has
the greenest thumb of anyone I know.
Imagine!

Eastern Canada has very low crime rate but
a few days ago a man was murdered in the
park across the street from us and
news about the Nova Scotia killings proliferate
the airways today.
I can’t listen too much.
But I pray for the families and friends.
I pray for the earth.

May we all live in the miracle of life
And the beauty and sounds of Spring!

2020 Isolation Rugs

I had an idea to stimulate action in our

rug hooking guild.

I ordered heavy duty labels which read:

2020 Isolation Rug

These will be sewn onto the backs of rugs

we work on during this time.

If I need to order more I will.

The seller I used was
ExperimentalDesign on Etsy

This was a special order and I asked that they be 

3”x1” heavy duty.

If you’re reading this and are a solitary hooker

or if you belong to a group, 

I invite you to do the same!!!

Here is where I am on my 1840s rug

I’m wondering if my brown background areas
are too much?
Perhaps I’ll intersperse more falling flowers.
Having the rainbows in the corners helps too.

So...
My hubby and I are still on speaking terms🤣
Jigsaw puzzles, crossword puzzles, card games and baking help.
When those don’t work we separate into
different rooms.
We are watching the African series with Haley Mills
from 1981, The Flame Trees of Thika.
Lovely and reassuring♥️
May your week be blessed with
HOPE

March marching on

About time for a new post I’d say!

The winter has been much better than last year 

as far as my own mental health.

Peri menopause hit hard in 2018 and 2019.

I finished the Grandmother rug, 

using up some of my old wools

 The brick doorstop gives you a size perspective.

Pastel flowers seemed the way to go to avoid 

taking over the centre.

Never stumped for what to hook next, 

I was stumped for what to hook next.

That still small voice kept urging me to hook my own pattern.

Finally I dug out a piece of linen and used the whole of it for a

log cabin and country yard scene.

Here is the central motif:

I think it will turn out nicely-

Stay tuned.

And to celebrate my hubby’s 50th we added 

a new furry pet to our home and 

put a hold on a Scottish Terrier pup being 

born soon in Cape Breton.

Meet Reggie!

Reggie is 8 months old and a cuddle bug and playful 

friend to our long time dog, Lucy.

He sleeps in his own room at night and is 

quiet as a mouse. 

Of course, he loves my wool.

Our small evening guild has been busy 

learning how to use punchneedles, having official pins

made, and selling raffle tickets for the rug below.

Isn’t it a beauty?

Have a beautiful and healthy week 

and create daily♥️

Thanksgiving Ahead

I set aside my Grandma's Rug to make

four cardinal ornaments for friends.

The design is my own. But super simple and cute.

The glue spots near the eye beads

will be removed before giving!

The bittersweet had a banner year.

Because I will be travelling much of the next month

and a half, I chose to let the birds have at them.

The berries continue to cling to the vines even after the snows

began to come.

Scottish terrier, Lucy, was enchanted.

That will be a feeling that will not carry her through the 

whole winter, poor pooch.

And as we gallop toward Thanksgiving for

 you folks in the US, I'll post my ab fav recipe for quick bread.

It is best left to cool, then cover and refrigerate

6 hours, allowing the flavours to marry.

Harvest Loaf

1 ¾ C flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp cloves

½ C margarine or butter

1 T vegetable oil

1 C brown sugar

2 eggs

1 C canned pumpkin

¾ C chocolate chips

¾ C chopped nuts

Oven to 350. I insert an extra loaf pan with boiling water in oven to add moisture during baking.

Grease a loaf pan. Combine all dry ingredients well and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in oil. Add eggs and pumpkin slowly. Beat. Gradually stir in the dry ingredients. Add nuts and chocolate chips.

Bake 65-75 minutes. Cool. This is the important step: Let stand 6 hours in refrigerator before removing and slicing. Does not need refrigeration after this. 

The bread tastes much better after this step.

Harvest Hook-In

Snows are headed our way...

10-15 cm for the weekend!

I adore the first snows and then I could leave for the rest of Winter.

This past weekend I hit the road and headed to

a hook-in in picturesque St. Andrews, NB.

Two gals rode down in my truck with me.

Honestly they are such a hoot it was equal to the fun of the day.

The Quoddy Loopers hosted

 and they did such a terrific job.

The church hall was brimming with hookers and a vendor.

As per usual, the homemade soups, sandwiches and dessert 

squares were delicious;

 and no one makes a cup of tea like a Maritimer.

Sande Gunning of Leamington, Ontario
(and formerly from here) returned with awesome wares

Sande made these on a 100 yr old knitting machine
I bought some for my daughter for Christmas
shhhh, don't tell

The rug show was smaller but good
I don't know why there were no labels this year

These are some of the baskets waiting for the drawing

This is the basket I won-
the biggest one there,
stuffed with wool and a mug and tea.

 I have won a basket every year except last year.

It has gotten a bit embarrassing (I get ribbed a lot)

but not so much that I don't buy tickets.

Oh! And three of the women from the mental health day program

came to the hook-in and really loved it too.

So grateful they could come.

 I'm looking forward to some travel South for American Thanksgiving.

I know the month will whiz by so I am savouring the moments:

the last colours of Autumn, the smell of the leaves,

the urgent activity of the squirrels, the Canada geese honking as they flap 

Southward...

Enjoy the moments too friends.

Happy Halloween Hooking

Halloween!!

Tonight two of our besties are coming for 

wine and stir fry and scary movies.

We'll begin with Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown!

And perhaps the Disney short Sleepy Hollow.

Very atmospheric.

When we raised our kids we were involved with churches

that were outspoken against Halloween.

But we always took our kids out trick-or-treating.

I loved seeing the other kiddies' costumes

and happy faces

and seeing old neighbors and meeting new ones.

And I've always liked graveyards.

Being a pastor's kid our manse was always close

to or beside graveyards.

I never feared them but always liked the quiet 

and the huge expanses of green.

As little girls, my sister and I would pluck flowers from

 recent burial bouquets and present them to mom.

Oh dear!

Stones are sometimes beautifully ornate with carved angels, devils, 

willows or lambs while others are simpler with names and dates.

All represent such stories!

When we were in Boothbay Harbour, Me., we came across

a cemetery on our walk.

Poor old Alfred Gaswell.

His stone is being swallowed by a tree.

It's difficult to tell, but the bottom of the stone is airborn.

My hooking is coming along.

It is hard to tell, but the background colour is a brown-purple.

(P is for Primitive design).

What are you working on??

Something Fall-y??

October Trip

I've been hooking away at this mat by

P is for Primitive and have come this far.

I like the way that the images come right up to the borders.

Last weekend we took our rv

on the last trip of the season.

We drove down to Boothbay Harbour, Maine.

What a lovely lovely spot!

And what lovely lovely people!

We had planned to set up camp there and then

drive into Camden, Maine to hike but there were

AMPLE paths around Boothbay.

There are so many little causeway roads to small islands

which are covered in pines and craggy rocks.

Lucy is limited due to arthritis but she had a blast

as well!

And here is a tip-- take a wander into thrift shops in the place

you are touring.

Often you can find local pottery and art for a fraction of the prices 

of the area boutiques.

The thrift store I went into had paintings of ships and

lots of lobster knickknacks but look what else I found (and bought):

The Heirloom Rug design is old and on burlap

but for $2 is a bargain.

I will trace it out onto linen.

The book was $1.99 and will be donated to our

hooking group's library.

Scores!

A Fredericton friend dyed these pieces of wool

All I know is that she used both fresh and dried leaves

and old iron nails soaked in something.

I'm very attentive.

Ha!

Aren't they works of art?

Unfortunately our home is still on the market.

We get less than 5 trick-or-treaters each Halloween

and I want to live in a neighborhood with loads of trick-or-treaters

which means kids and community.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

My “Grandmother’s Rug” (see previous post)
is getting to the fussy point;

when I hook a width of border,

especially an oval rug’s border,

it’s hard to get an even width all the way around.

And since I hook like I cook (I hate to count or measure)

this poses a frustrating finish for me.

SO, I set it aside, temporarily of course,
to start this one by P is for Primitive.

The ladies at the mental health group

always put me in a better mood.

This term we have only three which is the smallest 

number we’ve ever had.

These women come every week

to hook for ninety minutes.

They have said that the rhythm of the art

and the company is helpful.

I agree! 

Here is what they are working on:

This woman is legally blind; we outline the figures and she fills!

This woman is a color and design master!

One woman traced her grandma's hands as she lay dying.
She is hooking the hands from
 her grandma's clothing to give to relatives.

Our hood is looking autumnal!

I took these on my walk this morning.

And this weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving!

Technically it falls on Monday but families 

around here seem to celebrate on one or 

all days of the long weekend.

Some make rounds to all the family groups.

The celebration is more casual than in the States

and it does not quick off the Christmas season

so there is no rush to the retail shops. 

Our neighbour has us to her cottage since we have no family.
Such a special place to share.

I leave you with a local recipe which is over 100 years

for a yummy apple cake

Keswick Ridge Apple Cake
1 C sugar
1 C shortening
1 C raisins
2 C tea
2 large apples sliced
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 C flour
1 tsp soda
1 tsp b powder
1 tsp salt

Cook first 8 ingredients until apples are soft. Cool to lukewarm.
In bowl, stir together remaining dry ingredients.
Stir into wet mixture.
Bake at 350 in a 9 X 13 pan for approx 1 hour.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

King's Landing

Once more I explored King's Landing, a live history

village here near Fredericton, NB.

The leaves were turning, the air was rich with wood smoke and apples,

and the sky was just overcast enough to deter crowds!

My friend, Teresa, strapped her 10 month old granddaughter to her 

and we hit the paths.

The mill I hooked last year

A woman strings beans to dry for winter

I love these vignettes

A determined sheep reaches for the apples

After we had hot spiked cider in the candle-lit pub
we stopped at the gift shop.
They were trying to sell heavier pieces as the season is ending.
I nabbed this table and Teresa got a buffet
at 60% off!
Having a truck was convenient...

Home again.
My Grandma's Rug is really coming along