News/Blog

This is a selection of rugs from our September 2010 retrospective exhibition, held at Centennial Hall, to celebrate the Guild’s 35th anniversary. Sally Perodeau. Sugaring Off, a Rittermere pattern Sally Perodeau Sugaring Off Rittermere Pattern – 24” x 35” Pictorials such as this are fun to do. You can draw the subject yourself, or order a scene from one of the many catalogues available; similarly gift cards are a good source of ideas. Pictorials are great for using a variety of materials. I used burlap for the sleigh, leather for the harness, old tweeds for the trees, plastic for the maple sap, my neighbour's old coat for the red jacket and some knitting wool for the smoke and some of the snow. Lois J. Morris is a great inspirational teacher; she suggests, helps and encourages us always. Thank you, Lois. Denise Vandenbemden. Half-round - Ellie's Rug Denise Vandenbemden Half-Round – Ellie’s rug (Designer unknown) The pattern of this rug must be very old. I boug...

by Mary Jane Peabody * * Mary Jane Peabody is a member of the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild, in Vermont . She also belongs to the ATHA and the Hilltop Rug Hookers, New London , NH . She is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen and, when living in England , she is a member of the Lunesdale Rug Hookers. 1.   Get a 10 to 12-inch (30 cm) dowel ** about 1 inch (2.5 cm) in diameter ***. A hard wood like maple is preferable to a soft wood such as pine. 2. Cut a 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) deep groove along the length of the dowel. (Have the lumber yard or a friend with a router do this for you.).   3.    Cut the wool into long strips, in whatever width you require. I use 3/4-inch (2 cm) or so. Some  people use slightly narrower strips .   4.    Starting with one end of the strip, just at the groove of the dowel, wind the long strip of wool around the dowel, taking care to overlap the edges of the wool as you coil it ...

Ontario Hooking Craft Guild - Reports by Branch Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild (Area 1) This is the Quarterly Activities Report published in the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild Newsletter. Click for a larger image. OGHG Newsletter Winter 2010 page 1 OGHG Newsletter Winter 2010 page22

OHCG Winter 2010 Newsletter "Tuscany", an adapted design by Lorayne Charenko, has been showcased in the last Ontario Hooking Craft Guild  Newsletter! Congratulations! OGHG Newsletter Winter 2010 page 1 OGHG Newsletter Winter 2010 page 2

Visit   Blue Ribbon Rugs    to download this cute Christmas pattern made by Donna Hrkman, a talented artist who has contributed articles and projects to Rug Hooking Magazine . As she suggests in her Web site, you can bookmark the "Free Pattern Download" page because she plans to make a new pattern available every season.   Remember that all free patterns are available for personal use only. Commercial use is prohibited. Visit the Finished Rugs page.You can buy patterns for each of her designs as well. And don't miss Donna Hrkman's Congo Rug !  http://www.blueribbonrugs.com/index.html

Rug Hooking 101 by L.G. de Tonnancour Within our Fall program, on Saturdays, October 16 th and November 20 th , 2010 , the Guild held a two-day workshop for beginners which also served however as a refresher course for people with more experience. This course, given by Lois Morris, was designed to teach the most important aspects of rug hooking and it was well attended and very much appreciated. Now it is up to the artisans and artists to keep progressing in their rug hooking, knowing that Lois is never too far away and always happy to assist in any way she can. Thank you Lois, for your work and dedication in transmitting the craft of rug hooking to Guild members

AndreaZuill is a very talented visual artist from California . She works in many mediums: oils, water colours, silk screening, sculpture and embroidery, to name a few. Every month, she generously shares free embroidery designs on her blog and she encourages people who use these patterns to send her a photo of their work, so that she can publish it on the blog. These charming patterns can be adapted to rug hooking.  N.B. All free patterns are available for personal use only, and may not be reproduced for commercial purposes.

This is a selection of rugs from our September 2010 retrospective exhibition, held at Centennial Hall, to celebrate the Guild’s 35th anniversary. Runaway Canoe. Original By Brenda Ticehurst. Runaway Canoe Original Wall Hanging by Brenda Ticehurst This rug was inspired by a photo of boathouses at Lac des Seize Iles (16 Island Lake) in the Laurentians, past St-Sauveur, Quebec. The canoe is drifting unattached. The bay is often painted by local artists. The wall hanging was popular in an art show at the local recreation club. The reflections in the water were the most difficult part. The trees were done by pixilating. N.B. Pixelation is the display of a digitized image where the individual pixels are apparent to the viewer. This can happen when an image is magnified to the point that each pixel becomes separately viewable (usually looking like little boxes). My Little Puppy Davey. Original by Maureen Rowe. My Little Puppy Davey Original wall hanging by Maureen R...

Are you looking for a way to keep your wool strips in order? A helpful hint submitted by Maria Romero Here’s an easy way, which I now do. I sort all the wool by colour, for the current project I’m working on, and place it in a tackle box. Its size is practical; it is not cumbersome and is light to carry. It is made of clear plastic and has moveable dividers that allow you to increase or reduce the number of compartments you need. Gone are those plastic baggies where everything gets tangled!

The 35th anniversary exhibition by Louise G. de Tonnacour “ Art is the expression of man’s pleasure in work”, William Morris.  I had this quotation in mind while visiting the Beaconsfield Rug Hooking Guild exhibition. This two day event, marking the 35 th  anniversary of the guild, took place on the 25 th  and 26 th  of September 2010.   On this occasion, visitors were able to view an excellent retrospective of the work done by the artists and artisans of the association.  In all the rugs, large or small, one could take the time to study the technique, the originality of the design and the choice of colours.  The ladies of the guild guided guests through the technical aspects of rug hooking, however, I noticed, they remained humble to praise. Within the guild, there are three decades of know-how, learning and teaching experience and lots of memories.  Week a...

Beaconsfield Centennial Celebration    Honoring Lois Morris      Founder of the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild    by Rose Kandy     As part of the city’s centennial celebration a cocktail party was held on Friday September 24 th 2010 to honor the founders of the Beaconsfield Associations. Mayor, David Pollock, presented the honorees with a picture of the Old Grove Hotel (now the Beaconsfield Yacht Club) and the book “Beaconsfield and Beaurepaire” by Robert L.Baird and Gisèle Hall.

How I got “hooked” on rug hooking?    by Kay Cousineau    In 1977, while reading the local paper, I came across a photo of a friend with two members of a newly formed group of rug hookers demonstrating their craft for their upcoming first exhibition. I asked my friend what exactly is rug hooking and the more she told me the more I became interested, as I have always been fond of all types of crafts.   Upon inquiring, I was invited to sit in on one of their beginners’ classes, taught by Lois Morris, who introduced this craft to the West Island community of Beaconsfield , where I resided. Well, suffice it to say I was completely “hooked” and have never stopped hooking since . I signed up for every course that was offered by the city i...

Remembering the foundation of the Guild    by Lois Morris, founder      After relocating from Toronto in 1973 where I had been teaching rug hooking since 1967, I  began teaching this craft in my home in Beaconsfield to a group of neighbours. In the Fall of 1974, the City of Beaconsfield placed this notice in the local West Island newspaper  The News and Chronicle: "Creative Nineteenth Century Rug Hooking: an old craft as a new art form - with Lois Morris as instructor. Mrs. Morris has had courses in creative design, including colour planning and dyeing.  She has worked extensively in oils and is an accomplished ceramist. She is past president of the Mississauga branch of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild and is a registered teacher with the Rittermere Craft Studio in Vine...

by Denise Vandenbemden President   Artist: Salvatore Vuono at www.freedigitalphotos.net I n Beaconsfield , Quebec , Canada , a few stay at home moms, friends, came together and started hooking rugs, one of them was Lois Morris. She was an artist and a licensed rug hooking teacher and under her guidance the group grew and became a guild, the Beaconsfield Rug Hooking Crafters Guild. At the same time, in Belgium , I had a teenage daughter and a full time job. I knew very little about Canada and nothing at all about traditional rug hooking, but I made latch hooked rugs. Latch hooked rugs came in kits, the pattern printed onto the backing and the wool already cut. When I became a single mom and finances ran low, t...

The Lavandou Lavender Farm by Louise G. de Tonnancour Le Lavandou Under stormy skies, Denise Morissette and I set out on Monday June 28, 2010 at 9:45 AM for Le Lavandou in Franklin in that wonderful region of Quebec called the “Suroît”. (Southwest part of the province, near the US border). Forty-five minutes later we arrived at destination and met with other rug-hooking friends: Brenda Ticehurst,  Denise Vandenbemden, Maureen Rowe, Lynn Jackson, Lois Morris and her husband, Derek. André Librex, artist and horticulturist, is the owner of this lavender farm. He established it some twenty years ago and, by dint of care and perseverance, it was the first to flourish in this province. Our host gave us a gracious and warm welcome and entertained us with a most informative talk about his work. Just then the weather cleared and we were able to picnic and hook outdoors all afternoon. As the chairperson for the special events for our gu...

Québec’s fête nationale 2010, in Beaconsfield    by L. G. de Tonnancour    This year again, June 24 th ,  some of our members  (Denise Morissette , Rose Kandy, Denise Vandenbemden and myself ) gave a few hours to be part of the celebrations and demonstrate to the visitors the traditional technique of rug hooking.  The weather being on the rainy side, most of the activities took place inside the municipality's Community Center . On that day, my fifteen year old niece Gabrielle wanted to join me. She is not a rug hooker ... (not yet!!! ) but she enjoys being behind the camera so she volunteered to take the pictures. I find it interesting to see what caught her attention.  Who knows...you might be inspired by one of her images ...

Ontario Hooking Craft Guild - Reports by Branch Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild (Area 1) This is the Quarterly Activities Report published in the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild Newsletter.  Click for a larger image. OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010, page 1 OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010, page 12

Congratulations to Louise De Tonnancour who won first prize in the “Original Design of Alternative Techniques” at the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild Annual Meeting and Show. OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010 _ page 1 OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010 _ page 16 OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010 _ page 17 OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010 _ page 18 OHCG Newsletter Summer 2010 _ page 19

A pleasant gathering by L.G. de Tonnancour On Saturday, June 5, 2010 , the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild held its annual picnic at Centennial Hall. The President, Denise Vandenbemden, welcomed members and guests with cute badges in pretty boxes reminding us of the 35 th anniversary the guild is celebrating this year. In spite of the rainy weather outside, inside there were wonderful rugs in progress to admire, warm smiles, much chatting among fellow hookers and a tempting sweet table proved this day to be a success. Let’s keep on with tradition and do it again in June 2011. Follow the link to see the Photo Albun: BHCG 2010 Picnic

Beaconsfield Centennial Celebration  by Maria Romero Our guild was happy to participate in the kick-off to the centenary celebrations of the City of Beaconsfield on June 4th. Some guild members and their families were dressed in costumes of the era and mingled with a troupe of actors and extras who put sparkle in the party held on Beaconsfield Blvd. between St. Louis St. and Woodland Ave. Beacconsfield Centennial Celebration Logo Denise Morissette Parade Parade Gilbert Dupuis as "Le Fou du Village" and Derek Lois J. Morris Maria Romero