News/Blog

Demonstration at Finnegan's Market_ Saturday August 29th 2015 -  8:00am to 4:00pm By L. G. de Tonnancour Mrs Aird ( owner photographed with Jacques ) and her family invited the BHCG to do a full day of rug hooking demonstration. Claire, Candace, Dawna, Jacqueline, Maureen, Carolyn, Louise and Linda responded with enthusiasm and were there to hook and tell.  Interesting and interested visitors ( such as  Réjean - former member )  stopped by our place in great numbers. A big Thank you!!! to Jacques and Isabelle who had set up the tent for us.  What a wonderful day!!!  I hope it comes back next year. Rug Hooking Demonstration at Finnegan's Market *** Follow the link to see the Photo Album: Finnegan's Market

Rug Hooking Demonstration Finnegan's Market 9 AM -  4PM 775, rue Principale  Hudson, Quebec  J0P1H0. Rug Hooking Demo

Rug Hooking Demonstration (August 23rd) By Ti Seymour If you've not been to this fibre festival, I can assure you it's highly recommended and won't disappoint you if you're looking for any number of exotic or run-of-the-mill fibres. It was the first time that a Rug Hooking demonstration had been available. Ever eager to get Rug Hooking into the awareness of the mainstream crafting community, a group of us from BHCG took on the task of taking a number of rugs, wall hangings with a variety of cut wool sizes and equipment to demonstrate. It was probably not one of my most shining moments as I wrestled with a microphone headpiece which refused to stay in position during the demo but we had some laughs nevertheless and certainly had an enthusiastic audience, some of whom signed up with classes with teachers in Ontario or showed interest in coming to our 40th Anniversary Exhibition in September 2015. Many thanks to Jacqueline Tseng, Dawna Matthew, Claire Fradette and Ca...

Rug Hooking Demonstration Sunday August 23rd Program Rug Hooking Demonstration  Twist  August 23rd 2015, 2-3 PM  530 Rue Charles Auguste Montreuil‎  Saint-André-Avellin, Quebec J0V 1W0 Festival Twist 2015

Champlain Fiber Fest and Hook-in , 6th edition North Hero, Vt.  10:00am-4:00pm The event was a big success for the main organiser Lynn Soule.  Louise G. de Tonnancour, Dawna Matthew, Maureen Rowe and Lin Watson from the BHCG attended.  It was a nice occasion to just sit and hook in a nice venue, enjoy the company of our fellow american rug hookers, see the fiber show and... shop for more wool!!!  Mary Lee O'Connor (hand dyed wool),  Green Mountain Hooked Rugs (patterns and wool), Deb Ennis (patterns and roving), Evelyn Gant (amazing lace)  were the vendors. Submitted by  Louise G. de Tonnancour Louise G. de Tonnancour and Dawna Matthew - Champlain Fiber Fest - 6th Edition *** Follow the link to see the Photo Album: Fiber Bees 2015

Kids Tutorial - Introduction to Rug Hooking Beaconsfield Library 15th and 22th July 2015  2:30 - 5 pm By Ti Seymour It was the pleasure of Dawna Matthew & Claire Fradette who joined me in teaching 7 children to Rug Hook over 2 sessions during the summer.  We had pre-drawn a 4" square for them to hook within and they set about designing a simple pattern, trace to red dot and transfer to backing.  It was a face paced class due to time constraints (6 hours in total!), so the first stage was completed within the hour.  A large colourful selection of woolly worms had already been cut to size 6 by Cathy Lynam and myself.  The children thoroughly enjoyed the freedom to experiment with the hook and see their designs painted with wool.  One lad was asked what he thought of the Rug Hooking class and replied "This is the best fun ever" and in my heart I was saying the same thing too. Kids Tutorial - Intr0duction to Rug Hooking - Beaconsfield Library ...

The Martintown Wild and Woolly Rug Hookers Hook-In By Dawna Matthew The Martintown Wild and Woolly Rug Hookers * are very fortunate to have the use of the beautiful Glengarry Pioneer Museum site for their weekly meetings during the summer months. We had long talked about getting together for a hook-in, so on July 24 a group of our members packed up their hooking and piled into several cars and drove up to Dunvegan. Members of the Twistle Guild of Glengarry were also present with their fleece and spinning wheels. It was a warm, sunny day and we all sat outside under a large covered roof, hooking, chatting and sharing ideas. What an enjoyable way to spend a summer afternoon! Thank you, Martintown Wild and Woolly, for inviting us. It is great to get together with our fellow groups and we have so much to learn from each other! * The Martintown Wild & Woolly Rug Hookers  are a Branch of The Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. Glengarry Pioneer Museum - Picture by Ti Seymour ...

Trip to Nova Scotia Claire and Candace Fradette went to Nova Scotia to participate in a Maud Lewis Workshop organized by the Rug Hooking Museum of North America.  This fun and  interesting activity took place on July 3-5, under Doug Rankin's instructions. Claire and Candace Fradette (left).

Jeanne Osler Safe in Harbour By Jeanne Osler This rug measures 35 in. x 21 in., I purchased this as a kit from Deanne Fitzpatrick and I hooked this marine landscape with a combination of new, recycled and dyed wool, cut in #4, 6 and 8. Carolyn Ells Summervine - relaxing after work in Vineyard By Carolyn Ells This landscape is an original story rug design hooked on linen using new, recycled and dyed wool in #4 and #6 cuts. To finish the rug I whipped the edges. The rug measures 33 in. x 43 in. I began this mat during a folk art workshop with Judith Dallegret in Montreal, QC Judith challenged the class to design a wide border for our mats. The border is symbolic of the varieties of grapes in our small family vineyard on MacNabBay, Malagash, N.S. The picture depicts my father and brother relaxing after work in the vineyard. Rose Kandy Atlantic Puffins By Rose Kandy This wall hanging is 35 in. long x 12 in. wide. I purchased the stamped pattern ...

Kids Tutorial Introduction to Rug Hooking Beaconsfield Library 15th & 22nd July, 2 : 30pm - 5pm Learn this ancestral craft with modern day fibres. Simple designs that will become a hand hooked masterpiece. Fun class that will have you eager to create more. Illustration: Maria Romero

Rug Hooking Demonstration By Ti Seymour Fête Nationale Not only were we blessed with good weather but also with a large number of eager children interested in learning how to Rug Hook.  Luckily we were well equipped with hoops and hooks from our recent lessons taught at Sherwood Forest Elementary School.  Many signed up for the Summer Camp classes held in July at Beaconsfield Library.  One little lad was so delighted with his piece, first he didn't want to leave until it was finished and then he noticed some dropped loops so wandered back to get help to repair. Thanks to Candace Fradette, Claire Fradette, Louise de Tonnancour, Rose Kandy and Denise Morrisette for setting up the booth and providing fabulous demonstrations throughout the day.

Ti Seymour and Claire Fradette Rug Hooking Demonstration By Ti Seymour What a glorious day it turned out to be and many wonderful vendors to visit.  Cathy & Paola from LCA joined with Doris/Felter to man 3 large tables on the sidewalk outside their shop.  They provided us with a table of our own, which they helped shuffle around the sidewalk to find shade and relieve my sunburn!  Claire Fradette and myself laid out examples of work, hoops & hooks and demonstrated rug hooking throughout the day.  It was a fun fun day stopping people in their tracks to show them our rugs and tell them about our fabulous Guild.  We had a fair few laughs, hooked up with some long lost friends and found a few people who were keen to learn more - 12 in fact ... not bad for a social day in the sunshine sipping "iced coffee", devouring a cone of maple ice cream and shaking up our inner-child with candy floss....you can imagine the sugar rush from all that.

Helpers Tea Party_ By Ti Seymour Grade 5 invited the helpers for an impressive Tea Party last week.  After piling our plates with all the lovely home baked goodies and taking a refreshment, the children visited each of us to show us their Stop Motion Video projects on their school ipads.  They were very proud of all their achievements and were asked to name a couple that stood out.  As each person spoke in the circle that was created, Rug Hooking was by far the most popular.  There were a few funny moments as children recited their tales of the highs and lows.  Paul, particularly stole the show, "I hooked lots of loops and lost lots of loops, they had to call in the whole team to help me, now I'm done - I'd like to hook another one". BHCG Helpers were invited to a Tea Party  *** Follow the link to see the Photo Album: Helpers Tea Party / 4 Keywords: Hooking with Children

BHCG 2015 Picnic_ By Sally Perodeau BHCG 2015 Picnic June 6th was a lovely sunny day which allowed us to celebrate our annual picnic outside and to enjoy the beautiful vista of the lake. The Executive and their helpers excelled themselves, making it a day to remember. Besides having tempting goodies to eat, we were given a gift bag that included a clever pin cushion made from soda bottle caps that fitted on our finger. The very talented Claire had organized a workshop to make them. Two vendors were on hand to tempt us with their wares. Linda from Silk Divine with her magnificent array of silks and our own Judith Dallegret who brought a wonderful selection of hand dyed woollens. This year's auction was conducted once again by the ever delightful Louise.  Her helper, Jacques, who can't resist offering his aid, livened things up with a few jigs to encourage us to bid on the plaids being offered.  His antics were a lot of fun and made us laugh. We are forever grate...

Sherwood Forest Elementary School Project_ Sherwood Forest Elementary School Grade 5 students finished their 6 week Visual Arts block to learn how to Rug Hook.  Some even gave up their lunch break on the last day so they could get their pieces finished.  The children were given free reign on their designs from the pattern design to the material used.  Each one a masterpiece of its own and carefully hooked. My thanks to the volunteers Dawna Matthew, Claire Fradette, Lois Morris, Cathy Lynam, Isabelle Rollin, Jacques Lepage and Sally Perodeau for joining me.  We have all been invited back to school for a Tea Party on Thursday 11th June ... how yummy! *** Follow the link to see tha Photo Album: School Project / 3 Keywords: Hooking with Children

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 to enlarge. OHCG Newsletter, Issue 2, Summer 2015 OHCG Newsletter, Issue 2, Summer 2015, page 11

Greeting Cards Project    Some pieces of the Greeting Cards Collection As part of our 40th anniversary celebration activities, the guild has decided to print greeting cards featuring the rug hooking of our teachers and members. Greeting Cards Project - 40th Anniversary From their own collections Guild members chose pieces which represent the evolution of styles over our forty year history from the early days to the most recent work.   Ti Seymour and Bob Turnbull took care of photographing the selected pieces.    Maria Romero, who suggested this special project, was in charge of the photo retouching, design and printing process of the greeting cards. A total of 21 members participated in this project which includes a collection of 28 cards with a variety of styles: floral, geometric, landscape, portrait, folk art, animals and story rugs.  The Guild's collection of greeting cards will be on sale during special activities such as our a...

Volunteer West Island - Logo Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild Reaches Out to   West Island   Meals on Wheels Clients As a special anniversary project, the ladies from the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild have set aside their March meeting date to start making beautiful, handmade wool flowers they are donating to Volunteer West Island for distribution to the clients of the 13 West Island Meals on Wheels kitchens. “We are celebrating our 40th anniversary and thought it would be nice to give back to the community. Crafting flowers is not the usual pursuit of rug hookers but we thought it would be a small gesture to brighten the day of Meals on Wheels recipients”, says Linda Henderson, Vice President and Media & Publicity coordinator of the Guild. The Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild, a branch member of Ontario Hooking Crafters Guild, was founded by Lois Morris in 1975. “She and a few of the original members continue to be active members and...

May 4th 2015  Dawna Matthew, Linda Henderson and Lorayne Charenko sharing a birthday at the Guild today! Left to right:L Dawna, Linda and Lorayne Congratulations to Claire Fradette on becoming a "Gramma" for the second time! Claire Fradette, a happy grandmother Keywords:  Birthdays / Anniversaries,

Beaconsfield Quilters Guild - Logo Rug Hooking Demonstration at Beaconsfield Quilters Show By Rose Kandy On a beautiful sunny May Sunday morning, Denise Vandenbendem and I went to McGill University, Macdonald Campus in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, a town situated at the western tip of Montreal. We were invited by Le Coin Artisanal (our Saturday hook-in home) to demonstrate the art of rug hooking to visitors and quilters attending the Beaconsfield Quilters Show held in Centennial Centre. We set up shop next to the LCA Booth with our rug samples and literature on the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild. Soon we had visitors stopping by to inquire about the rugs, the tools, how hooking is done, what materials are used. We had been told that our demonstration would be for 20 minutes, however, more than two hours later we were still explaining, in English or French, the art of rug hooking.   Before we left, we took the opportunity to visit the many quilts on display: mem...

Mug Rug Workshop By Dawna Matthew On Saturday, April 25th, BHCG held a very successful “Create a Mug Rug” workshop. Our goal was to give people a taste of traditional rug hooking in an informal setting. People are often curious about this rewarding and creative fibre art form but do not easily get the chance to try their hand at it so this was a perfect opportunity! We had a large group of eleven in a wide range of ages, and seven members were present to lend a helping hand. As you can see in the photos, the looks of concentration and the smiles show that everyone was working hard but enjoying themselves. A follow-up session will be held on Saturday, May 2nd. Mug Rug Workshop -  Le Coin Artisanal - April 2015 Denise Vandenbemden giving Intro Class Attendees a Show and Tell experience, whilst Maria captures more epic moments! *** Follow the link to see the Photo Album: Mug Rug Workshop / April 2015

Learn how to hook a rug, crafting guild offers introductory class    Kathryn Greenaway, Montreal Gazette More from Kathryn Greenaway, Montreal Gazette Published on: April 21, 2015 Last Updated: April 21, 2015 10:04 AM EDT  A Work by Isabelle Rollin . Photographer: John Kenney / Montreal Gazette As part of the 40th-anniversary celebrations of the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild, veteran rug hookers are offering introductory classes at Le Coin Artisanal, 454A Beaconsfield Blvd., April 25 and May 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The design possibilities are endless when approaching this traditional craft, which reaches back as far as the time of the Vikings. Participants will learn the basics while creating a coaster-sized rug to put under a coffee mug. The workshop costs $20 and includes materials and the mug. Class times are flexible. Instructors will be on site for the duration. For information, call 514-247-9310...

2015 OHCG Annual    By Lois Morris    The OHCG 2015 Annual was held at the beautiful Best Western Lamplighter Hotel, in London , Ontario , April 17-19. This charming venue, with atrium, swimming pool and slides for guests and children, and rooms overlooking waterfalls and fish ponds, was home for the weekend. This paradise even had ideal weather. An atrium was adjacent to the hallway leading to the ballroom, where the show was held. Ample tables and chairs were provided to the hookers where we sat, hooked and greeted visitors who were lured by the colourful displays and stopped by to see what we were doing. Numerous workshops and vendors’ displays set up for those attending were magnificently arranged and well run. Kudos to the hosting guilds.  OHCG 2015 Annual Ontario Annual Show