News/Blog

OHCG Annual 2024       “Onwards and Upwards” April 19 – 21, 2024 London, ONTARIO By Emmy Maten 2024 OHCG Conference and AGM - Onwards and Upwards Logo.  Image Source: OHCG Website. It has been our guild’s tradition for several of our members to make a trip to the OHCG annual conference each year, members’ cars loaded down with rugs for our substantial Beaconsfield Branch Displays of the past. Then came COVID, and 3 consecutive annuals were virtual. This year marked the first return to an in-person conference, and my own first time attending such an event. Our guild didn’t provide a branch display this year, however the number of rugs on display at the conference was amazing, easily 150 rugs to see! And not only rugs, but also rug upholstered chairs and stools, cushions, and 3-dimensional art such as a huge ram head with horns! It was most inspiring. There was a fine selection of workshops to choose from plus many vendors’ booths to visit. Our own Ti wore both ha...

 April 15, 2024    Visit to the Musée des Métiers d’art du Québec Reserve collection (storage facility)    This past Monday, our guild met at the Bibliothèque du Boisé Library in Ville St Laurent to view the Musée des Métiers d’art du Québec Reserve collection, stored in the temperature and air-controlled basement. We are greeted in the library lobby by Murielle Gagnon and Laura Delaunay. Many thanks to Gaétan Berthiaume for making this unique visit possible for our guild members. Mme. Murielle Gagnon, general director, and curator of MUMAQ, and Laura Delaunay, manager of the archives, greeted us and toured us in small groups throughout the collection of some 15,000 artifacts. Murielle gives details of the many artifacts. Laura is opening one of the many storage doors. It was an artisan adventure into the past! We saw beautifully carved antique furniture, spinning wheels, glass work, pottery, metal work, tools of the trades, paintings, theatrical costumes, and ...

Featured Rugs Gallery       In this Gallery, you can tour a selection of rugs from our last Exhibition, held in April 2023 at Centennial Hall. Explore our Blog to see the rugs showcased in the past. Reflections In December 2018, our guild held a Self-Portrait Challenge. Our finished pieces were displayed the following month in a “Who’s that Hooker” contest and members had to guess who is who. Several of these portraits were shown in last year’s rug exhibition. Follow the link :   Hook a Self-portrait !    Self-portrait. Original. Barbara Silver. Detail. Barbara Silver Self-portrait Original 2019 Hooked on linen Wool cuts #3, #4, and #6 Tapestry yarn Gold yarn behind letters 11.5” x 9” without frame Framed The butternut wood frame was custom made by Henry Peeters, Apple Hill, Ontario. A Good Hair Day!. Original. Carolyn Mungall. Detail. Carolyn Mungall A Good Hair Day! Original 2018 Hooked on linen with hand-dyed wool and Wensleydale fleece Cut #6 ...

Kay Cousineau in OHCG Newsletter          OHCG Newsletter / Spring 2024, issue #1 In Remembrance   In this issue, on page 27, our In memory of Kay Cousineau's Blog post is published; Kay was instrumental, together with Lois Morris, in making the BHCG a branch of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild in 1979. OHCG Newsletter. Issue 1, Spring 2024, Cover Page. OHCG Newsletter. Issue 1, Spring 2024. Page 27. In Remembrance of Kay Cousineau.

Diane Rennie Featured in OHCG Newsletter          OHCG Newsletter / Spring 2024, issue #1 Artists we Love to Hook - Maude Lewis   In this issue, on page 17 we see Diane Rennie’s Truck and Dog rug of one of Maud Lewis’s paintings, design by Highland Heart Hookery. OHCG Newsletter. Issue 1, Spring 2024. Cover Page. OHCG Newsletter. Issue 1, Spring 2024. Page 16. OHCG Newsletter. Issue 1, Spring 2024. Page 17. Diane Rennie's piece is featured at this page! Congratulations, Diane!

New – Reserve of wool scraps    Kitt has initiated a wool reserve which is stored in the drawers of the dresser in the front board room. Are you looking for a few wool strips of a particular colour? This treasure trove might have just what you need! This is meant as a give and take - you take a bit and you contribute a bit. All pieces are sorted by colour and stored in clear Ziplock bags. You will find both small pieces of wool fabric and pre-cut worms of various sizes. You will find wool yarn in the bottom drawer. Please feel free to help build up this stash! Great new resource, Kitt! Thank you! Laura, Claire, and Kitt sort wool for our new Scrap wool repository.

February 12, 2024. Red Day Valentine’s Day - a day to celebrate love of all kinds! For us today, we celebrated the love of our craft and our community, and we each wore something red to prove it. Our Sell and Swap sale drew in some members we had not seen for a while, which is always a treat, as friendships grow deep over the years. Standing: Brenda, Judith, Claire, Kitt. Sitting: Denise, Karen, Harold. Hearts and Chocolate! Liz chooses this hoop at our Sell and Swap sale. Jacques, Gaétan, Mayumi, and Isabelle.    Sue, Joanne, Ann, and Helen. Jacqueline is one of the lucky door prize winners!

Jeu de mémoire / Exhibition     Marianick Viatour and Gaétan Berthiaume are visual artists specialising in wood sculpture. They joined our Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild in September 2023, after having visited our rug exhibition in April 2023. They are having a vernissage and exhibition in Gatineau from Wednesday, January 31 through March 28. 12 sculptures will be presented, including one hooked piece, along with a short film of 28 minutes. Wonderful news! Congratulations! For more information, follow this link: Jeu de mémoire  (In French) Picture source: Viatour-Berthiaume Info-letter (with the artists permission).

Tiny Treasures Workshop with Sara Judith    January 13-15, 2024. Thanks to Mary, our Guild was very fortunate to have Sara Judith, renowned rug hooking artist and teacher from Nelson BC, come to Centennial Hall to present us with a 3-day workshop called Tiny Treasures. Claire and Kitt provided some yummy snacks for the coffee breaks. Sara, Mary, and Claire. Our first day was challenged by a snowstorm! However, Carolyn M came to the rescue and set up a Zoom room for us which half of the group made precious use of on Saturday. The workshop was really fun. We learned about design principles and the use of colour, and how these elements differ for tiny rugs compared to larger rugs. We each made a tiny hooked rug using #2 and #3 cuts and yarns. We also each made a tiny punched rug using a #14 Oxford punch and learned about creating special effects. Juliet and Fay are enjoying this workshop. Joanne is already finishing her third rug! Carolyn E and Chris, who is holding up her Scotla...

Featured Rugs Gallery       In this Gallery, you can tour a selection of rugs from our last Exhibition, held in April 2023 at Centennial Hall. Explore our Blog to see the rugs showcased in the past.  Show & Tell / January-March 2024. Winter. Winter – Let’s Get Cozy As the cold winter days approach, we pull out our oversized sweaters and warm socks, sip a hot drink, and get lots of rug hooking done. May the rugs in this Show and Tell warm your imaginations and inspire your craft. The Winter Journey. A Karla Gerard pattern hooked by Christina Delaney. Detail. Christina Delaney The Winter Journey Karla Gerard pattern Purchased from Hooked on the Lake 2021 Cuts #4, #6, #8 on linen 25” x 30” Whipped edging  The whimsy and the fox sold me on this delightful pattern. It is my winter rug which I hang in my entrance. Les Éboulements – Hiver (Les Éboulements - Winter). Design by Isabelle Rollin, hooked by Jacques Lepage. Detail. Jacques Lepage Les Éboulements ...