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May 11th, 2010
Weekend in Cobourg
by Louise G. de Tonnancour
As I am writing these words, I
realize that a week has already gone by since I was on board Via train 60, on my way to Cobourg, to attend the 44th
Annual Genral Meeting and Show of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. At 2:00 PM – upon arriving at destination – I was kindly driven to the
Lions Community Centre by Derek Morris. There, I met with Lois Morris who was getting ready to set up the presentation of
the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild for the show. The couple had driven from Montreal
in the morning with all the rugs to be displayed.
By 4:00
PM, all the crafted items were hung and we were rather pleased with the result. We had to leave the venue so that
the judges could make their selections. It looked like it would be a long evening for them; there was so much to be seen!
It was time to register for the
AGM. This year’s hostesses, OHCG members from Ajax, Campbellford, Northumberland, Oshawa
and Port Perry were there to welcome us with warm smiles. We were given cleverly made woolen flowers with name-tags and brown
paper bags filled with items to surely please any rug hooker. Saturday morning, with all due pomp and decorum, breakfast was
combined with the Annual General Meeting in the hotel ballroom. The atmosphere was thoroughly pleasant. After the introduction
of all the participating guilds and brief reports from the board members, the President, Ruby Clark, announced the winners
of the 2010 awards. From beginners to fine cut, large cut to oriental, to pictorial, primitive and alternative techniques
– none of the categories so familiar to rug hookers were forgotten. (For a complete list of winners go to www.ohcg.org)
The rest of the day was spent
visiting the exhibition and vendors, meeting old friends, making new ones and attending short one-hour workshops (I had registered
for three, over two days). We all met again in the hotel ballroom for an evening of dinner/theatre, which turned out to be
very entertaining. Lunchtime Sunday, I had to head back to Montreal. Before going
to the train station, I asked the taxi driver to give me a tour of Cobourg, which is a very beautiful historical town of 18,000
on the shores of Lake Ontario. Congratulations
to all the organizers of this memorable event. Mark your calendars now, the 2011 OHCG AGM is scheduled for London,
Ontario, as usual on the first weekend in May.
View more pictures!
Cobourg
Show
by Lois Morris, Teacher and Founder of the Guild
On
April 30th, Louise and I went to Cobourg to attend the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild Annual Meeting and Show. It
was a busy weekend. Friday afternoon, Louise and I set up the Beaconsfield Guild display of 17 beautiful hooked rugs and wall
hangings done by the 8 members of our group who also belong to the Ontario Guild. There were hundreds of pieces on display
and most were to be judged in one of the 13 categories of hooking. There was a lot of camaraderie
and many mini-workshops to attend. Great fun for all.
Saturday
morning, the breakfast and annual meeting were held in the hotel ballroom. The prizes were awarded at this breakfast and our
guild had a winner.
Congratulations
to Louise who won first prize in the “Original Design of Alternative Techniques” category with the piece I had
designed for those who took the fancy stitch course. Her work was beautiful; she used the stitches she had learned in class
according to how she envisioned the finished design. We had one surprised and happy member when they called her name.
Great
job Louise – I was thrilled and so proud of you.
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Olde Forge
by Denise Vandenbemden
Once again we were invited and attended the annual April hook-in hosted by the Ottawa Olde Forge Branch
of the Ontario Rug Hooking Guild. Seventy persons socialized, hooked, laughed, and ate too much from the delicious and
overflowing dessert buffet. Great friendship, great pieces and beautiful material offered by the vendors. The
show and tell was pure pleasure. Many rug hookers are blessed with a great sense of humor and the stories behind their work
were often very funny. The organizers did a wonderful job. Everything was perfect. We had a most enjoyable day. Thank
you and congratulations to the committee and members of the Olde Forge.
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October 17th, 2009
Fancy Stitches “101”
with Lois Morris
by L.G.
de Tonnancour
Anyone looking for something
new and exciting to enhance a rug should take Lois Morris’s workshop on ‘Fancy Stitches”. Step-by-step,
in her usual planful way, she led us into a whole new world of needlework – and each stitch is so beautiful! One of
her rugs, now owned by her daughter, served as our reference point. I feel grateful and privileged to have had the opportunity
to be one of her students on Saturday, October 17th, at Centennial Hall in Beaconsfield, in what turned out to be a small, attentive group of rug hookers.
Any chance for Fancy Stitches “102” in the near future?
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June 24, 2009
Saint-Jean Baptiste
Day
by L.G. de Tonnancour
This year again, Centennial Hall was the meeting place for the Fête nationale du Québec in Beaconsfield. The sky was perfectly
clear and live musicians filled the air with traditional Quebecois music. The old white building was decorated for the occasion
with blue and white flags and on the grounds, sheltered under small kiosks, artisans of all trades were selling their wares
or demonstrating their art. There was a great deal to see. Alice Hamilton, Ailish O’keeffe, Sylvia Solomon and Louise
G. de Tonnancour of the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild gave rug hooking demonstrations throughout the event. It was a
wonderful day filled with laughter and friendly conversation.
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June, 11th 2009
A day trip in Ontario
By Louise G. de Tonnancour
Thursday morning, June 11th 2009, Sally Perodeau, Denise Morissette, Maria Romero and myself
left Beaconsfield at 8:30 to attend the invitation for a picnic in Mallorytown
hosted by the Brockville Thousand Islanders. Sally drove us there, in what was a very smooth drive, in exactly
two hours and fifteen minutes. The Library&Community Hall where the event took place was just ½ km or so off the
401. We were gracefully welcomed and directed to the beautiful grounds surrounded by trees under which the
rug hookers had found places to sit. In the middle, a white gazebo sheltered one of the vendors, the others regrouped
in the shade, along a rustic fence. On that special day, hats were the theme of the day. All colours, sizes, shapes
and wonderfully decorated, they were everywhere to be seen and admired. At 12:00, we were invited inside
to help ourselves to buffet tables very well garnished with good food and lots of goodies before going back outside to eat.
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In the afternoon, there was a parade of hats with 3 prizes: most original, most beautiful
and the tackiest. Lots of laughs there, you can imagine! Later on, we all had access to a
treasure chest filled with small surprises. Sheila Brokloff, the Brockville Thousand Islanders President thanked us all
for coming and we finished with the long-awaited Show & Tell which was a procession of gorgeous rugs, one guild after
another guild. All in all, the day was a success and our thanks go to the hostesses of this annual gathering in the
Area 1 of the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild. We returned happy, inspired and recharged to pursue our favourite leisure
activity. Other rug hookers from Québec who participated were Jeanne Osler and Brenda Ticehurst from The
Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild + Betty Anderson and Maureen Meloche from On Track 2.
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May 23,
2009
Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Picnic
by Rose Kandy
Saturday, May 23, dawned
somewhat cloudy and cool – but a little weather has never daunted rug hooking aficionados. Tables and chairs were set
out on the lawn at Centennial Hall with its beautiful view of Lake St. Louis. Refreshments and coffee were kept inside, away from feathered, furry and other creatures that always show up uninvited
to picnics.
Guests began arriving about
10 and were given badges and tickets. It was a pleasure to welcome fellow crafters
from North Hatley, Montreal, Pointe-Claire,
and our own Beaconsfield, especially those rug hookers who work and are rarely able to join us on Mondays.
The sun finally came out and warmed our chilled hands and feet and we all set to hooking. Soon it was lunchtime; the desserts
and fruit brought by the hosts made a tasty finish to the meal. At which time, squirrels, a pair of ducks, the ever-present
freshwater gulls and blackbirds came in to join the party, much to our amusement.
A session of show and tell
followed. What lovely pieces, what originality, what creativity and especially what interesting stories! See the rugs and enjoy them as much as we did.
Now, the reason for the
tickets was unveiled – Denise Vandenbemden, our President, had assembled a basket of rug hooking goodies; it contained
coffee, chocolate, wine, a Dorr swatch and bundle and several packets of dyes. Carolyn Ells from the St.Henri Hookers won the basket, she then graciously chose
some of the contents of the basket and held a second drawing.
Sharon Clarke had made lavender
sachets to be distributed to our guests and to any members who wanted one. Thank you Sharon for your thoughtfulness.
Too soon, it was time to
say goodbye to our guests and members. All who attended enjoyed it immensely and it was a delightful finish to another fun
year of rug hooking and camaraderie.
View more pictures !
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May 2009
The Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild goes international
By L.G. de Tonnancour
Last
January, through a member of our group, we learned that The West Riding Ruggers from Bradford, England was preparing a rug show of their own at the Bradford Industrial Museum to be seen from May2,
2009 till July 12, 2009. An email, from them, invited ruggers to send pictures of themselves
with their rugs, done in any technique, to be exhibited under the International Postcards.
In the spirit of Show & Tell, our guild sent a disc of photos.
Over sea, the idea followed its course, the response was encouraging and with the work and dedication of a wonderful
group of people the exhibition has become reality. Read the press release
and see some pictures of the show... I have no doubt, you will be charmed.
The
pictures were taken by Lora West. All of it was emailed to us by Mrs Penelope
Gardiner.
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From left to right: Rosemary Allan, Curator at Beamish Museum, who gave a lecture about the rug collection
at Beamish, and also opened the exhibition for The West Riding Ruggers; Penelope Gardiner; Diane West, the past Chair of the
group, who coordinated the overseas postcards; Jenny Salton, another group member, who also did a lot towards the exhibition,
she works at Tolson Museum in Huddersfield so her museum know how was very useful and she also master minded the panels, and
Maggie Pedley, who is the Museum Manager at the Museum.
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From left to right: Brenda Jarman, Mary Lee, Kay Royce, Isobel Waterhouse, Lord Mayor and his wife, the
Mayoress, Marjorie and Renee, Margaret Kenny and Diane West.
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A Rough Guide to Rag Rugs
an exhibition to celebrate 21 years of the West
Riding Ruggers
Saturday
2 May to Sunday 12 July 2009
Take
a trip to see this exciting exhibition of traditional and contemporary rag rugs. Find
out about their historic origins, be surprised by their beauty, and explore how this fabulous textile craft has gone global. There are colourful hooked and prodded rugs, subtle shirred and braided rugs, even
a spectacular rag rug birthday cake.
Sponsored by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s
Awards for All and the travel book company Rough Guides, discover the story of this successful group of local rug makers still
going today after 21 years.
Over 200 striking rugs and wonderful wall hangings
created by group members are on display, many have been inspired by places around the world, from Mongolia to Morocco and
from India back home to Yorkshire. The group has been enthused by special celebrations
from home, other countries and from diverse cultures around the globe.
Visitors might be surprised to find that traditional
rug making tools and materials are pretty cheap and basic. A hook, a prodder,
some hessian and a supply of old fabric is all you need to get started. A charity
called Rug Aid has cottoned on to this, and works with the blind in countries such as The Gambia. Participants are able to make remarkable wall hangings to sell, providing them with an income. Examples of work from this worthwhile project can also been seen in the exhibition.
The West Riding Ruggers aim to keep traditional
skills alive, passing them on to future generations, and there are lots of traditional style rag rugs on show. These have been made from colourful and vibrant odds and ends of fabrics.
It is the perfect ‘green’ craft, transforming waste material into something truly individual and stunning. Once again rag rug making is back in fashion.
Look out for special events and activities.
Bradford Industrial Museum
Moorside
Rd
Bradford, BD2 3HP
01274 435900
www.bradfordmuseums.org
Free admission
Open Tuesday – Saturday 10.00 – 5.00 and Sunday 12.00
- 5.00
Closed Monday (except Bank Holidays) Close Good
Friday, Christmas Day and New Years Day.
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