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Nov. 26th 2011
Indigo
Workshop with Valerie
by L.G. de Tonnancour
Saturday, November 26, 2011 at 9 AM, I met Yanick Duchesne (from St-Henri Crafters) at Espace Fibre on Augustin-Cantin St.,
in Montreal. We went there to learn how to dye with indigo, in a course especially tailored
for rug hookers. After a warm welcome and a quick tour of the studio and gallery, our teacher, Valerie Walker, began by teaching
us what protective measures we must take when handling such volatile materials as natural and chemical dyestuffs. Valerie
is a trained engineer and we appreciated both her scientific knowledge and practical advice. Only one day to experiment with
natural indigo is very little time,however, Yanick and I were spellbound by these extraordinary blue dyes which came from
the four corners of the world. Time just flew by; we will treasure the knowledge we acquired and the wool we dyed which I
hope to put to good use soon in a rug.
Thanks Valerie!
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Nov,
19th 2011
Report on Carolyn
Ells' Needle-Felting Workshop
by Candace Fradette
On Saturday, November 19th,
our fellow rug-hooker, Carolyn Ells, was kind enough to offer a workshop on Needle Felting. After seeing some of Carolyn's
creations last year using this technique, we were more than pleased to accept her offer to give us a lesson.
Having distributed to us individual
packages of sample wool, foam pieces and a very sharp needle, Carolyn gave us clear instructions enabling each of us to create
some lovely Christmas decorations, broaches and 3-D animals.
Her demonstration on Power Point
allowed us to see how creative we can all be using this new and different craft.
Definitely an enjoyable day -
a big Thank You, Carolyn!
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| Carolyn Ells |
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Our
day trip to Shelburne, Vermont
By Maria Romero
By 8:30 in the morning
on Saturday, November 12, 2011,
Louise G. de Tonnancour, Denise Morissette, Carolyn Ells and myself were on the road to Vermont to go to the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild's bi-annual exhibition at the Shelburne Museum.
The
theme was "All the live long day - A celebration of working, industry and innovation"; Betty Bouchard (Richmond), Bev Conway (Middlebury) and Helen Wolfel (Georgia) were the guests of honour.
We admired about 450 rugs
of various styles and sizes, some quite captivating.
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| Judith Dallegret |
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| Maureen Rowe |
In
the exhibition were displayed rugs from our BHCG artisans, Judith Dallegret, Maureen Rowe, Louise G. de Tonnancour and myself.
The
creativity at this much anticipated event more than met our expectations, which made filling out the "visitor's choice" form
difficult.
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| Maureen Rowe |
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| L. G. de Tonnancour |
The
quality and variety of products on offer by the vendors were most attractive.
We were more than delighted and inspired
to continue with our craft, as we drove back to Montreal in the late afternoon.
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Fiber Day
by Maria M. Romero
October 15th, 2011
Fiber Day
was the brainchild of our president and the goals of the day were:
a) to make known the activities of our guild;
b) to promote an exchange of ideas between guilds dedicated to fibers and textile
arts;
c) to offer the participants the opportunity to appreciate other techniques related to textiles.
Due to logistics and
a lack of space, only guilds from Beaconsfield and Pointe-Claire were invited for the first edition of Fiber Day, however, eventually we extended the invitation to other groups in Westmount
and Montréal. Thus, on October 15th, 45 fiber enthusiasts met at the Beaconsfield Recreation Centre to share their passion
for textile arts coming from Beaconsfield Quilters Guild, Lakeshore Stitchery Guild, Lakeshore
Weavers, Montreal Knitting Guild, Westmount Quilters Guild, and the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild (BHCG).
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| Louise
G. de Tonnancour, president of the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild, talk to the public. |
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| June
Weisbord and Denise Morissette on the registration deck |
The day unfolded as follows:
In the morning from 9
to 10, guests were greeted with coffee and sweets.
From 10 onward each guild
took turns demonstrating the techniques distinctive to their art:
Annaliese Recklies from
Lakeshore Weavers demonstrated various techniques on the loom.
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| Lakeshore
Weavers Demonstration |
Sonya
Houde from the Beaconsfield Quilters enlightened us on the history of quilting and on the diverse ways to do quilting. Ann
Silverthorne demonstrated the cutting and hand sewing of a beautiful classic pattern “Grandmother’s Floral Garden”,
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| Beaconsfield
Quilters Demonstration |
and
then Helena Scheffer demonstrated her very impressive skills at machine quilting.
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| Beaconsfield
Quilters Demonstration |
Mary Baldwin informed us about the Westmount Quilters Guild project being carried out in conjunction with
the McCord Museum.
Susanne Petitclerc from the Stitchery Guild demonstrated the difference in techniques between counted
cross-stitch and surface embroidery.
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| Stitchery
Guild Demonstration |
Barbara McKee of the Montreal Knitting Guild demonstrated how to knit on 2 or more needles.
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| Montreal
Knitting Guild Demonstration |
Lois Morris from the Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild spoke on the various techniques used in hooking
rugs.
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Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild Demonstration
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At lunch, guests were invited to enjoy the many goodies baked by the BHCG members.
The much anticipated “Show and Tell” was a great success. Participants showed and commented
on their work. It was easy for all of us to appreciate the passion and dexterity of these artisans, as well as the excellent
quality of each piece produced using different techniques of weaving (scarves, table runners, vests, handbags), embroidery
(such as Japanese, cross-stitching, and pulled thread); quilts totally handmade or machine stitched in all types of designs
and sizes; outstanding knitted pieces (scarves, shawls, bonnets, stockings) as well as how to spin and dye wool, then all
the various techniques of rug hooking (looping, proddy, carving…).
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"Show and tell". Embroidery examples
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| "Show
and tell". Knitting | |
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| "Show
and Tell" . Knitting, quilting and weaving |
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| Norma
Colton |
Norma Colton won the door prize, a lovely bottle of Perry from the Philion Orchard in Hemmingford, QC. Several hooked coasters were drawn as consolation prizes.
Fiber Day was an enriching and very pleasant experience. A day entirely devoted to sharing, learning and
appreciating fibers and fiber arts. We are all looking forward to other such days in the future.
A very big thank you to all the members of the various guilds who participated and an especially big thank
you to our President, Louise, G. de Tonnancour for her enthusiasm and organization.
We would particularly like to thank all the members of the BHCG who helped to make Fiber Day successful.
Follow the link to enjoy
Marie-José Bacle's diaporama.
Should you have any thoughts you would like to share or wish to get in touch with any of the participating
guilds, please refer to the list below:
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Lakeshore Creative Stitchery Guild
Centre Noel Legault
245 Bord du Lac,
Pointe-Claire, QC
www.lcsg-gtal.ca
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Westmount Quilters Guild
Victoria Hall
4626 Sherbrooke West
Westmount, QC
(Web site in planning stages) |
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Area 1 Picnic - June 11, 2011
By Carolyn
Ells
The Beaconsfield Hooking Crafters Guild (BHCG) hosted the annual picnic for the Area 1 of
the Ontario Hooking Craft Guild (OHCG) at Centennial Hall in Beaconsfield, QC. Approximately 50 hookers from Ottawa Old Forge, Prescott Hoops & Hooks, Beaconsfield, On Track 2, Brockville Thousand Island and others OHCG branches met for an active
day of visiting, hooking and admiring each other’s talents.
Hookers arrived to the welcoming scent (and taste) of Belgian waffles and coffee. Denise Vandenbemden
made waffles for as many people as could eat them, using a recipe (Gaufre de Liège) created in 1700 as a dessert for the Prince of Liège. Hookers kept Denise in action at the waffle iron until nearly lunchtime!
The emcee throughout the day was Louise G. de Tonnancour, president of BHCG. She was assisted
by her two nieces, ages 13 and 16, who helped out in many ways, including artwork, photography, and behind-the-scenes operation
of a fish pond from which numerous door prizes were drawn.
When hookers needed to stretch their legs, they often visited Jane Cuthbert, Christine Gibson
and Elaine Tigges, the 3 vendors who were on hand with colourful wool and other supplies to inspire and replenish our stashes.
Show and Tell was another occasion to stretch and take turns telling stories about our work. As a rug was held up, it’s
maker told the assembly about it. The collective talent in the room was very impressive.
Lou McCrae (Burritt's Rapids) won the Corsage
Challenge for a corsage called "Windblown". Denise Vandenbemden’s (BHCG) corsage of birds and flowers won
runner-up. An array of corsages were modeled
ranging from the whimsical to the stylish. Many were hooked and a few had a hooking theme.
While gale winds kept the picnic indoors (except for a few brave excursions to admire the
grounds), it did not blow away our cheer. Indeed, at the end of the day, as people made one last trip to the sweet table,
there were many comments about a wonderful day and looking forward to future Area 1 gatherings.
Follow the link to view a slideshow!
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| Rhonda Kellet, the new Area 1 representative, talks to the the group. |
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| Denise Vandenbemden receives a gift for her work as BHCG 2006-2011 president |
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April 4th, 2011
Loops, loops and
still more loops!
by L. G. de Tonnancour
Saturday, April 2nd 2011, Denise Morissette and myself had the chance to go the annual Olde Forge Guild
big hookin in Ottawa. We were in the company of pioneers in the Canadian rug hooking world,
Lois and Derek Morris, who generously volunteered to drive us. Carolyn Ells and Maria Romero, on their own, after
a few wrong turns in the city managed to find the meeting place and join us with great big smiles.
A happy crowd of seventy
rug hookers and four vendors in a very bright and large room contributed to the success of the event. In the
afternoon, with show & tell we saw traditional, progressive and mixed media rugs. Loops, loops and still more loops...
from no.2 to no.9 cuts there was a little something to please everyone's ' eyes... sometimes with very surprising material!
Until next time, thank you Olde Forge for such a pleasant day!
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