mailed

If you're waiting for your latest issue of the R.U.G. sack to arrive in your mailbox, it might be there as early as tomorrow. I folded, glued, stuck and stuffed for a few hours last night and happily dropped them all of at the post office when it opened this morning. (thank you Sandra for your help--it is sure faster with another pair of hands ;-) )

I am trying to make up for lost time and attempting to make a post -- even if it's short -- every day during the week....so far I've been successful for the last three days, but I don't think the habit has been formed just yet. I will try my best.

a canadian icon

Did you get a chance to go to the AGO for the Emily Carr: New Perspectives on a Canadian Icon exhibit? It was a real treat!

I've been to the city several times since it opened on March 3rd, but it never seemed to fit into my busy schedule of work, shopping, eating yummy food and visiting with friends. We made a quick trip down on the closing weekend (Victoria Day weekend) and it was well worth it. Myself, I find that I "tap out" after about an hour or so at a museum, after which I cease to register any more images.

It was definitely a treat to see two of Emily Carr's hooked rugs. The first one in the exhibit was the Killer Whale Rug (c. 1927). It's in pretty good shape for 80 years old!


The other rug was her Double Eagle Rug (c. 1924-1930). Some of you might recognize this pattern - it is one of the ones that Rittermere Hurst Field has acquired the rights to sell. My auntie Betty is currently working on this pattern. (my apologies for the picture quality, it's a picture of a picture in a book)


I would love to write more, but I'm out of time. If I try to finish, there'll be no post today....and the pictures are already 10 days old!

finally!

...after over 40 hours of work, I was able to drop it off at the printer's first thing this morning. I tried really hard to get it finished last week, but there were a few insurmountable obstacles (including going out of town for 4 days for my job). I put the finishing touches on it last night and I am feeling relieved to finally have it done.

I am hoping to pick it up tomorrow, so with any luck it will be out in the mail on Thursday. I will be addressing all of the envelopes tonight, in preparation ;-)

Now that the issue is complete and I have also wrapped up a few family projects that sucked up almost all of my spare time over the last few weeks, I am looking forward to having some time to relax and maybe even start a new hooking project ;-)

yummy wool

Isn’t this beautiful wool? It is marbleized using linings…and there will be directions for how to make your own similar wools in the next issue of the R.U.G. sack. When will it arrive in your mailboxes? I am hoping to have it ready to head to the printers right after Victoria Day.

Just for kicks, I thought that it would be interesting to figure out how much time it takes me to write and assemble one issue. So I’ve been keeping track, and so far I’ve spent 11.5 hours on it – and I’m not even half finished! All of the pictures are cropped, I’ve finished the front and back covers, and I’ve started work on the content. I’m afraid that only “started” is appropriate. For all of my good intentions to get a bunch of articles written ahead of time, I only managed to type up a couple of things beforehand. I am getting better though, since I usually leave everything until after R.U.G.

ca-ching!

Okay, so this is definitely blog-worthy! I picked up a copy of Architectural Digest the other day for the first time in a year or two – it was a special issue on country homes, and I thought that it might be inspiring. I was using my “rugdar” to search for hooked rugs and came across this beautiful old rug…


The caption reads, “Five cats adorn a hand-hooked, circa 1925 America rug, $45,000, from folk art dealer Fred Giampietro …. The scale of the decorative rug is unusually large for a pictorial design.” Nope, that’s not a typo. Oh, if I could sell my work for those prices, how different life would be…

lucky me!

It was another great R.U.G. on Saturday. It’s such a good time, I wish that it happened more than just twice a year (although I don’t think that I would have enough time to do more newsletters!) We had 17 participants in the swap, and I was pleased to be the recipient of Fiona de Biasi’s mat…


This is the second time that I’ve been fortunate enough to get a piece of Fiona’s work in a swap, and I couldn’t be happier. I really like her stuff. She has a unique and recognizable style and use of colour….and in this labour intensive craft, few hookers are willing to part with their work. It is a real treasure to have a piece of someone else’s hooking.