Pastimes PEI Studio Gallery in February

Another day of snow on PEI but we were busy today - got a custom kit of our newest PEI farm-scape to our customer who was driving a big truck to get through all the snow that is blowing around outside. In the gallery it's quiet but we had to put away some new bolts of Dorr wool and tried to get the wool yarn back into the right shelves. We take lots of skeins out in order to get just the right color for a customer - while it is fun to choose from between so many colors to get just the right one for the project, it's a challenge to get them back into the right spot. As you can see in the pictures above, Jack is no help, neither is Henny Penny. Henny Penny is one of our oldest patterns. She was once a real hen but she expired after a great long life - we keep her here in the form of a small hooked rug on a cushion. Practical art. The background in this case is called 'hit and miss'. Hit and miss hooking was used to 'make do' with what you had on hand in the olden days. Today we run out and buy any color or texture in wool that we want but way back when, people went through their rag bags and made the best of it....like they did in all the other areas of their lives.

Another Snow Day, Rughooking Day on PEI?

OH, how I love those snow days. Have I told you that before. It's so nice to be cozy inside; no one comes and and I put on a pot of stew or chicken soup and get at one of my rugs.

Just think of all the happy rug hookers home alone today with nothing else to do but enjoy their hooking. I'll be working away at this mat, the Cavendish Mat, which has been hooked on PEI for decades. It uses up scraps of wool from other projects. Rug hookers today can discover the joy of inventing patterns to use up all the scraps. We here at Pastimes love the process, love the textures...what more can I say?

Still Winter in Prince Edward Island

It's a long winter on PEI; it's almost too cold for the Family Winterfest in Charlottetown; the dog pees on the doorstep so he doesn't get his tootsies frozen. It's no wonder we pack so much into our summer activities and it's no wonder that the rug hookers of the past, sat by the fire and hooked rugs from their rags - an enjoyable pastime that helped keep the cold floors feel warmer. I do the same myself in February. People who live in warmer climates have it made. Or have they? I wonder?

Life on PEI - I got pictures to show you

I so wanted to show you the views from my yard. Jack and I fed the birds yesterday ...he feeds himself too. These are our Muscovy ducks - two boys, father and son. Gunter has been feeding the wild birds on the front porch. He keeps an eye on the crows and the blue jays as they tackle each other for the best bites. We have no trouble recycling around here. When we are through of food we send it along to the next level of recycling. We get eggs every day from our hens.

When you drop in to our rug hooking studio galley in the summer you can prowl around all you want. Inside you will get to see how we create our traditional hooked mats. All inspires by the beautiful Island.

Romping in the snow on PEI again

Today was glorious; it's been a week of fresh snow here. If I could figure out how to get pictures onto here, I would show you guys Jack and I feeding the birds on the snow in the sun today. We feed the birds...the Muscovys who come outside on nice days. Tomorrow I will upload the pics, I promise.

A snow day on PEI is good for hooking rugs

Another snow day for PEI and so it's time to hook on my Cavendish mat; I will hate to see it go...the colors are wonderful together - very  Islandy - green, rusts, all manner of browns. Jack hates hooking so he makes me feel guilty. A typical dog, I guess.

beautiful day on PEI

Everything is white again today. Nothing like a fresh covering of snow. The birds are on the doorstep looking for crumbs. Getting ready to print a couple of rug-hooking patterns on linen for a customer who has decided she is not going to attempt her own again. While it is nice to be able to create your own patterns, not everyone likes that part of the process. We do, for sure. We have lots of ideas but less time to get them on paper, on backing and then hooked. We don't sell any pattern that we do not hook first...unless it's a custom one, of course.

lord, the dog was out freezing to death

I got clicking away and left the dog on the doorstep in the freezing cold......

ok now I'm a blogger to add to my list of daily activities

I have decided that I need to comment on all things dog, Jack Russel, in particular as I tell you about my day to day rug-hooking experiences and pass any tips I have along to the world; here's hoping that someone out there knows a lot about dogs...I thought a dog was a dog. NOW people tell me - after I got one.