Some history of PEI hooked rugs or mats as they are called

Not much has been written down about the 'everyday work' of women. We have found out what we know in bits and pieces over the years. Our desire to know more all started with my paper for a PEI arts course  at the University of Prince Edward Island way back in the nineties. I wrote the paper before I knew anything about the deep traditions of PEI and Maritime rug hooking.  But once Heather and I started finding out little bits and pieces about the women and their rugs, we wanted to know more. Luckily for us, Heather always took pictures. The pictures were a great way for us to talk to the people who had hooked the mats. They couldn't believe we wanted to take pictures of 'those old things'. There are a couple of places that have information on the history of hooked rugs. One is this article by Anne Nicholson of PEI whose short history of PEI mats is: http://www.gov.pe.ca/firsthand/index.php3?number=44601&lang=E

My paper on Rug Hooking is in the Island Collection at the UPEI library. One of these days I may get it retyped and on here for you to read directly.




Jack likes the vintage look, the Cavendish Mat




This is the new Cavendish by Heather

 You can read about our lives as rug hookers today at this site:
http://seaandbescene.com/2011/10/three-sisters-one-success-story-pastimes-pei/

We also had the Great Canadian Adventure guys visit us in September; they are getting their PEI stories on line. I am waiting with guarded anticipation for their story about Pastimes PEI and our collection of Barry's machinery outside the studio.

Sheep Frolic is latest pattern to hook at Pastimes PEI

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Rossignol's Wine Dine and Shine - Pastimes PEI and Brenda Watts Woodworking were there too

https://www.facebook.com/pastimespei

gosh we had a great day for the event - blueberry stomping, wine tasting, horse rides, food, food and much more...


you have to see this to believe it

 The scenery is nothing short of beauteaus.. you know what I mean

even the ferry passed by....

flora and fauna, Pastimes PEI style

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Pastimes PEI window box

Lots of flowers now in the garden, a little late but most appreciated for September here on the Island.

The climbing nasturtums are 'up the walls' of the house and the garden shed.

the coleus and petunias in the pots are great to see every morning too. 

'Little PEI Cottage' Rughooking kit and the dust bath today

Also new at the shop..bette's latest Island Scene, wool on Cotton Warp.                   

It's always nice to put new things on the wall so the new Little PEI Cottage kit and the origional hooked piece fit nicely with Bette's new work. She modelled it from a homestead she saw in orwell. prince Edward Island. it looks exactly like Orwell because, the houses are set back from the road on that drive to Eldon on the Trans Canada Highway, Route 1 on the way to the Wood Island's ferry.

We have already sold a couple of the new little kits; we are always happy when people like them as much as we do. You can see that we are carrying a few select pieces of Brenda Watt's Woodworking. the cutting boards and wine stoppers are very popular items as well as the acorn doorstoppers. .. easy to pack and bring back to friends as an unique souveneir of PEI.

Yesterday a really nice flower in the garden was damaged by some of the folks here; I'll show you what I mean via this morning's pictures in the garden:



The 'people' disturbing the flowers for their own pleasure..





and their friends joined in....



they are not that cute.....look at me, guys...

Cock of the Walk...



getting reaady for harvest...



first customer at Pastimes PEI today

 We get a variety of customers here at the shop: https://www.facebook.com/#!/pastimespei



buying anything??



Hooking Rugs on Prince Edward Island

We have plenty of rugs and small pieces hanging on our walls this summer. We have been busy creating new patterns and kits as well.

we stop and help people learn the best way to hook..some just need a little tip or two

And while we are in the shop we very often have to cut the burlap and linen for each pattern. jack is never far from the action as you see.


the lap of luxury...every time...he's always snoozing somewhere



Today we had one of our most interesting local hookers show us her lupin mat. She dyed the leaves with koolaid.  In the past rughookers had to be ingenious.... Cindy is one of the modern ingenious hookers..always trying new things as she hooks.

August at Pastimes PEI - new hookers, new hooking frames, new wools

Barry made a couple of frames so we would have some for sale again; they go pretty fast sometimes. Emmalee had to walk through and sit on one as you can see. We have lots of new wool fabric in and lots of it will be dyed to make fantastic wool colors for hooking.



today Jack is helping us teach a couple of beginners

 Sometimes we teach one-on-one classes to people on an hourly rate/basis. We do not teach regular classes as a rule because we would be doing it all the time and never have time to hook. We do help out at local Community Schools - adult education evening classes in the fall. We all have teaching backgrounds: I worked in extension education with Women's Institute, 4-H and other groups; Heather works in agriculture-related field, mainly in extension for many years, and Bette teaches Home Economics in High School. Just to let you know what we are all about.

I took this picture of the house the other day. Barry is forever working on the outside to keep it looking good. 

When you call on us, you can see the house and all our pets. Ducky is one.

We have a lovely flower garden too; no time to do anything but run the tiller through it.

You will not believe this. A woman who was born in this house in the thirties came here to see it again. and we had a stick of wood with her father's name and address stenciled on it; they climbed up on the building and took it with them so that all four generations of the family visiting here to PEI can enjoy it as we did while it was here with us. Barry found it in the eaves of the house a few years ago.




all for the cause....



posing our in the yard at Pastimes PEI

they now have a piece of Millview history....

August on Prince Edward Island - the view from here at Pastimes PEI....

July and August bring out the best of PEI. The weather usually cooperates with all the events that take place outside but when it doesn't, there is always a kitchen to sit in or a hall that is hosting a ceilidh, just a kitchen party with a few extras. Today Jack and I are home alone. I put out my new sign "OPEN" because Jack thinks it's nice but not nice enough to pose with. He thinks it looks better from a distance. I'll show it to you.. and Jack looking at it from a distance... we sit on the doorstep to contemplate life in general. And look at the gardens around us that include alot of Barry's machinery, like the old plow down at he gate. Brenda Watts of Cattails and Brenda Watts Woodworking http://www.brendawattswoodwork.com/ made my 'open' sign to replace the tacky one we had. She does lovely woodworking and has a lot of really cool painted vintage-inspired signs to go with her acorns, cutting boards, rolling pins and and all manner of natural wooden products that she turns out in her shop.

Down here we have lots of birds to keep an eye on. Weare hoping formore ducklings before too long as only one baby survived this spring of the two that hatched alive.

Our Arts and Heritage sign finally has some lilies around it. Most of them are from http://www.redlanegardens.com/ just a few miles from here.

here's Jack looking over his kingdom this morning.




And the window box that is finally getting some PEI sunshine.

These roosters are brothers that hatched last summer. Lets just say that they rool the roost even tho Jack thinks he does. have a great day, everyone.

Pastimes PEI and the Artifacts at Orwell Corner Historic Village

Because I sometimes work down the road at the Orwell Corner Historic Village, I meet a variety of people from all around the world. They come to see what PEI looked like in the olden daysand experience some of the things that would have gone on long ago. The blacksmithing shop is popular with people who realize the value of making implements and shoeing horses, for example. We had one in Vernon when I was growing up. We loved the place and Dinnie Docherty who could make anything for Dad while we waited and talked.

On Sunday at Orwell Corner, we joined a group of artisans who were showing people how to create many of the things that would have been made by hand in the olden days. They had lunch that was made from the garden vegetables with fresh biscuits from Anna's Tea Room. Visitors got to try their hands at painting with Bette Wichers, bird-carving with Jim Jenkins, rug hooking with us and they learned how to make soap from ashes and lard from Cindy Rice as well as how flax is turned into linen by Brenda Whiteway. Bev Beaton and her family talked about her photography and the staff of Orwell Corner made candles and ice cream with help from visitors.

I am telling you all his to set the stage for showing you what we all look like in historic costumes because a friend who shall remain nameless, told my husband he saw an artifact - a beautiful artifact, he may have said, sitting on a bench at Orwell Corner.  I have been called many things in my life, but an artifact has not been mentioned before. Now I knpw why I fit in so well at the Village. I'm not a relic, I am an artifact, whick, I would say, would elevate me to a higher status, I should think. Anyway, here are a few artifacts and things from Orwell Corner's "made in PEI" Day this past Sunday.


Ellen and Shirley filling the plates for folks...



The Beaton family enjoys lunch....

Heather shows how to hook a mat...

the cotton candy was great.... dessert....



Brenda Whiteway explaining how to work with flax...



wagon rides with Kevin drew a crowd...

Cindy and her soap artifacts....

the official artifact herself...

cotton candy ..did I say delicious?? ask Annie

Heather and I were relics with relics again on Monday..oops, artifacts....





Happy Birthday USA - Hooked Eagles for You

Royal Eagle by Heather

Eagle Eye Hooked by Shirlee

Soaring hooked by Shirlee

Children's art at Mt. Stewart  PEI Eagle Festival

Today may be a Wills and Kate day for Canada and PEI in particular but it's a big birthday down south in the States. After we hooked our Bald Eagles for a spring Eagle Festival in PEI, we realized that The American Bald Eagle is symbolic of the United States of America.  We have an eagle that flies by our place every day to get to the water. I don't claim to know very much about the eagle in native culture but I do know that the eagle and it's feathers are important and symbolic to their culture. If anyone has information on eagles in native culture, I will gladly put the info/sites here.

Display of eagle in nest with her babies

The displays for the kids were really interesting for adults too.
The organizers made every effort to tell the story of the eagle.

Eagle Ceremony - dancing and drums

School children had learned about eagles in their classes and the display of pictures and poems filled a whole room at the event. To make the opening ceremony complete, an eagle flew high in the sky as the drums began to beat.

In the moment, I only got this...but she was there...

All about eagles and how to get them banded..

Gerald MacDougall shows a participant how they climb high into the trees to get the young birds banded.

Linking up to Inspiration Friday at the Picket Fence