Fresh Air Friend

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Sometimes you need to get away from a regular routine.  Jennifer Larmour thought that a few weeks ago and called us up.  Seems New York City in the summer gets hot ?!  Determined to travel approximately 320 miles using “public transportation” she caught the Mega Bus from NYC to DC, walked the few blocks to Union Station and AMTRAC to take the 55 mile trip out on the ONLY train going west through Harper’s Ferry, WV on Saturday. 

Great shadows and stacking of shapes

That is where I came in, completing her trip out to Hampshire County in our Toyota (another hour and 45 minutes). You see I wasn’t going closer than Harper’s Ferry to pick her up.  More on the return trip later.

Jim had planned on Jennifer’s visit food wise, shopping at the Romney Farmers Market for fresh snap peas from Bryan Beveridge, cooking up Bob (the rooster in previous post) into broth for Greek Lemon Soup (cold), and marinating some venison from the property till very tender for delicious kabobs with new red potatoes (Bryan’s again) cherry tomatoes and mushrooms (did have to resort to FoodLion for these). 

Talking to the broody hen, while collecting breakfast

We started every morning with farm fresh eggs collected eagerly by Jennifer and served fried on a bowl of oatbran bought in bulk at Miller’s Market, or with bacon and greens from our garden.  Sure is nice to have someone around who enjoys food and preparing it well. Jennifer and I did appreciate Jim.

2010 Garlic Harvest on the Farm, with help

We enjoyed her visit and she stepped in willingly to help with our chores. The big team effort was harvesting the garlic rows before the 90 degree sun got too high in the sky.

A fellow fiber artist, Jennifer and Susan spent hours happily working in the studio.  She finished a portrait of Grandma with very young Jennifer on her lap.  The freedom of interpretation is one aspect of her art we truly enjoy.

Jennifer's hooked rug 2010, Grandma and Jennifer

Tuesday came too soon and we returned to Harper’s Ferry in time for the 11:16 am to DC, coming from Chicago.  When the temperatures get as hot as currently, the trains slow down for safety reasons.  Someone called the 800 number and found out the arrival would not be until 1:45!!   TOO Late for a bus transfer in DC to NYC, we thought about it and agreed to take David (Appalachian Trail hiker who needed to get to a plane for return to Portland, OR) and off we went to Vienna METRO Station about 38 miles closer to the city. Thank heavens for the GPS and my knowing something of the area.  Traffic picked up, the lanes widened to 5 lanes across at one point, but we were in the middle of the dayso not bad.  Pulled into the station, and the travellers had decided to take a cab which would assure them of a quicker arrival in town, WALL-AH a Yello Taxi appeared! 

Received an email from Jennifer around 9:00 pm and she had arrived safe, having consumed a pound of snap peas on the bus trip.  We look forward to another effortless, and very friendly visit soon.  The farm isn’t the same without her, Bob, the cat, misses the extra attention.

Full House

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Yes there are 3 Hens in the one box!

These Dominique Hens are fourteen months old.  They obviously are interested in sitting on eggs to hatch.  BUT they don;t understand, only one hen is needed per nest.  We have patiently waited 22 days and are about to throw out the rotten eggs in upper right box and start all over AGAIN. 

The hen is not demonstrative enough to say, “Go Away, I have enough eggs under me, find your own spot to lay an egg.”  What do we humans know about making baby chickens? Not much.

Green Mountain Design Workshop 2010

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Orange/Blue, Red/Green and Samples

A full class with beginners and very experienced rughookers settled in on Friday, June 4 for three days experimenting with the design elements and principles at the 29th Green Mountain Hooked Rugs School in East Randolph VT.  Each lesson plan’s end result was a five inch square hooked using materials and exercises to understand the particular elements or principles. 

Colorful Explorations began with a neutral bundle of wools in a warm palette of natural to deep brown.  There were solids and textured wools and the lesson was to use the basic elements of line, shape and form to create a simple composition.

Next we introdced a 6 value swatch from Dorr Mill Store.  The color choices were from the primaries: red, blue or yellow and their complements: green, orange and purple. And the lesson was to work with contrast, and value to enhance the depth of a shape.

Yellow/Purple and Hooked mats by Susan Feller

Third lesson the participants chose four pieces of wool from the color they had and its complement.  This pile included several values of solids and three different textured wools.  Each time they were encouraged to delve into their own scrap bags to suplement the wools.  My bag had been previously sorted by color families and was also well scavenged.

Fourth, put all you learned together and if you want to add as many colors, values, textures you want.

I can conduct this workshop in modules of three hours each, and have a 5 day lesson plan which will be used at Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario in July.  Interested in your guild playing with small hooked pieces and learning more about how to design and colorplan? Contact me at 304-496-8073 or through the website.  http://www.RuckmanMillFarm.com  (see pages over on the right hand side)

ATC’s have come to RugHooking

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The June/July/August issue of Rug Hooking Magazine includes a great article  by Kim Dubay of Primitive Pastimes about hooking Artist Trading Cards.  Deb Smith, Editor of RHM and Kim established the first ever swap coordinated by the magazine.  To join in,  visit the website www.RugHookingMagazine.com and read about the expectations.  Work on a card ,then upload your card before sending it off and if not a subscriber, consider ordering your year of fiber fun.

                                                                                                           Here is mine:

Small Fraktur Flower

Where did May go?

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Today is already the 9th of June.  Since the last posting, I have been to Ripley, West Virginia for the 45th Cedar Lakes Rug Camp run by the Blairs of Tomorrow’s Heirlooms  for a full week of teaching, home for a few days and most recently off to Vermont to the 29th Green Mountain Hooked Rug School at Vermont Technical College in East Randolph, Vermont.  This school is conducted by Stephanie Ashworth-Krauss assisted by her daughters and staff.

To catch up, the week at Cedar Lakes I taught Fraktur Design to 14 talented people, all of whom their own rug pattern by lunch on the first day.  The templates and books along with my encouragement with ideas help anyone, even those who say they can’t draw a straight line.  Truthfully, those are the people who I am most proud of when we see their results. 

This great bird detail is from Susan Latham’s rug, her third hooked project.

Beginning of a wedding rug

Way Up North

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Cobourg, Ontario, Canada- A total of 63 hours from farm to event to farm again and what an intense experience.  The 44th OHCG Annual Conference “Hooked on the Waterfront” was held in Cobourg, Ontario April 29-May 2, 2010.  Attended by 305 of the 863 members from chapters around the province of Ontario and members at large. includind one day workshops, mini sessions, general meeting and an awesome exhibit of over 600 rugs surrounded by thirteen colourful vendors this event was coordinated by five of the chapters along the northern shore of Lake Ontario.

I picked up Deb Smith, Editor of Rug Hooking Magazine early on Friday, just outside of Harrisburg, PA and we continued the easy commute (but long) up I81 crossing the border at 1000 Islands Bridge and hooking up onto the 401 going West to Cobourg.  We arrived and checked in to an organized and cheerful group.  The evening ice breaker was a mini lighthouse sketched on burlap with precut strips, which we hooked while chatting with Yvonne Muntwylier (Past President of TIGHR 2000-2003) and a brand new member/rughooker Karen.  Yvonne is full of creative juices and her excitement along with our encouragement assured Karen she was on a great journey as retirement loomed next year.

There were many familiar faces and the large name tags helped make the personal connections.  Deb was introduced to the entire audience the next day, as the members at large were asked to state where we were from.

We were off to the exhibit and vendors by 10:30 entering the show with open mouths and cameras flashing for hours.  The display system is cumbersome to assemble using chains dropped from the top rod, and sliding dowels through the links with balanced rugs. The final effect is a great exhibit.  This year the backdrop used black drapes, and each chapter was responsible for their section.

I was looking for works which caught my eyeto include in the upcoming book and took many photos to hunt down the artists.  Many of the students at Loyalist College last summer had completed their fraktur designs and hung them.  It was so much fun to come across each while looking at the full exhibit.  Even a design by Nancy Jewett, of Fluff and Peachy Designs was there, and I took a photo to send off to her.

A tribute to Germaine James included almost twenty of her works and a photo collage.  Terri James attended the full weekend, talking with friends and enjoying the close friendship.

The vendors were busy all day, filled with colourful wools and supplies. 

Andrea Sheppard and I took Patti Armstrong’s workshop “Working with Alternatives” which was an economical dip into the recycled materials way beyond just recycled woolen clothing.  Since Patti is allergic to wool, it burns her skin on contact, she tries any item which can be pulled through the backing, from shoe laces to pantyhose (dissecting even the heavy waistband into two strips sometimes).  It was a fun quick study for an hour, jumping into the small kit she had assembled for us with plastic bags for the sheep bodies, layers of a jacket, from outside to lining each giving a different effect.  And in the end even the shiny candy wrappers ended up peeking through the branches of our trees as fruit.  A tiny 5 inch square shadow box for $1.25 at the DollarRama gussied up with a green layer of paint by the disabled community she works with finished the project for under $10!  

Keep in mind Patti has been a past recipient of the Rowan Award (Best in Show) using alternative materials.  Her work is avant-garde yet set in the traditions of rughooking.  This leads me to comment on why I continue my membership and attendance in this group, the respect for tradition is strongly felt, yet in the displays at least 80% or even more are original designs.  Beginners are encouraged to use templates or just draw out their own first design.  The OHCG Teachers Branch certifies instructors and continues refresher courses annually on a specific topic.  As someone from the United States (we who are brought up to believe we are the best) I was humbled last year, at the first annual I attended, to see the heritage, tradition and contemporary art encouraged here in just one of the Canadian Provinces.  Wake up “Americans” we are not the only ones in this rughooking world!

Now off my high horse.  I really felt welcomed as a fellow member, and look forward to continued friendships, and many more through OHCG, cyberspace and at the next annual in London, ON. Interested in joining the fun visit http://www.ohcg.org

Schwenkfelder Library and Museum Workshop

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PENNSBURG, PA   Saturday, April 24 was the last day for “Fraktur Motifs Inspire Clay and Wool”, a five month exhibit I coordinated with the Schwenkfelder Library and Museum curator, Candace Perry.  Eight participants took the design workshop.  The wide variety of designs surprised the class and staff but not me…. Everyone IS creative, we just need to give them the tools to use and encourage ideas.  

David's Stem of Flowers, by Susan Feller

Original frakturs hang in the Museum displays and can be found in the beautiful text:  Fraktur Writings and Folk Art Drawings of the Schwenkfelder Library Collection by Dennis Moyer, PA German Society, 1997 available in their gift shop.  With this visual stimulus and the rugs created by past students still in the Fraktur Gallery display this

group was especially inspired.  I look forward to seeing the patterns turn into rugs arguably some quicker than others.  Three of the participants are brand new to rughooking!  They have learned more than some rughookers who have hooked for years– these people know how to make their own design.

Design Workshop participants

Retreat in Harrisonburg,VA

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Like minded enthusiasts took to the dye pots and rug hooks over the weekend of April 17 and 18 in Harrisonburg. VA.  After the Mountain State Fiber Artists Spring meeting on April 10 in Morgantown, WV and the informative lecture by Sandra Brown on how to show 3-D in our 2-D format, several of us wanted to practise what we learned. 

Dye techniques results

The learning curve continued upward because I brought down the electric skillet and between us all we had the necessary dye equipment to practise value, spot and dip dyeing. 

The ATHA members of the group have taken up a challenge posted by the Quilters of Morgan County to the rughookers for each to convey 3-D in our 2-D mediums during the Morgan County Fair, Berkeley Springs, WV in August.  We discussed subjects and designs for the challenge, Carolyn Boutilier will be working on a landscape, as of the weekend, Donna Bleem is planning on using the Mandala designs as a base, Susan Feller and Beth Tembo are leaning towards geometric, or abstract patternings.

The encouragement and knowledge eagerly shared by all left us with wanting more.  Surely there will be another getaway in the next few months.

Fun group of ladies

Chicken in the Pot

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Two roosters are good for some things: breeding and two part harmony in the morning.  

Bob #1 during the winter blizzard

But when Alpha male decides he is the king of the the roost (and the humans are considered part of that roost), something has to happen.  Sure enough even though Jim thought the crown of Bob #1, was better than Bob #2, we finally decided to add #1 to the freezer.  On April 22 the tenth rooster of the original Murray McMurray Dominques met his end.  He was the first one we successfully plucked (since he was midway through a molt) and weighed in at 5 pounds dressed.  The local farmers said that was a good size.

We noticed the very next day a new quiet and calm nature to the flock including protective BOB.  Glad he is happy we are too.  Now to await the hatching of the first (of three) nests and another generation of hens and roosters named…. BOB.  Wondering why all of our animals are named BOB? Makes for simple conversation, ease in culling the flock(they are all the same name) and we wont forget their name.

Ohio Rug Camp

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Twelve really fun people and I were scheduled for the Parlour Room at Punderson State Park.  The rambling stone structure included a wide but spiraling staircase and our class space … up in “heaven”.  Our view of the lake allowed peacefulness, and the thrill one evening of seeing a Bald Eagle soar over the waters. 

Another successful and very creative workshop designing their own patterns using the Frakturs as inspirations.  With my templates and extensive library of colorful collections each student (even those who “couldn’t draw a straight line with a ruler”) had a unique design on paper by lunch on the first day! 

Ohio Rug Camp 2010 great group!

For anyone who is considering the design workshop… please sign up for the next one near you (see www.RuckmanMillFarm.com calendar). I am sure you will enjoy it and learn how to use this design resource  to create many patterns.