Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Woody Island Hooking Retreat.....ahhhhhh...I can't wait!


Woody Island Hooking Retreat
Back by Popular Demand

Woody Island, Newfoundland and Labrador

September 30th to October 2nd, 2011

Price All Inculsive Accomodation, Meals, Entertainment and Transportation to and from Garden Cove, NL Canada

Price:  $185.00 plus HST for a total of $209.05

To Reserve:


Schedule
Set up and hooking to take place in Ocean Side Lodge
Meals at the main building.
Friday evening and Saturday Hooking at Ocean Side Lodge.
Lots of hiking on the Island as well for you early risers.

Click here for Woody Island History!


Loyola Pomroy
Owner/Operator
Woody Island Resort
14 Westminster Drive
Mount Pearl, NL  A1N 4N1
Phone:  (709) 364-3701 or 1-800-504-1066
Fax:  (709) 745-4937

Organizer:  Paula Flood
                 709-759-3555
                 paulaflood@personainternet.com
                 http://www.newfoundlandoriginalhookedrugs.com/

Availablility
Can accomodate 44 persons Shared accomodations two per room.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Social Media

I attended a Social Media Workshop today and realized....that I neglect my BLOG....I do have the best of intentions.....I do my best creative writing when I am driving...but find it hard to extract it when I get back home.....my Mantra....I will not neglect my blog.....I will not neglect my blog...

Shout Out to Anne at Anne's Original Hooked Rugs to repeat my mantra :-)

Thanks to Candice Walsh for sharing all that info today!

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Squares for Cheongju Avenue of Trees---Calling all knitters and crocheters...

One of my fellow bloggers My Fair Isle has under taken on a HUGE project.... Cheongju Avenue of Trees....the project can all be found on Ravelry here is the Cheongju link for those of you who are members there. 

Here is the pattern or you can do any version of a 20 in by 20 inch square knit or crochet....a wonderful way to use up all those left overs. The guidelines for making squares are simple: each square should be one colour only and be 50 cm/20 inches in size. Otherwise, the squares can be knit or crocheted in any stitch or yarn.

The Avenue of Trees, being created by artist, Robyn Love, as part of the 2011 Cheongju Biennale in Cheongju, Korea.
The goal is to create 1500 squares that will be installed along 5km of roadway that will lead visitors to the Biennale event (Sept 22 - Oct. 30, 2011).
My first square is knit.....but I am switching to a granny square  for the next one.....1500 is alot of squares and 20 x 20 in is a LARGE square!!! 
Good luck to Robyn!!!

Monday, August 1, 2011

Mothers and Wool......

Today I am moving into my STUDIO!  A big job sorting all the wool from all my stashes. 
My organized stash..
I uncoverd unfinished projects that are now in a pile and not getting put away but are going on the to do list. A pair of socks half done :-), a scarf, a neck warmer, an afghan, two ponchos needing to be sewn and fringes added and a cross stitch of my dog "Jazz" who is at Rainbow Bridge for five years now.  Plus the current Rug Hooking I am working on and the Shawl I am knitting.  Not alot of unfinished really ( I console myself) compared to all the completed projects I have :-)

As I am sorting through I find my mothers knitting bag with all her needles and patterns. Mom passed away five years ago and I just couldn't look through her stuff. Mom , Myrtle Eileen Hiscock Stacey from Winterton, Trinity Bay Newfoundland was a wonderful knitter. In her wool bags there are all kinds of wool treasures that she had put together for projects.  Four balls of beautiful wool with a price tag of .25 cents each!!!  I paused to wonder what she was going to make with that and how long she had them...and I feel the need to create something with it.  I know the right idea will come.  Patterns that she wrote down by hand...I'll knit some of them to see what they are...no titles on them.  Mom taught me something today ---One neat trick she had for part used balls of wool was to tie all the same kinds together and she had one label of the type of wool tied on the string with it....no wondering now what the type wool is or care instructions...neat trick.
Myrtles Needle and Pattern Bag


I also found one of my Mother in Laws sweaters that she knit for herself and wore all the time fine wool in a beautiful pink. She passed away 26 years ago a young woman.  The sweater is thirty years old.  I washed it and its perfect.  My mother in law Beryl Rideout Flood from Grand Falls always had the needles clicking.  Beryl  had her comfy chair with her knitting near at hand and her gold colored swag lamp hanging over her shoulder.  When you went in no matter what time of day you would find her working on a pattern and she would lean out of her chair to see who was visiting. Beryl could knit anything!! In the summer she had a fly tent that she sat outside in and knit.  With a family of ten children who were busy having their own families Beryl was never short of a project to work on!  I still have the Christening Dress and Jacket both full lenght that she know 34 years ago for my first son and was used at both my sons christenings. Her daughters have her pattern books and needles.

Beryls Sweater


Today I feel these items have a home....Moms bag is hanging on my shelf and Beryls sweater has a place there as well.

Heres a pic of my studio.....I read on someones blog the other day about not living long enough to use the amount of wool that you have in your stash....I think my wool and some of Mom's will get passed on to some other crafter.


 



Thursday, July 14, 2011

A SPACE of my own....

Dare I call it a "Studio".....a place to work on my designs...catalogue and store all my wool and patterns....wall space to hang finished projects....a space for the sewing machine....the bleached linen.....my cut up t shirts and materials...my spindle......

Here is where all my projects and materials are stored now....everywhere, in baskets, closets, the family room, treasure chest, the end table, plastic totes....my dilemma...finding the colors I want WHEN I want them.  










My Space will save me time which means more time to hook! and the bonus.....it will have a door....I won't have to put away all the wool and rearrange when we have company :-)

How about Paula's Hideaway such a soothing name :-)


Tuesday, June 28, 2011

1207

1207 is my Bib Number for the 2011 Tely 10 road race (16k). 
I am training but you are never comitted until you pay the fee and get your BIB Number. 
So Tely 10 here I come for the third time.......

http://nlaa.ca/tely10/

History:  The Tely 10 is a 10 mile road race held in the communities of Paradise, Mount Pearl and St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada annually that draws in excess of 2500 runners both male and female. The race began in 1922 making it one of the oldest road races in all of Canada. The race was not run from 1940 to 1945 because of World War II which makes year 2011 the 84th road race.

Sunday, June 19, 2011

If it's NOT Raining...It's a NICE Day...

It was so nice to wake to the sound of silence...no rain falling on the roof....cloudy and 8 degress but NO RAIN...so it has to be a nice day.  I am going to put on warm if not seasonable clothes and enjoy.  After all the birds, flowers and other wildlife are thriving :-)  So I'll take a lesson from them!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Orange Juice and Orange Spice

Maybe this wet dull spring played a part...maybe the fact that one of my Daughter-in-Laws is Dominican and my other Daughter-in-law and son are moving to Arizona...and the in laws are coming to visit from the mainland for the first time combined with the artist in me and my love for bright colors strongly influenced my home renovating decisions. 
A trip to the hardware store and some color charts and study of the same led me to our local paint store where I placed an order for Orange Juice and Orange Spice paint!  The clerk inquired as to where I was putting these colors to which I proudly replied my open concept kitchen and dining room.  Without hesitation she screwed up her face and said you can't do that!  Why says I?  You can’t put orange in a kitchen she says....to which I reply Yes I Can....then I ordered the Raspberry Truffle....for the living room...You can't do that she says and I say why not!...Can you see the orange and red at the same time she asks....Well yes at a certain angle says I....She protested and I ordered...then we got to the split pea green for the Family Room and downstairs bath....and you know the statement ....you can't do that with rolling eyes this time....I can says I...and we move to the upstairs colors.  At this time she interrupts and says you will have to pay for further consultation as I can only give free consultation on three rooms. (.) (.) ...was the look I returned.....funny enough I never asked her opinion it was given freely with lots of expression :-) I was ordering the colors I had picked out and decided on before I went to the store.   Well you know the rest......I ordered Sunshine Yellow for the downstairs and upstairs hall to the sounds of (you can't do that it won't flow) and Dorset Gold for the Bathroom which got the biggest protest and a soothing maple syrup for my bedroom......
Reluctantly the paint was mixed and I only had one question.......why do they make these colors if there is nowhere in a house you can use them???

At the first roll of the orange on the existing Duncan Green.....my stomach lurched....the painters laughed and said would I like to make sure.  Determination set it and I was ready to accept Orange Juice and Orange Spice for the next eight years.


Tonight I am loving my Orange Juice and Orange Spice space and anxiously waiting for the Split Pea Green :-) 

Of course I will share some pics with you :-)


Sunday, June 12, 2011

Rug-hooking brings history and ties to old country

Rug-hooking brings history and ties to old country


Published on June 6, 2011
Published on June 6, 2011
The Charter story by

Elizabeth MacDonald

Topics :
National Trust of Guernsey , Canadian Portrait Academy , Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador , Guernsey , Channel Islands , Newfoundland and Labrador
For Paula Flood of Whitbourne, hooking rugs is a labour of love that helps bring together the present and the past.
Flood currently has three rugs she designed and hooked on display at an international exhibition called “Hooked Between Two Islands – Hooked Rugs of Guernsey, Channel Islands and Newfoundland & Labrador,” sponsored by the National Trust of Guernsey in collaboration with the Canadian Portrait Academy in Guernsey, Channel Islands.
Flood is a native Newfoundlander whose rug hooking can be directly traced back to her ancestors from Woody Island, Placentia Bay, who may well have come from places like Guernsey, Jersey, and other locales where rug hooking was also an art born of necessity.
She has been interested in rug hooking her whole life. Born in Buchans, one of six children, she taught herself to hook rugs and as a young woman used rug hooking as a way to express herself creatively.
She decided to sign up for a beginner rug hooking course in nearby Springdale, and as she states it, she “was hooked.” By the time she was 13 years old, she had become a member of the Springdale Women’s Institute and was working with fibre in a number of genres including crocheting, knitting and cross-stitching. She eventually started designing the patterns she would create with wool and recycled t-shirts.
Flood said she spend plenty of summers in the province in and around Woody Island, Placentia Bay and Winterton, Trinity Bay where she enjoyed herself with hiking, berry picking and, sitting on the daybed by a warm fire with the smell of homemade bread while learning to knit with her mother.
Those are some of her fondest memories.
Translating those happy memories to hooked rugs became a great way to connect those happy memories to a much-loved craft. She said she sees a rug design in almost every scene in the province, from coves to salt box houses, from churches, stages, coves and farms to the animals and creatures that live in each of those places.
Now, her efforts are getting some international notice with this display and exhibition in Guernsey, although, she has displayed her work in this province at the “Comfort and Joy” exhibit at Devon House in St. John’s (through the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador), as well as at the Shag Rock artist exhibit in 2010 and the Whiteway March Hare in 2011.
The exhibit in Guernsey is a first between the two islands, showing at the Guernsey Folk and Costume Museum, Guernsey, Channel Islands (UK). The display features over 20 textile artists 10 of whom are from this province, including Benjamin Trickett Mercer, Evie Newton, Shaun O’Hagan and Christian Corbet, Paula Flood, Sharon Kean, Christa Didham, Linda Pike Low, Joan Foster and the late Irven Foss.
“The two islands, which for centuries have had significant ties both in the cod fishing trade and emigration, have come together again to create an international exhibition to reveal the ancient art of the hooked rug and how each island has its own methods. It’s an honour to have worked collaboratively with everyone to achieve this outstanding exhibition,” said Canadian curator and renowned artist Christian Corbet who created the concept of the exhibit and will open the show and present a public demonstration on how hooked mats and rugs are created here and in Guernsey.
Plans are being made to have the exhibition travel to the Corner Brook Museum and Archives for 2012.
Flood said she is thrilled to be part of this exhibition and is pleased her work is being recognized.
Flood is a member of the Rug Hooking Guild of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia, a local rug hooking group called Heart and Hand Matters and the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is also recognized as an artist with the provincial of Newfoundland Labrador Crafts of Character branding.
Plus, Flood likes to encourage others to try their hand at the craft and is organizing the second annual Woody Island Hooking Retreat scheduled for Sept. 30 – Oct. 2.
For more information visit Flood’s website at http://www.newfoundlandoriginalhookedrugs.com/ .

The Charter Link
http://www.thecharter.ca/Latest-news/2011-06-06/article-2562846/Whitbourne-crafter’s-work-on-display-at-international-venue/1

Monday, June 6, 2011

Green!!

I am seeing Green!!!  So many wonderful shades of Green in the spring colors.....I love Spring!!!

Friday, May 13, 2011

Newfoundland Original Hooked Rugs: Out of the Blue

Newfoundland Original Hooked Rugs: Out of the Blue: "Well the rain feels like spring rain and everything is turning green. I drove to Placentia yesterday and realized I never had to turn on th..."

Out of the Blue

Well the rain feels like spring rain and everything is turning green.  I drove to Placentia yesterday and realized I never had to turn on the heater in the car!! So the weather IS changing :-)  Work has started on the garden and my out side to do list is growing...so  I'm a little sad that the winter is coming to an end as all these new activities cut in on my hooking time...Such is Life. 
This is my latest piece....Out Of the Blue...looks like its spring where he is too!

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Entries submitted for the Exhibit "Blue" May 7 - June 12, 2011

Devon House St. John's

"Calm, sad, delicious and profound – the many unique characteristics of water inspire this group show.
Water sustains life and takes it away. Occupying 73 percent of the Earth, water is still unavailable in a drinkable form to one-fifth of the population. The range of water's colour, its reflective qualities and other characteristics unite and inspire the diverse work in this show. Come and see how craft and art mix with the ecology and politics of water."

I have entered two pieces "Evening Paddle"  showing the reflective qualities of water and "Out of the Blue" showing life in the ocean.  Fingers crossed that the Jury has a positive response.

My friend Ann has an entry as well...fingers crossed for her too!!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter...Happy Spring....Happy Happy Everything!!

Hope every one enjoys this time in their own special way...

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Rantem, Trinity Bay--A forgotten place..

The 1945 census showed 12 people...man, women and children living in Rantem, Upper Trinity South District.  Apparently the last families moved out in 1954.  Today it is a place of summer homes.  Hubby and I and the two dogs hiked to Rantem and found a beautiful long cove tucked between high hills and away from the world...we had Kayaked to Rantem before but so enjoyed the walk today with signs of spring everywhere.  
http://maps.google.com/?&z=14&q=Rantem,+NL,+CA@47.694444+-53.858333
Its all about the lunch!

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Are you supporting Earth Hour -- Tonight

At 8:30 PM on Saturday 26th March 2011, lights will switch off around the globe for Earth Hour and people will commit to actions that go beyond the hour.

My house will go dark tonight....I always keep minimal lights on and try to save the energy.  Will one household make a difference....it will if everyone makes the effort.

In mainland China, 84 cities have committed to go beyond the hour this Earth Hour, with major urban centers from the southwest to northeast switching off their lights and taking action for the planet.

Beijing’s most famous landmarks including the Olympic sites – Bird's Nest and Water Cube - have turned out their lights off for an hour. This is in addition to the China World Trade Centre Tower 3, the tallest building in Beijing. 
 
The League of Cities and League of Municipalities ensured an overwhelming turn-out for Earth Hour in the Philippines by signing up 1661 cities and communities for the event.  WOW
 
Next year I think I will try to be more involve and promote it in my community.....
 
Hooking by candle light!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Woody Island Hooking Retreat September 30th October 2nd, 2011

Woody Island Hooking Retreat
Back by Popular Demand last year I organized a hooking retreat to a beautiful resettled island off the coast of Newfoundland and Labarador. It was a wonderful experience and I met so many talented hookers!  So this will be the second annual and here is all the info I have on it if you would like to go a a retreat!

Woody Island, Newfoundland and Labrador

September 30th to October 2nd, 2011

Price All Inculsive Accomodation, Meals, Entertainment and Transportation to and from Garden Cove, NL Canada

Price:  $185.00 plus HST for a total of $209.05

To Reserve:
Loyola Pomroy
Owner/Operator
Woody Island Resort
14 Westminster Drive
Mount Pearl, NL  A1N 4N1
Phone:  (709) 364-3701 or 1-800-504-1066
Fax:  (709) 745-4937
Web Site:  www.woodyi.com

Organizer:  Paula Flood
                 709-759-3555
                 paulaflood@personainternet.com
                 www.newfoundlandoriginalhookedrugs.com

Availablility
Can accomodate 44 persons Shared accomodations two per room.

Schedule
Set up and hooking to take place in Ocean Side Lodge
Meals at the main building.
Friday evening and Saturday Hooking at Ocean Side Lodge.
Lots of hiking on the Island as well for you early risers.

Click here for Woody Island History!

DAY ONE

          (Departure time may vary slightly, but you will be informed at time of booking).
Prepare for Departure
Safety Procedure                                                                      

Depart Garden Cove. The trip begins with a forty minute boat ride via a narrow, sheltered inlet on the Coast Guard approved M.V. “Merasheen”.  The crew will invite you to have a tea or coffee with fresh homemade tea buns, and you can relax in the heated cabins or take in the fresh sea air on the flybridge as you begin your journey. 
            As you leave the wharf, look to the left – the grassy knoll is known as Bloody Point, where two pirates are believed to have fought to the death.

As we cruise up this beautiful inlet, you can see that this stretch of water is nestled between the hills of Sound Island on the left and the Burin Peninsula on the right. This sheltered inlet is less than half a mile wide, and as the route to Woody Island is only a couple of hundred feet from shore all the way, you have no worries of encountering rough waters. Get your cameras ready as bald eagles often nest on Sound Island and we may see a mated pair.   Straight ahead Woody Island comes into view and off in the distance is Bar Haven, another resettled community.

Approaching the dock at Woody Island, you can see the four lodges of Woody Island Resort overlooking Old Cove as well as the stages, wharves, and cabins of fishermen who return each spring to pursue the cod, scallop and lobster fishery.

Disembark. You have a couple of hours before dinner to acquaint yourself with our house, the staff, and Old Cove.

Supper is usually pan-fried cod, vegetables baked and boiled, homemade bread, grandmother’s favorite cottage pudding, complete with a complimentary glass of wine.  Don’t be shy – ask for a second helping or more if you wish.

Hooking at Ocean Side Lodge or explore the many natural attractions that the island offers.  About a five-minute walk from the lodges and through the scenic village of Old Cove, you come to a beautiful Sandy Beach.  If you follow the path to the right, you can’t miss it.  Looking over the water from the Sandy Beach, you can often see huge oil tankers coming in the bay, fishermen tending their nets, or in the distance, the resettled islands and communities of Merasheen, Brule, Long Island, Spencer’s Cove, and others.

            It’s time for some music and while “Live Entertainment” is not guaranteed on the first night of a Two-Night stay, perhaps a guitar or accordion will set your shoes to tapping and your voice to song.  Or, you may want to listen to some of our tape music (please feel free to take along your own tapes, or CDs).  Some may just want to curl up in front of the fireplace or sit on the verandah to view the moonlight shimmering on the harbor, listen to waves as they lap gently on the shore or watch the twinkle of a million stars which are so visible in this remote locate.  Sleep comes easy as you get ready for the next day’s adventure and a live Newfoundland Kitchen Party tomorrow night.

DAY TWO:

Some are already up and soaking up the sweetness of the early morning air as it drifts across the ocean.

The smell of toast and bacon stirs the morning hunger. Bacon, eggs, juice, tea or coffee, and heaping plates of toasted homemade bread make up a hearty breakfast.
Two-Night/One-Day Agenda  -  Page 2 of 2

You have a full day ahead of you to HOOK work or projects or take some of the classes that may be offered– interrupted only by a lunch of steaming bowls of thick delicious pea soup, fresh homemade bread just out of the oven – enjoy as much as your stomach can hold. Top it off with toutons smothered in molasses and a cup of tea or coffee.

A 45-minute walk along the old Woody Island road to the left of the main lodge will take you over gently rolling hills and grasslands to the resettled community of Jane’s Cove. You can go off the main trail and visit the old graveyards, hike along the beaches or visit the ruins of the church and schoolhouse.  If you are not in the mood to walk, perhaps there will be enough interest to take a wagon ride (see pay per use activities below).  If you would rather hang around the lodge and keep Hooking no problem. 

Pay Per Use Attractions:   Although a trip on the bay is not included in the two-night package, for a small charge, if the boat is not filled, you can tag along with the group scheduled for that day.

You may want to try our fish again or perhaps we can have our staff cook up a delicious meal of baked chicken complete with all the trimmings.

You've finished a relaxing supper, and it's that time of the evening when the sun starts to fade and the sounds from the ocean draw you outside to catch the remnants of an unforgettable day.  Hooking will continue at the Ocean Side Lodge.
   Get ready to party.  There will be live entertainment and you can dance the night away or sing along to your heart’s content.  You may learn how to do the “Virginia Reel” or you may just wish to sit and relax in front of the fireplace and listen to the music.  Please feel free to take along your own musical instruments and join the “kitchen party”. 

DAY THREE

Enjoy a delicious breakfast on the last day of your Woody Island experience.  Bacon, eggs, juice, tea or coffee, and heaping plates of toasted homemade bread make up a hearty breakfast and helps ease the disappointment of leaving this beautiful island.

8:30 a.m.                                                                                 
Depart Woody Island for the return trip where we may have the opportunity to see whales, dolphins, and other natural inhabitants.

9:15 a.m.
Arrive in Garden Cove.  Farewell to new friends and get ready to plan next years Woody Island Hooking Retreat! 





 

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!

Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.
May you live as long as you want....and not want as long as you live!
Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Saturday

I love Saturdays!

Today looms before me and I want to spend it outdoors.  Me, hubby and the dogs are heading out for a hike in the woods and a boil-up....yesterday even tho it was so cold and crisp it felt like spring....water running, the earth peeking through on the sides of the trail, lots of bird calls and a few busy squirrels and lots of activity at my bird feeder.  Gold Finches, Blue Jays, Junkos, Chickadees, Starlings, Evening Grosbeaks and a little Red Poll who waited around to get his picture taken.

We just downloaded Netflick last night and oh all the wonderful movies I can watch while hooking. 

I have a new piece on the frame "Spring". 

I had a lovely chat with my friend Anne yesterday and she is busy hooking also.