Sometimes there can be an immediate, inexplicable connection between two people. Anne of Green Gables called this being Kindred Spirits. And sometimes, fate arranges these connections in an intricate, circuitous design.
Lynda Fenton and I had the privilege of working together as Literacy Mentors in New Brunswick. When I visited Lynda’s home, I was amazed at all of her hooked rugs. She recommended that I learn to hook from the woman who taught her, Edie Arsenault. So, off to St. John I went for a two-day introduction to rug hooking. I left that workshop with equipment, excitement, and a dream of becoming a rug hooker. A few years later, Lynda Fenton brought Della Ackles and I together. She thought we would be a ‘good fit’ as we both loved bright colours. And, incidentally, Edie Arsenault taught Della how to hook! What draws Della and I together goes beyond rug hooking and a love of colour; it is the power of resilience and the power of contagious joy, in spite of loss. We are very thankful that Della’s late husband encouraged her to follow her dream and develop Della’s Rug Hooking.
With each rug we create, we put a bit of our heart into it… be it a special person who will receive the rug, or a precious memory or emotion. Let us continue to look through our photographs to remind us of a sweet, perhaps forgotten, memory. Tell stories through the rugs we create. And sew in / hook in a little love.
Let us be intentional in adding special memories as we hook. Why do you love turquoise? Did you have a special dress or sweater that colour years ago? Do those winter snowmen scenes remind you of when you were young? With no credentials except a passionate belief in the power of our personal stories, I submit that many of our choices come from a story longing to be told. Happy hooking! Happy Storytelling.
Good advice Rennie, be intentional by putting a bit of ourselves in our rugs as we are creating memories. My cousin (Paul) who lives in Ontario, asked me to hook a rug for a bench he had built. The lumber for the bench came from the tree at the cottage that was taken down, his sister tole painted the cottage on the bench backrest, the family has spent many summers at this cottage at the Amherst Shore. Paul wanted a hand hooked rug and asked me to create something. I have only the finishing left to do on it. I hope he and his family will like it.
This week in mail, Linda Leslie has been busy making her Christmas gifts for a couple of her grandsons. They are patterns from Della's Rug Hooking studio and they are coming along fabulously!
Have a good week everyone, my grandson found a good spot to relax.
