Hook Along’s Maiden Voyage!

This year, as part of the lead up to the Annual Conference in Cobourg, we held a “hook along”.  This was an event where a group of folks brought their own interpretations to a common pattern, and revelled in the creativity that this synergy generated.

It was the brainchild of our own Wendie Scott Davis, and while we’ve experienced these events in knitting/crochet circles, they are rare in rug hooking.  We didn’t quite know what to expect….but we were blown away by the response to this, our “maiden voyage”!  We had over 70 folks register for the bi-weekly zoom sessions - joining in from all across Ontario, the Maritimes and the US!  

The pattern chosen was the hippie van which is the logo for the Annual Conference (“Peace, Love & Rug’n Roll”).  Two versions were available - simple vs more complex with a lot of latitude for creative experimentation.  

As a starting point we had the original version hooked by Susan Hartwell - she incorporated lots of bright colours and Proddy into a fantastic piece!  It’s on the cover of the Spring Newsletter.

The pattern itself is available on the Annual Blog (click here) - and so far, it has been viewed almost 900 times!  No two hookers have done the same thing - which is wonderful!  We’ve seen:

• Amazing colour choices
• Big projects (20” or more) vs small projects (as small as 8”)
• Wool strips, yarn, polar fleece, sari silk, eyelash yarn
• Stashbusters and newly purchased materials
• Beads, buttons, zippers, pompoms, badges for bling
• Pillows, bags, tea cozy’s or embellishment for clothing - jackets, aprons and more.

There have also been some great design choices:

• Hooked and punched projects
• More/different/no flowers/symbols
• Just part of a van (or was that a teeny tiny clown car-size van)!
• Passengers added - human & canine!
• Backgrounds - rays à la Peter Max from the 60’s, or a night sky, or a landscape scene, or reverse hooking
• Fine shading, wide cut, you name it!

These choices weren’t just made in isolation:  often one person would mention an idea in conversation, and it would take off like wildfire, with other folks adopting a similar (but always different) approach.  This is the whole thing about the synergy of a group like this:  something that starts off seemingly quite small gains momentum.

Wendie, and her co-host Ti Seymour, moved the discussion along, with tons of creative suggestions.  Wendie showed us lots of examples from Peter Max, and her project used his rays in black & white to bring together her bright green van. 

Ti showed us other examples of how to portray the van, as well as alternate fibres and wild colours.

We also talked about things from the 60’s - especially fashion.  Look for some spectacular wardrobe choices at the Annual!  There were also some discussions of technical/how-to matters…..so we were learning, even tho it didn’t feel like it!

We met 4 times over 8 weeks and everyone worked at their own pace.  Some finished lickety split while others have been watching closely and mulling the best way to interpret the pattern.  

We are hoping to hold a show’n tell or parade of finished works at the Annual Conference in Cobourg - so if you hooked the hippie van, please bring your pieces with you (or wear them)!

We’ll also post photos online so you can check out a few more of these vans.  If you have hooked the pattern (regardless of whether you registered for the hook along), please send your photos to questions4annual@gmail.com.  If you’re posting them to social media, include the hashtag #ohcghookalong in the text somewhere.

Here are a few of the photos received so far:

Roseanne Perron

Stella Trainor

Wendie Scott Davis

Debbie Kijowski

Marylou Justason

Jayne Nevins

Julie Brais

Christine Van Hees

Jennifer Wiber

Entertainment

 

(Yes….in case you missed it, tickets for the 2025 Annual Conference in Cobourg are sold out!  Thank you!)

There are a couple of evening entertainment options that might appeal to anyone staying over for the Annual.  Click on any of the descriptions below for more info and to purchase tickets. 

• The Great Canadian Comedy Caravan is coming to Victoria Hall* on May 9, featuring Canadian comedy writers, actors and Just for Laughs veterans.

• On May 11, the day after the Annual, there’s Sweet Water Country Music with Jamie Oliver, at 2 pm in Victoria Hall*. 

• On May 9 and 10, the Northumberland Players are doing dinner theatre at the Best Western, a comedy called Enchanted April. From the poster below…it looks like if you can get 23 of your friends together, you could get a 10% discount!

Seating for all 3 events is limited so you’ll want to get in quickly! Also, if you’re thinking of doing dinner in the area, make your reservations now!

We’ll keep an eye out on other entertainment that is added last minute and will let you know. 

*yes..,.the very same Victoria Hall where the Annual will be held on May 10!

Delivering Rugs for Judging

Rugs for judging are starting to arrive in Cobourg! As you know, rugs to be submitted for judging must arrive in Cobourg by April 23. This is because they will be on display at the Art Gallery of Northumberland from April 26 to May 10 (with the winners announced May 10!).We’re starting to collect them now! (We had the date wrong - the show opens Saturday April 26!!  Woohoo! One more day on display!)

There are many ways of delivering your rugs (and the accompanying paperwork) to us:

- Bring them in person! You can drop them off any Thursday morning between 9:30 and 11:30, at Grace Church, 440 King Street East, Cobourg. That’s where the Northumberland Rug Hookers meet weekly - we’d love to see you! Alternatively, we meet on the last Monday of the month (Feb 24, March 31) between 9 am and 1 pm. If those dates don’t work, perhaps you

could arrange to drop off your rugs to one of our members?  In fact, as long as you can get your rugs to anywhere between Newcastle and Brighton (the orange area on the map below), we can pick them up.

(This would also be a great opportunity to visit Cobourg and/or Port Hope. Lots of shops and restaurants. GO HERE for links to businesses and restaurants.)

- Karen Kaiser has kindly agreed to be a drop off point for rugs, at her home in Belleville. She visits our group for those monthly Monday meetings and can bring them to us then. Here is her website with her contact information. (Thanks, Karen!). 

- Jayne Nevins in Ajax has also agreed to receive rugs on your behalf.  This cb useful for folks in Toronto or Area 3.  (Thanks, Jayne!)

 

- If you can’t travel yourself, check with your branch to see if someone is heading towards Cobourg - maybe they could bring your rugs to us?

- When all else fails, you can always mail or courier them to us! Contact information, including the address of our coordinator, Iris Vermeulen, can be found at the bottom of the 2nd page of the judged rug registration form (on the Events page for May 10 at ohcg.org).  Make sure you email her ahead of time to expect your delivery.

Please DO NOT try to send/deliver your rugs to the Art Gallery of Northumberland. They don’t have room to store anything until the show starting April 26.

Almost Sold Out! & Program Details

Have you got your ticket* for the OHCG 2025 Annual Conference in Cobourg? They have been selling like hotcakes! We are close to selling out! Thank you for your enthusiastic response!

A reminder about our cancellation policy: All requests for cancellation must be made in writing to the Registrar and received before April 5, 2025. A $10.00 administration fee will be applied.

Once tickets do sell out, we will maintain a waiting list. You can get on it by emailing ohcgregn@gmail.com.

*No physical ticket is issued. Instead, we’ll confirm your name on our list of registrants at the door on May 10!

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You may be wondering about the program for the Annual…and we have a web page set up with the info available as of this moment. Things are still subject to change, as we continue to work on the program, but you can head over there to check out the details. All of the events will take place in Victoria Hall in Cobourg’s “downtown”. Some of the highlights include:

- Key Note Speaker, Valerie Carew, a Canadian interdisciplinary visual artist exploring relationships with land using fibre sculpture, performance, photography and painting. Be prepared to be wowed by her work and her message.

- Featured Artist Panel. This is going to be an interesting panel where 3 artists feature their favourite hooked item, hosted by our own Karen Kaiser. Lots of interesting food for thought!

- Judged Rug Display. These rugs will be on display in the Art Gallery of Northumberland on the 3rd floor of Victoria Hall, from April 29 to May 10.

- Vintage Rug Display. We all love to ogle rugs, and this promises to be a great display. If you have one you’d like to include for the day, feel free to bring it along!

- Vendors. We’ll have an intriguing array of vendors for your perusal - some well known, and others likely new to you. More on this later!

- Heritage Rug Registry. Please bring any Ontario-made rugs that are more than 25 years old. We’ll have folks on hand to help you get them registered. You can start this process by going to ohcg.org for the necessary forms.

We’re looking forward to welcoming you to Cobourg! Our work to organize the Annual is well under way, and we’ll be ready to open the doors to you at 9 am on May 10. A continental breakfast will be served, with a yummy light lunch at noon.

There will be a future post on things of interest in the Cobourg and Port Hope Areas. 

Stay tuned!

Bring Along!

You’ve heard about our Hook Along, right?  But have you heard about “Bring Along”?  Today we want to tell you about what to bring along to the Annual Conference, May 10, in Cobourg: Peace, Love & Rug’n Roll.  It’s never too late to start planning.

• First of all, about that Hook Along.  If you’re a participant why not bring along that hippie van piece you’ve been working on?  We’d love to see it, finished or not!  Let’s ogle all those colours and funky items you’ve incorporated.  There will be a show’n tell at some point in the proceedings on May 10, so be ready to strut your stuff!  Even if you’re not going to be at the Annual, send us a photo and we’ll find a way to incorporate it.

• Speaking of strutting your stuff…..why not get into the spirit of things and wear some bell bottoms or granny square items of clothing? Flower power for the win!

• Also, we’re going to have a Rug Registry on the premises.  This is where we’ll have folks on hand to register your vintage rugs (>25 years old).  It’s an important step to preserve our heritage and those stories!  So bring along any rugs that qualify, whether yours, a neighbour’s or a fellow rug hooker’s.  More info on this can be found at ohcg.org.  While you’re online, complete the required info on your rug ahead of time, to speed the process along.  There will be a display of vintage rugs, too, in the Rug Registry room (aka Old Bailey Courtroom at Victoria Hall).  More stuff to ogle!

• Naturally, on May 10 you’re going to bring along a project to work on, right?  Any rug hooker would!  We ask that you keep those projects to small ones….space is limited in the Concert Hall, so even tho we know you’d love to get some loops pulled on that room-sized rug with 47 8-value swatches, pls leave it at home!

• …and yes, there will be vendors on hand…so some form of $ will be handy.  In fact, why not pre-order from your favourite vendor and pick up that order (and one or 2 more items, right?) at the Annual?  We’ll publish a list of vendors in another week or 2.

Only 101 sleeps until May 10!  Tickets are selling out FAST.  Make sure you have yours now!

Judging is Different This Year

 

This is a friendly reminder about the judging process for this year’s Annual Conference in Cobourg. It’s a wee tad different from other years so you’ll want to understand the key details.

The exciting part of this year’s process is that judged items will be professionally displayed at the Art Gallery of Northumberland in Cobourg’s Victoria Hall, one floor up from where the Annual Conference will be held.  The display will be open to the public from April 29 to May 10, raising the profile of rug hooking and rug hookers! Normally judged items are displayed only on the Annual Weekend, but the gallery has dedicated 2 whole weeks to the OHCG this year.  You’ll need to get your items to us by April 23 at 4 pm along with the Judging Registration Form, which you can find in your Winter Newsletter or on the OHCG website (under Events). You can submit the form and items for judging anytime now. Don’t wait until the last minute! Remember, it’s critical that you don’t share photos of your items for judging on social media. This ensures that the judges haven’t seen your work before. Items that are found to have broken this condition will be disqualified.  If you can’t make it to the Annual Conference, you might want to visit the AGN when the display is up, from April 29 to May 9. It’s a great opportunity to explore the town of Cobourg. We’ll send you more information about local attractions in a future email.  For more details on the submission process, you can check out THIS LINK. Hope this helps! We’ll look forward to seeing you in Cobourg, and maybe with some items for judging?

Hook Along Tomorrow!

 

Reminder

Tomorrow (Jan 16) 

is the first day of our inaugural Hook Along!

This is a free event available to 2025 OHCG members, where we gather via zoom, to work on the free pattern published for the Annual. It’s hosted by Wendie Scott Davis and she’ll get us talking about the design and kick start a bunch of ideas on how to approach it. We can ask questions, provide input and generally feed off of each other’s enthusiasm. Everyone will bring their own interpretation to the pattern. Remember that it’s not a speed contest: some folks will finish right away, while others may not, and that’s fine! 

Jan 16 is our first gathering - and we’ll get together every 2nd Thursday: Jan 30, Feb 13, Feb 27. You can read more about it HERE. You can also get the free pattern HERE. 

It’s a wonderful way to while away a winter evening, and get enthused about the 2025 Annual in Cobourg on May 10: Peace, Love & Rug’n Roll, celebrating the 1960’s, coincidentally when the OHCG was first formed! 

If you’ve already registered for the Hook Along, you’ll get a zoom link tomorrow morning via email. Simply log in at 7pm on Jan 16, or just before. 

If you haven’t yet registered, there’s still room and a bit of time to do so! First of all, make sure you’ve paid your 2025 membership. Then, send an email to ohcghookalong@gmail.com before 5pm today! We’ll do our best to include all requests, but those received after 5 pm may not be able to join in until the following Hook Along date. 

Participation is limited to 100 registrants. Hope to see you there!