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!  

Remember the mascot from one of our virtual wingdings during the  pandemic?   It seems that this guy has snaffled a few of the 2025 Annual Registration Forms and won’t release them until after the start of registration on Jan 1.  We had hoped that, with the resumption of postal services, all of you would have received the necessary forms by now, but some have not. (Drat that Moose on the Loose!)

Accordingly, we’ve sent the Registration Forms to you in a Constant Contact email on December 28, so you’ve all got them in hand when registration opens January 1 at 9 am.  Space is limited, so it’s a good idea to register as soon as you can.  

Here’s what you need to know.

First of all, please make sure that your 2025 OHCG membership has been paid. You’d be surprised at how many folks forget this step!  If you’ve paid online, you should have an email with your membership number as proof of payment.  You’ll also get an email if you’ve paid by mail, but some payments mailed just before the postal strike may be sitting in our backlog.

So…now on to registering for the Annual:  

If you’re registering for the Annual and paying by credit card (online), it’s really easy and secure!  Simply go THIS LINK and click on GET TICKETS.  From there, just fill in the necessary info and submit your credit card info.  Note, if you want to purchase tickets for more than one OHCG member you’ll need to enter each one individually.  For each ticket purchased you will receive 2 emails.  One is a receipt, and the other is your actual ticket confirming your registration.

If you’re registering for the Annual and paying by e-transfer, it’s a 2 step process.  You’ll need to submit the completed registration form either by mail or email to ohcgregn@gmail.com, and then submit the e-transfer to ohcgtreasurer@ohcg.org.  Please include the OHCG member name/email in the comments section.

If you’re registering for the Annual and paying by cheque, mail the completed registration form and payment to the address shown on the form.

After the registration process is complete, you’ll also get a welcome package from our Registrar with details on the conference, and coming to Cobourg, and all that good stuff.

Hope you had a wonderful New Year’s celebration!  And looking forward to seeing many of you at the OHCG Annual on May 10:  Peace, Love & Rug’n Roll!  We’ll have speakers, vendors, and even a Heritage Rug Registry!

(Oooh…and btw, don’t forget that there’s a (free!) Hook Along taking place Jan 16-Feb 27.  This is where we’ll focus on the Hippie Bus pattern and generally have some fun on a cold winter’s night!  To find out more, go to THIS LINK.)