Ancaster, OHCG School 2015 - Wide Cut with Wendie Scott Davis

Seems like I am going to a lot of hooking camps this year. That's because I am. Apps Ridge in September and McGown and OHCG in October. No more this year though. I have enough projects to keep me busy for a long time.
Starting the McGown process made me realize that I really had not done any wide cut rugs. I work mostly in fine cut (3 or 4) with the occasional foray into a 5 cut. So that is what was behind my enrolment in the Wide Cut Class at Ancaster, that, and that the teacher came highly recommended.

Mount Mary Retreat was as beautiful as usual. The classes and meals are held in the old
school area and those who are staying over have a short walk to the residences. I was lucky enough
to be staying with Pat who lives quite close in a lovely home in the country. 

I had done very little to prepare for the class. I knew that I wanted to make a cover for the ottoman as the leather is getting beat up by a combination of my feet and Rasta's claws. I looked at examples of Moroccan tiles on the internet and reviewed pictures of tiles that I had taken over the years and then drew my version on a piece of paper.

The full extent of my preparation. Oh and I grabbed some wool that looked like it
would go with the colour scheme of my house.

Thursday evening at the school was spent tracing this single tile 4 times to complete the top for the Ottoman. Wendie had bought with her tons of resources: books, many rugs and small mats and all sorts of incidentals including a light box. The later made transferring the pattern on to the linen very quick and easy.

Pattern transferred and ready to go.

While we hooked Wendie talked about the difference between Wide Cut rugs and Primitive Rugs (Wide Cut is a size of cut, Primitive is a style, the terms are not interchangeable - she gets quite passionate about this topic!) She also gave us lots of wide cut hooking tips and we explored computer sites and programs to help with design and colour planning.

The colour palette. I only had to buy the pale blue wool on the left, for background.

This much was completed by the end of Friday. Hooked in a number 6 cut.

This much by the end of Saturday Background blue is in a number 7 cut.

I didn't get much more done in the 2 hours that we had on Sunday as we were also learning
about finishing techniques and Wendie had many examples to show us.

The weekend ends with a show and tell in the gymnasium where we were able to see what all the other classes had been working on. Always a fun conclusion.

Wendy was a very organized teacher with handouts in class and more sent to us via email afterwards. She is a prolific hooker and so has an example for everything she talks about. She embraces the use of technology to further her hooking and happily shares her knowledge in that area. She loves to shop and was always willing to accompany a student into the store to find just the right piece of wool. Her most endearing quality though is her sense of humour and although it was an intensive 4 days of hooking and learning it was also light and fun.
I was surprised at how easy it was to hook in a wide cut. I had anticipated a bit of a struggle but had purchased wide cut linen and bought with me a thicker hook to use. I found that I had to be more careful about the placement of each loop as they are so noticeable but it really hooked up fast. I also found that i used different muscles and had a bit of a sore wrist by the time I left on Sunday. I have plenty of fine cut projects so will alternate with those to give my wrist a rest.

When I am not actually working on the piece it sits in situ getting
used to its future location.

Now for some quick updates:
I'm sure every cat owner is like me and wonders what the cat gets up to, when we are not around to supervise. I had spilled some flour while making cauliflower cheese the other night and woke to find incriminating paw prints on the stove and counter tops! Now I know. He does whatever he wants to.

Evidence! I tried to get a photo of him looking guilty but he really doesn't ever look
guilty. Nonchalant is his look of choice.

The hope is that Ruby will be a sailing dog and here she is out on the boat, getting
used to it from an early age.