Rug Hooking School of Trent

Trent Rug Hooking School is an institution in the Ontario Hooking world. It has been in existence for years and has a reputation for fun and frivolity as well as learning. The original organizers retired and this year it is being run by a friend and fellow J.J. Rugger, Cindy. She has changed the name to Rug Hooking School of Trent and I went for the first time this year.

Flash back to Saugeen Maitland, UWO. This was my room and I shared a bathroom with Dominique, who I drove up with.

Nicer view than I had when I was at Western.

Trent University is a very green campus, right on the river. Our accommodation, meals and my class were all in that yellow building. Peter Gzowski Hall.

I was registered in the Open Class, teacher Jayne Nevins, and I took this McGown pattern as I need to hand in a piece, for my accreditation, with finger shading, and I thought this would be an opportunity to get a McGown teachers viewpoint.

2 hours on Friday evening and 3 on Saturday morning and I had finished one grape leaf to my, and Jayne's, satisfaction.

Another 2 hours Saturday afternoon and about an hour on Sunday morning and I had completed the second grape leaf, some background and ripped out the plum and started again with a different swatch. I also changed my mind and went for a dark rather than light background. It doesn't look like much but I was very satisfied as it was much easier to do in dedicated class time with a teacher than it would have been at home.

Four of us in the class were members of J.J. Ruggers. To my left was Gail Christmas working on her Kookaburra.

She had completed the head beautifully and was now working on the wing feathers.

On my other side was Cheryl Krug-Wiltse working form 2 photographs she had taken of the Paris railway bridge. The piece is for the 50th Anniversary display for J.J. Ruggers.

On the other side of Cheryl was Sue Jones, also working from a photograph. This one was of her husbands family cottage and she was using sepia colours to replicate the old photo. She had done an amazing job of hooking the people.

There were a number of other classes being held and we would all get together at meal times to compare notes. Meals were cafeteria, University,  food, so on Saturday night 4 of us went out to dinner in Peterborough. There were also draws for hooking items, a shop to buy hooking supplies, wine and cheese, and on Sunday afternoon a presentation by Kay LeFevre

Kay is self taught and works predominately in yarns.

Her work is amazing and she bought a lot of it with her for us to see.

Depending on the effect she want to get she also uses faux fur yarn, beads,

crystals and iridescent paint.

Truly works of art, I found them both inspirational

and intimidating.

Home on Sunday night and the moon on the water restored my equilibrium.

As did a walk on the beach with Brit, on Monday, when we found this painted turtle baking in the sand and we moved her up the beach out of harms way.

Cat on a Pouf. He was glad to have me home.