Hallockville Fall Festival & the Peconic Ruggers Rug Show

Two weeks and counting to our first show of the year.  We love this one -- Hallockville has always embraced folk art and my guild, the Peconic Ruggers, is honored and thrilled to be able to present our biennial rug show in the beautiful Naugles barn during the annual Fall Festival.  

I am busy working away -- getting my hooked pig finished to enter into the guild's "Pulled Pork" Challenge. In addition, I am hooking up some new pumpkins and dreaming up some new Christmas designs.  That's not an easy feat when it is hot and steamy outside . . . 

Here is the information for the Hallockville Fall Festival.  Please join us for this fun-filled weekend.

        

                                                                  Hallockville Museum Farm

               Saturday and Sunday,  September 10 & 11, 2016 10am-5pm both days. RAIN OR SHINE!

                                         6038 Sound Avenue, Riverbed, NY 11901 631-298-5292

My sister Barb of thimblefolk has whipped up another bunch of Halloweenies for the show.  If can't come to the Festival, but are interested in purchasing one of her creations, you can email her at thimblefolk@comcast.net.

HOT HOT HOT

Hot as Hades. Hot as blazes.  Hot as hell. Hot as the devil's kitchen.  Hot as ten thousand suns in one. Hot as pepper. Hot as love's flaming climate. Huh?  Yes, I've been looking up similes for "hot." It seems to be all we talk about, think about, and swear about. I've had it. I want 72 degrees and a cool breeze off the bay.

My guild, the Peconic Ruggers, had their annual August hook in on Saturday. We were to meet in the basement of a church with no air conditioning. Not. Thanks to our very smart member Sue, we moved across the street to the library and hooked in the frigid air of the children's room.

Of course, I am blaming my lack of productivity on the heat -- its an easy scapegoat. I think I need some sunlight and vitamin D after spending a month in the air conditioning. I have made several 3-D sunflowers, a project I taught my class last week. I'm working on a tutorial for my followers on Instagram.  I've also been working on some new needle punch designs and trying to find a new source of wool thread for them.  

Fall is fast approaching, even though it doesn't feel like it.  My rug designing colleagues are all working on Halloween and Christmas designs . . .  I'm not so sure I will catch up! Our first show of the season is the Hallockville Fall Festival, September 10 and 11, 2016.  My guild, the Peconic Ruggers, will host their biennial rug show in the Naugles Barn during the Festival. I think that deadline will help me get in gear at long last . . . 

Please send some sweet condolences to Cathy at Orange Sink/The Red House Wool Studio. Her mother passed away on Saturday.  She could use some wooly hugs.

Sleepless in Southold Town

I'm calling this The Summer of Exhaustion.  I am almost always tired what with Cairo's constant coughing.  He is doing much better on his medication, and we are heading to the vet on Monday to re-evaluate what he is on. He sleeps about 5 hours straight now, but that isn't enough for me.  Lack of sleep coupled with my daughter and her boyfriend being here for 10 days, friends for dinner, more overnight guests,  plumbing problems, and cancelled flights, I'm pretty bleary-eyed.

The hot weather has been relentless.  The central air is running constantly, and my garden is drying up.  We are having our first real rain in weeks today, so that is good.  The fireflies like the hot, dry weather -- there are hundreds of them overnight.  I love them.

I should be looking toward my autumn shows -- the stores are sticked for back-to-school buying -- but I just can't seem to do it. Something to do with my time management skills, or my perception of time and how much I can get finished within a deadline.  I think its hereditary, since my sister and my daughter suffer from the same thing.  I'm hoping that turning the calendar page to August will jump start some creativity . . .  One can always hope.

My rug hooking guild, the Peconic Ruggers, is hosting a hook in on Saturday, August 13, 2016, 10 am to 3 pm.  It is open to all.  Bring something to work on, something to show, and your lunch.  We'll also be talking about our upcoming rug show to be held in the Naugles Barn during the Hallockville Fall Festival, September 10 & 11.  We will transform the barn into a rug wonderland, and several vendors will be selling rug hooking supplies.  It's a wonderful show and you should come see it!

Peconic Ruggers at 2014 North Fork Designer Show House

Photo by Liz Glasgow

Several members of the guild are selling hand-hooked rugs and other decorative items at the North Fork Designer Show House, going on now!  This is a rare opportunity to see and purchase these finely made works of art, so be sure to stop by and see us, and all the other wonderful vendors from the North Fork.

Christmas at the Show House 

and the Best of the North Fork Emporium

Fri - Sun, Nov 28 - Dec 14
27150 Main Road, Cutchogue, LI, NY

Benefiting Wounded Warriors and local families in need
Non-ProfitOrganization

The Fruits of Our Labor Day

Sixty-two quarts of plum tomatoes canned!  We spent the holiday coring and peeling and cooking hundreds of tomatoes with our friends the Osinski's.  Fifteen-year-old Susanna was planning on doing about a dozen jars by herself, although her mother really want 40 quarts to get the family through the winter.  So Pete and I said let's just do it -- add a few jars in for us and we'll help.  So while Isabel, Susanna and I cored and peeled, Mike and Pete headed to Agway for more jars and to the farm stand for more tomatoes. Mercator headed to the grocery store for more lemon juice. We had them all canned in a few hours, using all six burners on the stove plus a propane burner outside.  When we finished we sat down to a lunch of fresh caught bluefish, then all jumped into the bay for a swim.  It's amazing how satisfying it is to see sixty-two jars of tomatoes sitting on the counter.

I realized last night that summer is, for all intents and purposes, over.  The sun was nearly down by 7:30, and the garden is overgrown and shriveled.  This summer has been great.  We took advantage of the dry and not-too-hot weather.  We swam almost every day, had a terrific vacation, fun times with neighbors, a wonderful Fourth of July with our wonderful daughter and close friends.  I taught a class and took a class.  I even found a parking place at the Post Office every single time I went, although the village has been full of tourists.  No regrets this year.  I took advantage of every day.

Now it is time for the show season to start.  First up:  The Hallockville Fall Festival and Peconic Ruggers Rug Show.  This is such a fun day!  Be sure to join us.  Barb and I will have a booth in the Naugles barn, where the rug show will be.

The 34th Annual Hallockville Fall Festival & Craft Show

September 13 & 14, 2014 10am-5pm each day!

The Fall Festival is Hallockville's largest fundraiser of the year! Join us for the annual tradition-the North Fork's only true old-fashioned country fair for all ages!

Admission is $8 adults, $5 children ages 5-12 ( 4 & under free) 2 adults & 2 kids $20. Parking is available on-site.  **For the safety of all animals on display, please leave your dogs at home. Dogs are not permitted in the Festival grounds.**

Admission includes:

- access to over 50 artisan craft and folk art vendors- jewelry, baskets, clothing, artwork, soaps, candles, something for all ages & interests...plus Miss Ella's Shop which offers a variety of local gifts and souvenirs which benefit the museum, plus quilting fabric

- handmade rug show in the Naugles Barn by the Peconic Rug Hookers Guild

- folk art demonstrations including decoy carving, wood carving, basketweaving, rug hooking, quilting, and more

- hayrides, tractor pull and antique farm machinery display from LIAPA

- historic house tours including the 1765 Hallock Homestead & Barn,  1931 Cichanowicz Farmhouse

- special exhibit spaces including the 1876 Combs Decoy Carving Shop,  the "Defense of the Eagle" War of 1812, and model trains from the Railroad Museum of LI

- children's activity area and fun games like the popular Egg Toss

- animal and livestock displays including cows, horses, donkeys from the East End Livestock and Horseman's Association

- live music from the Eastbound Freight Bluegrass Band and a traditional dance performance from the Blue Spruce Cloggers

Additional amenities that are available for purchase include:

- children's mini train ride and pony rides

- food vendors including Maple Tree BBQ, Island Empanada, Ice Cream Truck, Rosie's Country Kettle Corn, and Greenport Harbor Brewing Company

Thank you for supporting our not-for-profit mission by attending the Fall Festival!

Rug Hooking Heaven: Nova Scotia

Pete and I just returned from a wonderful week in Nova Scotia, where rug making is a national sport.  Hooked rugs are everywhere -- in gift shops and studios, museums and humble houses by the side of the road.

We made several stops, of course, starting with London-Wul Fiber Arts in Moncton, New Brunswick.  This is Heidi Wulfraat's shop -- she hosts a free online bulletin board called Rug Hooking Daily.  We traveled down a rural road to a lovely wooden building with bins and shelves full of colorful fiber and walls decorated with Heidi's work.  Students were learning to nuno felt in the back room, and a quilter was stocking up on the cheerful cottons Heidi carries.  I was fascinated by Heidi's stained glass-like pieces hooked with hand-dyed nylon.  I bought a few skeins to try my hand at it.  (I will leave the nylon to Heidi in the future; I found it difficult to hook, even with my harpoon-like Ritchie hook.)  I also found some incredibly soft pale green yarn with which I will make baby booties for my niece's and nephew's new babies.

Our next stop was Deanne Fitzpatrick's shop in Amherst, Nova Scotia.  This is a happy place, full of color.  There's a sandwich board out front that proclaims "We can teach you to hook in 5 minutes!"  I love that Deanne makes the craft accessible to everyone.  Inside the door is a salad bar of wool -- bowls full of small bits and pieces for sale so you don't have to buy a whole yard of anything.  Her famously textured rugs hang on the walls.

Pete picked out one of Deanne's signature house mats for us to take home.  I think it will hang in our kitchen over the French doors to the back yard.

I have lots more to share, and I will share it all!  But I need to buckle down and get some work done.  I messed up my back the first day home so I haven't worked yet this week!  The fall shows are coming soon!  First up is the Peconic Ruggers Rug Show, which will be held  September 13 & 14, 2014, during the Hallockville Fall Festival -- two great events for the price of one!

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

It's that time!  Hallockville is hosting, once again, the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair, along with the Long Island Livestock Company.  Barb is heading down today while I work on a few last minute things.  We will be in the Naugles born on the west side of the farm.  Please come and visit!  The weatherman says it will be a beautiful weekend!

I also want to give you a head's up on our next show.  Barb and I are pleased to announce that we will be vending at the Eastern Long Island Quilt Show, June 8 & 9 at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead, New York.  More information to follow, but to learn more now go here: Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild.

August Hook In at Hallockville

Our lovely group of women met under the apple trees at Hallockville last Sunday afternoon.  What a nice relaxing afternoon.  I took a few photographs of works newly finished and in progress.

This is Rhona's rendition of my Striped Bass pattern.  I hooked it in muted gray-greens.  Rhona snazzed it up with a twinkling blue and a shot of chartreuse.  It is FABULOUS!  Rhona is a fairly new hooker, but she is totally hooked.  As soon as she finishes one project, she starts another and her enthusiasm and dedication have really paid off.  She has made huge strides in technique and color choices with hard work and the help of her teacher Louise Hulbert.

Her best buddy, Carol, has been working on a mermaid.  Carol, too, is pretty new to hooking, but, man!  SHeh is really doing amazing work!  Look at the face on this mermaid!  The eyes are perfect!  She, too, studies with Louise, and attends all our guild meetings.

 

Here is Barbara (basket maker by day, hooker by night), showing us her newly designed sunflower rug.  Barbara is becoming a hooking machine, too.  She may be making more rugs now than baskets for all I know.  

June, a most meticulous rug hooker, is working on a new rug as well.  I believe this one is adapted from an old postcard.

Here's Rhona's next project -- a bigger rug of leaves for her floor.

I neglected to get photographs of the other rugs because, as usual, I was talking too much.  I wanted a shot of Phyllis' pumpkin sack.  I drew the design out for her at the July hook in and she whipped it up quickly so it will be ready for the guild's rug show, just two weeks away!  We are lucky enough to be part of the Hallockville Fall Festival, September 15 & 16, 2012, 10 am to 5 pm.  We'll be in the newly painted Naugles Barn with six rug supply vendors, including me and Barb.  Come and see the show, meet all the lovely ladies, and buy some stuff!  The entrance fee includes entrance to the Farm and all the fun stuff -- craft vendors, baked goods, fresh picked veggies, tracker pull, sheep, cows & horses, hay ride -- tons of stuff to do!

A New Version of Mary's Runner

I love to see people's interpretations of my designs.  It's always nice to know someone likes my patterns enough to hook them, but its thrilling to see them hooked up and bound and ready for the floor.

Rona bought my pattern Mary's Runner several months ago and brought the finished rug to our guild meeting Tuesday night.  Isn't it stunning?

I love that she hooked crosses into the circles and I love her color choices.  The red yarn she chose to whip it with is the perfect frame for the rug.  Well done, Rona!

If you would like to see what other members of our guild, the Peconic Ruggers, have been working on, click on over to the website here: The Peconic Ruggers.  You may be tired of hearing me say it, but this is a great group of women.  The group is a stand alone guild -- we don't belong to a national organization -- which allows us a great amount of freedom in how we work.  We are very relaxed -- no Robert's Rules of Order here!  We do manage to get through business each month.  We produce a rug to raffle each year and have a rug show every other year.  Hook ins are always fun and we have them in the winter and in the summer.  Sometimes our coffers are full enough to sponsor a class or a guest speaker.  Most of us don't see each other outside of guild functions, but we really enjoy each others' company when we do get together.  I was a founding member of the guild about 15 years ago, and the past couple of years have been the best.  If you don't belong to a guild yet, I highly recommend it!

Spring is Here . . .

Yesterday's rain washed all the snow away.  When I let Cairo out into the backyard this morning, it was 45 degrees, the birds were singing, and the sun was shining.  Because it has been such a mild winter, Pete threw some spinach and lettuce seeds into the raised beds and covered them with clear plastic and the seeds have sprouted!  Such weird weather . . .  

The Peconic Ruggers New Year party was a great success.  We had a smorgasbord -- Louise's fabulous vegetarian lasagna, chili, chicken sate, fresh bread, salad, hummus, blueberry pie, assorted Italian pastries, and Judy's incredible homemade eggnog.  We ate a lot and talked a lot and hooked a little.  As usual, I forgot my camera, but I did take a few shots with my phone.

Here's the gang hard at work . . . . 

This is Sally's Uncle Sam, a free pattern from an old issue of Rug Hooking magazine.

Jennifer worked on her Whale of a Tale rug from our class last summer.

Sue brought her version of my Garden Cat pattern, which she hooked for a neighbor with a white cat.

We had a lovely afternoon -- thank you, Louise, for hosting us!  

Whale Wrap

Whale of a Tale ©2011 Tina Ackerman & Bonnie Smith, hooked by Tina Ackerman

I have taken many rug hooking classes since I started hooking 20 years ago -- McGown and ATHA classes; some local, some far way, but I have never taken a class as fun and as full of camaraderie as The Whale of a Tale class the Peconic Ruggers sponsored this past weekend.

Tina Teaching

We were 16 altogether -- 12 students, a teacher and her assistant, and a father and daughter support team.  Many of us have hooked together for years, but two were new acquaintances, and one was a complete stranger to all of us, yet we melded together like old friends.

 Betty Ann

It was beastly hot outside, and very humid, and the church basement was not air conditioned.  I thought that combination spelled disaster, but everyone was enthusiastic and intent on making the most of our time together.  We set up four fans around the room and provided plenty of cool drinks to keep everyone hydrated while they worked.  Everyone received a name tag hand-made by Tina's mom, Bonnie Smith of the Wool Street Journal, and a great goody bag, put together by our president Jen's daughter, 12-year-old Lizzie, who also unloaded cars, unpacked bags and boxes, and helped set up and break down lunch.

 

Louise at work

Tina Ackerman of g.woolikers is a great teacher.  She is funny and smart and kept things moving with the help of her sweet assistant, Betty Ann Horn.  Tina had everyone set up with a color plan before lunch on Friday.  I was lucky enough to have Tina and Betty Ann stay with me from Thursday to Sunday, and they were a delight -- even helping me shop for a new dehumidifier on the way home from the airport!  And they brought homemade pecan pralines and coconut cookies all the way from Georgia for an afternoon treat!

Rhona with a red-coated Jonah

We continued the fun into Friday evening, at the home of our treasurer, Sue, and her sister Sally.  They coordinated a potluck smorgasbord I wouldn't have thought possible: caprese & green salads, bread with olive oil for dipping, sausage and peppers, roast chicken, tuna casserole, potato salad, cole slaw, peach cobbler, chocolate cream pie, chocolate chip cookies, strawberry shortcake.  We ate what we could and then packed up the leftovers to add to lunch on Saturday.

Jennifer, our fearless leader

Saturday was hotter than Friday, but everyone buckled down to work on their waves.  Ken, our president's husband, made a Starbucks run with a list a mile long and kept us energized with cold, caffeinated drinks.  My daughter Clara, in town for the weekend, took lots of photographs for us.  Although the class was scheduled to end at 3:30, we started cleaning up at 3 , well, because we were hot and sweaty and many of us had tickets for the Southold/Greenport Rotary Lobsterfest on the beach at Founder's Landing later in the evening!  Because we finished early and didn't plan on getting to the beach until 6, I brought a couple of carloads of people home with me to relax in the air conditioning.  Clara and I whipped up a batch of mojitos and set out some snacks.  By 6:30 or so we were all dining on lobsters and mussels, sweet corn and watermelon, watching the sunset on Peconic Bay.  What a weekend!

 

Phyllis, who always wears a smile

Betty Ann and Tina left on Sunday to watch whales off of Montauk.  I have to admit that I took a rather long nap on the couch Sunday afternoon, and just finished unpacking everything this morning.  It was an exhausting but exhilarating weekend and I would change only one thing -- I would find a room with air conditioning.

 Name tags

 Goody bag

 

Founders Landing, Southold, New York

 Tina & Betty Ann in seafood heaven

The fabulous Lizzie on the beach

Join Us!

My guild, the Peconic Ruggers, is sponsoring its first-ever two-day rug hooking class at the end of this month!  The class, taught by Tina Ackerman of g. woolikers, will feature an exclusive pattern drawn by Bonnie Smith of The Wool Street Journal available nowhere else.  The pattern is called A Whale of a Tale and Tina will emphasize color planning and hooking sky and water.  Here's a drawing of the pattern, which measures 28 x 36 inches:

A Whale of a Tale ©2011 Bonnie Smith/The Wool Street Journal

please respect the artist and do not copy her work!

Here are the particulars:

A Whale of Tale

Friday, July 29, 2011 and Saturday, July 30, 2011

9:30 am to 3:30 pm both days

Cutchogue Presbyterian Church

Main Road, Cutchogue, New York

Class fee (paid to guild): $80

~includes snacks, beverages, lunch and a great goody bag~

Pattern fee (paid to teacher): $46

Potluck for class members Friday evening

wool for sale, too!

For more information: peconicruggers@yahoo.com

The North Fork of Long Island is a fabulous place to visit, especially in the summer.  We have vineyards and farms galore, beautiful beaches, great shopping and restaurants, and lots of rug hookers!  You can get here by train from Manhattan or by ferry from Connecticut.  There are inns, bed and breakfasts, and hotels tucked in lots of out of the way places here, too.  There are a few spots left, and you won't find a class at this cost anywhere else, so sign up now!

Another Successful Hook In

Despite the frigid temperature and the snow that just won't melt, we had a great hook in on Saturday.  I thought I took a lot of pictures, but they were mostly in my head.  I guess I was too busy eating to take pictures, or to hook.  I started yawning after lunch and didn't get anything much accomplished.  I discovered I can't talk and hook at the same time.    Every time I opened my mouth to talk, I put my hook down.  Barbara kept telling me to keep hooking, but it didn't help.

We had quite a comfort food smorgasbord.  I brought shells stuffed with butternut squash and spinach.  Jen brought kielbasa and sauerkraut in the crock pot.  Loretta brought the best mac and cheese I have had in ages.  I had a ten minute debate with myself about what I wanted more -- another helping of mac and cheese or a piece of June's chocolate cake, made from a 1953 McCall's magazine recipe.  (The cake won out -- chocolate always wins with me.)  Lucille brought a chicken and red cabbage dish, Barbara some guacamole and chips.  Susan made vegetarian chili.  There were marinated mushrooms and little balls of mozzarella with tomatoes and black olives.  New hooker Bea brought shrimp salad.  Eleanor made cheesecake.  Sally made a cranberry loaf.  OMG.  We all ate too much.  I was glad Pete was away skiing -- I didn't have to make dinner Saturday night.

We're lucky enough to be able to meet in the basement of the Presbyterian Church in Cutchogue  during the winter.  It is sunny and bright with lots of tables and chairs.  Too bad there aren't any hammocks -- I really wanted to take a snooze after lunch.

We're having another hook in on February 19, so if you want to partake of good food and conversation, gain a little weight and not get any hooking done, join us!

Celebrating the Season

 

My rug hooking guild, the Peconic Ruggers, celebrated the season today at the home of sisters Sally and Sue.  Their beautiful house, not far from the shores of Peconic Bay, was a wonderful place to spend the afternoon.  We have had  torrential rain and lots of wind all day, but who cares about gray skies when there's good company and good food around?

Sue and Sally had decorated for Christmas -- there were handcrafts and antiques throughout the house. I fell in love with this tree in the kitchen.

And how about this rug?  The border makes me smile . . . 

A sweet tableau on the sideboard.

Feasting.

Decoys in the kitchen.

Thanks to Sally and Sue for a great day, and to my fellow guild members for another year of crafting and companionship!