Stormy Sunday: January 20, 2018.

Hello and thanks for reading, It is Sunday Morning and a storm is coming up from the south. This morning I was thankful for the beauty of the snow falling on my walk, and the trees with their perfect peaks. I try to look at the place as if I were a visitor and it helps me see things as they really are. When a little light snow is falling and covering everything in a pristine white, changing it before your eyes that makes it a little easier to see things freshly. This weekend I had a little pre storm visit to Halifax with a friend and we got to do so much. We went to Symphony Nova Scotia, only to discover that the conductor was someone we knew from Sackville, NB. The symphony was amazing. I think of all those musicians so dedicated to their individual work and how willing they are to set aside  that individuality for the whole, for the music, for the beauty of what they can be together. I love that. We also got to Zwickers and Studio 21 art galleries and up to the Hydrostone for a peek around. At Props Floral Design in the Hydrostone, the owner put together a big bouquet of eucalyptus and bare branches for me. She told me she has had the store for over twenty years. I love seeing owners involved and still loving their businesses. The eucalyptus is scenting my back room. It reminds me of my wreath making days nearly thirty years ago before I ever knew about rug hooking. I would dry flowers and make little wreaths in what was then a barn attached to my house. Eventually that space became my studio after I received a Canada Council Grant for artists. Seems so long ago now. The scents that carry us back in time. We all have them. Bread coming out of the oven, fish on the wharf, the salt air. In the city I picked up a couple of twig wreaths for my barn doors but unfortunately they are making my barn look like it dressed as an owl. When the storm passes I will move them around. I think one in the peak might look quite nice. It could be spring before that happens. But later today I will probably be out there with a hammer. Once an idea gets in my head, my body just follows it. It is something I love about myself but bewilders others. I know it. I finished the most beautiful rug lately. It is called Three Moose and the Seven Sisters. Moose were such a part of my life growing up. We would go fishing on the barrens and see them across the pond. They were just part of living in Newfoundland. You would see them on the highway, your eyes trained to watch for them. It was the conversation when you arrived somewhere, “Did you see a moose?” They have become for me like the silhouettes of my family, symbols of a place, and a people, and of myself and my parents. They also so symbolize a calm strength to me. I never think of moose charging, but of them quietly standing, strong, not wanting to be bothered. Thats just how they were for me as child. So today I am at home cozy with the fire and I plan to hook on a rug that I am making about resettlement  It is called Red Island and is semi abstract, inspired by a painting that I saw when I was travelling. It is interesting that a painting from another artist in Eastern Europe can trigger an image in me about a tiny island in Placentia Bay that filled my childhood stories. It has taught me that the stories I put into my rugs are less important than the stories they evoke in you. I love that , how a simple image can mean so many different things to so many people. It makes art so powerful. It is about feeling. We all feel the same things, it is just that different ideas and images can bring us to those feelings. I think it is because art evokes a feeling that we love it. The images  we see brings to life our own stories and our own feelings. Art is so much more about feeling than it is about anything else. Really that is what I hope my rugs do for people. I hope the colours and the ideas in them carry them some places  they want to go. So today is a day to stoke the fire and to read and rest and create. It is my typical Sunday but the snow makes it so much more fitting. Here in Nova Scotia we like to hunker down and a good storm makes that so much easier. I hope you will register for our online class that is coming up.We are working hard on our online class getting all the patterns drawn and dying wool for the kits. It is well plannd and the course will teach you step by step how to hook the rug. Remember it starts the first of March but you can take it anytime you want. It is yours to keep and you can learn at your own convenience. Early registration before January 31 is quite a bit less expensive because it allows us to plan and get the kits made up earlier. So all the information is below for you to join me. Thanks so much for reading. Our list is growing and will be at over 10,000. It is lovely to have you all to write too, Deanne Register Before January 31 and Save! Where the Orchard Blooms: Hooking Field Rugs, 2019 Winter Online Course is a must this winter!

The Whole Package! Online course with Deanne Fitzpatrick & complete kit!

This is quite literally the entire package! Not only does this product come with the online course and the pattern on linen, but it also comes with all of the colours and textures needed to complete the rug from start to finish! With this you will not only end up in the orchard, but you will be able to do it exactly as intended by design! All of the products and combinations are valuable in terms of creating this beautiful rug, but if I were you this would be my top pick, because you will have exactly everything you need at your finger tips every step of the way! And if you order this complete kit before January 31st and take advantage of the savings. $399.00 CDN, $300.20 USD!  There is nothing more priceless than creating beauty every day!