For 28 years, hookers have traveled to Southampton for a weekend of hooking … rug hooking at Chantry 55+ Centre.
More than 50 women have come from as far away as British Columbia, Kitchener, Aurora and closer to home Wiarton, Colpoy’s Bay and Kincardine to learn new techniques and socialize with rug-hooking peers.
The women all have their own stories to tell. For instance Diane Grieve of Colpoy’s Bay has chosen as her subject of hooking a 1903 piece of sheet music with a cover that is a work of art, Mermaid Waltzes. “I love art deco,” says Grieve, “and I collect these beautiful works of art that were the early sheets of music. I have several that I’ve framed and because I also like swans, I chose this particular piece to reproduce in hooking.”
Each year, the hookers are already looking forward to the next year. “We are already three-quarters reserved for 2019,” says organizer Sybil Mercer. She also explained that one of the group who recently died, Grace Rock, will not be forgotten as her daughters, Norma, Patricia and Wendy, have offered up her fee as a tuition for 2019 in remembrance.