RHGNS Rug School Committee is pleased to present the 

2025 In Person Rug School at Mount Saint Vincent University,

Sunday May 4 to Friday May 9, 2025 in Halifax, Nova  Scotia

Pam Bartlett, NH

Back by popular demand! Come train your eye to see the little details that will bring your animal portrait to life. Add interest and realism through the addition of various cuts of wool plus alternate fibres such as silk, satin, sari, fleece, and novelty yarns.
Subtle changes in colour and value will be achieved through textures, dip dyes, swatches, and spot dyes. Whether you are hooking feathers, fins, fur, or fleece, you can develop the confidence to add realistic or impressionistic touches. No matter what stage you are at in your hooking journey or your preferred hooking style, you are welcome in this class.

Ellen Tancock, NS

Let’s capture that favourite place along with the memories of the special moments you remember there. This course will discuss how to hook your grandmother’s house or your childhood cottage surrounded by nature using realism. Studying the fine detail in your photo, we will craft this into your mat using various techniques and rug hooking tips. After consultation with the instructor about the suitability of the photo and the ability of the student, the student should prepare the pattern in an appropriate scale to accommodate details (11”x16” or larger). We will bring this cozy abode back to life and ‘weave’ the story of the cottage of your dreams.

Jane Holden, NS

Working in the lab, you will watch demonstrations, learn to plan your dye colours, and dye each basic method with guidance, including adaptations for yarn. You will learn to apply colour theory using the colour wheel, value scale, and classic harmonies. We will use standard acid dyes and discuss safety considerations, equipment, the five variables, colour fastness, and mixing. Most dyeing will be done in teams. Extra equipment will be available to try or for people travelling by air or in crowded cars. Join us to dye beautiful colours with dip dyeing, spot dyeing, value swatches and more. This course fulfills the Teachers’ Branch Associate training requirement.

Tatiana Knodel, ON

Are you interested in adding a hand hooked panel to a bag? Would you like to add creative techniques to your fibre art toolbox? Students in this course will use techniques such as proddy, sculpting, over-hooking, quillies, and more as well as incorporating novel fibres. Students can purchase their choice of pattern on linen or they can buy the complete kit (colours as shown or student’s choice). Instructions to make the bag will be given or the panels may be finished for hanging on the wall.

• Pattern only: $50 (on linen, finished size 14” x 11” x 10”)
• Complete kit: $90 (includes pattern on linen and all wool) or $110 for blue hand-dyed background

Dwight Gallagher, NS

Be it your grandfather’s Barn or the family Bungalow, the hometown Bakery or the local Barbershop……whether it is a Boathouse, Bait shack or Birdhouse ……..let’s put detail into that Building in the landscape making it the highlight of your mat! We will focus on the various aspects of a building….from the roof, siding, foundation and chimney to the detail around the doors and windows, weathered shingles and stone foundations. We will talk about ways to use gingerbread and dentil moulding designs in your mat and discuss ways that these details can be hooked (straight, directional, reversed) along with colour and texture choices that work best.

Michele Micarelli, CT

Have you always admired the work of a particular artist but wanted to paint/hook your own design in their style? Maybe you have a favourite painting but would like to add a few personal touches to make it your own? This course will guide you through the interpretation of a personalized design in the style of (enter artist’s name here). You can design a house in the style of Gaudi, turn the view of your local lake into a Monet pond, make a Klimtish landscape, or feature your backyard garden as it would have been seen by Gauguin. You could even do a portrait in the style of Andy Warhol

Shirley Joyce, NS

Students will begin by designing their own pattern in class using templates of appropriate Bluenose flowers provided by the instructor. Colour planning will also be done in class using 3-value swatches of blues, reds, greens, golds, and browns of the Jacobean period. (Check with the vendor if your stash doesn’t contain what you need.) Crewel stitches such as chain, laid, French knots, sculpting and others will be taught. The example in the photo is 23” x 15” and features a basket weave background. What could be better than creating your own Jacobean design based on Bluenose elements?

Jane Bridgeman, ON

In this course, the history of kilim carpets will be explored in depth. After an introduction to the history, geography, and diversity of kilim carpets, the weaving techniques responsible for design aspects will be discussed and the symbolism of various motifs will be explained.

Participants will be encouraged to design their own original kilim using templates provided or they may purchase commercial patterns i.e. Honey Bee Hive Turkish Kilim #1405, Grand Kilim #1412, or Qashqai Kilim #1361.

A presentation on traditional natural dyes will be given before a demo mid-week along with samples of six wools for each student. Finishing techniques offered will include fringes, tassels, and embroidered kilim finish.

Linda Marchbank, PEI

What do jewels, bevels, grain and leading have to do with wool and rug hooking?

Nothing unless you are interested in learning the secrets of producing authentic interpretations of stained glass in wool. In this class you will explore and apply the hooking, dyeing, special effects, and organizational techniques needed to produce “woolen” stained glass pieces and how these techniques may be applied to other hooking projects to create glow and luminescence.

The project (approx. 16” x 16”) will be created from a specially prepared grid available in class. Numerous design choices including traditional florals, seascapes, and abstracts will be applied to the grid. Hope you will join me to ‘let the light shine’.

Jane Steele, NS

Working in a palette of black, greys, and white, the student will learn how to add a “pop” of colour. Techniques covered include directional hooking, balancing values for maximum impact, primitive shading, depth of field, and more. Students will learn how to hook with plaids and tweeds as well as how to deconstruct a man’s jacket (recycling is encouraged). You will also learn how to incorporate yarn, velvet, silk, embellishments, and other alternative materials. A selection of 20 patterns is available.

Ruth Downing, NS

Students will work from images in photos or paintings (with permission if copyright applies). The faces may be of the very young with subtle shading all the way to the young at heart with deep character lines. Features will be detailed using flesh tones in #2, 3, and 4-cut, always striving for a very good likeness. Highlight, shadow, and fine shading techniques will be used to accentuate the facial features. By week’s end, students should have completed much of the face and some of the hair and clothing. Swatches may be purchased from the instructor, but they should bring wool from their stash for clothing and hair.

Sue Perry, ON

In this class we will be using casserole dyed, painted, and dip-dyed wools as well as 8-value swatches and transitional swatches. Stained glass technique and mock shading will also be taught. Both pattern options will be hooked in 5-cut with a 6-cut background. Students will have some choice in the flower colours for the kits and they will need to provide approximately ½ yard of wool for the background.

Shady Flowers 19” x 13” Kit price – $100 (excluding 1/2 yard background wool)
Advanced Shady Flowers 21” x 14” Kit Price – $125 (excluding 1/2 + 1/16 yard background wool)

No Instructor

If you didn’t see a course that suits your fancy or you couldn’t get the one you wanted this year, you don’t have to stay home, missing all the fun and comradery of rug school. Join the On Your Own group where you won’t have an instructor but will have friends (old and new).