We held the following meetings during the 2019-2020 year.
This gallery page has slideshows with rugs and other hooked art displayed at these meetings.
September 21, 2019 meeting
We had a good time at the September meeting. Therese Schick and Cindy Boults from the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild in Pennsylvania were our guest speakers, and they discussed 3-dimensional hooking. Their enthusiasm for their work was evident, and people seemed really interested in the samples they brought with them.
Cindy and Therese graciously provided paper copies of some of their patterns for us to use on a one-time basis.
October 19, 2019 field trip
A group of Mayflower members toured the Beauport House in Gloucester and saw many beautiful rugs including ones that were created by Mayflower members. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and some of the group went for lunch at the Seaport Grille.
November 16, 2019 meeting
We had a busy meeting in November! Robyn Hodges held her Wool Fir Tree class, which was well attended. The Challenge pieces were displayed. Best of all, our president, Ann Duggan, was with us, and it was great to have her back!
Go to the gallery pages to see the challenge pieces and show and tell from the meeting.
December 14, 2019 meeting
The December Mayflower Chapter meeting was full of food, fun, and good cheer all around. However, the most special part of the event was the presence of our Chapter President, the one and only Ann Duggan. Ann’s recovery from a most serious and terrifying automobile accident earlier in the Fall has left us all in awe, to say the least. Ann is walking, talking and even stitching! So happy to have Ann back!
The festivities included traditional and holiday themed gift exchanges. We continued to marvel at the extraordinary work of our members’ gifts and their willingness to “give away” such marvels. We couldn’t help but ooh and aah as each gift was opened by the anxious recipient. Surely no one was disappointed in the slightest. Here are some highlights:
The menu of the day was, as always, delightful from casseroles, to salads, to desserts to savor and linger over. No one left with any room for anything else that day.
Our member Ania Knapp kindly brought her wonderful dyed wool for us to admire and purchase for just the right project. I know a lot of members took advantage of her marvelous selection. In addition, Ania shared her knowledge of colors and tones, helping us learn how to put various hues and shades together. To be always learning from others is a real positive part of our meetings and friendships.
We want to thank all of the Mayflower members who donated items to the HAWC women’s shelter in Salem, MA. As usual, our members were generous with their donations, and everything was greatly appreciated. We’d also like to thank Eileen for organizing the drive and delivering everything to the shelter in time for the holidays.
January 18, 2020 meeting
A hook-in was held from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at the St. Agnes Parish Center at 186 Woburn Street in Reading, Mass.
We had a nice time at the January meeting. There was no guest speaker, but it was great to work on our rugs, look at what everyone else was working on, talk and relax.
February 15, 2020 presentation
Rose Ann Hunter was our guest speaker. She spoke on “Enhancing Your Hooking with Historical Techniques – A Year of Recovery and How It Has Changed My Approach to Needlework.”
Her demo covered techniques such as yarn sewing, various types of shirring, and fabric bundling and how to place them throughout your work and hook around these stitches from the early 1800’s to give added interest to your work.
Examples and swatches were displayed for anyone who may want to try their hand at these various techniques.
We had a Valentine’s Day theme and members brought appropriately themed treats. People displayed their rugs with hearts and we had a small wool raffle.
Meetings cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The March, April, and May meetings were cancelled due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
June Zoom meeting
In place of our regular strawberry festival on June 20th, we had our first Mayflower Zoom call. Just under 20 people joined the call. We spent a couple of hours catching up. It was great to see everyone! The accompanying slide show is here.