Rug hookers find way to show love

When the mass killings in Portapique and surrounding areas happened on April 18 and 19, Barbara Himelman was at home in Diligent River, Cumberland County.

Her home is about an hour from Portapique, but close enough that she knew people in the area and worried friends could be among those killed. Thankfully, they weren’t.

The next day, she was on a Zoom call with fellow rug hookers when they began discussing ways they could show their support for those impacted.

“Here we are looking out our windows with all this love we can’t share,” one said.

And that’s when the Looking Out My Window With Love project began. Himelman, who is vice-president of the Rug Hooking Guild of Nova Scotia, and other members of the executive laid out a plan. The guild asked its members and all who rug hook or are fibre artists to create a piece, which includes a window and a heart — or however they want to interpret the theme.

The mats they are making are called mug rugs and are relatively small, between seven by seven centimetres to 15 by 15 centimetres, any shape. Himelman designed one style with a window and a broken heart that she offered for people to use for free, or if they prefer they could come up with their own design.

To date, 155 mats have

been made by 112 rug hookers and fibre artists in Nova Scotia, the Maritimes, across Canada and the United States. Each mat comes with a story — some were given to first responders, nurses, doctors, and other frontline workers. Some have been kept by the maker for their own remembrance.

Himelman said the response has been overwhelming. Within minutes of posting the idea they had people enthusiastically saying they'd take part and she continues to receive a steady stream of the mats in the mail to give out.

“We wanted to give them to first responders and front-line workers or anybody they felt could use something to help them deal with this,” she said.

While it was meant to bring comfort to others, she said it's also been a great way for those rug hookers to take part.

“It brought us all together,” Himelman said. “It gave us something else to focus on.”

Shirley Joyce is a member of the guild who lives in Durham, Pictou County.

So far, she has created three of the mats. Two were given to the RCMP detachments in Pictou County and one was given to her sister-inlaw who is a VON worker. For her, it was an emotional project.

With all that Nova Scotia has had to deal with this year, from COVID-19 to the mass shootings to the helicopter crash to the missing boy in Truro, Joyce said she, like many, wanted to help.

“We want people just to know we care — that there are people across everywhere that are watching and are saddened and their hearts are filled with tears with what's going on.”

At a time when so many feel helpless, she said it offers an outlet.

“I don't know how to help them, but I can pour my heart into something and give it to them,” she said.

She said the RCMP officer in Stellarton she gave one too seemed particularly touched.

“I just wanted him to know that we, as a group, care and respect their job and we know how difficult it is,” she said.

“All I was looking for was a thank you. What I got was beyond thank you,” Joyce said, adding the RCMP officer carefully looked at the artwork and seemed genuinely moved by the gift.

Ann Jones, of Yarmouth, is president of the guild and said it's been amazing to see how well-received this project has been.

She's been posting photos of the mats as they come in on the guild's Facebook page.

“It's really been quite heartening,” she said.

While they gave some sample patterns that people could use, she said many have created their own, which has been nice.

She hopes others will continue to take part.

“There's no time limit on it,” she said.