Rug Hooking for the Heart and Soul (Replay)

Intro: Welcome to the Heart Soul Wisdom Podcast, a journey of self discovery and transformation. Moira Sutton and her amazing guests share real life stories, tools, and strategies. Strategies to inspire and empower you to create and live your best life. Come along on the journey and finally blast through any fears, obstacles, and challenges that have held you back in the past so you can live your life with the joy, passion, and happiness that you desire. Now, here's your host. Create the life you love. Empowerment life coach Moira Sutton.

[00:58] Moira: Welcome to season four, episode 85 "Rug Hooking for the Heart and Soul" Replay with our very special Nova Scotia guest author rug hooker creative expert Deanne Fitzpatrick. Deanne is renowned worldwide for her stunning rugs and patterns. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in the Canadian Museum of Civilization. She is the author of Making a Life east Coast Rug Cooking Designs hooked me a story. I love that one. And inspired rug cooking. She recently released her book Meditations for Makers, featuring daily meditation for rug hookers, Diane began hooking rugs as a way of warming the cool floors of an old farmhouse. Her rugs express ideas, capture a moment in nature, or tell a story. She shares that inspiration comes from life around me in Nova Scotia, my childhood in Newfoundland, and the relationship she's had between people that she sees and meets every day. She loves the land, especially fields. She finds that a bunch of scrub and brush are beautiful things. It changes all day long with light, and she loves to showcase within her work. Her goal is to live simply and make hooked rugs that are unmistakably art. She works from her studio in downtown Amherst, Nova Scotia, and she writes and teaches on her website, hookingrugs.com. So, without further ado, I would like to give a warm welcome to Deanne Fitzpatrick. Welcome, Deanne.

[02:29] Deanne: Thank you.

[02:31] Moira: This is a pleasure here and there, start highlighting people here from the beautiful Nova Scotia. When we moved here a year ago, I felt that we had come home. That was the feeling. And the people here are just so warm and it's so beautiful. I really didn't know Nova Scotia, like all the beaches and just the forest and the trees. So, it was a good choice.

[02:57] Deanne: Good welcome.

[02:59] Moira: Thank you. Jan. Let's start at the beginning. Where were you born and what was it like growing up as the youngest of seven children?

[03:06] Deanne: I was born in Freshwater, actually, in Sensia, Newfoundland, and we lived in a town called Freshwater. There are four or five villages that are there right next to each other, and I was the youngest by seven years. So, the next oldest was seven years older than me, and my mother was 43 when she had me, and my oldest sister was 17 years older than me. So I grew up very much kind of like an only child, in a way. And it was a quiet house, and by a certain time, my sisters were all moved out of the house, and I played on the road a lot. And I spent a lot of time in this middle window of our house, and I was always looking out at the bay above. Like, that was right below our house. That was my perch. Yeah.

[04:00] Moira: That sounds beautiful.

[04:03] Deanne: The area where I'm from is very beautiful. Like majestically beautiful. Yeah.

[04:09] Moira: And as I said, Nova Scotia is just gorgeous.

[04:11] Deanne: And Nova Scotia is also very beautiful. A different kind of beauty. I kind of think of one of them as having kind of a calmer or more serene beauty. And Newfoundland is kind of having a more rugged beauty in my mind.

[04:25] Moira: So, when you were sitting on that perch as a young child, did you start drawing? Did you have crayons? Did you start I drew as a.

[04:34] Deanne: Child, but probably only till I was seven or eight, really. I didn't draw all the time. I played outside a lot, and we didn't have a lot of paper around. I used to use the end pages of my father's pocket novels, like Zane Gray novels, use the end pages of those. And I have my sister's old schoolbooks, and I would look at those and I would see their drawings in the pages, and I would sort of mimic those, the pictures of girls and women a lot of times that they were hand drawn while they were in class, I think. And, yeah, I just drew. But it wasn't like I was going to be an artist, or I didn't know that there was no such thing to me as an artist. I didn't know anyone who was an artist. It wasn't something that I was familiar with as a child, really.

[05:25] Moira: It's interesting when you're talking about that. I remember when that we used to have just paper, and you cut out the paper clothes for the girl or the boy and stick it on there. The little pinback and paper dolls.

[05:38] Deanne: Yeah, I like those, too.

[05:40] Moira: Yeah. I'm not really into fashion. I like my home to be really beautiful. But as we said at the beginning, introducing you, simplicity is key, personally, to my own happiness. Not having a lot of clutter.

[05:52] Deanne: Yeah.

[05:53] Moira: So how did rug hooking find you, Deanne? And how did it help you find yourself?

[06:00] Deanne: So, first of all, when I moved to Nova Sculpture, when I was in about 16 or 17 years old, I'm not exactly sure, I think I was turning 17, and my sister had hooked rugs in this old farmhouse, and I found them interesting. Right. I like the shape of them. And I just couldn't believe that someone could hook every loop that it was all handmade. And so, she had bought those at auctions or whatever. And then I went away to university and studied and, you know, went about my life as an 18- to 24-year-old as you do. And I was living in Amherst, and I bought an old farmhouse with my now husband, and my sister said she was going to take a course on how to hook rugs, and that just seemed interesting to me. So, I went to Tatamagouche and this woman named Marianne Kennedy gave me a basic lesson on how to hook rugs, and she just sort of showed me the stitch and she said, now go do it, finish it. And that's what I did. As soon as I started hooking rugs, myself and three of my sisters went to this little course, and as soon as I started, I knew that this was a craft that I could do. It felt right to me. It felt like I belong if you can explain it. Like, this belonged with me, and I belong with it. And it was just a really good I wanted to do it all the time. So that's sort of how it began. It was just a dream for an old farmhouse and wanting mats for the floor and finding them at auctions to be too expensive, too old, too broken, and I just went for it.

[07:47] Moira: Well, that's exactly what I was going to ask you about mentors and teachers. Did you have other mentors and teachers along the way, or was this one woman?

[07:53] Deanne: Just one woman was key, really, because she was not interested in teaching me to do it her way. She was just interested in telling me that you can make there really is only one stitch, and if you do that stitch, you can do whatever you want with it. And that was her thing. There was another woman who I met after actually, I met her that weekend, too, but her name was Doris Eaton, and she was kind of I'd say she was the diva of Nova Scotia rug cooking, and she was part of the beginning of the Rug Cooking Guild of Nova Scotia, one of the founding members. And Doris also was very supportive and encouraging of my work and just telling me to just do it the way you do it and don't worry about trying to do it the way other people do it. You have a style or a stitch that just feels right to you, go with that. So that was very important in my learning that I had two people who and, you know, Marion Kennedy, who taught me I only met her, I think, twice, really, and then once when she was in a nursing home and was no longer remembering things. So it wasn't like I was with these people all the time. Doris and I kept in touch over the years, and we were friends, but it wasn't like I was learning at their knee, or they were teaching me. It was more of a friend relationship, for sure.

[09:26] Moira: That's really nice. I know that I found you here and you are so well known in this field. And I purchased your Coastal Girls, and I purchased another one too, and somebody said, you got that big one to start. And what I like about it, because I had no idea what I was doing, because when I did rug cooking when I was a little girl and I got a kit when I was twelve for a rug, it wasn't coming from underneath, it was sticking in and out that way, and I thought that's what I was ordering. So, when I got your kid, I was like, you have to learn this. This is a whole new thing. And I like that if you do it like you said earlier, you don't compare yourself to anybody. If it doesn't look perfect or I learned something, I'm just learning along the way. It's just the joy of creating. So, one day I'll make it up to your area and meet you in person and do a class or something up there with you would be great.

[10:22] Deanne: Sure, yeah, I'll look forward to that. That'll be great.

[10:25] Moira: So, your work has been featured in the Canadian Museum of Civilization. The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. The Art Gallery of Newfoundland. Share that experience of how that must sell. And how were you chosen to highlight your beautiful art and work?

[10:39] Deanne: Well. After I began cooking and I knew that I just wanted to do this all the time. I began sending my picture snapshots of my work, so I sent snapshots of my work to the Archaic Scotia, and they emailed me and called me actually. It was so long ago. They called me and said they were interested in purchasing a piece and the same thing with the Canadian Museum of Civilization. And I went there actually for a show where they featured my work in a show and asked me to speak at a show opening called Hooked Rugs. And a few years later I had a show at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia. I don't really know why my work, but I think I guess I don't ask that question. The question, I mean, I wanted them to know about my work and I showed them my work, but I don't know why it resonates. I just know that I put myself into my work and my work is important to me and that I'm taking it seriously. I think that I'm creating rugs that are, I like to say, unmistakably art. And not every rug that I make is a perfect piece of art. It's not like that at all. I just know that I'm putting myself into my work and I'm trying to do it in a soulful way. And I want the work to resonate and make people feel things. And I think that's what artists want from their work. Doesn't matter if you're hooking rugs or you're weaving, or you're painting, or you're making a sculpture, or you're making music. I think as an artist. A lot of times I think we want to make people feel something, see something. We want to make them see something, maybe something that we don't even see ourselves. So that's what I believe, and I think, thankfully, other people have seen that in my work and seen things in my work and feel like it's worthwhile. I'm just grateful, really, that they do. And I don't really understand I don't understand the why of it always. I think it's beautiful myself. Right?

[13:03] Moira: I think you got it on the nose there, Deanne. As we said in the beginning, Rug Hooking for the Heart and Soul, which is title to show our soul with them, but it reflects in who you are, your integrity, and you just come across like you and you're just being Deanne. And Deanne is a very caring, loving person who appreciates nature and every moment. And the meditation for makers. Let's look at that first. That's what I feel like, the meditation for makers, the daily affirmations. And you've written many books. Did you take a course in that, how to write, or did you just start writing?

[13:38] Deanne: Well, I went to university, and my first book I just figured, if I can write a paper, I can write a book. Right. You need a table of content. You need an idea. You need thought. So that sort of was my lesson in writing, and I knew that. So, my first book, if you look at it, it's probably a little bit more academic than my other books, you know what I mean? Like, it's not an academic study, but it's a history and a method, right? So, I'm telling you what I know or what I researched, really, in a lot of cases. And then what I know from I'd only been cooking six or seven years at that point, so that's how I learned. And no, I haven't taken many writing courses. I went to a really short poetry workshop once with Robert Bly at the Northwood Fry Festival in Monkton, and I've probably taken one or two other little ones along the way, but nothing that I remember. I guess I don't really have any art education or writing education. I have an education, and I don't know, I educate myself all the time. Like, I'm always reading. I've read books on writing. I love Stephen King's book called On writing. It was beautiful. And I read Bird by Bird by Anna Maw. Like, I've read different books on writing. And Natalie Goldberg, she wrote a beautiful book on writing. But really, you don't learn about writing from reading. Well, you do learn it. That's not true. But you don't really learn about writing from reading books on writing. You learn about writing from writing. And you do learn about writing from reading from reading other writers, right? Because you see how when you get a beautiful sentence right, you know that you have oh, that is a nice sentence. Those words are coming together in a way that matters, in a way that I haven't heard before. So that's what you're trying to do when you're writing.

[15:42] Moira: I think I understand that. I know my book that I'm still working on, my first of a trilogy series. It's coming more from my right brain, like you said, like academic more where the next steps are going to definitely come from my left brain, from the creativity and more from my heart and just downloading the information versus writing. It like right brain, the male brain. Now, you shared that I read because I'm on where you send things out, and I love reading everything that you send out.

[16:13] Deanne: Yeah, my newsletter list. Yeah, I send them a letter every Sunday.

[16:16] Moira: Yeah, it's wonderful.

[16:18] Deanne: Thank you.

[16:18] Moira: Yes, you shared an article by Joe Packham in Magazine where Women Create that really spoke to you. This just came out, so I wanted to include it in Today to share with the listeners that sometimes just what you need to hear is laid right in front of you. It is there on the page and breathing by it is not enough. You need to own it. You need to integrate it. You need to feel it. Can you expand a little bit on that? Because I found it very powerful.

[16:43] Deanne: Well, this is what I think that, and I don't know if it's right or not. It's just what I believe for myself. There’re so many images and so many quotes and so many visual cues drifting BIOS today, like if you're a member of Facebook or Instagram or if you just browse the Web or anything that I just feel like there's constant queues if you look at and they don't interest me much anymore. When we first started doing it all yeah. I was, like, captured by beauty. Like, oh, look at that, or, oh, look at that. But now I find that it's all whizzing by so fast. It's not resonating with me. Right. So, what I did was it was a quote by Brene Brown that was in this beautiful magazine called Where Women Create that's created by Joe Packham, who's an American woman. And I tore a page out of the magazine, and I put it on my bulletin board. And it's the same thing if I really just believe that when we look at actual books and have them open on our table. I have a book open now, and it's just because I want to see that color palette. It's not that I want I never want to make a rug like another person's painting, but I love studying somebody's color palette or how they make their strokes. And I have a couple of bulletin boards. I'm looking at them now, actually, as we talk, and I just stick things up there that remind me of something that makes me think of something. And I just think that that's very important, that we need cues, and we need to create those cues ourselves, things that connect us, our own little altars, so to speak, right. Not in a religious way, but just in a spiritual, in a soulful kind of way. Soulful, yes.

[18:49] Moira: I noticed you did say Brene Brown, who is just an amazing lady, that.

[18:53] Deanne: She is pretty incredible. Yeah.

[18:57] Moira: The quote there that I wrote that I wanted to share, which ties into just what we just said was you either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness. How do you feel that a person can begin to find, like discover and then embrace their personal life story and feel complete and worthy? Because that's an issue I see in my coaching with women.

[19:20] Deanne: So, the question is, how do I find a person? Well, I don't know about other people. I can only talk for myself. Right.

[19:27] Moira: Okay.

[19:29] Deanne: In fairness, I think for myself personally, I have to really make a habit of thinking of what the 100 people around me, the people I work with, the people I see every day, my family, my sisters, what do they think of me and what do they feel about me? So, I try to remember that, right. How I am with them and how they see me is I try to remember that that is the most important thing. But that is love, right? I mean, we all want to be loved and cared for, and I want people to love my work. Of course, I do, because I love my work. But I can't control that. Right. I think standing inside your story is knowing your story. The whole comparison thing where we always did that, it isn't something that happened with Instagram. It just now happening in a different way. Or Facebook and social media. There was an expression, keep up with the Joneses. You know, like it's human nature. And I struggle with it. Sure, I do. I think many people do. And I just try to get back to what really makes me happy, I guess. And I'm not good at it every day, and I struggle with it just like everybody else struggles with it. But I hear it all the time from artists. And then I hear some people say, gee, I don't care what anybody thinks of me. And I don't understand that at all because I'm in relationship with other people all day, every day. And I do care what other people think of me because I don't want to hurt somebody's feelings. Do you know what I mean? I want to be good. I think we're here to be good to each other, and I want to be good to other people, and I want other people to be good to me. That's what we're here for. But personally, I think my mother-in-law always said that we are here to be good to each other. And I just carry that with me. Like a try, and I think it's a good reason to be here.

[21:50] Moira: Wonderful. Thank you for sharing that. That's very close to your heart, I think, today with the Jones one, you're right. That I think with COVID, what I've seen and people I've interviewed, people are really not everyone, but there are people who are really reassessing their life and what is important. I know a girl that we've mentioned out of California. She's part of our sole family now, in our own family, but she was saying that her partner, they've asked him to go back to work three days a week. And he was used to working at home in TJ's than that. And he was kind of disappointed because he was valuing that time at home and that you could just be like that, like yourself. I know you have your store and everything there and hers, but I'm not a person that stays in PJs all day. But if I wanted to, I could. I don't know if that made sense to what you were saying, but the Jones, that's where it went with my brain.

[22:42] Deanne: Okay. Yeah.

[22:45] Moira: So, you talk about meditation. It's an opportunity for a person to be creative and good for their heart and soul, and that meditation for you. Please explain to us how you see that as a way to connect inwardly and the qualities and how it freezes us from rules.

[23:04] Deanne: I don't meditate in a traditional way. Okay. Years ago, I read the piece and every step about walking, meditation. So, I walk every day and I let my thoughts come and go. And I also hook a lot. And sometimes when I'm hooking or preparing in my art, I'm just letting my thoughts come and go. But my walking is my main time where the thoughts are coming and they're going. And I just think it's just a very important part of my art practice. And I've learned so much about myself, about good ideas, about nature itself, just from walking up and down the road where I live, same road every day, pretty much every morning. I just think there's something to be said for repetitive things. And for me. Well, I'm hoping as we talk, you can probably hear a little thrumming sound.

[24:02] Moira: I didn't hear that, but that's nice.

[24:03] Deanne: Yeah. Hooking as we talk. And I just find that it allows my thoughts to sort of land and leave and land and leave. And I really value that. And I would value that about rug cooking.

[24:17] Moira: And it definitely is like what I wrote here that you said is the gift of sitting alone, holding a few strands of wool in my hands, pulling together a few thoughts into a rug is not like meditation. It is meditation. It is a hand over hand, thought over thought, as you said, of meditation. It's definitely a meditative and walking. And again, because you're one of my Nova Scotia special guests, people walk down here.

[24:43] Deanne: They do, yeah, definitely. Yeah. Where did you live before Maura?

[24:48] Moira: We were in Ontario.

[24:50] Deanne: Right? Yeah.

[24:52] Moira: Never going back, though. Dan, I never know you're happy here.

[24:55] Deanne: That's great. Yes. No, we are big walkers here. It's true. Yeah, we are. We love to walk. I think it's because it's probably because it's so beautiful here. You want to feel it and see it and get out in it and.

[25:08] Moira: Definitely a healthy way of being, for sure. At least I feel you're a successful, happy entrepreneur making a difference in the world. How did you learn all those other key things of being an entrepreneur in your business? Marketing, sales, building a team to work with? Did you just do that step by step? Because there will be people listening today thinking of their own creative abilities and maybe they want to do what you're doing.

[25:33] Deanne: It was definitely step by step. I have no training at all. I've taken some online courses. I took a great course one time called Hello Business, hello Soul, about this old business that I loved. So, I've taken courses like that. When I was 20, I met a man who's now who's my husband and I've been married for years and he has had a family business forever, and the business is called man Source Menswear and it's turning 100 years old this year. And so, business was part of his life when I was young, when I met him. But I have to say I learned lots from him. Right. Actually, the counter in my Rug hooking studio was his father's counter that he had in the store for years. At 24 to probably 34, I didn't really know much about business, really. I just was making rugs and going to markets and selling them. It was just like you were just trying to make a small living. And I still work part time at first, and then just slowly over time, I just had this idea I'm not a big risk taker, so I would just keep reinvesting back in my business over and over again. Like I never took out any big loans or I never overdid it. If I made $100, I might put 50 back in the business. Or a lot of times, to be honest, if I made $100, I put 100 back in the business for years. Right. Because was lucky. I was fortunate. I had a partner, and he was supportive, and I liked clothes, so I'd always keep some money to buy some clothes or groceries or whatever I wanted, and then I would just plow the rest back in my business. And that's how I grew my business. So, it was just a very organic kind of growth. Perhaps I could have been more successful had I taken different risks and invested earlier or moved out of my house earlier. But I was also by 27, I was a mother and I wanted to be home for my kids. So, it wasn't until I was in my 40s that I actually moved my business out of my home and into town. And that was a huge game changer. There's just so much like, there's nothing wrong with having a homebased business. It's great and might work for you forever, but when I'm driving down the road and I see a sign I saw a sign the other day for baskets, and I didn't want to go into someone's home to look at the baskets because I would have felt a responsibility to buy some, and I wasn't even sure I wanted them. I just didn't want all that. That's how I feel. And I think lots of people might feel that way about going to a home-based business, though. I had a successful home-based business for many, many years and it suited me perfectly. So, I'm not saying it's not a good idea. I'm just saying that when I moved my business from my home into downtown Amherst, it grew nicely, and I was really happy with the way that it grew. And as I had teenagers and stuff, it just made more sense for my home life to be my home life. Right?

[29:13] Moira: Definitely. I've been an entrepreneur for over 30 years with family, and we've moved to a smaller house. We have beautiful lake now and land, which we didn't have, but it's a smaller home and we're all juggling that. But the thing is that you always have to create sort of boundaries because your work is there and when to close the door and when to leave it. So, I understand exactly what you're saying.

[29:37] Deanne: And in your business, did you have people coming to your office or to your space?

[29:43] Moira: I have had I've worked for spaces when I did healing work and I've done coaching and healing out of my own home. And just before covid, I started not doing it for my home. I would do it by phone and zoom and things like that. So, I'm kind of past that stage that I don't want to do that anymore.

[30:01] Deanne: Yeah, and it's not easy, right. And some people can do it, and some people can do it well. And I did that well for many, many years. But when we moved to town, I said to the women I work with and to myself, I just want to make sure that I bring this hospitality here with me. And I really do try. Like, for years we had a couch in here. We don't anymore, but we have comfortable chairs for people to sit in. We have oat cakes. We offer them if we have time, we offer them a drink or cup of tea or cold drink in the summer. Like, we really try to make sure that we keep that home. Feeling of hospitality in the studio is important to me, and sometimes I miss it. Sometimes somebody will get offered a drink and somebody won't. Like, sometimes. We make mistakes with that or whatever. Sometimes I'm busy and I don't have time to chat with every single person who comes in. But we really try whoever is here might not always be me, but somebody. We really try to make people feel welcome because we feel that they're welcome here. We want to teach you how to hook rugs. Like that's our thing. We want people hooking rugs because I believe, and I think everybody who works here believes that hooking rugs calms people. It changes people. It gives them something to express themselves with. It's just a beautiful craft.

[31:29] Moira: And I have seen the pictures when you send out pictures with your newsletter, with the little biscuit or something left there and the tea and I thought, oh, it just looks so cozy just to walk here. Yeah, so you're talking about that with everything that transformation and healing and lots of things can happen. The stores, you're just sharing a few ideas. There are people who wrote hook. What have you seen from somebody who maybe started they were at a maybe not a confident person or whatever was happening in their life and then they went to the rug hook and then there was this transformation that they experienced.

[32:07] Deanne: Well, twice this week two women have come in here and told me that they've sold many rugs this summer, like just family and friends and at a local restaurant and stuff. And that makes me happy. I've seen women who retired from jobs and didn't quite know what they were going to do and then put together a show off their hooked rugs. I've just seen people and have a show in their local community hall or at a gallery or different examples of that where they've used rug hooking to sort of become even more of who they are, I guess. Because that's what art does. Art changes. You spend just think about it. If you spend hours with yourself every day just quietly working away on something, that's going to change the way you act, right? It's going to change the way you feel and it's going to change the way you think. It just is. And so it's just like anything that you invest in, in yourself. It's just like if you go work out for 2 hours a day or if you read for 2 hours a day, if you hook rugs or make art for 2 hours a day, that's just going to change things in you and change the way you see things and the way you feel about things. And then that will change the way you act. And that changes your life, I guess, doesn't it?

[33:41] Moira: I think it adds beauty to your life. I know my husband and I were out on the land the other day and there were ferns. And the ferns, I put them into like a little flower area and what I could see and just put it into like a wine bottle that was there, empty one, and started on the shelf in the garage. I said, look, just a simple thing like that that just brought joy, just a simple simplicity of it.

[34:09] Deanne: May I comment on that or not for sure.

[34:11] Moira: No, for sure.

[34:12] Deanne: Well, my thought on that is that when people start to make art and when they start to make rugs or make art you can say it either way, but it could be any art. I think that they start to see beauty around them more. They become a lot more aware of the details, and they notice things a lot more because they're taking what's around them and sort of trying to translate it right. So, they start seeing things differently. And I've seen that time and time again. Like, I never really looked at the grass before I've heard that song. I've never really looked at the sky before. And there are all kinds of people who haven't. And I find that when they get involved in an art craft, it really opens their eyes to the world.

[34:59] Moira: I think that ties into thank you and to gratitude. When you have gratitude in your life, you don't have that space to look at what you don't have or what you don't like. It's really being conscious of what you're saying in that. Because I know my mom, she's 95. I guide her a lot because she'll say something and tell the story to me and then tell my husband. And I'm like, why do you keep telling that story? It's not serving you. But she was upset about something, and she had to keep sharing it. And I said it would be better to look at to express something that you do. Like, what do you like? What do you want to do? Just to shift her into that gratitude, which she has a lot of gratitude, too. How does somebody nurture their awakened first to the creative potential and then nurture that?

[35:50] Deanne: How does somebody nurture what they're awakened?

[35:52] Moira: Well, first awaken to their creative potential when they may not think they have it. And then how does a person in your eyes nurture that, their artistic potential? Every day? Is it doing like you hooking every day? Or is it just like you got.

[36:07] Deanne: To have a practice. Yeah, I think that's so awakening is different things. So awakening is to just be aware of how something that makes you feel. Like, a lot of people want to be a writer, but they don't write very much. They feel like they're a writer. They want to be a writer, but maybe they don't write very much. I'm one of them, actually. I write a little, but I would like to write more. But mainly I'm not a writer. I write, but I'm not mainly a writer. I'm mainly a row cooker because I do that a lot. Right. So, I think you have to be listening to things like you have to follow your interests and your nose. I told you earlier that what I love is the motion. Like, I love the sound of the hook coming up through the and the wool coming up through the linen or the burlap. And I like the motion, and the motion is very satisfying for me. So, I think you got to explore, go out and take courses and purchase materials or kits and play with things. And if you connect with something, go deeper. But you're never going to get really good at something unless you do it over and over and over and over again.

[37:30] Moira: Yes, that's definitely great advice. And one of my passions is cooking. And I got away from it being very busy, it seems, this year, to the point I said to my husband, I think next summer, other than doing a retreat here that I like to do, to pull back with the podcast show for the summer and just cook again, do my cooking, which I love to do. Yeah, let's talk about that with simplicity that we said that in the beginning, about creating your goals to live simply and make hook rugs that are unmistakably art. How do you live simply? Because I know you're a very busy person. You have your studio, you have studio Thursday live events on your website, and you're there all the time. How do you create that simplicity?

[38:21] Deanne: Well, I don't take many appointments. Like, I don't make appointments very much. Like, I made an appointment with you, and I have one other appointment today, and that's an unusual day for me. I make sure that I have three or four days a week, but actually I might take an appointment like one or two days a week. And usually it'll just be one thing, and it'll be something that I feel like the need to do or calling to do or that I want to do. I don't go away. I don't travel a lot. I have traveled a bit in my life. And so that's one of the things I spend a lot of time at home. I say no to things all the time, and that's disappointing for people. Sometimes it's disappointing for me, but I know that I need time to do the thing that I really value, which is to make rugs. But I feel like I'm affecting people doing this business. I feel like people read my newsletter and they like it, or they read one of my books and it affects them. And I think that for me, that's worth doing. And so, I live in the same house I've lived in all my life. I've only ever had one home that I've lived in. So, I'm not trading off, really, but in terms of living simply, I probably lived more simply when I was 15 years old in my parents house. Really, I guess I grew up simply. But I think really living simply for me involves saying no. Does that make sense?

[40:08] Moira: Oh, definitely, yeah. And it's important because if you feel like you have to say yes to everything and you don't want to do that now, you're going to move into maybe feeling pressured or anxious or whatever. I know that I also need my time, and my time is the way I need every day. My husband has a different time clock, and so does my son and then my mom. We all have different things, and it's just to honor that and work together. But saying no, I used to teach a workshop and the healthy boundaries, and saying no was a big part of it.

[40:46] Deanne: Yeah. I took a course a long, long time ago when I was studying counseling and therapy, and this woman who was a family therapist, she said that you don't have to explain your nose. Like, you can just say no, and you don't have to explain it, and that it's just you. Like, my friends know that I love them, but that I probably don't want to go on a three-day road trip or a four hour hike, or that I might think I want to go and change my mind. And they accept that, and they understand that. And that's what I mean about the people around you who care about you and understand you. They roll with you. They do. It's important. Like you said about your family, everybody has their time, and what time is good for one might not be good for another. We all have different wants and needs.

[41:46] Moira: And the ebb and flow of our bone bodies, let it be when we eat or any of that. Thank you. I know that you believe in contribution, and I know you do collaboration, which I also believe in both. You also give to charities and communities every year now; do you choose those because they speak to you for a certain reason?

[42:10] Deanne: Yeah, I do. I like to choose them. I like to do the choosing rather than have requests come in the mail and you follow those. Yeah, I like to choose them. I don't know that it's for a certain reason. I just think you watch people in your community work hard and you just want to contribute in some way. I'm not an active volunteer right now in the community. I have been for years, but the last since Covid, I haven't been actively volunteering with anything. I do plan to volunteer with one particular organization soon. Yes. I can't say that a lot of times you know somebody in a small community, you know someone who's associated with it. I tried to support different organizations and just try to share a little bit, but really, I can't say that I do share, but I wouldn't call myself an amazing community volunteer right now. For sure. Yeah. I think things have changed, really. Yeah, that's true.

[43:26] Moira: And one thing we really learned down here also is everyone knows each other.

[43:33] Deanne: Yeah, that's right.

[43:35] Moira: And there's big families and they all know each other in the community, so that's a new one for us. And in our cove, they know each other, and we all look out for each other, but we're not on each other's space all the time because Cliff and I came home from that dental appointment I had this week and after we did Costco and all that stuff, we're pretty tired by the time we got home, and we just need to be quiet in our own ways. And our neighbors, we wanted to go out and do some fishing with they saw us come home, but they were just so beautiful. They thought, oh, Wire and Cliff are tired, just let them go. Big day. That kind of knowing, but also caring. It's such a beautiful thing. Where do you see yourself five or ten years from now? I know you're already leaving a legacy with the beautiful work you do and just who you are as a being and how you care about people, communities. What does that look like for dinner the next five or ten years, I'll.

[44:40] Deanne: Be here and be hooking a rogue like that's. What? Really? Perhaps I'll have another book and that the studio will be doing well, that I have good community around me. I mean, that's enough for me, right? That would be enough. That would be amazing.

[45:00] Moira: It's just beautiful.

[45:02] Deanne: Yeah, that would be amazing. Yeah, if I could have that. Really? So, I don't have big like I don't want a rug hooking, television show or anything like that. I just want to make rugs. Really? Mostly that's what I want to do, make rugs, and share them with people and have people making rugs and making sure that rug hooking that's such an important part of our Atlantic Canadian culture is still out there and vibrant, and it is common, and we all know about it. That is what I want to continue and that's what I started wanting to do and I just want to keep doing it. I feel very grateful, really. I feel lucky that I get to do it. It's very fortunate.

[45:50] Moira: I think it's beautiful that you found this purpose and passion at a younger age because there's a lot of people searching in their forties and fifties and sixties even trying to still figure out or thinking. Did I miss the boat or all that. Versus just really what brings you joy. What really brings you joy and happiness and start exploring that because I believe if you have a desire for anything in your life. It's put on your heart for a reason. For you to follow it. And you definitely have followed your desire and your passion and life's purpose.

[46:22] Deanne: Thank you. I try. And of course, those desires, sometimes they've evolved. I can't say that they haven't evolved. They have what I want and how I want to do it. It has evolved, but I still want to keep doing it.

[46:41] Moira: I know my mom asked me to put the coastal girls that I got from you. It is a big one. Why did you start with the big one? I said I was really drawn to these women.

[46:51] Deanne: Right. Yeah. You connected with them.

[46:53] Moira: I connected with them. And I also ordered another one, which I'm going to be doing for my husband. And that's another cool thing when you talk about, see, you're so down to earth, which I love, and so is myself and my husband, and that I'm drawn to people like that. And I called in to ask a question, and one of your team I was speaking to, so she was on the phone with me, helping me. And then you said to her, oh, who are you talking to? And she said, Moira. Moira Sutton. And you said, hi, Moira, or something like you just got away with it. And I thought, that is so cool. When I got off the call, I told my husband, I just said that's, Dean.

[47:29] Deanne: Well, that's what I want it to be. I appreciate every person who comes in here and buys a hook, I think, well, they could have bought a hook somewhere else. They bought it here. Thank you. Right. And I appreciate people we all want to be known. We all want to be known for who we are. You want to be known in the Cove. She went to town today. We want to be known; I think some of us. I do, anyway. I want to be known and cared for by the people around me. That's my customers, too. Right.

[48:09] Moira: With you saying that I had right beside me. Here the other part that you took that is just so personal. And we've seen it in the Cove with our neighbors already. It was a thank you card handwritten. Hello, Moira. Welcoming you to Deanne's Studio, and we hope you enjoy this beautiful kit. And this was signed by Mary. But that hand note, I just repeat that. It's just so special.

[48:35] Deanne: I want it. Yeah, we do that at the studio. I just said, write people a note when you're sending out their orders, so they know that we're human beings, too. So, I think that is a really nice touch. And you'd be surprised how many people mention that to us, like how nice that is, how much they appreciate that. Right. And I think I saw somebody else do that, like maybe on Instagram or something, when they were unveiling a package that there was a handwritten note. And I thought, oh, that just makes it so much more special. So, I learned that along the way. If you're watching and noticing things in whatever field you're in, you're going to learn things along the way. Right. That wasn't my original idea, but I think it's an important idea because it does show that someone is filling your order, and someone is interested in you, and we want you to have a great experience with us and our kids.

[49:42] Moira: And that you care. You definitely get that feeling with that.

[49:45] Deanne: Yeah, we do. We're not just writing the notes that you think will care, right?

[49:56] Moira: Yes.

[49:57] Deanne: And the people I work with care. One of the women I'm working with now, she was the director of the local transition House for years, and she works with me now. And I had actually worked at the transition house years ago, and she reminded me that I hired her there, too, and she's retired from that job. But she's a very caring person. And Mary, who both married, we have two Mary's here, and they're both very caring. They're interested, they know what it is to give, and they want to give of themselves. And Greg, who is our daughter, and there's six or seven other people that I haven't mentioned. Darryla, anybody's name. Many people's name could be signed on one of those things. But we work together as a community here at the studio. Right. We do our best.

[50:55] Moira: I can feel the space.

[50:56] Deanne: Yeah, it's a good space, really.

[50:58] Moira: It's a really nice we're a little.

[51:00] Deanne: Slow in staff some days because we have some people who are part time, and then we have some people.

[51:10] Moira: Who.

[51:10] Deanne: Are retired and have commitments with children or have commitments with adult parents. So, it varies every day when you come in here. But we're always trying to get her done. Whatever, get your order out. And everybody's always working in that direction.

[51:30] Moira: With love.

[51:31] Deanne: Yeah. With caring, for sure. Yeah. And with love. With love. I'm always wary of the word. I don't know, like love. Sometimes people throw around the word so freely and I don't know, I think yeah, with love, but I guess there's all kinds of different kinds of love, but with love and caring. Love and caring are different than that sort of intimate love that we carry for people that 100 people who are around us and that we know. But yeah, I think we put love into our work, for sure. There's no doubt about it. And I think therefore, the people who receive the kids feel that, too, I hope. Yeah. Does that make sense? Yeah.

[52:26] Moira: Well, I use a lot of spiritual terms like love and light, and that's who I am. And we're a hiking family, so I always say hugs to people, but I explained that because they might think, why is she putting hugs on there? Because if you met me in person, you know that we would be hugging you're huggy?

[52:43] Deanne: Yeah.

[52:47] Moira: Deanne, I always ask my authors to read an excerpt from your book. In this case, I think we're going to choose from Meditations for Makers. Thank you for that. That you sent that out to me. It's just beautiful. I just open it up and read a page and I just love it. And the pictures and everything. Yeah. Just to leave our listeners with inspiration and a little bit of DN and hearing this by you.

[53:15] Deanne: I'll read you, too. Agreed.

[53:17] Moira: Go for it.

[53:17] Deanne: Sure. Okay.

[53:18] Moira: Yeah.

[53:20] Deanne: Oh, Sky, I watch you every morning. Every day, from morning till night. I wait for you to change. You are such a great example of how good things can be. Even better. Sometimes I doubt this, fearing that a beautiful life might see the worst yet. Thank you for being above me, for being a shining example. And then here's another one. This one's about fair. I'm afraid of sending out words to you. I don't want you to laugh at me. I called a friend who sends out words, and she tells me this, that it's okay. Because as long as you are the you that you are, the words will be okay, and maybe even good, and certainly good enough to bring people back to themselves. For that is why I make why I write not only for myself, but so others will know they are not alone.

[54:14] Moira: That's just beautiful. Thank you, Deanne

[54:16] Deanne: Oh, you're welcome, Moira. 

Moira: Thank you, Deanne.

[54:22] Moira: I aks my guests to create something special for the listeners. It's a thank you, really, for them to be here with us in the community, and also for them to find out more about you, your products, your courses, and what is the special gift that you'd like to give to our listeners today.

[54:40] Deanne: Wow. What could I do? Did I tell you already?

[54:45] Moira: Yes, you did.

[54:48] Deanne: And it's a coupon code, isn't it?

[54:50] Moira: You write the word inspire; we'll have that below. And they get $10 off their first order.

[54:54] Deanne: Order, which is really right. Thank you, Moira.

[54:58] Moira: No, not at all.

[55:00] Deanne: If you write the word inspire, and it's a $10 off your first order. So, yeah, if you want to order a small kit, our beginner kits start at 39.95. So, it is an affordable craft, right? Yeah. So, you definitely can do that. And I'd be happy if you did that. I'm just going to check that code. I just want to make sure I believe it's all. Lower case inspired is the word so inspired. And you'll get $10 off your first order.

[55:36] Moira: Okay. That will be below in the show notes, too, so people forget they can go have a look at that. You're welcome.

[55:42] Deanne: Thanks, Moira. I forgot for a second.

[55:46] Moira: Don't worry about it. I have many guests that do, and it's perfect. We're having a heartfelt conversation.

[55:51] Deanne: No, we're just into the conversation.

[55:52] Moira: We're into the conversation.

[55:54] Deanne: I got lots of hooking done while.

[55:56] Moira: We talk, which was oh, my goodness.

[55:58] Deanne: It made me comfortable, too. It makes me comfortable.

[56:01] Moira: See, this is audio, but I made you video down the line. That would be great to be watching you. Deanne, thank you for sharing from your heart and soul your wisdom on rug cooking for the heart and soul. Namaste.

[56:19] Deanne: Namaste and thank you for letting me share it. That's really lovely to be invited. Thank you very much.

[56:25] Moira: Thank you.

[56:31] Outro: Thank you for listening to the Heart Soul Wisdom podcast with Moira Sutton. I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Please join our community at Moira Sutton.com and continue the discussion on our Facebook page. Create the Life you Love you will be part of a global movement connecting with other heart-centered people who are consciously creating the life they love on their own terms. Together, we can raise our consciousness for the greater good of humanity and our planet.