Piecesofnewfoundland

Heather's newest creations;

              

       

 

I kind of feel like I'm missing some pictures here. Heather, help me out if you happen to have a look.

This page is dedicated to Heather Ivany, owner and operator of the 'Flatrock Tickle' gallery, at least that's what it will be when we launch and promote her many talents.

Heather has worked in the tourism industry for over 20 years. For a decade she was involved in the design and development of cultural and natural history education programmes. She has a keen interest in botany and spends much of her time investigating the specimens that grow on and around her 'Flatrock Tickle' residence. Her winter pursuits include snowshoeing and tracking. A fourth generation mat hooker, Heather uses the images and scenery she sees in her environment to create the beautiful textile art in this 'centuries old tradition'.

Anyone interested in having Heather customize a mat is invited to direct inquiries to my email address, with the subject line 'hooked mats'. Serious enquires only.  lorimcneilly@msn.com

Heather calls this a 'hearth' mat. Done in jeweled colors, this is the ideal pattern for incorporating a birthstone theme. Just imagine all your family's birthstone colors layed out in front of a friendly fire...

 

These are no 'fish out of water', hours upon hours of loving labour are dedicated to each and every mat.

Unlike the previous mat, these fish really are 'out of water' and salted! A true tribute to Newfoundland culture. We could call these two mats, 'before and after'.

 

The next two mats show St. John's Harbour. Signal Hill and 'saltbox houses' make these mats immediately recognizable.

 

The following mat is similar in pattern to the 'hearth' mat but consists of  3d squares in pleasing pastel colors.

For tomato lovers only. This is one of my favorites, perfect in any kitchen.

Pretty as a picture! This wall hung mat shows of happier days when whales were plentiful, fisherman fished and neighbours were neighbourly. The neighbours are still neighbourly, that will never change.

 

The last mat in this 'Flatrock Tickle Gallery' shows that there is no cabin fever for a dedicated mat hooker, bad weather equals gorgeous mats. Here is Heather's 'work in progress'. It will soon be a finished work of art that I'm sure we'll be displaying here in the near future.

Please come back again.

Rather than making everybody scroll all the way to the bottom to see Heather's newest creations I've decided to try adding them to the beginning instead. Let me know how this looks to you Heather.


I believe Heather told me that this 'All Hearts Come Home for Christmas ' took her 6 months to do. And well worth the wait, it's a beauty!!!




















Still busy crocheting, Heather's making doggy sweaters for all sizes of Newfoundland and Labrador dogs. Not for real Newfoundland dogs or other large breeds, just for the smaller more vulnerable pups, like the one I have...lol.

    














Clay Yorkie and beautiful ornaments     




And Heather's work in progress, Strawberry Mat. Can't wait to see this one when it's done.

My friend Heather has been in Labrador since just before Christmas, she's 'in love' and she's still making her beautiful mats! We're so happy! on both accounts. Yesterday she sent me two shots of the following mat but does promise there's more to come. She expressed her concern with my pokey ole dial up but I wrote her back and told her 'to bring them on!', we wont' let a lousy internet connection get in the way...lol.

This one she has named Labrador Winter.
Looks like day after day of icy blue skies at high noon.













Keep an eye on the 'Yak Shack' and I'll
let you know when more come in..

 

Hit and Miss was Heather's way of getting through the bitter cold days

of a Labrador winter. And they had some brutal temps, one morning

she emailed me that when she got up it was  -53c but by the time she wrote

me it had gone up to  -48c!! Now that's COLD!!!

 

 

I love this one, a contemporary theme done in old tyme tradition.  There is

no end to Heather's talents! this was done from a photograph.

This by the way is the 'SSShannon' owned by someone very close

to Heather's heart...

 

 

On April 21st, Heather surprised me by showing up at the Rec Center sale. She informed me that she would be heading to Grandfalls the following day and then going on to Labrador on Tuesday. She had been here roughly 3 weeks, but for medical reasons, so I hadn't had a chance to get together with her. She stayed an hour or so at the sale and then left for Flatrock Tickle. I decided to go visit her the following morning before she left for Grandfalls. And I'm so happy I did. We had a great visit and I realized just how much I've been missing her company. We had a couple of teas and did a lot of talking and she straightened me out on the mat hooking. Turns out I've been doing them ass backwards and upside down! Only I could do them all wrong and still have them look ok...haha. While I was there, Heather brought out a mat that her grandmother had done possibly in the 1920's or 1930's. It's gogeous and I've added a couple of shots of them here to show everybody. You won't be able to tell what kind of material they were hooked out of but Heather gave me a quick history lesson and I was amazed to find out (and see for myself) that they were made out of old stockings!!! There's more to the story of mats and stockings but I don't remember it word for word but if I ask Heather I'm sure she'll repeat it for me and then I can write it in here.

This is an amazing piece of actual history! It's condition shows it was made to last, and thanks to family who appreciate hard work and traditional values it is still here.









When this mat was made stockings didn't come in all these colors either, dye was used, just more proof of our ancestors dedication.






When Heather doesn't hook she keeps busy with other Labrador activities, these next two shots show a day on the dog sleds...


Yep, that's her! She tells me the sun shines practically everyday there.


















There's more coming from Heather so please check the web site often.


Here's Heather's newest addition.


 'Stained Glass'
And isn't it just gorgeous?








This one is a wedding gift called 'Fudge on the Bar'















This is a work in progress which is a
birthday gift for Heather's father

 

It's going to be a beauty!!

 

The finished product..

   

 

 

 

The signal flags around the center crest actually spell, Dad, 2007

as well as Heathers initials and her father's.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter landed with a bang this year and Heather's hooking has definitely picked up speed.

 

 

These mats are all absolutely gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Keep scrolling down for the newest batch;

Before I add the mats I just wanted to share

this lovely picture of Heather and her

significant other Dwight. This was their

Christmas eve./07 dinner, nice.

I'm right in love with this one, could

be a future painting for me. This piece

is a w.i.p. can't wait to see the finished

result.

The caribou crossing...

Another work in progress, Christmas is

the theme...

These are some of Heather's finished pieces

and she calls this picture, ' off to market ' cute.

Forgive me if I've added this twice, it's hard

to keep track when you can only edit one paragraph

at a time....

More mats from Heather, ENJOY....

W.I.P.





























 




























Another heirloom by Heather. Always loaded
with detail... Note the Albert Lake cabin
sitting on the floor, almost done by the
looks of it...





The finished picture finally makes it through!!!

Heather is now a member of the Labrador Crafters Guild and voluteer's a few hours of her week working in the shop. Here are a few shots and note how Heather's mats are displayed. Following the shop shots is a mat depicting her significant other's work truck.

 










  











Obviously a WIP, can't wait to see the finished results..

Heather has made a 'Can You Find' list for Carmen to have fun with when she's
old enough to pick out the details of her very special mat.

Heathers been a busy lady all winter but she wasn't able to send me pictures of her work until just recently.

These very popular hats have had Heather knitting up a storm. This group of hats are actually felted. More expensive but much warmer too.










This is called tapestry crocheting.                                      


















Heather is also experimenting with other mediums and is busy coming up with ideas for Mother's Day. These are made out of polymer clay.


  












     













Lovely work! What Mom wouldn't love one of these???











Even with all her other projects Heather never loses her love of hooking. This is an Inukshuk, waiting to be bound off.



                                            


This is an example of crochet binding.