Well it sure has been an interesting year, yes I said “a year” we have been the proud owners of Brier Wood Farm for year! We started out with 2 Cotswolds and 1 Alpaca oh yeah , now let me tell you what we have lol here goes: 2 Alpaca, 18 bunnies, 2 Nubian doelings goats, 2 Icelandic sheep, 4 Cotswold and a miniature horse plus all of our 30 laying hens and 1 manic Turkey lol. We also raise our own meat birds. Hows that for 12 months of work !!! Oh right I forgot little bear he is my little dog… do you think I might be a tad busy hehehe I am .

Now I also have my Studio on site here and you can sit and work in there and watch all the animals go foolish and get a great laugh, you know what they say ” laughter is the best medicine” well we have a lot of that here. I have been very busy creating new products for my shop that will be opening up in May. All of my stuff is Eco Friendly and traditional crafts so you should come and check us out

We have great news for you can go on my blog and get updates on the newest product on hand that is from the Brier Wood Farm, How Cool Is That!!!! We will even give you the new colors, yarns, roving, wool material and folk art patterns these will be hitting the web n Jan 2012. I will have pages on my blog that will have pictures for you so you can see things also, we will be doing video demonstrations on hooking , needle felting , spinning and many more things that will rock your world especially if you are a funky fiber fiend

Well I am back, from a long time away! I was busy taking care of my Mom who has now gone to be with God. What a time of year for this to happen, that is what you think! Well I think that to sometimes, but other times I think wow! She gets to see Jesus the one that I celebrate Christmas for . If you have any knowledge of me you know that I am very Spiritual person and my faith gets me through many of life’s trials and I must say this is one of them!!! But I also will say I am not the only one going through this kind of trial. I just hope that this Christmas Season we all take a moment to reflect on what we have and be thankful for the happy memories that we have shared over the years with our loved ones and we stay focused on the here and now
We need to also remember that material things that we buy in the stores will not give us Joy, Peace, Love these come from within ourselves and from God or however you want to worship. I hope you will choose to Spend more time with your family, friends and try to do at least one good deed this Season and then tell me how good you feel about the Christmas Holidays!
May you be Blessed this Christmas Season
Victoria Graham & Family

Well I am back, yes I have been gone for a while sorry about that but life did seem to get in the way! Floyd & I have been very busy since last fall, we have a nice farm that is 1810 years old and we have called it, Brier Wood Farm: Our mandate with our farm is that we are raising our own food and also providing food for sale. We will not feed our animals, antibiotics, growth hormones or any feed that is not natural. We are allowing them free range but also giving them the respect that they deserve as they are our food! This year all of my meat birds are spoken for and we are going to expand next year into the area of beef cattle, pork & lamb each of these will be ordered on demand only so we will have them all ready sold when we get them! We feel that people are starting to want to know where their food is coming from & how they are being treated & fed, these 2 things are very important to us also.

We also are planning on having 2 rooms in our farm-house that will be for rent, all your meals will be included with the one price! How great is that I know when we go away we are always trying to get things included. I have a studio where I do my creating in and that is where I do my workshops and that is in the back of our house which the large picture window in the studio faces the meadow were the animals are grazing, so that also inspires me or just plain gives me joy!

The animals that we are raising for fibre are Alpacas, Cotswold Sheep and Angora Rabbits. Yes I am a little on the wild side I love my fibre… I am also eco friendly in the way that I process it I wash it myself and dry it outside and then I decide what I may doing with it Here are some pictures for you I hope you enjoy will be back on in a few days TA for now…

I will be posting some pictures of the farm house and rooms in a few days!

Well is everyone going nuts yet! I hope not, this is a time that we should be reflecting on what we want for the New Year and what we had done or not in the last year! My wish for this Christmas is Peace for all who have nothing but turmoil in their lives. Hope for my friends who feel that things are hopeless and nothing will change! That they seek for Love in all the right places like Church or from our families and also love ourselves when we do that we will be more content! Do you see the theme that I have going here not one of these things cost any money all it cost is time and commitment. I know I am getting a little bit deep here but the stores are driving me nuts and so are all the people who ask me are you ready for Christmas, I am always ready because it is not about the money spent or the perfect gift, It is about Family and making memories and trying to make a difference in this world that we live in!  May you have a great time with your family this Christmas Season and have a safe New Year may you make a difference in someone’s life !

                                                                                                 Seafood Chowder ( Vicki“s Secrect )

                                                                           1 pound of scallops

                                                                          1pound of haddock

                                                                          6 cups of diced  potatoe cook your potatoe  until tender then add  first 2 ingredients, cook until fish and scallops are just done then drain out the water.

                                                                         5 cups of shelled and chunked lobster

                                                                         1 large onion diced

                                                                          1 quarter cup butter

                                                                       Now take these 3 ingredients and fry them in a large frying pan until the onions are translucent,then add these to your fish ,scallop, and potatoes pot. Then you are to add milk and blend in equal amounts until it just goes over the top of your ingredients. Then you take half a cup of cheese whiz  and add this to the chowder. Then you are going to add seafood seasoning to taste also salt & pepper, you let this simmer on your stover until it gets hot and then you serve it with rolls or home made biscuts you talk about yummy ! There is nothing any better than a Brier Island Seafood chowder:) I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Now I am off to sit down and hook a little as I have many projects on the go and I need to finish some of these, enjoy your evening and will talk to you again before Christmas Eve !

 Vicki G

I thought I would give you a few of my favorite recipes for  Lobsters for your Christmas company! The first thing you need to do is go out and buy fresh local Lobsters or if you live in the city go find a trustworthy vendor that treats his fisherman fairly with pricing! Then you cook them in the pot now we know you do not boil lobster you steam them, so what you do get a large pot ready and put 3 inches of water in it and get it boiling then you take off the bands the lobsters have on them and  put them in the pot and put the cover on they will be cook when you can pull the feelers out or when they turn red! Now you what for them to cool and shell them out. now you are ready for the recipes and a little bit of nibbling lol…

                                                                              Lobster Dip

                                     1 1/2 cup of ground lobster

                                      1/4 diced onion

                                      1/2 block cream cheese softened

                                       1/2 cup sour cream

                                       1/2 cup mayonnaise

                                      salt & pepper to taste  and use a mixer to mix this up . This is great with Nachos or veggies it is always a hit here.   

                                                                          Brunch Lobster & Eggs

                                            Large frying pan

                                           melt butter to cover the bottom of the pan

                                          cut up 3 cups of lobster into nice bite size

                                           10 eggs mix these in a large mixing bowl when this is done you add the lobster to the eggs

                                          you take one onion and dice it and saute it with a dice clove of garlic in the frying pan when these are done you add the egg mixture and cook it, when  this is cooked you serve it with english muffins and fresh fruit salad, it is a lovely brunch

Next week I will add my seafood chowder which is the most awesome chowder in the world I have never had anything like it, and I have tried a few but none come close.

Here are a few pictures that I have of the Lobster fisherman who go out and catch these  Lobsters, they fish in the dead of winter and sometimes in dangerous seas on most boats there could be sons and father’s brothers and cousins, so if we lose a boat we lose a whole lot more than just one member of our family !  But this is their way of life the SEA that is what they know and love so may they always come home to us safe and sound

I hope you enjoy these recipes I know my family does , they can not what to come for a visit and also I hope you have a great time this Christmas Season.

Vicki G  Will do more recipes next week ttyl

Hi everyone, how is your day going? Mine is just crazy I have been dyeing wool, doing stock, trying to get a website set up for a shop and the list goes on I sometimes think that I am going around in circles. Well !!!

My question for the day is in my title , in my family I was away for a family reunion and had my hooking and one of the older Aunts sat there and just watched me for hours and finally I went over to her and asked her why she was doing this, well she got this very melancholy look on her face and said she thought that the hooking that was done in our family was lost forever when our Grandmother passed away ! Well you could have knocked me over because I had been wondering why I had such a strong pull towards this craft and why I felt I had found my soul and realistically it was in my blood all along If it hadn’t been for my Great Aunt I wouldn’t know this to this day! So what I’m saying is this stop being busy with our own lives, take time and seek out older people in our family and ask as many questions about family history, we need to carry it on if we don’t want it to be lost! Well That was a mouthful I hope you have a great night I am going to get my spinner out and spin some yarn that also was in my family boy I believe I am a very old soul in a very young body LOL .

Have a good day and try to do something kind for someone and don’t tell anyone and see how it will come back

Happy Hooking Vicki Graham

Okay I know I am making you think, but I thought this was a great question! Is it stress in your life, is it an obsession is it an addiction or is it just something fun to do?

Well with me it is all the above lol , I know that sounds crazy but if you knew me personally you would understand! There has been days that if I did not have my hook in hand I would have flipped out and said or done something that I would regret!  I know that is a bit extreme but I am a very passionate person and I have a lot of energy and I need it to escape and this has been a great way for me to vent in a creative manner. If you have seen any of my needle felting with faces that has been one way that some of my funkyness has come out and also with some of my designs. I very rarely use transfer paper I just draw right on the backing and let my feeling and freedom flow, so this has helped me let go of PERFECTION GIRLS try it you really may like it!

Well I hope that the next time you pick up your hook you think okay why am I doing this and what do I get out of this, is it peace, comfort or just plain fun;) . May you have a great week and enjoy life you are only given one so don’t mess it up happy hooking.

Vicki Graham

Where do you get yours? I have been thinking lately how ,what and who inspires me….hmmm that is a really deep question for hump Wednesday lol. But seriously it has been on my mind and this is what I came up with, the how : I sometimes dream really vivid dreams and when I wake up I have to grab a coffee and then run down stairs and get my pencils out and sketch pad and draw what I dream but here the thing when I put the pencil to the paper it just flows from my soul, has this ever happened to you? I sometimes think I must be a little weird then a friend of mine will look at me and say” Oh Vicki you’re not a little weird your just one of a kind” lol and that is when I realise that we all are unique in every aspect of our being!

Now we will go to the what: I really like doing impressionistic work the best! But in saying that I also like doing folk art as anything goes, you can allow your spirit to be free and hook in what ever manner you want and use what ever material you choose, the rules you can throw them out the window OPPPSSS did I say the 4 letter word RULE did you know there are no rules in rug hooking that can not be broken yes I said it! I am willing to shout it to the roof tops also if I have to. Yes you need to know the basics but that is not what hooking is about! When I sit down with hook in hand frame on lap I am ready to have a time alone to have a spiritual journey connecting with my work and freedom in expressing my fiber art:)

Now we are down to the final one who inspires you: I have many things that inspire me but here are a few I can explain to you, music is one of my favorites as it can get my soul likened up or it can help me pick colors. I like the oldies, Christian Rock, Mozart and I love CCR. Then there is the beautiful Island that I live on Brier Island what more can I say, Hiking ,ocean, birds, whales and much more. I have favorite Artist some are The Group of Seven I love their work, Monet,& Vincent Van Gogh. These are just a few but here are a few in the hooking world that I look up to Doris Eaton, Doris Norman,Deanne Fitzpatrick and these are just a few .

I hope that with this blog I have made you think a little deeper into your hooking soul and try to figure out why you hook and how you can make it a better experience for you and help you create something awesome, also I journal when I hook it is really nice you can look back and see what was going on in your life at the time you were making a certian rug.

here are a few pictures a mine hope you enjoy God Bless and have a great day Vicki G

Well I have to tell you our first Haunted Hook-In Retreat was a huge success and we had 4 ladies from away who took part in the week-end and we also had ladies from the Islands who were able to pick and chose what they would like to do! It was beyond anything I could ever imagine in popularity, it was the talk of the town, I was told that we woke some people up on Friday night as we did our walk but hey that was only at 11pm so we weren’t in trouble lol, there was laughter, learning ,great food and history also some frightening moments, what more could you ask for? Here are a few pictures of the week-end I hope you enjoy I know we did some of the ladies have all ready booked for next year, space is limited so if you want to take part you will want to book as soon as you can!

These are just a few of my pictures of this wonderful week-end, we also did a great needle felting project and a textured hooking one that I designed just special for this week-end so the Ladies really had unique things all the way around!

I  hope that you enjoyed this little tidbit I have given you will talk more about some things that are on my mind later on, so have a great evening and be thankful for what you have and enjoy life! Happy Hooking:=)

Vicki G