A Nova Scotia woman, known for her stunning works and patterns, has been named the Canadian Rug Hooking Artist of The Year.

Rug hooking is a hobby, a business, and a passion for Deanne Fitzpatrick.

The Amherst, N.S. woman has been hooked since taking her first class in 1990.

“A woman named Marion Kennedy from Tatamagouche taught me how to do my first few loops, and she said, ‘just finish it’ and that was the only advice, the only training I ever really got for hooking rugs. Just get started and get 'er done,” says Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick’s work can be found in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia and the Canadian Museum of History.

Fitzpatrick says hooked rugs have become more of an art form to be hung on the wall, as opposed to just a functioning floor cover.

“You can paint with wool, just like you paint with oil paints or acrylic paints,” says Fitzpatrick. “So there's a lot of opportunity there to be creative and to be expressive.”

The Hooked Rug Museum of North America recently named Fitzpatrick Canadian Rug Hooking Artist of The Year.

“It's an honour that anybody recognizes what you're doing, you know,” says Fitzpatrick. “Because most of us are just, like really the truth is, most artists are just working with their head down, most of the time.”

When she's not hooking rugs herself, Fitzpatrick holds classes to teach others, in person and on-line.

The people who work with Fitzpatrick say she's amazing.

“Most people sort of burn out after a few years or whatever, but she's so dedicated to what she does and every, it's almost like every year or every couple years, she comes up with a new type of rug,” says rug hooker Brenda Clarke.

Fitzpatrick says what first attracted her to rug hooking is the same thing that helps keep her going today.

“There's a lot of research now that says about how good handwork is for you, right and I think it was just, I found it a really soothing motion.

The second thing that got me was the ability to express yourself,” says Fitzpatrick.

One of Fitzpatrick's rugs is currently on display at the Canadian Textile Museum in Toronto, part of their exhibit of 150 years of rug hooking in Canada.

With files from CTV Atlantic's Dan MacIntosh