Knitting Kits, Farewell Movember and a Touch of Saltspring

It's been a busy week getting everything together for the Touch of Saltspring show this coming weekend. There are going to be tons of vendors there with lots of great crafts.

I am going to be debuting a few Learn To Knit Kits, selling some new hand spun yarn colors and new smaller sized knitting needles. I may even be whipping out my drop spindle for the event.

I will be sharing a booth with my friend Allie of Alexandra Designs. She makes beautiful ceramic pendants and will also be selling some of her pottery.

I would love to see familiar faces. Please come by for a visit :)

The hours are Friday 10-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 10-5pm

Also, I would like to take the opportunity to say farewell to Movember. I will miss you.

1st Knitting Day at UVic

I'd like to report that my 1st Knitting Day up at UVic was a great success. I got to meet and chat with a lot of great people and a chance to share my skills. Now there are 13 more knitters in the world :)

I will be in the Student Union Building again today for Knitting Day Round two. I will also be bringing along some more yarn and arm warmers in a few different lengths and colors.

:) :) :)

Uvic Knitting Day

I'm excited to be up at Uvic this coming Friday the 19th and next Friday the 26th. I'm going to have a table booked in the Student Union Building from 10-4pm where
I will be giving free drop-in knitting lessons!

Just the basics to get you started. How to cast on, basic knit and how to cast off. At the end you will come away with a cute little cuff bracelet like this one below.












I will also have some handmade yarn, kntting needles, scarves and armwarmers for sale

Come see me :)

Upcoming Shows and Where to Find Me

In the coming month I'm going to be a few places doing a few different things.

Friday November 19th and 26th I am going to be up in the UVic SUB. I am putting together some learn to knit kits with hand spun yarn and my hand crafted needles. I will also be giving some tutorials throughout the day.

Tues November 23rd I will be at Capilano University in North Vancouver for the annual Textile Arts Student Sale. There will be tons of great stuff here by very talented fibre artisans so if you're in the area check it out!

December 3,4,5 I will be at the Touch of Saltspring holiday market at Panorama Rec Center in Victoria. This is a huge show with lots of vendors and a great place to do some christmas shopping.

I am also working away to get my creations photographed and up on my etsy shop. So if you cannot make it any of these up coming events check me out there :)

Manic Monday

I'd like to take the opportunity on mondays to post things that make me happy.

Cat's in hats are funny.

Check out this best of craigslist post for A Carton Of Irregular Cat Hats is one of my favorites.

Have a furry Monday!

Interesting

Adjective of the week: Interesting

Inspired by weeks of Canadian History tutorials where we all go around the room and describe how interesting the article was and why it was so interesting. By the end the word has lost all meaning. So I thought I would revisit its meaning (which is apparently appealing and entertaining) and possible alternatives so I will not be that "interesting" person next week.

Synonyms: absorbing, affecting, alluring, amusing, arresting, attractive, beautiful, captivating, charismatic, compelling, curious, delightful, elegant, enchanting, engaging, engrossing, enthralling, entrancing, exceptional, exotic, fascinating, fine, gracious, gripping, impressive, intriguing, inviting, lovely, magnetic, pleasing, pleasurable, prepossessing, provocative, readable, refreshing, riveting, stimulating, stirring, striking, suspicious, thought-provoking, unusual, winning

Antonyms: boring, dull, unexciting, unstimulating

Have an exceptionally magnetically stimulating and thought-provoking thanksgiving :)

Rainbows

Today I was thinking about how much I like rainbows. Below is a nice one I saw this summer in the Kananaskis county of Alberta. We were planting trees right underneath it!



This one was taken at the strip wall parking lot is Slave Lake, AB. Not overwhelming beauty of above but it did make me think of that double rainbow youtube post...funny.

Wow it's been a long time!

So long since I've written. I'm resolved to get going again. I'm back from my summer adventures in treeplanting and in Victoria again.

On the creative front:

I've been painting lots...pics to come soon.
I've committed myself to the Etsy holiday bootcamp to get my shop into operational existence.

Update and Into the Wild

So this is the logo I have created for my line of textile accessories. I am calling it Drop Spindle Designs.

I am happy to report that my earrings have been accepted into the She Said Gallery. This is a local gallery in Fernwood that represents female artists and craftswomen in Victoria, BC. Fernwood is the up and coming artsy neighborhood with great coffee at the Cornerstone, art and performance at the Belfry Theatre.

This will likely be the last post for a little a few weeks at least as tomorrow morning I fly to northern Alberta to start my summer tree-planting adventure.

I've prepared a few projects to work on over the summer but I just got excited today about tapestry. I was debating whether or not to take the tapestry I have warped up on my loom, mainly because I was questioning how much I would really get done after working long days.

Today brought me a brainwave to bring the loom and start a community tapestry project at camp. I have been interested in community tapestry projects for a while. The non-textiley folk have no idea how meditative and addictive it can be! So I am making it my goal to bring it along and as I weave invite people to weave with me. Hopefully something can be accomplished over the course of the season and of course I will also document the project.

Off I go into the woods!

Next week

For next week I am also making it a goal to take some of the earrings I make into the She Said gallery in Victoria to see if they would be interested in them. I have quite a few pairs made which I am happy with. I just need to sort out packaging.

:)

Week 1 Progress

This is my first writing post goal setting. I am proud to report that I was in fact productive and focused this week in the pursuit of my goals.

I've been dying yarn for knitting and for the tapestry I'll be doing. I'm all warped up and almost done the selvage. Below you can look at the rough cartoon I'm going to work from. I'm dying all the wool myself so I'll need to get that completed before I start weaving.

I did also work on a couple of paintings this week. 3 are on the go right now so I am making a challenge for myself to keep working on them every day and try to finish them before I leave to go tree planting.

Winnipeg Times

Jan 12th I arrived in Winnipeg. The weather here has been uncharacteristically warm. It suits my west coast sensibilities but there is a small part of me that feels a bit cheated out of the "misery of bitter cold canadian winter" experience. That part is very small though ;)

Yesterday brought my first game ever of real pick-up ice hockey on an outdoor rink. I learned some quick moves but need to perfect my stopping abilities as I realized that they are a very critical part of the game.

This morning I took a trip to the Costume Museum of Canada in Winnipeg's exchange district. There current exhibit is featuring a highlight of the museum's collection of garments as well as a section on the history of undergarments. We followed undergarments from corsets to bras and back again. An interesting piece included was the rubber corset which just seems terrribly unfortunate.

One more exciting experience came from the day. On our way out of the museum our interests were piqued by a contest being held for a de-constructed T-Shirt contest. $10 bought our entry and the museum provided a plain grey T-shirt, fabric scraps and other notions. The shirt can be broken down and reconstructed into anything. So that's what I'll be working on in my next few days and likely on the train. I think my train tracks may make an appearance on the garment.

Pics still on the way!

1st stop Saskatoon

Well I've arrived at my first destination of Saskatoon. Two solid days on the train gave me time to knit a giant body scarf (ala Ana Sousa style) and let me tell you it has come in handy for the -20 weather. I've also knit a couple of hats and have been obsessively embroidering train tracks on linen during the train travel.

I will have to wait a while to add pics as my internet access is a bit limited right now and its been so cold that my camera isn't working!

Off to ride horses and see some of rural Saskatoon. Next stop Winnipeg :)

Winter Train

In my gusto to find a way to take my fiber art on the road I have decided to do a tapestry and embroidery train tour across Canada. Using fabric I found in my stash I managed to make what turned out to be an incredibly "loud" bag. I feel like it may just reflect the prairies a little. Big sky, that sort of thing. Complimenting it beautifully will be the standard ugly floral carpet bag. Perhaps they will be a conversation starter.....



The duo and I leave tonight.....yay!