Spinning and Weaving

For Christmas one of my darling daughters gave me a membership to our local Spinners and Weavers Guild.  What a wonderful gift this has turned out to be!

I have spent the last few months meeting kind, talented people and learning wonderful new skills! I can now spin and weave! I have wanted to learn to spin for the past ten plus years so this is awesome. Sure, I still need more practice but I can turn fibre into yarn. It's amazing! I have even started knitting with the yarn I've made. What a thrill.

This is some llama fibre from a local farm. 

This is a cowl knit from the llama yarn. It's very soft. 

                                          (I realize the colour looks off. It looks grey above and brown below. 

                                    In person it is more brown. I'll try to get better pics when the weather permits. )

As for weaving, I always new I'd never be in a position to own my own loom so I never even dreamed of weaving anything.  Being a member of the guild gives me access to a loom and knowledgeable people who are glad to help. Now there are a lot of projects on my list. So far I've made a scarf and two shawls, which I am quite happy with. And I'm looking forward to starting on tea towels soon. Yeah, you read right, I'm going to make my own tea towels. Never in my wildest dreams would I think of making tea towels. I'm told that once I make my own I'll never waste money on cheap ones again. I'll let you know how it goes.

My first weaving project, a wool scarf. I'm very happy with the results.

My first shawl on the loom. Love the colours.

This is the loom that I've been using with my second shawl started on it. 

If it ever decides to stop being winter here and spring arrives, I'll try to get outside and take some pictures of the completed shawls. They will be perfect for warmer weather.

Thanks for stopping by!
Betty

P.S. I guess you're never too old to learn new tricks!

Making a Great Start to a New Year

It was so wonderful having my children and husband home for the holiday. It was a relaxing time filled with much love, food, family and friends. Just the way it should be.

Now they are back at work and school respectively. So it is time for me to focus back on my work. Time to think about the year ahead and what it is I wish to accomplish. First off, I need to start with an organized room. I know this may seem silly to some since all I am going to do is make a mess of it, but starting with a clean room is like starting with a clear head for me. One must get all the cobwebs out if one is to create beautiful things.

I found that when I was getting ready for my first sale last fall, that my craft room exploded to include the dinning room and living room. Very messy and very hard to have people over and not be slightly embarrassed. To remedy this, I purchased a secondhand dinning table to add to my room and hopefully keep my projects contained. Well, at least the messy ones!

Here are a few photos of my craft room.

This is of course my desk. Yes it is from Ikea for those who are wondering. We have had these shelving units for years. They have moved with us and we have used them in many different configurations. The cart is new and I love that I will be able to move it around the room as needed instead of getting stuff out and not putting it back. Their home travels with them, kinda like a turtle.

This is my little library corner. (This table used to be my only work surface.) Here supplies are organized and my books to be worked on are on display. I'm happy to have been able to give the blue prints of my house a home here. I like the look of it with all the old books. I hope to be able to work on my paper roses here.

Here is my new table, waiting for a project. It is approximately 8 feet long and absolutely perfect for crafting. You may be wondering what kind of weird art I found for above the table. Well it is my new magnetic memo board.

Isn't it lovely! I made this from the old paint lids leftover from painting the house. The board I found in a closet. I think at one time it was part of a shelf. I just glued the lids on the board, added eye hooks and picture wire to the top and that's it! The knob was there from the old memo board that was there. I decided to keep the knob and move the much smaller board to the kitchen. I can't wait to fill this up with project ideas and inspiration.

The last part of my room that I would like to show you is my bistro set.

No room of mine is complete without a comfy place to have my tea! In the summer I like to move it outside to the balcony. But since it is winter here most of the year, this is where it usually is. The light coming in the window is always heart warming.

I hope you have enjoyed taking a peek at my creative space. I wish to spend more time here this year making beautiful things from discarded items. Check back often to see what it is I'm up to or enter your email address to get a message whenever there is a new posting. (Tip: you don't always see the spot to enter it on mobile devices. Select full view, it's on the right)

Thanks for stopping by,

Betty

Old Books

One of the many benefits of my attending the Evergreen Artisan Market was meeting some wonderful people. It was amazing meeting so many kind, creative people.

One of these ladies by the name of Annette, has given me the most wonderful gift. She has had these old textbooks taking up space at her place for some time but didn't have the heart to just pitch them. I feel so lucky to be in possession of such wonderful books. Over the winter I hope to slowly turn these unused and out of date textbooks into beautiful works of art to be enjoyed again.

I have been saving all of the hardcovers from the books I have used in the hopes of turning them into useful objects such as purses and notebooks.  One of the textbooks in the pile that I have received has caught my eye.  It is the most beautiful little economics book in the most wonderful shade of blue. I have hopes of turning this little treasure into a cute little clutch purse.

As I slowly clean up all my crafting mess, I think I will take a wee break from paper for a bit and try a bit of sewing.

Evergreen Artisan Market

The Evergreen Artisan Market is only a week away! I have been extremely busy designing and building my display, and making product to fill it.  Since this is to be my first time selling my crafts I have little idea of what will sell. So I am trying to have a variety of things at different price points.  One of the hard things for me is to know when to stop. I have lots of ideas in my head but there is definitely no time to make all of them.  

My crafts have taken over my house.  Things are very messy but with the show getting closer I hope to shift my focus to finishing projects and cleaning up.  Everything needs to be packed up so it can be taken to the Rawlinson Center to set up next Friday.  Wow, November 7th is coming fast. 

Here are a few pictures of more products and a peek at the display I have set-up in my dining room.  This is not how things will be at the show but it gives you an idea of what I've been working on. If you are on FaceBook and/or Instagram follow me there for updates from the Evergreen Artisan Market. 

Summer 2014

It's hard to believe that summer is long over and winter is around the corner.  As a family we were so busy this summer it went by way to fast.  We didn't get many of the projects done around the house but we did make many memories that will be hard to forget. We were fortunate to have visits from family and friends that were filled with great conversations, laughter and giggles.  The girls and I have never been west of wherever we are living (with every move we seem to inch westward), which is Saskatchewan at the moment. So we spent a week at Elk Island National Park in Alberta and then later took two and a half weeks to drive through the rocky mountains and out to Vancouver Island.  I won't bore you with all the details but I think it was our best family vacation to date. I took hundreds of photos but will leave you with a few family selfies that were taken with my phone.

This one is of us on the ferry on the way to Vancouver Island.

Here we are on the way home, stopping to check out the Hoodoos in Alberta's Drumheller Valley.

 This one my youngest took at the Fisgard Lighthouse Historical Site just outside of Victoria, BC. 

It's my new favourite of us. 

Another Year Over

Wow, I really suck at blogging! The year is over and I haven't done anything. Well as far as blogging goes, I haven't done anything. As far as being busy, I've done plenty!

When I first started this blog it was something of a fallback plan in case we might end up moving sometime in the future. Well, sometime in the future ended up being now. Although I made a few things, taking pictures of them and writing about it took a back seat to buying a car, finishing renovations on our house, selling said house, buying a new house, training someone to take over my job, spending four weeks working at a family camp and then trying to settle in to a new house, new town and new province. It's been a whirl wind to say the least.

So now we are somewhat settled in Saskatchewan. Our girls are making friends and doing well at school.  My husband has settled into his new job and is liking it. The boxes are mostly unpacked and the house is sort of organized and decorated. So now what? I've promised my girls that I would be home for them whenever they need me, as moving is tough on all of us. So that being said, there is to be no work for me outside the house. At least for the short term.

So, I'm going to take another stab at this blogging thing. Instead of focusing on making things, I will let you know what I'm up too. So far I have done many painting projects around the house and have many more planned. The gardens here are in need of much love. I did what I could in the fall but come spring there will be lots to do outside. We live close to a National Park that I plan to spend more time in for both fun and exercise. Speaking of exercise, I will be trying to do more of this because the stress of moving has caused me to go crazy eating. Yes I have gained a few extra pounds over the last six months or so that will take some effort to get rid of (this should be interesting). There is always something happening in our house. Most of it good!

Please join me on this new adventure.