Thursday 29 December 2011

Delivery

Went to Knit Knackers, on Bank Street in Ottawa , to drop off some more of my pins and stitch markers.  The first thing you see when you walk into the store is Emily and her beautiful smile.  She works there full time but is also a designer. Check out her blog:  http://emilytheknitter.tumblr.com/

The second thing you see at Knit Knackers is Pandora the angora bunny!!!!!! OOOOOOhhhhhhh look at all that spinable fiber !!!!  Where is my spindle when I need it ?  I was messing with my camera and when I looked up she had hopped over to me to say hello .  A perfect moment in time for me.

Then there is this spinning circle all set up and ready to go ......quick someone bring me the bunny !!!


But, before leaving I just had to have these handmade ceramic buttons by Laura Sheppard.  I could save them for a hand knit sweater or use them on my tunisian crochet pulse warmers that I have been making.  Or I could simply keep them on the card and enjoy them as art !

And I couldn't resist driving through Chinatown to see this magnificent archway.
What a feast for the eyes!

Sunday 25 December 2011

Dwarven Battle Bonnet


My son wanted me to knit him a beard hat for Christmas.  The only pattern I could find without crochet involved was this one , The Dwarven Battle Bonnet , designed by Sally Pointer.  I was finishing it off at 11pm Xmas eve.  It was a huge hit!


Hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year


~francine

Tuesday 20 December 2011

Button, Button, Who's Got the Button?

Great find at the Salvation Army today. Doesn't this look like a confection good enough  to eat?


I love thrift stores!  

And I love my new camera that enables me to take cool pictures for my etsy shop and my blog !!!

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Riverside Studio

My friend Kathryn Drysdale, of Riverside Studio, is having an open house at her studio in Wakefield this Saturday from 10-4.  She will have yarn for sale and she will have yarn dyeing demonstrations  happening all day long.
Her studio is located at t the corner of Valley Drive and River Rd in Wakefield at Place 1870.  She is  above La Tulipe Noire.
I bet Wakefield in December, with a sprinkling of snow ,is just magical.  Buy yourself  an early Christmas present or something for the knitter on your list.
Kathryn to the left and her friend Julie on the right

luscious colours



Wednesday 30 November 2011

Deco Raindrop Scarf

Natalie Servant has done it again! She has designed a beautiful scarf with little beads knit into it that reinforces the raindrop imagery.  The beads give it a little bling without weighing down the knitted fabric.

You can find this pattern on the Patternfish website http://www.patternfish.com/

Congratulations Natalie !!!

Friday 25 November 2011

Working Together

Lett Lopi mitts with some lace and buttons 

My girls helped me with these fingerless mitts.  V. helped me design them , and J. helped me by modeling them.  All of us working together, listening to music , involved, it was bliss. Creativity leads to peace in the home.  I am hoping for many more projects for us in the future.  :)

Friday 18 November 2011

Art & Soul



Art & Soul is an art consignment shop where you can find unique hand crafted items.  Located 1207 Wellington W, Ottawa ON, phone number is (613) 907-SOUL.  It's a family run business where you will be greeted with a great big smile by Pam or Gordon .  You might find someone playing guitar , or drums, or a palm reading in session.  A fun place to shop and remember a handmade object is one with soul .


At Art & Soul there may be a record playing on the record player or hanging from the ceiling :)
I brought in some pulse warmers for sale

some earrings too !

After visiting , I did some thrift store shopping and found :


A book called Welcome Home by Kaffe Fassett. It is a feast for the eyes,  teaming with inspiration and colour.  I was lucky enough to meet Kaffe when I took a knitting class by his partner Brendan Mably.
The second book is called The Zahir by Paulo Coelho, a novel of obsession. I read the Alchemist and loved it, so i believe this will be a treat to read.
A yummy smelling candle that that reminds me of watermelon tourmaline.  A jade bead bracelet, an amber chip necklace, that I will take apart and re purpose in one of my creations.  And a tiny sake cup for holding my beads,  I just love the glaze on it .   All that for $6.00.
What a great evening :)

Sunday 13 November 2011

Ottawa Bead Show

Louise Ingram's beads

On Saturday I went to the 4th Annual Bead Show at the Hellenic Centre on Prince of Wales Drive.
As soon as I came through the door I was delighted by Louise Ingram and her monkey beads http://www.fireseed.ca/.

Louise Ingram



As I roamed around I was in awe of the talent and creativity in the room.
The next table I went to was Mary Ann Helmond of MA Beads http://www.mabeads.ca/ the peacock necklace that she was wearing is beyond spectacular.  Made entirely of glass beads, the center of each feather is an individual bead made with the image of a peacock on it.

Mary Ann Helmond

The last booth I visited was Jessie Tesolin, she was sweet, talented, delightful and full of stories.  http://www.jessietesolin.com/ 


glass goddess holding the world...Jessie Tesolin bead



Jesse Tesolin beads

hanging glass ornaments by Jessie Tesolin

Jessie Tesolin herself wearing a glass owl bead...she says she loves making the owls because each come out with their own personality


Friday 11 November 2011

Knitting Retreat

Last weekend went by so quickly.  My friend Karin http://pointeshoespunkrockandpurl.blogspot.com/ and I went to Gananoque to a Knitting Retreat at Glen House.
Perfectly organized by Debbie Wilson https://sheepsahoy.com/home/
The Glen House was a perfect place to be , beautiful atmosphere inside and out , the food was delicious , each meal better than the last.
I learned Tunisian crochet from Julia Bryant.  I will use it again, I'm not sure when but I appreciated learning this new skill.
Mary Pat taught set in sleeves, it was an interesting instruction although I could not concentrate on the subject because I was completely in awe of her energy and the fact that her hair colour matched her outfit.
I was mostly excited to meet Fiona Ellis , and she did not disappoint.  Elegant , well spoken, funny , talented and a fantastic teacher.
I was a vendor, I had the opportunity to share a table with Natalie Servant  http://natalieservant.ca/, she had the shawls and her shawl patterns and  I had the pins ...perfect match.
The weather could not have been better the sun shone on us all weekend.  Nothing could be better than spending time with old friends, making new friends and getting away to recharge those batteries.

The view from our room

Karin in front of the fireplace

It was nice to have the fireplace in the room 


Natalie Servant spinning away next to my shawl pins


Fiona Ellis (in black )teaching through performance art

Debbie Wilson and Mary Pat ( her hair always matches her outfit )
Glen House ...sigh....until next year 

Wednesday 2 November 2011

Needlers' Retreat

So very excited to go to the Needlers' Retreat this weekend.  https://sheepsahoy.com/home/needlers-retreat-2010  This is my first year attending and I will also be a vendor.  I haven't done my homework yet, some things never change.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/81903736/yokoo-knitting-of-alpaca-original

If there is an alpaca at the retreat or near the retreat this will be me !
Now off the mapquest to figure out how to get to Gananoque.

Friday 28 October 2011

Niddy Noddy

Just figured out how to use my Niddy Noddy.  I bought it in Rhinebeck two years ago and I am finally getting around to using it.  What a clever little invention, it's so low tech.  You wrap your hand spun yarn in a loose figure eight so you can make a tidy perfect skein.  Once you have finished you can find out the yardage by counting the the strands of yarn and multiplying by 2.  My niddy noddy is 2 yards in one wrap.  And voila you have your yardage and a perfect skein of yarn !


362 Yards of my hand spun yarn 

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Creativity

The Creative License is a book that walks you through the journey of growth and creativity.
I often walk up and down the isles of books in the library touching the spines.  There is a world within each book that intrigues me.  One day while doing this, I came upon the the book The Creative License by Danny Gregory and at that moment everything changed for me.
While reading it I relaxed and  let myself go and tried to imagine creating without fear of judgement from myself or others.  Make mistakes and have fun , that is the only way to grow.

I encourage you to check out this book and Danny Gregory 's website for inspiration.
http://dannygregory.com/

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Vendor's Night

The Ottawa Knitting Guild had their vendor's evening on Monday.  

One of my best customers! She has even sent one of my pieces to Germany! Thank you SW!


http://www.justknitting.ca/ Kelly and Yvonne from Just Knitting, also Yvonne is an indie dyer http://www.ravelry.com/people/yvieknits 

Kathryn Drysdale (on the left) of Riverside Studio
and Julie 

Can you tell that Kathryn is an artist?

Look at the glorious colours!

sigh...... 

my boss from Yarn Forward




my purchase from Rosehaven Farms, fine paper yarn ...and.....

a Habu Textiles scarf kit with stainless steel yarn !

My purchase from Riverside Studio a yummy single ply