New wristlets

wool plaid and brown cordoruy

I made a new batch of wristlets for my show at the Tranzac.. and today I'm going to make some needle books!

wool plaid and brown cordoruy - inside

green upholstery fabric and barkcloth

green upholstery fabric and barkcloth - inside

green upholstery fabric and barkcloth 2

green upholstery fabric and barkcloth 2 - inside

The Melissa - new shop on Queen St. West

So after the show I had to nip into a shop I had noticed on the way over, a new flea markety type shop called "The Melissa". It's right across from The Theatre Centre, at 1080 Queen Street West. I had peeked in the window and it looked so tempting.

This shop is full of my favourite types of things: vintage tins, boxes, fabric and ceramics. I was browsing and chatting with the owner and mentioned that I was just at City of Craft. She wanted to have a look at my things, and we ended up doing some swapping! Amazing. This is what I chose:
This small box caught my eye right away. It is possibly a small toy box from the 50s - it isn't the right size to hold single records as you might think so we weren't sure what it was for originally. The outside has a picture of a dog in the corner, and the inside is papered with a toy motif paper.
I found a few small sewing/textile odds and ends, my favourites are the "Fascinating Trims", cards with lace trim wound on them.
I also found this large glass jar (so perfect for craft supplies)...
And a small Blue bird toffee tin with thatched cottages on it.
Then as I was heading out (Bradley was patiently waiting for me) Melissa gave me the blue needle book at the top of this post! The funny thing about my blog name is that every time I see the words "needle book" anywhere I feel like it's about me. Or mine. If you know what I mean.

Anyway, I recommend this shop, obviously, because it's full of wonderful things and has a very friendly owner.

City of Craft - crafty goodness

My favourite new display item for my table is this sign, a hoop with an embroidered owl showing you where to find the needle book things.

City of Craft was (as expected) amazing. I love everything about this show. I had a good time at my table, it was very busy, and there were so many friends and friendly people to chat with. Also I was too busy before the show to do any shopping, plus feeling poor, so I loved doing a bit of crafty shopping while I was there, and some swaps.. all thanks to Bradley manning my table while I snuck off to look around. Oddly enough both needle books sold while he was there alone, along with two requests for needle books after they had sold out. I will definitely make more soon!

Ok, now I don't know who decided I should be located right next to Pleasurecraft, but lucky for me, Kristyn was interested in swapping. We swapped a LOT. Yay! Thank you Kristyn, you are the best neighbour. Look at all this lovely fibre goodness (in my own basket):
I finally bought a merit badge from Lee Meszaros:
I've been eyeing these crocheted cookies by Shannon Gerard for a while, and also bought a wee cactus that comes in a thimble. We were sitting across from Shannon being hypnotized by the fastest crocheting I've ever seen.
This gorgeous vintage wool pillow with Elk motif (lines by: davis) came home with us too.
I bought this original artwork by Greasy Chicken Face... And now after seeing The Fantastic Mr. Fox, the characters in it kind of remind me of the ones in the movie. Love the artwork, loved the movie.
And last but absolutely not least, this beautiful bird brooch came from the talented and sweet Kalpna (Old Weston), who actually wanted to swap. Lucky me!Thank you so much to everyone who visited, and in case you couldn't and wish you had, I've booked a spot at the Tranzac for the Artisan's Gift Fair next Sunday, December 20th. But more about that later..

City of Craft - final sneak peek and coupon!

sleepy side detail

This is my last post before City of Craft tomorrow, and my last attempt to lure you out to my table. This first item looks like two items, but it's actually a doll ornament with two sides, one is a sleepy face, and the other is wide awake.

It's what I'm going to refer to as an heirloom ornament, because it took a looong time to make, and so it's more expensive than most of my things. All that detail! Sometimes I try out a new design like this and realize it isn't going to work out when it ends up taking days to complete. So this is the only one.

wide awake side

sleepy side

wide awake side detail

This is a little crochet jewellery box, for those favourite earrings you wear all the time and would like to keep handy beside your bed.

Inside of the jewellery box

There's a cardboard tube on the inside, lined with fabric, so it holds its shape nicely.

Last but not least, I made a few of these Love shoppers from a blue floral vintage sheet. They have an appliqued heart on the front in white. These are $10 each or free with any purchase over $50 (while supplies last). Sometimes you just feel like you need to buy a little special something to make you smile, and the Love shopper wants to carry it home for you.

And finally here's the coupon (I didn't manage to get it ready in time for the swag bags):
Reasonable facsimiles accepted (and will entertain Bradley no end). Hope to see you there!

City of Craft - sneak preview 2

Grey wool wristlet with barkcloth front, lace ruffle detail and vintage white button.

Blue print and striped lining and strap.

Green upholstery fabric wristlet with barkcloth flap and brown fabric covered button.

Green faux bois fabric lining, with white, blue strap with barkcloth detail.

Embroidered felted wool crochet trivets: for your teapot!
Only two in this style, each is one-of-a-kind.

City of Craft - sneak preview

This week is all about preparing for City of Craft. The dining table is now covered with new creations! These are my favourite new items, embellished wristlets with a snap closure (covered by a button) and a wrist strap with extra little fabric detail.
Everything I make is mostly created from rescued craft supplies: fabric from thrift stores, yard sales, fabric shop remnants and discontinued fabric swatch booklets combined with lace, ribbon, buttons and trim from flea markets, second hand sales and swaps. These rescued materials are combined with special bits of fabric from lovely shops on etsy and from local craft havens such as the workroom.
Having so many odds and ends of fabric in my stash is so handy when I'm creating new items like this. I can mix and match prints and solids then find the perfect bit of trim to add the finishing touch.
I like using upholstery weight fabric for my bags so that they have a nice structure to them without having to use interfacing.
I hope to see you at the show!

Homemade spindles

I forgot to mention, these beautiful knitting needles are from The Purple Purl, my new local knitting shop

As you know, I'm now a little spinning obsessed. I've bought a couple of spindles, because I love what they can do, and there are so many beautiful ones out there, plus it's a bit like knitting, you need extra ones so you can have more than one project on the go.

But I wanted more, and decided to figure out how I could make one myself. There's a few tutorials online, such as a cd spindle (just Google it for examples), this one made from a cardboard circle and a pencil, or even a potato on a stick. This is a good way to learn so that you can decide if you like spinning before you invest too much money. (If this has already happened feel free to mail me any spindles you don't want anymore. Just kidding. Sort of.)

My favourite idea is a drop spindle made from a wooden knob. Abby Franquemont's video Drop Spindle Basics shows you how to learn to spin with a low whorl drop spindle that is just a drawer pull (wooden knob) attached to a dowel.

I wanted to make one that was a little bit fancier, functional and even nice looking, while still not requiring any real woodworking skills. The results were better than I expected, and these handmade spindles work really well! The big trick was to use carved wooden knitting needles which added a nice decorative detail to the top and a smooth polished surface that tapers. But of course a piece of dowel is fine too.

Step 1:
Assemble your supplies. I used wooden knitting needles, vintage wooden knobs (in a variety of weights) from an antique store, a power drill, a scrap block of wood, hooks, pliers and wood glue.Step 2:
Use the pliers to open up the hooks. These ones have a triangular shape so that the yarn stays in place a bit better than a round hook.
Step 3:
Place the wooden knob on the piece of scrap wood so that you protect the work surface when you drill right through the knob. Make sure you drill right through the centre.Step 4:
Add wood glue to the top of the knitting needle (or dowel). Place the knob on the needle or dowel and let the glue dry.Wood glue starts out white but will dry clear:Step 5:
Drill a tiny pilot hole in the top of your knitting needle (or dowel). Use the smallest drill bit you have. Screw in the eyelet.
Extra options:
If you like you can saw a notch in the side of your whorl.

These are two of my finished spindles. They work beautifully!

Long wool fleece

The locks all combed and ready to spin, just as soft as they look in the photo. A winter nest anyone?

As promised, here's a post about how I'm preparing the fleece I bought at the Royal Winter Fair. This is the fleece as it arrived home in a big shopping bag:

I even got to keep the 1st place ribbon this fleece won!
Fleece from: Ann Moffat in Schomberg

I've done a lot of reading lately on how to do this. I've ordered lots and lots of library books on the topic and read them pretty much cover to cover.

The locks in this fleece range in colour from pale silvery grey to very dark brown/black (pictured in the 2nd lock photo)

Once the locks are washed they needed to be picked apart before putting them on a drum carder. Then the drum carder combs the fleece into a batt which can be divided into roving so that it's ready to spin. You can also use drum carders to blend a variety of fleeces together. I'd like to try one sometime, but for now they're out of the budget at hundreds of dollars. In the future I may rent one.

Another way is to buy two hand carders (or mini-carders) and comb a small amount of locks at a time. Then you can roll up the fleece vertically into rolags for woolen spinning (lofty and fuzzy) or roll it up horizontally to make roving for worsted spinning (smoother, with aligned fibres). You can also use special sharp combs to comb out long locks.

The last way, which is the least expensive, is to just use a flick brush to comb out each lock. A dog brush works just as well, and that's what I have. As usual I'm trying to do things the simplest way I can without too many fancy tools, so that's one of the reasons I chose a fleece with well-defined locks so I could prepare it this way.

The locks vary in length, I've started working on the long (medium gray) ones

After flicking, I place the locks in a basket always aligned the same way, so I can spin consistently from tip to top. I like to store the combed locks as they are, then draft each one just before spinning it. Spinning such long locks took some getting used to, but I have the knack of it now.

The light and medium gray locks have a silvery sheen to them

My big disappointment has been discovering that while the combed locks are incredibly soft and fluffy, the resulting yarn has been a bit like twine. It still feels silky on the outside, but I can see now why long fleece is praised for being strong rather than soft.

Luckily I didn't expect next-to-skin softness. I want to make a warm hiking sweater that I've envisioned with deer/woodland motif intarsia. I figured I can make the intarsia motifs using the variety of natural colours in the fleece.
Usually I'm not one for swatching, being the impatient type, but in this case it's necessary as I have so much fleece to work with I want to make the best of it. I've spun a single, then navajo plied it, then knitted up a swatch. It's actually not bad. The skeined yarn looked kind of stiff and wiry but once knitted up it's smoother and softer than I expected.

I'm going to vary how I spin it and see which method gives me the best results. I can try fat singles, or spinning from the fold or a different number of plies. There's also the leftover soft fluff after flicking the locks and maybe that can be carded to create softer yarn. I'll let you know which method I choose in the end!

OCAD Whodunit

One of my donations to OCAD's Whodunit show,
pen & ink and watercolour

With all my rushing around last weekend I didn't manage to attend the OCAD Whodunit sale. This sale is an annual fundraising event that features artwork by students, emerging and established artists that are not named until after the show. Each piece of artwork is the same size, 5½” x 7½” and may be purchased for $75.

I was emailed about donating to this show, and I had determined to do it. Unfortunately I hurt my back near the deadline so I ended up staggering down to the OCAD building to deliver my artwork at the end of the last day it was due.

Today I found out that one of my paintings was chosen for the Gala Silent Auction and I was invited! The email didn't get to me in time as it was sent to the wrong address, people often miss the "L" in my email.

My other donation to OCAD's Whodunit show, featured in the Gala Silent Auction

I felt so flattered to be picked for that, it made me really happy as I was pretty insecure (as always..it's exhausting) about my artwork. I don't know yet if my two pieces of artwork were sold, but if they haven't they will be returned and I'll offer them for sale myself.

Busy busy weekend

pretty apron from Susan

Last weekend was so busy! On Friday I met up with my friend Susan from Montreal, a fellow illustrator and crafter. She makes beautiful little needle felted animals that appear in the unbelievably charming vignettes in her calendar.

We did a bit of a swap and I don't want to make you jealous, but look at the lovely things Susan brought for me (as well as the apron on the top of this post!):

floral upholstery fabric, silk threads, striped ribbons, glass and mother-of-pearl buttons, silver ribbon, lacy white and blue ribbon, and not one but two versions of little red riding hood ribbons. I love everything so much!

We visited the workroom for the Sheridan student sale, and as usual we were greeted by the friendly Maisy, were inspired by the crafts, coveted the workroom fabrics and fed delicious cupcakes. Thank you Karyn!

On Saturday I rushed down with Bradley to the Movies & Makers craft show, hosted by Lisa of GirlCanCreate. I was nostalgic since I grew up going to the Fox Theatre every weekend for the matinees. Once again, lots of craft inspiration. And a delicious cupcake from Lisa, thank you!
That morning we just happened to pass by the Beaches United Church bazaar on Wineva Ave. and I found these adorable pillow cases. Bradley has graciously suggested that I am welcome to cut his up to make something else.
Shortly after that I met a friend to see the Sleeping Beauty ballet at the Four Seasons Centre. It was everything I had hoped, absolutely beautiful and full of fairytale wonderment. I bought a pair of pointe shoes that belonged to Juri Hiraoka who was Emerald. She was so lovely!

So that was my busy busy weekend.