wordless wednesday goodnight

dramatic sky, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

class prep: the results

moss III choker, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

moss III choker : wire and fibre beads with jade and lead-free pewter

From the recent wire and fibre workshop at Place ds Arts.


ethereal choker: acrylic beads with glass pearls and wire and fibre beads on bead wire

class prep

class prep, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

This is my favourite portable crafting case - it's a small art bin. It has sturdy locks to stop my beads spilling all over, and the lid doubles as a work tray when on the move. It holds a surprisingly large amount of kit quite comfortably.
It's also been very useful for holding my demo and toolkit stuff for when I teach class. Everything is to hand (if I've packed properly) as I waffle my way thru teaching.

Which reminds me - new wire crochet classes coming up at Port Moody Arts Centre in the Spring (three Wednesday evenings in February and again in April).

heart of a snowflake is warm and fluffy

heart of a snowflake is warm and fluffy, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

My crafts were indeed portable today - I took my inventory to two christmas craft boutiques (see my other blog for links.

packing my bags

packing my bags, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Today's portable crafting kit is set up in my Art Bin, a plastic case which opens completely to holds enough wire, beads and tools for a day away from the studio. Even though my Wee Guy is in school and I no longer need to leave the house on playdates, excursions etc. I still have some outside commitments to take me away from the bench.
... and some of those commitments can leave me with idel hands unless I plan appropriately.
There's nothing worse than having a huge mile-long to do list and being idle away from the materials needed to complete it.

(I'll be in the at Port Moody Art Centre if anyone wants to pop in for a chat - a good time to start that early Christmas gift buying too!)

wordless wednesday

path of an electron in orbit or a jumble of freshly tumbled sterling earwires for a custom order?

leaf collecting "Happy Thanksgiving"

crafting365 /d48 - me and him, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

It's the season for leaf collecting. Tiny little maple leaves get blown to the ground. Some I press for use in later craft projects and some are stuck to an old plastic tin lid with vaseline then 'painted' with my prepared art clay slurry. Once a few layers have been applied they can be stored carefully until I'm ready to build up the depth of art clay silver needed before firing. I'll probably start this in time for Canada Day.

Not so much portable crafting as postponed crafting I suppose :)

mohair on the go

mohair on the go, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

OK, so the wee guy's in school fulltime now but we're still out and about so the need for portable crafting continues.

Here's my current project - a drop-stitch scarf in mohair. Not sure how the dropped stitch pattern will emerge in the self-felting mohair but here goes. It filled in 30 minutes during the Wee Guy's second piano lesson.

al fresco nibbles

al fresco nibbles, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Not quite portable crafting but allow me to present portable lunching ie. a picnic.

Apricot and walnut bread form the Port Moody pocket farmers' market, with cream cheese and soda from the local grocery store.

All consumed in the open air and sunshine.

newly sewn

newly sewn, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

crafting on the go proudly presents a handsewn gym bag, simple draw string with french seams for durability
to accompany the wee guy back to school in september

crochet shell scarf

crochet shell scarf, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

finished my latest portable crafting project

small scarflet in acrylic and mohair, crochet shell pattern on 5.5mm hook

finally started

finally started, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Since all my crafting is technically portable this month, here's a peek at a new flower intial I'm embroidering.
So far I've added magnolias, a shasta daisy, a rosebud, foxglove and some gypsophilla.
Starting is the hardest - now I just have to keep going until the lines are all covered.

(based on designs by Diana Lampe)

portable crafting scottish style

portable crafting scottish style, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Still managing some portable crafting moments on vacation. I packed a mixture of projects, all of which are portable at certain stages, and then bought a needle felting kit from McAree's in Stirling.

I don't think a sharp pointy stabby craft is entirely portable but I'm having a lot of fun with it.

Lost

Lost Lake trails, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Dear Twitter
Please give me my twitterverse back again - all my followers and following have disappeared and I miss them.

Thank you
me

Work of Proto-Art in the Age of Symbiotic Reproduction

aaaaaargh! contact lenses, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

Yes, this is my artist statement (thanks to the artist statement generator).
Read it and weep (quite literally!).

The flux creates, the body permeates. In the trans-gender hallucination, art objects are resurrections of the musings of the flux -- a flux that uses the body as a zeitgeist to enmesh ideas, patterns, and emotions. With the rationalization of the electronic environment, the flux is conceiving a point where it will be free from the body to realize immersions into the contortions of the delphic hallucination. Work of Proto-Art in the Age of Symbiotic Reproduction contains 10 minimal shockwave engines (also refered to as "memes") that enable the user to make glorious audio/visual compositions.

measuring chains, constructing realities
putting into place forms
a matrix of illusion and disillusion
a strange attracting force
so that a seduced reality will be able to spontaneously feed on it


pomo mama's work investigates the nuances of modulations through the use of slow motion and close-ups which emphasize the Symbiotic nature of digital media. mama explores abstract and domestic scenery as motifs to describe the idea of cyber-intuitive hallucination. Using non-traditional loops, lasers, and slow-motion images as patterns, mama creates meditative environments which suggest the expansion of art...


er ...

d17/32 - while i was at a craft fair

d17/32 - while i was at a craft fair, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

portable crafting project
materials = beach pebbles (polished by my mum from the beach i played on as a wee girl!), wire, crochet hook, jewelry pliers, waxed cotton and findings
technique = freeform bezel crochet around each pebble pendant

notes: easy to start up and put down as visitors arrived at my table

NB: the d17/32 refers to the entry for my design-a-day challenge this month. i'm trying to document something crafty every day for the first part of the summer holidays. see this flickr set for my progress so far!

blogging tips

me, at work, blogging as if my life depended on it

A quick post to bring your attention to some great hints and tips from AliciaMae on the Blogfire, the Bloggers Guild of ArtFire bloggers blog (phew!). She's running a series of articles on how to set up your blog.

Check out the latest on tagging your blog entries and see the previous article on how to alter the layout of your page (which the more astute of you will notice that I have followed!)

Thanks Alicia

Handmade Nation coming to Vancouver BC

Yes, Faith Levine's documentary Handmade Nation, is coming to Vancouver. The amazing duo behind Got Craft, Rob and Andrea, have arranged the premier screening of the film with Ms Levine in attendance. It's taking place at the Rio Theatre on Broadway at Commercial on Thursday, 9th July. Doors open at 7pm for the craft showcase and the film starts at around 8pm.

Full details and tickets are available on the website.

See you there!

PS: and if you miss the artisan showcase chock full of incredible local talent then check out the next Got Craft bite size fair at Little Mountain studio on Sunday, July 12th!

what can you do out and about?

portable crafting projects completed

Maybe some inspiration for what can be created with just wire, a crochet hook and some pliers?

design-a-day

crafted portably of course - glass and copper wire crochet

 

Yesterday was Canada Day - my tent blew away but I did make some good sales (rather than the great sail that my tent was making!).

Before my tent went aerial I managed to set up my smaller table to put on an "artisan at work" demo (since I was in an artisan showcase). The wire crochet drew lots of attention and I had some lovely chats with some fascinating onlookers. Hopefully I'll see some of them when I resume teaching classes in the Fall.

I've got another couple of craft fairs coming up over the next two weeks then it's summer holidays for me. For inspiration I've set up a design-a-day challenge for myself. It will run until the end of July and document my crafty endeavours thru the first half of The Wee Guy's school holiday. Check out the flickr set of work done so far.

Currently it's running at 2 out of the 6 listed projects being portably crafted, including the sumptuous copper wire crochet cuff shown below. This was completed during my first stint in the Blackberry Artist's Cooperative shop in Port Moody Art Centre on Sunday.

Faberge: copper wire crochet with freshwater pearls

similar for sale here

please take my child to work day - yabloodyhoo

portable crafting kit - ready to go

Today is "(Please) Take My Children To Work" day - but I am unlikely to benefit from this (just like all the other SAHMs round here especially since school has ended for the summer).
This is a glimpse of how I routinely take my work to my child (since that is how things are done around here right now) - a tray of handcrafterly goodness with projects to complete. If I have something set up like this it means I can indeed go watch Spiceworld with The Wee Guy for the umpteenth time and manage to be productive too (and even retain a little sanity and brain power perhaps).

follower friday (it's a new thang)

IMG_2997, originally uploaded by ritasmeeta.

It's Follower Friday (bear with me, it's a new tradition I'm throwing in here to try make my blogging a little more productive). Portable Crafting now has seven amazing followers so I wanted to introduce you, gentle reader, to them one by one.
First up is ritasmeeta who makes astoundingly cute stuff as shown above, gorgeous bags and purses, and is also an active member of the Vancouver BC Etsy street team.
You can buy her work on Artfire too and read all about it here.
Thanks for following, ritasmeeta!

pattern play

simple shell stitch pattern in 28G copper

I've been itching to try this for some time but as usual time itself has been conspiring against me! Finally I tucked a crochet hook, the 28G copper wire and the pattern details into my portable crafting pouch and set off for the great outdoors.
Feeling slightly rebellious, I left my crochet hook safely hidden as I knitted alongside other local knitters at the Rocky Point Knit in Public session held on Saturday. Yes, I knew they would be OK with me crocheting .... but with wire?
I held off with the wire until most had departed then built a foundation chain and started the pattern. It's really a simple trebles and DC shell pattern built up over a multiple of 3 chains (similar to the pattern rows here). I had tried this pattern earlier on some 'proper' fibre - the 28G copper was perfect to work with though I'm not sure how well the shell pattern comes thru.

crafting still going portable

batch of cute promo buttons and charms for the Handmade Nation premier

It's nearly the end of the school year and crafting has gone well and truly portable. I've been rustling up a batch of promo goodies for the film premier on July 9th. They're quick and easy to make and don't require much kit to finish off.

portable project kit;
wire and cotton yarn
rings and hoops (various from my stash)
clips
crochet hook
pliers and cutters

... and that's all

This weekend's inventory check was most encouraging and no frantic crafting is needed to build up stock for the Main Street car-free Vancouver festival this Sunday (I'll be between W20th and 21st Avenues on Main).

So, this week's portable crafting projects are a little more leisurely and introspective.

• silver wire beads (they went down a storm at the last craft fair so I'm making them again for this Sunday
• trying out a freebie knit pattern for a shrug, using some scrap yarn from my stash. front is on the circulare needles for portability while the back is on straight pins for at-home moments
  
• sleeveless cable waistcoat pattern from the Sublime aran knits pattern book (knitting up an absolute dream) - on circular needles = extreme portability

I also found out that nearly all my little felted bowls have sold so I can justify whipping out the crochet hook for these portable charmers too. Might just settle down to making some on Main Street this Sunday.

projects to go

clutch of wire crochet pendants for the Main Street car-free Vancouver festival

It was with some trepidation that I approached this morning's task - checking inventory for a craft fair. Not so bad, some of you might be thinking, but this event is only a week away and I don't have a whole heap load of time for stocking up! I was anticipating setting up numerous portable crafting projects plus some 'burning the midnight oil' sessions ahead. :(

Instead I was pleasantly surprised. Despite having what seems like all my inventory out on sale in local boutiques, etc. there was still quite a sizeable collection suitable for the street fair. (For you locals out there, this is the Car Free Vancouver festival being held next Sunday, 14th June - I'll be selling on the block between W20th and 21st). My huge workload vanished 'pooft' and was replaced by some relaxing afternoon crafting.I finished off some wire crochet bezels for sea glass chunks then strung them on pendant cords (see above).

There are still some important tasks on the horizon (bungee cords to hold the tent down, afix some nosestuds to business cards, and so on) but, on the whole, this week should be a leisurely trot thru some portable crafting while out and about. Might get to try some new ideas!

Phew!

speed and efficiency?

design-a-day April 08 set

Aim;

to promote to and share with a wide audience

 

Materials;

1 flickr slideshow (group photographs together in a set and then click on the slideshow function on that set's page, grab the embed this code)

1 ArtFire Rapid Cart

1 blog

1 ByHand account

1 Twitter account and associated twitterfeed from your blog

 

Method;

Create a new blog post on ByHand, incorporating your flickr slideshow (embed as html).

Below your description insert an ArtFire Rapid Cart with some of the items in the slideshow for sale.

Publish your blog entry on ByHand, checking the twitter and front page options if desired.

Check the 'publish to your own blog' option.

 

Summary;

A quick slideshow attractively presents your work, and the Rapid Cart provides a one click buy now option for interested parties. Your work is presented to three different audiences.

.... all in one blog post

ebbandflo

Buy Handmade

 

ferries - excellent for portable crafting

ferry line up at Horseshoe Bay, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

my wordless wednesday submission (or maybe i just want a holiday)

time goes by .........

 

... not slowly enough sometimes. How many other mums out there are trying to cram 27 hours-worth of duties into a measly 24 and still trying to grab some restorative shut eye too?

Although weekends are traditionally thought of as leisure time I've yet to met a mum who thinks on that wavelength. For me, it's just a time of the week when I have more family members in the house (and under my feet). Instead of having just one relative to wrangle, I have two. Now luckily additional family member J is quite handy at combining activities with junior member T so I can boot both of them out of the house at the one time, making space for such exciting projects as housework, cleaning toilets and floors, and homework from my further education course. Woohoo! I can also rely on Family Member J to come up with edible meals over the weekend too.

But this weekend was different. It was a long weekend for a start, then school decided to tack on a Pro D day at the end and Family Member J was jet-lagged so I felt guilty at throwing him into domestic stuff immediately (tho' if we'd all been flying back at the same time I guess I would have ended up being responsible for feeding us, jet lag or none!).

So I've had very little time to get anything done. If I'm working sensibly I try to kill many birds with one stone (squelch) so blogging via ByHand is a useful option in terms of getting my message out and reaching a wider audience. I still haven't cracked my marketing strategy but blogging is in my current armoury so I need to do it regularly. Once I blog it's tweeted out via ByHand, Blogfire (from my other blog, thank you Alicia for setting this up) and TwitterFeed, and thus appears on Facebook too. There is also a very useful function within ByHand which allows you to post from your account to you blogger or wordpress blog. So for one blog post I can potentially reach five different audiences.

An efficient use of my time methinks! (and I made a sale from my ecrater shop which I never really promote too!)

inspiration!

wire crochet ring in gold artistic wire

Waiting for out-of-school activities to end can be a real drag, however I do enjoy hanging out at Place des Arts in Coquitlam where the Wee Guy goes for his art classes. I get to sit around in the gallery (where the incredible Tripolar exhibition by the Freemantle siblings is currently on view) and either contemplate on life as I sip my coffee and view the art, or can spend an entire hour crafting without distractions.
This was a recent result - I was asked at a recent craft fair if I made wire crochet rings.
Well I do now!

lacking focus

clutch of fidget rings in brass and copper with furnace glass

Time has most definitely not been of the essence recently, mainly due to an enforced run of solo parenting for the last week. When I'm not parenting I've generally been too tired to create, and this makes me more exhausted and in turn I get little other than the immediate childcare stuff done in a day ..... and so on! It becomes a catch-22 until I get some unfettered "me-time" to reboot. We've been mainly home-based too so I've not even been managing any portable crafting moments despite having a new waistcoat on the (circular) pins.

However, a few evenings ago I sat down at my desk and worked on two projects. Somehow the metal obeyed my command, I only shattered one glass bead during rivetting and the pair of fidget rings shown above were the end product. There's also a new flotsam wire and fibre brooch on the go but it needs a repeat felting so no pics so far.

Having some new projects on the go certainly helps me banish the crafting blues, and I've found it helps with life in general. I feel calmed and productive amidst the chaos of my role in family life, a job with no reference, feedback or career pattern. I guess this mother's little helper is fibre or metal plus assorted tools!

PS: they're fidget rings cos the glass rivet section sticks up a bit and is great for fiddling with, all rings should have a fiddle section!

...... and who says crafting has to be "old lady"?
Readers - may I introduce one of my new portable crafting holdalls? Behold, a genuine Italian leather handbag snaffled from a local consignment store for a mere 10CAD! It has three roomy pockets and easily holds an entire ball of wool, circular needle and the pattern, plus my usual day-to-day 'stuff'.

New thrift store shoes too, just to make crafting al fresco a little more stylish.

Voila!

morning rituals

espresso cup pair, handpainted by ebbandflo

Just wanted to share a morning ritual with you.

I am most definitely not a morning person but the Wee Guy is all abuzzing as soon as his eyes open at daybreak (yes, it's brutal in the summer). To emerge unscathed from the breakfast ritual we've evolved a small ritual - the "do not disturb mummy when she is listening to The Archers podcast" ritual which on a good day garners me approximately 13 minutes of uninterrupted breakfast. In translation, enough time for a poached egg on toast and most of a cup of coffee.

Most important.

I've been listening to The Archers for most of my adult life (more info on them here) since I graduated from university and moved away fom where I grew up to work in the Rhondda Valley in Wales. The episodes have been a mainstay of continuity in a sometimes chaotic life. Storylines about rural life, love, tuberculosis, silage, farming accidents, suicide, births, and so on have accompanied me as I dealt with being far away from family, battled with an abusive boyfriend, bought and sold houses, moved around the UK for jobs and thru assorted (healthier) romances. When I emigrated to Canada I thought my affair with the country folks was over but then those jolly chaps at the BBC introduced the podcast and my listening life was saved! Originally the daily Archers podcasts were sent to my email inbox but over time my online life has become more sophisticated and RSS feeds such as this are collated in my Google Reader.

If you're a portable crafter, podcasts are available from many sources for downloading onto an iPod, but even in the craft studio they can be a welcome and educational accompaniment to your crafting day. Check out the links below for some additions to your RSS feeds list.

• more podcasts from the BBC


• crafty podcasts at Craftsanity and CraftyChica


• a tiny piece of John Cleese


• podcasts from Scientific American and NASA


• Canadian content podcasts from CBC

Happy listening!

Being a mum ......

the moment of birth!

Being a mum rocks!

1. I loved being pregnant, found it fascinating and it total awe of my body even though it insisted on throwing up each and every day from about 8 weeks in (thank you doctor for the loverly diclectin!). I am still in awe of what my body managed, during the pregnancy, birth and thereafter until weaning at about 3 years. Thank you body!
2. My Wee Guy continues to amaze me. The force of his own personality at such a young age impresses me. I'm sure that I wasn't as much my own person at his age. I only hope I can nurture and not crush it.
3. We do fun things together, activities that I wouldn't even have thought of, like movie nights with popcorn, browsing for treasures at the local thrift (which he thoroughly enjoys), making pretzels, movies for mummies, cycling round the zoo ..... I'm sure some of these are just extensions of what I loved doing as a child but many are new to us both.
4. I love watching him react to new situations and learning to handle these experiences in his own way. Certainly there are some instances when personality traits get in the way but it's rewarding seeing him learn for the next time around. He re-discovers the magic of the world for me. It's easy to become jaded as an adult "been there, seen that" so many times before. On his level, he's seeing everything afresh and his enthusiasm is infectious
5. I'm amazed at how he is pre-programmed to grow and learn. His brain is like a sponge, his reading ability races ahead with every book and he gets bigger! How do his bones know to lengthen, how does his body know to get bigger? Yes, I know - I studied developmental anatomy and biology at university. I know that there are growth plates, mitosis, cell growth, hormonal cues etc etc etc ..... but when you see it in action it's quite astounding!

Being a mum sucks!

1. I can no longer do anything on the spur of the moment. Leaving the house can take 20 minutes with lots of nagging about shoes, jacket, books, toys, toilet ..... and so on. I really notice how much less encumbered life is when I travel around by myself.
2. My attention span has shrunk. Since I am on call 24/7/365 I have to be ready to drop everything at a moment's notice. Thus I no longer concentrate well on long, ie. more than 2 minutes, projects. I'm much more of a butterfly brain and I resent that imposition. Carving out 'me-time' is a practical necessity yet it is tinged with guilt at not spending time with the Wee Guy or with my husband. I spend a lot of time in conflict with my feelings.
3. My waistline - now where did it go? and what's with the flaring ribcage? Luckily the boobs shrank back down to a more normal size.
4. See no. 2 above - he may have his own forceful personality but often it is in direct conflict with mine! Life can be less than smooth for days on end - sometimes I think there will be no end to the hostilities (and there's still the teenage years to come!).
5. I've grown up, I've had to grow up to be a mum but I feel my husband has lagged a long way behind. It would be incredible to feel like a wife again instead of just someone's mother - as far as I remember, I only gave birth to one child ........ and I don't think this is an unusual opinion for many mums out there.
   

On balance I have no regrets about becoming a mum, there would have been more if I had decided not to have a child I think. I love my Wee Guy and what he's brought into my life. He's an amazing companion for my day-to-day and we both learn from each other. I am so glad I didn't leave the option of motherhood until it was too late but now when I do the maths I do sometimes wish I'd started a bit earlier!

Thanks to i should be napping for kind-of tagging me via twitter! If you're reading this and you're a parent, please consider yourself tagged and comment back here to let me know!

buttonless knickers

wire and fibre felted buttons
(alpaca and tinned copper)

Phew! After Sunday's most incredible Got Craft spring opener I have relaxation in mind. Once that's been achieved portable crafting will have to take a bit of a back seat as I reload my online shops and attend to my website. I need to photograph and list my inventory - all of which translates into much computer time!
I also need to road test a new design - wire and fibre buttons (shown above). They look beautiful and will survive the washer/dryer but I need to find out how they function as functioning buttons. For example, since they felt they are unsuitable for certain wools ie. those which are not machine washable, and how stable are they for pushing in and out of a button hole? Normally I test out my fabric-related stuff on ..... knickers since they suffer a lot of abuse (?) and are laundered a lot. None of my knickers have buttons so I'm a little at a loss ......

Stay tuned!

gearing up for spring in Vancouver BC

You must attend the Got Craft? spring craft fair this Sunday and shop local for your Mother's Day pressies!
Word!

Legion Hall
Commercial Drive @ E6th
11am - 5pm
$2 admission
swag bag for the first 30 thru the door!

in person

meet me here on sunday!

pace hots up for portable crafting

collection of portable crafting projects to go

As personal time runs out I rely more and more on making my crafting portable so I can pull out a project to work on while I'm running errands or doing the mum stuff. I'll be selling at the spring Got Craft? fair at the Legion Hall (on Commercial Drive @ E6th Avenue in Vancouver, 11am to 5pm) on Sunday, May 3rd so I have some prep to do for this. I also have a birthday to get ready for - somehow I don't think that even if I knit like the wind will I have the sweater top left ready for wrapping. I'm onto the armhole shaping on the front, having completed the back and one sleeve so it would be a possibility if I didn't also have a million other tasks to complete.

For the first time at a craft fair I'll have some supplies to sell. I have spare wire beads in addition to the wire crochet cuff kits to put out on the table so come on down all you DIY'ers.

Sunny outside, finished morning coffee, must start the day for more crafting http://ping.fm/CiAgN

just for etsy day!

small hoops earwires in sterling and brass wire, originally uploaded by ebbandflo_pomomama.

In honour of Etsy Day I thought I would offer free North American shipping in my artfire shop!

Just quote "etsyday" in your notes to seller at checkout. International buyers will get shipping at US rates and refunds will be made thru PayPal once payment has been received.

Have a very happy etsy day indeed!

should i blog the pilaff recipe? hmmm - it is a good quick meal

earth day - ebbandflo is doing her crafty bit

I've always been a thrifty gal, my mother's influence from her own rationing and wartime in London experiences have helped shape me as someone who hates to discard. Even my craft studio is built around semi-conservation/upcycling principles - a lot of my crafting materials are stored in those transparent plastic boxes which prepared salads come in. They are ideal since they stack, are easily labelled, are lightweight and the contents are seen readily.


However, I'm not as quick as some sellers of handmade to jump on the eco bandwagon. I've made a few tagging changes to fit in with the Etsy perception of 'being green' (when in Rome, .....) but I'm still uncomfortable with whooping up eco credentials. I try to incorporate green-ness in everyday life and crafting but I'm no eco-warrior. The spotlight above brings together some of my more thrifty, upcycling projects and the new design of felted flotsam cuff above incorporates handspun 'sweepings' (from Yummy Yarn) with brand new wire (it's almost impossible to upcycle wire though my flotsam brooches do use up the odds and ends of all kinds of handcrafting offcuts). I love working with sea glass and am slowly working thru a stash of machine knit wool swatches for felting which my mother gave me.
With a little thought it's possible to work some earth-saving practices into your crafting life!

lego

OK, it's not about handcrafting and it's not urging you to buy some of my carp, but it did make me laugh and is posted in honour of all the many pairs of glued on bits of lego cufflinks on all the many handmade sites out in the interwebs ........

 

the structured chaos of organised personal time

Last night I switched off the computer, removed myself from the lure of the interwebs and the seduction of twitter ..... and Made Stuff. This follows on from my previous blog post kvetching about not having enough personal time over Spring Break.

I poured a good big goblet of red wine and the creativity flowed(?).

accomplished =

• a new pair of copper earrings

• three flotsam wire and fibre items ready to be felted in today's batch of laundry
• the prototype for a new flotsam wire and fibre design
• set up some portable crafting projects for when I'm out and about
• an inventory check of wire crochet for upcoming craft fairs and B&M's
• prep for the promo items I need to make for the upcoming Got Craft! fair at the beginning of May

Once these housekeeping items were out of the way I then settled down to some real creating, something I've been 'itching' to do for a long time. I've been making wire beads for about a year now and using them in necklaces or as focal points. Recently I've started felting them (my beloved fuzzy balls!) but last night's project was a wee bit different.

I made a graduated set of fine silver wire beads and teamed them with some beautiful white agate to make a "purity" choker-length necklace. For some reason I gravitate towards pure white with the fine silver and the pieces always end up being "purity". Ho hum - makes sense to me I think.

 

March 26th is Purple Day!

Yes, March 26th is Purple Day! Wear your purple with pride and raise awareness for those living with epilepsy.

This is the second annual Purple Day run by the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance and was started by a nine year old girl from Nova Scotia, who herself deals with the condition on a daily basis.

So far I've twittered about it, I've blogged it and have had it published as my first article as a non-fiction content writer for my local neighbourhood website (please check out the links there for more info on dealing with epilepsy and first aid tips).

... and I've made myself a little purple ribbon on a pin to wear today to raise awareness and let others know that they are not alone.

new balls please!

Spring must be around the corner. I suspect this not because the sun is peeking out from behind the many clouds but my studio got an impromptu clear out last week after I ranted at how messy my desk was.
So this morning (my child-free morning!) I'm starting things off with freshly brewed coffee, some new fuzzy balls to play with (not mr ebb btw, who is the only 'cloud' in my day since he's working from home!) and a blog post about how efficient I'm going to be today (ho hum - catch me on Twitter to see how I'm doing thru out the day).
First off is this blog post (ta da!) and then I'm going to pair the fuzzy balls with some beautiful fluorite beads and silver spacers to make another choker (I really like this length though I will lengthen on request!).
After that I have piles of admin to do.
Sometimes it's just not possible to portably craft 24/7 as the desk time catches up.
... and today is one of those days! le sigh

yarn bombing

I've never seen a yarn bombing ........ well, not until I visited Salt Spring Island this weekend on a knitting retreat.

Some amazingly creative knitters, under the cover of darkness no doubt, had decorated a planter in the main square with beautiful knitted tulips and gnomes. A notice ina nearby (decorated) tree informed onlookers of what they were seeing and reassured them that the "offending" graffiti would be removed soon.

We were told about it while shopping for supplies in the amazing Stitches Quilt Shop and trotted down the road for a peek. We weren't disappointed.

Yarn bombing aka knit graffiti has a history rooted in slow activism and a presence since 2005 (possibly earlier too). Knitting itself has been used as a tool to point out how fast-paced life is and that a simple act of handcrafting can instil some peace into the day. It's also a great feminist tool to illustrate how productive and creative women are in their everyday moments.

Although Germain Greer was dismissive of women's textile art (linked here) working with fibre is often an easy and portable craft to carry around during daily life. Readers of portable crafting for the obsessed will know that since discovering circular knitting needles I am rarely without a sock or scarf or whatever when out and about.

Only now I know that I'm being an activist!

retreat retreated

Well ........... we shopped (at Stitches in Ganges for some yarn and intriguing crafting supplies) and we drank (Kahlua and Yellow Tail, tho' not together!) and we dined out (someplace in Fulford Harbour but I forget the name - it was delish tho' & right beside the ferry terminal) and we saw a band (the Duhks from Winnipeg, oh my were they incredible) and we hot tubbed (Aidan's back yard) ........ and we even managed some knitting (late night so v v v tired now).

Then home via the ferry.
The boys survived (as did the fish, guinea pigs and cat).
Back to normal now.