Thursday 31 May 2012

Pow Wow

Last weekend I went to the Odawa Pow Wow in Ottawa. http://www.odawa.on.ca/home.htm There were so many picture perfect moments.  I feel like a captured a few.  The drumming was powerful, the dancing spectacular , and the singing uplifting.  The costumes were stunning, so much work went into each piece.  My favourite were the ones with the jingles on them.

This is my favourite picture


Monday 28 May 2012

Busy Daze

It has been a while since my last post!   Wait ...did that sound confessional ?  Ha ha!
beautiful colours brought to you by Kathryn Drysdale ( and a shawl pin by yours truly )
On the weekend there was a celebration of Art in the Parkdale Market in Ottawa.  My pins and markers were there via Riverside Studio.  Thank you Kathryn and Julie :)

I love this shawl ! ( and shawl pin lol)
Julie and Kathryn

Friday 11 May 2012

Wakefield Knitting Retreat


On the weekend I went to a knitting retreat that was held in a converted barn in Wakefield, Quebechttp://the-barn.ca/.  It was used as a summer home by a family and is now rented out for retreats.  As you enter the barn there are all kinds of textiles hanging from the walls as art.  You are immediately enveloped by the warmth of comfy chairs , old beams and bookcases in every room.
The living room had a  turquoise  tiled fireplace that was shipped from Europe.

The organizershttp://threecrazyknitters.wordpress.com were Kathryn Drysdale, of Riverside Studio, who is an artist and and indie dyer. She gave a dying workshop that was fun and informative.  It gave me a real appreciation for the work that she does to acheive those rich and beautiful colours that she makes....
Julie taught us short rows,& double knitting ( which I loved and plan to make a scarf ) She is such a great teacher, extemely knowledgeable  and loads of fun.

Maureen
Kathryn and Julie
our hand painted yarns drying in the sun
a reading nook outside the bedroom
there's that fireplace!
Julie's daughter ,who is a baker in Maine, made these cookies  as a  gift.
Julie , Kathryn and \Maureen , 3 Crazy Knitters
all of us wearing our hand painted skeins
the 2 skeins to the left are the ones I dyed and the  2  to the right are  Riverside Studio
Maureen Marcotte is a gentle spirit and did most of the cooking for the retreat.  Every morsel was tastier than the last, she is an amazing cook. It would be a daunting task for me , but she had everything under control with the help of her two beautiful daughters.  Maureen is not only a knitter but a potterhttp://www.mckenziemarcotte.ca/en/artists/maureen_marcotte.html by trade.  Her and her husband have a gallery in Wakefield called McKenzie Marcotte Gallery. Her work is calm and serene with a touch of Japanese esthetic.

It was a wonderful weekend. Thank you  to the 3 Crazy Knitters!

the purple and yellow one is the one i was working on  :)


Thursday 10 May 2012

I hope to write about the retreat I went to on the weekend, when I come home from work tonight, but until then I will leave you with this:


We are the music makers,
And we are the dreamers of dreams,
Wandering by lone sea-breakers,
And sitting by desolate streams;—
World-losers and world-forsakers,
On whom the pale moon gleams:
Yet we are the movers and shakers
Of the world for ever, it seems.

~Arthur O'Shaughnessy, "Ode," 1874

Friday 4 May 2012

Polymer Clay Play

I am having so much fun playing with clay.  I can't stop.  I look at everything differently now wondering if I can replicate objects in clay , or make a mold of something.

This idea came to me to make tattoo inspired jewelry.

the perennial MOM tattoo on a necklace just in time for mother's day 
I was really pleased with this piece
I added a pink ribbon et voila!
my display of necklaces and flowers at Art & Soul
So go to Art & Soul to check it out :D

Stay tuned I am going on a knitting retreat this weekend .  Will have some wild and wooly pix to share :)

Have a great weekend