by carmen | Dec 13, 2012 | Personal
I am giving up my studio at the end of the year. You’d think this would make me sad as the last three years have been awesome there.
From flooding to Frank, having the studio was magic to me. Two of my studio pals have gone on to other things or new spaces and it’s just too big to carry on my own, so I’m coming home.
Does this mean a change to what I sell, how often I teach or what shows I do….Not at all. With the help of a lot of fantastic friends I am going to create one stunner of a studio in the house. I can hardly wait.
While the move is going on, I am still kicking out custom orders and trying to keep up with the crazy demand for all things handmade this year. As you are getting ready for the holidays trying to finish up those last few knits remember this….one mitt, or sock or piece of a sweater is still a great gift if you can include a done by date with your package. Previews are nice and build excitement!
Enjoy the holidays everyone.
I’ll check in when the chaos subsides.
Fun at the studio with Quincey.
by admin | Dec 5, 2012 | Events
Wish us luck! We’re trying our new snow tires for the drive from Vancouver to Edmonton. We’ll be at Edmonton’s annual Butterdome Craft Sale. This is our last show of the season, so if you’re in the area, come down and say hello. Stock up on woolly MelonHead goodies before the holidays!
Event details:
December 6 – 9, 2012
Butterdome (Universiade Pavillion)
University of Alberta
114 Street – 87 Avenue
Edmonton, AB
by admin | Nov 19, 2012 | Events, Markets
Some of my hats will be living in Deep Cove for the Winter Gift Show at the Seymour Art Gallery. Lucky ones might even get to go home with a new owner!
Winter Gift Gallery
November 20, 2012 to January 5, 2013
4360 Gallant Ave., North Vancouver, BC
Gallery Hours: 10 am – 5 pm, 7 days a week
Opening reception: Sunday, November 25, 2-4pm
by admin | Nov 5, 2012 | Events
We are exhausted, but had a fantastic time in Prince George. Drove back and loaded straight in to the Convention Centre for Circle Craft Christmas Market this coming week.
Circle Craft is one of the Lower Mainland’s biggest craft events, so don’t miss out on this annual tradition November 7-11, 2012. Here are the event details:
Dates & Hours:
Wednesday, November 7: 10am – 9pm
Thursday, November 8: 10am – 9pm
Friday, November 9: 10am – 9pm
Saturday, November 10: 10am – 7pm
Sunday, November 11: 10am – 5pm
Location:
Vancouver Convention Centre West
1055 Canada Place
Vancouver, BC
by admin | Oct 30, 2012 | Events
We leave bright and early tomorrow for the drive to Prince George. This will be our second year attending the Prince George Studio Fair organized by the Prince George & District Community Arts Council. We had such a great time last year and cannot wait to see you all this year November 2-4, 2012. Here are the event details:
Location:
Prince George Civic Centre
855 Dominion Street
Prince George, BC
Hours:
Friday, November 2: 10 am – 8 pm
Saturday, November 3: 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday, November 4: 10 am – 4 pm
by carmen | Aug 8, 2012 | Ramblings
The Back Room in Mr. Gold's Antique Shop
So far this summer, I have managed to squeeze in everything I’ve wanted to do and more. Disney fit exactly in between surgery and the Filberg Festival.
I have enough time to turn around inventory and head back on the road for the Edmonton Folk Festival.
I will be back just in time to finish prepping my first classes for Birkeland Bros.
And then I have my Whistler for two weeks and then start uber production for the winter shows. It all fits like a nice fibery puzzle, each piece in its place.
John and I have pushed really hard this year to get everything in line. I couldn’t have done it without him. And the great thing about working so hard is that we had time to really enjoy the Filberg Festival this year.
The Booth at Filberg
One night of the show we had a farm visit with our friends Lorne and Kim (who have an excellent B&B). Another night we hung for dinner with Claire on the farm she was staying at and had a great dinner of left overs and fresh picked greens from the farm (not fresh picked chickens, I just found them super cute)
Chickens!
The show ended with us tearing down the booth in record time so that we could make our ferry reservation. We coasted into Nanaimo, had dinner, watched our women’s soccer team get robbed of their chance for gold (sorry, but that was a bad call, crazy ref) and still had time to grab a latte in the ferry line!
Coming home Monday night is truly what made our timing really count. I got to the studio at 11am and was able to stay there until 5AM. A full dedicated 17 hours of spinning and a serious amount of caffeine, and the results, I was on pure creating overdrive……..these yarns are for my FFFF’s (favourite folk fest folks).
West Coast Inspired Yarns
There are plenty of very textured blue/greens for a certain someone and Donna’s white BFL is on reserve. I also have the beaded yarn if I can manage to hook up with one of my Facebook Folks–Calle if you’re out there. There won’t be any extras though. Just enough yarn to get through the show.
There is only one thing about about this quick turn around that has upset a family member. Asia–laying on the yarn doesn’t mean I can’t still pack around you. Dear Edmonton customers, please note, a few of the hand spun yarns may have partial Himalayan content.
So You're Leaving Again?
by carmen | Jul 25, 2012 | Events
So far this year feels like everything has been tossed into a blender. No end or beginning, just a constant carry though –until Sunday. It was my last Farmer’s Market before my big summer shows. Why, you ask. At some point this inventory needs to get bagged and tagged. I….t’s a huge job.
My work style is not dye one roving, spin one roving, knit the hat from that roving, stitch it up and block it and then put a label and a hang tag on it and stack it in a box….hardly.
My style i s more like this: OMG, I am going to stay at the studio for 14 hours a day spinning until my legs feel like rubber and just agonize about knitting it later. And then today, like a slap in the face with a wet fish,——I don’t have enough felt hats for my shows…..
So starts my crazy counting….The show is in 9 days and I need.
40 hand spun, hand dyed skeins of yarn.
50 felt hats
30 more children’s hats
20 scarves
OKAY, so that is 140 things divided by 9 days at 15 waking hours a day, minus eating showering , getting dressed and commuting between home and studio, possibly petting the cat and maybe a load of laundry in there. This give me 15.5 things to make in 15 hours that I will be awake in the day. This is not what I would call a good plan.
Or I could try this….Keep busy, focused…try not to be a crazy person, make what I like and let the chips fall where they may and enjoy several caffeinated beverages.
I’m feeling better already. Oh, and this handsome guy in the corner, is my neighbour Nathan’s grandfather sheering on his farm in the UK many years ago. The picture just makes me really happy.
by carmen | Jul 4, 2012 | Uncategorized
It’s been a while. I haven’t felt the blog mojo, but have been diverting my photos and tiny tbits of info to Facebook.
However, I am missing the blog, so I’m ready to get back in the groove.
So here it is in pictures.
by carmen | Mar 22, 2012 | Special Projects
….the more they stay the same in my world. Yarn, yarn and more yarn.
Don’t get me wrong. I have done other things, I swear. Took days off, read books and hung out with friends. Even crossed the border and did some antiquing. Even did a 
bit of shopping online, worked on paperwork and watched another birthday come and go.
It hasn’t been high excitement, but I find myself more content than I have ever been in my life. It’s a big statement for sure, but it is a truth. All of the events of our life strung together with these beautiful spun threads. Hand spun wool runs through all of it.
The new yarns from the Rustic Collection are almost ready as is the hat pattern that goes with it. It feels great to be releasing a new pattern for this yarn.
Show acceptances have been streaming in. I’m not sure what I was thinking applying for so many, but it’s exciting to see that my season will be busy. I don’t really enjoy breaks in the work (even if you’ve heard me say otherwise).
I was planning on going to the Game of Thrones Marathon at VanCity Theatre tomorrow. I would only have to line up at 6am and spend 10 hrs there knitting. I even bought a pair of knitting needles with tips that light up so I could see my knitting in the dark. But I’ve decided not to go.
I think a day in the studio with CBC radio is an excellent way to spend a Friday. And instead of watching something I’ve already seen, I can take a few breaks and make some headway on Book 5.
Happy knitting and spinning this weekend!
by carmen | Mar 2, 2012 | Uncategorized
What happened to February, or more importantly, in February?
I found out that Birkeland Bros. was closing. It wasn’t a shock. I think Cara had been carrying the burden of the shop for a while. I’ve enjoyed teaching there. As a matter of fact, I never considered teaching until Cara asked me to and well you know the rest. I have been running classes there for the last three years. I never really realized that a nice portion of my livelihood came from this….until it stopped.
Suddenly I find myself flooded with emails from people wondering where they can take classes and if I’m willing to teach. Other people wondering where to get wheels.
The classes are scheduled, my Louet Dealership secured so bring on your questions and get ready for some learning. The changes in the studio have made it so much easier to shift this part of my life down the street.
I was also fortunate enough to keep working on Once Upon a Time. This time more of a challenge (which I love) trying to breathe new life into a pretty wrecked CPW. Very old, brittle and wobbly and yet with still one more scene left in it. After that scene I am uncertain! It was a wild ride working with Disney, and although I see this gig coming to an end, I’ve realized that I have some weird fibre horseshoe thing going on. One gig ends and another one finds its place.
I’ve just been asked to custom dye alpaca fibre to be used in the production of wigs for a costume department. So there you go. And the studio classes, well they are practically full for the month so my work life seems to transition enough that I am always provided with new learning opportunities and skills.
I am embarrassed to say that I am still working on jury pieces, but I am trying to make something exquisite, and it’s taking more time than I imagined. Free form is a wonderful medium for me to work in, but I am so careful to keep it uniquely mine and not infringing on Prudence Mapstone’s wonderful work. So when I see something evolving in that direction, I pull it out and start again.
My shows are starting so much earlier this year so I have to have a full show’s worth of production by the end of April. The blog will be sparse other than yarn updates, but if you have any questions for me regarding classes, where to get fibre, some wheel help, please let me know and I’ll see what I can do.
