Green Christmas

This weekend, I vended at an event called Green Christmas hosted by the Talbot Street Church and Community Connections Church. It was a wonderful event and I was lucky to be included (being the very last vendor to sign up at the very last minute!)

The event was located at the Talbot Street Church, which is an absolutely beautiful venue. I was in the outside atrium and had a phenomenal view of the snow falling when it started to squall outside.

 London was hosting a number of events that day and it was difficult to decide which one to be a part of. I'm very happy with my decision. The whole day was well organized, the atmosphere was lovely and there were many, many other talented vendors at this show.

I was thrilled to see some familiar faces and to also meet so many new people.

Thank you so much for supporting my table and this event!

The snow continued to fall all weekend. We were treated to a huge dumping of snow. I walked the dogs on Sunday along the Thames River. I wasn't able to take any pictures - but as my husband says, it was nice that I was able to just enjoy the moment. It was truly scenic and gorgeous in the silence with the snow falling softly, the dogs with their snow beards and the water rushing down the river.

Stay cozy, everybody!

Bloomin' Earth Festival!

After a few relatively sleepless nights getting ready for the festival on Saturday, we were up and out the door by 6 a.m.  I think at around 3 a.m., I had a one-sided discussion with myself to see if there was any point in actually going to bed or if I should finish one more patchwork picnic blanket.  Sleep won. I crashed on the couch with the girls so I wouldn't wake up the husband. I'm sort of like an elephant trying to tip toe up the stairs. Plus I'll invariably whack my head, trip or knock something over.  Surprisingly, I did manage to sleep a bit before the alarm went off at 5am.

Good lord. 5 am.

I'm rarely up that early. So rare, that it felt like I was camping.

I went to shower, while Risto packed the car, fed the girls and took them for a quick walk. I could not have done this without that man.

We had an easy drive to Kitchener. One thing about my history with Kitchener -- I've only been there a handful of times and I've ALWAYS gotten lost. The first time, a friend and I were trying to find a club on King Street and spent 20 minutes driving around without realizing that we were ON King Street. Another time, that same friend was getting married in Kitchener City Hall - same place we were headed for the festival - Risto and I got lost (albeit due to construction detours) and barely made it in time for her civil ceremony. I think the last time we were in Kitchener, we ended up driving in circles and we couldn't LEAVE.

Let's just say -- I expected to get lost again.

And while we did have to double back -  we found ourselves heading out of Kitchener and into Waterloo - but Risto managed to find City Hall without too much trouble.

This is the set up for my table. Rather jumbled and crowded - but I really like having people poke around and discover treasures. Like a busy antique shop or something.

 Photo Courtesy of Jane Chung

 I was lucky enough to share the tent with another great vendor: Crystal Barnett who runs an amazing shop called Lovely Like You :: here ::

Jane (my amazing helper for the day) purchased one of her necklaces. It looked super sweet on her.

Next to my tent, I ran a craft table all day. I taught people how to make friendship bracelets with embroidery floss, how to finger knit and how to make a kumihimo cord. It was a ton of fun and I got to meet some really nice families.

One of the little girls was so excited about her first bracelet, she said she wanted to make one for "EVERYBODY!". And she gifted me her first one. I tried to talk her into keeping it for herself, but she insisted and I couldn't say no.

 A couple of product photos. These are the wool dryer balls. People seemed to like hefting and squeezing them.

These were newly made for the festival. They're 1" circle magnets made from an old stash of japanese chiyogami paper I unearthed. The magnets are ceramic magnets and a much better product from what was available five years ago. I'm very pleased with the strength of these magnets.

I also finished three patchwork picnic blankets. I really love the colour combinations. This is my favourite because of the squirrel print. With a denim backing, they're fairly heavy and I think they'd be perfect for a park or the beach!

So not only was it a beautiful day, but the vendors were amazing. Megan Goos, who organized the festival, was wonderful to work with. Her assistants and helpers were also really great.  

I loved being outside and meeting new people - as well as seeing some familiar faces! We also got to bring our girls who loved being in the middle of the action. Here they are taking a nap in the sun.

There was a bunch of extra swag left over. Every purchase for the next little while will get some of that awesome swag I posted about earlier.

Thank you to everybody who came by the table to say hi and check things out. I really appreciate everybody's comments and talking to each of you.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day! Eco-Wool Dryer Balls

So you may have heard the fuss about dryer balls. They've been around now for a few years. I made our first set about three or four years ago and they're still going strong.

Wool dryer balls are a great environmentally friendly alternative to dryer sheets. I grew up using Bounce sheets. I loved they way it made our towels smell. But I have to say, ever since we stopped using them, I haven't missed it and our towels still smell great.

This past Christmas, my mom washed & dried a blanket I was finishing at the eleventh hour for my sister's present. She threw the blanket in with the usual Bounce sheet. When she pulled it out, I could not believe how plastic-y it felt! Literally, a sheen of chemicals.  The difference blew me away.

We don't dry too many clothes around here - mostly towels and bedsheets, but I like knowing that what we're using isn't coated with chemicals.  For the baby parents, I hear that these are especially great for drying cloth diapers.

After this weekend's Bloomin' Earth Festival, I'll list them in my Etsy Shop.

Bloomin' Earth Festival - Swag Bags

I have this huge lust for favours, loot bags, mini gifts.... basically, swag. Not necessarily receiving them, but I love thinking about them, putting them together and giving them away.

I signed up to participate in the Bloomin' Earth Festival in Kitchener on 27 April 2013. I've been thinking about what to bring with me to sell in the vendor area. I have a lot of knits but it looks like it will be pretty warm in a couple of weeks. I also want to bring crafts that are related to theme.

My wool felt dryer balls are a must, as well as, the furoshiki wrap! I"m excited about repackaging them this weekend.

They've offered a great opportunity to add swag (advertising) to their re-usable tote bags this year. So I jumped on it.

Here's a sneak peek of what some people will be receiving if they purchase the Bloomin' Earth tote bag at the show:

There's also going to be a felt-y business card and a 1" button pin in some packages! 

You know you want one.

Jumping Back In

I don't think there is a graceful way to ease back into blogging regularly. But seeing as this is the equivalent of talking to an empty room, I suppose it doesn't matter. (It's kind of how I sometimes feel about Twitter -- babbling to myself amongst a crowd of people also babbling to themselves -and then occasionally overhearing a particularly juicy or funny tidbit.)

Some time early 2012, I saw a posting for a used drum carder. I managed to save a few piano dollars and made the hubs drive me to Kitchener to pick up this baby.

I carded a ginormous pile of fibre for a couple of felt-making classes and then the carder got moved to the basement.

I'm hoping to bring her back up again this summer and card up a few batts for sale and workshops. I love all of my toys - -I just don't have time to play with them all!