Monday, May 28, 2012

Elevate the Arts yarnbomb

#@%*!ing technology!!!

I lost all my pics of my big ol' yarnbomb that I made for the elevate the arts event.  Dang.

But, I did have this one that I'd uploaded to facebook, and one is always better than none. 

I guess that just means I get to make more - and take pictures with an oldfashioned camera - imagine calling a digital camera old fashioned!

Thursday, March 15, 2012

I love that small tags can add a burst of colour or beauty to an area without a lot of fuss or time/work.  I found a couple of pics of some little tags I did a year ago at the college on TricksyKnitter's website.
The pics were taken by friends of Megan Goodacre's, and I'm so grateful to have come across them on the web.  Love that orange.


and my favourite squares of the day




I'm working away at a big bomb for an event here in Courtenay - I promised myself I'd take pictures this time!  We'll have to wait and see.....

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Testing blogger app

My fave teapot cozy - I'm felting away these days, but won't forget to bomb something soon.

Tag view of ocean


A breezy, cold day here on the weekend.  We went for a walk at the beach at Oyster River to catch as much of the sunshine as possible.  Fingers were definintely feeling frozen by the time we made our way home to a hot fire and tea kettle.

There were Canadian geese and swans aplenty, honking and cronking away.  The kid wore her gumboots so she could go walking in the water (crazy in this temperature!) and found some interestingly twisted roots and branches to bring home.



As we were leaving the beach and heading back through the forest to the car, the sun was sinking below the mountains on the mainland, and the snow capped peaks were shining. 

Went home and watched The Tempest, with Helen Mirren as Prospera...loved it. 

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tea Cup Cozy

Felted instead of crocheted, but still cozy.  Am hoping for an increased insulation effect, but I'll be satsified with the extra coziness either way.



Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Nostoi - Returning Home from Greece

I have spent the last month in Greece, travelling with the local college to visit various ancient sites. We visited islands in the Cyclades as well as Crete and the mainland.  I took yarn and hooks with me, as well as a "clew" I had spun as part of a project for the classes involved with the trip (Anthropology, Literature, History.)



The theme of the trip was the myth of Theseus and the Mintoaur, in which Ariadne gives Theseus a ball of yarn - a clew - to help him find his way back out of the labyrinth.  I spun a clew of my own and took it with me to use as a means of finding my way back to the places we went, once I was home and working on memory alone.

I left the first piece on our gate, a link to home as I travelled off with a group of fellow students and instructors, 29 of us in all.






I did create a few yarnbombs, and in other places I merely left a sliver of clue draped on a tree or wrapped around a pole.  This was more about creating concrete anchors for my memories than making yarn bombs for others to find and enjoy.


Mouse Woman of the Spirit of Haida Gwai; The Jade Canoe in the Vancouver International Departures Terminal, with a sliver of clue threaded through her fingers.


Airports aren't particularly friendly places.  Hives of activity that is seen or unseen, with thousands of people a day passing through on their way to somewhere more enticing, they are santitized and scoured constantly to remove traces of those who've gone before.  I left another sliver of clew around a small table in the Heathrow Airport's massive Terminal 5 as we waited for our flight to Athens.



One of my favourite times during the trip was spent on this bench in Nafplion, on the island of Naxos.  There were fishermen mending nets on their boats, sitting in the shade of their canopies.  Grandmothers called to children, other tourists wandered by, but I sat and enjoyed the shift from evening to sunset, looking out at the water.


While I sat there contemplating I hooked up a small tag for one of the rails, and then threaded a bit of my clue around the rail.





Other places I picked up beautiful smooth stones from the beach.  This stone is perfectly smooth, from a beach on the southern coast of Crete.  It is one of the few I made and left as markers around the little village of Piskopiano, where we stayed for a few days.



I made a few and gave them to fellow students.  I left one at a family restaurant where I ate yummy food cooked by the women in the hot kitchen while the men brought wine and bread and cheese and more wine.



This one maybe I wish I had kept....but always on my mind was the 40lbs restriction for luggage weight.  I did bring home a few rocks, and just had to be choosy. 


I'm fond of hanging tags in trees and was surprised to find a big stone hanging in a tree in a yard in Skyros Town.  The guide explained that it was an ancient type of anchor, and could be as old as 1,000 years, or more. 


 I found a smaller rock with a little hole in it on a beach, and though I don't think it was ever an anchor, I did bring it home to hang in one of my own trees. 
I loop it on with some of the clew I brought home, completing the circle.




Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Bunting Cozies up to the Breezy Day

It really (really) helps to know someone tall.  I scouted out this place for the bunting I've been working on for weeks, but neglected to check whether or not I could actually reach the perfect spot.  It also really helps to be carrying two thick books for the tall person to balance on precariously. 



And then it's up, and there it is swaying in the breeze, making the world a brighter place.


Blending in with the local flora in matching tones of rhododendron pink.


Happy to finally be out of the bag and flying free in the blue sky.



With many thanks to Crochet With Raymond for the free pattern for granny bunting.
Visit her site for fun colours, patterns, pictures of Raymond....