wedding season is upon us....

my wedding day June 7, 2008

It's funny, but every spring, usually starting in May, I start to get requests for wedding gifts.

"Do you have any table runners?"

"What about at throw?"

"Can you suggest something you have in stock that would be a good wedding gift?"

hand woven guest towels

Ultimately, the wedding is usually sooner rather than later which can make selections harder. But these requests are something I enjoy fulfilling. What a wonderful gift to give to a young married couple, something hand made.

hand dyed and woven table runner

Some of my favorite wedding gifts that I've made over the years are overshot blankets, wool blankets, table runners, and pillow sets.

overshot blanket - cotton and wool

Are you going to a wedding this summer and want to take a gift that won't be a duplicate? Contact me for hand woven gift ideas. This summer I actually have a few good gifts in my cupboards ready to go!

store window featuring my hand woven work and teddy bears

rub a dub dub

I just took bath mitts off the loom and am in the process of sewing them up. Bath mitts, if you're unaware, are wearable wash cloths woven in cotton & cotton chenille. Very soft! And the best part is that they are washer/dryer friendly! I love creating woven items that can easily be added to a busy life.
Bath mitts are for everyone! Men, women, kids alike. I usually bundle them with a locally made soap by Lavish. Their soaps are so nice!

They also have made lovely hostess gifts, teacher gifts and just because gifts!!

Pillows Pillows Everywhere!

Sometimes I find that I have hand woven fabric left over from a project, or yardage of sampling that needs a purpose. In those cases, I make pillows of all different shapes, sizes and textures. Here are just a few of the most recent.

hand woven felted wood pillow (red/charcoal/black)

hand woven variegated texture pillows

hand woven wool pillows (blue/green)

Grade 3 Here I Come!

I got a really interesting email this winter asking me to be a part of the new Grade 3 Social Studies text book in New Brunswick. I thought it was spam. But then it turned out to be legitimate! How cool. So, after I realized I'd need a photo of me in the studio - something I just didn't have at the time - I called Dad and asked him to use his new found photography skills to help me out. It didn't take long to do and was fun to get new shots of the studio with me working away.
They emailed me last week to say it goes to print in June! How exciting. Students, and maybe someday Connor, will learn about craftspeople in New Brunswick and I will be one of them.

I can't upload the page from the text book they sent me, but I'll share the photo that I submitted.

MORE *unbeweaveable blankets

fringe detail

I just found some photos of other blankets that I've made in the last few years. I want to share them. I love making blankets because there is no reason for any two to be the exact same. I've redone only one blanket pattern in the last five years. And have never repeated any others. There are too many options!

birch and khaki blanket

birch and khaki blanket detail

blue and brown blanket

blue and brown blanket detail

vibrant green blanket

vibrant green blanket detail

Customers can choose the colors (maximum 5) for their blanket and then I get to choose the pattern. They are all 40" X 75" woven (finished 38" x 72" plus fringe). If you would like one, they are $250 CAD with a $75 CAD materials deposit.

Bound weave

I've recently acquired a new camera and have been snapping photos of my studio and my work left, right and center! I thought I'd take some pictures of the work that hangs in my studio as inspiration. Most of it is work from my student days.

Bound weave was a stressful learning curve for me. Mostly because I prefer to weave items that I can get off the loom quickly. That's why I'm a production weaver. But I had to learn patience to do bound weave.

Bound weave sampler

Bound weave rug sampler

Next was needle felting. I really enjoyed needle felting. It's dangerous if you don't know how to use the super sharp needle, but I survived! I enjoyed the 3D possibilities as well as how you could paint with yarn on felt. So many lovely ways to use fleece!

Sunset on the Kennebecasis

Before I can even think about a new project, I find myself staring at my yarn closet. I've recently "spring cleaned" it and now it's more organized to style of yarn. It used to be by color, but I had too much of certain colors for that to work and not get tangled. The sad thing is that I'm not supposed to get more yarn until I use up what I've got. But at least I've got lots of good stuff!!

Across the Ocean

The bulk of my work for the last year has been in blankets. Here's the one I did last spring for a friend from high school. Her brother commissioned it for her birthday. Nice brother! It's now living in her home in Ireland.

This blanket is called "Oromocto Lake". It was first woven as a commission for a wedding gift. The woman who ordered it lives at Oromocto Lake in New Brunswick. She asked for blues. This blanket is more than blues, it's bliss.