Inspiration...

I was out in the studio looking for a particular button for a bag I'm making, when looking at that spilled jar, I thought...so many things inspire me...I guess it's just the simple beauty that gives me that creative charge...

This old page from a book graciously given by www.the-feathered-nest.blogspot.com...thanks Dawn...

There are so many inspiring people out there in this small e-world...pictures, words, photography, music, paintings and everyday thoughts from near and far. 

Old postcards...

The smell of spring on my windowsill...how it triggers beauty and the promise of warmer days to come...

Things left behind in a great aunts basement. The boxes were to be sent to the junk pile but I rescued them knowing that if they sat with me on my shelf, they would somehow speak to me of old times...

Wind in the willows images by Charles Van Sandwyk. This blog has a good little bio on him. He is an incredible illustrator splitting his life between Vancouver, B.C and Fiji....nice life...

My only gourd I grew this past summer is slowly drying out and waiting to be turned into something beautiful...I hope.

My grandmas old sewing machine...such a faithful old thing...With her 9 kids, this machine has gone through a million miles of thread...then my mom owned it for years and now I have kept her going for the past 7 years. She doesn't do any fancy foot work but is the best little workhorse I've ever had...and she's pretty to look at too!

Still don't know what to do with this caribou antler a friend brought down form Whitehorse once, but it moves around from place to place and graces me with it's aged hues and smooth feel.

Some things just make me smile...utilitarian art pieces that remind me of my childhood...my mom had one of these pincushions which you can still find in Chinatown.

My collection of vintage suitcases are some of my favorite things...sturdy, lovely...

...and full of promising fabric...

Some days I sit out there with a big mug of tea in hand, with some good music and a piece or two of chocolate and thank goodness for the inspiration which surrounds me.

song for Friday...what its all about...

Can you feel much more than when you're in love?
When you know someone truly,
madly,
deeply.
happy valentines day.

for all the romantics out there.

A new day...

After two weeks of no walks, no runs, no playing, 2 x-rays and medication....

 

  

 

  

  

 

...I think he's feeling better!

The nest...

Sunday was a day with the nieces and nephews....running amuck on the acreage...

 

 

...finding spring mushrooms...

...practicing the art of the yo-yo...

...and learning to chop wood.

While collecting some kindling from the wood shed we found a beautiful little surprise...

The most fluffy and intricate field mouse nest!

This mouse house was empty so we took it inside for a closer look...

The skill involved in constructing such a thing out of tiny bits and pieces is astonishing...

There's tiny bits of thread and cloth, carefully woven with feathers and strips of bark...

When I started to look on the net, I found that mice nest in strange places. There were A LOT of nests found in car engines and then a few other odd places...

This one in a bbq..

here's one in a bee hive..

This pretty little one in a canvas bag of some sort.

And the sweet little harvest mouse in her perfectly woven grass ball...how cozy.

Photos in the hometown...part 3: the wool shop..

The great thing about not going into the city very often, is that there's always something new to see. On my way to the wool shop I saw this great wall of graffiti...To me this is what graffiti is all about....not just some tag or offensive language, but honest, public art with passion put into it...

The other great thing about not going into the city very often is that I see things which have always been there, and I revisit them with new eyes...

I love these old doors...the building was a wholesale Chinese produce store for years and now houses a yummy cafe...

 Now, on to the wool shop...

It used to be that there was only one wool shop in the city centre, but a few years back (probably due to the renaissance of knitting) a gorgeous new shop has opened...

Now if you saw a wool bike, wouldn't you be a little curious??

As soon as you walk through the doors, you are met with this sense of creativity...

Fibre arts abound and one can only think...

"I have to make something!!"

I just started knitting a few years back, when one of my friends said she would teach a gang of us how to make a hat...ever since then, I can't pass a wool shop without AT LEAST going in for a look...

...Of course it's like being a kid in a candy shop with all the colors, textures and oh the possibilities!

Knotty by Nature is always a buzz....there is a studio, there are classes, workshops, knitting needles clicking away and  looms being worked on...

If you are a spinner, then this is the place for you...

And if you are a felter, as I am....

...there is roving GALORE!

Who coudn't resist this giant felted egg....

A bounty of buttons...

...and the sweetest hats and booties...wouldn't your little elf look stunning in these?!

Or how about this amazing handwoven screen for your boudoir?

So next time you need a fibre  fix, have a look in the shop with the wool bicycle.

www.kbnfibres.ca