I'll Be There, Will You?

Are you joining us on Friday night to crop and craft?  We know it's cold outside, but it's warm inside once you get there, and full of chatter, laughter and creative fun.  

I plan to do some knitting this week. However I've found before that my plans often change as someone asks me to show them a "new to them" craft, idea or simply a tip or two on what they already know. Whatever I end up working on, I know that I'll go home at the end of the night having enjoyed the time spent with others.  So if you aren't already signed up, call or email the store and make it happen for you too.  Don't forget also that if you create a previous Basic Grey page that night, then you'll get the evening at half price! An already economical night out for half price...great deal methinks.

My sister in law shared a word saying with me last week after reading that I was going to be working on my PhD.  I thought I'd share it with all of our readers.  You can decide if it describes you, or close to you, and if you're brave enough, you'll leave a comment at the end of this blog posting.

Maybe these words describe me in fact.  

However moving forward and speaking of Basic Grey,  I was finding that I wasn't using all of the embellishments that I had from my Basic Grey packages, simply because I had them stored in a cupboard and it was a nuisance to sort through them. 

I solved that problem on the weekend by taking a dead corner in my craft room, installing four lineal feet of pegboard which was 54" high and now everything is pegged and visible. 

Randy, Linda's husband, helped me by cutting my 48" of pegboard into the two pieces I needed to fit my corner.  

I cut and painted four strips of strapping, which I screwed to the wall at the height I wanted.  Screwed the pegboard to the strapping and I was good to go.  

Here's the corner with just the pegboard on the wall, I forgot to take a before picture, but you can see the space and visualize a blank wall.  

And now, the pegboard prettily filled so that I can actually see what I have.  

I even had space to hang my extra self healing cutting mat and large plastic ruler below everything.

I'm very pleased with the finished look and now I can see what I have, I'll be able to use it.

I have to tell you that I'm thinking about how to incorporate this idea into my craft room now.  I saw it today on a blog I subscribe to and fell in love with the idea.  What do you think?

Have you found a space in your home for your craft supplies?  Do you have a dedicated craft room?  

Do you remember how my sister in law Di shared her crafting room renovation here. 

Why not share some of your ideas with others who read this blog?  Send us a photo of what you've done or are doing and inspire others to find a small or large spot in their home for their hobby.
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YARN BOMBING IN OTTAWA

Did you read or hear about the yarn bombing that took place in Ottawa recently?  What a story and what an example we have the opportunity to follow.  

If you've ever visited downtown Ottawa you may well have seen The Valiant's Memorial.  These are statues of some of our Canadian war heroes.  Well these heroes were recently decked out with colorful scarves tied around their necks.  Each scarf had a note on them saying.....

"I am not lost!   If you are stuck out in the cold, 

take this scarf to keep warm.”

The "yarn bombing" as it was being called was the work of a group of knitters calling themselves "Dropping Stitches to Make a Better World".   What a great way of enjoying the craft that you love, and being able to share it to benefit others. We could all do this in our own towns and cities couldn't we.

No we don't have such enormously visual monuments to tie the scarves around, but we all have social networks working to help those who are in need in our communities don't we. A thought to ponder at the very least in this bitterly cold weather we're experiencing.  Children perhaps who don't have proper mittens, hats and scarves as they walk to school.  I can almost guarantee that the secretaries and teachers at most of our schools will  be able to wrap them around a child in need, perhaps only because that child forgot to put them on before leaving home, and shouldn't have to walk home without warm clothing.

You can read more about the article right here and apparently it happens in other cities too.

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Have you been thinking of Valentines coming up soon? I have been working on a few samples that you can see if you drop into the store.  In the meantime here's a photo or two to get you thinking.  

I was looking at the purple felt flower in the store last week and started to think if it was made in red it would be a nice Valentine brooch on a coat or a scarf as an embellishment.  

This is simply made by cutting six flower shaped pieces, folding them in quarters and attaching them together.  I then sewed three pearls into the centers of three of them, some leaves and a pin-back to the back for a brooch.

The felt, pearls and pin-backs are available at the Craft Nook

The pink flower was what the ladies made in card class last week and they were very pleased with their results.  Again a simple enough project once you know the steps, and an introduction to some quilling as well.  We cut five different scalloped circles with the Spellbinders Scalloped Circle dies.  Then by inking the edges and cutting between each scallop into the centre, shaping, fluffing and gluing them together, the base flower was made.  The centre was created by making tiny cuts into a narrow strip of white card stock and rolling it around a quilling tool.   

The hearts to the side here are both made from layers of felt. 

I began by wanting to make a hand warmer in the shape of a heart and the word "love" on it.  

As with anything that you don't have a pattern for, it takes on a life of it's own as you create it. 

I added some layers, embroidered my word and then thought....maybe some beads around the one layer.  Oh and then came the little heart beading in the top corner.  I completed it by filling it with rice (ready to heat in the microwave) and blanket stitching all around the outer edge.

Great, I thought, I like this look. Then came my second thought......hmm, if there's any metals in the glass bead to give the shine, then I'm pooched putting it in the microwave.

So, how do you like my fancy pin cushion? 

Now a little older, (the next day) a little wiser, (no beads) I made my heart shaped hand warmer.  A few embroidery stitches and a ribbon for embellishment..........microwave safe.

Are you registered for the Thursday Night Technique class next week?  I believe Linda said there were only a few spots left.

My plan is to have the ladies play with the We R Memory Keepers envelope punch board. So if you have one, or are thinking about purchasing one, you need to be there to see what you can make beyond envelopes.

It's a pretty neat tool, and those that know me, know that I'm not big on tools, beyond my Silhouette Cameo, Cuttlebug and Score Board that is. Oh, and of course my favourite punches.
Anyway if you don't want to miss out on this opportunity of instruction, make sure you call or email us to grab one of  those last few spots.

I'm looking forward to Wednesday of this week when I can spend some time with my granddaughter Rachel. We are very much alike in so many ways, but none the least in our love of sewing. Rachel holds on to many things of importance to her, such as T-shirts that she has long since outgrown but have a memory to them, or just a design that she loves.  She has had a plan for these shirts for some time now, and they are going to become a quilt.  Before Christmas we began the planning stages for her quilt. It was difficult for Rachel to understand how to sew all these different shapes and sizes together without creating awkward corners. When we were on the Christmas House Tour, she was able to see a beautifully sewn quilt and came to understand how many different shapes are stitched together to form squares which are then sewn into the final quilt.  Though we may not get to the sewing stage on Wednesday, we will spend a few hours "hanging out" together playing with fabric.

Well I hope in this blog posting I've been able to once again inspire you to stretch outside of your comfort zone and try something different perhaps.  To realise you have the ability with your crafting skills to perhaps "pay it forward" in some way, doing a random act of kindness for someone you may don't really know and may never meet again.
If you don't know the concept of Paying it Forward, check it out  here and don't get blown off by the first two paragraphs, continue reading and watch the video.



And the words for the week as we suffer through this hard winter, we can apply this thought not only to the winter weather, but to life in general.....

Until Later....Happy Crafting

Lilian