Summerfest

While I am normally at Art in the Plaza in Sherwood Park every Saturday this summer, there are a couple of weekends I won't be.  One of them is this Saturday, where I will be here in Edmonton for ...

My daughter will be there as well. 

After this, we will be back in Sherwood Park until the Art Walk weekend.  I won't be setting up at the Art Walk, but I will be there as my daughter's sherpa and assistant. :-D 

Come on out and enjoy some great events!

Art in the Plaza starting soon

This is for the folks in the Edmonton and surrounding areas.

Art in the Plaza is starting up again.  There are a few changes from last year.  It will still be held at the Community Centre at 2001 Sherwood Drive, Sherwood Park, but will be held in the East Plaza rather than the West Plaza.  This means we'll be visible from Sherwood Drive.

It'll be running on Saturdays instead of Sundays (which means the library will be open, too) from noon until 5pm.  June 15 is the first day and it will continue through to September 28.  More information is available at the Strathcona County website.

I don't know what is being done for advertising this year, as I don't live in Sherwood Park, but I did want to make sure that people know that this is an art market, not an art display.  Last year, we had people coming by expecting some sort of gallery type displays, which got rather confusing.

My daughter will be there with her paintings, I will have my own booth this year with my crochet, and I know of a couple of other artists from last year will be returning as well.  The only weekend we won't be there is during the Art Walk.  I won't be doing the Art Walk myself, but I'll be assisting my daughter again that weekend.

I hope to see some of you this summer! :-)

Christmas Market

All set up for the Sherwood Park Christmas Market.  This is also the debut of Dolph, my new head with neck.  Sadly, my budget did not allow for a torso, but I can fit a light in Dolph! 
Sent from Anna's phone

To Market We Go

Just a head's up for the local folks...

On Dec. 5 from 5-8 pm I will be set up and selling my wares at the Sherwood Park Farmer's Market Christmas Market.  Though I have been setting up with my daughter all summer during Art in the Plaza, this will be the first time I've had my own booth! 

My daughter will also be there, as will Jacquie and Maxine, who were with us for most of the summer at Art in the Plaza.  This being a farmer's market, most of the other vendors will be food related, but there are several vendors of non-edibles present, so it'll be a great time to pick up a few gifts and a wide range of food items (including purr-ogies for cats!) to choose from!

I hope to see you there!

Upcoming

Here are some events I'll be taking part in in October.

At the Clareview Micheals;

I will be doing a crochet demo on Saturday, the 6th, from 1-3pm.  

As usual, on the third Saturday of the month, I'll be hosting the $5 Yarn Nights from 1-3, with the option to go longer.  This month, Yarn Night is on October 20.

I have another demo booked on October 27th, from 1-3pm.  This time, I'll be doing a demo for circular loom knitting - my first demo of the technique!

It's also getting to be that time of year where I need to update my class schedule for 2013.  I will still be maintaining the days and times, it's just the dates that I will need to add.

___________________________________

At Beyond the Arts;

Beyond the Arts is back from summer break with an open house on Oct. 12 - 13.  There will be snacks, crafts and door prizes, so come on by!

At Beyond the Arts, I get to make my own classes, so they're somewhat different then the ones I do at Micheals.  I've got two levels of beginners crochet classes and two levels of intermediate classes for now.  If there's a demand for it, I can see about doing advanced or specialty classes as well.  The classes will be 2 hours long, and they can be taken in squence or as stand alone classes. 

I am also considering doing all day crochet workshops.  These would be 6 hours on a Saturday, and would include a lunch or snacks.  Let me know if there is any interest!

___________________________________

With summer being as busy at it has been, I've been lax in posting photos of my finished projects, other than cell phone snaps.  I've set up a photo area in my work station and took over 60 photos, only to find the ISO setting on my camera wasn't where I thought it was.  Once they were uploaded to the computer, I could see they were horribly grainy, so I'm going to have to take them all over again.  Once they're done, I'll start posting them here.  Meanwhile, I am working on a major project that I need to finish by the end of the month, since I plan to do NaNoWriMo again this year.  If all goes well, I'll have a major announcement at the end of the month.  If all doesn't go well, it might be delayed a couple of months, which I really don't want to do!

The Artsy Folks

We're back from today's Art in the Plaza, and I figured it was about time I did a more thorough post on the artists that have been coming out.  Click on the photos to see larger versions.

 First up, we have artist and musician, elan.

Next up, we've got Jacquie.  Sorry, but I have no email or website address to share.

 Here is Joanne Woytasiak of Lagomorphosis Illustration. 

Kari Fell was able to join us for one more weekend.

Also joining us is Maxine Fehr of A Thousand Words; Portraits by Maxine.

I was happy to see Deborrah Hughes-Gahr again. 

This photo does not do justice to the gorgeous white on white piece from Joan E. Smith, the Quilt Smith.

And here we have a display from Stage 2 Clothing.

I don't have a business card for the bead crafters below, but I do have an email address for Jack.

If you are interested in hiring a henna artist, you can reach Naz at 587-985-0295

 Of course, there's also my daughter - her display is a lot smaller in this photo, as most of her paintings are hanging at Transcend for the month of September.

Upcoming events and news

I hope everyone had a great long weekend! 

I've got a few bits of info to pass on today.  Top of the list, my older daughter now has a much larger gallery display of her paintings available for sale at Transcend on Jasper Ave.  Her paintings will be there for the entire month of September.  With the weather cooling down, it's a great time to swing by for a cup of what I'm told is the best coffee in Edmonton (I don't drink coffee myself, so I can't say!).  Meanwhile, many thanks to Steeps in Old Glenora and their patrons for their support.  She had a total of 5 paintings there, and two of them sold, which is really awesome!

This Saturday, Sept 8, I will be doing an Open House at Micheals from 11-3.  This is a Meet The Instructors event being held at all the stores.  I will be at the Clareview location, as usual.  Classes are all 50% off on that day, so it's a good time to sign up for a succession of classes, sign up with a friend, or buy classes as a gift. 

On Sunday, Sept. 9, my daughter and I will be back at Art in the Plaza from 11-4pm.  Even with her display at Transcend, she will have plenty of paintings to show and sell at the Plaza.  I'll have my little table of crocheted items again; with the weather starting to get cool, it's a good time to start looking at the heavier, earwarming hats!

On Saturday, Sept 15, I will be hosting another Yarn Night at the Clareview Micheals from 1-3, with the option of going longer.  Registration is $5, and pre-registration is encouraged.  It's a good opportunity for folks who are having a bit of trouble with their projects, but not enough to take in an entire class.

On Sunday, Sept 16, I will be helping my daughter set up on Whyte Ave for an Art Walk type of event.  We're a little short on details right now - apparently, they're calling it a Garage Sale, and all the shops on Whyte will be taking part, with artists setting up tents in the parks.  I'll post more details when we have them. 

On Saturday, Sept. 22, I will be doing a crochet demo at the Clareview Micheals from 1-3. 

And finally, we'll be back at the Plaza for the 23rd and 30th.

Moving into October, the Carft Yarn Council has declared the second Friday in October to be the annual I Love Yarn Day.  This year, it will fall on Oct. 12.  It's a day to spread the warmth!  Blog it, tweet it, facebook it, and share your love of all things yarn!

Have a great week!

Twisted Sisters

On location at the Twisted Sisters Fiber Mill, checking out the alpacas.

Update: Well, I'm home now, and I've got a whole bunch of photos and some short videos to process.  We had a fantastic time at Twisted Sisters!!  The alpacas were adorable, the tour of the mill fascinating, and it may well have been a good thing that they cannot do debit in their store! *L*  They do take cash and credit card, though.  So many beautiful things!  I was able to get one lovely hank of 50% alpace, 50% merino yarn, and I'm really looking forward to working with it. 

I definitely want to go back, and enthusiastically recommend them to any yarn lovers out there!  Many thanks to Barb of the Wandering Woolies for arranging this field trip. 

Once I've got the photos and video processed, I'll put them online for viewing.

Yarn Night Reminder

Just a quick reminder for the folks in Edmonton, that I'm having my first Yarn Night tomorrow.

What: Yarn Night (well... afternoon).
When: August 18 and every third Saturday of the month following, starting at 1pm
Cost: $5  Pre-registration recommended, but not necessary
Where: Clareview Michaels 13703 42nd St NW
What to bring: yarn, hooks or needles, patterns and your own sweet self. :-D  Though it's not a class, I will still be able to give a hand with any crochet questions. 

Since this is our first Yarn Night at this location, it's tentatively scheduled for 2 hours, though we have the option to go longer.  

Hope to see some of you there!

100

At Colours, watching the races, for the Wandering Woolies' 100th Meet Up.

Ready

Ready at Art on the Plaza again.
There will be a tour with the artist that made these sculptures in the afternoon.

update:  I was able to go on the tour, and it was really fascinating!  It turns out that these sculptures are the collaborative work of 3 artists, sculptor Catherine Burgess, printmaker Walter Jule and sculptor Royden Mills - of the Edmonton area artist collective Tricycle.  All three of them were available during the tour, and it was really interesting to hear all the background that went into these being commissioned, the ellaborate planning that went into it, and the hard work that brought it all together.  After viewing these, we all went to the Praire Path, where they talked to us about the other installations they designed.  I'm so glad I was able to take it all in!

Whyte Ave. Art Walk

This weekend, beginning on Friday the 13th (and my birthday!) I will be spending most of it as my daughter's go-fer at the 17th Annual Whyte Ave Art Walk.  We're really looking forward to it!  There will be hundreds of amazing artists showing, demonstrating and selling their work.

Here's a map showing where the artists will be set up.  My daughter's booth will be in the green striped area between 103 St (Gateway Blvd) and 102 St.

It's expected to be a hot weekend, though not quite as hot as it has been in the last few days, so be sure to put on the sun screen, wear a hat, stay hydrated, and enjoy the weekend!

Demo Day

For the Edmonton Folk, I will be doing a demo at the Clareview Michaels on Saturday, January 28, from 1-4pm.  Feel free to drop by and say hello!

Also a reminder that there will be a joining party for Blankets 4 Canada on Feb. 2, from 4-6pm.  The local volunteers for Blankets 4 Canada also get together twice a month for blanket bees, putting together the squares and blankets they collect and passing them on to those in need of warmth.  There is one such blanket bee going on on the 28th as well, from 10 am until sometime in the evening.  They are meeting at the Community of Christ Church on 83rd St, north of Argyll Rd.  I will be swinging my there in the morning, before my demo, so I hope to have more information to share with you all later.

Have a great weekend!

An awesome afternoon!

It was a fun afternoon at the Micheals today!  I got to meet and chat with all sorts of great people.  I managed to get a co-worker to grab this shot before I finished setting up my display.  Having that take a long time because people were stopping to ask questions and sign up for classes is a good problem to have!

As I write this, the stores are still open, so there's still time to register for any of the available classes at half price. 

I got a lot of questions from people wondering which class to take, so here's a few thoughts.

Of the four crochet classes offered, you can take as many or as few as you want.  There is no required order to take them, however if you are new to crochet or haven't picked up a hook in a long time, I would recommend taking the Discover Single Crochet class first.  In this class, we'll cover the basics.  Get what's covered in this class down, and you've got a good foundation for any of the other classes.  Meanwhile, single crochet alone is a great stitch for a wide variety of projects.  Just in my photo here, there are several projects done using the basics covered in the Discover Single Crochet class.

If you've had a chance to take the Discover Single Crochet class, or already have some familiarity with crochet, you can go on to any of the other three classes.  There's always a brief review of stitches at the start to get you going.  Discover the Tall Stitches would be a good first choice if you're still kind of new and want to keep things basic.  Discover Textured Stitches and Discover Granny Squares are good if you're more confident in your skills and have worked with some of the taller stitches before. 

Each class offers two projects to choose from to work on and get some practise in.  They also make great gift ideas! Once you've learned the stitches and techniques offered in these for courses, you'll be able to do a remarkable range of projects, or even come up with  your own patterns. 

Whichever class you decide is right for you, I'm sure you'll enjoy picking up on the skills and using them for the amazing variety of things that can be done with crochet!

Meet the instructor

Setting up my display at the Clareview Michaels for meet the instructor day. Already signing students up for November! Remember, sign up for a class today for half the registration cost.

Upcoming events and class schedule

First, a couple of upcoming events to tell you about.

Saturday, Sept. 10: Michaels' Open House event. 
     Meet the instructors for all Michaels available classes from 1-3pm
     Register for any class throughout the day for 50% off the regular registration cost of (crochet classes are regularly priced at $25).

If you are in the Edmonton, AB area, I will be doing a demo and answering questions at the Clareview Michaels.  Come on over and say hello!

Sunday, Nov. 6: Warm Up America Demo Event
     From 1-3pm, Discover Knit and Crochet instructors will be doing swatches for Warm Up America.  More details nearer the date.


Also, my class schedule is now extended through to the end of December.  You can see September and October classes here.

November, all on Fridays

4th - Discover Single Crochet - 5:30pm - 8:00pm
11th - Discover Tall Stitches - 5:30pm - 8:00pm
18th - Discover Textured Stitches - 3:00pm - 5:30pm
25th - Discover Granny Squares - 3:00pm - 5:30pm

December, all on Fridays

2nd - Discover Single Crochet - 3:00pm - 5:30pm
9th - Discover Tall Stitches - 3:00pm - 5:30pm
16th - Discover Textured Stitches - 5:30pm - 8:00pm
23rd - Discover Granny Squares - 5:30pm - 8:00pm

Remember - sign up for any of these classes on September 10 and get 50% off the registration price!

See you there!