Goodness Gracious!

It's hard to see, but the topper to my tree is a knit sheep!

Well, it's nearing the end of the year... I haven't done much yarn-y stuff lately because of ongoing wrist and arm troubles... I didn't despair this season though! I used the opportunity to support local merchants and small artisans instead of crocheting and knitting like a kookoo for everyone on my Holiday list! It was a different approach for me (as I usually knit and crochet like a kookoo for everyone) and I liked it! So less stressful and so nice to see all the great hand made and local stuff that is out there!

Some nice textures....

At the beginning of the month I ran a Beginner Knitting workshop through a wonderful organization called, "Spark of Brilliance"! It was amazing and we had such a fantastic time. I'm going to be working with them as much as I can in the future! The lovely space where the workshop was held is called, "10 Carden". It's a wonderful co-op space for socially innovative community based organizations and businesses. WOW!
I'm going to be doing some co-facilitating with Birdeye Family Programs coming up soon! Check out these great posters! We will be working together lots in the New Year and I will post much more as the events happen. The posters are for a Kid's Community Quilt Project and an ongoing event we're calling, "Crafternoon Tea"! 

I'm working on a broomstick lace shawl!

One of the fun things about December is that, in addition to many holiday parties, Christmas and New Year's Eve, three of my immediate family member's all have Birthdays! I did get to make a little something for my 2 year old niece that LOVES bracelets. The problem is that the always fall off her little person wrists so, I crocheted fun colours around a hair elastic and made her a stack-o-bracelets! The kids at her party all dug them and she very nicely shared them with her little buddies.

This fall we have had a really great "in theory" bird feeder. It sticks to the window so the birds come right up and it's all very exciting.... we had finches, cardinals, blue jays, sparrows, juncos, chickadees and SQUIRRELS! In fact, the squirrels were so BAD they kept on pulling down the bird feeder and gobbling up all the seeds for themselves. The birds were left chirruping at the window like, "Hey man! Where's ours?!".... Now everyone is punished and no one gets the feeder until we figure out how to discourage the squirrels. Especially Mocha - he didn't even care if I banged on the window and told him to get lost! They are very sneaky and bold!

Get outta here!:

All the birds now hide in the tree and screech at us...:

The Empire

I'm so excited to be running a beginner Knitting program through Spark of Brilliance! It's coming up in a few weeks and FULL!


So, since my lovely trip to upstate NY there has been a wondrous skein of yarn made by Jill Draper sitting in a place of honour on my shelf. I'm going to be crocheting an EPS sweater in tandem with my friend Jenne in San Francisco. The lovely Cal Patch has already made a sweater from Empire using the EPS in crochet and I will be emailing her and calling her for advice. I really want to make a longer sweater that is sort of "belled" from the waist with a boat neck and 3/4 bell sleeves. A cozy one! I will be using one of my lovely new magic wands (hand-turned wooden crochet hooks by Willette)!


In other news - there are lots of things brewing that I will share shortly - just not now... secrets... shhhhh.....

Also, I had a great time with a group of amazing kids at The Children's Art Factory doing a Monster Making Workshop! Here are some pictures:


Birdeye Family Programs and myself as Fibreperson will be running a few other fun programs through the Children's Art Factory in December and January! Just read these and email me if you need more info!!:

The Community Quilt Project
Hey kids, would you like to help us make a quilt? This is a creative group project that brings happiness to our community. We are calling on kids aged 7 - 12 to join us in making quilt squares. You can embroider, do appliqué, needle felt, paint - anything you want to make your square unique. Then, we will sew them together to make a quilt that will be displayed at the Children's Art Factory and other public places around Guelph! The quilt will ultimately be donated to a not-for-profit that helps children and families in our city. Participants will make two squares, one finished as a banner and ready for hanging at their home, the other will be for the Community Quilt. All materials will be provided. Ages 7 - 12. Thursday, December 29th OR Wednesday January 4th from 1-3pm. $25 per child all materials included!
Sign up by emailing: alisamcr@gmail.com
This program is co-hosted by Birdeye Family Programs and Fibreperson!


Crafternoon Tea
Are you a crafty momma? Knit-star? Is crochet your thing? Perhaps even an embroidery lover? Maybe you'd love to learn but just don't have the time?
Join us for Crafternoon Tea! A time where you can work on what ever your crafting desires may be while your tots are only steps away working on their own little projects.
Starting in January 2012, we will be offering this crafty group for tots 2 1/2 - 6 years old and their parents! The cost will be $25 which includes hands on supervision and all the crafting supplies for your little one, tea for you, and, if you need a project to work on, we will have kits available too! There will be help and instruction in knitting, crochet and embroidery available. Please keep an eye out for further information on this group, which will run bi-weekly from 1 - 3pm starting in January.
This program is co-hosted by Birdeye Family Programs and Fibreperson!