jenna rose journal

2011-12-11T18:12:00.004-05:00

Hello, friends

I am sorry for my lack of posting lately, it's been busy around here! I also haven't had my camera around lately, so here are a few of my favorite shots taken with my phone.

I wanted to thank everyone who has been so supportive of me this holiday season. It's so nice to see so many people supporting Canadian and hand made. Thank you to everyone who shopped and stopped by my booth at the one of a kind show, and thank you to those who purchase from a far online too.

I write you this evening with some bitter sweet news to let you know that I will not be blogging here anymore, or at least not for now. I have decided to direct my energy and time elsewhere and hope to free up more creative and personal time.

I have really enjoyed documenting and sharing my process, inspiration, work, and life with you all for the past two or so years. It's been nice to have a place to do that and it's been a pleasure reading comments or talking in person about what may have inspired or interested you here. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your feedback and support.

In the new year I hope to start a monthly newsletter, which will more or less be in place of this blog. I will share news, events, new products and my process and I hope you will sign up to receive it! Please just email me at contact@jennarose.ca with the subject line as 'please add to mailing list' and you will receive my updates. I promise, these won't take over your inbox! It might just be one a month or so. Plus, if I ever do start blogging again, you will be the first to know! I will also announce sales and shop updates, so if you are interested please just email me. Also, you can always find my work on my website and updates on my facebook page too.

Thanks again for visiting. It means a lot to me that you made me a part of your day.

xo
Jenna

2011-11-22T04:44:00.003-05:00

One of Beau's favorite places to lay in the studio is right up against the print table. I don't even think much of it anymore and when I get to that spot on the table I just position my feet around him and keep printing. He often looks up for attention or rolls over on his back when he really wants it. He's a pretty great buddy to have around the studio everyday.

This morning my Dad (my booth building partner) and I are off to Toronto bright and early to set up for the One of a Kind Show. I am back and forth for the next two weeks so you probably won't hear much from me here. I will try to update on facebook and if you use twitter or instagram (which I am loving!) you can follow me there too. My twitter username is _Jenna_Rose and instagram is jenna_rose_ or you can stop by and say hi at booth E20.

2011-11-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

I made some more of my organic cotton handkerchiefs this weekend. The gray one was dyed with logwood and queen anne's lace and is now available online. The others will be available at the show this week. I often have people buy them to use as pocket squares and I imagine these ones could be folded so the birdie head peeks out the top of the pocket.

2011-11-18T07:20:00.000-05:00

A few photos from my week.

The japanese maple in our backyard is the perfect shade of red this time of year. I watched it all week all week long from my workroom window as it lost it's leaves, and now there's just a pile on the ground.

I finished a whole bunch of wholesale orders this week. Some new stores I am very excited about. My tea towels were shipped to Philadelphia, where Terrain, a nursery, cafe, and shop, and sister store of Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters, will be carrying my seasons sets exclusively (with the exception of my shop).

I designed and made these sweet matchbook style hang tags that I will be attaching to all of my natural dye items. When opened it becomes a little flip book for images I took while dyeing the material.

2011-11-13T16:53:00.005-05:00

I selfishly want to keep one of these for myself so so badly, but I didn't make many, so I won't! These naturally dyed bags will be available next week at the one of a kind show. Each one of these really is one of a kind, too.

2011-11-10T17:31:00.006-05:00

I try to create as little waste as possible around the studio. Any left over printed bits get made into buttons or pouches or swatches and I rarely throw any little bit of printed fabric out. There are however always thin strips of trimmings that I don't have much use for that do end up getting thrown away.

A few weeks ago I ordered this pattern off etsy for a crocheted rug that looks like a big doily. The title is Doilifus Maximus aka Doily Rug. Seriously. When I received the pattern download it called for Jersey yarn or t-shirt yarn, something I had never heard of. After not finding it in any local stores and realizing I should just make my own out of cut jersey strips, it hit me as I was trimming my jersey cowls that the trimmings might eventually equal the 2.5 kg I need to crochet the rug. I made a sample and I think it's going to work. I didn't really want a cream rug, so I will probably end up dying the strips first. I'm looking forward to some post show down time when I will have some time and energy to work on this.

While Kate was trimming down blankets the other day she thought the left over bits might look nice braided so she whipped up this sample. I think a braided rug might be up next.

2011-11-06T17:40:00.009-05:00

This weekend we headed to Prince Edward County for a weekend away with our family, celebrating my brothers 30th birthday. The only photos I ended up taking were while taking a walk with my nephew as he played with the milk weed we found along the path, leaving a trail of seeds behind. A two year old playing with milk weed is pretty great to watch.

2011-11-03T20:26:00.008-04:00

It's the end of another busy week and I am pretty excited about everything that's been happening around here. Every year I try to introduce new smaller items that are available exclusively at my shows and this year I am re-introducing my pouches. More than once I have had a customer pull out one of my older pouches in use from their purse and ask if I still make them. Well, they're back! In big and small. I have a big stack ready to be sewn and am looking forward to seeing these made with all of my new prints. I never thought I would be printing pink, but my madder dyed canvas turned out a nice shade of it so this week I printed pink ships, which turned out to be cute as anything.

2011-10-30T16:42:00.001-04:00

I was so thankful for the sunshine this weekend as I had a lot of staining to do outside. This big stack of wood is for my new posters and I am super excited about the new prints. I have made some minor changes that will make them a better price point for gift giving. Perfect for the the cyclist, botanist or bird lover in your life. I will show you the prints when they are done. These will be ready just in time for the one of a kind show, but I plan on listing them online too.

2011-10-27T07:55:00.005-04:00

My new scarves for fall and winter are now available on my online shop. They're available in both my honeycomb and cascade pattern, in two colours each, and are made with a nice soft hemp jersey. They're heavier than my previouse style of scarves so are perfect for the cooler weather.

2011-10-25T07:49:00.003-04:00

Yesterday marked exactly one month until the One of a Kind Show opens. My days have been full preparing for it, printing table after table of yardage. When there are so many printed stacks of fabric all around the studio waiting to be cut, it's a nice reminder of just how much fabric these two hands can print on their own. On Friday I printed the rest of my naturally dyed canvas. It was a nice way to wrap up the busy week. The ships pattern made me smile every time I would lift up the screen. The motion in the variation of colour from the dyes combined with the movement of the waves was very exciting and really changes the pattern from how it appears when printed on a flat ground. The gray and purple ones look stormy and the pink and purple ones remind me of sunsets. For the first time in a long time I had a hard time cutting into these fabrics. But they are ready to be sewn into bags now and I will have a limited quantity of them available soon. Now, for another busy week of printing.

2011-10-18T08:40:00.002-04:00

I'm starting to convert the backroom of our house into a work room. We had a couple chairs back there but never really used the room. It seemed silly that I would draw and work on the computer at our dining room table when we weren't fully using this space. I got a couple of these trestles and a table top from Ikea last week and am loving working in this bright little corner. Even when it's cloudy it still feels bright. I spent a fair bit of time there this past weekend working on a new print and updating my website with my new collection. I am waiting for a drafting table light to arrive that I ordered off etsy and am on a hunt for a stool too. These trestles can adjust in height and also turn the table into a drafting table, so I'm hoping to find a stool that adjusts in height as well. I have my eye on something like this one from crate and barrel or these vintage ones from etsy. I would prefer vintage, but shipping a stool from the US can be discouraging. The hunt continues! Although I just noticed the c&b ones just went on sale...

Oh, and I should mention that I will be hosting the occasional giveaway on my facebook page so if you follow me there you will get the updates about these. First one starts today! Thanks so much for your support.

2011-10-12T16:46:00.003-04:00

The other day I did some printing on the hemp canvas that I naturally dyed this summer. I printed a light gray honeycomb pattern and was most happy with it on the muted purple pieces, which have subtle variations of purples, pinks, and grayed yellows. They were dyed in three different baths to get the changes in colour. They're subtle changes, that are hard to see in photographs. I hope to do some more samples in other prints and might make up a few little items out of these fabrics for online and the One of Kind Show next month.

2011-10-10T12:28:00.003-04:00

My new hampers are now available online in these five prints and colours. They're similar to my buckets, only they're larger.

2011-10-10T09:29:00.004-04:00

Today Jeff and I are celebrating our two year wedding anniversary. We spent the last two days in Collingwood, mountain biking at Blue Mountain. It was so beautiful up there with the colourful leaves and hot temperatures. On this day two years ago a lot of the trees were still green and it was pretty chilly. I was so cold in this photo, my lips were blue, but I am happy. We have so much to be thankful for. I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving.

2011-10-06T17:50:00.006-04:00

With the days being shorter and my hours at the studio being longer, I am trying to take in as much of this beautiful fall weather as possible on the weekends. I can't think of a better way to enjoy this time of year than getting out of the city and into the country.

Last weekend I went apple picking at Myer's farm in Copetown with a couple of friends. It's such nice farm with a little market, animals, and lots and lots of apple trees.

There were five varieties ready for picking: Cortland, Macintosh, Spartan, Jonagold, and Empire. We each had a ten pound bag and filled them with a few of each variety. Although I usually like certain kinds more than others, all mixed together I have no idea which kind is which, but they are all so fresh and juicy that I like them all the same.

Fall is so brief, I don't even know where September went. I wish we had sunny October days like this year round. Enjoy it while it's here.

2011-10-03T08:54:00.003-04:00

My new pillows for fall are now available online. I knew I wanted to save a couple for myself because I love them all so much. I decided on one of each of the honeycombs for our sofa at home.

2011-09-27T14:34:00.005-04:00

On our way home from the cottage we stopped in to visit with the Stinsons. Don is Jeff's Dad's cousin, but we call him our Uncle, which I guess makes his son Jesse our cousin. They are the father and son woodworking team behind Stinson Studios. I love visiting their studio because it's such a nice example of a country home with an outbuilding studio on the same property (inspiration for if we decide to leave the city one day). The day we visited they were having an open studio and for their guests they were making homemade apple cider.

Don pulled up with a crate of apples in the back of his truck and we stood in the back of it, throwing the apples into their home made chopper. Bits of apple flew everywhere, but mostly into a bucket. Beau was covered in it.

The chopped apples where then put into a cloth bag inside the home made press.

The apple cider would trickle off the wood into another strainer.

Within minutes we each had a glass of fresh apple cider and jug of it for the road.

2011-09-25T10:51:00.011-04:00

We spent some time up at the cottage this past week. It was supposed to be an end of summer getaway but got delayed until now. It ended up being a lovely fall week and there's something nice about having to put on a fire in the morning.

There was lots of crocheting, reading, pickling, canoeing, fishing, and ukulele. I'm teaching myself to play, and have about 7 songs down right now thanks to youtube and this website.

I ended up getting a surprising amount of work done too. Things like drawing and working on my new logo. Things that take time and that I often don't make the time for while busy producing. I can't think of a place I would rather do this kind of work than in the sun on a quiet lake. These birds are a part of a new special project I am working on for the fall.

I had a different natural dye pot on each day and was sure to dye lots more madder yarn this time. I have been crocheting it into my blanket squares and I love this muted coral colour so much but didn't dye near enough last time.

My Aunt and Uncle have a cottage on the same lake. Jeff and I canoed over there because I had to take a look at the finished tree house addition that they were working on last time I was up there. It's no secret that I have a thing for tree houses as my tree house print has been a favorite for years, but really, I would love to have one just like this some day, amongst the trees with nothing but a drafting table and my art supplies inside.

The original tree house they build was the back section with the steps. They added the front section this summer so they that they could also use it as a sleeping cabin. The entire thing was built with reclaimed windows and the structure was designed around them. Supposedly my Uncle would stare at this for hours figuring how to build this addition around the trees with all the unique angles.

Complete with window boxes and a tiny clothes line this is hands down the best and cutest tree house I have ever seen.

2011-09-17T11:24:00.003-04:00

Last weekend was such nice weather and the show was great, as always. Thanks to everyone who came by my booth! The Beehive's installation in Hamilton was so great I had to come downtown late Saturday evening to check it out in person. You can see photos and read more about it on the beehive blog.

It's been a busy week working on wholesale orders. I also made some more seasons tea towel sets in the new hemp/organic cotton that my tea towels are now made with. The colours are slightly different than before and they're now available here.

2011-09-08T22:05:00.002-04:00

The car is loaded and I head into Toronto early tomorrow morning. Cabbagetown is not only a nice outdoor show in a beautiful city park, but it's also a special one for me because it's the first time that I have my entire new fall collection made. It was nice to see all my new pieces all together today as I packed up.
If you are in the Toronto area please come by this weekend. It's a lovely show and runs tomorrow afternoon as well as all day Saturday and Sunday.
I hope you have a nice weekend.

2011-09-06T09:11:00.003-04:00

It's a busy week around here with the Cabbagetown show opening on Friday and Supercrawl happening this Saturday. The two events conflicted this year so I won't be able to be a vendor at Supercrawl, but I do hope to return from Toronto for the evening to check out some of the great music they have lined up- I'm especially excited to see Basia Bulat live.

In preparation for Supercrawl, everyone from The Beehive has been busy working on our installation piece. I don't think I mentioned this here yet, but the collective, along with the help of family, friends, and volunteers, are knitting the facade of a three storey building, brick by brick. It will be installed this week so there are lots of last minute pieces to build and parts to assemble. It is made up of about 70 scarves, which will all be donated to the Mission Services Opportunity Centre once the installation is dismantled. You can read more about the project here.

2011-09-02T10:12:00.003-04:00

I love concord grapes so much and after picking up a basket from the market I was reminded of a recipe I had book marked ages ago for a rosemary grape focaccia. Grapes, rosemary, salt, and olive oil- the flavours are so good together! Also pictured is my new berry tea towel, which is now available in my shop, along with these two:

Hope you have a nice long weekend!

2011-08-30T19:28:00.003-04:00

I spotted my ships hamper in the new Pure Green Magazine this month. It's a really great summery issue and they have just announced that they will be going to print this November. With so much reading being done online these days there's something that I still really like about a printed magazine and I think this will be a really nice one.

My new hampers are similar to my buckets with binding around the rim and leather handles. I will have these available online soon. For now I have listed my previous style bins on sale over on my etsy shop.

2011-08-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

August is always such busy and exciting month. I am working long days on my new line, building inventory for fall, wholesale orders, and the Cabbagetown show, which is just two weeks away.
I am also working extra hard so I can squeeze one more trip up to the lake while there's still a hint of summer heat left. This is why I have been so quiet here lately.

And when I am not in the studio there is just so much to do this time of the year. The cool evenings are perfect for mountain biking, and the fruits and vegetables that are in season right now are all so good that I am trying to preserve as many of our favorites as possible.

Last week when I went to buy tomatoes to make salsa I found big bushels of plum tomatoes. I needed 12 cups of tomatoes for the salsa anyway, so I figured I would just can the rest of them, which I was hoping to do at some point anyway. Well, as it turns out 12 cups makes a minor dent in the bushel and while spending an entire evening canning the rest of them it started to feel like a bottomless basket of tomatoes.

We have had so many jalapenos and red chillies coming up in our little garden and I was happy to be able to use both in the salsa. I usually use just one or so at a time so I didn't think to wear gloves. The next morning I woke up to burnt finger tips and was worried about how spicy the salsa would be. It's spicy, but not too spicy. Although I might think differently when I crack open a jar in a few months.

I ended up with six jars of salsa and fourteen jars of tomatoes. After the jars are processed I set them on our kitchen's brick fireplace mantel until they cool. I wish I could keep them there always. At one point I had jars of garlic scapes, beets, and peaches all lined up and the different colours looked so pretty up there.

2011-08-19T12:28:00.005-04:00

new buckets are now available over at my etsy shop!

2011-08-15T10:47:00.007-04:00

We are all so thrilled with how the show went this weekend. Thank you so much to everyone who came out. The Friday night especially was so much fun with great music, snow cones, and so many people streaming through until late in the evening. Sitting on The Beehive's table shown above is the beehive that Courtney made for the collective. Isn't it adorable?

And I have to share a photo of the window one more time with the installation complete. When we first started the collective I had a vision one night of a wreath entangle with thread and yarn and bees, and saw this as a large white vinyl on the window of our show. The next day I drew up the wreath and not only did it become the collectives logo, but seven months later here it is four feet big on the window as well. It's pretty special when ideas like this come to life.

One of the highlights of our show was the installation by fiber artist Amanda McCavour. Her machine stitched spirograph drawings were suspended behind the entire window and were stunning from both across the street and up close. They really were a wonderful addition to the space. You can see more of her amazing work here.

2011-08-12T11:25:00.003-04:00

Our summer craft fair opens this evening and we are all so excited. We have worked so hard on this project and it is coming together beautifully. Please do come by and check it out. We have an impressive list of vendors and others treats planned for this evening. It runs tonight from 6-11 and tomorrow from 10-5. 118 James Street North. See you there!

2011-08-09T19:37:00.000-04:00

I'm working on my final preparations for the Beehive Summer Craft fair, which opens Friday evening. I made up more of my fabric swatch packs that I had made for my anniversary sale back in June. I have heard from a couple people who are making quilts with theirs and I can't wait to see the final result. These are also now available online in my etsy shop.

Also for the show, I sewed up a few small bags out of my ships fabric. Inspired by my little vintage purse that fits just the essentials.

2011-08-07T20:18:00.021-04:00

I spent this past week up at my family cottage in Eastern Ontario. It's on a small treed island on a quiet lake with a couple cabins and no electricity or running water. I had been wanting to use the outdoor fire pit for natural dyeing since last year and since I was going to have some time alone up there this seemed like the perfect week to get started. Just me, the dog, an open fire, and making some colour. Sounds good to me.

I brought a bolt of hemp cotton canvas, as well as some pieces of cotton voile. I also brought up my packs of dye extracts from Miawa and my reference book for natural dyeing called 'Wild Color'. It's a really useful book that lists most natural dye sources with plenty of information on each. It describes how to grow and harvest the plants and how to extract the dyes. It also provides a colour chart of the range of colours that can be obtained with different mordants or plant parts. Before using the purchased extracts I wanted to try dyeing with some of the local plants.

On the drive up I collected Queen Anne's Lace from the side of the country roads. They are in such abundance that it was easy to collect a large amount and obtain a strong dye bath.

The colour was a bright yellowy green on the canvas and a soft yellow on the voile.

My mom had given me a bouquet of coneflowers. They produced a pale yellow, but I didn't have enough flowers to get a strong colour for cotton, so I ended up adding an Osage extract to the bath for a stronger shade. I would like to try them again sometime with more flowers and longer soaking.

Another one that wasn't a big success was birch bark. It didn't provide colour because I was a little impatient with it. It was still the beginning of the week and I suppose I wasn't fully into relaxed slow cottage mode yet. If the proper part of the bark is chosen and soaks for a long time it can yield a range of pinks and purples.

When using the extracts I was able to dye a few colours a day, which also allowed for me to over dye and play with stitch resists. Some pieces were dyed in three baths- queen anne's lace, madder, and logwood- they have nice subtle variations of grayed purples and muted pinks.

Madder.

Logwood.

I dyed a few small bits of the yarn I am using for my granny squares as well. The yellow is from the Queen Anne's lace and the two orange balls are from madder (furthest is one dye bath, closest is two). I wanted to add some yellow and reds to my squares, so these are perfect. They will also serve as a nice memory of this sweet and peaceful week, stitched up into the blanket I will make with these squares.

And I can't talk about colour and the cottage in the same post without mentioning the sunsets.

2011-07-29T08:18:00.008-04:00

I'm very excited about my new bags for fall. They're the most complex bag I have ever made and perhaps the most practical. They are made with cotton canvas, have an inner pocket, and a printed outer pocket with a flap and zipper closure. The strap is adjustable and the hardware is antique brass. They're big and sturdy and will have either the ships or cascade printed on the outer pocket. They'll be available in black or chocolate brown, in stores and on my etsy shop in September. I will be having a sale within the next month or so to make room for all these new pieces I have been working on.

2011-07-28T14:54:00.006-04:00

My little stack of fabrics from our natural dye party last fall was still left untouched until recently. I am currently growing out my hair and decided to make a little silk bow to dress it up during this somewhat awkward stage. This piece was dyed by wrapping leaves and onion skins up in the silk, wrapped around a stick and tied with string.

2011-07-25T09:58:00.003-04:00

Early Saturday morning I went raspberry picking with a couple friends at Lindley's farm in Ancaster. I hadn't been berry picking a really long time. It was a nice way to start the weekend, even if our 9am start didn't beat the heat.

We each picked two quarts. Thea had plans to make a pie with hers, and I was on a mission to make my first batch of jam ever. Even with my house at 86 degrees I still managed to turn on the stove later that day. It was not only my first home jamming, but my first at home canning too. It was a success and it was all a little easier and less intimidating than I had thought it would be.

Now I am looking for a local blueberry patch for next weekend.

2011-07-20T10:20:00.003-04:00

I recently picked up a press so that I can set my own rivets in house. The previous owner used it to make dog collars and had a few attachments that rounded the ends of the leather, which I acquired when I got the press. At the time I didn't realize just how useful these attachments would be. They give the ends a nice finished look and work perfectly for the handles on my new storage buckets. I had been making my round buckets for quite a few years and took a break from them this past year. I am excited about the addition of the handles to these new ones. They look pretty great filled with knitting yarns too.

2011-07-19T11:09:00.004-04:00

I had an evening full of nice surprises last night for my birthday. Jeff took me on the bike to Tew's falls, followed by a sushi picnic on the rocks overlooking the gorge, then back in the city we met up with friends for ice cream cake. There were even balloons and party hats. It was a pretty special hot summers night.

2011-07-18T11:28:00.007-04:00

We're back from a really nice weekend up north. One of my favorite things about this show is how relaxed and positive both the visitors and vendors are. The park has such a nice feel to it and although it was extremely hot we managed to stay somewhat cool by alternating turns swimming in the river. I also steeped a couple tea bags with some honey and sprigs of chocolate mint and it was a refreshing treat on ice each afternoon.

2011-07-13T09:03:00.002-04:00

Today is my last day to get everything organized before we head up to Bracebridge tomorrow for the Muskoka Show. This will be my second year doing this show and I am happy to see we will have sunshine all weekend long. A river runs through the park where it is held so it's nice having Jeff there so we can take breaks and sit by the water.

Above are some bags I have made for the show. The first image is of a couple shopping totes that are the same style as my Hamilton totes, but in some new prints. Speaking of Hamilton totes, last night as we sat on our front porch trying to catch a breeze, someone walked right in front of us, down the side walk carrying one. It was pretty funny. Also, White Elephant now has some more of the totes in their shop!

The last image is of the large zippered totes in the cascade print. I printed it in gray and honey and I can't decide which I like better. I have been wearing my sample for the past few days and I am really liking it. It's large but light weight and perfect for summer. I will be bringing some with me to the show, but I also just listed one of each on my etsy shop.

2011-07-11T06:14:00.005-04:00

Back in March I showed you my mom's old raleigh that I had taken on as a spring project. Well it's been my way of getting around town for the past few weeks and I absolutely love it. I never had a city bike so didn't really know how amazing it is to be able to do most travelling and errands on bike, especially with the addition of the detours mogo pannier. I even biked with 20 pounds of beeswax in the pannier last week to a candle making night.

Although I thought I would need help with the project I ended up being able to do the whole thing solo. A time consuming yet rewarding project that has probably made me appreciate the bike even more. It started with a good cleaning, followed by lots and lots of rust removal, and then tightening bolts, oiling the chain, pumping the tires, and adjusting of the brake pads. But most of the work was removing all that rust.

I used a metal polish/cleaner that Jeff had kickin' around called Peek. I let the cream sit on the rust for a few minutes and then rubbed and scrubbed with a rag and fine wet/dry sandpaper. The cream not only helped remove the rust but made all the metal nice and shiny.

Topped off with leather grips hand stitched by Amy Kenny and a bell from DBH that makes the sound 'ding-dong'.

2011-07-08T08:39:00.003-04:00

Some weeks I have so much to do in the studio that I don't even bring in my laptop because I won't have a minute to check my email. This was one of those weeks. Although I will be working all weekend too, I don't really mind since I am so excited about everything I have been working on, especially my new bags. Here's a little peek.

Oh, and they're unisex too.

2011-07-05T07:45:00.002-04:00

One of my favorite moments of my entire process is printing a design in a new colour for the first time. Yesterday was full of these moments.

I printed berries in charcoal and blue on organic cotton flannel to make throw blankets. This print works so well on the bottom edge of the blanket.

I also printed on a new material that I am working with, a hemp/cotton jersey. My patchwork pattern, now called honeycomb, printed in yellow and smoked mauve, and in a rich red I printed my 'cascade' print. I am so excited about what I'll be sewing these into. I'll show you more soon.

2011-07-04T06:19:00.002-04:00

summer love

2011-06-30T05:45:00.000-04:00

As I work on preparing for Muskoka as well as new work I have also been busy organizing the studio when I have a minute. I rearranged a few things in anticipation for a new piece of equipment I hope to acquire soon, which opened up lots of space and turned into a complete organizing overhaul on the whole place. I find that rearraring things every now and then can make a space feel fresh and good. I added storage shelves in my dark room and picked up this new drawer unit. I have been holding out for a nice but affordable used flat file forever, but with no luck I ended up getting ikea's version, the Alex drawer, to store my patterns, papers, and completed straps and things ready to be assembled. I'm planning on making room for a bit more storage by clearing out some of my fabrics. I hope to list them on etsy soon.

Also this week I updated the Beehive website, which is one of my responsibilities in the collective. It now lists all of the vendors that will be participating in our show in August. We are pretty excited about this line up!

2011-06-27T15:07:00.014-04:00

Last fall we lost an old large plum tree in our backyard. A major limb had broken and the fruit was usually inhabited by little white bugs, so we decided to cut it down. I had thought the loss of the tree would give us enough sunlight on part of our garden so I could finally grow vegetables instead of shade plants. Unfortunately there weren't enough hours of sunlight on any of our garden beds. There was however plenty of sun on the concrete walkway beside our house so I filled it with pots and voila, a vegetable garden.

Chocolate mint for tea.

I still have to mount this basket that sits just outside our kitchen window and is filled with my favorite herbs. The dill isn't doing well. This is the second dill plant I have put in this basket because the first one died too. Any suggestions why? I am guessing maybe it doesn't like one of it's neighbours- either the parsley or cilantro?

Jalapenos and cayenne peppers, Jeff's top choices. We also have bell peppers.

I am a huge tomato fan. I think I eat tomatoes just about every day. I planted four different varieties and am so excited to see them growing happy and healthy in the pots. I can't wait to be able to pick them each morning for my salad.

After years of only being able to grow shade loving plants, this little garden is pretty exciting for me. Although we won't get an abundant amount of vegetables I still have big plans for pickling and preserving market vegetables this summer. I picked up this book a while ago and am going through it one recipe at a time, tagging the ones that I definitely would like to make. Things that we usually buy like pickles, roasted red peppers, relish, and hot peppers. I marked fifteen recipes so far, and haven't even entered the tomato section yet. Being my first year at attempting to fill our cupboards myself it's doubtful I will have time to move onto the non-essentials, like spirited pears. Although they sound so good.

With my old raleigh being rideable again, I picked up this bike basket for all my summer market trips. I have been working hard on restoring the bike and will show you more photos soon. I got it this Detours basket at Freewheel Cycle in Dundas. It's big, sturdy, and made with naturally dyed woven pandan grass. It detaches easily and has carrying handles too.

2011-06-23T13:39:00.003-04:00

I just finished this new bag this morning and I'm pretty excited about it. Since last fall I have added little leather accents to my bags and this one now has even more leather and the addition of little antique brass rivets (which I set myself with the help of Amy Kenny). I'm starting to frequent the local leather shop and learn about new tools and techniques, which always feels good. I'm making a small run of these bags for my upcoming show, but will also have this style available for fall. The new print was inspired by the pathchwork pattern of a quilt made by my mother's aunt cora, which is what it will be named too.

2011-06-22T10:44:00.004-04:00

I did a few drawings of some Hooded Warblers this week. I don't frame many of my drawings, they usually stay in my sketchbook, but I decided to hang this little guy next to Beau in my bedroom.

2011-06-20T17:19:00.003-04:00

I've had this little sprig of berries pinned up in my studio since last fall and although it's starting to look a little sad I still like it's shape. I had done a few drawings of it when I first picked it and everytime I would pass that page in my sketchbook I would think about making a similar print design, which I have now finished for fall. I am working on both my fall line and replenishing stock for the upcoming Muskoka show, so I decided to print a few tea towels in this new print for the show as well. I'm excited about a rust red version for winter too.

2011-06-13T12:55:00.011-04:00

We have been living outside these days. Our yard is filled with sun and birds and when I am not in the studio that's where I am. I am so thankful to have this place to start and finish my day.

Tomorrow I will be having a trunk show at the Art Gallery of Hamilton from 12-9. If you'd like to shop from a large selection of my wares, that's where you'll find them. Also, if you didn't get a chance to pick up a hamiton tote or tea towel on Friday, I will have some available at the gallery tomorrow as well.

2011-06-13T12:48:00.002-04:00

I didn't get too many photos from Friday night. I didn't capture the crowds or the balloons but I did get a shot of our lovely cupcake table. Thanks to Kate for helping me bake them! And thanks to everyone who came out. It was a fun evening.

2011-06-09T12:45:00.005-04:00

I've been glued to my sewing machine preparing for tomorrow night. Lots of hamilton tea towels.

A few hemp/organic cotton ties. These are the patterns cut out. They will all be hand stitched.

I am also making 'charm packs' of my printed fabrics. They will be made up of sixteen 5 inch squares, with each pack totalling half a meter of fabric.

Hope you can come celebrate my 5 year anniversary tomorrow night at White Elephant! 133 James Street North.

2011-06-07T10:40:00.003-04:00

We really lucked out with the weather this weekend. The forecast was back and forth all week and in the end we had dry and sunny days. I was able to spread my display out of my tent and under the tree next to it, which made me pretty happy. Thanks to everyone who came by and was so supportive. It was such a great show and is always nice to see family while I am there too.

I have a super busy week preparing for art crawl this Friday night. Lots of things to sew and get ready.

2011-06-03T06:14:00.001-04:00

I'm all packed up and heading to Ottawa today for the New Art Festival taking place at Central Park in the Glebe this Saturday and Sunday from 10-5. You can find me at booth 25 Clemow. Hope to see you there!

2011-06-02T06:15:00.000-04:00

Mark your calendars! Next friday night is the James North art crawl and the lovely ladies of White Elephant are hosting my anniversary party. In addition to the new Hamilton print, I have some other special goodies up my sleeve including a few items for men, printed fabrics, and some good deals. So if you are in the area please stop by. There will be a chocolate cupcake waiting for you.

2011-05-31T06:10:00.001-04:00

I have a number of events coming up in this city this summer and I have wanted to do a map print of downtown for a while, so this seemed like the perfect time. I will be printing it for tea towels and totes. These bags are sturdy and big, made with a linen cotton exterior and lined with a heavy canvas.

My original idea for this print was to illustrate some of the buildings downtown. It didn't quite work out because I wanted to cover such a large portion of the city and the buildings were going to have to be super tiny. In the end it was the simple pattern of the street blocks that I liked the most. Although I did enjoy sketching some of the old downtown buildings.

The map items will be available next friday night, June 10th, at the art crawl (it's my 5 year anniversary and I have something special planned. I will tell you more about that later), and they will also be available at the trunk show the following week on Thursday June 16th, from noon til nine, at the Art Gallery of Hamilton.

2011-05-30T06:34:00.001-04:00

The lilac festival is currently on at the Royal Botanical Gardens. Somehow I have managed to live here for three years without going until this past weekend. A nice place to walk with friends. Beautiful flowers and it smells so good.

2011-05-26T10:07:00.003-04:00

I have been making more posters this week for my upcoming shows. Each one is part of a limited edition of 100. I hand cut, sand, and stain all of the dowels and it was great to have some nice weather this past weekend so I could do this outside.

2011-05-23T18:14:00.004-04:00

I found an old set of water colours this weekend. A few of the pages I filled in my sketchbook. I painted first, then went in with the pen, which is the opposite of how I usually draw.

2011-05-20T10:40:00.006-04:00

I have one weekend show each month for the next four months in a row. I am working on a new display for this smaller scale setup and will be incorporating some images of my process in my booth. The last photo shows a sneak peek at two new prints for fall.

2011-05-18T09:31:00.006-04:00

Kessa, of Patouche, sent me a link to her beautiful home featured on the Marion House book.
One of my totes is filled with yarn on the floor by the sofa.

2011-05-17T10:13:00.004-04:00

This past weekend was Jeff's birthday. I made him a tie with my new print on a hemp/organic cotton. I used this pattern from Purl Soho as a guide, but changed a few things. He's 5'11'' and I had to add 7" to the length. I also added a little tab at the back to hold the end in place, and narrowed the back end as well. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. He said it's favorite tie and wore it to work on monday.

2011-05-16T06:17:00.002-04:00

Adorable patterned tights I picked up from Robber at the 'fieldtrip' pop up shop in Hamilton this past weekend. These ones are the 'curtain tights'. The entire hosiery line from hansel from basel is so sweet.

{please bear with me while I re-design things a little here!}

2011-05-11T16:27:00.001-04:00

A couple years ago my Aunt gave me my Great Grandfather's hand printed scarf. She thought I might use the pattern as inspiration, but instead I just started wearing it because I loved it so much. It's soft and old and I love the fact that he wore it around his neck too.
Lately I have been drawing this geometric shape and decided to make a variation of this pattern for my new scaves. The shapes are much smaller and my scarves are much larger. The spacing of the rows makes the shapes look like their falling. Thanks for the inspiration, Great Grandpa Wood.

in progress

2011-05-10T14:20:00.005-04:00

I seem to have a lot going on at once these days. I am preparing for my upcoming show, The New Art Festival, which is in Ottawa on June 4th and 5th. I really enjoyed this show last year and am excited to be there again. I'm also working on new prints and product samples for next season. Some of my new fabrics arrived the other day and I can't wait to get printing the new designs on the new materials. Ships and patchwork patterns are on my mind, as well as new bags and buckets. Above are some samples and drawings in progress.

loving

2011-05-06T08:10:00.004-04:00

Lilacs and butterflies. I took this photo outside our window on our recent trip. You can get surprising close to butterflies. I like that they're not afraid. Wooden Caddy. A two dollar re-use centre find that sits beside my sewing machine and holds labels and bobbins.
Everyday Scissors from Mjolk in Toronto. Their site is currently down, but their blog is lovely too. These scissors are made in Japan from hand-forged iron. Household scissors, Flower Cutting scissors, and Herb Cutting scissors. I would like one of each, please.

best popcorn ever

2011-05-04T06:42:00.007-04:00

Today is a pretty exciting day because tonight I am hosting The Beehive's viewing party, where we will be reviewing all the of the lovely applications that were submitted for our summer show. I was so excited last night that I stayed up late loading the images of my computer and making caramel corn. It was my first time making it and it turned out to be one of those things that you think 'I can't believe I actually made this myself'.

We got our stove top popper quite a few years ago as a gift and love it so much that we have bought them for other people as gifts too.

I had to buy corn syrup for the recipe. The brand choice was obvious.

When I realized that 5 quarts of popcorn was 20 cups I decided to cut the recipe in half. This probably wasn't the best idea since we could have easily eaten the whole bowl ourselves last night.
I followed this recipe, but took the advice in the comments to make a few alterations (including cutting the suggested butter in half!) and it turned out so good. I love online recipes that have feedback. Here is the recipe re-written with the modifications that worked perfectly for me. Yum.

1/2 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 quarts popped popcorn (about 5/6 cup kernels)
1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place popped popcorn in a large oven safe dish.
2. In a medium sauce pan over medium heat melt the butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup, and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring for 4 minutes. Place the popped popcorn in oven for the 4 minutes to warm it.
3. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Transfer warmed popcorn to a very large mixing bowl. Pour caramel in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat.
4. Place in two large shallow baking dished and bake in a preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes for 45 minutes. Remove, let cool, break into pieces. Enjoy.

home sweet home

2011-05-02T06:01:00.003-04:00

One day of sunshine this weekend meant I could finally work on cleaning up our garden. The rainy Sunday was spent finishing up some half-finished projects, like framing and pillow making. Last month we purchased a new sofa and chaise lounge from Sears home. We searched and searched and in the end these styles and fabrics suited us best. And even though we were so hesitant to go cream with our furniture, Sears has an amazing protection plan where you pay a little more and for five years are covered on all stains. If they can't get it out, they replace it for you. Good deal.
Our sofa is the Rowe savoie sofa and the chaise is by Whole Home. We knew we wanted a chaise because the seating always felt a little spread out in the living room, and when we decided on this one I knew I wanted to make an oversized pillow for it. I printed and sewed my treehouse pillow in a 24" version this weekend and I absolutely love it. I may just have to introduce this size of pillow in my line next season. A pair of these would be lovely on a bed.
Aside from our new furniture so much of what completes our home is second hand. The end table, lamp, and frame (of a favorite Gosia print) are all from either the Re-use Centre in Burlington or Bibles for Missions on Upper Wellington in Hamilton- my go to thrift shops in the area for great pieces and good prices. I found a pair of these lamps at the Re-use Centre not long ago and picked them up because of their size, shape, and the fact that the shades were in such good condition. I thought I might spray paint them, but Jeff thinks they look classy just like this. I agree.

I also completed all the framing projects I had for this room. Above is a drawing I did in University. It's my favorite and very sentimental to me. A girl curled up in a nest with two other eggs.

Above our fireplace I had a mix of framed photos all in black frames. I have wanted to lighten this for a while and so I added some gold, white, and wooden frames instead. A mix of family photos, reverse appliques from thailand, prints and paintings by friends, and the sailing ships print and little gold mirror, both also found at the re-use centre.

We are hoping to paint this room a little darker someday soon. I have recently fallen in love with purple, and Jeff agrees that Behr's Smoked Mauve will look so nice with the creams and golds that are now in this room. Another weekend of rainy days and we may just have it painted, too.

rainy days in the studio

2011-04-27T07:42:00.002-04:00

I'm excited about the fabric swatches and hardware I picked up last week for my fall samples- my new bag hardware will be antique brass, which I think will go really nicely with the other materials I will be incorporating as well.

I also set up a facebook page on the weekend. If you are on facebook and want to follow me there, head over to the jenna rose page and like it!

2011-04-25T11:00:00.003-04:00

I was recently looking for a tractor colouring book for my nephew, who loves tractors, when I came across this Charley Harper colouring book, in which his beautiful illustrations are stripped of colour and compiled into this lovely little book.

He grew up on a farm and worked in a studio in the woods, both of which have inspired his drawings. The animals make the illustrations perfect for a kids colouring book, although my older brother also said he wouldn't mind having this book, and I agree. (Or if you're into needlepoint, some of his illustrations are available as needlepoint kits)

I stumbled across this letter, in which he writes about his story and process. I related to his views on silk-screening as being a perfect process for reproducing prints and that the print can be even more satisfying than the original. I loved his description of trasitioning away from realism as he simplified his drawings by thinking flat and reducing the edges to staight lines and curves. He used drawing instruments like a compass, t-square, and french curve, and cut out paper for the larger shapes. I love reading other artists' processes.

And look! In the corner of one of the illustrations is a tractor. Perfect.

2011-04-21T07:06:00.004-04:00

We've announced the location of the summer fair over on the beehive blog this morning. We are so excited. And if you were planning on applying, remember that the deadline is next week!

I'm off to Toronto today to visit a few suppliers.

2011-04-20T08:34:00.004-04:00

I updated the shop with some new items this morning. The posters are now available online. I just about sold out of bicycle anatomy posters at the show- there's only one left.

I also have a few blankets available. I always find it hard to keep these in stock. This is the first time I have done the tree houses in this pale yellow. I love the softness of it. I photographed them on our new sofa, which arrived last month. We're slowly redoing our living room after we moved some furniture around this winter, relocating our old living room sofa upstairs for a movie room. The tree house blanket that I own lives on the sofa, draped across the back, just like these ones are pictured.

2011-04-19T06:19:00.005-04:00

I knew I was coming home to taxes, but snow too? April can be so cruel.
I was happy to come home and see that some of the plants I transplanted in the fall are coming up nicely. I can't wait for some warm days of working in the garden.

road trip: the great smokey mountains

2011-04-17T17:15:00.010-04:00

We're back from our week away. It was a beautiful (and long) drive winding through the mountains with the bikes in the back of the truck. We rented a log home nestled in the Great Smokey Mountains near Bryson City, North Carolina. In the cottage almost everything was wood, even the light fixtures, and all of the cushions, rugs, and beds were made of bear themed fabrics. The windows and patios looked out into the treed mountains with the only movement being that of soaring birds. We rode the Tsali trails everyday. They were in perfect condition, and were the best ones we have ever ridden. We had great weather, warm and sunny. The one day it did rain we hiked through the Joyce Kilmer Memorial forest and were surrounded by some of the largest trees I have ever seen- they were the 100 ft yellow poplars that inspired the poem Trees. We discovered the Nantahala Outdoor Centre close to our cottage, which became a favorite place to hang out, eat, or grab a drink by the river, with it's laid back community of hikers, bikers, and kayakers. We didn't want to leave. The second we did we already missed the sounds, the trails, the water, and the mountains. We wish we could have stayed so much longer.

2011-04-07T03:27:00.000-04:00

I'm off to take a little break. I'll refresh and recharge for the busy season ahead. And I hope to do a whole lot of mountain biking too. Fingers crossed for some dry weather. Hopefully I'll find a North Carolina sticker to go next to the Nova Scotian one on my blue luggage.

2011-04-06T09:33:00.001-04:00

A customer of mine mentioned she spotted some of my items in April's issue of Canadian Living. I picked up a copy and was happy to see that the article was about the creative couple from Sustain. I love the shot of my bike blanket draped on the wood bench.

A few pages later is this lovely afghan. It's white border reminds me of the one I am currently working on, as well as Tanis' blanket, which she started assembling last weekend. It's what inspired me to want to learn to crochet.

2011-04-04T10:53:00.005-04:00

A huge thank you to everyone who helped me with the show this year and for all the customers who stopped by my booth and shared nice comments on my new work. I have changed things a little. For starters, my booth colour! This brown/gray with a hint of purple is the same colour as one wall in my studio and I like how it compliments the colour palette of my products. I also made some other adjustments to my booth this show, including more lighting and floating walls. One of the reasons I made these adjustments was because of some product changes that have happened this season. You may notice that there are no hats in my booth. After five years of making them I have decided it is time to move on to other ideas and projects. The response to my new work was so positive that I know it was the right move. Thanks again to everyone who helped make this show such a success. Your feedback on my work was so encouraging and appreciated.

2011-03-28T06:40:00.003-04:00

There's so much satisfaction in completed stacks. I'll be in Toronto setting up for the show today and tomorrow. And then it opens on Wednesday.

raleigh restoration

2011-03-25T06:33:00.001-04:00

For the past couple summers I have wanted to pick up a vintage city bike to restore. Although I love my mountain bike, it's more suited to dirt trails and rock gardens than city streets and market trips. I have looked on kijiji and craigslist many times, but never found one quite right. They were either too big, too expensive, or too far away. Little did I know, my mom had her old raleigh in their shed just waiting to be restored and ridden again. When I was young my mom got her fine art degree from the University of Guelph. She rode this to and from class.It needs a lot of work, but that's ok. I love the double frame and I picture a leather pannier and cork grips. Maybe even a brooks saddle one day.

2011-03-23T18:12:00.002-04:00

Last week I had my first experience with the traditional Ukrainian egg decorating technique called Pyskanky. Using the special little tools called Kistkas, wax, candles, and jars full of dyes, the girls from the beehive all got together to work on this beautiful (yet difficult!) craft. Anna wrote a thorough post about the technique and process over at the beehive blog. Mine turned out a little sloppier than I had hoped. Thin steady lines are hard to achieve and my kistka kept clogging. I was also overly eager to see the end result and thus rubbed off half the dye with the wax because I didn't let it dry after the last dye bath. I blamed the eggs at the time, but later realized that this is what happened. All of the supplies are available locally over in Dundas at the Ukrainian Store, and I can definitely see this craft becoming an easter tradition.

Today however, it feels far from easter. It feels like the middle of winter, just when we all thought spring was here. Yesterday we noticed flowers coming up in the garden! This morning we woke up to a dumping of snow and it hasn't stopped yet. Jeff works in education so he had a snow day. It was so tempting to stay home too, but there's too much sewing to do so I dug out my snow boots and made my way through the storm to the studio. My sewing machine looks out the window, so I overlooked the blowing snow all day long, which was actually kind of pretty.

working weekends at home

2011-03-20T20:21:00.007-04:00

Our living room always becomes a work room during busy times. Button making, tea towel folding and labelling have taken over our coffee table.

loving

2011-03-17T14:06:00.004-04:00

My new little purse from white elephant.
It's the perfect size for a wallet and keys and I love the closure and worn leather.

Little blue vintage sewing box- a gift from my mom.

It houses crochet hooks and my little stack of completed squares.

Fresh flowers from the market, which I bought on my way back from the post office, simply because it is such a beautiful, sunny, and warm day.

seasons change {tea towel set}

2011-03-15T18:22:00.004-04:00

Today I finished my new tea towel set. I've made them just for the one of a kind and my online shop. A set of two, depicting summer and winter at noon and the subtle changes between them. If you look closely you can see the shadows change within the patterns.

They come in this little bag too, which make them a sweet gift.

sunny days in the studio

2011-03-14T11:58:00.005-04:00

2011-03-10T10:59:00.005-05:00

A few new things I have been working on for the one of a kind- my new patchwork print on pins and little buckets. The show opens in less than three weeks. If you're planning on going and would like some free tickets just send me an email to contact@jennarose.ca. I would be happy to send a pair of tickets to the first two people who get in touch with me.

{well those didn't last long! the tickets have all been spoken for. I wish I had enough to give everyone. Thanks for the messages anyway!}

knit nights & granny squares

2011-03-08T13:53:00.007-05:00

For the past couple weeks I have been going to knit nights at the brain on Wednesday evenings. Liz posted more info about it today over at the beehive blog as well. It's been a great way to break up the week and spend some relaxing time chatting and learning to crochet. Yes, I learned to crochet! I had heard that Courtney was teaching those who wanted to learn and she's the most patient and thorough teacher, and a fantastic crocheter as well. I hope to be as quick as her some day.

I picked up a copy of Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework last week at an antique shop on Ottawa Street.

My first granny square! A little sloppy, but I am so proud, can't you tell?

This weekend while visiting my mom's fabric and yarn shop up in Guelph I picked up some yarns to start a granny square project, which I hope will eventually become a blanket. She has so many beautiful yarns, but this lovely display here (along with some odd bits from her personal stash) are what I chose from. A mix of the super lovely Koigu Yarn, hand dyed in Ontario. I can't wait to get working on more squares this Wednesday evening.

rainy days at home

2011-03-06T07:49:00.001-05:00

homemade granola

2011-03-03T20:09:00.000-05:00

Back in the summer my Dad gave me a tub of his home made granola. After the first bowl I knew I would start making my own, but as procrastination sometimes happens, it wasn't until this winter that I got around to doing it. Now, I will never buy a box of store bought cereal again. This filling and tasty and just so delicious granola is something I have been making every week or so for the past few months. One batch lasts us about 10 days, and we eat it just about every morning. We haven't tired of it yet. I enjoy making it too. I enjoy adjusting the recipe each time for something different- more honey and less oil makes for a more chunky and crunchy batch, maple syrup (my favorite) taste much different from the vanilla, different dried fruits can really affect the flavour (I prefer raisins) and I add more nuts because I tried it once and it was our best batch yet. Granola has always been my favorite weekday breakfast, and now it's one of my favorite things to make myself too. I like the fact that I now stock my shelves with jars full of an assortment of nuts, I like the way it smells while it's baking, I like that you have to mix it with your hands, and I even like that I now eat it dry as a snack. Here's the basic recipe, passed on from my aunt to my dad to me, and I'm sure it's been modified along the way, but I think that's why it's just so darn good.

Dry ingredients:
4 C. rolled oats
1 C. wheat germ
1/2 C. raw sunflower seeds
1/4 C. brown sesame seeds
1/4 C. pumpkin seeds
1 C. chopped nuts (mix of almonds, walnuts, pecans, ect.)
1/2 t. sea salt
Mix well.

Wet ingredients:
1/3 C. grapeseed or other veg. oil
1/2 C. honey
1 T. maple syrup OR 1 t. vanilla

Optional dried fruit and berries:
Try a handful of raisins, chopped dates, apricots, dried cranberries, goji berries

directions:
Mix liquid ingredients well. If you put the oil in the measuring cup first it helps the other ingredients keep from sticking when you pour it out. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry mixture. Using your hands, mix together they wet and dry until evenly mixed and thoroughly wet.
Spread onto 2 cookie sheets and put these into a preheated 250 degree oven. After 30 minutes, remove, stir well, switch the two trays in the oven and back for another 30 minutes. This is important to do!
After the second 30 minutes remove from oven and sprinkle each sheet with dried fruit (chopped) and berries (either fresh or dried) to taste. Stir well, let cool.

sunny days in the studio

2011-03-02T12:08:00.005-05:00

2011-03-01T09:29:00.003-05:00

There seems to be lots of great online magazines coming out lately. I enjoy looking through Pure Green Living and Covet Garden, and yesterday was the launch of Kimberly Seldon's first issue of Dabble Magazine. It's a free online travel, design, and food magazine full of interviews and inspiration. I spotted my market tote in the food section, referred to as a 'carrot carrier'. I like that term.

pencil roll-ups

2011-02-28T06:03:00.001-05:00

I made a small batch of pencil roll ups over the weekend. They're made with industrial wool felt and a leather tie. These are for the One of a Kind show and I've also listed them on my etsy shop. They come with three I ♥ handmade pencils too.

2011-02-25T13:47:00.003-05:00

A few things that have been out of stock for a while, such as tree house big bins and totes, are now available in my etsy shop. Also back in stock are the organic cotton voile bicycle scarves that I was making last spring- now available in the lovely lavender gray.

busy bees

2011-02-24T10:00:00.007-05:00

A group of ladies from Hamilton, who are all a part in it's art community and share a love for all things handmade, have been working away on something special for the past little while and today we are so excited to announce it to everyone!

photos by hollie

This lovely bunch above have formed a group called the beehive craft collective. Together we will be planning events and working on hand crafted projects and homesteading skills. All of which we will be sharing with you on the beehive blog. Our first post is already up!

We are also so excited to announce to you our first project, one that we are all so thrilled to be a part of and are inviting other crafters to be a part of too. This coming August we will be holding a two day juried craft show on James Street North in Hamilton. It will kick off with the Friday night art crawl and run throughout the following day. With all the love and commitment and attention to detail that we are putting into it we are certain it's going to be a fantastic addition to Hamilton. We are currently accepting applications- for submission details (and to find out more about the group) please visit the beehive website.

2011-02-23T05:57:00.004-05:00

A box full of these pencils arrived in the mail yesterday. I squeeled out of excitement as soon as I opened it. They turned out just as I had imagined. I had these custom made just as a little treat to include with my online orders, and now they have inspired some other ideas too. I am already working on a little item to accompany these gold and wooden gems.

some things i made this weekend

2011-02-21T06:06:00.004-05:00

apple cranberry dog treats

I had to add cranberries to Beau's diet so I made him these dog treats. I'm sure he'd eat anything, but he really did seem to like these. Probably because they're shaped like squirrels. cotton dishcloths

I had found this easy pattern online a while ago and scribbled it in my sketchbook . When I looked through my yarn stash for some cotton to make them this red skein actually had the exact same pattern written on the inside of the label.

cast on 4 stitches

row 1: knit 4 stitches

row 2: knit 2, YO, knit to end of row

continue row 2 until you have 43 stitches (I found this too big and made my 2nd one smaller)

knit 1, k2tog, yo, k2tog, knit until end of row.

Continue until you have 4 stitches left and cast off.

grandmother's flower garden

2011-02-17T14:22:00.002-05:00

I felt spring this morning as I walked to work with the sun on my face and a muddy dog at my side. What a tease. I have been printing my new patchwork pattern all day and I just love it. These are some organic cotton voile samples for my scarves. I have also printed some samples on linen cotton and will be making some bins and totes in this print for my spring shows.

patterns of patchwork

2011-02-15T05:28:00.002-05:00

I finished my summer show applications yesterday which had me dreaming of weekends in parks around Ontario with Jeff under our big white tent. I also printed blankets and pillows and as the layers dried I continued working on my quilt pattern drawings on graph paper. I reminded myself of my mom who used to do the same thing with coloured pencils when designing quilts. These drawings are of quilts made by women in my family. I've enjoyed studying them and drawing the patchwork patterns. My mind has been spinning with ideas for these and I can't wait to see them printed on fabric.

some things I made this weekend

2011-02-14T05:27:00.001-05:00

felt hearts, strung together and hung above our kitchen fireplace.

lemon poppyseed hearts, yum.

happy valentines day

2011-02-11T16:29:00.005-05:00

The throw blankets are back in stock in my etsy shop. I have made a few in the olive green and will also have some amber ones finished next week. I kept one of these for myself a few months ago and it is now one of my favorite blankets to snuggle up with. It's so soft.

sailling ships

2011-02-08T10:37:00.003-05:00

I stumbled across this framed ship at a thrift shop the other day. It was made by Turner Manufacturing Co. out of Chicago, a company that used to make massed produced affordable art up until about 1975. This 'Old Ironside' is part of a series of sailing ships. It inspired my own little series in my sketchbook. I'm thinking of developing this one into a repeat.

linen posters

2011-02-02T16:20:00.016-05:00

Back in the fall I found an old map of Europe in a vintage shop. It was the kind used in schools that pulls down and has dowels at the top and bottom. It was a little out of price range and someone had already put it on hold anyway, so I didn't end up getting it. After this I started looking for them online which ended up creating a bit of an obsession with old school charts, science posters, and maps. And this inspired my latest project, the one I have been dreaming about for months and working on for weeks. I am calling them linen posters, and here are the first three of the series. Perhaps the most similar to a science poster- the anatomy of a bicycle. It lists all the major parts of a bicycle, as well as the common angles and measurement names
A representation of my love for our local green space- trees of the carolinian forest. Below each tree is it's name and the tree line is made up of both rare trees only found in this region as well as common trees that make up much of the forest.

And feathers of an old-growth forest. These birds are all found in the Carolinian region, as well as other forests in Canada. They all rely on the old-growth for their habitat, such as the american kestrel who is a secondary habitant of tree cavities, or the wood thrush who nests in decaying wood on the forest floor.

The posters are attached to wooden dowels and hung by leather lace. A view of the contruction detail on the back side. The titles of each poster are printed on the cotton back side as well. When they are rolled up like a scroll and tied with the leather lace the title is exposed.

I am hoping to have these available online within the next month. Right now I have a long list of wholesale orders to get working on, but I will definitely be making these for the spring one of a kind show, which is just eight weeks away already, so I will have lots made up for next month.

While working on the drawings for these three I had so many other ideas come to mind of concepts, species, and objects that would work so well on the posters, so I imagine that this is just the beginning of a series of many more. I am really excited about these ones and how they turned out. I hope you are too.

2011-01-27T10:13:00.005-05:00

I have a small collection of large old picture frames that I use for a few different purposes. Two of them frame wood painted with chalkboard paint, and another I use to for my jenna rose sign at shows. After seeing my sign Jeff's Aunt offered me this gold one. I knew I could find a use for it. A perfect home for my regularly used tools. I was planning on painting it white but have recently fallen in love with gold frames. The purple/brown of the one wall in my studio goes so nicely with them, and it's the same colour I painted the peg board.

Now I will never loose my scissors again.

2011-01-26T13:16:00.002-05:00

Beaux-Mondes has a little post about me and my studio today. This local blog features Hamilton businesses and shops, as well as fashion and product finds. This shot of Beau and I in the studio is my favorite.