Arm Knitting

We had a great time arm knitting today at the Fessenden Center.  The ladies had fun and created lovely infinity scarves.

March

Making room for new things.  March is roaring in like a lion!  Write up in local publication; Organized desk; spring colors; clean for now calendar.

2015 a very crafty year

This has been an absolutely fantastic year for Crafty Diva Creative Arts Workshops at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn I have had so much fun with my regular knitters on Tuesdays.  I've enjoyed Chatting and Crafting with the vacationers to Hatteras Island.   I was able to meet local artist's through a wonderful community crafting event.  I got to end the year weaving with old friends at the Clothes Encounters Clothing Arty Party.  Thank you all for your support and enjoyment in the creative process.  Especially thank you Jennifer Johnson for providing me this opportunity and Suzanne for cheering me on.

My regular Tuesday group and their gorgeous projects.

Loved meeting and chatting and crafting with the vacationers.

So happy to meet new friends and reconnect with my 'arty party' ladies.

2015 started and ended with a flurry of color and creativity.  I got to walk out my dream of crafting everyday in my dream cottage on an island.

Blooming where I am planted.

Fiber arts workshop

We had a fun and intense morning at our Workshop at @bluepelicangallerygifts&yarn this week. Trying not to discuss the world's current events and staying on task making and creating.  Suzanne joined us to reveal her new crochet yarn taster throw.  Amy and Claudia finished their projects and started new ones. Jane was working on her holiday gifts and Suzanne learned how to double crochet to start her lifelong goal of making a funky granny square afghan.  Afterwards the ladies were so nice to treat me to a holiday lunch.  Thank you ladies! :)

Holiday Arty Party

I am so full of gratitude to spend time with Suzanne and her Arty Party Ladies.  Here's a picture from our first Party together and this weekends party.  Time sure flies when you are having fabulous fun with friends.

It was great seeing old friends and getting to know new ones.  The Arty Parties that Suzanne throws are magical, fun and full of joy!  Hardworking ladies in the Wash DC area get to connect with other like minded creatives.  The clothes that Suzanne designs in her Clothesencounters line and the other designer art to wear clothing that she sells is full of color, textures and whimsy.

Suzanne thought that it would be a good idea for me to bring my knitters looms and demonstrate weaving fabric.  It was so much fun teaching the ladies to weave the community storyteller scarf that was gifted to Suzanne in appreciation for throwing such a joyful arty party.

I am very appreciative of the ladies who purchased my handcrafted art to wear accessories.  It was a joy for me to make them and a joy to see others wearing them with sass and pride.

We ended the Arty Party on a Joyous note!  Suzanne is wearing the 2 scarves woven by her tribe of 'wild whimsical women!'

Calling Tiny Artist Event

I spent a awesome morning facilitating weaving at Kinnakeet Clay- Studio & Showroom for the 'Tiny Art Fundraiser being held at Indian Town Gallery next Thursday.  I got to meet some great local artist's and had lots of fun making and creating.  My daughter joined me also and made several pieces of tiny art.  Jenn @JypSea Fabrications by Jennifer Harmon wove a beautiful small tapestry for the show.  Antoinette of Kinnakeet Clay tapped into the weaving vortex too.  All in all a very creative morning.

End of Summer

It's been a great summer at Camp Crafty Diva!  Thank you all so much for participating in our summer program.  I enjoyed meeting all of you!  It was such a pleasure teaching you and seeing your finished projects.  Thanks to Jennifer Johnson, Avery Johnson and the staff at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn for their support and assistance this summer.  Have a great school year and fall!  See you next summer.

We've also had a very fun and productive summer at the Crafty Diva Fiber Arts Workshop at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.  The ladies have made some very creative and colorful hand crafted art-to-wear and home accessories.  I'm so proud of you all and look forward to more knitted projects this fall.  Next week we launch our fall schedule of classes.  Stay tuned and enjoy this last week of summer.  Happy Knitting!

Building a Life and a Business at the Beach

Here's the story of Year 1 of Island Living!

When I arrived at the beach last August, I was numb.  I was slowly recuperating from a five year personal and career crisis due to illness, grief, financial & legal issues and hopelessness.  Moving to the beach was not my first choice.   My original intent for having a beach house was to have a vacation place where I could walk out my dreams of being an artist and teaching craft workshops in the summer to pay for this lifestyle.  Due to unforeseen circumstances when I sold my main home I began a journey of rebuilding a life.  I relocated from the Wash DC area to the Chicago suburbs.  The beach kept calling but I ignored it.  I left Chicago after a few months and temporarily moved to Durham, NC to get healthy and heal.  It was close to the beach, but I still wasn't healthy enough to get to the cottage that I had purchased two years earlier.  During this year I made a trip to Asheville, NC to participate in a training seminar.  My soul-sister friend who also lived at the beach attended this seminar with me.  I was using a walker and still not getting around well.  I felt shame at my physical condition but I was determined to participate in putting myself out there in the business world again.  I met a group of wonderfully supportive women entrepreneurs who I began to connect with on social media.  This gave me the mental and physical energy to go checkout my beach cottage.

I felt that I had to make a decision whether I was going to keep the cottage or let it go.  When I got to the beach that Memorial Day I reconnected with old friends and acquaintances.  This led to new introductions and my old goal of teaching crafts in the summer were realized.  I came back in July to set up a craft camp for vacationers at a local real estate company.  I planned on making my final decision at the end of the summer.  We had a hurricane in July which brought out all of my fears of being ill and unable to physically handle any emergencies that might arise living out on a sand bar in the middle of the Atlantic.  Instead, I met my new neighbors, connected with the community and had a great summer.  I still had a grey cloud hanging over my head which was pulling on my energy, (long-standing legal issues and my illnesses).   But, I was getting stronger everyday physically, spiritually and emotionally.  I was just getting ready to establish a more permanent residence in Durham when I was notified that my landlord wanted to sell the house I was renting there.  I was upset for a minute and didn't know what to do.  So, I 'Let Go and Let God!  I packed up once again for the 3rd time in a year and a half and moved to my beach cottage.  Enrolled my youngest in school, waved good bye to my son as he embarked on his own adventure and settled in.  My intent was to focus on getting healthy and putting myself on a fast track to wellness.  Then market myself to local businesses as a creative arts educator and business coach.

My daughter made friends immediately at her new school and began participating in school activities.  (Ok, check!  Happy teenager)  She came home one day and said that her friend's mother owned a gallery and was looking for a knitting teacher.  She urged (nagged) me to call her.  I was hesitant because I was still recovering, still needed a walker and not sure I could follow through because of my health issues.  I set up an appointment with Jennifer Johnson, owner/artist of Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.

The rest is herstory!  If you've been following me on social media and my blog you will know that I have had a Great day everyday since I decided to listen to my inner wise voice and 'Let Go and Let God!'  My Beach Dreams have been manifesting themselves one-day-at-a-time.  I am so very grateful to my new community of friends, family and neighbors.  Thank you for your encouragement and support during this transformative year.  I'm looking forward to seeing what miracles this next year presents.  Peace!

Click on link to watch year video of workshops:

http://animoto.com/play/kmdQkuH0VAfnygdy3xE0AQ

Colors of the rainbow

Last week a day before the Blue Moon we had a short rain storm early in the morning.  It felt different, I could feel the magnetic energy surrounding me.  I didn't know what it was.  It just felt different.  Later on in the day my neighbor and other Facebook pages posted this great rainbow over our neighborhood.  I told myself that is probably what I had been feeling.  Two days later I decided to finally start working on a project I have put off for years.  Dyeing , stamping and painting silk prayer shawls.  Yesterday, Sunday when I began the weather was humid yet gorgeous.  The sun was shining so strong.  It was a great day to dye fabric and let it dry in the summer breeze.  I had a lot of fun and loved how the colors came out.  I didn't plan on it but they had a tie dye effect.  Today I finished the rest.  It was raining all day and was damp and breezy so different from yesterday.  The fabric came out differently.  Drying in the sun made the colors pop more.  I still have more processes to go to finish these shawls but, step one is complete.  It wasn't until a few minutes ago that I realized that I had been inspired by the rainbow over our neighborhood on Thursday.  I love to dye silk and I love the colors of the rainbow!  These scarves feel magical.

Fiber Arts Workshop

Yesterday was a blast!  My sister Sheila and her best friend Kim came to visit us at Crafty Diva Fiber Arts Workshop at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.  Sheila was working on her mini over the shoulder purse; Kim was renewing her knitting skills by making a blue scarf and later will make a felted Totebag; our regulars Claudia was finishing up the last few rows of her summer tee; Jenn revealed her finished projects, a light and airy summer beach shawl and her classy European style neck scarf;  Suzanne finished her big, bold, whimsical over-the-shoulder carryall.  We finished with a great lunch in Hatteras and a tour of Hatteras village with local resident Jennifer Johnson.  Come join of this summer for more fibery fun at the beach!

Camp Crafty Diva

Camp Crafty Diva At Blue Pelican Gallery and Gifts starts this week.  Sign up now!!

Fiber Art Workshop

We welcomed Amy back today!  She had an eventful time with her grand kids in Ohio.  Look at the adorable hat she just completed for her grand baby.  She will be glamorous next winter in her hand knitted hat made with love.  We were very chatty and active on the porch today.  The weather was perfect for porch knitting.  Lots of customers came into the shop.  There was a very nice sea breeze with all the wonderful ocean smells.  We enjoyed filling each other up on our latest news and experiences.  It so nice to have a safe place to vent your frustrations.  Share your joys and be supported by the group.  There's more to knitting than just making a scarf.  It's creative, therapeutic, empowering, soothing and just plain fun.  Come join us next week. P.S. Look at Jenn's gorgeous hybrid hollyhocks.

This is the display cabinet for the camp projects on the porch.

Here is a photo of my completed summer shawl.

Fiber Arts Open Studio

We had a great time this morning knitting at Crafty Diva Fiber Arts Open Studio at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn. All the ladies were present. It was fun catching up on everyone's adventures. Melissa the Blue Pelican store manager was back from her winter's vacation. Linda Sue dropped by to show us the yarn she handspun and the great knitting noddy her husband made out of plastic plumbing pipes. Claudia finished her fur trimmed hat. It's just beautiful. Everyone will be traveling over the Easter Holidays so see you all in a couple of weeks.

Fiber Arts Open Studio

We had a great morning learning a new technique.  YO Yarnover or increasing one stitch.  Knitting a triangle shawl out of beautiful ribbon yarn is so much fun.  Join us next week.  Same time, same place.

Fiber Arts Open Studio

The ladies have been really pumping out the product.  Amy knitted this glamorous cashmere mix black and grey cowl in the round no less.  I'm impressed this is only her 3rd project.  Claudia is continuing on knitting for her family throws and ponchos.  Next week we learn how to purl and knit hats with some fun fur.  Come join us next week.

Fiber Arts Open Studio

It was snowing 'to beat the band' yesterday on Hatteras Island up to three inches total.  But the ladies and I were warm and toasty embarking on new knitting projects and casting off old ones.  I'm so proud of this beginning group they've caught on fast and have created fashionable accessories.  Amy mailed her scarves off to Cali, and is learning to knit in the round; Jane completed her first scarf and is working on a novelty yarn cowl; Claudia has knitted scarves, throws and now this beautiful shrug.  Come join us at Blue Pelican Gallery & Gifts and learn to make your own handcrafted fashion.

Dream Circle Workshop

Yesterday, I had the pleasure to work with two local women business owners.  They were interested in making Dream Boards, a visual collage activity.  This process assists the creator in tapping into their own unique inner eye and bringing those visions or dreams, goals and desires into the physical world.  Once you see your hearts desire on the boards it gives your dreams more clarity and enables you to focus on things and feelings that you want to manifest in your life.  It's also a form of active meditation and can be very soothing and empowering.  The boards reveal a lot about our selves and I thoroughly enjoy facilitating this technique.  We had fun playing with the art materials and of course sprinkling the fairy dust around the table.  I look forward to working further with these women on their creative journey towards personal and professional success.

This was my piece that I worked on after the workshop.  I have not painted something like this before.  It was nice to just make 'art for art's' sake.  Of course, I had to take advantage of the art table.

Fiber Arts Open Studio

Yesterday, the ladies revealed their finished projects.  I was so pleased to see the beautiful and artful scarves these beginners created.  As I always say it's all about the yarn.  Choose great yarn and a beginning knitter can create a designer scarf, hat, sweater etc.  Linda Sue an experience knitter joined us again yesterday and completed her yarn taster throw.  She added a little twist at the end and made it a snuggle throw that goes around your head.  Great innovation.  They all braved the blustery cold and snow flurries to gather at Blue Pelican Gallery.  I really enjoyed the day and look forward to more to come.

Fiber Arts Open Studio

We had another great day at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn knitting today. Claudia joined our new group. The ladies are knitting up a 'storm.' Love how their scarves and Sue's poncho are coming along. Thanks Jenn for opening up on such a cold and blustery day. See you in two weeks.

Fiber Arts Open Studio 2015

We had a great gathering yesterday at our first Fiber Arts Open Studio of the year.  Jane and Amy two Hatteras Islanders joined us.  Knitting was new to both of them and it was great to see the process 'click' as they found their own knitting rhythm.  I can't wait to see what they make and create.   Suzanne started working on a poncho knitted out of a bright Noro yarn.   Come join us on our new day Tuesdays from 10:00am - 1:00pm at Blue Pelican Gifts and Gallery.