Holiday creations

Christmas day in the Queen Charlottes was cold, grey, rainy and eventually snowy and white. But we managed to get our family and three friends out in kayaks and paddle across the water to the Apple Orchard. An old abandoned site where big apple trees are heavy with the weight of moss and lichen. It will be sweet to go back on a sunny day in Spring and/orSummer and have a picknick on the mossy grass floor surrounded by these curvy trees. Maybe we can even pick an apple (we did see evidence that they still produce apples!).
The kayak trip (45 minutes to and 45 minutes back) was just a bit too long for little Lief, he needed some inventive songs to keep him sitting still. Back home he crashed immediately in his crib, while we all gathered around warm soup and toast cheese sandwiches. What a good feeling, after the cold paddle to enjoy the company of friends and good food!

Some creations I made during the holidays:
Organic wet felted wine cozy with ceramic button by Brian Eccles. Used some more of Loops' beautiful Mediterranean batts which has Bamboo, Alpaca, Silk and Corriedale and a bit of sparkle incorporated into it.

Then I finally finished this knitted bag. I had knitted the body a while ago, but never finished the handle. Then I lined it with Ikat fabric from Maiwa, and decorated it with hand embroidery (that continues on the back) and a nut button. The embroidery is done with a bit of handspun and handdyed yarn that I found at Granville island.


And this is another neckwrap, quite warm and fire-y colours. I think it's similar yarn as I used for the wrap Ella bought at the craft fair. Bone spiral buttons and more handspun yarn from Granville Island.

Wishing everyone an inspiring and creative New Year!

Felts and knits

When I started to upload the images for this post, I realised this past week has been quite productive. It never feels that way, as time for creation is limited, but in the end, if you take the time to look back, it does add up! I'm quite pleased. First photo is of a brown 'helmet' hat in Merino wool. A bit funky, but very warm and cozy. It's tricky not to have the white dots move on me at the different stages of wetting, but they turned out ok.This is a picture of one of the first stages for felting the helmet. Laying out the layers of felt around a resist shape and adding the design.

Last Friday I mailed this felt necklace to Anna (hope I don't give away the surprise now). I hope it arrives just before Christmas! I made two wrist cuffs out of the same felt piece for Jane and Ella (who are showing the pieces on their blogs), but this part of the felt asked for something else. It took me a while to figure that one out, but in the end it came together. It has a natural curve on top and that made me think of a shield, a guardian for the throat and chest and for the little one growing...

This was a fun project, my first knit cuff, made with some funky yarn that incorporates crocheted doilies. As usual, the yarn is supplied by Hobbledehoy...

And last, but not least, I wanted to show you my Lopi cardigan that I finally finished... It has taken me one full year... Well, ok, I started on Christmas day, knitted quite consistently for a while, then dropped the project and only took it back up last week to finish. Such a relief...!

Kiki Knits

Today I finished a neckwrap! I haven't been able to create as much as I used to, since little Lief has changes his naptimes to only once a day. It seems by the time he goes down for a nap, I'm very much ready for one myself. I miss the morning naps, where I could quietly drink my coffee, stare out of the window: and contemplate what to work on next.

But this project was short and sweet. I used some of Hobbledehoy's beautiful art yarn, which is called "That old song" and combines soft merino wool, camel down, fun pompoms, and crochet doilies. I also used a few rows of carrot orange handspun wool from the Fibre Art Studio on Granville Island in Vancouver.
The green buttons come from Button Button on Cordova in Vancouver.

Now I'm all inspired to knit again. I enjoy going from felting to knitting to sewing and back again in no particular order. Probably not the most efficient, but definitely the most enjoyable for me!

New felt project

Today I have been working on a new coffee cozy for a Bodum coffee maker. I told my husband that if I wouldn't start creating something (apart from wrapping Christmas packages and writing cards, and don't forget 'creating' and mothering our son) I would go slightly nuts... During our trip in Vancouver I had looked forward to being back home and being able to felt again. Then it became slightly overwhelming to be home with all the errands that need to be run and Christmas prep. As well, Lief has started to get into more trouble recently, reaching higher, and he is sleeping less during the day, which means less time to create and being on your toes all the time to keep damage to a minimum...

Picture by Loop

Back to the felt project. So last night I started with combining some amazing, sparkly batts from Loop and soft and deep colored Merino roving from Kartehuset in Denmark. I have always just worked with the rovings from Kartehuset, and find they're very high quality, soft, gorgeous colors (in a very large selection). They felt up beautifully. But to combine it with the "Earth Goddess" batts that have sparkly bits of gold in them, makes the end result so very unique. It feels like a night out, dressed up.

Ceramic bead by Brian Eccles

I love Etsy!

This is so much fun! When we came back from our trip to Vancouver, there were quite a few packages from Etsy stores waiting for me. Such a treat to open all of these envelopes to see what amazing creations crafters from all over the world sent.

On the left you see gorgeous handspun yarn by hobbledehoy (Liz), she's a super spinner who works and lives with her Angora rabbit in Pennsylvania. I just love her choice of yarn and colour combinations. Very funky and very soft. I can't wait to get started! In the centre of the couch there's two stunning scarves by Kelgwo, a small textile studio on Chiloe island in the south of Chile. These are a true work of art. Beautiful yarn combinations and raw wool. And on the right some funky fabrics by Lucky Kaeru in Southern California. I can't wait to see what these will end up as.... I guess I'd better get started.

The world becomes a small place on Etsy. It feels good to support fellow crafters and it feels even better to work with their materials. Knitting with Liz's yarn makes for a true craft collaboration.

Maternal Creations

Picture by Jane Wheatley

Thanks to Jane Wheatley I have a few pictures of my table at the Maternal Creations craft fair, which took place at Pomegranate Midwives Clinic in Vancouver (Nov 23-25). So stupid, to not bring my camera, I could have taken so many pictures of all the great work and of the amazing, inspiring, creative Momma's. I'm not sure how everyone does it, combining motherhood and creating such an abundance of high quality work. I couldn't help myself, but had to buy some of each.... Check out Ella's dolls and crowns, she uses beautiful fabrics, Anna's soft and cuddly sewing work (and knitting!) and Jane's inspiring natural Elfin hats, tree stumps and kimono's.

Mieke and I had a fun connection, she's from Prince George and came all the way down to the fair as well. She told me her name is Dutch for Mary, but I couldn't help myself and before I knew it I told her that's not correct. Apparently I now have dismantled the last family secret.... Quite intriguing.

Thank you Lehe, for getting us all together and providing the cozy space of the clinic.

Moss stitch

This is a scarf I'm working on at the moment, using handmade wooden knitting needles by Doug Peake from Evergreen Woodwork in Sandspit, BC. I chose to work this scarf in a moss stitch, inspired by the colours of the yarn. I love the moss stitch, it has a very unique feel and it looks like it's a woven piece. The yarn I'm using comes from hobbledehoy.etsy.com, and is a very soft merino blend, which I'm combining with green and blue mohair yarns as I go.

Felt toque

This is my son Lief wearing one of my new felt toques. He didn't want to pose too long, impatient to get the hat off. "Mom, it's way too warm to wear these inside..."

New Bodum Coffee Cosy's

These are my new felted coffee cosy's for a Bodum coffee maker. They have glass buttons so it can be closed inside the handles of the Bodum. 100% Merino wool and a bit of thread to ensure the top shape stays.

Maternal Creations 2007

This year I'll participate at the Maternal Creations craft fair which will be held at Pomegranate Community Midwives clinic in Vancouver from November 23rd - 25th.

I'll be selling my handfelted baby jackets, coffee cosy's, knitted caps and maybe some scarves.

The only qualification for the show is to be a mother or a pregnant woman. The idea behind this is to recognize that making crafts is a way that women around the world sustain themselves and their families. Locally, women find that they are suddenly without work, either as they go on maternity leave or as they spend important time raising children. Pomegranate Community Midwives likes to offer Maternal Creations to these women as a venue to access the market and sell their hand-made crafts.

www.pomegranate-midwives.com
2647 East Hastings Street

Vancouver, BC

Artist statement

Artist statement

I moved in 2001 from Amsterdam to Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) Canada, where I work as a visual and fibre artist. I design and make unique felt accessories and fabrics as well as paintings, prints and installations. For more information about my visual artwork, please visit www.arttea.com

In 2006 my first son was born and this has had an influence on the way I work. Due to the short time spans between looking after my son I started to work more with wool and felt, rather than large scale paintings. The wool is patient. Sometimes I use the wool as a canvas as I did with ‘Tree Sleeves’, other times as a surface to design garments like seamless baby jackets. Living in a rainforest, surrounded by majestic trees, my natural surroundings have a strong influence on my choice of colours as well as topics. ‘Tree Sleeves’ evolved from a study of fractals from tree bark and leaves.