oops

Well time chez lizzie has been at a stand still for ages. I have been hanging out at the gym, babysitting a cool kid named Jasmin, and puttering away at some long overdue flooring issues. Not really dyeing much yarn/or roving.
So when the Fredericton designer weavers called on Monday asking me to fill in for their cancelled guest this Saturday, panic struck.I said sure, I'll be there thinking I could dye some stuff no problem. Sure Lizzie. Great idea. Super idea.
I need my head read.
Subflooring is nearly finished in the front hall. Laundry is piled higher and deeper, boxes of ceramic tile are functioning very well as tripping devices, and power tools are scatterded everywhere. So why not attempt to dye yarn on top of it all. I can multi task.
This is all well and good and probably even doable, IF YOUR WATER HEATER DOESN"T CHOOSE TO DIE.
Yup there I was, attempting to shower the floor laying grime off before picking the kiddos up at school, when lo and behold, no Hot H2O. I was not impressed. I figuered it was a fuse, so they got replaced, 24 hours later. no go. still icy cold. Time for a new one. And it is friday. yay. what are the chances of getting one in before the weekend?My guess is slim to none. sigh.
Anyhoo, I made a really cute felted purse this week, before the water heater incident, and was felting two more when I had to give up for lack of hot water. If Kate would visit with her fancy camera, I would post a picture.
Yoo -Hoo, Kate... come visit, bring camera. I actually finished something!!!!!!
I give up. probably no dying going on chez Lizzie.

new beads 

Stash Enhancement

Well folks. for a girl who had no home internets, and for a very long time, no tv. I have certainly been intrigued by the online shopping lately. I have purchased the motherload of scrumptious beads on ebay.
For the past two years I have been lamenting the lack of bling on my hand woven bags. I tried the fimo route. I have tried searching out the vintage jewellry at local yard sales and tag sales. I have whined, pissed and moaned about the lack of good craft suppliers in freddy. Then I met ebay.
I may be in love.
Or at least obsessed.
I have admittedly bought too many beads for the bags I have completed, so now I am planning jewellry. Lots of jewellry. I have a s**t load of lampwork beads in my purse, and a shipload of swarovski crystals and vintage glass beads on the way.
My current knitting project has about a zillion glass seed beads of various colours strung on it. Its really shiny. I am very excited about it. I think I need to buy a digital Camera to show off my pretties.my blog has become very picture deficient these days. Kate has a camera. joe bought one today, I may be the only kid on the block who doesn't have one. pout. sigh. I need a "sugar daddy" in the biggest way.
So anyway, this fine week in New Brunswick will see me laying subfloor in my front hall, (and possibly tiling if I don't injure myself with the skil saw). Joe-poet is off to Serbia for a book launching thingy, and I have raided his power tools for the Renovation marathon. 100 year old houses are not easy to heat in this fine province. I can't decide if it is the single paned windows, or the lack of insulation that have me hyperventalating but the local Home Hardware has seen my panic stricken face several times today. I currently have seven opinions on the best way to insulate my basement stairwell. Three on what to heat with, and two on what material to use under my ceramic tile as sub flooring. I love small towns. every one has an opinion and the god given right to express it. bless the lot of em.
The subfloor is the ends of my studio subfloor. free leftovers are the best. For the love of God there is approximately three and a half inches of plank flooring underneath. I think it will be ok, the ceramic tile will not fall through the hundred year old planks. lord knows I haven't and I am no lightweight.
furthermore, it being wednesday, I have had my token beer with my dear friend, and expert on all matters of construction, Doug. Doug says I am right, and told me that my way of insulating was best. (and he isn't even sucking up.) He is also gonna come hang my door. I like Doug. He rocks. Well gotta fly sleep calls and I must be up early to go to the gym.
Cheers, Lizzie

Could a been the Whiskey...

Yes folks, that time has come to fredericton when all drunken Scotsmen get proud..er, proud Scotsmen get drunk, umm... Well -one or the other or both of the above are true.
You may have guessed it, tonight is the night, it is finally here... The tenth anniversary version of ....

let's raise your spirits!
Whiskey, Spirits and Liqueur Festival
2005

Yay! how excited am I ? I can hardly stand it.
Joe poet has his ticket, and Kellie just arrived from Sackville. I have new pants and new boots. My lipstick has even been hauled out and dusted off.
There will be whiskey of course, and lovely liqueurs, and MEN IN KILTS. Oh goody I can hardly sit still!

And tomorrow, by golly, is the travelling yarn yardsale, held by the Fredericton Designer Weavers. Scads and oodles of beautiful yarns and more yarns and yet ..more yarns. we get to drink whiskey Friday, shop for yarn on Saturday, and there is an antique sale on Sunday. This just might be the perfect weekend. sigh. I am realy not sure I can handle the excitement. I think I need to lay down.
Oh yeah, knitting. Blog is about knitting.

I am currently knitting a very secret project with galvanized steel and glass seed beads. I am also weaving a project with wire and beads. I will probably go crazy and or do permanent damage to something before they are done but I am sure they will both be worth the effort.
Gotta go pick up the kidlets, cheers all!
Lizzie
I'll let y'all know how the festival went.

Saturday, or something Like it

Today is yard sale day chez Lizzie. I have nothing priced, or even sorted really, and I have no cash float and I have yet to open the front door and start chucking stuff out. I figure I can just wing it. Kate was just here with a large Timmie’s, Her weekend is filled with Fantastic Fun at the machine knitting guild shindig. I supplied her with several pretty little packs of roving to sell, drank the coffee and am now semi motivated to begin the day.
Time chez Lizzie has been sadly spent neglecting knitting and concentrating on pottery design. I have now reached the point where stuff can start to happen production wise, and I can pick up the needles again. Kate and I went road trippin to Harvey and maxed out the old bank account at Briggs and Little one more time. I rented some movies for the kids and started a bag. I am knitting B&L Country roving in sheep’s brown, goldenrod, and natural. I cannot believe how quickly it knits up!  I have done felted bags with it before, but mostly ones I dyed myself. It is nice to just use the commercial colours for a change. But then I found a rogue skein of fleece artist slubby that might look good in it too…
Sigh. Must get the ever so organized yard sale underway, wake up the grunt labour, uh I mean the kids and get this dog and pony show on the road.

the things your friends leave behind

Well folks you may recall that on Labour day weekend, your girl Lizzie was dividing her time between being President of the craft council at the festival, and knitting up a storm at the casemates residency. What you may not know is that at the festival was a potter demonstrating. No folks it was not me this time. It was a talented young fellow by the name of Lee Horus Clark.
Now Lee makes interesting things with clay, very interesting. And occasionally big things. Very big things. Very Big and hard to transport things. This is where I come in to the story. I have through default and sheer lunacy become the custodian of Lee's latest very large pot. It was supposed to be only a week. The pot is bigger than my kids, and nearly 200 pounds of clay were used in the making. no that is not a typo. it really is 200 pounds of clay.Cool Huh?

Harvest Jazz and Blues

Feat don’t fail me now…

Well they are here. Tonight is the night, two shows live at the Bud Light Blues tent -acoustic at 6 pm and electric at 9. I have my Thursday pass and I have my beer tokens, I am ready to dance my a** off. I love harvest time in Freddyville. For more than 30 years the groovy, funky, jam-band sounds of little feat have been settin’ toes tappin’ all over the place, now they have come to Fredericton. And I am going to BOTH shows. Yay Me!!!!

This is where I do my happy dance. One of the real joys of living in Fredericton is The Harvest Jazz and Blues Festival. Now in its 15th year, this small town festival has grown to big city proportions. Fredericton is now attracting and producing world class musicians. We will be enjoying such great names as Fruteland Jackson, Matt Minglewood, John Lee Hooker Jr. and a ton more. Again with the happy dance.

Our local talented line up includes Hot Toddy, Big Alice, Barriomatic Trust, Vetch, Petunia, Grand Theft Bus, Isaac and Blewett, and Melonworks. All are worthy bands, some ECMA winners and nominees.

The kids and I attended the kick off concert last night with the STU Jazz ensemble and we will be taking in some shows tomorrow and Saturday, but tonight is all about the mama. And little feat, maybe about the Barriomatic Trust, possibly about Big Alice. But definitely about the Late night Jam. And about the beer. Yup breaking the all but hump day beer ban. It has to be done, they don’t make martinis at the Blues tents, damned peasants.
For those interested I have included a link to one of my personal faves from the local scene.

ttp://www.hottoddytrio.com/

Well folks the shameless promotion of our little festival is done for now. I must do laundry, and I must prepare for the evening ahead. Ta Ta for now.
Yours, Lizzie

India Learns To Needle felt

So while I am struggling through my residency, with two kids in tow, I bring along some fluff and needles to entertain the kids. This is what my ten year old kid made for her first attempt.
Athree dimensional mermaid. Her second project was a selikie, the kid is a prodigy.sigh.

India's mermaid 

Words fail me.

Bear with me, I am having a moment. I am definately going to get a bit wierd on ya for a while. Forgive me, my next blog will most definately be about knitting.
As you may know, I have been artist in residence for the Fredericton Arts Alliance, at the casemates ( Historic Garrison District, former British soldiers barracks) in Fredericton, for the past week and a bit. I began My residency on August 27.
My first day in residence a lovely gentleman and his wife visited. He asked me
"Who were the first people to settle Canada, and where did they settle?" My response to him was along the lines of, are we including the natives, or do want to know about the outsiders? he chuckled and said
"the outsiders"
Always the purest, I returned with ,
"Well that's debateable. It certainly depends on who you talk to, and when you ask"
(Little did he know he snagged the chief curator of the museum, and freeky little historian chick, knitting in a casemate)
You see the little known fact to the outside world, is that the Vikings were in Newfoundland and established a settlement, long before Columbus even thought about America, and it is strongly assumed that there were outsiders in the north of Canada prior to the Vikings.
This kind of surprised the gentleman, and he clued me in on the real question on his mind.
He wanted to know about the Acadians, and the expulsion. Touchy subject, and one I am never sure how to approach. It has been at the centre of many of my anxious moments for the past three years. My Heart rate raised, and I began to worry about my wording. I know both sides of the story. I am aware of the cold dry facts as presented by both sides of the story. I have co -curated exhibits based on this involving the froncophone, and anglophone communities, and I am constantly on edge about it. It is not a proud moment in our history. But it happened.
I found my tour guide/politician stance somewhere, deep inside. I spoke of the two factions, the expulsion, and the results and repercussions to the people of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. I told him of the places that the Acadian people ended up. I told him about being here now. and I said I often wonder about the people who left and what they felt, and how they survived. Making a new life for the second time in a foriegn land.
It was then that the kind gentleman told me that he was a descendant of Les Acadiennes. Exploring the land his forefathers had called home after leaving France. He was looking for the other side of the stories he was raised on. Curious about the Geography of Acadia, and the french who are still here.
I feel honestly I may have dissappointed him with my neutrality. He and his quiet and lovely wife touched me. I appreciated their interest, and their quest. I have had them and the Acadians on my mind for several days. I truly wonder where the gentleman and his wife are. Are they ok? Were they here when Katrina hit? Were they in back home in New Orleans?
I hope to God they were still here in Acadia, looking for their roots.
So much of our history in this region is tied with the history of Louisiana. Our Acadienne, are their Cajun. Divided by oaths, words only, blood is thicker than water. They are brothers, and sisters. I have been watching the footage at he gym, while working out.
I am horrified.
I cannot fathom the complete devastation. I cannot even properly articulate my feelings to my best friend. My thoughts are chaos. I am looking for and not finding the humanity in the US Federal Government.
I am frightened for the people and hope that they will make it through this devastating crisis.
I do not personally have money to donate to the cause, but I am going to give blood. I encourage all who can, to do likewise. If you cannot, then give school supplies, or money to the schools who are taking in the children of this tragedy. Give your time at a shelter, or a food bank. Reach out to the people who have lost everything and everyone important. Show a stranger you care that they live.

I used to be buff ... dammit!

Sure, I could blame it on having kids. Sure I could say it took me years to pack it on, I could even go so far as to say it must be a genetic/age thing. But let's face it girls, they would all be big fat lies. No kidding. I expanded exponentially over the past year. I have become a sloth.
Truth is, in the spring of 2004, I was wearing a size five. The spring of 2001, 2002,and again 2003 also size five. My weight was 130 lbs, give or take a few. For several years.
I wasn't thin and wraithlike, or weak and undernourished. I was active and healthy, and normal.
This year there was no famous orange dress, much to the horror of the Oddball IT department and half of southern Maine and Quebec.(don't even ask) There was no little black tank dress with strappy sandals. As a matter of fact there was very little in my overly large wardrobe that would begin to button, zip, or tie around my suddenly round body.
I got a wee bit freaked out.
Last time I weighed in this high was two days before giving birth to a 9lb 3 oz baby girl.
Now, our beloved Oddball has listened to me piss and moan about this before.
Once or twice.
Maybe three times.But certainly no more than that.
Really.
I keep threatening to sign up for a fitness class, and cut beer out of my diet, and eat organic greens with tofu for a year. Idol threats all of them. I kept expanding. and not feeling well, and being inactive. It wasn't fun.
So I joined the gym.
Or entered another dimension.
the jury is still out on that one.
Friday morning I walked over to the Superstore, marched my little hiney up the stairs and asked to buy a membership. I thought it would be that simple.

"Hi! Here's my excrutiatingly large amount of money, give me a card and point me to the nearest treadmill."

Not so much.
I met several lovely perky girls who all remembered my first name and wanted to shake my hand, and welcome me to Goodlife. They were sweet really. I was a little afraid.
An hour later, after much smiling and perkiness on the part of the manager, my bank account considerably lighter, and an appointment card with a personal trainer in my hand. I left the stuper store. Stumbling and wondering if my life would ever be the same again.
Last night I tossed and turned and worried about my impending appointment with the mysterious Anne.
Today I met her. She rocks. I don't feel nearly as nervous now. Tommorrow we start a program. She gets to tell me what to do to make my body resemble a human form, rather than a bad potatoe experiment gone wrong. And I get to work my everlovin ass off to get there.
I think it is a reasonably fair thing to do. considering I may have to sell a kidney to pay for this healthclub experiment. I am pretty confident that by Christmas there will be a little less of me, right in time for holiday binging.
And to celebrate this, I have decided I can only have beer on weekends and hump days. I must drink twice as much water than I already do, and I must eat breakfast every day.
martinis are still fair game.

creativity and the art of the workaholic

So here I sit at the new computer desk of lizzies yarns. Joe poet and I put the damned thing together in the two part episode from hell. Who knew that two highly qualified craftspeople, both of whom regularly work in three dimensions, could nearly be taken down to our knees by a $68 desk from Wallmart.
It looked so innocent in the box.
But despite two very late nights,left over shiny bits and not nearly enough alcohol Joe and I are still speaking, and the desk is standing quite securely in the corner of my textiles studio.
Today is frought with getting ready for my next residency at the casemates, and with a trip to Kings Landing Historical settlement, mixed in with making moulds for dinner and side plates and somehow getting to the gym. The evening of course is filled with the damned housework that those slack arsed faeries refuse to complete while I am out.
Are they unionized or something?
well gotta run, the shower and the coffee shop await. ttfn
Lizzie

they know me so well

Your Summer Ride is a Beetle Convertible

Fun, funky, and a little bit euro. You love your summers to be full of style and sun!

What's Your Summer Ride?

a bit o fun at 2 am

1. A reader to "Men's Journal" recently wrote about technological innovations, stating that there isn't any gadget he couldn't live without: "To see how vital technology is, spend a few days in the backcountry without your phone, pager, PDA, laptop, cappuccino machine, or MP3 player. You'll emerge cleansed and refreshed." Could you go a whole week really roughing it with no modern conveniences? Would you want to?

Yes, I absolutely could and have done so on more than one occasion. I often turn my phone off for days, and lived for two years with no tv or computer. I haven’t owned a car for four years, and ideal vacation is camping with the kids. When I was potting full time I used a kick wheel.

2. What is the most you've ever paid for a:

A) Shirt
$86 at Robert Simmonds in freddy. It was originally more than $300. Awsome sale, still outrageous for a shirt. The sweetie was visiting his folks in England and I was lonely and exercised massive retail therapy. Added some garnet earrings, and outrageous shoes, then there was the magazine binge. It wasn’t pretty. Thank God he was only gone three weeks. Who knows how much I would have spent.

B) Pair of Shoes
$149. Worth every penny, wish I had bought two pair. Runner up would be $130 for the Birkenstocks that saved me in Pennsic.

C) CD or Album
$75 boxed set Led Zeppelin gift for the boyfriend.

D) DVD
$40 Braveheart

E) Book
Do text books count? Well over $150. Next to that I guess would be the $85 book on Japanese style.

F) Vacation
$2000

3. Looking back at the answers to#2, which one was the most foolish?
Led Zeppelin box set

4. Take this quiz: Which snack food are you?
An Apple

5. There are three wells: Love, Beauty and Creativity. If you could only drink from one of them, which would you choose and why?
Creativity, without that life is meaningless. Being an artist is in my soul. I would wither without my ability to create. The lowest points of my life have been when my creativity was stifled, or not fed

6. If you were another person, do you think you would be friends with the person you know as yourself?

Absolutely.

Hump Day

Day three as artist in residence at String Fever Textiles Gallery. I am surviving, even producing things. True to my personality, I had no clue as to what the @#$# I was going to do all week, until I started doing it.
Turns out I was better off than I thought. I have been knitting, felting, and gossiping like mad! I have made some major progress in the "get-off-my-ass -and-just-do-SOMETHING!" department. All of the insane designs that have flitted through my brain in the last four months are seemingly, sorting themselves out and becoming actual works in progress. Though I am sure that I will not have a great deal of product at weeks end, I am reasonably sure that I will have at least worked out what it is I will be producing during my two weeks at the Casemates. so far the theme seems to be all about the boiled wool purses. A bit of the old needlefelting, and some crazy floral accessaries.
I am sharing my residency with Sarah Maloney, a Halifax based textile artist who is working on some amazing things. Her current work has me slack jawed with awe. I have been a real fan of her work for years, she has been exploring the human form, through textiles. Some of her previous works are- a knitted brain and spinal column, a vessal filled with knitted human hearts, A skeleten, and many embroidered peices based on the human body.
The peice she is working on right now is mind blowing. She is beading a skin. One bead at a time.For the last three years. Wow , and I am so needing a digital camera.
Maybe I need to shop next week.
I definately need to shop next week. Well I must run off and plan day four. Cheers all.
Lizzie

awsome quotes

Did you ever run across a quote that just worked on so many levels you had to share it with the world, only to have half the people you share it with look at you as though you have sprouted a second head?
My dear friend from high school posted a quote recently that was, in my mind, truly brilliant. Now to explain my friend-she is a wonderfully talented person, very bright and soo much fun. We see each other rarely, she is in Ontario and I am here :( Seonaid (Gaelic = shona) started university in Electrical Engineering, switched to physics, married a physicist, quit her phd in Nuclear physics, and is now studing Education at grad school. Why am I sharing all of this? it is relevant to the quote I will be throwing at you for comment. While walking through campus the other day she came across this, written outside the fine arts building:

"When you accept that matter expanded into something out of nothing, wearing stripes with plaid comes easy."
Seonaid's addendum: That explains why physicists dress that way.

Now I thought this was truly brilliant. no one I told about it got it. Is it me?

ps Seonaid does not dress that way

tagged by kate

yup it is the long awaited tag experience.Here goes nothin.

10 Years ago:
I was very pregnant. It was a major heat wave. I craved air conditioning, and chillers from the Second Cup. That's right folks, coffee, slushified and dosed with chocolate. At least once a day. I know, I know, you should give up caffiene when you are pregnant. Been there read the books, made the everlovin t-shirt, tie dyed it and sold it. But lets face it. I gave up booze for the baby. I gave up smoking for the baby. I didn't do drugs, again for the baby. I drank the coffee for ME. Baby seems fine she will be ten on the fifteenth of this month.

5 Years ago:
Summer from hell. Troy was working on a television series, he was gone all the time, I was home with my kids and a couple of spares. No drivers license, again super hot, heat wave again. Marriage on the rocks, house full of movie set people who drink lots, eat all the food, play games all hours of the night, and put thier children to bed in MY bed, so that I am sitting up all hours waiting for a place to sleep.

1 Year ago:
I was working at the museum, and sitting on the executive of the crafts council. We were having great fun with many gallery openings and fundraising events for the Charlotte Street School project ( our new art centre, opening soon) We had martinis with Dali at the Beaverbrook, and strawberry socials, and art auctions galore. This I believe was the time of year that we had the biggest bestest fundraisng bash around for the Beaverbrook art gallery. The Dali Gala. A night of surrealism like Fredericton has never seen. It was a night to remember, folks are still talking about it.

Yesterday:
sorted through a million and ten boxes hauled from the studio. Did a billion dishes, hung out with the coolest kids ever. Yesterday was New Brunswick day. We celebrated by cleaning the house and studio, had kd for supper and basically took it easy.

Today:
I had a meeting at lunch, though it did not actually involve lunch, thus a headache arrived. Then I completed expense reports, and took complaints from disgruntled people. I am very tired of disgruntled people. I want to be around happy people for a while. But not too happy. cause that just irks me. tonight I continue my quest through boxes in the kitchen and hope to rearrange my weaving studio/computer room. If I find the floor, I might just mop it. don't hold your breath. Christ I could use a beer. or g&t


Tomorrow:

I will continue to plow through the craziness in preparation for my company arriving on Thursday. I will take a brief break to go to coffee with my friend and former student employee, Janet, who leaves for Montreal very soon. Janet is a metalsmith and jeweller, she recently completed second year studies at the NB College of Craft and Design. She has juried successfully with the NB Crafts Council, and is continuing her studies in Montreal where she will be working with glass. I am very excited for her, she is a talented young lady and will go far.
She is in the running for some prestigious stuff at the moment, and currently has a group exhibit at Government House, the official residence of the Lt Governor for New Brunswick.

5 Snacks I enjoy
I love finger food. I believe that life is perfect as long as there is grazing food available. I like snacks of all styles shapes forms and descriptions but to pick Five is very hard. I have come up with a rather diverse list, a kind of the best of the best so to speak.

1- fresh brocoli and red pepper strips with herb and garlic dip
2-guacamole (preferably made by my friend Jackie) with super crisp tortillas and an icy cold Corona or two
3-Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream, straight from the carton,eaten while wearing flannel jammies and watching late night crime shows.
4-smoked oysters on vegetable crackers with cheese.
5-Denman Island organic dark chocolate- any kind, but especially the raspberry.

5 Bands or singers I know most of the lyrics for their songs
This one is easy peasy. I love music of all types but do have my regulars for singing along with. Some of them have been around longer than me, but they are definately classics.

1- The Grateful Dead - gotta love the dead, a timeless classic
2- Neil Young (in various bands and groupings) again with the classics
3- Barenaked Ladies
4- Joni Mitchell
5- Great Big Sea

It just occured to me that there is only one non Canadian in the list. But the dead transcend that border easily and are in good company with the other four.

5 Things I would do with $1 000 000

I would buy Jackie a way nice minivan for her troop of kidlets.
I would open a gallery for limited edition and one of a kind Canadian craft
I would pay off my mortgage and fix up and expand my house.
I would buy a decent Awd vehicle for my self with air conditioning and a wicked stereo. I miss not having a car.

5 Locations I would love to run away to

I often dream of running away. The location changes from time to time but the urge to hit the road is very strong in me. I think in a past life I was definately a nomad. Today the top five locations are:

1- all time favourite city so far, Montreal. I went to school there for a year when I was youger, then worked in the city for a further year and a half. My Childhood summers were spent between there and here.
2- Vermont, probably around the Burlington area, but anywhere in the White Mountains is good with me. I would love to have a studio that looks out over the mountains and meadow for a yard. The only big drawback to Vermont is that I am definately not a fan of George W. so living in the states is out of the question.
3- Scotland, I love the thoughts of being in the highlands. My deep connection with the past and the soul stirring sound of the pipes and drums draws me every time. then of course the kilted men are a treat as well. But it has nothing at all to do with the whiskey. Nope. Couldn't force me to choke it down. Not even if you hog tied me and held my nose.
4-The Canadian Rockies, because I have never been there and have always wanted to see them.
5-Newfoundland. I think I would like it there.

5 Bad Habits I have

I forget to eat regular meals and then can't understand why I have no energy.
I tend to think of things I enjoy as not a priority.
I procrastinate (I was supposed to answer this damn thing two weeks ago)
I make a huge mess whenever I am working on anything creative
I often forget the laundry while I am doing it so that it has to go through the wash a second time.
I amost always forget my grocery list at home.

5 Things I like Doing

Making pottery, currently I am thrilled with wet cut tile murals.
Weaving tapestry, somewhat like murals, hmmm.
Having cocktails with the girls
Teaching. I love to give workshops, meet the people and learn what draws them to art.
Exploring new places, beaches, towns, gardens, etc.

5 things I would never wear
this one is easy there are many fashion nightmares I would never inflict on the public.They would be a moving violation

1-a bikini, When I was younger I may have had the figure, but let's be honest, I am thirty five years old, and gave birth twice, I am not a gym bunny. No bikini for me.
2-black tights with white shoes, or skirt. Just plain wrong ,wrong ,wrong on anyone.
3-tulle skirts, I most certainly am not a ballerina, not a fairy princess, not a small child or even Cary from Sex in the City.
4-the snow beast dress.
5-baby doll pajamas

5 tv shows that I like

Crossing Jordan
Law and Order
Investigative Reports
Cold Case Files
CSI

anyone detect a trend...

5 movies that I like

Mona Lisa Smile
Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood
10 things I hate about you
Chocolat- and most other movies that Johnny Depp is in
In the Name of the Rose

5 Famous people that I would like to meet

For this question we have to assume that I have the powers of time travel.

1- Marie Curie- I believe she was a fascinating woman, a leader among women for her time. Her Research and life's work is an invaluable foundation to modern Chemistry. I could definately do cocktails with her.
2-Grace Kelly- The epitome of style, and Grace under pressure.
3- Leonardo daVinci- pure brilliance
4- Dr. Martin Luther King jr.- I am sure this needs no explanation
5- Pierre Trudeau- because he is, was, and always will be my politaical superstar.

5 biggest joys in my life

Stating the obvious as always my kids are number one they have brought to me the most satisfying experiences in my life. They teach me patience, and humility. They inspire me to create, and they make me laugh. watching them grow continues to be the greatest joy in my life.

2 Art- because it is where the artist was
3 Friendship- I am blessed with some very good friends. A small group of diverse people who all add some vital thread to the tapestry of my life. I know how freakin sappy is THAT.
4 My work- creating makes me whole
5 Books- all kinds of books, when we stop learning, we stop living. Reading is a major pathway to education and communication.

5 favorite toys
My Husqvarna Sewing machine.
My pottery wheel
My cocktail shaker
My blender (slushy drinks are good too)
My computer

Well as they say, that's all she wrote.
ciao lizzie

Definately Blog Fodder, says Joe...

For those in the know, this crazy Maritimer has been up to her a** in studio renovation. Because two craft shows, three weeks as artist in residence to prepare for, two kids to feed, guests arriving on Thursday from Ontario, sitting as chair of the NB Crafts Council, and volunteering for the Fredericton area AIDS Walk aren't nearly enough for one little lizzie to do.
Lord help me, I decided it was time to end the procrastination and just DO the studio.
I no longer have a potters wheel in my Kitchen. I have all parts to my paragon kiln attached together, just waiting for Bill to connect the power. The insulation that the EVER LOVIN BRILLIANT SUPERSTAR (who is now my ex husband) installed in 1996, is now neatly covered with plastic. Thank you Scotty for the loan of your staple hammer- oh and the fine beer. MMMM Beer.
But I digress.
The studio was amazing. no really. In tearing out the frighteningly Horrid cobbled together crap that was the shelving and workbench deathtrap -er, I mean lovely fine furniture installed by my beloved darling.. I realized two things.

1. During the early 1990's I was possessd by evil aliens. This, after many years of pondering is the only reason I could possibly fatham for having been attracted to, married and yes folks -Bred with, Lord Farqquad. All other reasons just seem so entirely out of line. Aliens it is, no arguments. Sick little bastards and thier experiments!

2. I can trace the power tool purchases by furniture ( and I use that term loosely) construction in the studio. The cordless drill in particular. Just how many drywall screws can one man use to screw one end of a shelf down, you ask? I can answer that, it is ten, because if you do that then you can use only one finishing, and/ or roofing nail to hold the other end down. No really. Honest, I have seen it. Oh, and shelving should always be made from recycled 100 year old floor joists, cause it is important that the shelves live on into eternity with the cockroaches and cabbage, even though it is perfectly fine to cut a ROOF TRUSS to create storage for your various and sundry CRAP including such things as cardboard boxes and abandoned skis belonging to your siblings who live in California.
Anyone in the market for a pair of Ancient Rossignols? how about equally ancient telemark boots.
I love my ex husband, I want to marry him all over again. Maybe he could renovate the bathroom for me, whatta ya think Kate???? want to be my maid of honour? I will dust off the snow beast dress -yet more proof of alien possession, cause who the f**k in their right mind would wear that much polyester satin, lace and sparkles (not to mention the bloody crinoline) in JULY!!! or ever for that matter.
The end result of the weekend spent gutting the studio is this:
I have located several of the things that are absolutely necessary for survival including my purple juice jug, the lid to my gravy shaker, cheesecake pans and some handmade pottery mugs. Popsicle molds and ice cube trays. Yes Kate I do own them apparently, no more need for bagged ice. we can now have heart and star shaped ice in our girly drinks. suddenly a g&t sounds so good.
I have a workable space in which to create pottery to my hearts content, until winter hits then I need heat. minor detail, can definately be fixed.
My kitchen is yet again full of boxes for me to sort and toss from.
I need the flylady to visit NOW my studio is lovely, the house not so much. it is definately a vicious cycle.
gotta go now, joe is emailing me about the Gaelic song.
tata for now,
Lizzie

Back in the land of the living, I think

Wow has life been BUSY here at the Homestead. I hadn't realised how long it has been since the last time I blogged. So much has happened and the days have been running fast and furiously into one another. I have hardly had time to spit! but what to blog about??? I have been designing like crazy inside my head, setting up my studio, weaving and spinning at the Highland games, and preparing for the next festival in Fredericton on labour day weekend. My life is filled with needs to get done and my days are only 24 hours long. sigh.
Kate tagged me a while back so my next post will be the results of the tagging incident. I need to attend the liquor selling place and then answer it. these things just cannot be done sober.I will update y'all on the design process as soon as it is in physical form. I am currently attempting to merge fiber and clay. hmmmmm. how to get there? we shall see how it goes. cheers all. will write again soon. lizzie

solstice party photos. we all had fun. some of us even had more fun!

poppa will do in a pinch

jon and the parade of children 

jon find's his inner??? child

Nicole and mama 

mira's solstice international weirdo costume 

the boy filling the pool one jug at a time... 

Procrastination, inspiration, and motivation

Procrastinating is what seems to be my greatest feat of late. I have come to a point where I need to start making giant steps in designing kits to sell, product to sell and getting some of my own art done. I have managed in the last month to get product into the gallery in Queenstown, and have done a little looking about for venues here in Freddy. Today there will be no knitting.it is 35 degrees here and dead humid air. no breeze.and I have been dealing with my tres dysfunctional family this week.nice.
Well just got off the phone with the one who is less dysfunctional, and 2000 miles away hmmmm, correlation I think maybe....
But really next week will be more about the knitting, dyeing, spinning etc.

Solstice,Full moon,family

well what can I say? As kate the oddball knitter pointed out not even an hour ago I haven't posted in a week. I wanted to post ,yet this week knitting is the last thing on my mind. SO BEAR WITH ME, It ain't pretty.
It isn't that I have forgotton, it is just that this week has been for me a lttle overwhelming. I come from what in the sixties and seventies was an odd family. We pioneered the stepfamily. We made it through (all of us kids). we have the battle scars to prove it. JUST to let you know beforehand, I'd take a bullet for each and every one of them, the whole siblings, the half siblings and those who are the products of subsequent unions/previous unions on both sides.. The Brady Bunch was fiction, trust me it is a whole lot harder in real life.Besides we beat em any way, there are seven of us. (and then most of us bred...)
So needless to say knitting? not so much. Martinis? yes why yes indeed there have been a few.
My niece graduated this week from high school, awesome kid. She will be heading off to NY state in November to work as an au pair, and attend classes subject to be determined. I am sooooo gonna miss her being around. the kids in our family are great, its the parents we need to worry about!!! but seriously it is over now. god bless.
We all had a great little solstice party though! Kate, Jackie, Bill, Jon and I and all appropriate children except Kate's gathered at my place. We drank to the summer and to each other. I'll post the pictures later!
Lizzie

String Fever

Well the gallery shift is over, passed rather quickly if I do say so. I was in very good company the whole time. The artists in residence this week were Elizabeth Bastin, rug hooker extraordinaire, and Denise Richard with her fantasic felt products. She is making some great stuff.
Elizabeth I have known for a few years and she does lovely hooked rugs, and is kind, sweet and always bakes cookies for her residency. Yesterday they were brown sugar-raisin (YUM!!!)
Denise is the new kid in town, I am thrilled to have her around. BC"s loss is definately New Brunswick's gain. Denise's felted work is on the edge for sure. She has upholstered jellyfish stools, sea urchin ottoman, little organic looking pod hand bags, flower napkin rings, the stuff is WILD. Kate got one, just for showing up with extra coffee. Some girls have all the luck. sigh........
I would post pictures but, kate is the one with the camera, I have to get her to go back and snap the pics. I am sure she will post one of her napkin ring. The summer here in fredericton is so culturally alive, it is great inspiration time, the community grows and crawls out of their collective caves to produce out of doors.
Within the Historic Garrison District we have the York Sunbury Museum which houses String Fever Textiles Gallery, a non profit collective gallery, and workshop/residency series. Along the way we have the casemates, summer shops and studios where various artists and craftspeople make and peddle their wares. This is such a fantastic opportunity for exposure for our artistic community. We have summer music festivals, and film festivals theatre stuff goes on in the park and the tannery square. We are blessed with some of the finest musicians and craftspeople in the country. I love freddy.It is definately a great place to be.

Feltin' Fool

Sunday morning 10:00 and I have accomplished more today than I imagined was possible. Nothin like a deadline to light a fire under you. I am under the gun for gallery stock, and have my first volunteer shift on Tuesday. Things are really moving forward and I am most definitely in shock. I can actually see the top surface of my kitchen table. All of it. I forgot how much I liked it. My pottery wheel is not currently hosting a pile of merino roving, my dishwasher is loaded and the counter is clean. I am on the downhill slide of my second pot o yarn on the stove, have the next batch ready to go, have fed India and Mira pancakes, and drank two -count em TWO cups of coffee.
I love sleepovers. It's a win win situation. the kids feel like they won the lotto, and the grown ups Know that they have. The girls have built a fort in the backyard, watched movies, played monkey and generally been the perfect little darlings that only appear when separated from siblings. I am sur Jackie feels the same way at her house. We should do this kid swap more often. For the first time in weeks I have hung up the referee shirt!
As we all know I have been knitting yardage on Trish's machine and felting it to make handbags this week. I have some lovely soft pink and a variegated merino to work on, they both have made smashing fabrics. But I can't seem to stop imagining the next and the next and the next after that. It is now officially an obsession. Yesterday I found myself knitting frantically at the folk concert in the park trying to get yet another bag ready for washing last night, My beer actually got warm in the glass while knitting at rye's deli, and I was awake at 4 am itching to pick up the needles. It should be a productive week if this continues! I have scrounged my stash and come up with several pounds of off white Scottish wool that is screaming for a dye and felt job. I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Add to that some lovely lace weight merino that really wants to be a lace shawl and I have the week tied right up! so much fiber, so little time.

d; 

All in a Day's Work

roving

What a day! for someone who is no longer holding down the super stressful day job, I'm certainly not having a hard time filling time. It seems that the old adage about closing a door certainly is true. I wasn't out of my office 24 hours before the opportunities came a knockin'. I am doing two, and possibly even three artist in residence gigs this summer, and have two galleries wanting my stuff. a smart girl would panic, but not me, I am either not bright enough to figure out that I have 2 months worth of work to do in 10 days or I have faith that my good old protestant work ethic will have the stamina to make it through. But seriously, I am making some real progress getting things done.
I was up and at em this morning first thing, and yarns in tow, made it to Trish's to knit yardage before ten oclock. I have made a considerable dent in the stash, and been having a ball designing bags. After knitting all morning Kate and I had a marathon photo shoot in my yard, WOW. She made me haul stuff out that I haven't seen in ages, and how good was THAT for my ego! I hardly had a moment to think, she was whippin' stuff on and off of the table, hangin stuff off the fence and generally just flying through it. It was so satisfying to get those photos and be able to say "I did that" that is my work, my design, and I can certainly be proud of it.
So I have posted a few of them for you guys to all see. It was exhausting but there it is, I now have photos of it all.
I have to run, must prepare kits and product for pickup on the 20th. And get stuff to "hand work" stage for my gallery shift on Tuesday. Ta Ta.
Lizzie

p; 

work work work; 

Kate went camera crazy 

martini girls 

The Gagetown Wrap up

martini sheep
We never actually got a picture of Kate with her martini so this lovely sheep will stand in for her. The Fibre festival was fun, lots of interest in everything we were doing. And lots of fibre fondling.
The sun was hot, the company was good, and the lunch was FANTASTIC. Diane's potato salad RULES. I have to be honest, I have never travelled with a more organized bunch of people in my life. Everyone was on time, all supplies were present, and everyone was in a great and positive mood. I will roadtrip with those three anytime. oops I mean four -Onslow the dog was with us too. Just picture us will ya? Four grown women, one midsize dog, enough fiber and dying equipment to sink a small battleship and a cooler full of food. All piled in to Trish's Subaru and off we went.
Set up and activities went fairly smoothly for the most part. There was one small incident of a sheep escaping first thing in the morning, but Barb and Norm managed to chase the little bugger down fairly efficiently and all was well after that.
Kate had some great and wonderful interest in her needle felting-- no big surprise there. Her work is so beautiful, and she is such a good instructor. Our token boy fibre junkie arrived and was spinning and weaving along with us, it was so great that James could come, he is a photo tech in the Airforce and has been posted to Alberta so it was our last hang out time before he packs up the wife and kid for parts west.
We had a wonderful surprise spinner show up, My dear friend Liz came by with her wheel and her lovely partner Fenton. She was sprung from the Oncology Ward in St. John for the weekend, and joined us for most of the day. After wards Trish Kate and I defragged over a raspberry martini on Kate's step, and decided we sure could do it again next year. Bigger and better.

Fiber option 05 

When Katie Met Lizzie or Close Encounters of the Oddball Kind.

Well everyone I am back. Did y'all miss me? first off let me tell you all just how much I Love the cable guys. Internets at home, digital cable and high speed connection. I can talk to Kate and surf the net while the electronic babysitter entertains the younguns!
Of course the first thing I did online was check Kate's blog. As usual I was snorting and giggling away, wiping the tears from my eyes and trying not to pee myself. Thinking to myself, "Damn is she ever funny in writing!"
Wait a minute. She is just plain funny period. While checking out the comments section I noticed her newest blog commenter felt the same way. My immediate thought was "If you think she's funny in writing, you should meet her live and in person." Believe me it is quite an experience!
No really.
I met her approximately 3 1/2 years ago and I am still not totally sure I have recovered. I swear to all the God's and Goddesses, this is the absolute truth about our first meeting. I will never forget it so long as I live.

Picture this.
April 2002

There I was just puttering around the house, feeling a bit restless and missing my own true love who was visiting his folks in England. The house was quiet, but for the sounds of CBC radio in the background. I was pondering my next sewing project, contemplating rearranging the furniture, and .........(phone rings)

L: Hello?
K: You're not one of those freaks that doesn't feed her kids sugar are you?
L: Umm, uh, ah, .....no? (no clue who I am talking to)
K: Thank god whatta ya take in your coffee?Cause I 'm assuming you do drink coffee.
L: (meekly with some bewilderment) Double- double but...
K: Right. I'm at the timmie's drive through, oh S**T, gotta go.
dial tone
L:(hanging up the phone, with a somewhat stunned look on my face) I began to panic. A stranger is coming to my house with sugar.
And coffee.
At least I think she is. But really, who could be sure?
Knocking sounded at the front door. I look wildly around me. The house is a mess (not really messy, but this is a stranger! my house is definately not stranger clean.) What'll I do??? What if it is school and family association people. What if it's the church people from down the street, damn I knew I should have just gone to church more......
Again with the knocking
So I did what all sane (?) 32 year old women who are expecting strange women bearing coffee and sugar, who may or may not be the school and family association and the minister's wife, and hell while we're at it Martha Stewart, and the fashion police.
I pasted a perfectly lovely (tr: somewhat frantic and slightly pannicked) smile on my face, and swung open the door to greet .....
K: Hi , can't stay long, nice place (dumps a twenty pack of timbits on the coffee table, heads for kitchen) don't eat those they're for the kids here's your coffee, promised D I would stop in to see you while he's gone so here I am. Can only stay a minute, what's your schedule? I'll pick you up tomorrow we're going to Debbie's to hash out this wedding gown thing. You are helping right? Thought so. See you at tenish. I'll get the coffee on the way. Gotta go. Bye. (walks out the back door, lights a cigarette waves at me up over her head, and heads on down the drive to her little civic and drives away)
L: so that is D's friend Kate. This should be interesting...........
and it definately has been.

newest bag 

the paparazzi 

She'll be back....

Hi, guest editor Kate here...

Liz is temporarily off the air. She making a move to pursue dying, spinning and et ceterea on a full time basis and is waiting for internet installation at home which would give me just a beautiful launching pad for yet another tirade on why Aliant, the local phone service company in this part of the world, just totally sucks in stereo but this isn't my 'blog so I'll keep my comments to the fact that the cable guy will more than likely install her internet connection on time on Wednesday. Which is way more than you'd be able to say about the plods at the phone company. Damn, that was so restrained, I think I twisted something.

In any event, the point of this column is to tell you that she's still with us all and this blog will continue to be updated, even if it's by me.

Have a great day everyone; thanks for stopping by.

Singin The Blues

In honour of the blue feelings about my pub and in honour of the two fine musicians who share them. Matt Fitzgerald, and Mike Doherty. I can't play the blues like you guys so I give to you my version of the blues.

It Really is a Small World

For those of you who don't know Freddy, it's a small town. We have approximately 40000 people. I think I know 90% of them, and the minute I decide I have met someone new, I discover I know their mother, brother, sister or husband. It really is a small town. And in the way of all small towns, people care. Case in point: our local watering hole.
For the past several years we have frequented a fine little pub by the name of McPail's Taproom. The proprietor of this excellant establishment being Scotty. We love Scotty, he is like kin to us. The bar staff know us and can pour what we want without us asking, in our own personal steins. They know that India never gets black pop, no matter what and that Kate seldom drinks more than one Irish Red, but often will have a couple of good single malts. Recently our pub was ruined. Through some very odd circumstances the pub changed hands, Scott and the gang stayed on, but it is all wrong.The atmosphere is strained the regulars aren't coming back, and the bar has been renovated -badly. The new owners don't understand their patrons and the patrons are leaving. in droves.
I have to point out that this particular pub was one of a dying breed. There was no TV, it didn't serve food, but you could order in, you could bring your dog, your kids and your knitting. We have celebrated engagements, marriages, and births there. We have cried a few tears there, and we have shared many laughs, loves, and friendships there. We have greeted new friends and said goodbye to old friends, accompanied by fine microbrew, and good single malts. The floorboards were worn, the chairs a bit rickety but it was home.
Yesterday, I went in to the pub and hung out with Barry the bartender, we ordered in supper, and shot the shit for a few hours. Two more ofthe old regulars stopped in for a minute, and had their beer elsewhere. Near closing time they came back to share the walk home. We sat and chatted about the situation, four of us looking around the place where we used to feel at home. The conversation was deep and the subject was our feelings about the pub, and the situation Sipping a beer, acknowledging that it will never be the same again. It is the end of an era. I looked at the guys and thought, where do we go from here?

rovings  

SHEEP THRILLS

Winding yarn for Kate
Herself the cheif dipper at lizzies Yarns. Not the best photo Ever taken of me but, not the worst either. The sweater I am wearing was made by my friend Barb Telford at Woodsmoke Woolworks. It was one of my favourite Christmas pressies this year. Right up there with my cocktail Shaker/bar set and corresponding recipe book that my children gave me. Note to self always send kate's husband Xmas shopping with the kids. He is not so bad. Actually according to my eleven year old son he is the best thing about Kate. who knew.

Kate's Martini

the stash
I have to say that the evening was a hoot. Kate came over toting her camera, and photographed a weeks worth of dyeing. and made herself a raspberry martini. My Kitchen table was covered with yarn and rovings as you can see. I guess when you dye two or three pots at a time it adds up. I am getting better organized every day and things are smoothing out and becoming easier. I now have a huge selection of photographs that I can blog nad use to flog may yarns.
Problem of the day?? need more yarns. We have been waiting and waiting and waiting for our mohair boucle, and it is nowhere to be found. The slubby that I have already done is great but we need some variety. It was hard enough to decide which yarns to order in the first place, and to know what people will want in the end. Lets face it we are not marketing to the average knitter who shops wall mart for the bargain yarns. I am looking towards the true fibre junkies. I know they are out there I just need to tap into them and give them the variety I know they want. Currently I have the slubby, merino rovings, and finn rovings. I have dyed some merino yarns for Barb Telford and some silks from my personal stash but I think developing a personal line will be an ongoing process of supply and demand. I just need to create the demand. Well time to go see what is going on in the laundry room. hoping the faeries have completed the million pounds of laundry while I have been blogging. What are the chances?????
laters
Lizzie

technology, Who Knew?????/

Yesterday I ventured down to York Street, and dropped off the rovings and merino to Trish. While there Barb showed us how to use the knitting machine. Wow. I am so impressed. Here I was trying desperately to make up sample bags to showcaes my yarns slogging away for hours and hours and hours(I knit very slowley)to make little hand bags that I felt anyway, when lo and behold, you can knit the damned things in ten minutes. I love technology. I gotta get me a knitting machine. Well maybe I'll just use Barb or Trish's, since really i don't knit all that much, I am first and foremost a weaver, and currently a dyer. Besides where would i put a knitting machine in my house, perhaps on top of thepottery wheel in my kitchen?
But seriously, I have been getting more and more organised and have I believe got this dye at night thing well underway. I have a bunch of rovings to do tonight, and am home with a sick kid today so there is a pot of Briggs and Little simmering on the stove, just got off phone from Trish and she sold a bunch of Merino last night!! yay!
It is sure a whole lot easier to believe that we are doing the right thing when people have started buying. I am having fun doing it but fun only takes ya so far. I hope to get some bags made possibly this weekend while the kiddies are away. And then there will be stock to sell yay! We will se just how that goes. I have to attend a wedding dance on Friday evening so who knows how the rest of the weekend will go. Me and two girlfriends that grew up on the same street, always a fun combination!
Add to that a bunch of relatives from the Miramichi and it can only be a good party. Well cheers all I must now run off to check my bags that are felting and the yarn that is a simmering.
Lizzie

autumn yummies

more yummies