Getting Ready for a Strawberry Tea... (Preparing for special auction to benefit Breast Cancer awareness)

A group of us are making up a few items to auction off to benefit Breast Cancer Care.

So many of us have been touched by cancer of one kind or another. As we all know it's important to do a little something now and again to help those in need. After chatting with a few of my friends who also create beautiful items we decided to run a little auction. Link to the online event.

This is one of the items that I have made for the auction....

A woven jute square with crocheted edges.

I tied the corners up with bright red coarse wool and added a heart.

White spotty heart as made by JellyBean Home Gifts

 This is the finished basket. 

5x5x1.25inches. 

Ideal for keys, buttons, change, and other small bits and bobs.

Finished little basket.

 If you'd like to see other trinket baskets and scarves I've been making pop over to LoomyBin. I have lots of lovely woven items to inspire and delight.

Glorious Day (A peek at the weaving on my loom)

view from the left (I had stopped at the second bead at the last picture)

View from the right. (Two more big beads added and a string of small seed beads)

The 'whole' as completed so far.

 To see more of my work pop over to LoomyBin.

June 1st B is for.... (Beads, Blue and Beginnings)

I just started working on another bright piece with beads.
I love beads...little shimmery bits catching and reflecting light which you can hold in your hand...

I'm going to call this scarf Glorious Day; bright sun in the turquoise blue sky.

To see more of my work pop into LoomyBin; I love to meet new people.

May 27th and 28th Can't Live Without and What You're Doing Right Now

There's a lot in this picture, as a weaver, I cannot live without...well, I could ;) but these items make my life easier.
Loom- love piece of golden wood with a reddish tinge
Apron- made from bright red cotton canvas..this is my second one as the first one I made wasn't quite right
Tape Measure- fibre glass and flexible so I can wrap it around with the scarf on weaving
Strings- in this case lovely super soft cotton in bright colors
As a weaver all of these things have become essential to my practice. They make the process one of enjoyment and an expression of joy and relaxation.

I'm still weaving this in between playing Lego, cleaning, taping, gluing, FBing, twitter, blogging, planning, doing laundry, doing dishes, wiping bottoms, turning off lights that have been turned on... I'm a little behind ;)

To check out some of my other woven items pop over to LoomyBin

May 24th GO (for a walk)

This week I've been out with the girls enjoying the sunshine and weather. We've had lots of mini adventures before and after nursery doing things usually kept for non-school days.
My favorite was when we went for a walk in the woods. I love the way light filters through the leaves on even overcast days...

May 22nd Change

A wish for change

Every penny can help

It does not always happen by itself

May 21st I Care About This (finding a cure for -SMA -Spinal Muscular Atrophy)

We all know life is amazing. We’ve heard it a million times. Whether you see it through the miracle of religion or science it is a wondrous mystery. And it is brought all the clearer to focus when you get a glimpse into other lives.  Life is so diverse and so filled with strength of character which those experiencing it often see as so little while the rest of shake our heads and cannot help but admire...

There is an illness called SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). It is the number one genetic killer of young children. One in every 40 people unknowingly carries the gene responsible for SMA. Researchers estimate that in as little as 5 years a viable treatment or cure could be found if sufficient resources are provided.

I donate some of the profits from the items I weave to help fund research through the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation (GSF) because to me this is a cause worth fighting.  This is because my friends the Zahn family - Barb, Noel, and little Lucy - are battling with type 1 SMA (the most severe) daily.

Lucy’s parents are what I think of as ‘extreme’ parents. Extreme parents are parents/ guardians of special kids.  They are extreme parents because they are pushed to the edge of the parenting spectrum. They have to deal daily with circumstances most cannot comprehend. They have to make decisions for their dear ones which are scary and nearly surreal for parents on the other end of the spectrum.  I have come in contact with a number of other families with children with disabilities, from fairly light to acute and many of them are extreme parents. I am always amazed at how similar, and very different at the same time, our worries are.  I want to say a very heartfelt ‘hurrah’ and ‘I’m with you’ (as much as I can be) to those of you who daily are out there fighting the ultimate battles for your loves.  Just like you I will ‘Never Give Up’ in my hope of finding the cures needed. My support and my admiration of you and your children will never cease.

I urge everyone to find a cause dear to your own heart and fight the good fight for it. No one may ever thank you personally, but the thanks will be those that were whispered by the mind of people who were in great need; your extra strength allowed them to get through to another day.

If you'd like to see some of the scarves I'm selling to help the cause come over to LoomyBin.

May 20th Light

This picture is a picture about light in so many ways.
If I had not met my husband...
moved to Wales...
I never would had found Tintern Abbey...
in the beautiful Wye Valley...
(where the light always seems to bend a certain way and seems to caress the cheek...)
I also never would have had that dancer of light and laughter...
And then there is the glorious sun, again, pouring across time and space...
This picture is the essence of light for me; it fills me with a glowing that brims and overflows.


Please feel free to pop over to LoomyBin and have a look at the weaving I also do.

May 17th Season (Spring)

I love looking out in the garden. There are so many different Spring flowers growing. Often it's flowers that inspire me the most because of their beautiful colors, shapes and textures.


Here's a few flowers from my garden which may inspire you.

If you want to see some of my scarves inspired by flower pop over to LoomyBin

May 15th 7 O'clock (weaving while they watch)

This is the project on the loom today.

I always love when the light comes in from the windows and through the reed onto the strings... So while the kids watch their morning TV... I took some pictures.

For more weaving pictures or to see the scarves I've woven up come over to LoomyBin.

May14th Need (more Blue)

There's lots of things I need... sleep, time, money for me and to give away, a cure for SMA and child illnesses, string... but in the long run what I always need is more Blue.
This is code for me needing more love, light, inspiration, patience and beauty in my life. I often feel at a loss when my life gets caught up in the 'everyday.' I begin longing for things I cannot have or will take too long to accomplish. I know we all feel like this sometimes. It's a matter of finding a little something which gets us through the day and keeps us holding on until the time is right to do more. It's blue things for me... 

So here, for you, I have a little more blue with the hope that you can find those things that you really need too. x

Blue of the sky accented by the red leaves

More blue weedy flowers

If you want to see some more blue things which inspire:
http://pinterest.com/LoomyBinScarves/

Or pop over to LoomyBin to see some of my scarves and handwoven items.