Crochet Bowl project, Sedona Artist Market and more

 As I mentioned in my previous post, I have begun experimenting with making yarn bowls, using the same cord for a foundation that I use in my fabric wrapped bowls.  After trying the wrapping method, I decided to try a crochet design, and find that I can do these without too much pain in my shoulder.  This is the first one I made:

I love the shape, and it was a good first effort, encouraging me to make more.  But somehow, the next few efforts were not coming out right and I ended up ripping them out and finally changed the yarn to a blue and brown worsted variegated yarn, and made a small adjustment to the pattern I was following.  Here's the pot in progress:

I actually thought I was done when I got to this point and put it aside to work on something else.  But

I had a feeling I wanted to do something more to it.  This morning, I decided to break out some of my "Homespun" yarn, which has been in my stash for quite awhile.  But I love the copper color, and thought it would enhance the look of the pot if I wrapped it around the exposed rope for a few rows.  Here it is now:

I'm pretty sure I'm done now, but I'm going to give it another day or two to be sure I don't get

further inspiration!

Meanwhile, I'm ramping up now to put some of my inventory in Sedona Artist Market at the end of this month, and I'm really excited about the opportunity!  I'm busy dyeing rayon Ruana jackets 

                      

and gathering some of my coiled fabric bowls together.  I bought a new clothing rack:

This is just right to display my jackets, along with some of my rayon tunic tops and Easy breezy dresses!  And I have a small baker's rack  for displaying some of my coiled rope bowls:

Here is one I finished recently using fabric I dyed with the "Desert Sky" colors I used for the jacket above: 

These colors make me think of the bright blue sky with wisps of clouds and the glorious sunsets we get here in Arizona!  I also used these colors to dye some scarves for my friend Jana to add to her Red Front Door Store inventory, which is open now online:

You can find her e-commerce site here.  We're getting together later this week so I can give her the scarves, along with some others, to add to my collection that she is offering on her site.  Love friends who collaborate!

My next post, I should have photos of the displays at Sedona Artist Market, and I will share those along with (hopefully) pix of yet another variation I have come across for making hand sewn bowls... never a dull moment, and always more things to try!

Lastly, I am happy to announce that Bruce and I will be getting our first Covid-19 vaccines tomorrow, and I'm so glad!  Hopefully, this will give us the added security of knowing we are a little safer from this horrible pandemic, and maybe we can venture out a little more often, once we have both doses and wait the prescribed time after the second dose.  Something to look forward to this year!  Stay safe, all...

New Camera, New bowl technique, New opportunity, Passing the baton

 Well, as I mentioned in my last post, I wanted to try getting back into doing some video tutorials, but the camera I was using bombed on me.  So we found another one (lovingly used) and I gave it a test drive with a video tutorial on how to Drizzle Dye a silk scarf:

You can view it HERE

It was fun to make, so I hope to do more in the future.

On another note - I belong to a group on Facebook for bowl makers, and someone posted a photo of a yarn wrapped bowl... a technique I have tried in the past, but was never able to get the hang of it.  All I could find was written instructions with illustrations, and I just didn't get it!  But the gal who posted the photo said to look for videos on youtube, and sure enough, I found 2 that got me started.  Here's my first attempt:

It's a start, but I wanted to keep going, so I started a second one - this uses cord like I use for my fabric bowls, and I decided to try a smaller diameter:

I really like how this one looks, but alas!  The wrapping of the yarn is a repetitive motion, and I  have an old shoulder injury that has flared up as a result, so I can't work very long on this without experiencing pain in the shoulder!  So for now, this one is on the back burner.  I'm also looking at tutorials on how to crochet bowls, since I do like to do simple crochet projects.  I will post updates if I get time to give that a try.

On the Opportunity front: My friend Cinde, the amazing bead artist, and I will be going to Sedona next Friday to check out Sedona Artist Market, a possible new venue for selling our work!  I will post more about that soon.

On another note, I have been co-managing Arts Connection Gallery at Flagstaff Mall for nearly a year now... a year of challenges - being shut down for 3 months by Covid-19; struggling to re-open with about half the number of artists, as so many were concerned about being in public and contracting the virus; re-opening first for 3 days a week, then 4, 5, and finally 7 days a week with artists working 5 to 7 shifts during the last 3 months to keep our doors open.  It's been extremely challenging, time  consuming, rewarding but a real drain on my energy.  So I have given notice that I will be rolling of at the end of February, and one of our talented Watercolor Artists, Catherine Sickafoose, has agreed to step in.  I will still be showing/selling my work at Arts Connection, but if I add Sedona Artists' Market as a venue, that will mean a need to increase my production time and available inventory, so it's shaping up to be a busy year so far!  And with that, it's time to head to the studio and get started!  Stay tuned...😉