The Maker's Hand

The past two Novembers I have participated in a local juried craft show--- The Maker's Hand. This November I’ll be at it again.

I have considered this event to be my "creative mental health break". I really do love my day job! I love working with yarn, playing with colours, swatching new stitch patterns, applying new techniques and coming up with design ideas. Often I do not care for drafting patterns, doing the math for grading (multi- sizing) a garment and explaining in words how to do things... the stuff I consider non-creative.

The Maker's Hand gives me an opportunity to just be creative. Each year I have made wearable felted items--- bags, scarves and hats. No two pieces are the same. This is my only restriction!! I started playing with felting more than five years ago just for the selfish fun of it. Making things first for me and then for friends and family. I enjoyed creating things I would no longer be responsible for after the making and the giving.

When designing patterns for others, the "responsibility" carries on long after the inspired design is concocted, garment knit, instructions written, instructions edited, garment photographed and pattern published. There is the unfortunate and dreaded “oops” that needs to be dealt with, the questioning about a pattern that appeared in a magazine fifteen years earlier and/or the inevitable right brain- left brain confusion some patterns create. As well, due to deadlines and assorted “work crap”, it is sometimes easy to loose the fun when you create for a living.

The first weekend in November provides me the opportunity to sustain my colourful, yarnie joy…please visit if you can and say hello.