Well, you’ve all probably heard the Canadian election results… and the subsequent outrage. What’s done is done, but I can’t help feeling sick to my stomach. So, here is a little pick-me-up: FO reports!

First up: Yuletide Gnome [rav link] Pattern by Alan Dart, published by Simply Knitting Magazine (UK). I knit it from Simply Knitting’s Christmas Gifts Extra! booklet.

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I haven’t been crafting much (besides the knitting I blogged about) but I have been attending craft fairs and purchasing locally-made goodies.

First, there was Circle Craft Christmas Market at the new Vancouver Convention Centre West from November 17-21. I bought some tasty treats from Milsean Shoppe (that are already gone), some butter toffee from Sweet Truth, and some wine jelly from Lone Willow Enterprises. Read more about the drool-worthy Gourmet Alley on the Circle Craft blog (my post).

I also made two large purchases. I bought a gorgeous fused and sand-blasted beach glass clock from Illuminati Glassworks:

I asked the artist at Illuminati how it was made so that I could explain to anyone who admired it. Basically, there are three ways to make glass — hot, fused, and cold. Hot glass is molten (like the glassblowing I did last year), cold is like stained glass, and fused is a medium-heat in an oven/kiln. This clock was made by fusing the small blue pieces of glass to the large clear piece. The blue pieces were then sand-blasted to give them a matte look.

And a silver hand-cast ring from Redearth Spirit Jewellery‘s Gloria Valencia. It is drop dead gorgeous! I fell in love with the swirl and the silver-pearl and the little rose with leaves down the band as soon as I picked it up. Unfortunately, when I tried in on on Thursday, it didn’t fit, so I put it down and walked away.

I went back to Gloria’s booth the next day to talk to her. I wanted to see if it would be possible to stretch the ring just a half-size or something. I figured my ring size was an 8 and it was just a little too snug and wouldn’t go on my finger all the way (I need to wear it on my ring finger on the ‘wrong’ hand).

When I returned on the Saturday, Gloria had managed to stretch the ring a little and it slipped right on my finger, like a dream! Without even taking it off, I reached for my wallet and handed her my credit card. I am so happy — I’ve only taken it off once or twice since. Gloria was almost as excited as I was; she said she was working on it last night “tink tink tink” trying to stretch it. (I even love that you can see the tool marks too.)

On Saturday (November 27), my knitter friend Vicki was participating in the Steveston Craft Fair. I wasn’t expecting it to be so huge and we certainly didn’t allot enough time to properly see everything.

Rachel, who went with me, was just browsing, but I had a list. I wanted to get handmade Christmas cards for specific people (as I knew I’d not have enough time to make any myself).

I was so happy to find The Cat’s Meow Greeting Cards. Such cute and lovely designs. Also, she was having a 2-for-1 sale in the last hour of the craft fair!

My only complaint is that I didn’t have any milky pens to write on the darker-based cards (the inside is too dark for black pens).

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This weekend is jam-packed with craft fairs too. I still have a number of people to shop for, and several home décor items for the new apartment.Also on Saturday I’m going to Vancouver’s inaugural German Christmas Market downtown.

Friday & Saturday (December 3 & 4) — Toque 2010: Print & Paper Edition
Saturday & Sunday (December 4 & 5) — Portobello West’s Holiday Market (pt. 2)
Sunday (December 5) — Got Craft? Holiday Edition

The craftiness continues next week(end) too: One-of-a-Kind Vancouver is on from December 9-12 where I’ve signed up for a free sewing salon, and Shiny Fuzzy Muddy 11 on December 11 & 12.

I don’t recall when I first heard about Got Craft?, but I was so busy during November that I didn’t get a chance to check out their holiday market. So when the date for their Spring show was set (today, Sunday, May 2, 2010) I marked it in my iCal and committed myself to going.

When our group of local knitters started talking about going early for swag bags (first 30 people in line get free swag bags)… I knew I wasn’t that kinda crazy. 8:00 am on a Sunday morning does not exist in my mind, thankyouverymuch. I’m just waiting for yarnpiggy and MrsQuimby to blog about their lovely swag. Unfortunately some of the others in the crazyearly camp didn’t make it quite early enough.

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What a Yarn!

There’s one love that we all share: yarn. Blog about a particular yarn you have used in the past or own in your stash, or perhaps one that you covet from afar. If it is a yarn you have used you could show the project that you used it for, perhaps writing a mini ‘review’. Perhaps, instead, you pine for the feel of the almost mythical qiviut? You could explore and research the raw material and manufacturing process if you were feeling investigative.

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This weekend (May 1 & 2) is Make It! Vancouver at the Croatian Cultural Centre. Make It describes themselves “like a mullet; craft show in the front, party in the back!” I’ve been following their Twitter and their Vancouver blog for a few weeks and was really excited when I won 2 tickets to Make It! from Vancouver Is Awesome.

Wandering around indie craft fairs always makes me 1. wanna make stuff and 2. wanna launch my business. I love wandering around, chatting with crafty people and hopefully finding that special item that screams, “I wanna come home with you!!”

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