WIP “Prairie Sky – Cirrus” wall hanging.

People sometimes ask me what took me so long to actually sell my work and start a business?  The answer, as with most things in life, is complicated.

I’ve been absorbed and immersed in fibre most of my life, from a very young age.  Learning sewing, embroidery, and knitting before entering the double digits in age.  None of it was very good, mind you, but I had the rudiments taught to me by my paternal grandmother.  She was an excellent seamstress and needlewoman, often winning prizes for her work.

As I entered my teen years I drifted away from fibre, encouraged by a school system that felt I was “matriculation” and didn’t need to learn to sew or create art.  I balked at the latter.   It was in my teen years I took up painting.  My interest continued into my 30s.

“North Mountain Lookout” and “Azaleas”

“White Elephant Inn”

But I kept coming back to fibre…  My grandmother taught me to tat lace as a teen.   My mother bought me needlepoint patterns and supplies.  I continued to embroider and sew.  I learned cross-stitch.  I attempted my first quilt at seventeen.  It’s still unfinished!  I did finish the quilt for my  first baby’s crib though.

When I had my first child I learned to hook rugs.  That was 30 years ago now.  I hooked rug and painted side-by-side for some time.  We moved and the paints were put away.  The rug hooking too.

Our new community had a wide variety of fibre craft opportunities.  I took up quilting…

And stitching…

Hardanger embroidery from the Hardanger Fjord region of Norway.

Goldwork

And finally settled on rug hooking again about 16 years ago.  From the beginning I knew I wanted to design my own work.  I also knew I didn’t want to just hook wool fabric.  It creates beautiful work, but it just wasn’t me.  And so the experimenting began…

“Pennsylvania Dutch” – t-shirts and double knits.

“Cohasset” a free pattern from a magazine. Yarn and wool fabric, sculpted border.

“Family Reunion” – wool yarn, wool fabric, beads, wire, silk thread, cotton threads, polyester thread, rayon thread.

“Hollyhocks” – wool yarn and fabric, polyester yarn, roving, mohair locks.

And I took up spinning…

Canola fields art yarn drying for my “Prairie Sky” wall hangings.

I was happily hooking along one day at the annual local fair, demonstrating, when a man came up to me and started asking about my work.  By the end of the conversation he wanted to know why I had not become a juried member of the Saskatchewan Crafts Council.  It was the first time I’d heard of the Crafts Council.

It took a few years, but finally I decided I was ready to take the plunge.  I applied to be juried in and was.  That was 2 1/2 years ago.  Since then I’ve had a lot of fun learning the ropes of having a craft business.  It’s hard to believe it’s been that long!

It seems like yesterday I was in the “upper room” of the Affinity Gallery in Saskatoon having my work juried.  I look forward to many more years of fun and learning in this business.

A big shout out to all the people who have helped and encouraged me along the way.  Both online and in real life.  Without you I would not have had the courage to try and have a craft business. 🙂

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for reading.  Hope you have a wonderful day! 🙂