the craft council of newfoundland and labrador will be hosting a reception for the opening of it's  2013 annual members show tomorrow evening from 7-9.  the show will be on all summer,
 so drop in if you're in the area. my latest textile piece "free range" has been included along with the work of 40 artists.

i belong to a wonderful book club. we are small (only 5 members). we wait until everyone has read the book (so we only manage about 6 books a year). we take turns hosting the gathering in our homes and prepare meals (and often dress the part) that are somehow (and often very loosely) based on the book.
this past weekend we had the privilege of meeting at tess's in woody point to discuss and celebrate the book "remarkable creatures" by tracy chevalier. she's best known for her book about vermeer "girl with the pearl earing".
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh4wz-trFxI
we also often give little "loot bags" and tess gave us all these wonderful annomite pendants.

and baked us an "annomite" and starfish rhubarb and strawberry pie.

 woody point is an hour and a half drive from corner brook, so we stayed overnight and woke to this wonderful "annomite" sunrise.

sometimes, but rarely, i  knit for me. this simple little sweater has taken me months to knit. it's a remake of one that i knit over 20 years ago and one that i'm still wearing. it's small and light and yet warm because it's wool. it's my go-to sweater for cool spring or autumn days and fits perfectly under my winter jacket for added warmth. so, why not make a new one? today i'll press it and sew up the seams and knit up the neckline. and hopefully not need to wear it until september...

i love trades.  recently angela at www.catfishmoon.com in anapolis royal, nova scotia, approached me to trade some of my hand dyed roving for some of her vintage textiles.i know angela's vintage textile stash . angela is a world traveller (check out her blog at www.world-travelgirl.blogspot.com)
and collects bits and pieces of vintage textiles as she goes. i've bought from her before so i knew i would be ecstatically pleased with what she sent. already my brain is full of new ideas...

what a difference a week makes. although it has been cool and wet,  while I was gone last week, the plants in the garden doubled in size. the tulips and bleeding heart and lily of the valley in full bloom. the leaves are leaves now, not just buds. spring and summer in newfoundland happen fast once they get going.

i'm just back from a week on the bonavista peninsula, newfoundland. meeting with craftspeople and craft shop managers and owners (mostly at the historical sites). every time I've been in rural newfoundland, I come home humbled. the beauty of the place and the people.