Tag Archives: craft

For the love of beer

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Because of the meds I’m on to treat my rheumatoid arthritis, I’ve pretty much backed off drinking completely, although I do still indulge in a beer once in a while. If you’re a regular reader of my blog you already know that Chris and I adore craft beer (have I mentioned he’s working on a project to convert a freezer into his new keg fridge? A story for another post!). We went all the way to Madison Wisconsin last summer to buy kegs of New Glarus Belgian Red and Raspberry Tart to serve at our wedding, for instance. Having to give up beer almost  entirely has not been easy, but its been almost a year and I’m used to it now.

I’ve just started watching this documentary, For the Love of Beer, all about the women of the [American] craft beer world, and it’s quite good. I’m watching it while I work out so I’m not finished it yet, but it’s making me yearn for the good old days when I could drink all I wanted in a sitting. Sigh. (It also makes me want to go back to Portland!) But I guess from a glass-half-full perspective, when I do pour myself a pint, that baby is oh-so-sweet. If anything, I’ve become even more of a snob about my beer, because if I’m going to break the fast, it better be worth it. Enjoy!

Toronto Craft Alert says “Get Er Done”

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We all have them. Those half-done crafty bits. Singleton socks. Lonely mittens. Half-done scarfs. I have the following abandoned lonely sock:

BEFORE: Socks That Rock Rolling Stone

BEFORE: the lonely singleton sock

Well the good people at Toronto Craft Alert have a give-away contest underway right now to help inspire you to GET ER DONE! There are a multitude of ways to enter, including not only posting the skeletons in your craft closet to the Flickr pool, but also by finishing them! So all you crafty slackers out there, get moving! You could win some lovely paper from The Paper Place, sewing supplies, yarn (joy!), glass beads, Soak Wash, a tea cozy, a merit badge, handmade soap and so much more!! The deadline to enter is March 16.

I’m secretly hoping you WON’T enter, so I can up my chances at winning. May the crafty slacker who catches up the most, win!

Glorious glass

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Whenever I’m looking for a gift to mark an important occasion in someone’s life, like a wedding for example, I head over to The Guild Shop in Yorkville. Besides the odd trip to Whole Foods, its pretty much the only place I shop at in Yorkville. The Guild Shop carries work by hundreds of Canadian fine craft artists, working in wood, ceramics, glass, jewellery (oh man, the jewellery!), textiles and they’re also very respected as one of Toronto’s oldest dealers of Inuit artwork.

Sushi Platter by Renato Foti

Sushi Platter by Renato Foti

I picked up this gorgeous sushi platter by Kitchener-Waterloo based glass artist Renato Foti, of Trio Design Glassware as a wedding gift for my friends Michelle and Adam, who got married yesterday. This technique of glass artistry involves fusing glass together in a kiln, and then “slump” forming the glass, over a mould, to give it it’s shape. I picked up some beautiful chopsticks to go with it and voila, a beautiful, one-of-a-kind gift, made locally by a talented artist. And there’s plenty more where that came from.

Best of all The Guild Shop is a non-profit store, an arm of the Ontario Crafts Council, which supports craft artists by providing programming and services to help advance their artistic careers. In these troubled economic times, I think I’ll invest my cash locally, in the cultural sector. Hear that Mr. Harper?