August is our quiet time in the studio. The studio is left lonely as we spend time in the wilds, soaking up the prairie and mountain sun to catch each fleeting moment of summer. Now, we have fully immersed in September. Show season begins! The kiln is firing at least once a week. Buttons are zipping into bags, mugs are rolling out of slabs, and yarn bowls are spinning off of the wheel. Wee little animals are appearing to decorate our shelves and we call in help to fill the studio with laughter. This season, we are scheduled to appear in Calgary twice, and Sea Turtle Fibre Arts will have some of our beauties at Knit City this coming weekend!   Sept 30-Oct 1 in Vancouver, Sarah will have mugs and our NEW GIANT mugs at her booth Sea Turtle Fibre Arts in lovely squishy yarn kits! Knit her luscious yarn while enjoying your favourite beverage of choice from our mugs. F#CK OFF I’m Knitting Regular size and HUGE mugs in kits at Sea Turtle Fibre Arts Booth Sep 30 – Oct 1, 2017 The PNE Forum, Vancouver   Shindig is coming! The Fall Shindig is October 21 and the party starts at 10am on October 21. Get there before 5. We’ll have the new HUGE mug sizes available, as well as more DRAGON yarn bowls.   The Calgary Fibre Arts Fair is bigger and better this year! Come visit us at the new digs at Stampede Park in the Big Four on Nov 3 & 4 from 9am-5pm. Bring your projects to match buttons. It’s going to be a wonderful autumn season!

Stampede Maker Market prep continues… Yarn bowl with flowers and I don’t even know if this is leaving my house ever. Another yarn bowl is now in progress where I’m loving texture plates. Pebbles, yes!

I try not to have favourites. I don’t want the other mugs or bowls or buttons to be envious or feel unloved. Everything has a function, even if that function is to be put in the “Bad Day Box” for a future aggression-relieving smashing session. Some pots may be more attractive to look at and definitely feel nicer to hold but I can’t openly declare one better than another in front of the others. Maybe a button is a little off but that’s what makes handmade items so special and unique, right? Sometimes you can see our fingerprints in our work, and you can see clearly that our hands are making everything that you see in our online shop, at the markets we attend, and in the gifts that we give. Everything is beautiful in its own way. All of these reasons are why I snuck these mugs into the house, far from the others, to tell them how much I adore them. I fawned over them. I cooed at them as if they were baby animals. They thrill me. This experiment has been a complete and total success. Ribbed for my pleasure, indeed. We worked hard to make these knitted mugs, and they are 100% handmade here in our studio. They feature my own knitting that was molded for the slabs (and yes, I wish I’d blocked that sample a bit more aggressively). Dishwasher and microwave safe too! We will have this newly released mug at the Calgary Fibre Arts Fair in northwest Calgary on November 12 & 13 from 9am-5pm at the Triwood Community Center. Selection is limited so if you’d like something ribbed for your pleasure, come early and see us at our booth! Jason, myself, and Cheryl will be there to assist and either hook you up, or comfort you if we are sold out. I hope we see you there!

Jason is busy packing up a herd of sheep and hand carved yarn bowls to accompany all of the buttons, bookmarks, and diz for tomorrow’s sale. We’ll be at the Fibre Shindig Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Centre from 10am-5pm with so many wonderful vendors! We will be joined by vendors selling their handdyed yarns, spindles, roving, and all the accessories and fabulousness that you could ever want or need.

#Repost @sahmknits1 with @repostapp.・・・Morning coffee tastes better in my new mug by Mr. @chasingfirecara. I love it! Thank you, Jason! #pottery #sheep #sheepmug

I’m having so much fun making these textured yarn bowls for the Calgary Fibre Arts Fair. We are in full evening production mode to have treasures for everyone!

I’ll be at The Fibre Shindig in Calgary, Alberta on Saturday! I’ll have buttons, diz, bookmarks, whisky tumblers, leaf necklaces, and a very limited collection of large yarn bowls. The show has knitting, spinning, fibre, fine art, embroidery, knit and crochet wearables, jewelry, craft tools, and accessories. Saturday, October 17, 2015 10am – 6pm Hillhurst/Sunnyside Community Hall, Calgary $5 Admission with door prizes! More information: The Fibre Shindig Facebook Page The Fibre Shindig website Google Map Directions Map to where I’ll be:

We get by with a little help from our friends. In this case, it is my niece (and an artist in her own right) Jill Reynaud at the button table with me. Her eye for texture makes it easier for me to accept help, and she didn’t even flinch when I used the term “aggressively sponge”. I am a control freak when it comes to accepting help in the studio, and up until now my Mom, with a lifetime of artistry under her belt, had been the only other to touch the buttons. There are many that have offered and I’ve always declined because quality control is my #1 priority, and I don’t want to offend helpers by harping at them to “do it my way”. I need for ceramic buttons, diz, pendants, and everything else coming out of the studio to have smooth edges so they never catch or cut yarn. Smoothing every edge and hole is incredibly time intensive, but I personally feel that the final product quality is worth it. With two fibre shows coming up, and custom orders waiting for my attention, getting some help is the only way to get clay beauties into everyone’s hands. The clay gods heard my cries, and Jill arrived, eager to jump in. And I don’t offend her (or if I do, she just smiles and keeps making beautiful things) Thank you, Jill!