Top 5 Excuses Why I Have Not Made a New Post in FOREVER!

Okay, like every summer since I started this blog, it seems I have dropped right off the radar!  That is never my intention, but again it seems that nothing has gone up here since Mother's Day.  I admit it - I have a blog problem.  And I am told the first step to getting help is to admit that you have a problem, so I have taken that first step.

The next step toward my blogging salvation is to give excuses for why I have been so tardy, so without FURTHER ado, my excuses are:

5.  Computer burn-out. 

I stare at a computer all day at work, and during my lunch hour I read the news online, and I also add content to our Facebook group, Friends of Textures  http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=2426841526, and find other places online to add event listings for  Textures, so by the time I get home I can't bear to turn on the computer again.

4.  Too busy.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

3.  Too lazy.  More to the point than number 4.

2.  Too many cats getting in the way.

This is Emma "exploring" my desk (she's at my feet again - okay, scratch that - she's prowling around my desk and meowing RIGHT NOW!)

Nelson snoozing on my keyboard (he's resting up from sitting on my mouse earlier and preventing me from moving it).

And finally,

1.  Too darn hot!!!  If I haven't mentioned it before, I live in a three-storey Victorian home, and my workshop is - you guessed it - on the top floor!  While I do technically have what was described to me as "central air", that functions best on the first floor and then rapidly drops off in effectiveness as you approach the second floor.  By the time you get to the third floor you might as well forget it! 

So, my husband and I trekked up to Collingwood for the annual Elvis Festival, and stayed at the Red Hills Bed & Breakfast in Thornbury instead.  And I don't have a laptop, so I REALLY couldn't update the blog from there.  Just look - could you bring technology to a lovely place like this?

If you get a chance, do make a visit!  http://www.redhillshouse.ca/

So that's why I haven't updated the blog since May.  I am bad, but I promise to do better in future!

Loving Mother Raises Family - and a Ruckus if Family Misses Mother's Day!

There is no need in this day and age for any loving mother to "raise the roof" - be warned that Mother's Day takes place on May 9th this year!  A wee bit of planning on your part in the remaining few days will go a long way to saving you from a world of pain! 

Do not forget to: a) make or purchase an appropriate card to express all the love you have in your heart for the woman who "brung you up" - feelings you always have, but the words that may only be said at this time each year, and b) make or purchase a token of your affection for your Mum. 

Hell hath no fury like a passive-aggressive mother scorned! (Love ya, Mom!  And yes, I'm safe - I think - she has not yet made it onto the internet, so will likely never see this and take it the wrong way!) Do your part now to recognize the years of work she has put in on your behalf.  She may say she's "fine", and "don't waste your money on me", and "I really don't need a thing" but don't believe her - this is ancient code for "let's see what they really think of me".  You MUST get her something.

Luckily, we can offer a multitude of options in many price points for your Mother at Textures Craftworks, and if you wish, our helpful artisans will make suggestions of one-of-a-kind gifts for your one-of-a-kind Mom!  And if you don't see the exact right thing in the exact right size or colour on our shelves, we also offer gift certificates so your Mum can make her own selection, or many of our artisans will create a custom piece to your exact specifications!

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Spring has Sprung!

I'm afraid this post is woefully late in coming, so now it has been transformed into a "Spring" musing, rather than the pre-Easter message it was supposed to be! 

I'm afraid that things that demanded immediate attention just kept "sprouting up" around the homestead, and then there were the drawn out illnesses.  Now that my flu has past, my husband is out of the hospital and his pneumonia is clearing up, the old porch and broken steps are now torn down and replaced with new & level porch with non-broken steps, the overwhelming willow tree threatening my house foundation has been dispatched and carted off, and my cold (that replaced my flu) is starting to clear, NOW I have (just) a moment to catch you up on Textures' happenings over the last month...

In March, Textures and several of its individual members were nominated for Hamilton Tourism Awards.  Award nominations were as follows:
-Textures Craftworks:  Tourism Business of the Year
-Textures Craftworks:  Best Brochure or Promotional Piece
-Sharon Beasley (bookbinder & Textures Treasurer):  Front Line Customer Service Rep of the Year
-Margo Griffith (textile artisan & Textures Core Member):  Volunteer of the Year
-Sandra Rodwell (jewelry artisan & Textures Promotions):  Arts Ambassador of the Year

We did not take home any of the big awards on our first Tourism Awards outing, but it was great to be out and mingling with other folks working in the Hamilton Tourism industry.  If you haven't been to Hamilton before, do consider a visit this spring or summer - we have MUCH more to offer in "Steeltown" than just steel.  Check out the Hamilton Tourism website for ideas and assistance in planing your visit:   http://www.tourismhamilton.ca/  And of course, while in Hamilton, make sure to pop into our artisan shop to check out our fine selection of local crafts!

Meanwhile, back at our Locke Street shop, our artisans have been busy creating plenty of original handcrafted gift and home decor items to tickle your fancy this spring:

-handpainted clocks for spring

-colourful pottery with a spring theme

-fused, stained & blown glass in spring colours

-and of course, unique items to express your personal style!

Now that the weather is getting more hospitable, hop on down to Locke St. and see what our artisans have in store for YOU!  I'll be working in the shop on April 17th, so pop in and say "hi"!

Spirits in Stone

From March 8th through March 29th, Textures Craftworks presents the exhibition, Spirits in Stone - an original collection of soapstone carvings by local artisan John Tice.

After many years as a woodcarver, John turned to soapstone after picking up a small piece at a flea market and playing around with it.


Soapstone is a metamorphic stone comprised mainly of talc, the softest mineral. It occurs wordwide in areas where where a tectonic plate has submerged below another.


While soapstone is most often associated with the black stone carvings of the Inuit, it can also be found in many colours from brown to light green. It has been utilized by people around the world for thousands of years. Many native Americans used it to make bowls, pipes, lamps and other implements and adornments. In parts of Asia it has been used to make massive temple statuary.

Tice purchases the stones he uses for carving from Ben Henry, a renowned Onondaga carver from Six Nations Territory, who imports them from Brazil. I was surprised to discover the outside layers of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro were also fashioned from this same soapstone because of its enduring qualities and ease of use. 

"I like to capture human or animal spirits and emotions in my work" says Tice.

Textures is open daily from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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