Shopping Near Calgary in Alberta

What a great visit! This past Friday I had the privilege of visiting a very quaint little store in Cochrane, Alberta called “The Stitching Corner”. I had the pleasure of meeting Betty Whitford, who graciously showed me all around everything she could think of that might help with supplying a tatter from beautifully sparkling metallic threads to lovely seed beads. They have an excellent variety of Kreinik metallics and some silk threads I had never heard of but wanted so badly to try. Unfortunately, time and funds were limited on this trip. I would have needed a wheelbarrow to cart away all the lovely things I wanted to have! It isn’t often I get to physically visit a store that is as well-stocked as this one, and I would have happily spent hours perusing everything in which I had an interest. Alas, we were due elsewhere and we had to go.

This stitcher's heaven is located in a sweet little town called Cochrane, Alberta at Bay 2, 185 First Street East. Their website is at the right. You can email them at nygabe@telus.ca, or call them at 403-932-3096. Unfortunately, they don’t do online shopping, but they do a whopping mail order business and they can get just about anything your little heart desires. Call them or email them with your questions and they’ll be happy to talk with you. I took some pictures in the store and am posting them here with Betty’s kind permission.

Silk Threads!

Seed Beads

Embroidery Threads!

More Silk Threads that GLITTER!

Anchor Threads and Kreinik Metallics!!

Books on almost any subject you could want!

It's an amazing little shop, and I had such a good time visiting with Betty.  If you're in the area, please stop in and let them know I sent you!  If there is something you're wanting but they don't have it in stock, they can order it for you.  

While they don't have an online store and don't plan to have one because the amount of work involved, they will communicate with you in whatever manner you have available.  You can email them, you can call them, you can send them a letter, you can email them.  These are a very knowledgeable group of people and they will find a way to help you

I did learn something a little disturbing, though.  It seems that Canadian craft distributors are, in essence, penalizing Canadian retailers because they don't sell enough. Postal charges are over-the-top,  there's no benefit to selling to a domestic client, and the distributors treat the Canadian retailers almost like an inconvenience.  You would think a distributor would like to keep the Canadian outlets in business.  Ladies and gentlemen, we need to support our local shops, or we won't have them. I don't want that, do you?

On a personal note, my husband and I were invited to the wedding of the son of a good friend of his (they grew up together) in the BC mountains.  Beautiful weather, the mountains in spring, good friends and of course, a killer party!  Gave me some time while travelling to work on a little something.  I love butterflies, and I've made a couple of modifications to an ice drop I've already got in my head to get this:

Butterflies!!

As usual, I have done it all in one trip around, and there are next to no ends to sew in.  The most complicated part is, believe it or not, the antennae!  Once you do a few, they're a piece of cake, but they sure are a pain when you're trying to get them to measure up evenly.  It was fun to make, though.  So, what is on your shuttle/needle?

Happy tatting!

More Places to Shop!!

Hello, Lovely Tatters!  Today I have for your buying pleasure and stash re-stocking three more sources for material. The first two are especially geared to those of you who are using beads and findings to make jewelry or using such things to make other wonderful items. 

The first one, in alphabetical order, is BeadFX in Toronto, Ontario.  I do hope to get here one day soon, perhaps using a visit to my sister-in-law in Welland area as an excuse.  Their physical shop is located at 19 Waterman Ave #2, East York, ON, M4B 1Y2; phone number 1-416-751-1911. Look below at the lovely selection of Swarovski branded sparklies. OH MY!! They also have online ordering, so important to those of us who don't live just down the street.  Go have a look, and be sure to keep the drooling to a minimum.

They have a whole wall of Swarovski!!  A WHOLE WALL!!

The next one in our alphabetical order is Beazu Wholesale in Vancouver, BC. They can be found at 60 W. 6th Ave, Vancouver, BC, and their phone number is 1-604-876-6637.  They have a physical store as well as online shopping.  They have a FABULOUS selection of all things sparkly and shiny to make a beader's heart go pitter-pat!  Just look at a sampling of what's in store for you here!

I think I'll have to find an excuse to get to Vancouver!

I have found another place in Quebec that supplies threads and a few tatting books.  Trillium Lace has some lovely-looking threads that seem to be of high quality.  They specialize mostly in crochet, bobbin and needle laces, but the threads used are frequently usable in tatting.  Their mailing address is 122 rue Kent, Gatineau, QC J8X 3K6, phone number  819-772-4867.  You can also email them at info@trilliumlace.ca and ask questions.  They seem to know just what tatting is, so give them a look

On a personal note, I've nicely completed cataract surgery on my second eye, and it's healing well. Being off for a week has its' goods and bads.  I am going positively stir-crazy, but the dog is enjoying Mama being home, and the cat is enjoying a warm lap for more than just the evening hours.

I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to work on my pattern for my trip to Indiana (I'm teaching, folks!).  This may be my last out-of-country opportunity to attend a gathering of tatters, so I figured I would take the opportunity to go out with a bang.  I may limit my future travels to just Canadian gatherings.  I do know that the trip last year was horrendous.  The trip home alone had me awake for a solid 23 hours.  This time the trip will start in North Dakota at 5:00 AM when the plane takes off and will have me there by about 12:30 PM when it lands.  Folks, when you consider allowing for time zones, I'll be in the air and travelling for less than 6 hours.  The trip home will be even shorter.  Note to self:  Don't fly from Regina to go south anymore!

I've been looking to hone my skills with the needle, as well.  I'm not doing too badly, either.  I'm understanding a lot more.  Frankly, as long as the end result is the same, what difference does it make how you get there?  I do know that one tool over the other is frequently easier for different people for different reasons.  I'm not going to pick one over the other; I just want to be able to help someone that has a question instead of tell them "I don't use that tool".

I'm also looking into holding classes locally.  The library here is sometimes available as a venue for teaching, but you have to present a plan for what you want your class to be.  I think part of that would have to include a description of tatting, the lacemaking art, and not tatting, the art of body modification (I get a great many interested looks from young millennials until they realize I'm not talking about ink and skin).

I think I've talked long enough.  I'd love to hear from some of you.

Happy Tatting!

Life Getting The Best of You

Hello, all you lovely tatters!  Yes, it has been a while and a half for sure since I've  been here to add anything and I'm sorry for that.  There has been so many things to deal with.  Cataract surgery, family issues, a funeral, planning trips, a wedding coming up, teaching in Indiana in July, it's all just a blur. 

Now that I've had a good whine, I will stop feeling sorry for myself and get on with this.  Lots of things to add, new names to put on the mentors' list, a couple of new stores, I'm so happy to find this information.

I'm also learning to needle tat.  From being someone that honestly thought needle tatting was "cheating" to realizing lace is lace and the tool you use to get the end result doesn't matter, I figured it was time to get with the program and just learn it.  You know what?  It's really not that hard.  If I could just get my left thumb to cooperate instead of hurt all the time with arthritis, I'd be tatting up a storm!!  With BOTH tools.

If you look to the right, you will notice I've added a new mentor in Montreal, Quebec, and a couple of new suppliers in Quebec City. I'll have to see if I can find some more suppliers in the Montreal area because they're not a hop-skip-and-a-jump apart.

On the home front, I'm heading off to Indiana in July to take part as a guest instructor at Tat Days: The Wild Side of Tatting at the Tatting Corner.  It will be my first time teaching in a large group, and I'll be instructing folks on how to complete a pattern of my own design.  If you've not been to one of these events, wherever you are, you should go to at least one.  They're an amazing way to network with other like-minded people and learn a BUNCH of new stuff.  Your mind will be overflowing, but a good time will be had by all.

I had the honour late last year of completing a project for a family in Saskatoon.  I was contacted by a lovely lady whose mother had, sadly, passed away before she could complete her final project intended for one of her great-granddaughters.  I was so very glad to have the privilege of finishing this project. Most families would have got out the scissors and thrown out the work and re-purposed the thread and beads.  I finished the project, made the earrings that went with it, and the young lady intended to wear it was thrilled.  I feel very pleased to have helped this lovely family.

I'm up to my ears in planning projects and writing patterns.  I will do my utmost not to make it so long until my next post.

Happy tatting!