Calling All Knitters- A Chance of a Lifetime!

 For the last 10 years, we have sold our premium Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn from our little shop in Digby Nova Scotia and shipped it to satisfied customers all over the world.

 

However, since we are getting up in years, we may not be able to keep the shop open past this summer. We have an inventory of over 600 skeins of beautiful hand dyed yarn in different weights and have decided to sell it at 50% off- that's just $15 a skein! Knitting accessories and finished pieces are also available.We are closing the web site so the yarn will only be available from the store although if you want a particular colour, we could send pictures but shipping is very expensive now.

Additionally, most other items in the shop will be discounted so get  a group together and come on by early for the best selection. We will open on April 22.

Don't drop your purls and we hope to see you soon!

We're Open (Almost)!

 With the weather getting steadily better we are planning on opening on Monday, April 22.

This is shaping up to be a very special year. First off, we have a ton of new items, many featuring jewelry made from local stones shaped in my lapidary shop- The Lap of Lapidary.

Here's a pendant made from an amazing piece of local jasper, with a unique copper setting and a premium leather cord.

Another great pendant made from local agate with a sparkly quartz core.

We also have a whole new line of earrings featuring my own copper filigree design with premium beads and crystals. Here's how they look in real life.

We also ship so if you see anything you like or have a particular gift in mind, just let us know.

Soon the machines in the lapidary shop will be humming so if you have ever wondered how rock is cut and shaped and find yourself on Digby Neck, come on by.

And now for the really exciting part. Because we are getting up in years (way up!) we realize the shop can't keep going for ever. So if you visit, you will note that most items are discounted!

We look forward to seeing you if your travels take you to the unique part of Nova Scotia known simply as "The Neck"

Have a great summer!

Lots of New Pieces For The Shop

 We'll probably be putting our sign back up and opening the shop soon so we've been really busy creating pieces to fill the empty spaces and I thought I'd catch you up on a few.

I made this set from a large piece of red jasper that a customer sent so the Real Artist could use it for paint pigment. It turned out beautifully- a little too perfectly as it turned out as it sold as soon as I posted it on Instagram!

I wanted to create earrings using a copper filigree bead cap I have and this was the first pair. They also sold as soon as I posted them so I've been making more (pics will follow in the next post). The stone is a beautiful piece of local agate/jasper and I hung it on a very special sterling silver chain. It's still available.

This is another local agate that I set using a perimeter groove so as not to disturb the gorgeous patterning. I used German silver (non-tarnish) wire and hung it on a really nice sterling silver chain.

This (local) piece of plume agate is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever worked with. It seemed to call for brass wire to compliment the colour of the stone so that meant that I had to make a set of brass findings and a neck clasp. Whatever it takes I say.

 

 The patterning and colours are outstanding but again I made the mistake of posting it on Instagram and it also sold!

Next time I'll post a few more including the Boho Earring line I've finished.

Hope to see you at the shop but if you see something you like, we ship!

We're Creating!

 Life has been very busy of late but we were finally able to carve out some time to spend in the studio and I had the privilege of working along side the "Real Artist".

I decided to start the creative period with a real show stopper. The stone is local but quite rare- a mixture of amethyst and white chalcedony. Our local amethyst tends to be pretty light but this piece has beautiful purple colour. A few  small indentations on the side were just in the right place to enable us to create a very unique setting.

I used non tarnish German silver and hung it on a complementary white buna cord that really highlights the white chalcedony and the topper are a couple of cool druzy pockets to add some sparkle.

The "Real Artist" has also been busy. This piece s called "Nor'Easter on Brier Island" and while not large, it has tremendous energy.

Both of these pieces are available in the shop and we also ship. The pendant is $40 and the painting is $80 with shipping extra.

Stay tuned to see more great pieces.

PS: This year I will also be selling cabochons, some drilled and grooved so if you want to create your own pieces, get in touch.

Spring Comes To The Neck??

 There are few things less predictable and constant than our local weather. Case in point- a few days ago it was (for here) very cold, -9C. Then it warmed up and we had a beautiful sunny day with a high of +15C. Yesterday, the wind kicked up from the south and the temperature went from 0 to +12 as the winds increased, eventually topping out over 90 Kilometers per hour. From 2 AM last night to 6 this morning the temperature sank to +1. I know because the wind was howling and the rain was hitting the windows in sheets, making sleep impossible! Then it started to snow. And today this was my view over coffee.

Now the real beauty of this shot is where the sun is rising. In the dead of winter, it would be coming up where the telephone pole to the right is so we're making real progress!

Next thing you know, we will be putting the store sign up and be open for business so starting next week, I'll be full time at the jewelry bench making new (and hopefully interesting) pieces such as these.

Of course, that means I'll be sharing my Norwegian wife's studio so I'm buying us both shirts.

Hope to see you this summer!

Winter Comes To The Neck

 Well, our first big snow storm has finally arrived and it's a doozy. Fortunately (for us) we are getting the least amount of snow in the province but at the other end (Cape Breton) they have drifts 10 feet high and the Halifax area has received over 2 feet! It is "Snowmageddon"!

Here's how things are looking in Cape Breton. (not my pic)

Needless to say there will be no beachcombing today. Fortunately, I have a ton of cabochons to work with.

Now the job is to choose about a dozen to make pieces for the shop. We will probably open sometime in early April and by then the store will be fully stocked.

Here's one of my favourites.

 

We are so fortunate to have such beautiful local gemstone quality agate, jasper, carnelian- you name it we've got it! Digby Neck is such a magical place.

Hope to see you next summer!

 

One Door Shuts...And Another Opens

 Well, the scenery sure has changed. I now look out on several inches of snow with more to come today. Lapidary work requires a lot of water and right now that water is cold- VERY cold.

So now the scene shifts to fabrication and that takes place on my bench in my alloted space in "the real artist's" studio.

I have a problem that would be the envy of most- too much beautiful material! The real artist (AKA She with the agate eye) keeps finding me beautiful agates, jasper, amethyst, carnelian- you name it. I literally have enough good material to keep me going for decades but at 77 years old (and I mean OLD) I don't see decades in my future. So the first task has been to pare down the "stash" to a manageable amount.

As you can see this hasn't been an easy job. The small oval container just to the left of the blue bin contains well over 100 possible cabs to set. I'll probably get that down to about 20 that I'll start working on soon.

So if you ever want to buy some beautiful cabochons to make your own pieces, let me know.