The Nature of Mary Jane

Meet my awesome mom, Mary Jane:

She is my favourite.
The reason I am introducing her to you (in addition to the fact that I love her a bunch) is she makes things too! Her knits are available at shows she does in the Hamilton area with me and on etsy at thenatureofmaryjane.etsy.com.


(My brother, Nick, wearing Olive Cowl / Circle Scarf)


I remember growing up asking her about random crafty decor we had around the house, "where is this rug from, this pillow, this puppet, this dress for my cabbage patch doll, etc.?!" And she had made them! I think she rested on knitting a long time ago, sporadically making little yarny goodies for my brother and I as kids and then when I asked her to teach me how to knit in middle school, tons of scarves. Seriously, we ended up with so many scarves.



(Mustard Hooded Cowl / Circle Scarf / Infinity Scarf)

A year after I opened my own etsy shop and had done a few craft shows I thought, HEY, my mom should be doing this too and I should help her do that!  So we set up her etsy shop, The Nature of Mary Jane and she started setting up at the craft shows she was coming with me to all along anyway! We are really close so I'm always happy to have her close by.

I should also mention that in her dayjob (actually night job since she works mostly nights) she is a nurse who takes care of special needs children and people in the last days of their lives. She really is pretty amazing.


(Table with Knit and Wrap)

She even has her hooded cowl pattern published in this great pattern book byLark Crafts, Knit and Wrap! That was exciting for sure.
They are my favourite winter accessory and I have one in almost every colour! (Thanks Mom!)


(Me wearing Woodlands Hooded Cowl)

So there we are. She's the best!

Check out her shop here: thenatureofmaryjane.etsy.com
and like her on facebook here: www.facebook.com/thenatureofmaryjane
See you next time! ♥

In the Workroom Recap : Week 225

A week later and I'm back with another workroom recap!  

I've pushed my vacation back a week for various reasons so that'll give me one more week to finish some things up and do another workroom recap post before I leave next Sunday. Hopefully we'll get some sort of muscle memory blog post thing going after the third one so you can rely on my return. Thankfully I'm keeping busy so I don't doubt there will be multiple things crossing my worktable weekly!

This week started with paperwork.  As promised - boring boring paperwork.



Accompanied by a big ol' cup of tea.  I managed to get a lot of things from last year straightened away so taxes won't be too overwhelming when I return from vacation. Exciting! Not really, I know.
Then, because numbers exhaust me, I picked up a new doll idea I had started sketching and working on earlier in an attempt to feel like a creative person again instead of a grown-up pantsuit office person (not that there is anything wrong with that).
You could actually see her half cut on the shelf on my worktable awaiting some attention for at least a few weeks of workshop photos if you look closely.
Here are a few progress shots before I finished her:





Done! I felt creatively rejuvinated after all that boring number stuff and was left with this crazy girl, Wilhelmina W. Wasserman to put up in the shop!



Here she is hanging out on my worktable with my Plush You dolls!



Now on to the usual Needlings suspects!



I started cutting some Little Robots and Owl Mamas that I'll be working on this week (and in parts, possibly, while I'm away). My plan for the week is to finish the robots and prep the owl faces to take away with me when I'm away, although depending on what comes up this week or not, this might change. Nothing is set in stone!
  
Then of course I'll be packing bags and tieing up loose ends and all that other stuff one does before they go away although that won't be very interesting - although I am an excellent packer. Even the customs officers who go through my bags have complimented me on how much I fit in such a small bag! The key is rolling everything in tiny clothing burritos. But I digress...

See you next week with a worktable recap before the Needlings workshop shuts down for a little bit!