Fall- The Best Time To Visit "The Neck"

 The  crazy days of summer have departed and life now continues at a more leisurely pace. The young visitors are back at school and been replaced by those who tend to linger over the beauty of the area.

Here at the shop we are still busy greeting travelers and doing some last minute cutting to get material ready for the winter fabrication. Today we are cutting blanks to make guitar picks out of a rock called obsidian- natural volcanic glass. It's hard to work with but makes great guitar picks!

We've also had to make items to fill the holes left in the shop display. here are a few of the new items.

This is a gorgeous example of Picture Jasper. I did a perimeter groove so the full beauty of the "picture" could be shown. Then I hung it on a very unique copper chain and finished it with a hand made copper neck clasp. The result is a real show stopper.

Next we have an awesome piece of Brier Island Jasper exhibiting an uncommon green colour. I set it using 100+ year old upcycled copper with a rustic finish to reveal some of the history and hung it on another unique copper chain.

The last piece is another head turner. The closer you look, the more complex this piece of agate becomes. Again it is perimeter grooved to accommodate a german silver wrapping but is worthy of it's sterling silver chain and clasp. Zoom in to see the true beauty of this piece.

So there is lots going on. Vickie is still painting in her studio and coming up with new, crazy "What Ifs" If you are in the area or planning a trip stop by and say hi. We are usually open from 9:30 to 4:30 but always by appointment if you call ahead. 902 482-2188.

And we still have a great selection of hand dyed yarn!

Look forward to seeing you!

A Great Painting Finds A Great New Home

 Well, another one of Vickie's (AKA The Real Artist) children has left the nest.

This one found its way to the southern United States and becomes part of an absolutely wonderful art collection.

It is truly an honour to see your work hanging in such company and we hope that they enjoy their "new addition" to the family for many years to come.

Making Viking Knit Chain

This time of the year, with all the sports on television, is the perfect time to make my Viking Knit Chain for next season. This particular piece is made from 24G half hard sterling silver wire.

First I weave it onto a metal dowel which is about as thick as my thumb.

 I try to create as few wire joins as possible so I use about 8 feet of wire at a time. For this piece the final length on the dowel was 21 cms.. When I take it off the dowel, it's wonky in spots and the chain isn't totally even.

But now I start to pass it through my hand made draw plate.

Some use metal plates but I prefer wood because there is less chance of scratching or damaging the wire. A soft wood like pine works well but the wire is strong enough to quickly damage and enlarge the holes. So I have settled on a nice piece of oak. I make two passes through each hole and for most of my bracelets and neck chains, I stop after the 7/32 inch hole.

As you can see the chain is now much longer (40 cms.) and has become much more uniform. The weaving has become "locked".

Now all that is left is to pull it against a wooden rolling pin to remove any kinks and make it nice and supple. This length will be used to make three nice women's' bracelets (one already spoken for). I'll make a few more in silver but will make more using 24G copper.

Creating this length will have taken me about 4-5 hours in total but most of that is spent in front of the TV watching sports so I don't begrudge the time.

Cheers!

Winter is Coming

 Slowly but steadily The Neck slips into winter. A few days ago we had our first "sundog". This is how it looked from our morning coffee spot.

But the views from the deck were a lot better.

And today we are in the middle of our first big winter storm. So now the scene of activity shifts to production. Recently I finished a project to produce some new guitar picks.

They turned out great with only a few "disasters" which are bound to happen when you take crazy lace and moss agate down to 2 mm.!

We've made a few statement pieces like this gorgeous rhodochrosite stone set in sterling silver and hung on a hand made sterling Viking Knit chain.

And we have at least one more show stopper in the works.

Some of you may know that I had a major operation in October and we had to close the shop early but things are looking pretty good and our plan is to be open as usual in the spring with exciting new items.

We still have a good selection of hand dyed yarn at a fabulous price so make plans to visit beautiful Digby Neck and stop by my rock shop- The Lap of Lapidary -and see our studio and gift shop. Everybody gets a free piece of Digby Neck!

Have a happy and healthy winter!

PS: I am about to reach 200,000 page views on this blog so thank you for all who enjoy it.

Back Cutting Rock

 This has been a weird summer. First it was cold and wet but since the beginning of July we have had virtually no rain and while most of Nova Scotia has been under a heat advisory, here on Digby Neck the temperature has rarely gone above 20 C.

On top of that, I've been dealing with a significant medical issue that is now mostly resolved. So I haven't been doing as much in the Lap of Lapidary but recently, the Lady With The Agate Eye came back with some interesting looking pieces so we fired up the Hi-Tech 10 inch and went to work.

This is a beautiful example of our local agate with pockets of Fortification Agate. It interests me enough that I will make a couple of cabochons from the two halves.

This is another beautiful example of our local agate showing amazing colour and patterning. This piece also is good enough to be cabbed.

This piece is unusual for our area. It almost looks like onyx. This one I will probably tumble to see how interesting it looks polished and then decide if I will cab it or not. 

In any event, thee Cab King cabbing machine will be fired up to work on these pieces plus I have to make more guitar picks to replace what has gone out the door recently.

If you are in the area, stop by, say hi and tour both my lapidary shop (The Lap of Lapidary) as well as the gift shop where we sell our family creations.

Another Season Begins

 Winter does not give up on Digby Neck easily. Winds off the water keep temperatures cool so even sunny days can be unpleasant. But eventually, all bad things must come to an end. The crocuses are croaking and the Great Blue Herons are back. The hummingbirds have reached southern Maine on their annual trek north and the cormorants will soon be basking in the sun at the dock across the street.

So after a tough winter, it's time to open The Artist's Mark.

The sign post will definitely need some repair but inside, things are looking pretty spiffy!

As you can see, we still have a good selection of our premium hand dyed yarn at our cost ($22/skein). Over the winter, we have created a wide selection of jewelry including some awesome copper bangle bracelets for both men and women, Viking Knit chain necklaces in both copper and sterling silver and pendants featuring stones from across the street and around the world. Here's a show stopper we just did in silver.

So if your vacation plans take you to Nova Scotia, come to the best part- Digby (the scallop capital of the world) and Digby Neck, home of the famous Balancing Rock, Whale Watching and, of course, our beautiful little shop.

Since I am a lapidary, I have an awesome rock shop so if you have kids, stop by and we'll give them a free gift and show them how you cut and shape rocks.

We're usually open every day but you can contact us by phone (902) 482-2188 or email ptoceanwaves@gmail.com to make sure.

Hope to see you soon!

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!

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!

Temporary Shop Closure

 Some may know  that I have had both hips replaced and last weekend I did something to displace the left one. It's getting better but I  still can't walk very well so we have decided to close for   the baalance of the week.

I will be here and can be reached by phone (902) 482-2188 or by email ptoceanwaves@gmail.com    If you are only here fooor   a few days and really want something from the shop, Vickie will be around and if you call, we'll try our best to open for you

Beautiful Hand Dyed Yarn

 Because I'm a rock guy, I sometimes forget that we are famous for our gorgeous hand dyed yarn.

Actually there's a tie in between the yarn and the rocks. When our daughter Lisa, a talented indy dyer visited for the first time she was struck by the beautiful colours of the local rocks and decided to try and capture them in her Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn. That's why all our skeins are named after rocks and minerals. But while the local rock is very hard, our yarn is very, very soft! It is merino wool and comes from a mill in England and we sell it in many weights and blends. Our resident artist and colour expert curates it into complimentary colours to make selection easier but one can buy any skein that strikes their fancy.

In addition to the yarn, we sell accessories and patterns as well as amazing hand knit items- mostly from patterns designed by "The Real Artist" who is usually around to answer questions from her knitting "tribe". And if you visit at the end of July this year, you can meet the dyer herself!

As a non-knitter, I must say a few words about this "unique" group of people. They are all crazy. But crazy in a good way and I love meeting them. I used to be in the golf business and thought golfers were the biggest fanatics in the world. Then I moved to Florida and invested in a sunglass company and started rubbing shoulders with surfers and bass fishermen. I quickly pegged them as being the true fanatics- the hard core of the fanatic universe. But then I met knitters and quickly realized I had found the top of the fanatic mountain- the "ne plus ultra" of the genre. One brief encounter sums it up. A few years back a lady came in from South Carolina and picked out a few skeins. She said that even though she had SABLE, this yarn was too beautiful not to buy. I was unfamiliar with the term SABLE and asked her. She said SABLE was a knitting term and stood for Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy. "I'm 75 and have several hundred skeins of yarn. Do the math!" We should all have such a passion in our lives.

So if you are a user of yarn and want to see some absolutely beautiful material in an absolutely beautiful setting, pencil in a visit to Digby Neck. You will NOT be disappointed!

Latest Viking Voyage

As some who read this blog know, the "Real Artist", who lets me share her studio as long as I keep my mouth shut, is also a "Real Viking". Wencke, (her Norwegian name, we call her Vickie) is not one of those fake Vikings who wear the horned hats and watch Minnesota play football. She is a pure blood. And as such she is always off on new voyages of discovery. This time, it's all about dying (the colour not the event).

So now I'm back to the point in time when our daughters were young and I was always afraid to open a door in fear of the science experiment that lay behind it. This morning I found this sitting in the kitchen.

What is it, you say? My guess was an old tin can wrapped in fabric but according to Vickie, I was sadly mistaken. This was a can that she had carefully prepared to be covered with rust- not just rust but premium rust- so that when she folded some material around it, it got dyed by the rust. This, apparently elevates it from junk and rags to...ART!

Here is another cloth that has been dyed lavender by a liquid derived by soaking black turtle beans which, apparently we will now eat. Oh joy.

And this is only part of the voyage which, according to the Viking, will take two years. It didn't take that long for them to discover America! Another aspect will be to use the dyes and hand fashioned objects to make marks and thus transform a mess into an "object d'art".

Trust me, those hands will never be clean again. 

Apparently we are having the beans tonight.

Pray for me.