so I will sometimes tease john and say "we should have another baby" - we both know the answer is a no - we're definitely done, we are at such a good place with balancing work and life that another person added to our family would be too much for us....but when you come across photos like these.

you can't help but say awwww....m a y b e

photos courtesy of lil fish studios

I'm very excited to have lisa's birch canoes in the shop for the ornament show. you should check out this tutorial on her apple and pear ornaments - the PDF is here on her etsy shop.

hi everyone

I hope you had a lovely weekend - it was mild here - yeah the weather's playing tricks again - today it rained and rained and rained. I felt like I was back in vancouver. john and I have been playing tag team with booth sitting at the craft show - I usually go to the show around 5pm to give him a break and during the days and late evenings I am happily making more work - I figure I can sleep when it's over next week. one of the exciting things about post show is that I clean up the studio and think about the next step and what to do next. I love looking at older bookhou work - these flap wallets were made 5 years ago when I used more colour base cloths. part of the reason I switched to neutral base cloths is that it's easier to replace. mills are constantly in flux and you will find you love a certain fabric and it will be discontinued. what I think about these wallets - coloured basecloths are lovely and some of these patterns should make a return. more on what I do next soon. thanks to those of you who came to the show and for stopping by and saying "hi" and letting me know you read the blog.

have a great monday! xxa

thanks to all of you who came by our both yesterday - it was a very successful day and I am almost sold out of my new ceramics. john had gone to booth sit so that I can get more sewing done and when I went to the show in the afternoon there was hardly anything left. my jaw dropped - I didn't realize how well received they would be - I will definitely make more and offer them in etsy too. I have a great idea to ship them to protect them during transit. unlike textiles, ceramics requires way more organization, you can't go home the night before and whip up some new pieces - I can't wait to make more. the first image is a tumbler that I did a shoot with for the next issue of b.a.h. mag and the second shot was just before they were fired.

around the house is littered with toys and laundry folded and unfolded - we embrace the chaos during these times and don't fret over unfinished chores, more important things must be done, the kids love it, I havn't once told them this week to clean up after themselves. I look forward to seeing more of you this next week and thanks so much for your continued support - we all appreciate it. and on that note.

a happy thanksgiving to all my american friends. have a great weekend! xxa

things are pulling together and I am excited to see it all together in my booth for the ooak show. the set-up continues today - I made a last minute change that delayed the set-up. so later today I will go to the show and check the lighting and also to do the merchandising. I will have to also do some ironing too. the great thing about the show is that they allow the vendors to use the daycare facility that is on site and I have seen the same ladies for the past 5 years and they are wonderful with the kids - it's a big space with lots of toys and my kids always enter with a glazed look on their faces. it's great to have for last minute work to the booth without making babysitting arrangements. the images above is a sneak peek at some of the new items available - as you can see there is a small photo of the new ceramics - I will have more photos later and they will have their debut at the show - each are one of a kind, so come by and check it out. the show opens tomorrow and I will be at booth O-7 and here's a link for a coupon for the admission ticket. I hope to see you there!

thanks for all your well wishes for piper - it was nice to have her back to her old self - yesterday she was drawing and happy again and giving hugs and kisses, when she's not well she doesn't want anyone near her and if you kissed and hug her, she would grunt at you. the car is all packed and john and my dad are off early today to go set-up the craft show - I will be at the studio still printing and sewing and hopefully get a chance later in the day to put the products out. when I'm in production mode - I always have the urge to come up with a new design and I'm looking at older bags as a reference for the new designs that I will work on after the show - I did hope to have them for the show, but I want to take my time and not rush it. I got my new fabric recently and it's going to dictate what the new work will be like, I also have new drawings for some new screen prints for tea towels and smaller bags - I am looking forward to seeing how it all works out. there might also be a return of some old bag designs you see above, but reworked. if you're in toronto I hope you pencil in a visit to the ooak show.

p.s. the next issue of b.a.h. mag will be out sometime in early december - so excited! I can already tell this issue is going to be beautiful - I am working on it now (I know I'm crazy - with my heavy production load) - the other thing that I will be working on after the craft show is re-designing the website. the changes in the air feels nice.

happy monday friends,

It's been busy in the bookhou workshop - lots of people helping out in the studio trying our best to get it all done. we had to take lil' p to sick kids emergency yesterday - she was not on the mend and when that happens it doesn't hurt to get a professional opinion. she is now on antibiotics and is a bit more like her sweet self. john said that sick kids hospital was a great place to be - they were organized and did their best to keep the kids entertained during such a long wait. this past week I've been doing a lot of printing and there is so much lovely imagery from the layers of printing. my dad mentioned in passing that I should cut up my drop cloth and making little pouches or something.

enjoy your day friends - it's getting chilly here, but no snow in these parts yet. xxa

photos courtesy of margie oomen

it's always a pleasure to see margie - today she dropped off her ornaments - margie puts so much care and attention to the items she makes - I love the fabric pine cone made with indigo - I think I will have to keep it for myself. I also love the digital printed and embroidered thimble ones - they are a lot bigger than they look in the pictures. also tonight john and I are busy cutting all the decals for the ceramics that we printed yesterday. they should be completed by tomorrow for their firing - just in time for the ooak show.

p.s. on a side note - I get a lot of margie's readers too and when I was in vancouver - I had lots of people approach me and asked about margie and asked how she is in person - in case you were wondering too - I can assure you that margie is every bit wonderful and more in person, and her home and surroundings is very inspiring. I am truly blessed to have her as a friend as well as other great friends I met via the internet.

it's been nice to get back into the studio and making - when I was in vancouver I was on a production break and don't get me wrong breaks are good and always rejuvenating, but I belong in the studio. I have had both my parents in the studio working with me and it's been great, my dad is up to helping with anything and mom helps me with the sewing - she also makes us all our meals. the studio is a well oiled machine. I have a new print version of the large pouch - a product that was very popular at the circle craft show. I had printed this version before I left, but there wasn't enough time to sew them, so they will be available online and at the upcoming ooak show - friday is always my day to give myself that extra push to complete all my online orders, on the weekend I will be organizing the stock and my show display. when I was in vancouver I was stressing about everything that had to be done and my approach now is - what ever gets done - gets done - life is too short to fret. I am excited about the show and being able to meet all of you in person. this week we are not accomplishing everything that needs to get done because piper has a terrible cold and last evening when I was helping her get dressed for bed and I was looking at her and the little person she is. I was thinking how it's easy to get caught up in all the work that has to be done, when really the most important thing is this little person who warms my soul.

I hope you have a wonderful weekend - the air is crisp and cool and winter is approaching - so excited for the snow to come!

xxa

more wonderful knits by nicole in the shop

new market totes - circles in indigo and flock in rust on lovely linen with a cotton lining.

here's a picture of some of the lovely items I left vancouver with - the lovely bud vase was a gift from heather - it's was great chatting with her and seeing her again (thanks again heather) - the little hip pouch kept my mints and change on hand a gift from my old landlord back in the day who is also a maker (thanks irek) nautilos bags are well made and functional canvas bags. the handmade little broomlet and dust pan a gift for john from the broom company on granville island. the hand turned pen a trade from my neighbour manfred and the sketchbook from paper ya. do you notice a peak at some new designs I'm working on. my new wholesale catalogue comes out in january so I am preparing for that. my sweet little piper is a bit under the weather and I caught her taking a much needed rest.

it's good to be back - thank you vancouver friends for making my trip a great success. It was a short trip and here are a few photo highlights - the first thing you notice when going to vancouver is the beautiful mountains. I saw the mountains on my last day - there was too much fog and the peaks were not visible. on my one day off I ventured to granville island to visit two of my favourite shops - paper ya and maiwa. granville island has a lot of little shops and a lovely food market called the public market. during this day trip I wished I packed my rubber boots and a warmer sweater, my day was cut short because I am a wimp with wet and cold days.

it was a nice experience at the show and everyone I met was super friendly - I hope to return soon. I arrived in toronto early monday morning at 6am (red eye flights suck) and I am already head deep into printing (thanks to john, kristin and my dad for cutting, cutting and cutting while I was away). my mom arrived this afternoon with baguettes and croissants in tow (my mom is convinced that france has the best bread). I am also working on some new pieces and will have more to tell you later.

I missed you all xxa

I was in love with this tree house in judi's backyard

inside paper ya

loved the places I ate at - ramen noodles at motomachi shokudo (thanks elaine - super yummy) - had a fun time at hapa izakaya in kitsalano - we ended the meal with creme brulee. and lastly guu in gastown - you must try the mushroom and rice with cheese - YUM.

while I'm in vancouver I am staying with my friend judi, who's studio is in a shipping container - read about it here on apartment therapy. Thanks to all the lovely folks who visited me at the show.

a little eye candy while I'm away - work by anita bruce

hello vancouver friends - I hope you can visit me at the circle craft show

a special thanks to the ontario arts council

xxa

my dad is back in canada for a visit - he'll be staying till after the holidays. I had a fun time hanging out with him and chatting about work, life etc - what's great about my dad is that he's so into what I do and is really supportive. I was printing and he was cutting - yeah I know he's pretty awesome. he thinks it's great that I have my work shipped to so many different countries and he was reading the etsy comments and said I have the nicest customers - yes - I do. it was nice to share with him my daily routine - he did mention my studio is a bit hectic and doesn't know how I stay on top of all the things that need to be done. upon my return from vancouver my mom will be visiting from france - she will be down to help me with the upcoming craft show - I have a great support system - I am truly a lucky girl.

left bookhou, middle virginia johnson, right amanda mccavour

john and I snuck out for a few hours to go to the auction for the chair - when we left the event the chair was close to fetching $1000 - it's such a nice feeling to know that we were a part of this charity event - going to a great cause. if you're ever in toronto - the textile museum is a must visit, besides our shop of course.

there was interesting interpretations - especially the one where the chair was grind down to pulp and made into paper

amanda's scribbles displayed in the front bar of the hotel where the auction was held.

I enjoyed hanging out with amanda - lovely lady.

enjoy your weekend friends - the posts next week will be a bit light - unless I can figure how to post on my ipad. I will check in on FB.

many thanks to all of you for your amazing support

xxa+j+ll+p

such long days here - john's been under the weather so I've been going solo on studio production. so I'm more tired than usual - yesterday while I was taking a break from my large pile of sewing I made myself a large oblong pouch (10in. wide) from some linen I dipped in the indigo and dyed in pomegranate. I really like the grey of the linen - the colour is originally an oatmeal colour, seeing the quality of the dyeing on the linen makes me want to do more dyed pieces in linen, I like the texture - so more dyed bags in linen is on my list of things to do - there will be more indigo dyeing today - I ran out of drying space so I had to do it in two sessions. I really like how the dipped market totes turned out - they will be coming to vancouver with me, I hope I can squeeze more work in before I leave monday. I find the daily administration work and organization can take up so much of your time and before you know it the day is over.

a place that puts a smile on my face

I was hiding all the candy the kids brought home yesterday - so that I can monitor how much they consume - the problem is - who's going to hide it from me, arghh I have sugar overload - the candy is tiny and so it's easy to justify consuming more than one.

our current featured artist is Yolande Clark - she makes the most beautiful wood fired ceramics. Yolande is from New Brunswick and the clay is dugged up from an area near her studio and this body of work is a result of two years of experimenting and making. each piece is truly a work of art. so come by and have a look - I think they look beautiful in our window and john did a nice job with the low table.