Linda's Magic Workshop - Linda Britt Design

Not long ago, I cleaned out one of my sewing drawers.   I had a lot of pieces of vintage lace.   At one time I was going to make wonderful Victorian accessories but that time has passed.   Ashley Spicer is a friend who is so talented, the creativity just drips off her fingers!   She makes fabulous children’s clothes as well as ‘Elf Coats’ for grownups.      She just started making corsets and cuffs and uses recycled fabrics.   She was the perfect candidate for my laces.  Check her out at http://www.etsy.com/people/beTwitterpated    My cousin, Sally, lives in San Angelo and we share our love of art and living often.   When I told her I gave my laces to Ashley, she said, “You photographed them first didn’t you?”   Hmmm. Well NO I had not.   It seems Sally does a lot of digital scrapbooking and was drooling over what she thought I had given away with no record.   You never know …..   The day I took photographs of Ashley in her ‘Elf Coats’ for her art submittal, I also picked up the

 Bead-It in Prescott AZ Viking Knit is one of the oldest wire chaining techniques and we first see it being used in the 9 th century.   That must be about the time wire was being made in long enough pieces with a small enough diameter to be flexible for chaining.   It is again popular with jewelry makers and once a person learns the technique it can lead to a Zen like experience.   Basically it is using 26-30 gauge wire and making loops in a circular pattern around a dowel (or similar object) using continuous wire.   When it is finished, the tube is drawn through a series of holes, each smaller than the next, until the chain is the size you want.   The Project I’ve wanted to teach this technique and our local bead store, Bead-It, agreed.  We set a date and had lots of interest.   My first Viking Knit Class was a learning experience for my 7 students and for me.   Aren’t we always learning?   The goal was to make a bracelet with Viking Knit chain and an S hook clasp fro

Yesterday my friend, Kim, and I met at Kuhle’s to explore the junk yard!   Neither of us had been there and neither of us had a camera to capture all the interesting shapes and textures and materials.   But we did find Darrell who led us to the locked up room where old sheet metal to be recycled is kept.   We found a treasure trove of copper and one sheet of brass as well as several gauges of wire.   It did not take long to amass 20 pounds of metal at $5.00 a pound.   Men are working! One of the first questions we were asked was, “Are you just looking or are you buying?”   Having grown up with two brothers and a father who was in demolition (along with many other businesses), I knew we better be buying.   I know not to waste a busy man’s time when it is close to lunch (or any other time either!).   So we were “buying”!   The sheet copper we bought had a natural patina, purple colors where I suppose someone tried etching, and there were a few thicknesses.   We quickly selecte

Heather and Peter Rusty Blackbird Sunday Peter and I took my niece, Heather, to Phoenix to attend a conference.   We wanted to show her some of the natural beauty of our area.   Saturday we toured her around the Prescott lakes, introduced her to birding and later shopped on Whiskey Row.   Sunday we stopped in Anthem hoping to see the Rusty Blackbird, a rarity in Arizona and a lifer for Peter and I. We had been to the community lake three times before hoping to add this to our life list and this time we saw it!   Looking for one bird of a kind is always a challenge and it helped to have three pair of eyes. Then we went to Tempe Town Lake because there was a Red-necked Grebe sighted and that also would be a lifer for me.   Tempe Town Lake is a beautiful community center.   In fact, there were three major events happening on the weekend.   We just wanted to stand on the pedestrian bridge to look for the one Red-necked Grebe!    Red-necked Grebe  Fortunately Pet

 Bead-It (Prescott AZ) and I are offering a class to make a viking knit bracelet in March.   I took the class example in to the bead store and in the process came home with two new (to me) tools to experiment with - a Knitting Spool and a Wyr Knittr. I wanted to know how the chain looked using these techniques compared to the Viking knit and how the processes differed.  Viking Knit Example  Check my post on viking knit to see that technique. http://lindabrittdesign.blogspot.com/2011/10/learning-as-we-go.html  I started with the Knitting Spool – a wooden spool about 3” tall and 1 ½” wide with a hole through the middle.   There are 5 cotter pins on the top and the wire is wound around the pins in one of 2 patterns.   A pick helps put the lower wire over the upper wire at each cotter pin for each row.   The knitted tube is funneled through the center hole and comes out the bottom.       Knitter Spool Example  I think it took me a couple of tries

If you’ve been following my blog posts, you know that I love to photograph birds!   When eight Tundra Swans decided to visit the Prescott Lakes, I was ready with my tripod and Nikon camera with the long lens (Tamron 200-500).   I had my binoculars, hiking shoes and Peter (my resident birder)!   Tundra Swans breed in the Arctic tundra and migrating south to warmer weather.   It is really unusual for them to be this far south. We went to Watson Lake and saw four of the swans near the far shore….too far for any picture.   Then we went to Willow Lake and saw none.   The next day we retraced our steps and found four at Watson Lake and four at Willow Lake.   The ones at Willow were near enough for photography.     I carefully walked toward the water close enough to ‘shoot’ but not to disturb them.    Took lots of pictures in different exposures and happily left.   When I got home and looked, I realized the feathers weren’t as defined as I wanted and were overexposed.  I needed to try again

Lots happening in my life this week so I’m taking a break from the tortoise project while I participate in a couple of holiday sales.    Tuesday was the Hassayampa Holiday Sale at the Hassayampa Golf Club. (Dec. 6).   The second holiday sale is this Saturday, Dec. 10 at the Hidden Valley Association Clubhouse.   1615 Coyote Road, Prescott AZ.   Time 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.     If anyone is in the area, please stop by and see the ornaments and 10 artists’ creations!   There will be lots of pre-Christmas shopping just waiting for you.   Bring a can of food for the underprivileged Prescott families. (Saint Vincent de Paul donations).  This Thursday (Dec. 8) my friend, Willie, and I are going to Phoenix to have High Tea at the Arizona Biltmore.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona_Biltmore_Hotel http://www.etsy.com/listing/57237052/on-sale-vintage-brown-hat-with-tri-color It’s taking some thinking on my part to decide how to dress for this social event!   There is snow on the ground

Often when I sit at my workspace I look out the window and see several big black ravens (each about 24-25” long) swooping between the tall pine trees.   I feel like I’m in the middle of a sci-fi movie by Stephen King or Alfred Hitchcock! Sometimes the Ravens huddle in trees or on the ground.   Other times they will be alone or with their mate.  Today there were 15 of them (an unkindness of Ravens) foraging at the corner where our street intersects another.     Evenings bring the ‘raven patrol’ where they fly and land in their favorite trees.   Quite a site!   Once in a while, one will come to the feeder and grab a peanut! They communicate with each other using an amazing variety of calls that range from a low gurgling croak to harsh grating sounds and shrill alarm calls that can be heard a mile away.  The Common Raven has a very thick bill, shaggy throat and a wedge-shaped tail.   This member of the crow family is incredibly aerobatic, tumbling and rolling, in mid air.   Many scienti