​This week I got to realize a long term dream of mine to learn Navajo weaving.  When I lived in Arizona I never got to learn this art form.  Can you believe that many years later my dream came true here on the Outer Banks.  I had a great week learning Navajo weaving and culture from Master Weaver  Roy  Kady and connecting with a terrific group of like-minded women.  I'm very pleased with my piece, it's a little wonky and has lots of mistakes but that's part of the process when learning new things.   My piece has a lot of healing and spiritual messages for me.  I can't wait to see what other messages this piece continues to reveal.

Thank you Kady Gonna Bitsóó for a wonderful week of weaving.  This has been a dream come true.  Your teaching and storytelling made a great impact on me.  You have inspired me to continue to walk the path of a Dreamweaver.  Ahehee!

Roy wove this piece during the  week.  He named it 'Wampum Shell Girl'.

Day 1 - Meeting Roy and the other weavers and setting up the loom.

​Day 2 - Yay!  We get to weave.  Love my Navajo churro yarn, 3 skeins natural colors and 2 skeins Dyed with natural materials.

​Day 3 - demonstrating Navajo weaving at The Avon Farmers Market.

End of Day 3.  Loving the process.

​Day 4 - Navajo weaving workshop.  The filters do not do the colors justice.  Almost on the finish line.

​Day 5 - Navajo weaving workshop.  A little 'wonky' but ok.  Tomorrow is the reveal.

Day 6 - Completion

Our wonderful group of weavers with our teacher Roy.  These ladies were so inspiring and I enjoyed getting to meet them.  I know we will get together to create again.

I've completed my piece I think I will call it Dream Weaving.

We've had a very fun week making & creating here on Hatteras Island.  We ended the week with our Wine & Weave Workshop last night at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.  Come join us in August on Thursday nights from 5:30-7:30pm, $35.  You can weave a wild wooly whimsical wall hanging or a fiber bracelet or accessory.

​We started the week with our Knitting Circle.  Suzanne was back from the mountains and is finishing up her summer tunic.  Claudia started on her summer crescent shawl and Chris finished her wall pocket and learned how to purl.  We won't be having class next Monday.  See you all in two weeks.

Look what I got in the mail yesterday!  How synchronistic I received it the same day as my new website and etsy shop launch.  Yesterday would have been my mother's 76 birthday.  Also, the day that my essay is published on in the book is April 15, my grandmother's birthday.  The universe is speaking loud and clear to me today.  I'll have copies available for purchase in a few weeks.

At my weakest point I packed up everything sold my house, moved near my sister and was ready to give up. I was also considering selling my beach cottage that my friends and I so loving designed and decorated.  It was a great collaboration and showed me that it takes a village.  As my health situation continued to decline I wasn't able to use it.  The house sat empty for a year and a half, calling me enticing me to move in, but I didn't feel well enough to travel to it.  I was so physically and emotionally worn out that  I was ready to give it up on my dream.

I took a detour to Durham, NC hoping to pursue a wellness plan to achieve optimum health.  It was a nice resting place, but was not a home.  I was still fighting a legal battle that continued on from the death of my ex.  While in NC I decided to partake in a coaching program located in Asheville, NC.  Networking with other women business entrepreneurs and participating in the coaching program saved my life.  This group gave me the courage to emerge from my self induced isolation and continue the pursuit of my dreams.

I moved to my cottage the summer of 2014.  Hurricane Arthur was there to initiate me to island life.  A hurricane was nothing compared to the last few years of my life so it didn't dissuade me from staying. It didn't matter to me though I was already feeling defeated and demoralized. I was low on funds and definitely not having fun. I was in constant pain and needed a lot of assistance from my children. Of course they resented it and felt lost too. We had vacationed for years on this island but how  were we going to be received in this new isolated community. How were we going to thrive. My son soon left to attend a college that was 10 hours away in Maryland. My daughter started 10th grade at the local high school.  My best friend and her husband lived on the same street as me.  During the hurricane I got to meet my new neighbors and experience the support that a small community provides during challenging times.  I also lost my best girlfriend of over 30 years and another close friend to cancer the next year.

I began to come up with a wellness strategy and a way to began crafting a life.  I changed my food plan, became more mobile and started to get to know the community.  My daughter immediately was accepted into her new school environment.  She introduced me to her new friends' mother who was looking for a knitting teacher to teach at her gallery.  My daughter encouraged me to go talk to her.  I was using a walker at that time and still not feeling 100% and felt awkward, but I went to meet her.  We immediately connected and I began developing a fiber arts program for her shop and teaching.  I will forever be grateful for the wonderful opportunity.  I began to craft with vengeance, knitting and crocheting, designing  art-to-wear, writing and documenting my progress through social media and blogging.  I met a wonderful group of women who attend my weekly knitting workshop.  I've worked with vacationers and their kids over the summer crafting art.   I take time to observe the changes in my natural surroundings and smell the roses.  It's been a dream come true.  It's true salt air is good for the Soul.

It's been a great two  years.  I've also achieved my dream of being published.  One of my essay's have been published in a collaborative book project.  Another one will be published in the fall.  My children are well on their educational and career paths.  I'm still challenged by my health and legal issues.  I have a strong community of support here on the island and it continues to grow as I put myself out there.  When I made that declaration for change 18 years ago I didn't think the road would be so long and winding.  I'm excited to see what the next phase of the journey brings and I know that I will continue to pursue crafting the life of my dreams.

'I am blessed to have the love and support of these wonderful Souls."  Thank you!

​It was good to get back together with our knitting circle.  We all got to get up to date with our travels and holiday visitors.  We will have a couple of reveals next week.  Check back or join us next Monday July 18 from 1-4pm Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn.

Every summer my friend and neighbor Suzanne treats her nieces and nephews to Camp Crafty Diva.  This time I got to teach two sisters how to weave.  They took my mini workshop last summer where they tie dyed tees and learned how to paint on silk.  This summer they wanted to learn to weave.

Here Erin learned how to weave on the ridgid heddle loom.  She had a ball creating fun funky cloth.

Here big sister Megan got to use my small floor loom to weave a larger multi textured whimsical scarf with lots of glitter and color.  She caught on quickly and loved the soothing process of weaving on the loom.

Of Course studio pup Nala had to get in the act.  She monitored both girls as they were weaving.

Here the girls are modeling their creations.

We had a great time this morning at the Fiber Arts Open Studio teaching my bestie's how to macrame. We are color kindred spirits. If it doesn't have neon lime, orange or pink we don't want it. Yet the natural organic feel of cotton rope was enough to get their creative juices flowing. We all decided that making macrame is very soothing to the soul. Join me next week at Blue Pelican Gallery Gifts & Yarn for our Fiber Arts Open Studio, Wednesday's from 10:00-1:00,