Saturday

Even More New Nalbinding Needles!


Dave just handed me three new Nalbinding Needles to list in the Fiber Art Tool Section of our Etsy.com shop!

All of our handmade nalbinding needles are carved from ancient ivory and have been polished to a high gloss finish. As no two pieces of ancient ivory are alike, each needle Dave creates is a truly unique piece of art.

Speckled BLUE Mammoth Nalbinding Knitting Needle



NEED A LITTLE LONGER NEEDLE? Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE speckled woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The patterns of these colorful mammoth ivory shards makes each needle truely one of a kind. He also accented this needle with a diamond inlay of Mother of Pearl.

The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. Blue mammoth ivory gets its color from elements in the soil and ice where it has been buried for thousands of years. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips.

This nalbinding needle is 3 3/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker and is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Friday

Time Squared


Since discovering Steampunk style design, I've been quietly trying to figure out how to make it "Grizzly" style. Some of my pieces are the usual vintage Bakelite buttons and watch parts, but I'm trying to incorporate more organic materials to give it a tribal feel.

The "Time Squared" piece featured above, was created with carved bone, African trade copper and vintage watch movements. I know there are some hard core watch collectors that cringe at the cannibalism that's required, but rest assured, all of the watches I use are unrepairable.

I've created a "Steampunk Grizzly Style" section in our Etsy.com shop and will be adding to it slowly in the future.

Thursday

Handmade American Cherry Wood Cameo Lucet


Dave hand crafted this cord making lucet out of American Cherry and inlayed it with a "Girl with Bird" vintage inspired resin cameo. It is 2 inches wide by 4 inches long.

Dating back to the Viking era, this little hand tool was used for braiding cord that was then used in a variety of fabrics and garments.

This lucet has been initialed and dated by Dave and is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Grizzly Balms and Lotion Bars!

Our "Paw-Chew-Lee" solid perfume and our solid moisturizing lotion bars are always popular items at our art and craft shows. I just made up a new batch of each and just listed them in our Etsy shop.

Both our solid perfume and solid moisturizing lotion bar contain only all natural ingredients and NO alcohol. If you travel, you know what a hassle it is to have to put all of your liquid items in that little quart size bag to get through security. Our gender neutral products come in a handy little tin that you can drop in your pocket or purse.

Rare Blue Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needle


Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of rare ancient BLUE woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. Blue mammoth ivory gets its color from elements in the soil and ice where it has beed buried for thousands of years. Blue mammoth ivory is the most prized in jewelry making and for making expensive knife handles and pistol grips. It is 2 3/4 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker.

This blue mammoth ivory nalbinding needle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Carved Antler with Silver Inlay Nalbinding Needle


Dave hand carved this nalbinding knitting needle out of deer antler and inlayed it with sterling silver. It is 3 inches long and comes with a velour pouch. It is initialed by Dave, the maker. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire artists!

We use shed antlers which naturally fall off the animal each year after the breeding season. They grow back during spring and summer and are fully developed again by the fall breeding season. After that, they are shed and the process repeated again for the next years growth.

This item contains a part of a native wildlife species and would require a special export license and shipping through a designated customs port. It is not cost effective to sell and ship this item outside the US.

This nalbinding needle is currently up for auction on Ebay!

Wednesday

Adorn Your Frig!



I don't know what your frig looks like, but mine is covered with family photos and works of art done by my niece. I've always loved refrigerator magnets even before I had "objets d art" to display.

Earthenware Frig magnets are a new item for our Etsy shop, so if you love to adorn your refrigerator, go check ours out!

Monday

I Wonder Why They Call It.....


.......Tombstone pass? I certainly wouldn't want to be crossing the Cascade Mountains in a covered wagon in May! We traveled over this pass today on our way home from Yachats, Oregon which is on the coast. As you can see, the warm spring weather has yet to reach the higher elevations. The clouds were hanging low among the pines and the smell was divine.

Thursday

David Stanbrough, Viet Nam War Veteran



David Stanbrough, United States Navy 1964-1968

In honor of his service to our country, I wanted all of our blog readers to know of Dave's significant contribution in chronicling one of the worst disasters in US Naval history.

Dave served on board the U.S.S Forrestal from 1966 to 1968. On July 29, 1967 his GQ station was on the flight deck as motion picture cameraman when tragedy struck. A missile was accidentally fired from a nearby plane striking the fuel tanks of Lt. Commander John McCain's A-4 Skyhawk. A series of horrendous explosions ensued causing a raging inferno that lasted 24 hours. 134 men lost their lives and hundreds more were injured. This accident on board the USS Forrestal was the worst non-combat related accident in the history of the US Navy.

Dave was featured in an episode of the "Caught on Film" series on the History Channel, where he shared his memories of having captured such a historic event on film. Many of his still photographs can be found on our website devoted to the USS Forrestal tragedy.

To all the veterans of wars past and present, we thank you for the sacrifice you and your families have made for our country.

Wednesday

Bisque Hitty Doll Head for Soft Body Doll or Pin Cushion


This earthenware clay Hitty doll head has been sitting on Dave's work table looking at him (and me!) for too long now and it’s time she found another home!

We like to play around with our little kiln so Dave made this glaze fired Hitty head with the best intention of making a Hitty pin cushion or soft body doll, but it seems we never have the time. I think that someone else with more talent and time could make good use of her. The head size is scaled for a 6 1/4 inch doll.

Hitty's head is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please help her find a body! :)

Handmade Rosewood Lucet with Fine Silver Inlay


Dave hand crafted this cord making lucet out of East Indian Rosewood and inlayed it with a filigree disk of fine silver. This lucet measures 2 inches wide by 4 inches long. JoAnna makes the fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave carved a round recess into the lucet and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. It is initialed and dated by Dave.

Dating back to the Viking era, this little hand tool was used for braiding cord used in a variety of fabrics and garments. Our lucet is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction and additional photos of this rosewood lucet.

Tuesday

Ivory and Fine Silver Tatting Shuttle


Collect and enjoy the elegance of ivory and fine silver! Dave carved this 3 inch drop tatting shuttle from 10,000 year old mammoth ivory, like the chunk pictured in the photo (the large chunk is not for sale).

This piece of ancient ivory is cream colored on one side and darker brown color on the reverse. Dave inlayed it with a filigree disk of fine silver. JoAnna makes these fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave then carved a round recess into the shuttle and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. This shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave.

This beautiful one-of-a-kind tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction and more photos of this shuttle.

Monday

Ancient Mammoth Ivory Nalbinding Needles


Dave hand carved this set of nalbinding needles out of ancient woolly mammoth ivory from Siberia Russia. The ivory is at least 10,000 years old. The longer rounded needle is 3 7/8 inches long and the flat needle is 3 ½ inches long and they come with a velour pouch. Each is initialed by Dave. Perfect for SCA Ren-Faire! This set comes with a copy of the Affidavit of Ivory Origin.

These nalbinding needles are currently up for auction on Ebay. Please click here if you would like to view this auction.

Handmade Pyro-Art Tatting Shuttle


Dave handmade this 3 inch shuttle from Maple wood and freehand burn etched the floral design using a razor tip pyro tool. Each of Dave's shuttles are one-of-a-kind and have been initialed and dated.

This tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Saturday

Ancient Ivory Medieval Norse Nalbinding Needles



Dave was recently contacted by a fiber artist who asked if he had ever made any medieval Norse nalbinding needles. He hadn't, but immediately began researching this tool as he loves adding new fiber art tools to his repertoire. All of our nalbinding needles are hand carved from ancient ivory and can be viewed in the Fiber Art Tools section of our online Etsy shop.

If you are like us and have never heard of "Nalbinding", which can be spelled several different ways, the excerpt below is from Wikipedia and gives an explanation of this ancient art form:

"NÃ¥lebinding (Danish: literally "binding with a needle" or "needle-binding", also naalbinding or naalebinding) is a fabric creation technique predating both knitting and crochet. Also known in English as "knotless netting," "knotless knitting," [1]or "single needle knitting," the technique is distinct from crochet in that it involves passing the full length of the working thread through each loop, unlike crochet where the work is formed only of loops, never involving the free end.

More information on this medieval art can be found here.

Wednesday

Crafts on the Coast Annual Spring Arts and Crafts Fair - Yachats


It's that time of year again! Time to go to Yachats! This quaint seaside village is one of our most favorite places in Oregon. If you happen to be going to the coast for Memorial Day weekend, be sure and stop by and say "Hi!".

We will be taking most of our items in our Grizzly Mountain Arts Etsy shop to this show. If you have a favorite item in our shop, you may want to buy it soon or it may get sold at the show.
Saturday 10 a.m. -5 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. -3 p.m.

Crafts on the Coast Annual Spring Arts and Crafts Fair - Yachats
Information: (541)547-4664, (541)547-4738. Held inside the Yachats Commons, Hwy. 101 and W 4th St.

Tuesday

Rosewood and Fine Silver Tatting Shuttle




Dave hand carved this 3 inch shuttle from Honduras Rosewood. JoAnna makes the fine silver filigree inlay discs using Precious Metal Clay. She molds the metal clay and then kiln fires it to 1650 degrees. The organic clay binder burns away melting the fine silver particles into 99.9% pure silver. Dave then carved a round recess into the shuttle and inset the silver disc to a near flush level. It is initialed and dated by Dave. This tatting shuttle is currently up for auction on Ebay, with a starting bid of 99 cents!

Saturday

Oregon Cascades Myrtlewood Tatting Shuttle Number 10


Made with love on Grizzly Mountain!

Number 10 of our signature Oregon Myrtlewood tatting shuttles is completed! This 2 5/8 inch post style tatting shuttle was handcrafted from Oregon Myrtlewood and has been burn etched with our Oregon Cascade Logo. This shuttle has been signed and numbered by Dave, and is for sale in our Etsy.com shop.

You may notice that new items are not showing up regularly in both of our Etsy.com shops and on Ebay. Both of us are currently fighting the flu and spending more couch time than creative time. We hope to be back up to speed soon, so please keep checking in to see if we've added new items!

Wednesday

Back in Oregon!



After a whirlwind of a trip to visit family in southwestern and northern Oklahoma, we are back in Oregon safe and sound. We had really hoped to see some exciting weather while we were there, but it waited and chased us out of Oklahoma City this morning. It was in the 90's in Oklahoma, but as you can see in the above photo taken at our local airport, it's still a little chilly here.

As much as we love visiting our family, to quote Dorthy Gale of Kansas, "There's no place like home" :)