Myrtlewood and Pine Needle Magnetic Pin or Paper Clip Dish

Myrtlewood and Pine Needle Magnetic Pin or Paper Clip Dish

Dave turned this small 3 ½ inch pin dish out of Oregon Myrtlewood and accented it with coiled and stitched Ponderosa pine needles. It has a strong 1 inch Rare Earth disc magnet inset in the bottom. This unique dish can be used for pins, needles, tacks, paper clips or anything attracted to a magnet. More photos may be viewed at the Ebay auction for this dish. Oregon Myrtlewood is a broadleaf evergreen native to Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California. Although different, Oregon Myrtlewood has a lot of similarities to the Myrtlewood growing in the Holy Land. Oregon Myrtlewood became popular for making gift items back in the early 1900’s. Oregon Myrtlewood possesses a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns and is noted by many as being one of the world’s most beautiful woods. The colors range from blond to black with many shades of honey, browns, grays, reds and greens in between. Oregon woodworkers have developed a small cottage industry making handcrafted Myrtle wood products and gifts for visitors. Many beautiful gifts and works of art crafted out of Myrtlewood. In the Bible, the Myrtle tree is of special religious significance, representing fertility and life.

Happy 4th of July!

(Photo Courtesy of the NPS)

Dave and I hope you all have a wonderful 4th of July! We'll be spending it in Bend, Oregon --Drake Park to be exact. Be sure and stop by our booth if you happen to be in the area for the festivities :)

You may have wondered what Dave has been up to lately! Well, he started a little cleaning project out in his studio which has turned into a complete redo. He's been busy cleaning, sorting, throwing away all kinds of "stuff" and also installing new cabinets. Maybe he'll let me take a photo when he's done :)

The photo above was taken during a 4th of July celebration at Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, located in Baltimore, Maryland. For those of you that may not know, this is where Francis Scott Key wrote the "Star Spangled Banner" and also happens to be one of the interesting places I, Jo, lived as a child :)

Fern Motif Spool Knitter

This newest Spool Knitter was created by Dave as a commissioned piece for one of our wonderful customers. It features a very elegant fern motif that has been burn-etched around the knitter. Poplar and walnut woods were used in this piece.

Great New Tynt Tracer Javascript

This is a post that I had previously written on my "Good Dirt Jewelry" blog. Knowing that so many of our wonderful fiber artist friends author their own blogs where they show their original work, I thought this information was worth sharing here :)

Have you ever had someone use one of your photos without permission, or even worse, "borrowed" your idea completely? I have just discovered the neatest little bit of javascript by Tynt, that can be added to your blog or website that alerts you every single time one of your visitors right-clicks and saves your content!

What does Tracer do?

Tracer secretly tracks when users copy content from your web site and automatically adds a link back to the original page when your content is pasted. Tracer allows you to view statistics on how often content is copied from your site, what that content is and what keywords are being copied most.

I was just beginning to think the script I had added to this blog wasn't working properly until this morning when I got a report about the photos and text of a blog post about Dave's picot gauge set being "borrowed".

Handmade Fern Motif Crochet Hook SZ H, 5.00MM

Handmade Fern Motif Crochet Hook SZ H, 5.00MM

Dave hand crafted this crochet hook out of dark East Indian Rosewood and American Cherry. The Fern motif has been burn etched in the Cherry finial. It is a US size H, 5.00mm and is 6 5/8 inches long and has a hand rubbed bees wax finish. An additional photo can be found at the Ebay auction listing.

Rosewood Tip Double Point Knitting Needles US 11

Rosewood Tip Double Point Knitting Needles US 11

Dave has handcrafted this set of double point needles out of Birch with Rosewood tips. They are 8 inches long and US size 11, 8.00 mm. More photos can be found at the Ebay auction.

Handmade Myrtlewood French Knitting Spool Knitter

Handmade Myrtlewood French Knitting Spool Knitter

Dave crafted this beautiful little Myrtlewood spool knitter in the shape of a small 3 ¾ inch flower vase. It is accented with a Cherry wood top and has four solid brass knitting pins. Also included is a 5 ¼ inch long needle he made from Myrtlewood with a Cherry wood finial. It is initialed and dated by Dave. This gorgeous spool knitter is currently up for auction on Ebay.

Oregon Myrtlewood is a broadleaf evergreen native to Southwestern Oregon and Northwestern California. Although different, Oregon Myrtlewood has a lot of similarities to the Myrtlewood growing in the Holy Land. Oregon Myrtlewood became popular for making gift items back in the early 1900’s. Oregon Myrtlewood possesses a wide variety of beautiful colors and grain patterns and is noted by many as being one of the world’s most beautiful woods. The colors range from blond to black with many shades of honey, browns, grays, reds and greens in between. Oregon woodworkers have developed a small cottage industry making handcrafted Myrtle wood products and gifts for visitors. Many beautiful gifts and works of art crafted out of Myrtlewood. In the Bible, the Myrtle tree is of special religious significance, representing fertility and life.

Handcrafted Inlayed Padauk Lace Tatting Shuttle

Handcrafted Inlayed Padauk Lace Tatting Shuttle

This is a 2 1/2 inch tatting shuttle that Dave handcrafted from brightly colored padauk wood. One side has been inlayed with a piece of burl maple. He specifically looked for a piece of burl that had natural voids (holes) in it so that he could also inlace it with turquoise and copper, accenting its' natural art.

This gorgeous tatting shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave, and has a hand rubbed bees wax finish. More photos can be found at the Ebay auction listing.

Unique Hand Carved Classical Sewing Threadwinder

Unique Hand Carved Classical Sewing Thread Winder

Dave has handcrafted and carved this walnut thread winder and storage barrel in a classical style. Overall it is 5 ¼ inches long, and features a winder and a barrel to protect and keep your thread clean. This fiber art tool is different from older thread winder/holders where the barrel is held on by a screw on/off finial, as this winder is MAGNETIC!!! (ask Dave who's idea THAT was! LOL) Dave inset a hidden small powerful rare earth magnet in the end of the winder and fixed another inside the end of the barrel. Just insert the winder into the barrel and it SNAPS the unit firmly closed. This one of a kind tool has been initialed and dated by Dave. More photos can be found at the Ebay auction listing.

Handmade Set of 3 Double End Crochet Hooks Sizes H-M

Handmade Set of Three Double End Crochet Hooks Sizes H-M

Dave has hand crafted this double ended set of crochet hooks out of Walnut. They include sizes H (5.00mm) and I (5.50mm), J(6.00mm) and K (6.50mm), L (8.00 mm) and M (9.00mm). The letter size has been burn etched into the stem of each end. They are approximately 7 1/2 inches long and have a hand rubbed bees wax finish.

More photos of this beautiful set can be found at the Ebay auction listing. If you'd like to see our online portfolio, please click here to visit our Grizzly Mountain Arts Flickr site, or click the photo in the right side bar.

Off to good Hitty doll homes!

Dave has just finished these miniature carved bone footstools for three proud HittyGirls. After one of the group members got hers, several others just had to have one for their Hitty!

Bone Tip Double Point Knitting Needles US SZ 10, 6.00mm

Bone Tip Double Point Knitting Needles US SZ 10, 6.00mm

Dave handcrafted this set of double point knitting needles out of walnut with Buffalo bone tips and Truestone turquoise accent rings. Truestone is powdered turquoise mixed with resin to form a composite material that can be turned on a lathe. They are a little over 10 inches long and US size 10, 6.00 mm.

You can view an additional photo of these gorgeous knitting needles at the Ebay auction page.

Handcrafted Inlayed Walnut Lace Tatting Shuttle

Handcrafted Inlayed Walnut Lace Tatting Shuttle

Currently up for auction on Ebay, is a larger 3 1/2 inch shuttle that Dave has handcrafted from walnut. On one side he has inlayed a piece of burl maple. He specifically looked for a piece of burl that had natural voids (holes) in it so that he could also inlace it with turquoise and brass, accenting its' natural art. This tatting shuttle has been initialed and dated by Dave and has a hand rubbed bees wax finish.

Hitty Doll Carved Bone Quill Pen & Lapis Inkwell

Hitty Doll Carved Bone Quill Pen & Lapis Lazuli Inkwell

Have you been looking for an inkwell and quill pen for your Hitty desk? Among Hitty’s gifts from her First Hundred Years was.. "...a quill pen out of a feather shed by a neighbor's parrot...". The feather is described as "...a green so bright, with a touch of scarlet thrown in...".

Dave carved this miniature feather quill pen out of Buffalo bone and used some of his colored scrimshaw inks to dye it green with a touch of scarlet. One can’t very well have a quill pen without an inkwell, so he turned this miniature ink bottle out of Truestone lapis lazuli. Truestone is crushed lapis powder mixed with resin making it a composite material that can be carved or turned on a lathe.

The feather measures 2 inches long and the inkwell is approx 3/8 inch high and 7/16 inch diameter on the bottom. More photos of this hand carved quill and inkwell can be found at the Ebay auction listing.

Bone Embroidery Thread Laying Tool & Tip Protector

Bone Embroidery Thread Laying Tool & Tip Protector

This 5 1/4 inch laying tool was handcrafted by Dave from Buffalo bone. While he has made these before, this is the first where he has incorporated a point protector with the tool. The tip protector is turned from burl wood and attaches to the tool by means of an elastic stretch cord and lobster claw clasp. It is easily and quickly removable from the tool for use. Once finished just re-clasp and stretch the protector back in place. Easy Peezy!

This laying tool is currently up for auction on Ebay. More photos can be found at the auction listing.

Hitty's Footstool

Many of you already know that Dave carves Hitty dolls and Hitty accessories from time to time and this bone foot stool is his latest work done on commission. He has done several bone and ivory Hitty footstools in various styles. For those of you that are not familiar with the storybook of Hitty's First 100 years, while she was sailing aboard the whaler Diane-Kate, the sailors carved her a "bone footstool". There is no description of the footstool so Dave takes artistic license when he creates these charming miniature footstools. Hitty stands 6 1/4 inches tall. This miniature bone footstool is approx 2 5/8 inches long by 1 1/4 inches wide by 1 1/4 inch high.