Hi! We just recently wrapped up our Finally Friday Paint & Stitch Get-togethers! Jake and I have been hosting these gatherings all winter long and now will take a summer break and come back in October. Every month, on the 2nd & 4th Friday evenings, people from the community who share common painting & stitching interests gathered at the Arctic Rose Gallery & Art Center, downtown 5th Ave, Anchorage, Alaska. It’s a beautiful Art Gallery and so cozy in the back where we meet. Thank you Jana for letting us get together there! So Jake’s (Kurt) the painter and I”m the stitcher.
Our First Gathering
It’s been a lot of hard work but soooo much fun and rewarding! Almost every gathering we’ve had different people come and join us along with a small core group that formed. We also have a potluck and that has been really nice because we start at 6pm and many come straight from work and we all share our goodies together while unwinding from the hectic week. We all share our talents too and I’ve learned so much and made friends.
I saw painters who started as beginners become experienced and awesome painters! I saw crocheters who began to knit! I saw friendships develop and blossom! I’ve known some of the people for a long time but got to know them better. The buzz was always “what are we going to bring to eat and work on this week?” I saw the excitement each time we all came together, excited to share and learn. I have a hard time around people (I fake it pretty good) but everyone made each other comfortable and was accepting of each other. Even though we were all different ages, we were like one big family! It was so wonderful to experience that! I love each one of them.
We even shared things that we made, like I bought a beautiful pair of earrings from Cathe! And Nicole brought handmade felted soap! Jan and Joni bought some of Jake’s paintings and Angie showed her cute crocheted baby onesie & hat sets along with her Angry Bird hats she sold at Christmas. We all watched Sarah work on her darling crocheted mushroom until she completed it. Funny, I never did really complete anything because I always got side tracked looking at everyone else’s projects:)
The last Friday the stitchers convinced me to show them how to locker hook and before I knew it I had a FULL class! I honestly wasn’t prepared for a class….thought it was just going to be a demo! But everyone, having stitching experience whether it was knitting, crochet, tatting, felting, weaving, embroidery, jewelry, sewing, and etc. all caught on fast. It was a great class and I am so proud of them:)
I know we are going to miss our Friday gatherings but it always seems that when spring & summer come we all are out doing other things. In Alaska we take advantage of the good weather! But we will all come together again in October and share more projects, fun, food, laughter, and friendships. Hope everyone has a great summer and Jake and I can’t wait to see you in October!
♥Donna
Dream catchers are arts and crafts of the Native American people. Traditionally dream catchers were made from willow branches bent into rings or oval shapes and sinew for the web. Feathers decorate infants and children’s dream catchers, but all dream catchers are embellished with totem animals, beads, and small stones. (I love to embellish!) The ring is believed to represent wisdom, strength, and unity.
One legend tells of an elderly spiritual leader who had a vision of Iktomi, the great trickster and searcher of wisdom. He appeared in the form of a spider and spoke to him. As he spoke, the spider picked up the elder’s willow ring and began to spin a web. He spoke about the cycle of life and and many lessons. The ring represents the cycle of life, for as we come into life as infants and grow into adults, as elderly adults we must be taken care of as infants, thus completing the cycle of life.
When the spider finished, he had spun a web inside the ring and told him that when the dream catcher is hung above ones bed, good dreams will float through the web’s holes and down the strings of beads and feathers, placing good dreams into your head while one sleeps. Bad dreams are caught in the web and tangle up in the web & beads and stones and with the first rays of daylight, they evaporate and disappear. Pretty awesome don’t you think!
Wishing you good dreams and peaceful sleep.
Tangle Alaska Blog 