Today's blog comes from Janet Millett, Central Library staff:

Here’s my dog Phoebe. She loves a good romp in the snow. However, when the snow is wet and sticky, her curls pick it up and it gets to the point where walking becomes an ordeal. Hence you see the dejected look on her face (despite our amusement!) Perhaps she knew that a bath was in store; it’s the only way to get rid of the ice balls in a timely manner.

It occurred to me that maybe a dog coat and booties would save us both a lot of grief. I’m always keen to take on some new projects as it’s great to have something to do on wintery nights. So with that in mind, I had a look at our catalogue.

Happily I found some great resources. Stylish Knits for Dogs: 36 Projects to Knit in a Weekend offers knitwear that you can customize to your hearts delight.

Pet Projects: the Animal Knits Bible shows you how to create whimsical party collars for your pooch as well as cozy cushions, pet beds and even a blanket for the birdcage.

Vogue Knits for Pets has many other inspirational ideas that would also look great in the home. A dozy-looking beagle lies on a very stylish Fair Isle dog bed. When you make it yourself, you can make sure that it co-ordinates with the drapes.

It’s fun to discover custom-designed solutions for all your pet’s accessory needs. And something to keep you occupied on those cold wintery nights.

Jan Millett

It’s craft season in Calgary. In the past two weeks, I have received emails from friends about sales of hand-blown glass, hand-made jewelry and pottery. The weeks preceding Christmas are the perfect time to shop for artisanal objects, not only for gifts, but for your home.

We have just received a lovely new title called Hand Made Home: Living with Art and Craft by Mark & Sally Bailey. The Baileys live and work near Hay-on-Wye, near the Welsh border in Britain.

They write, “The handmade home is all about creating an integrated space where you can live alongside the pieces that make up and define you and your family’s tastes.”

In the first part of the book, they examine the elements of decorating with craft, such as texture - “the badge of honour of the handmade home”. They advise the reader to think of walls as a blank canvas for display and to choose neutral and natural colours.

In many of the rooms shown, lively patinaed finishes offer a beautiful background for display. For example, a collection of hand-turned wooden boxes and vessels are arranged on steel shelves which hang on a lime-plastered wall.

The second half of the book takes an international tour of homes of designers and craftspeople. The tour includes a rural cottage in Hampshire, the Dutch farmhouse of a textile artist, a compact Tokyo apartment of a cookbook author as well as a Finnish forest house.

Generally, the look is the popular combination of rustic with modern.

It will have you hitting the sales.