Making an adventure is a good attitude any time of year, but especially in the cold and gray winter. And this month, we see the return of the Great Northwest Glass Quest 2019.  Hosted by the Camano Island Chamber of Commerce and The Great NW Glass Quest, this event provides fun for all as residents and visitors search for plastic clue balls hidden in the Stanwood-Camano area. When a ball is found, participants can turn it in for a limited edition glass ball made by local artists Mark Ellinger and his son Marcus. This is the 10th year participants are searching Stanwood and Camano Island businesses and parks for unique hand-blown glass treasures.

The Great NW Glass Quest offers a fun chance to search local businesses and parks in the Stanwood-Camano area to find a clue ball, which is turned in to receive a locally made glass ball. Photo courtesy of the Great NW Glass Quest

Mark Ellinger built and founded “Glass Quest” in rural Stanwood in 1998. His son Marcus has been blowing glass at Glass Quest since 2008.

This year’s event runs Feb. 15-24. Updates are posted each day on the event website (thegreatnwglassquest.com) showing how many balls remain in local parks. At least one clue ball is hidden per day in each park, including: Heritage Park (Stanwood), Church Creek Park (Stanwood), Freedom Park (Camano), Cama Beach State Park (Camano), Camano Island State Park (Camano), and Kayak Point or Lake Goodwin or Wenberg County Park (Stanwood). Participating businesses are not listed; this adds to the mystery of finding the balls. A Facebook event page is also posted for information.

MORE COMMUNITY FUN

For those wanting to make fabric valentines, head to the Ragfinery in Bellingham for their class on Saturday, Feb. 9 at 2:30 p.m. They provide the vintage patterns, fabric scraps, paper, and other embellishments; you provide the creativity. If you have some sentimental fabrics of your own, bring them along to incorporate into your design. See details at www.ragfinery.com.

The Fairhaven Toy Garden offers a Kids Club every Thursday, with February’s line-up including Valentine’s Day cards and a paper heart basket. Their Sunday needle felt workshops include a poodle, panda with heart, ducks on a pond, and pig. Visit fairhaventoygarden.com for more information.

Northwest Yarns continues to offer free beginning knitting and crochet classes. Knitting is every Wednesday at 4 p.m. and crocheting is Friday at 5 p.m. All welcome to learn. Needles, hooks and yarns for class are available for purchase, or feel free to bring your own. If you already know how to knit or crochet, but have questions about your project, feel free to stop by as well.

A fun class being offered at the store in February is Rug Hooking for Beginners, giving participants a step by step process that may be used for other wool rug projects. Learn how to select and prepare cloth, trace patterns on tulle netting, tool to use, how to hook, and more. This class provides a kit to create a 5”x5” wool mug rug, and each student can select one of seven patterns to use, including an octopus, dragonfly, coffee cup and saucer. The class will be Feb. 13 from 4-7 p.m. and costs $55. For details, see nwyarns.com/pages/classes.

The talented artists of Whatcom Artists of Clay and Kiln invite you to the annual Clay Extravaganza on Saturday, March 2. Celebrate all things clay with the members of Whatcom Artists of Clay and Kiln, as well as a few neighboring artists. Try out the wheel, have the kids make something, watch the Clay Games Competition, or visit with and shop from a number of local artists. The Extravaganza runs 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Depot Market Square, 1100 Railroad Avenue, Bellingham. For more details, see https://www.facebook.com/WhatcomArtistsofClayandKiln.