Inuvik (Sep 22/03) - With winter just around the corner, the craftier residents of the Mackenzie Delta region are putting down their berry picking buckets and picking up their sewing needles.

"Probably any kind of craft or hobby you can think of somebody is doing in this area," said Marnie Hilash, sales co-ordinator at J&S Options in Inuvik and a member of the NWT Arts Council.

"We have a long winter and after a long winter there is nothing so gratifying as having a craft project completed. It's a creative way to deal with boredom."

Keeping busy is exactly why Inuvialuit elder Rosie Albert starting crafting more than 50 years ago.

Albert is known throughout the North for her beading and sewing talents. She makes everything from slippers to beaded hair barrettes, dolls and parkas.

She started beading when she was 14 to pass the time babysitting her younger siblings. Now she does it for herself and a line of eager buyers.

"I like doing fancy work," said Albert from her Inuvik home.

"(Sewing) makes me do something instead of doing nothing."

When Albert was a child, sewing also had a practical application. A woman who couldn't sew and make her own clothes was useless to her husband and her family, she said.

"When I was growing up my father told me if you don't learn to sew, your kids are going to run around with nothing on." Crafting is still a predominantly female and family pursuit.

"There seems like a lot of women with young kids and sometimes even whole families go shopping for the crafts they are going to make together," said Hilash.

"Arts and crafts are how a lot of people express their love for their families."

Hilash into non-traditional arts

Hilash does arts and crafts for the love of colour and design.

Armed with a bachelor's degree in visual arts, her craft of choice is digital art -- less mess than traditional stuff but still a chance to play with colours.

Traditional arts and crafts are the most popular activities in the Delta, said Hilash. But knitting, cross stitch and quilting also hold their own.

So does home decorating.

Hilash sells a lot of stencils, especially to Holman residents. She said most people use the stencils to either decorate their homes or as templates for embroidery projects.

"You see a lot of people trying to personalize their homes. They are Martha Stewartizing their complex."