CRAFTASTiC DAY

Oh what a lovely crafty day!!

Mimi cleverly arranged a sewing bee over at Liz's cozy cottage, minus the wee one. Kalin (my other half), Jeff (Liz's other half), and Grand Daddy (Mimi's other half), all took Violet to see The Tale of Despareaux at the Movie Tavern.

Liz and I started the day by making a break-neck trip to the Cabbage Rose, and Jo-Ann's to pick up some last minute supplies.

Then...

We met at the rendezvous point (Liz's cottage) at noon and ate a light lunch. Liz made her curry chicken salad. Mama brought fruit salad.

With that under our belt we set up our crafting centers. This consisted of two sergers, three sewing machines, a cutting area, and an ironing area. There was no shortage of equiptment here. :) We all whipped out our projects and got to work.

Mama worked on making cute market bags.

Liz worked on some making and embellishing throw pillows for her back bedroom.

I worked on Liz's lap quilt.

Later for a little boost I made frozen chocolate lollipops. Liz coined the name in honor of Anna Maria Horners beautiful fabric line.

We had a blast. It was so wonderful to be together. We decided that it must become a tradition.

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering, and take without forgetting."

- Princess Elizabeth, Asquith Bibesco

While trying to still enjoy and acknowledge the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, despite stores like Wal-Mart etc putting their Christmas stuff out before Halloween and playing Christmas music in the store, I having been trying to keep Christmas gift giving in my mind. It always has a way of sneaking up on us, and I want to be able to slow down and enjoy all of its magical moments, without feeling overwhelmed. In the process I have found the neatest toy companies online. My favorites are Magic Cabin and Nova Natural Toys (where the inspiration for our good friend Berry Sue originated). Violet has gone through the catalogs and requested the fairy house. Kalin is working on his own version for her and I have decided to experiment with wet felting to craft some fairy dollies to go with it. I am very excited about this project and have several ideas I want to play with. I will keep you posted on the evolution of these little pixies.

Looking through these catalogs has been such a source of inspiration. I love all of the natural fibers and wood that are used in their products. I also love the simplicity - allowing the child to use their imagination in play.

It feels good to get a few of these Christmas purchases under my belt and feel the beginnings of the excitement that accompany the holiday season.

Violet and I have also mulled around a few joint handmade crafts ideas (no hints) and I think that they will be cute.

The little elves have to get cracking....

FEEDiNG THE SOUL

This past Saturday I spent the entire day with helping my friend Arlone with the annual Off the Beaten Path Artist Studio Tour. It is a self guided tour that offers a look into each artists studio and allows them to showcase their work from their home. I jumped at the chance to spend the day at Steve and Arlone's home and help her with customers.

A very talented weaver, her pieces are created using hemp twine, recycled cotton garments and wool sweaters.

She was kind enough to give me a crash course on my floor loom in between customers.



She asked me to bring some of the wool that I had processed so that we could experiment with some of the natural dyes that she uses.

We started by soaking the uncarded wool in cool water.

In another pot we mixed 1/4 cup of alum with 2 gallons of cool water. After the wool was saturated we added the wool to the alum mix which would act as a mordant. We then put this pot out on her wood stove and brought that to a simmer. This simmered for quite a bit...round about an hour. Arlone said it was best to let this sit over night and then either let the wool dry and do it later, or go on to the actual dye bath step. We did not get this far with my wool which she kept, and will dye with orange cosmos flower.






She did however have a weld dye bath going in the house, so I was able to see this process. Weld is a medieval dye plant that produces a beautiful earthy lemon yellow color. I am not sure of the exact recipe for this process but I will write it in a later post.

Arlone has a dye garden with indigo, weld, woad and cosmos. I am totally inspired to make one next year.



She is such a neat person. This was food for the soul. I can't wait to continue with my rug and dye some fiber!!!!


.....coasters made from recycled sweaters




.....These bags come in three sizes and are perfect for peas or cherries that you don't want rolling around in your market bags. This produce is from their garden.

.....I couldn't resist these pin cushions, I treated myself with one for my felting needles...