a winter sale……

The shop is stocked for the holidays! Lots of new things in there…….. take a peek!

If you are swooning over the nature notecards….. save and buy a set! There are less fees that way and I pass the savings along to my customers. The cards are perfect for teacher’s gifts! I sold several at the fair last weekend for folks putting together gifts for teachers. (don’t forget music teachers too!)

I’m offering a one week sale this year! Use the code wintersale to save 10% off your order and receive a surprise gift too. (good through next Saturday – 12/6)

Thank you to all of you support small and handmade businesses during the holidays.

xo~

handmade holiday gifting {2}

Yesterday sort of ran away from me. I had a heap of errands to run and braved the grocery store in pre-turkey-day-plus-pre-first-big-snow-of-the-season chaos. This meant there was no milk, toilet paper, or cream cheese. At the register with my giant turkey, the cashier balked at the price and made sure it was right. Yes, I told her. And I'll be back the day after turkey day bright and early to see if there are any hippie turkeys left that might be on sale. That's about the only "black Friday" sale I have interest in. Something tells the grocery store will be quiet that day.

While I ran endless errands, the kids listened to Percy Jackson on audio. The library trip in the beginning proved to be a lifesaver for us all. We made it home with enough time to put farm veggies and groceries away. Make a quick salad and huevos rancheros for dinner. And head back out the door for parent teacher conferences at the high school. Phew. And if that was not enough excitement, the FIRE ALARM went off at 2:15 a.m!! Causing great chaos as Joe (in his undies) and I bolted from our room where Sam met us wide-eyed from the top of the basement stairs and the three of us checked the other kids and the house. At least three times over. Finding nothing. Thank God. Joe & I were both still a little rattled this morning and decided we needed to do a fire drill and let the kids practice sliding from the roof.

But gosh, I guess I got completely distracted. I'm really here to share another simple giftable project with you.

Silk & lavender eye pillows!

There is really nothing like rewarding yourself with a few quiet minutes of relaxation. (especially if you've an esepcially chotic day!)

This luxurious eye pillow can be filled with buckwheat groats, wheat berries, or rice for gentle pressure on the eyes. Lavender adds relaxing aromatherapy benefits. This thick charmeuse silk is durable and fairly easy to sew. It can be purchased at Dharma Trading. The 6×24 inch silk scarf is big enough for one eye pillow, but I suggest buying the 15×60 scarf and making up a few eye pillows as gifts (the larger silk will make 5 eye pillows!). You can purchase it by the yard too. Also at Dharma, you can purchase a small 2 ounce jar of Dharma Acid Dye to dye your silk scarf. They have many tutorials on how to do this. It’s fun, easy, and makes a beautiful one of a kind piece of fabric for your project. (this dye works on wool too!) Be sure to rinse your dyed silk well, dry and gently iron on a low setting before proceeding with the project.

Materials:

silk fabric (see details above)

a fresh sharp needle on your sewing machine

thread for sewing

1 cup dried lavender

2 cups un-toasted buckwheat groats, wheat-berries, rice (or other small heavy grain)

Instructions::

Cut your silk fabric into two 5.5 x 12 inch rectangles. Right sides together (this is the shiny slippery side), pin and stitch the silk pieces together starting about a half inch in from the top corner. Stitch all the way around and then turn the silk & stitch back where you began, creating a double seam all the way around the silk. See the photo for illustration. Backstitch to prevent unraveling & remove from the machine.

Clip the corners as shown, being careful not to get too close to your seam. Turn the silk pillow right side out, you can use a knitting needle or similar blunt tipped item to help turn the corners inside out. Fill with 1 cup of dried lavender and 2 cups of your chosen grain. You can use more or less grain to create the fullness you are after.

Hand or machine stitch the opening closed. If you use buckwheat groats, find un-toasted ones. I find toasted ones to have a strong scent that interferes with the lavender. Gently kneading the pillow will activate the lovely lavender scent. You can also add a few drops of essential oil to the grains instead of the dried lavender if you'd like a different scent. Just adjust the grains to make up for leaving the lavender out.

You're all done. You can sew a few of these up easily in an afternoon. Be sure to keep one for yourself!

Lay back, place your eye pillow over your eyes & relax…..

xo~

week 1 * week 3 *

notecards!

A few weeks ago I shared an album of images on facebook asking for help to choose some images to get made into notecards. I then ordered cards, envelopes, and plastic protective sleeves…. all from different places. I was nervous something would be the wrong size….. but as things began to arrive over the last few weeks my worry was replaced with giddiness. Everything came out perfect….

The images are a collection of favorites over the last few years (and houses). Louisiana, Alaska, Massachusetts. Each listing has a little story to go along with it so you know where the picture was taken….

They are small-ish notecards :: 3.5 by 4.75 inches.

Just the right size for anything.

Printed on high quality recycled cardstock (yeah!)

Paired with 100% post consumer recycled envelopes in Kraft brown with an easy peel and stick seal. (double yeah!)

I just listed them in the shop as singles, sets of three, and a set of all eight prints.

It’s always so amazing to see your photograph on a card. In print. Thank you so much to all of you who helped choose the images! And of course all of you support my little homespun business.

So tell me…. do you have a favorite? Mine is a toss up between the Lupine and the honeybees….

xo~

handmade holiday gifting {1}

Pssst…..

I don't want to alarm any of you. But do you know what today is?

Six weeks until Christmas.

Well, six weeks and three days to be exact. I usually notice it's almost Christmas sometime around December 10th. And then I'm trying to pull together a whole lot of handmade gifts and I'm running crazy getting things ready. It's insane. This year I'm trying to be more mindful. And while I know you super organized ones are weeks ahead of me on this handmade gift thing, a girl has to start somewhere.

So……

For the next six Mondays I'll be sharing a post on diy handmade gifts. Mostly super simple. Minus a patchwork project that may find it's way in here.

Happy crafting friends!

Lavender, Chamomile & Oat Bath Sachets

These simple sachets are quick & easy to sew up. They make a lovely addition to a gift basket or thoughtful hostess gift for winter parties. Oats & chamomile are soothing to dry or irritated skin, and dried flowers offer a subtle scent when steeped in a hot bath.

Materials::

1/4 yard cotton muslin or lightweight linen

1 cups oats

1/4 cup dried chamomile flowers

1/4 cup dried lavender flowers

thread for stitching

Directions :: Cut the fabric into 4 inch squares, one quarter yard should yield roughly 20 4 inch squares. Starting at the top right corner, stitch all the way around a square, sewing each of the four corners, but leaving the top open for stuffing. Repeat with each set of squares.

Mix together the oats and chamomile flowers in a bowl. Spoon 2 Tablespoons of the oat & flower mixture into each square.

Stitch the top closed, being sure to backstitch over the seam on both corners. Trim long threads. For the look above, trim the sachet edge with pinking shears for a nice finished look.

Muslin or another more open weave fabric, even cheese cloth, is best for these sachets as you want the healing oats to steep and let their goodness into the warm water. Get creative! Try other dried flowers like lavender and rose, or add a few drops of essential oil to each sachet. Use one to two bags in a tub of warm water for a soothing bath. Gently scrub your skin before getting out for an herbal exfoliation.

I like to make a half dozen and present them in a mason jar tied with pretty ribbon as a gift.

Makes 10 sachets.

Enjoy!

xo,

p.s. we'll be making all the things you see in that last photo over the next few weeks!

week 2 * week 3 *

round here…..

Oh my, it's that time of year for me….

I am sewing and dyeing and photographing. Getting ready for a BIG shop update next week and a wonderful Art Faire in Cape Cod next weekend. It's my only holiday show this winter. Last year, while wonderful, was too full with a fair in December at my busiest season. It's a learning curve. Balancing family, our traditions, and small business affairs.

I've been stalking (daily) the tracking numbers on the notecards I ordered. They should be here tomorrow. I know a few of you saw them on facebook and helped me narrow down my selection. (Thank you!) I chose eight prints. Seven from the album I shared and one that is a surprise. I can't wait to show them to you!

Also in the studio….. doll quilts for the holidays. I made star quilts this year. I really, really love the way they came out. The star is quilted, all natural fibers, all Anna Maria Horner fabric, and no binding for a modern twist. I made several with the reds & pinks and I'm making more with the blues you see on the left. I need help deciding on a background color…. cream or soft blue/grey? What do you think?

In other news… we've been painting. My homeschool/dining room currently is uhm, well… a mess.

New lighting. Fresh color. We just finished the kitchen too! Once it all comes together I'll share more photos.

Oh yes, and there is a show at three. The things these kids do when the mama is sewing away….

xo~

yarn along……

Joining in with Ginny today…

it's been awhile since I've sat with these needles….

loving the quiet rhythm of counting stitches.

Joe made me that beautiful yarn bowl…

he's crafty, but you already knew that.

Nearly halfway through my test knit for my friend Jackie.

Loving that yellow. Swoon….

Hoping to share the finished knit with you sometime next week.

And this book just arrived (after a long wait) from the library.

Looking forward to starting it this evening.

Are you knitting anything?

xo,

finding the way home…..

Gosh you all, thank you for the sweet words these past few days. They really have meant so much to me. (especially you Cheryl, goodness. those words were a gift. really.) I've been trying to figure out how to word my next post here for a few days….. it proved to be trickier than I thought….

I don't know how it all finally becomes too much.

It seems like one thing eventually tips it over and then you realize there was far more in there than you thought. I mean, like a lot more. The last 18 months have been some of the hardest in my (our) lives. Some typical moving-leaving-starting-over. The suicide of a friend. Walking the dark forest of depression with our oldest. My mom's accident. Discovering last month the youngest has Lyme disease. These big things intermixed with the everyday raising young people, paying bills, trying to get everything and everyone where it needs to be.

The Lyme disease did me in though. It was the one more thing.

I stopped writing. Taking pictures. Making stuff. It is tremendously difficult for me to find beauty when my heart is so heavy with worry.

I've done my best to stay as busy as possible in some way over the last few weeks. Canning. Reading. Far too many hours logged online. Pinterest and TED got me through some rough patches. Especially this. The term vulnerability hangover fit how I was feeling so perfectly. I love Brené.

Sooner or later, you can't avoid that raw feeling in your gut. You have to wade through it, remind yourself you are brave and strong. You have to find your way home. One tiny step at a time, no matter the circumstance.

It's hard.

And then some good things happened to make it easier. The change of some plans left me in the studio all afternoon. Instead of working I made something fun. For me. (sharing it here soon) Some delicious yarn arrived in the mail for a test knit I'm participating in. I started getting ready for an upcoming art faire in Cape Cod. Phone calls with good friends. We had our first snow. It didn't stick…. but that warm magic feeling I get when it snows did. A few hours by the fire knitting and sipping hot toddies with Joe while Luke read us Shel Silverstein poems.

It all feels like one big exhale……

xo~