December First Friday Indie Market!

The last one of 2009!!! And it should be a blast! The Festival of Lights will also be going on downtown. Lights, trees, music, Santa and all kinds of local, handmade goodies for the good boys and girls on your list! Go to the Indie Market blog for more info!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

I packed up for the Indie Market last night so I could play and relax a little tonight. These earrings are what I did with my time. Aren't they fun? They are vintage Christmas trees lights that I found last year. I'm planning on making a few more pairs of earrings in different colors plus a necklace or two. I love vintage and I love holidays!
I actually saw them starting to put up the wreaths on the lamp posts in downtown Winston-Salem today. I see you rolling your eyes! It's too early, right? But remember when you were a kid and you wished that Christmas could be all year long? The lights, the decorations, the food, the friends and family... Now that we're grown up I think we focus too much on the stress of the holidays. Relax. Shop online in your pajamas instead going to the mall. Go do something special just for fun (Like going to the Indie Market under the excuse of "Christmas shopping"). Bake your favorite cookies. Look at some twinkle lights. Make it a priority to enjoy yourself!

Tooting My Own Horn

I now have pendants at Sister's Jewelry & Gifts on Tate Street! If you've never been there, I highly recommend it. They have fantastic jewelry. Adam goes there every Christmas (yes, I have a man that's good with the jewelry). They are starting to stock more local handmade items and I'm flattered that mine were some that they chose. Go have a look! In order to celebrate, I bought myself this cute little bracelet there that I found within five seconds of entering the store. I'm big on the Beatles.

Another First Friday!!!

Who's coming? There will be all kinds of arts and crafts! A great way to get excited about holiday shopping and to support your local crafters and artisans! For more info go to the Indie Market Blog. See you there!

Can I Have a Do-Over?

Okay, so my goal to post once a week has been severely neglected. Here's to renewing it! I've been busy, busy, busy....keeping products coming for the First Friday Indie Markets, trips to the mountains, fall gardening season, and oh yeah, my day job. Somehow in the chaos I've finally managed to finish this baby quilt! It's the Crazy Eights pattern by Julia Hale. I really love the fabrics I found at JoAnn's too (sorry Mama).
Speaking of babies, we have a few new ones of our own around here. Baby chicks that is. Our one hens decided she wanted to be a sitter so we got some fertilized eggs from our friends who have roosters. Eventually the other hen joined in and they passed the eggs back and forth until the day they hatched. They are both such good mamas! It is such a blast to watch these crazy birds teach the babies all the ins and outs of the backyard.

What a Day!

The first First Friday Indie Market was spectacular! We had so much fun! It was so great to see soooo many people come downtown to check us out. The vendors were amazing. We had jewelry, cupcakes, tea, clothes, vintage items, knit goods, quilts, soap, pottery and more.

To keep us entertained, we had musicians, hula hoopers, a mime and these jugglers. They were the favorite of the kids and at least one husband. They set up right behind my tent and I had to keep an eye on Adam because I was afraid he was going to go join them. They also made balloon animals (and a few swords...what's with these kids?) and rode a unicycle. I hope to see them next month.
Our fearless market organizer Zeke, of Rewined Recycled Glassware. You done good Zeke! Thanks!
And now back to work....October will be here soon!

Positive Thinking

You may be wondering why I've posted a picture of this hole in our yard. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a picture of faith. Adam decided that he was going to build a shed to replace the old falling down metal one that you had to stoop to get into. Before I knew it, he had torn down the old shed, had it picked up by someone that responded to his craiglist ad, and arranged for his friend Zeke to help him this weekend. The faith part comes in because Adam's summer job with the Army Corp of Engineers has been over a week and so he's in job limbo. Being the worrier in our relationship, this should make me very nervous, especially when he's taking on big home improvements like a new shed! But I had to agree with him that now is the only time he would have to work on it, and let's face it, the condition of our old shed and our need for storage was getting a bit desperate. The new shed is beautiful! I'm so impressed by these guys! And I know that I'll appreciate it even more when I need to get in there one day when Adam's at work and can't fetch something for me out of the old spider infested shed.

Crisis Averted

I burnt up a total of three soldering iron tips on two different irons so finally, yesterday morning my awesome husband got me a new fancy soldering iron. Okay, it's not fancy but it does have a thermostat and a tip that hasn't melted! We decided that the replacement tips for the model I got at the craft supply store just weren't the same quality as the tip that came with the iron. Kind of a gip if you ask me. I hate how products are made nowadays to just throw away when they quit working, and in this case the product worked fine but the part I knew I'd have to replace would not no matter how many I tried. I guess they expect you to go buy another one of their irons after you've already tried two replacement tips (cha ching). Not this crafter!
So here's the first pendants done with the new iron. I'm a busy bee! Only seven more days to go until the First Friday Indie Market!

Be there or be square! We have a lot of great crafts people coming to this so if you're in the Triad area, PLEASE come support your local artisans!!! Remember, the holidays will be here before you know it....

Catching Up

Wow. I took a four day vacation last week and I'm two weeks behind on everything. How does that happen?
So two weeks ago I took an altered surfaces class at Sew Original in Winston Salem with my mom. The instructor, Karen Fridy, was teaching techniques out of Rayna Gillman's book Create Your Own Hand-Printed Cloth. We tried rust dyeing, stamping after making our own stamps, discharging with bleach and gelatin printing. I especially like my discharged piece with my acorn stamp. I can't wait to experiment with these techniques more.
I was going to spend the day soldering new pendants for an upcoming craft show but I somehow melted not one, but two, soldering iron tips every time I tried. Even my resident stained glass artist can't figure out what the problem is. I have several ideas as to what the problem may be but the thing I can't figure out is why it's happening now when I haven't done anything differently. Adam says he'll figure it out tomorrow. I hope so because I've got to get to work!
I ended up sulking in the garden (Yes, I sulk when things don't work that are supposed to i.e. soldering iron, computer, etc. It's a major pet peeve of mine.). I felt much better after weeding a whole bed, repotting seedlings to go to the neighborhood People's Market, and harvesting the last of the corn and spring carrots. We'll have fall carrots if the chickens stop scratching in that bed! Tonight we had the corn with Adam's fried chicken (yum!) and tomatoes. Does this sound crazy? I think fresh vine to table tomatoes taste like sunshine!

The NC Triad Etsy Team will be out at this event on Friday. First Friday is the big arts night in downtown. We will be in front of the Greenhill Center for NC Art from 6-9 p.m. If you're in Greensboro, come check us out. Also, stayed tuned for more info about the first First Friday Indie Market in downtown Greensboro Sept. 4!

One Man's Compost is Another Chicken's Nest

This afternoon I let the chickens out as usual when I got home from work. I checked on them before running an errand and found Sweetie chicken scratching in the compost bin. "You got yourself in there, you can get yourself out," I thought and left the house for a few minutes. I came home and sat down at my desk and a few minutes later heard Spooky chicken raising hell (She is the more vocal of the two. The other day she either protested or was trying to sing along when the preteen girls next door were playing Hannah Montana on the boom box in the backyard and dancing. Ah, to be nine again...Thank goodness Mama didn't have a video camera!). I found that the cause of the commotion was that her sister could not get out of the compost bin as chickens are not so bright and often forget how they got somewhere and how to get out. Spooky was raising the alarm. I let Sweetie out of the compost bin and was putting back the door when I saw this:

Come see me at the Shop Local Fair!

Vintage Treat

For being so good at the doctor's office today, I did a quick run around Design Archives this morning as my reward. In addition to all the fabulous vintage clothes they carry, they also have a good supply of vintage patterns, notions, fabric, etc. I picked out these patterns thinking it might be fun to sew some clothes from the old patterns with new fabric. I tried to get patterns that looked relatively easy, so we'll see how it goes. I think my first step will be to carefully unfold the original patterns, make sure they're whole or at least fixable, and then I'll probably trace the original on to paper that I can work from.

Better Late Than Never?

So we're having company this weekend, the house is a mess, I have a pile of soldering to do for an upcoming craft show (come see me at the Shop Local Fair at Eclectic By Nature, State St. in Greensboro! ), and I can't stay out of the garden! These cooler evenings are hard to say no to, especially since they're so rare. I worked on the compost, pulled up a few carrots, and dug the red potatoes. This is our first year growing potatoes and I wasn't sure how they'd come out. Every time I tried to hill the mulch up around them, the chickens would come behind me and scratch it all flat until I finally gave up. So, we only got a few potatoes but I have to say, digging them up is very fun. Adam called it "an easter egg hunt in the dirt". All that and I still didn't get my beautiful pumpkin seedlings planted which is what I went out to do!
And I was afraid I wouldn't be very productive this afternoon when I came home to take a nap. I've been extra tired lately and thought that I might be anemic or something. I was a little disappointed when all my tests came back from the doctor's office showing there was nothing wrong with me. Not that I wanted something to be wrong, but I was hoping I could just take an extra vitamin a day and feel better! Now I'm figuring it's the heat. But I decided to stop fighting it and just take a nap if I feel like it! I think sometimes we just need to listen to our bodies tell us what they need.

A Backyard Mystery

A few evenings ago, Adam and I walked out on the back porch only to be greeted by an eager Rooster that equates the sound of the screen door to food. We noticed as he got closer that his beak was covered in smatterings of dark red. We got worried. What in the world could he have attacked in the back yard? He's always been pretty docile, if not down right lazy. We're used to this sort of thing from the backyard cat and I've accepted that it's her nature, that there's a whole web of life and death in our small urban backyard that I couldn't interfere with. Although I was slightly embarrassed the night we had company for dinner in the backyard and she decided to entertain us by juggling a still squeaking mole (the couple with us had boasted saving several birds from the cat they were looking after while house sitting that summer), I was always glad that she killed the mice outside before the indoor cats killed them inside. But I never thought of the young rooster as a hunter. Adam and I searched the yard for clues, for feathers (they really don't like the robins in the yard) or fur or signs of a struggle. We found nothing. I wandered to the very back of the yard finally and stopped at the blackberries to check on their progress. At the foot of the canes and bird netting was fresh chicken droppings. Mystery solved. We should have known it wouldn't be anything that would put up a fight.
I think the blackberry canes have been the most rewarding fruit we've planted. We may never get more than a few blueberries while we live here and I doubt we'll ever see the apple trees produce but the blackberries have surprised us with how much they have grown in the year since we planted them. And they are loaded!! This bowl full is just the first picking and there's still tons of berries ripening. We can't wait to see what they do their second year. And while Adam has been complaining about the shoots they are now sending up in the middle of the yard, he has forgot all that with every berry he's stolen out of the bowl. I think I'll pick one more time and leave the rest to the birds in the yard, least of which are the chickens.

Collage or Quilt?

Is there a difference? It's not all neatly pieced like a quilt but the pieces are sewn together. This was my first attempt at art quilting. I saw an art quilting magazine at Mama's house and I needed something fun to get inspired. Once I got started I couldn't stop! Mama has since sent me home with a stack of quilting books. She's determined to make a quilter out of me! Of course, I do have a huge stash of fabric for someone who doesn't sew much. Maybe this will be a good way to use some of it. I'm interested in incorporating some other media into the quilts now like paper, ephemera, etc. We'll see where it goes!

What's Bloomin'

Mama brought me this day lily last fall and we've watched the flower buds anxiously wondering what the flowers would look like. The variety is called 'Pink Ruffles' I believe, but I'm happy with the more peachy color it actually has. It's a very large flower and more fragrant than I've ever noticed day lilies to be.
I'm trying to make myself work inside the art room today (it needs cleaned up!) but it's so hard when the weather is so pretty. This is going to be a balancing act this time of year I'm afraid. Our etsy team, NC Triad Etsians is working on getting a craft show (or a few) this fall and I'd like not to wait until the last minute!
A couple of people have asked about "the grandchicks" and I'd like to let y'all know they are doing fine. We've ended up with one rooster that we're going to have to decide what to do with. He's not crowing but he's growing fast (he seems to be the lazy over eater of the three and if anyone's familiar with our cats, you might agree that we somehow do this to animals). I'm waiting for Adam to expand the run and then I think I might get another hen or two. They are SO much fun to have in the yard!

First Steps

I've had this blog set up for a couple of weeks but I admit that the blank page intimidated me a little. I've wanted to start a blog for awhile but now that it comes to it I think, "What would I write about?". It's always that first step that's the hardest.
So here's what I decided to post about - jam! I'm wanting to learn how to can this summer so I thought I would start with something simple, something I could do in a hot water bath. First steps! So I had pots all over the stove, red strawberry specks all over the kitchen (thank goodness hubby was at work - the kitchen is his room), and two books in front of me. And it worked!!! I never thought I'd be so giddy to hear the hissing of a lid sealing. Every can. And then as they cooled I tried the little jam that didn't fit in a jar and it was good! I thought I'd have to try a few recipes to find the good one. The recipe is for Strawberry-Honey Jam in Preserving Summer's Bounty edited by Susan McClure & The Rodale Food Center. I can't wait to try it on Mama's homemade ice cream!