New Stuff and Happy Friday

New crocheted flowers for your hat, purse, blouse, jeans, whatever! Soon at Indigo Lily!

And, since I cannot seem to upload any more pictures (!) that's all for now. But there is more.

Preserving the 2nd Amendment, One Bullet at a Time

How best to spend Father's Day? Golf? Fishing? A ball game? Maybe. But why not spend it with a Henry. Or a Beretta. Or a 3030 or a Ruger? Yesterday Christina and I took Matt to the DEP range in Glastonbury for Father's Day.

Matt, setting up at the range

Matt and Christina. Matt brought his spotting scope, as well.

Matt, shooting the Ruger. Christina, Sean, and I got him that for his birthday last year.

Matt, loading the Henry .22

Christina, shoots the Henry while Matt looks through the spotting scope

That's me, shooting the Henry. I love the Henry.

Father-daughter moment with the Beretta

Something that maybe should be protected by the Second Amendment, but, alas, is not.

Tumultuous Week

Peace to Dorothy Korkuc, a neighbor on the street where I grew up. I'm praying for peace and comfort for her family and friends.

Peace to Tara, a very good dog and companion to my mother. I'm praying that my mother finds comfort.

~~~~

I got a call from Swift Waters saying they've sold out of all my crocheted jewelry!

And Indigo Lily wants to see more of my things! I'm working on stuff! In fact I just took two runners off the loom yesterday. I'm hemming them.

This is made with a 40/2 natural colored linen warp and "shosenshi" paper (linen paper) from Habu Textiles. (I love that store so much that I had Matt take me there as a birthday present a few years ago.) The linen paper is washable, just like any other yarn.

I'm very excited about this. One will go to Indigo Lily and I will send a picture to my sister in Memphis to see if they may be interested in it at a local gallery.

My next weaving project will be some red, white, and blue towels. I will begin measuring the warp after I've decided on the color layout.

More upcycled fabric ideas! And more crocheted flowers! I think I will make some with the linen paper. cool!

A History Lesson and Some Strawberries

So, Matt is back on compressed summer hours, which leaves us free Fridays to do work around the house, go boating or take a drive. Since the weather was iffy for boating on the Sound, we decided to take a drive. I took some of my handwovens down to a shop, The Indigo Lily in Colchester, CT. Really cute store, so I'm thrilled Carissa is interested in my creations. Her daughter is Indigo, about 2 and "helps" around the shop.


We then took a trip over to Essex to visit our friend Bob, who is undergoing chemo treatments. He is so tired and not hungry much. I'm praying for his strength and health to get better. It was good to see him and check out his new house.


Afterwards we went to downtown Essex, a quaint New England town on the Connecticut River. I felt like such a tourist because I was taking pictures. I've been here many times but now that I have a blog I like to share.

The Griswold Inn

The Griswold Inn opened its doors in 1776.

Matt. He took a picture of me but it was very dark in there. This is the bar area, where we had lunch. There are quaint dining areas and a new wine bar.

The perpetual Christmas tree, decorated with American flags, sits on a pot-bellied stove in the middle of the bar.

The Mary E schooner at Essex. Build in 1906, this schooner was used for fishing, cargo, mail service and the transport of (gasp!) liquor during the Prohibition. Now it takes tours on the river.

More views from the dock, near the river museum. Then my camera ran out of batteries.

Of course, there are little shops in Essex, among them the Left Bank Gallery, where Matt bought me these cool earrings.

On Saturday our town had its annual strawberry fest to herald the opening of strawberry season. Yeah, forgot the camera this time. Picture strawberry shortcakes and more strawberry shortcakes.

Some lambs, an alpaca and her cria (baby), oxen, rabbits, as well as vendors and crafters and music. It's nice to look forward to this each year and to see neighbors and such community involvement.



Yesderday we wrapped things up by going to pick about 10 pounds of strawberries. I froze some and made strawberry shortcake yesterday.

yum

New in the Store and Inspiring Creativity

I've got two new summer scarves in the shop. They debuted at the farmers market and now they are in my Etsy shop.

Rose Handwoven Summer scarf

Willow Handwoven Summer scarf

Here is something I could really use - herb tags. I grow some herbs and dry as much as I can but after they're hanging up for months, dry and crispy, I can't always tell what they are. Catnip is an exception. I always know which herb is catnip when I stick it in front of the cats' noses. Oregano? Lemon balm? Not so much.

So I came up with these herb tags to hang on the herbs as they dry. There are so many herbs, that I only made a few but can happily custom create others! Put them in a clay pot with seeds as a housewarming or teacher's gift.

Herb Tags for Herb Drying

I'd like to send a shout out to the creator of Thursday Sweet Treat, Natasha, who inspired me to set up a similar challenge on a bi-monthly (or so) at Swift Waters Artisans Co-op. Everyone gets busy but sometimes we need a little fire to get us going. I hope this will inspire people to challenge themselve to create or finish a project for:

Red, White, and Blue!

This will bring new items in the store and for the display windows in time for July 4th. Red, white, and blue and America never go out of style!

Now I need to get working on my own project!

Opening Day!

Wow! What a beautiful warm day we had for opening day of the Coventry Farmers Market. I met lots of great people and enjoyed talking with everyone. Thanks to everyone who stopped by!

My very own booth babe. I could do it without him, but it's lots more work and I wouldn't be able to go use the Porta-Potty.

Putting on the final touches before the cow bell rings.

Nathan Hale Ancient Fifes & Drums parades through the market at the opening

Old fruit crates make great displays.

Two of my latest summer scarves.

The last hour of the fair. I got to take a quick walk around.

Herb tags for herb drying

Goat on a leash. Not to be confused with the sheep on the leash I saw earlier.

Let's Get Started!

Sometimes you need a little inspiration. You're itching to make something. And it's not a baby. And you know if you made a batch of cookies, you'd just eat them all.



Here are some supplies to get you started or maybe just spark an idea you've had rattling around in your head.

Sustainable Eco-Friendly Cotton Yarn made from recycled t-shirts from Mary Zoom

Handmade Copper Rose End headpins from Higher Chakra Supply

Pretty Eco Friendly Blooms For Scrapbooking and Crafts from Chelsea Van Tol, aka PaperCakes

River Birch Wood Wooden Tree Branch Gift Tags from The Hickory Tree

Paper beads - Mona Lisa selection from Gillian McMurray

Screen-printed fabric scrap pack from Of Paper and Thread

Hope these spur some imagination for you. Have a great Friday!

Thursday and Nearly Time to Start Behaving!

Not that I've been bad. The house isn't torn to shreds. My studio is somewhat neat (for me) but it somehow migrated to the office here. Hmm. And I haven't swept or vacuumed. But I am doing laundry. And I didn't mow the lawn yesterday. But I will by tomorrow.

What, you think I was talking about some wild party I had here in Matt's absence? With hemp handcuffs, naughty rubber stamps, Former Boss Lady, aka Lemon-Faced Bitch, voodoo dolls clogging the toilets, and eating Pop-Tarts for dinner? No, but I did stay up past 11 p.m. And there are old newspapers on the kitchen table.

I'm so bad. Incorrigible. Untidy.

If you know Matt, you would know this would not be tolerated. Therefore, I will turn into a little tornado at various times between now and when he comes home tomorrow to get this place ship-shape!

In the meantime, I have been gathering my wares, displays, and supplies for Sunday's Coventry Farmers Market. I'm so excited! It's opening day and sure to be crowded and fun. There will be sheep shearing, poultry-keeping, music, and, of course, the Nathan Hale Homestead Museum is open to the public. He was one of America's Revolutionary War heroes. Do the words “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.” ring familiar?

Yesterday, I pulled out my collage stuff and had fun making a slide mailer piece. It's been a while since I've done any mixed media, having concentrated on my crocheting and weaving. But what fun! I love it.

It was raining yesterday, so I'd like to retake most of the images in the natural light outside.

Oh, darn . . . sounds like the laundry is done. Well, I do have until tomorrow . . .