Another Excuse to Sew

I finally broke down and bought a Kindle e-reader.  I got a good deal on it with a coupon and chose a re-furbished one instead of a never-before-used one in order to help justify the purchase.  I mostly love it.  It's easy to use, doesn't hurt my eyes, and is super great for carrying multiple books without the bulk.  I like it that I can get books for the Kindle from the library, but I confess to being disappointed with my library's selection of e-books.  I really hope the library continues to expand on their electronic repetoire because I don't like the idea of having to purchase books all of the time. 







I knew ahead of time that I wanted to make my own cover for the Kindle, and I chose a soft, felted wool in grey for the outside, and a nice quality flannel cotton for the inside and accent.  I really love the way it looks, and it feels really nice in my hand.  I'm thinking about making some for my shop; what do you think?

A New-ish Design

Recently I was contacted by a customer who wanted to purchase a wallet for her husband, but wasn't sure which fabrics to choose for him.  "I don't want any print, really, but I don't want something only solid, either," she said. 

In my mind, I have been thinking about this very dilemma.  Not everyone wants a big splashy print on their accessories, not even me sometimes.  So I put my hands and my mind together and came up with a racing stripe design that I like quite well.  What do you think?

Heralding of Spring

Spring is coming closer, and tonight we set our clocks forward in anticipation of more daylight.  The Varied Thrush began its odd, buzzy trill at my bedroom window a month ago, and the buds of the red flowering currant are flush and ready to pop, so I know that the Rufus hummingbird will soon be here, chilly and hungry from her vacation in warmer climes.

Today I took a walk down to a lovely watershed near my home, in search of a precious green that I always crave at this time of year: the Stinging Nettle, Urtica dioica.  This utilitarian plant has been used by many cultures over centuries to cure just about anything that ails a person, and some of it's medicinal uses have been borne out by modern medical research.  Additionally, nettles can be prepared and spun to make a sturdy yarn, and then woven into a cloth that is more sturdy than flax (linen) and softer than hemp; so it's the perfect plant in my mind. 

The fact that it also happens to be delicious is what makes me go into the woods, searching for it every March. 

I like nettles steamed (which takes away the sting) and served with a little butter, but it is also very good in soups, or any other way that one might enjoy spinach or a sturdy green (except for raw).  The flavor can be compared to spinach, but with a somewhat woolly texture, and a brighter green flavor.  My husband enjoys it, too, although when we ate it tonight he said, "This is delicious, " and then added sweetly, "would you like to finish mine?"  He claimed chivalry because he could see how much I was enjoying mine, but in truth I think he felt skittery about the possibility of getting a sting.

If you want to harvest your own nettles for supper, be sure to have a pair of scissors, and clip only the tops of new plants (older plants become tough and stringy).  Be careful to avoid being stung; you can wear gloves or be decidedly timid in your approach.  If you get stung, you won't die, but you won't soon forget the experience either.  Rinse the nettles and put them above boiling water to steam until just bright green.  Add a little butter if you wish and enjoy! 

Speaking of Snow

Anna's Hummingbird, enduring the cold

Just after my last post, we had a large ice storm which, sadly, split many large trees down their centers, causing power failures throughout our town.  We spent just about 5 days without heat, telephone, or internet. The first two days were rosy and quiet.  We read books, played cards, and snuggled together on the couch.  After that, the romance wore off and I started to feel cold and isolated.  I took a long walk into town to see if maybe the library would be open, or maybe a coffee house where I could check my e-mail.  But no.  Even the post office was black, and the best thing I got from my hike was exercise.  I thought about my ancestors, who bore the cold and dark for the whole of late fall, winter, and early spring.  Who never had hot water on tap. Who never had conveniences like a washer and dryer. Whose babies often died from exposure, illness, or hunger. I looked at my soft, easy life, and felt humbled and appreciative.  Appreciative for my ancestors' hardiness, and appreciative for the conveniences that I take for granted.  I'm glad that we had the storm, even though I'm sad that we lost two trees in our yard.  It was a good reminder to me that I have been pampered and fortunate, even when I am feeling sorry for myself.

Snowy Owl, by Barry Troutman

I am including in this post, two spectacular photographs that were taken by a dear friend and photographic advisor, Barry Troutman.  Barry has a special affinity for wildlife (and especially bird) photography.  We have had the good fortune to experience an unusual influx of Snowy Owls in our region, and Barry went off to "see what his camera could see."  When he found the owls, he was dismayed to see that they were quite litterally being mobbed by photographers, who were hoping to get a close shot.  Barry, not wanting to participate in stressing the birds, chose a remote location where he could simply sit and watch the birds, and maybe get a far away shot as a souvenier.  Not long after he got settled, one of the birds was disturbed from its perch and took flight, traveling right towards Barry.  He said he just lifted the camera and started shooting; getting some fabulous captures of the owl in flight.  Just look at those huge wings and talons.  Amazing!

Snowy Owl, by Barry Troutman

Snow is Nature's Lightbox

We've had an inordinate amount of snow here the past few days.  In usual years, we'll get a couple of inches of the white stuff one day and it's gone the next.  Last night we got 14 inches of new snow, on top of the several inches that had accumulated from the previous day.  It's a winter wonderland and I'm loving it!  I sat out in my front yard this morning, bundled up, watching the finches have drama over the feeders.  I'm learning how to use a different camera so instead of my trusty, I pulled out the new one; there's only one way to get good at something different, right?  Upon reviewing the photos, I realized that I should have increased my shutter speed; this would have provided me with a more crisp image and also more "still" shots of wingbeats.  Nevertheless, I'm happy with the creamy complexion that the lightbox of snow created for me.

High drama

One seed at a time creates nourishment.

Listen Softly

Male American Goldfinch

A couple of days ago I went up to Seattle to listen to a seminar called "Sacred Economics" led by Charles Eisenstein.  I confess that I was somewhat disappointed in the talk.  The topic of discussion (I think) was how to approach the business of money in a way that is different from today's convention: that's what got me excited about going to see him in the first place.  But Mr. Eisenstein said some things that didn't resonate with me, and the talk itself was unstructured and contained a lot of tangents that made it difficult for me to follow his thoughts all the way through.  I'm still glad that I went, though, because by hearing other's opinions I am better able to solidify my own.  That's the beauty of diversity isn't it?  We need to understand others in order to understand ourselves.

Female American Goldfinch

Happy January!

Welcome, 2012, I wasn't sure I was ready for you.  Apparently, though, my readiness matters not; here we are anyhow! 

We are home from Montatna, and had a lovely visit.  I did get to snowshoe back into the land where I had seen the moose on horse, and I DID get to see the moose again, closer this time.  Sadly, I didn't get any good photos. There were lots of reasons why I didn't, but essentially it boils down to not wanting to disturb the moose too much (and be accidentally charged upon in the process).  Needless to say, a quiet snowshoe in the woods with another moose sighting was a magical experience.

Now I find myself in a quiet place; between the chaos of the holiday shipping/creating rush and the next cycle of sales.  I have taken this time to rest, actually.  But now I find that it's time to clean up the studio and get my finances in order.  Tonight I am excited to go see a seminar called, "Sacred Economics," which is being led by Charles Eisenstein.  I'm interested in what he has to say because I feel that my business model does not fit neatly into the conventional mold, and truth be told, I don't want it to.  Mr. Eisenstein asserts that an economic model that encourages community, conservation, quality of life and love is a more sustainable model than the one that is currently promoted.  I believe that with all my heart; the question is: how to implement it and still make a living?  How can I bring this into my personal and professional financial life?  I can't wait to find out!  I will report back with what I learn.

Horsing Around

Shorty, after our ride.

Day one of my holiday was glorious and exciting; After breakfast, I went up to Kelly Canyon to go horsebacking! The day was sunny, clear and cold. The snow sparkled on the ground like a Christmas miracle. Meet my steed, Shorty (abbreviated from Short Arrow) shown right and below. Usually I ride Jessie, but she's getting older and so we changed things up a bit. Gary rode my favorite mule, Pal.

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While Gary got out the tack, I took a little bit of time to get to know Shorty, so that we could both enjoy a more relaxed ride.  Although staring into a horse's eyes isn't really my way (and I don't imagine that a horse would find that soothing), I do find them beautiful and soulful, so I snuck in a picture of Shorty's eye; doesn't he have beautiful eyelashes?

Gary, riding Pal.

Our other sturdy companion was Lucky, the Welsh Corgi who ran behind the horses on his short little legs (letting the horses break the snow first) the whole ride!

While we were out, we saw a family of four Moose.  I got one photo from far away, but as we drew nearer, Pal and Shorty spooked, and Gary and I spent our time getting the horses calmed down.  Neither of us lost our seat, thankfully, but we both got a nice shot of adrenaline! 

I hope I get to ride at least one more time before I leave for home, but I think I'm going to try some quiet snowshoeing to the same location first, to see if I can get a little closer to the Moose for better photos.  Don't worry, though, I'm not ignorant to how dangerous Moose can be; I'll be careful!

Lucky; a dog in search of legs.

A far away shot of three moose (there's one in the trees to the left)

Winter Work

Hello out there.  It seems like the common theme of my posts these days is: "I'm sorry it's been such a long time..."  So I'm going to skip ahead of that now and just tell you what I've been up to. 

Suzanne and me at our most recent Craft Fair

The holidays: it's an emotional time, but also a busy time!  I've been trying my hand at craft fairs now that I've got more time to do such things, and I've been pleasantly suprised at how welcomed I've felt.  The other vendors are lovely, and the customers are even lovelier!  One of the dis-advangages about selling work online is that I don't get to hear the thought process of my potential customer.  But at a fair, I can hear the conversation between two people that either results in a sale, or in a pass.  I can gather information about price points, colors, patterns, design, and quality.  And also the emotional reaction that folks have to certain things.  All of this is great for helping me refine my product and its presentation.

This past year has been quite a challenge for me, and after Bronwyn's passing I was left feeling like I was blind to my purpose.  But I've started to find my footing again, and after some soul searching I remember that I really do love the creative endevours that are BCharmer Designs and Mercy Me Designs.  So my next task is to turn those hobby businesses into bona-fide businesses.  My local community has a non-profit program called Enterprise for Equity, which offers business training to low-income entrepreneurs, and I've signed up to begin their training program in February.  I'm thrilled!  My hope is that I can turn something that supports my creativity into something that also supports me financially.  I'll keep you posted (I really will).

In the meantime, I've found some new fabric to love (big suprise) and a fun little project to showcase it.  The designer of this fabric is Lotta Jansdotter, and the line is called, "Echo" and I confess I fell hard for this whole collection before it was even released.  I don't have a lot of it, but enough to make piecework zippered pouches and headbands.  Isn't it delicious?

Bone Dry Ridge

Selma and Markthor, making tea.

This past weekend I had the great pleasure of visiting a lovely farm in my area.  Bone Dry Ridge focuses on raising livestock, with an emphasis on sustainable land use and husbandry practices.  Selma and Markthor, the owners and operators of the farm, raise a medium sized flock of Icelandic sheep, and a handful of pigs and Highland cows along with a flock of 50 chickens and several hives of bees. They have an elaborate water catchment system, which comes in handy in the late summer when the water on the land dries up.  I was completely charmed by Selma and Markthor, their passion for what they do, and by their animals and land.  When you meet people who are living their dream, you can't help but feel inspired and uplifted.

Good Dog, Kata: Photo by Nash

After touring the farm, Selma invited us in for tea, and proudly produced a jar of her homemade yogurt.  I probably don't need to say that it was the best yogurt that I have ever eaten!  Selma perfected the recipe over many months of experimenting with different strains of starter.  She would bring the end product to her neighbors with a survey until she eventually came up with a recipe that was the most liked by everybody.  Now she is hard at work on a business plan that would allow her to have her own creamery.  I'm so excited to be her first customer!

And the cherry on the cake was that I have recently been loaned a fancy digital SLR camera, which I used on this trip.  I'm pretty excited with the expanded photographic possibilities! And I would be remiss if I didn't thank Nash, my talented artisitc companion on this trip, who helped me with the elaborate menu system and some of the finer points that particular camera.  Thank-You Nash!

New Work

I'm crossing over a little bit to talk about the new work that I'm doing in my other business, Mercy Me Designs.  I'm so excited to introduce these new little cycle caps.  We're making them out of wool for adults and children alike.  You can see more information in my blog post over here about them.

A Brighter Shade of Blue

My Dearest Reader,

It has been nearly three months since last I wrote.  I won't lie, I've been having a hard time.  I often thought of coming to my blogs to write about my experience, but I felt so dark and so wobbly, that I thought it would be scary for anyone else to look at.  Inside myself, I knew I wouldn't leap off of the beckoning precipice, but you might not know that, and so I kept quiet. 

Looking back at it now, I would call these past few months a soulful time, but in the thick of it, it just felt hard.  Bronwyn's birthday came and went, and the weeks bookending the date were as painful as anything I can think of.   This pain is just something that I need to experience and integrate into my life now, and I cannot believe that I'm saying this but it does get easier. 

Finally, I am breathing deeply again.  The world feels less viscous to me now; I feel like I can move more easily, more lightly.  In the midst of this, what I will euphamistically call "hard time," I was comforted by friends and relations, by little notes of concern from you, and by spending long hours in my studio; sometimes creating, sometimes thinking, and sometimes just doing nothing.  I'm so grateful for all of that time and loving care. 

One emotional turning point for me came just a few weeks ago, when my Husband and I took a camping trip to my all time favorite beach in the Deception pass area.  I spent a long time sitting on a bluff watching birds soar, waves crash, and kelp sway in the swirling water below me.  I let the wind go through me, felt the rocks below me, and the vastness of space moving around me.  I was a speck, and it gave me perspective. 

I know that as much as I experience sorrow and emptiness from the physical loss of Bronwyn, spiritually she is with me more now than ever before.  She is that seed inside of me that encourages me to shine, to take care of myself, to have compassion for others, and to be fully present in the world.  Love doesn't die in the absence of one's beloved, which has been such an important discovery for me.  I will love Bronwyn until the day I die, and hopefully I can let that love continue to grow and come through me and everything I do.  Now that I'm starting to understand this concept, more things seem possible.  My mind is swirling with new possibilities and new hope.  I wonder what will happen next? 

A Little Blossom

I am in the land of summer and blue sky right now, and it is lovely.  I found this giant dandi-head on a hike yesterday and fell in love with the whispery feathers of its seed pods, just getting ready to fly away.  This shape and color brought to mind a project that I worked on just recently for a customer.  She chose these fabrics specifically, and I thought she did a great job; it's a good combination, don't you think? 

A Confessional

I've "discovered" a new site on the internet that is both handy and fun.  The site is called Pinterest, and it's quickly gaining popularity.  Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can organize and save all of the recipes, tutorials, photos, and other fabulous things that you find on the internets.  So, for example, I am about to embark on my first quilt, and I have only a clue as to how to go about starting.  So if I do a search for "quilting tutorials" on the web at midnight, I get a lot of hits back that look interesting.  But it's midnight and I don't want to read them all right now.  So I can pin them to a board that I've named "Quilting" on Pinterest.  This is my board and I can organize it, name it, and use it however I like.  But here's the other cool thing: other people can see my boards, and I can see theirs.  So I can also do a search on Pinterest for Quilting Tutorials and see what comes up there.  Trust me, there is A LOT of cool stuff on Pinterest, and I've had to limit my time there (because I could easily spend all day looking at other peoples collections).  I personally have 35 different boards, and I love it that I can come back to them, click on the photo, and it brings me right back to the original location where I found it.  Recently, I found a crochet tutorial for making bowls.  I printed out the pattern and promptly made four nesting bowls; aren't they pretty? 

Now I know that the internet is vast, and our time and attention are limited.  Pinterest isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love it so much that I thought I'd better share, just in case it is yours.  You can follow my boards on Pinterest, if you decide to sign up; see you in the ether!

Quilt Progress

Okay, so I was hoping to be finished with my quilt by today.  Alas, the quilting bit has got me a little intimidated.  Here's what I have so far: the back (which I think came out well) and the front.  Plus the batting in between.  It's all pinned together, and I've also basted it, but I think it needs more basting.  I'm planning to bring it with me on my trip to Montana, where there are abundant, experienced quilters there who can help me.  My goal is not to do a lot of dense quilting.  I want the finished product to feel soft and fluffy, but I also don't want it to shift around.  So "Stitch-in-the-Ditch?"  Also, I'm thinking about hand-quilting; will it take too long?  I didn't end up finding the stripey binding that I was hoping for, but I found a lovely little freckle-dot (white dots on an espresso brown background) that I think will look great.  I'll be sure to post pictures of the final product!

 I left a little blank panel to the right of the owl and pussycat print where I can dedicate a blessing to Bria Rose, who is the little sweetie that will be getting this quilt.

New Project

Remember my last post when I said that I was going to make a quilt for my cousin's new baby?  Well I actually did it!  Okay, so I just did the top part, but I think that was my major hurdle. 
I've never made a quilt before, and I felt totally intimidated.  I did a little bit of questing online for different quilts that I thought were attractive and not too complicated (I needed to have it finished by this Wednesday).  I chose a strip quilt because I thought that I couldn't really mess it up too badly. 

Step one was digging out my favorite kid themed fabric prints.  Step two was deciding on a color pallette and then selecting prints within that pallete.  I chose Heather Ross' Swimming mermaids first, and I had a LOT of other prints by her, but I didn't think it made a cohesive theme to pair swimming mermaids with VW vans and bikes, so I nixed the overly terrestrial prints. 

I put in some fish, some sea horses, and some prints that reminded me of seaweed and beach blossoms.  The one print that might be a digression is the linen strip that depicts the main characters from the fairy tale, The Owl and the Pussycat.  But they're in a boat, and I love it, so there.I'm pretty happy with the way it came out.  Now I have to work on the back and put it all together.  I would love to bind it in a bold, high contrast stripe, (espresso brown and white?) but I don't have anything like that.  We'll see what I come up with; wish me luck!  Please excuse my photos for this post; the light is pretty bad right now because of all of the overcast. But you get the idea!