Autumn

Well! Time has gotten away from me. Christmas is right around the bend, with two birthdays just days before it. It's a busy month for us!

September and October were lovely, and filled with our favorite family traditions. Apple picking, trips to local farms, and just spending every moment possible outside under that brilliant blue October sky.

November was a bit lost to us all. I had an unforeseen medical emergency, requiring lots of monitoring, and then ultimately emergency surgery. I am recovering well now, and nearly back to normal. Thanksgiving day was the one bright spot in the month. I managed to hobble my way up the stairs to my in-laws house, where I promptly fell into the softest chair they have and was waited on for the rest of the day. Not entirely a bad thing!

And now, December with all its beauty, peace (strived for, anyway!), and joy. We are very grateful, especially after all we went through, for the blessings we have been given!

Have a wonderful, joy-filled month, my friends!

Late August Doings

Today, children in our state returned to school, and it really hit me that summer is nearly over. It started off brutally hot, but August has been a lovely month with most of the days in the 70s and 80s. We have pretty much wrapped up our summer fair season, and I am happy to settle in to being home and doing our business solely online. We are hoping, however, to add in a few times selling at the Providence Waterfire event this fall, so stay tuned for that.
Now that I am fully set up for my metalsmithing at home, I've been spending quite a few wonderful days/hours/stolen moments creating jewelry for Purple Blossom Studio. I miss the women at the metal arts studio where I used to work out of, but a great advantage to working at home is being able to clean up and then go straight to bed! That 45 minute drive late at night was no fun.
Fall is coming! My favorite season! Sweaters! Boots! Fires! Hot cocoa! :)
Be well, friends.

Summertime

Well! Summer is here in all it's (hot & humid) glory! We have been very busy, selling locally this summer. A brand new venue, The Providence Flea, is located along the Providence River, and features about 25-45 venders each week, with food trucks galore. It's a great place, and we are so happy to be there.
Also, we are selling at the Providence Artisans Market, located on the Blackstone Blvd, in Lippitt Park. It is alongside a lovely farmer's market, so its a busy and delightful place to be on a Saturday morning. Throw in a week at the Brimfield Antique Show, and that's a good picture of our summer thus far.
Working as we do - for ourselves, both online, and at weekend fairs, makes for a non-typical weekly schedule. We find the time to escape during the weekdays, for visits with friends and family, trips to the beach and little jaunts for ice cream.
Our upcoming (confirmed) fair schedule is:
July 20: Providence Artisans Market 10-2
July 28: The Providence Flea 10-4
August 17 and 18: The Bristol Boat & Artisan Show
August 25: The Providence Flea

I'm sure we will be adding to that, and I will update it here.
Meanwhile, stay COOL! And have a lovely summer!

(The bunnies were just completed last night! I had a sudden intense urge to make bunnies - the kids were delighted to find them this morning! I purchased the pattern a while ago from this shop.)

The Providence Flea!

This summer, we will be selling on 4 dates at the brand new market, The Providence Flea! We are excited to be the featured seller today, on their blog. You can read about that here.

We will be there June 2, and 23, then again in July and August. (dates coming).

If you are local, by all means, check it out!

Gloria aka Grenoble 1906 and Brimfield!

This is the pattern that started us on this journey. The first spoon bracelet I saw, and instantly fell in love with (and bought for my mom) was this pattern: Gloria aka Grenoble, last made by Wm A Rogers in 1906. It is an extremely collectible pattern, and very hard to find.

We recently found a small handful, and are so happy to offer them in the shop. I think it is one of the prettiest!

In other news, we are selling our jewelry at the Brimfield Antique Show next week! We will have a display set up in the booth of one of our favorite flatware dealers. As soon as I find out which field we will be in, I will update that here.

Have a great week!

UPDATE:: We have our display set up in the Quaker Acres Field, under a red and white topped tent. Look for us if you are going!

Meet Miss Maggie!

This is Miss Maggie Rabbit! I spent a couple of delightful weeks before Easter slowly stitching her by hand late at night. She is eventually for our daughter, but not quite yet. Right now, Maggie lives in our bedroom and comes out for supervised play. I think I can honestly say that I have never enjoyed making anything more than I did this sweet little rabbit! You can purchase either the pattern, or the kit (sold out, but more are coming) on Alicia Paulson's site.

I made Maggie a couple weeks before Easter, but wanted to hold off on giving free reign to my daughter, so decided to make other little bunnies for my children's baskets. While making Maggie,  I fell in love with handstitching felt, so I looked for a pattern that could be make quickly. I found this one, and made it for my daughter:

When I looked at the completed little bunny, I had an idea...

 

A babywearing Maggie!! I recently sat down and sewed up a little sling for her. Fast and easy! I thought it would be fun to do a little tutorial, so here it is. Please bear in mind that my machine sewing skills are at about the level of someone who is one week into Home Ec classes. I'm a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants/hack sewer.

 

Baby Sling for Miss Maggie Rabbit:

 

 

I cut out a rectangle measuring 14 by 9 inches (which turned out a tad generous).

I folded it in half lengthwise with right sides facing and sewed.

Trimmed the edges with pinking shears.

I then positioned it on Maggie to get an idea of fit. I made it a bit loose so it would be easy for my daughter to put on and take off without damaging anything.

Keeping it wrong side out, I sewed one end shut with the seam just completed positioned in the center.

I then turned it right side out, and fed the sewed seam into the other open end. Turned under the raw edges and sewed it closed...

...so it looks like this.

I then folded it in half to create a pocket for the baby to snuggle in.

Voila!
Feel free to enjoy this little tutorial! I'm sure plenty of you have awesome skills and will greatly improve on it!

In other news, we are looking into joining a new venue this summer, to be added into our regular circuit. Stay tuned for our upcoming craft fair and farmer's market schedule. And... wind chimes from recycled vintage flatware will be coming soon!



The beginnings of spring!

 

Spring has officially arrived with temps in the 70s this week - so lovely!! We've been celebrating with a lot of outdoor time, and many trips to the playground. It's always so interesting to see my children reacquaint themselves with our favorite playground at the end of the winter. A little more independent than the previous fall, and I find myself sitting on the bench more and more as I watch them make friends and tackle new equipment on their own. I am always slightly sad, watching them grow, but this change is one I welcome!

 

This week held a walk on the beach, searching for seashells, feeding the ducks, turtles, and fish at a local little pond, and a yummy stop at our local ice cream shop.

One of those days, I came home to find Mike had set up one of his wonderful flea market finds for me - our "new" kitchen table! Isn't it beautiful? The bottom pedestal needs work - repainting at the very least - but the top is in good condition, and I just love it. Even better, it matches my yellow/orange curtains that I made a couple of years ago! Phew!

 

How are you celebrating the start of spring?

New Designs

March is here! Such a drab month, yet full of anticipation and promise. Our little peanut just turned 3! I am really loving the ages 3 and 4 right now!

Mike and I have been busy. Mike's been making lots of wrap style rings, per request, so we now carry both styles of rings in the shop. Some other recent arrivals:

 

Arbutus Necklace, 1908

 Dragonfly and Labradorite Bracelet in Purple Blossom Studio.

 Lavender Laguna Agate and Chalcedony Ring in Purple Blossom Studio.

Bouillon Spoon aka Child Soup Spoons. Read about them here.

 

Thanks for stopping by!