For the Mamas

I've been pondering a mama's necklace for a long time, now. I wanted a design that could easily be added to, for all the mamas out there whose families may not yet be complete. This is the sweet result! A mama dandelion puff with little seed charms bearing her children's initials. Charms are completely hand made and drawn, so no two will be identical.

Dandelions have a special place in my heart - I have many memories of my son, and later, my daughter, out in my parent's large garden plot in the early spring, racing around and picking all the dandelion puffs to blow in the wind. My parents always viewed this with smiles and slightly gritted teeth, watching all those seeds fly all over their yard. But, the delight of their grandchildren always kept them from stopping the fun.

The Dandelion and Seeds Mama Necklace has been listed over at my silver jewelry shop, Purple Blossom Studio.

Have a wonderful weekend, friends!

Spinning

I've been on a real spinning kick, lately. First with my spindles, and most recently, on my wheel. I have always before spun roving, but thought I would try spinning up a batt.

 This art batt came from Nunoco on Etsy. It was actually a freebie they gave me because I was their 100th customer - so neat! This was a random small batt, that they call a "batt dropping", as it is made up  of all the little bits and pieces left over from the art batts they make.

 I simply divided it into four long strips, still quite wide, and started spinning. It was great fun to draft from different parts of the batt and watch the colors and texture of the yarn form and change. I think I'm now addicted to spinning batts on the wheel, and I'll keep roving for just my spindles.

 The batt was 50 grams, and made 58 yards. It will become something small, like an earwarmer headand, or it will be added in to a larger project. 

 This is my way of drying the yarn under tension after soaking it to set the twist. Hanging from cup hooks in the kitchen, and weighted down by my daughter's filled water bottle.

 It made such a pretty skein of yarn! I'm content to just admire it for a while :)

Have a lovely week!

(As before, I purchased from Nunoco, and shared my happiness with their goods. I do not do reviews on products, I just like to share the Etsy love sometimes.)

CT antique shops haul

Flea market and yard sale season is pretty much past us now, here in New England. Mike made his first major fall antique shop search this week in Conneticut.

This is a crumb knife. There is usually another "knife" section, or a brush that accompanies this piece, and it was used to sweep crumbs off of the tablecloth.

I'm not certain what kind of spoon this is - it has a very interesting cut edge.

The major score was multiple pieces of two different grape patterns from the early 1900s. Beautiful pieces! Look for them as bracelets in the shop in a week or two.

Have a great week! Don't forget to visit the shop for last minute Thanksgiving day hostess gifts - there are still a couple of Thankful knives left!

SouleMama Giveaway today!

We are having a giveaway today over at SouleMama! Head over there to win a $40 gift certificate to our shop.

Happy fall, everyone! Keep your eye out for upcycled napkin rings coming this month in the shop!

Market Day

The market was slow today, though still worth our while. People kept busy preparing for Hurricane Irene. Here are some pictures of today, with our recently purchased banner. Our display grows a little bigger every week. Mike has made so many bracelets over the last 2 weeks, but due to long hours at his "day" job, only half got finished and displayed.

The funny thing is that we have so many people who want to buy this rock!

We are also selling my hand sculpted fine silver jewelry from Purple Blossom Studio.

Unfortunately, we did not make it out before the rain started (again), so we have a lot of drying out to do!

Our thoughts and prayers are with the whole east coast this weekend! Stay safe!

Market tomorrow!

We are still on for the Attleboro Farmer's Market tomorrow! It will close down an hour early, at noon, because of Irene. Get there early, if you can!

Bracelets!

Mike has been furiously making spoon bracelets! Check out the shop for these goodies, with lots more to come!

Newport, 1879
Magnolia, 1951

Daffodil, 1950

Chester, 1900

Arbutus, 1908