Round and Round

The time of eating and merry-making is upon us and I am pumped. It's always around this time that my brain starts working overtime thinking about all the creations I want to make for the holidays. I'm talking mostly edibles, but some gift ideas have sprung up as well. I think it's the sweetest feeling this time of the year to list all of my to-dos. In just a few weeks I'll be up to my eyeballs in work and the weekends will fill with parties and my list will be modified time after time, so I best enjoy the idea of all these snacks right now.

So, in case anyone in the world wants to know what is on my list today, I will share it. I usually go for candy as cookies are in well supply in my family. Plus, candy is usually gluten-free and oh so very naughty.

1. Toffee. A darling story next to a simple recipe in the last edition of the Co-op Mix periodical has me convinced that toffee is a must-have this year.

2. Macaroons. The cakey kind. I made some like these:last year and they were super super good. I have no idea what recipe I used so we'll see what happens.

3. Gluten-free lefse. I miss lefse. Do fresh homemade corn tortillas with melted butter and sugar on them taste like lefse? SORT OF, at least the butter and sugar part. This will, by far, be the most challenging task of the season. I considered making it the past couple years but didn't get much further than some online research. Perhaps this or this or this very long-winded account will lead to success.

4. Turtles. This is becoming a staple since I made a batch with my friend Heather in high school. It's easy. I'll probably just make an itty bitty batch.

5. Peanut Butter Cups. I already know I will probably not make these but I just know my hub would love them. I have made them before. They are good. I mean, you mix peanut butter with butter and cover it with chocolate. Hello!

That's the sweets. They will be a nice addition to Christmas, and Solstice, and Lille Julaften, and all the rest.

On the less-sweet note we will be assisting once again with potato sausage and beer making this year - I even hear talk of a gluten-free home brew. Wow. We've got a pile of buckwheat groats and sorghum syrup in our fridge waiting for the big brew day.

I guess all of this holiday prep makes the dark days go faster. Not that I've noticed time moving slow ever in my life, but still, being stuck inside just makes you want to plan a party. Well, I better go cook some squash for "pumpkin" pie and think about what I'm going to make for Thanksgiving.

What are others thinking about making this year? Anything new?

Fall/Holiday Calendar

It's that time of year again!

There are gallery open houses, art crawls, and shows happening all over. I will have some of my Swirling Tree work at two events this fall.

I opted to limit my shows to just two so I can keep my etsy shop well stocked. I'm feeling good with my inventory levels and trying to finish up a few loose ends for my first show this coming weekend in Dassel, MN with Levandowski Pottery. Stop by if you can! It will be a good show, they are unveiling their new gallery and five guest artists (including moi) will be peddling their wares.

Next on the agenda is Peggy's at the Roseville Skating Center November 6-14. This is a fantastic show with loads of artwork. Come and fill a basket with wonderful creative goodness. I did a lot of my holiday shopping here last year...and some shopping for myself as well. It's a unique experience where all of the artwork is set up as one gallery, so you can pay once and not have to hop from booth to booth. The artisans volunteer throughout the week to help with bagging, greeting, arranging, etc. It's a fun time with live music and lots of food goodies as well.

It seems early, but with a little cold snap I think people will be able to think about Christmas shopping, really, there are only 69 days left to shop. Heck, FGH already has his Christmas outfit. Hanna has a sale going on so it was hard to resist. Thanks Gma Barb!

There are quite a few things I have not put into my shop that I will bring to the shows. I have yet to finish and photograph my latest creations, but one nice specimen is pictured at the top of this post. I have a whole line of what I'm calling "Artful Journals." This one has some unique beads made of coral, an interesting raised surface on the front cover, Nepalese Lokta papers, and coral-colored end sheets. I have high hopes, as usual, of getting all my books and cards made for this Holiday season, but it all comes down to what kind of work time I can fit into each busy day. Speaking of, I best get cutting and tearing and folding paper into rectangles.

Oktoberfest

Happy October! The Equinox passed us quickly and here we are already celebrating October. Time is passing much too quickly. I feel like every time I blink another week has been crossed off the calendar. We headed down to our future home town of New Ulm for Oktoberfest on Saturday. It was a cool but sunny day and we took in nearly every sight including a hike to the top of Hermann (the German) which was very scary - especially with FGH refusing to come back down - all three of us had a shaky few moments getting down the top of the winding staircase. I had to talk Fredrik into squeezing Peter's beard and closing his little eyes while Peter held him tightly to his chest. It was ridiculous. Still, it was a good view when we were at the top.

We took the horse-drawn trolley ride, listened to music, had some beers and brats, did some shopping, visited the Wanda Gag house (super fantastic), headed out to Flandrau where Fredrik eagerly looked for the "beach" (sand-bottom pool) and was not disappointed that the water was gone since piles and piles of sand was an awesome find. It was a good time and we all feel pretty drained today.

Newness from the Studio

Even with longs walks in sudden fall temps I have managed to finish a few books (such a satisfying moment when I stick that Swirling Tree sticker on the last page of the book as the final step). I know I need to start busting into production mode in my overly crowded studio, but this weather is just way to conducive to feelings of leisure.

SPEAKING of fall...

This wonderful autumnal wedding album set was recently commissioned from an etsy shopper and is about to head to the post office. The bride-to-be had some really clever ideas for a large photo album for herself and her soon-to-be husband, plus three smaller albums for the parents. The tree on the front is part of her wedding logo.

The large 10"x12" album is covered in Amate bark paper, rust red book cloth, and has 64 pages in fall colors.

The image on the front has been converted to a duotone (using two shades of brown) and printed on art paper, then nestled into a "window" on the front cover with some dark brown nepalese lokta paper as accent. There is a paper CD holder inside the back cover and the bride and groom's wedding date has been attached to the back cover. The three smaller albums are 6"x8". They have the same tree image, fall colored pages (the pages themselves remind me of leaves), the date on the back, and the CD envelope. They differ by the book cloth and inside covers, one each of gold, green, and rust.

LOVELY, LOVELY. This project has convinced me to make more 10" x 12" albums for my shop and shows and self. Golly I have a lot of photos that need a home. We're talking thousands.

So, another new thing in my studio are my Green Journals.

Inspiration struck a few weeks ago when I saw this:

and right away I knew, with my love for shades of green, that I would need to make journals of these fabrics. So, I bought the Robert Kaufman bundle of greens, made a large pile of bookcloth while watching Jaws (surprisingly still great after all of these years) and proceeded to make the cloth into little 4x6 125 paged hardcover journals bound with hemp twine. I decided to sell the books in sets of three to stick with the shades of coordinating greens theme. I designed a tag, bundled them up, and there you have it. They are not just the color green, but made of recyled materials and the natural undyed hemp thread. They turned out just as I hoped. There is at least one set in my shop with a big stack to be added soon.

Forest City Stockade

We visited the Forest City Stockade last weekend. The above picture is my favorite spot, the homemade ice cream station. So delicious. Peter and I worked at the Stockade a few times when we were farming - we made the fry bread - and it was super fun and we miss it! Hopefully we can get back to volunteering when our lives settle a bit. (Will that ever happen?)

It was a fun (hot) day with a chance to chat with potters and the like. That's Tom on the wheel from the Clay Coyote. There were people making candles, soap, honey, newspaper prints, buffalo burgers, fresh apple pressed apple cider...you know, the pioneer way.
FGH and Madi had fun. They got to try out some antique desks and slates in the schoolhouse - and play games outside with the "teachers." Very adorable.

The trip to the stockade made us feel pretty darned excited about getting back into rural life. Peter is of the opinion that we move into something like this. I'm more of the opinion of something like this hobbit of a place. We've also been thinking that we will most likely be modifying an existing structure. We aren't exactly in the position to be building right now, but I think it will take a good few years to research how to build, anyway, so waiting is fine. Whatever the case, I'm now pretty keen on the idea of having a huge garden with a wooden Peter Rabbit type fence around it!

Quickie Vacation

We headed north (and east) for a quickie vacation with my folks and sister this week. I brought a little work with but really I just took a few days to play. I would say relax, but it's more like constant activity with a toddler - which is fun, of course! We took in a bit of a ski show which was really exciting, did some hiking at above favorite spot, ate lots of sweet corn, fished off the dock (at least one of us), swam...you know, the whole nine yards of cabin fun.

I brought with The Handmade Marketplace, a book I have been hemming and hawing about for a few months and finally ordered last week. I'm about halfway through and I indeed have jotted down a pile of notes and tips in my work journal. The chapters are short and to the point, which makes it a nice little reference book. I would recommend it to crafters starting out. I feel like I have a bit of a grasp on most of the topics from our farming business, but there are so many more things to learn and the tips from other crafters throughout the book are very motivating.

Our itty bitty vacation ended quickly and I found myself in my little oven of a house all too soon. And wow, so many emails in just 2.5 days! I found myself in two new treasuries which is always flattering. First a nautical theme featuring my leather and hemp fiber journal and then a blue theme featuring a hand painted book of mine. Fun, fun.

I also somehow managed to make and send off these two wedding albums this week. The first is a 7"x9" plum and lime album with a long stitch binding and blank deckled edge pages. The second is one of my Custom Wedding Books complete with lined pages, pages for bridal showers, family trees, etc. It's a pretty yellow and (slightly off-white) white color scheme. I love making wedding books. Finding the right colors is a treasure hunt and I love when it forces me to order more paper because I always end up with new ideas and new textures.

I guess it is HUGE news that we found out this week that we are officially moving back to the country in 12 months. Ze husband landed a job in New Ulm, so after one more year of law school we will be buying some chickens and a riding lawnmower and everything else that we need that isn't in storage. Phew. We are considering building a house, a small "green" house. Any recommendations for books to read on this topic? "The Not So Big House" looks interesting. There seem to be quite a few directions to go with it. Where to start with such a project???

"Tee Hee," says he with the fishing stick.

Sepia Garden