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

Clay Coyote Open House

Clay Coyote Openhouse! This Weekend! July 24 (10-6) and July 25 (12-5)! Be There!

I will be peddling my wares this weekend at the Clay Coyote, located just outside my old stomping grounds in Hutchinson, MN. I have been diligently working in my studio trying to boost my inventory and I have managed to create about 100 new books for this sale! I will also have my prints for sale.

I'm really excited to spend the weekend at the Clay Coyote. While farming I spent the winters working in their pottery studio - wedging clay, loading kilns, and mixing glazes. They have FABULOUS pottery and a wonderful gallery full of fine American craft. The Clay Coyote has become a bit of a cultural mecca for the Hutchinson area and I feel very privileged to be part of their open house.

That said, hope to see some Swirling Tree fans there as well! Here's a link for those who need directions.

Oh, Summer

Sun, gardening, a patio, snacking on snap peas off the vine, eating meals outside... summer is so great. Working every weekend has it's drawbacks, but I will guiltily enjoy my leisure days with the boy during the week until we have some sort of schedule change around here.

I have, however, been thrown into production mode in my studio. I have a show coming up at the end of July, at the Clay Coyote Openhouse outside of Hutchinson where I enjoyed many winters prepping clay and loading kilns. I'm super excited, but my inventory is dwindling thanks to my steady Etsy sales (yay! thanks, people!) and recent press including the inclusion of one of my brag books on the Parenting magazine website. It's a slide show about great gifts for new babies under $20. Cool! Check it out, I am the 8th slide in the slide show.

Also, I've been included in a handful of treasuries. What is a treasury? It is a little showcase Etsy users can put together, matching a selection of handmade works together for promotion. It's a fun way to shop and the treasuries are constantly changing. There is probably a way to include treasuries in my blog post here, but, I am so tired right now I can't figure it out. So, links are the best I can do. This treasury is all about Swedes and my little Dala Cards are included on bottom right. This treasury is about Earth Love. This one is a father's day collection that is just dandy. Treasuries are fun and I feel honored to have been chosen three times so recently.

So, no photos. I have misplaced my photo card for my camera and it's just so darn small that I'm not sure I'll ever find it again. There goes another chunk of change. Wonk wonk wonk.

I'm on my way to a retreat this weekend. I have about 2 months worth of work piled up ready to go. I have high hopes that I will get about 50 books made. We'll see. Turbo.

Last note, sorry about the wonkiness of my blog right now. I got all excited about the new blogger templates that I started changing everything, and suddenly 30 minutes had passed. I will fix it up when I have spare time. (My favorite joke).

Repurposed Leather

I have always wished that I could make leather journals, then I thought, why not just try, and so I went to Unique Thrift Store and found some gigantic leather skirts and discarded leather jackets. It was an odd feeling to pile my huge stash of leather goods on the cashier's counter, so much that my bag was as big as a huge plastic yard bag. It turns out that I don't have a great eye for leather, when I started cutting things up I realized that I had some faux in the mix. Wow, some of that stuff looks so real. Then, I started measuring and sewing and attaching...cutting again...sewing again....

Here are some of the results. Some are in my shop, some are already in transit to etsy customers, and some are still waiting to be listed.

First off, a faux leather journal! It is made from an old portfolio, those oldies that have metal on the top and stay popped open like a diamond. You know?

I love figuring out how to make new things. I'm so very good at starting new projects and thinking I have time to do it all. Despite the lack of time to get things done, husband forced me to go to a concert at The Cedar last night. It was First Aid Kit, a band consisting of swedish sisters (and a drummer). I mentioned them on this blog months and months ago when I discovered this youtube video. It was good stuff.

Spring Pesto

Not to brag, but my little garden is pretty awesome. Already we've eaten many meals out of that little square of land - and the pots that are filling up our patio. I really know nothing about container gardening, or square-foot gardening, but I'm destined to learn to what extremes I can push these plants. In a field I would plant tomatoes a good 3 feet apart, and zucchini plants a good 6 feet from each other. In my garden I've got two tomatoes growing in each cage, and the cages about a foot apart. We'll see. I can always sacrifice some plants, yanking them out for the benefit of the others if I see too much struggling.

The beans are planted in a grid-like pattern so we're going to have a green bean hedge. There just starting to pop in this picture taken last week.

The spinach is still hanging on despite the hot weather we've had. Spinach hates to germinate in hot weather, but this stuff was planted long ago when we were still getting nights in the 30s and has not bolted with the hotness. I'm pulling individual leaves off of the plants to really maximize our bounty. The radishes have been OK, they are beautiful and crisp, but the flavor isn't there. Actually, that goes for all of our harvests so far. I guess this wimpy soil, though amended with compost and potting soil, is just not the same as our old primo ag land. Go figure!

So, my latest creation was Parsley Spinach Pesto. Pesto is one of those things that is extremely versatile with what you're pulling out of your garden (or CSA box, or local Co-op produce department). The classic basil/pine nut/parmesan/garlic/olive oil combination is of course delicious but why not try something else...like parsely/spinach/garlic/walnut/olive oil with a sprinkling of aged white cheddar?

Pluck some leaves:

Chill them in cold water to avoid wilting (plus, submerging in water is the best way to get the grit off of your leaves, the dirt sinks)
throw everything in the cuisnart:
Hand over to a little leprechaun for inspection:
Toss with hot pasta (this is brown rice penne) and enjoy!
I guessed on amounts which worked pretty well since I've made a lot of pesto. I would suggest going by a recipe- here's one from our farm website - and substituting your fresh herbs and greens for the basil. NOTE! If you are going to use kale or another hearty green I would steam blanch them before pureeing unless they are baby-sized. Be creative! Cilantro lime! Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme!