Where I've Been...in the garden

If you are a regular reader, you will have noticed that my posts have become a little irregular lately.

 I've been spending all of my free time getting the garden in order since we had such a late start this year.  The sage is doing wonderfully!  It's huge.

 Last year's onions are still providing us with all the green onions we need.

 Sorrel, which comes back year after year is one of our first greens.  I tried it sauteed in a pan according to something I found on the internet.  Imagine pureed spinach (texture) that tastes like straight up lemon juice.  I think I will just continue to add a few leaves to our salads and sandwiches instead.

 We are at the very end of the asparagus harvest.  I only have two plants left, but I actually picked more than ever.  Two meals worth, plus some little snacking.

Not food - but so pretty.  A few here and there in the house are really making a difference.

 Rhubarb is also doing better this year than ever before.  We just keep cutting and cutting.  yum!

You may (or may not) remember my "eat what you grow/grow what you eat" challenge from quite a while back.  I wanted to see what we were able to grow enough of to last all year.  Herbs are one thing that we definitely grow enough of.  This is half of the sage I have harvested so far.  We now have enough for my family.  The rest will go to friends, neighbours, and the food bank.

Also planted: tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, greens, pumpkins, zucchini, and some new herbs.
New perennials: grapes...hopefully they take.  It's my first time trying to take vine cuttings.

Coming soon:  all kinds of berries.  That's always a great addition to the lunch box.

What are you growing?

Up-cycled pallet crates

Now that the weather has warmed up enough for my husband to get out to the garage, he has been looking for quick little projects he can do for fun, or with the boys to teach them how to use the tools.

 Yesterday, he surprised me with these fantastic crates for me to use for my craft shows.

 They are made from some pallets he tore apart a couple of weeks ago, and I think they will be just perfect for "framing out" some of my pottery.

 And they are super sturdy, so they can be flipped upside down to use as little tables.

there is a smaller one in the works that will fit inside these, and another medium size one so that I can put one on each end of the table with a shelf running across.

The biggest one will be quite handy for shows as I will be able to use it to move the pottery, but then once at the show, I can throw a cushion on top for a bench seat instead of having to bring a chair each time.

I'm so excited!  No more soggy cardboard boxes, or flimsy plastic totes, and versatile display units at the same time.  Yay!

Linking up with: Keep Calm Craft On over at Frontier Dreams
                        The Backyard Farming Connection

Felt sushi - more craft show props

There are only 15 1/2 weeks left to the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile (by next big sale) and there is still so much left to do.  While the studio is on a break, I'm taking the time to make some more faux food props to set the scene.

These would be so great for a kid's play kitchen that I had to share.

 I started by cutting strips of felt - some of which then got "julienned" and some were left plain.  I've got carrots, crab, egg, yellow pepper, orange pepper, red pepper, avocado, tempura in the following pictures.

 Basically I just rolled are wrapped the coloured "filling" bits and then wrapped it twice or so in white felt and then one layer of a dark green "seaweed" felt and stitched it shut.  Because these won't be handled that much I didn't worry about gluing or sewing any of the fillings, but if it was going to be for play food, I would probably dab some glue here and there on the fillings.

 I also made a bunch of different kinds rather than 6 of one piece.

 And then for my little "double dippers" I cut some pink felt for ginger and a circle of dark brown for soy sauce.

 And of course, because they are props for my pottery, I have to share that too.  This one (above) is my favourite.  I made a bowl for Empty Bowls in this style and it was very difficult to part with, so I made some sushi plates.

 This plate, I think is "cute" but it doesn't scream sushi like the bamboo one...

...and this one, not so much either.  I think some plain white ones are in order - although there are still a few awaiting their turn through the kiln.

Linking up with: Creative Friday at Natural Suburbia
                        Fiber Arts Friday at Wisdom Begins in Wonder

Featured Artist of the month

I'm excited to be the featured artist of the month at the Rural Creators' Collective.

Pop on over the RCC blog to see what inspires me to create what I create.

A publicity photo shoot for the Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile

In which I definitely leave my comfort zone!

As one of the sponsors for the event, I was asked to come in costume (the options for the show are Pioneer, Victorian, Steampunk, or hill-billy) to meet with three of the others, and the photographer to do a publicity photo shoot.  Due to illness, a couple of people weren't able to make it...

...leaving us with just two people in the pictures, which makes it harder to camouflage the fact that I am quite uncomfortable getting my picture taken.  The photographer (Yvonne Parsons Photography) was great, AND she'll be doing sepia portraits at the show both days.

The event:  Carlisle Country Craft and Old-Fashioned Market Mercantile
Dates: August 23-24, 2014 from 10:00 - 5:00 each day
Location: Mountsberg Hall and Fields in Flamborough County
              2133 Centre Road, Hamilton L0P 1K0 (for GPS directions)
Admission: $2.00 per person - kids 12 and under are FREE
What we'll have:  a great collection of artisans with old-fashioned skills - weaving, spinning, pottery,      felting, soapmaking, paper making, a blacksmith, tatting, wooden musical instruments, oh                goodness - so much more.
     Also buskers and live entertainment - magic, music, games in the Village Green, snacks and            drinks, live demos, portraits, and a petting zoo.

It's a great day trip, but if you live a little ways away - there are 3 cities within a 20 minute drive with plenty of hotels to make it a weekend trip.   There are buckets of waterfalls to visit and it's not far from the African Lion Safari.  There's also camping nearby.

PS: I'm the one standing up.  It will be in print sometime soon.