Wool on the Brain 0225

I'm still doing some work with cottons, but it's time to start preparing for the turn of the seasons. People are beginning to get ready for school and the fall work season, and I'm starting to see wool sales pick up. A couple of weeks ago I sold 3 sweaters for little people, so I needed to make at least one new one. I love the falling-leaf theme... These are SO my colors. The brights are really fun to work with and seem to be the most popular thing for little girls. I said goodbye to the Tree of Life Jacket a few weeks ago. She went to a good home, but I miss her! Grateful for photos... Check in at my Facebook Page for new dates and pictures of what's new. Be well!

I can't believe it's been so long since I've sat down to write. Facebook is largely to blame - it's so easy to post a picture and a short caption that it's where I go instead of here. And it's very focused to the folks I see at markets. If you'd like to see my page, it's here . So today I am here because I think I picked up a bit of the tummy bug the Boy had the other day, and sitting feels better than not. I need to balance the check book (I'll get to that eventually) but this is more fun! Speaking of the Boy, there's another reason I've been so busy that blogging has gone by the wayside. He was in a production of Alice in Wonderland, and mom was helping to make the costumes - thus all the time I had here in the studio was used to build up my stock for the upcoming season. Which begins this Saturday with my first outdoor market in Stonington. Here are a few pics of things I've made in the last month: This is a dress I made for m...

All winter I was gifted with a visitor for lunch. Nearly every day while I was eating, I could look out my window and watch the resident downy woodpeckers having their lunch. Usually it was the female, but sometimes Mr. Woody would show up, too. You can tell the difference by the red patch on the back of the male's head. So yesterday I had to get a pic of him! Even though there are still patches of snow in the neighborhood, I was thrilled to see these happy faces in my front garden. I've taken a bit of a break from birds, but now I've started up again. A ruby throated hummingbird. This is a golden crowned kinglet. They are tiny little guys, about the size of hummers. I'm making some bird nests, and having fun doing that. Mostly I'm preparing to vend at the CT La Leche League conference next weekend, so I'm sewing up lots of longies, diaper covers, and skirts in both wool and cotton. Enjoy the light and the warmth (we hope!)!

The bulbs against my neighbor's foundation are popping up. I actually saw them for the first time about a week ago, and couldn't believe it, as the snow bank you see here was taller and closer to the house, but there they were. If you look closely in this shot, you can see two nubbins of hyacinths showing their brave little heads in the tiny corner of my front garden that is free of snow. This is the broad view. That snow bank has been as high as the window ledge this winter. It's been a long one for everyone, I know! I'm a cold-weather wimp, so I haven't put my nose out of my door much this winter unless I've had to. At this point I'm parched for the outdoors and my walks! This morning, even though it was 20 degrees, I said "Uncle!", threw on my fleece-lined jeans, sweater, coat, all the stuff to keep me warm, and went to the park to walk. I was richly rewarded by the sounds of running water, song sparrows, robins, woodpeckers, and mor...

Eastern Screech Owl It looks like I will get to blogging about once a week. I've tried to sit down and do it more often, but there's only so much a person can fit into a day... I do post pictures of my work more frequently on Facebook. If you'd like to get those posted directly to your FB page, look up Bethany Homecrafts and hit the Like button. My page would love to have more friends! I've been working on owls this week, so I have something new and interesting to bring to market. It 's fun, but takes so much longer than other birds! The guy above is the gray phase of the eastern screech owl. You can hear what they sound like at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology The guy below is a saw-whet owl, and you can hear his voice here . He's a really tiny owl, and his whistled hoot is as cute as he is. When you see his photo you'll see that I can't come close to doing him justice! Northern Saw-whet Owl Purple Finch Purple finches are really co...

Common Redpoll Yesterday was a forced in-the-house day, because of the weather. (Today's one, too). So I decided to make lemonade of the weather's lemons, and finish up a lot of work that's been sitting around. First off, I've had a huge bin of cashmere scraps sitting around for a while, just waiting for me to have time to figure out what to do with them. The other night, while the boy was rehearsing at the Warner, I started on that pile. I cut a bunch of panels for baby skirts, and pieces for baby booties, and still had a big pile left. The rest I cut into rectangles and squares. Cashmere Wrist Warmers Here's the result, or at least the beginning. My friend and fiber co-conspirator, Rhonda Withington (check out her Etsy Shop, The Mischievous Carrot ) brought some really cute and funky wrist warmers to the Coventry Farmer's Market on Sunday, and graciously gave permission for me to make some Rhonda-inspired warmers of my own. I had a ridiculous amount...