Threads of Magique

Blog Swap/Challenge

2010-05-12T09:39:00.000-07:00

Awhile back, I signed up for a blog challenge being hosted by Melissa on Ardea's Nest. Eight of us picked out a piece of fabric that we loved and sent a fat quarter to each of the others (actually we sent them to Melissa and she sent out the packages) then each of us is to make whatever we want out of the eight fabrics plus whatever other fabrics we want to add. The only real rule is that we have to use recognizable pieces of each fabric, no bleaching out the color or design of any of them like happened in a quilt group I belonged to once. We'll be posting pictures of our creations on Flickr if you would like to see what everyone else is doing. This is my first blog challenge, so I was really excited and totally stumped about to make. I finally decided to go with something practical and settled on this bag pattern. I got out of the habit of carrying a purse some time ago, but lately I find myself needing something better than an open tote bag. This pattern looked so handy; lots of little pockets inside and out and you can carry it as a purse or wear it a as a backpack. Should be handy for summer trips! I pieced together 2 1/2" strips of the different fabrics; I'll cut the sides and pockets out of these and the rest of the body out of the dark brown/black fabric. Hopefully, I'll get it finished today so I can show photos tomorrow. First, though I have to go tackle those enormous dandelions in the side yard.

American Mercantile

2010-05-03T07:49:00.000-07:00

If you live in Southern Oregon or are travelling on I-5 through Medford, stop by and see our booth - and dozens more - at the American Mercantile on Court Street. It's in a big converted warehouse and the young couple who run it have put together a marvelous collection of handmades, antiques and artwork. We're really excited to be a part of it and - now that it's finally open - I need to get busy and make a bunch of new things for next Saturday's market. Have a lovely week everyone! BTW this is the American Humane Association's Be Kind to Animals Week so give your pets an extra dose of love and if you're looking for a new friend, don't forget your local shelters.

Happy Beltane!

2010-04-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

Here in Southern Oregon, March went roaring out like a lion and April nearly followed suit, but Beltane won out in the end. Thursday we had cloudbursts, hail, wind that shifted drection every 5 minutes and even snow on the hills. Then, shortly before sunset, the wind quieted down and this magnificent full rainbow stretched across the sky. Today, the most beautiful tulips we've ever had were basking in the warm sun and the snowball bush was stretching high against the blue sky. What a glorious tribute to Beltane :)

For those of us who follow the ancient paths, Beltane is the third of the spring festivals, the time when the earth is (or should be) in full, rioutous bloom and summer is peeking around the corner. Everywhere you look, the great dance of life is going on as the birds build their nests, fluffy lambs and long-legged colts frolic in the fields, and the trees put on their summer leaves. Enjoy your weekend and may the coming summer bring new growth and new inspiration ♥

Creative Crisis

2010-04-27T07:47:00.000-07:00

I haven't been around lately, because I needed some time and space to figure out where I'm going with my creating. Actually, creating is the key word here. I love creating new and unique things, but since sales were so slow, I turned to making practical, mundane items hoping it would make a difference. Unfortunately, the biggest difference was that I became horribly frustrated - to the point where I actually dreaded sewing. A couple of weeks pr so ago, I put away all the sewing and started experimenting: I started knitting again, played with polymer clay, embroidered and - most importantly - started drawing and painting again. And it's working - I'm feeling better, sleeping better and looking forward to work again. I'm still not sure where I'm going but I've got some good ideas now and lots of plans to work on. One of the creations I'm proudest of is this painting of Isis that I finished yesterday. I'm going to experiment with making prints of it to sell. Hopefully, our home printer is up to it, otherwise, I'll have to check out some other alternatives. I've been getting really good feedback to it on Facebook so I'm going to try the same technique with other figures. BTW this one is a combination of watercolor, gouache and ink.

I wasn't the only one going through a crisis. Judy was feeling just as frustrated and she turned to dolls. She's created a whole new line that she calls Rogue Rascals. They are a real hoot and she's having so much fun. These are just a couple of her new ones. Tie-rone was inspired by the tree out at Shady Cove that's decorated with hundreds of men's ties. His companion is Salome (of course.)

Got to go now. The local Mercantile that was supposed to open in mid-March is finally opening Saturday so we have to get our booth set up today. Take care and I hope to be here more often.

3-Day Online Raffle Is On!

2010-04-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Athena's Armoury's online raffle to raise money for the 3-Day For the Cure is now live. She has gathered 23 beautiful and unique items for the raffle with all of the proceeds going to the the Susan G. Komen 3 Day For the Cure. Check Athena's blog to find out how to purchase tickets to help with this special cause. This is the wall hanging that we donated:

Blog Giveaway; Fat Quarter Swap

2010-04-14T08:38:00.000-07:00

Wanted to let you know that the Hoodoo Shop on Etsy is celebrating their Etsyversary with a giveaway and I want you to know I'm being very generous in sharing it. The prize is so good, I was tempted to keep it all to myself. This is one of the most fascinating shops I know of and run by one of the lovliest ladies I know. You can find all the details on their blog, a fascinating place in itself.
For a bit of fun, I'm taking part in a fat-quarter swap organized by another very lovely lady, Melissa of Ardea's Nest. You should really check out her blog, it always has such fun and interesting things. There are 8 of us in the swap, each one contributing a fat-quarter of a fabric they love. Each of us will take the 8 fabrics, along with any others we want to add, and make whatever we, then post the pictures in a Flickr group. This is my first blog swap and I can't wait to see what fabrics everyone will pick. I'll be posting pictures here as the swap continues. Now, I'm off to do my taxes, then work on some knitting.

Blog Feature; BOGO Sale

2010-04-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Several of our quilts were featured in this lovely blog post by Superior Agates. Thank you so much!!! If you haven't run across this shop yet, you should go by and see the beautiful, beautiful handmade jewelry created from natural Lake Superior agates, jasper and other stones. This is a truly talented and generous artist.

I also wanted to get the word out about our big Mother's Day BOGO Sale. For every item you purchase from either the Etsy or Zibbet shop, you can choose one item from the BOGO section (Etsy, Zibbet) for half-price. I've put all of our sewing caddies and needle books, as well as most of the tea cozies, placemats, a selection of dolls and some soft jewelry to the BOGO section, so there's plenty to choose from. There's no limit, so come by and take advantage.

Sunday Spotlight

2010-04-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting my Sunday Spotlight posts. As you've probably figured out be now, I'm not real good at keeping on schedules. Anyway, here are two shops that I picked as featured artists/shops of the day on our Facebook page. There's no theme or reason behind the choices; they're simply things I've run across that I liked or that touched me in some way and that I wanted to share. I hope you enjoy them.

The first are these Flower Basket Earrings from The Leidys shop on Etsy

This gentle, inspiring photograph is titled Walk in Peace, by Soulful Stuff.

and, finally, this amazing painting called Hope by Lancerika. I found both the painting and the poem that inspired it to be so inspiring.

New Magique Store

2010-04-06T08:03:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being so lax on blogging lately. As if we weren't busy enough getting ready for the new weekly market and the new Mercantile, we decided to open a new Etsy shop for destash. We started out just listing a few books and patterns, but we kept finding more, plus tools and things, then we discovered you could sell cookbooks on Etsy as well. Rather than cluttering up our Threads shop, we decided to give all the destash goodies a shop of their own. It's called Magique Supplies (and, yes, all my pagan/witchy friends, I know that has a double meaning. Maybe one of these days I will add some magic supplies to it). I just set it up yesterday so there isn't a lot there yet, but there will be. I'm going to try to get some cookbooks photographed today. Then we'll have to clean out our craft room and see what else we can share. I know there's lots of fake fur and beads (beaded teddy bears anybody?), some rubber stamps and some duplicate quilting tools. That's a start.

Speaking of starts, we did our first stint at the Shady Cove Saturday Market this weekend. I'm not sure if we're stubborn or just plain nuts. At any rate, we were the only ones crazy enough to show up (it was about 40 degrees and raining). We met some nice people though and Tim sold a kaleidoscope, so it wasn't a washout. The forecast for this weekend is about the same, so we'll probably give it a miss.

April Showers Bring Fae Flowers

2010-04-02T08:52:00.000-07:00

What would you expect from a team of fantasy lovers? And with such a theme, what would you receive from such a talented team as the Fantasy Artists of Etsy? Why, only the most beautiful and imaginative creations of course! Enjoy our latest exhibition, April Showers Bring Fae Flowers: This is just a screen shot so I could include it in the post. For links to the individual items, look for the Faeteam Etsy mini in the sidebar and visit the team blog.

New Sewing Caddies, Madame Modiste

2010-03-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a crazy week here in Oregon, getting ready for our first market of the season while fighting nasty colds and even nastier weather. Last week was up in the 70s, I even had to dig out the lawn mower. This week we're back in the 40s with rain, sleet, snow, wind - you know typical March weather. We're doing our little sunshine dance (which is really hard with all your fingers and toes crossed) hoping we'll at least get a break for the market Saturday. I made the mistake of saying that if it was cold and nasty Saturday, I might leave Nicky home and he promptly threw a temper tantrum. Anyone who says dogs don't understand what you say has obviously never been owned by one.

I just wanted to share a couple of the new things I managed to get listed this week on Etsy and Zibbet. (By the way, Zibbet is up and running again with brand new servers and is looking better than ever). Here are 2 sewing sets that I listed yesterday. You can find the Seminole caddy here on Etsy and on Zibbet. The needle book is here and here. The black and white caddy is on Etsy and Zibbet and the needle book is here and here.

The caddy fits beautifully over a chair or sofa arm and has pockets big enough to hold an amazing amount of sewing supplies. Yet it folds up into a tidy 8" package to take with you when you travel. I lined the pincushion with no-melt mylar to keep pins from pushing through and poking you when you fold it. The matching needle case has two pockets and felt pages for holding pins and needles and is small enough to slip in your purse or keep in the glove compartment of the car.

Finally, the perfect companion for any seamstress: Madame Modiste, the Sewing Mentor. Isn't she a delight? Don't have her listed quite yet, but I'll get her in the shops this morning.

Call for Raffle Donations; We Made the Front Page

2010-03-26T08:09:00.000-07:00

Janine, the very talented maillesmith in charge of Athenas Armoury on Etsy, has started an online raffle to help raise funds for the Susan G. Komen Foundation in their continuing fight to educate, treat and find a cure for breast cancer. She's started a thread in the Etsy forums with information about the 3 day walk (which she is also taking part in), breast cancer, and the foundation. If you have something you would like to donate, or if you would like to contribute in some other way, please comment on the forums, even if it's just to keep the thread going. We'll be donating something as soon as I figure out what. You can also follow along with Janine on her wonderful blog. If you could also help spread the word about the raffle, that would be awesome. Thanks so much everyone.

On a lighter note, a treasury we were in made the front page of Etsy yesterday. Talk about totally unexpected; never expected that to happen. I'll have to tell my magic school teacher she was right. She keeps saying that if we just think positive, work hard and visualize even harder, good things will magically happen.

Blessing Bags

2010-03-25T07:17:00.000-07:00

It took awhile, but we finally got our Blessing Bags design worked out (yay!) and here's the proof. We got clear away from the necklace idea, so these bags are a bit bigger than the original - about 2" square. The charms - about the size of a quarter - are oven-baked clay. I drew the designs, then hand-carved them. They're a bit rustic; I'm still very new to clay smooshing and I'm definitely an amateur at carving but hopefully that will add to the charm (no pun intended, lol). I came up with a few more designs last night as well - a crescent moon, a triple moon, a sun, and a candle. Once we get a few more bags made, we can start listing them. I want to thank you again for your valuable input. It really helped us refine the idea. Now I've got a ton of sewing to do for a new weekly market starting very soon. Tell you more about it tomorrow.

Happy Ostara

2010-03-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't quite fallen off the face of the earth, though it probably seems like it. We've been getting our booth at the new Mercantile store all painted and carpeted and ready for the opening April 1st (and no jokes about April Fools Day please). We also made the rounds of all the thrift stores looking for new tablecloths and display racks/baskets, etc. For those of you who do shows, don't forget to check your local thrift stores. We found 2 nice satin tablecloths long enough for our 4' tables for $7.00.

With the beautiful weather this week, we've also been doing some yard work. Mowed the lawn yesterday for the first time this year. The ground's still pretty wet, but the grass was so long we were in danger of losing Nicky. This morning, I'm going to be working in the kitchen. With Ostara this weekend, I've got 2 potlucks to cook for. I'm making oatmeal cookies and Scotch Eggs for the celebration tonight with the open circle coven in Ashland. Yesterday, I made some Russian Pashka cheese (first time in years) and set it to drain. That with some deviled eggs will be perfect for our Druid gathering tomorrow.

I hope that the start of spring will bring a bounteous flowering of joy, laughter, love and inspiration to everyone. Happy Ostara!

Two Awards, Thank yous and a Spring Sale

2010-03-15T08:55:00.000-07:00

Both Judy and I were surprised and delighted to be the recipients of 2 blog awards this weekend. The first is the Sunshine Award given to us by Missy who writes the Misfit Momma blog. Second is the Circle of Friends Award presented by Heather from the Pine Cone Tea Cup Blog. A heartfelt thanks to both of you for thinking of us! To keep this post from being too long, I'll answer one today and one tomorrow.
I also want to say a warm thank you to all the people who left comments here and on Facebook about the Blessing Bags. Your suggestions and ideas and especially your enthusiasm were a big help. We've got some new ones made, both knitted and crocheted, and I'm going to make some clay charms today to go in them. Hopefully, I'll have some ready to list tomorrow. Now on to the awards:For the Sunshine Award the rules are:

Place the logo within your blog or post

Pass the award on to 12 other bloggers

Link the nominees within the post

Let the nominees know they have won by commenting on their blog

Share the love by linking to the person from whom you received the award

My nominees (in no order) are

Odin's Bead Hall

Living Green in a Colorful World

Crafty Chicita

Art Snark's Artifacts

Into the Dawn

Hide A Heart Inspires Expression

Fantasy Clay

What I Made Today

Art and Inspirations

Dose of Creativity

Before I go, I want to mention that we're taking part in the Pagans of Etsy Street Team Spring Sale. We've taken 20% off of all our spring, green, and garden themed items in the Etsy store. To see what other specials team members are offering, search paganspringsale. There are some real treasures to be found. Thank you!

Blessing Bags? Help!

2010-03-12T07:58:00.000-08:00

I've been working on something brand new and completely different from anything I've done. So different that I need your input - any comments, suggestions, ideas, critiques or anything else will be much appreciated. It's a tiny bag about 1" - 1 1/4" square knitted of fine wool. The flap folds over and buttons making a little pouch to tuck a piece of paper with a wish or prayer or blessing and/or a small charm. They're quick and easy to make so I could probably sell them for about $6.00. I thought they would make good little friendship gifts or mementos for birthdays, graduations, weddings, etc. Some questions we've been mulling

1. The biggie, would anyone buy one? What do you think? Would like to receive one or would you buy one to give as a gift?

2. What kind/length of cord to add? A long one for a necklace? a short one (or a ring) to attach to a key ring/cell phone/mirror? something else?

3. Include a 1-2 word affirmation like the one in the photo or not?

4. What to call them? My working name is Blessing Bags or Gifting Bags but neither one is very catchy so what would you suggest?

Thank you in advance for your help. You're all such wonderful, creative people that I know you'll come up with some great suggestions.

Setting goals; Blog giveaway

2010-03-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

The usual Wild Wednesday post is going to be a day late this week because I've used up all the travel pictures on my computer and I haven't had time to scan any new ones in. We had a very interesting discussion in magic school last night about setting goals, prioritizing and time-management. What does all that have to do with magic you might ask? Well, magic goals are like any other goals, you have to figure out what you want to accomplish, what steps to take get there, and then manage your time so that you actually accomplish what you set out to do. That's where I have problems. I start out well, then something happens to distract me and that leads to another distraction and, before long, I'm so far off track I need an army scout to find my way back. Add to that the fact that I can dither endlessly over small details and you can see why I have a hard time accomplishing my goals. So today, I'm going to start working very hard on changing some of those time-wasting habits and see if I can't keep myself on some kind of schedule. The first step is spend less time on the computer, and use my time more efficiently. It won't be easy, with so many distractions everywhere, but I can do it if I can just stay focused. Wish me luck (I'll probably need it).

Before I go, I wanted to pass on a blog giveaway that's ending soon. Ingleside Farms is giving away your choice of a Felted Sheep's Milk Soap Collection or a Deluxe Soap Making Kit. I haven't tried their soap yet, but their fiber is gorgeous. I bought some recently to use for needlefelting and doll hair. The contest ends March 15; you can find the details on their blog. They're also having a Lamb naming contest if you can think of any lamb names starting with the letter X.

Artfire Shop Closing

2010-03-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to let you know that we will be closing our Artfire shop as of Saturday, Mar. 13. Between now and then, everything in that shop is marked down 25%. We'll still be keeping our Etsy shop and we've opened a new one on Zibbet. Now I'm off to catch up on homework. Have a good day everyone!

Custom Fairy Done; Charity Art Auction

2010-03-08T07:10:00.000-08:00

Good morning! Can't belive it's already Monday again. I've got several new things to get listed, then head for the post office to ship this fairy off to Winnepeg. Since I already emailed some photos to Missy, I won't be ruining the surprise if I share them here. Didn't the wings turn out nice? I crocheted them out of sparkly white thread then crocheted the edges around jewelry wire so they would keep their shape. I used the same wire along with some beads to make her a magic wand (every fairy has to have a magic wand). I would have never thought of pink and black as a color combination, but they went really well together.

Before I go, I want to give a shout-out to the Charity Art Auction being held by the Inspiration Avenue Team on their blog. They are raising money for Angel Faces Retreat, an organization that provides help and support to girls with severe facial disfigurements. If you would like to help, go to the Inspiration Avenue blog and make a bid on one or more of the beautiful items that have donated by team members and help to spread the word. Thank you!

Sunday Spotlight

2010-03-07T09:42:00.000-08:00

I'm a little late posting today but the sun was shining, the air was warm and Nicky and I went for a long walk. This week (and for awhile to come) I'm highlighting 3 of the wonderful shops and even more wonderful artists that I've recently found through Link Love on Facebook. First up is Lori Cyr from AlluRing (lucie39) on Etsy. Here are three of her items that caught my eye

Next is Elfie Morgan who has 2 shops on Etsy Painting From the Heart and Art2Love both featuring her amazing paintings

Finally, here is Mary Truitt who makes a sells a wide range of felted wool beauties through her Etsy shop Seaside Siren

Creations and changes

2010-03-06T08:11:00.000-08:00

What a busy week! Missy, the winner of our custom doll contest, requested a pink and black fairy. I've hesitated to make fairies because of the wings, but after a lot of thought, I came up with some crocheted lace ones that I'm really pleased with. I finished up the doll last night and I'll get some pictures as soon as it gets light enough.

You'll notice I didn't say when the sun comes up. It's supposed to rain and as grey and heavy as that sky is, the forecasters are probably right for a change. That's alright. It just means a good sewing day and I've got lots of that to do. A lovely young couple here in Medford has turned an old building into a sort of craft depot. You know the kind I mean, where the space is divided into booths for individual craft/antique/vintage businesses and for a small percentage, they do all the selling. There are a couple of others here in town, but they have huge waiting lists, so we're really excited to get in on the ground floor with this one. Of course, it means we'll need extra stock on hand, which is why we'll both be doing lots of sewing for the next few days.

We've also been re-examining both our products and our shops and doing some changing on both. The biggest change is that we've decided to close out the Artfire shop. They're a really good outfit but it just hasn't been a good mix for us. After a year, we've still only had 10 sales - not even 1 a month, so it's time for a change. We're going to give Zibbet a try for a while and I just this morning opened a shop on Shophandmade. Tim's been on there for a couple of months and has been doing really well so we'll hope some of his magic rubs off on us.

We're also phasing out some of the things that haven't sold well and are working on lots of brand new ideas. For a starter, how about a knitted bag to hold your tarot cards, runes, or other small items? This is one I worked up in royal purple wool.

And now it's off to walk Nicky and start sewing. Have a good weekend!

Wild Wednesday

2010-03-03T08:23:00.001-08:00

A few pictures of the harbor at Eureka, California that I took during a visit a few years ago. Enjoy!

Contest Winner

2010-03-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

The contest is over. We wrote the entries on slips of paper, put them all in our magic cauldron and had Tim pull out a name. And the winner is....Missy from the Misfit Momma blog. Congratulations to Missy and a hearty thank you to all of the wonderful people who took the time to visit our shops and leave comments. They were very helpful. And now I'm off to contact Missy and get started on some new projects. Lots to do today. Have a great day, everyone!

Sunday Spotlight

2010-02-28T07:47:00.000-08:00

Star Gazing: This week I'm featuring just a few of the amazing pieces made by the highly talented members of the Fantasy Artists of Etsy, one of the two teams we belong to. To see more of their incredible work, go to Etsy and search Faeteam. Enjoy!1. Spellbound Wings 2. Aquariann 3. Krummenacker 4. The Chainmaille Lady
5. Wyldewood Papers 6. EarthFire Studios 7. Thyme2Dream 8.Lady Mudwerkes
9. Starlit Creations 10. Mermaiden Creations 11. Joyananda 12. Helenart
13. Mouserkins Magic 14. ToadstoolsNTreestumps 15. Deanna Davoli 16. Dream Forest

New shop, new art and belated wild Wed.

2010-02-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

I got so totally sidetracked yesterday that I forgot to post the Wild Wednesday pictures. So, just a little late, here are some shots of buffalo and elk that I took during one of our many trips through Grand Teton and Yellowstone parks.

What got me so distracted yesterday? Well, first off, a couple of good friends are opening a restaurant in Ashland called the Fae Garden Cafe and I offered to do some drawings and make up the menus for them on Printshop (I love playing with Printshop). Of course, that meant a conference to figure out what kind of fairies they want and what colors, etc. I'll get those worked up today and share the drawings with you.

As if I wasn't already way off track, I decided to open a new shop on Zibbet. I've been reading a lot about it lately on Facebook, things that other sellers have written, and figured it was worth a try. We'll give it a few months and see what happens.

I think that brings me up to date again. Time to get some breakfast and start drawing fairies. Have a good day everyone!

New Magique Mentors

2010-02-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Spring fever set in early this year and I've found myself with a really quirky frame of mind. So I have added to the Magique Mentors line. The first 2 are the Alley Cat and the Junk Yard Dog.

Both are 11" tall and have a string for hanging.

Alley Cat is out for a little evening fun, just "dressed to the nines" so to speak. Looking for a little action and maybe a late night snack behind the deli.

Junk Yard Dog is just finishing a shift and ready to have a bone and beer with his friends. No one will mess with him tonight.

The last mentor in the line was made with a love of old English mysteries, Sherlock Holmes. Complete with his favorite pipe, a magifying lens, and tweed suit, he is ready to solve his next crime. Donna has her eye on this one. (Note from Donna: No way is this one getting listed! He's going to stay in the sewing room and help me find all the needles I keep losing.)

These are all original art, including making the clothes and props. And I never played with dolls as a child.

P.S. I wanted to add a note about the blog and a heartfelt thank-you to the lovely lady at Plumrose Lane. This beautiful background that I added is one of her designs that she offers for free use on her blog. To see more, along with all of her other amazing graphics, visit her blog or her etsy shop.

Sunday Spotlight

2010-02-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Earth, Air, Fire & Water. I had these all picked out for an Etsy Treasury but missed it by a heartbeat so I decided to feature them here instead. All of this week's entries are made by the highly talented members of the Pagans of Etsy Street Team.

Lunaseas

Earth Star Studios

Enchanted Intentions

Jacqueline Giraud

Deborah's Candle Magic

Wyndsong Designs

JKMac Designs

Into the Dawn

BhenRudha

The Well and Spindle

Talogwitch

Dragonsmoon

Thank you

2010-02-20T07:08:00.000-08:00

First off, I want to say a big Thank You to all the people who have been leaving comments in the giveaway post and spreading the word about the contest. You're all wonderful! We really appreciate the comments. For me, one of the hardest parts about selling on line is creating in a vacuum, especially this time of year when we're not doing any shows or markets. Analytics can show me what people are looking at, but not what they're thinking. Feedback helps us figure what we're doing right, as well as what we can change or improve. Thank you again!

Today's going to be a garden day. It's way too early, but it looks like spring has arrived here and we're way behind in getting the yard ready. I haven't seen any daffodils yet, but the first hyacinth is blooming and the roses are nearly leafed out. Our adopted kittens are growing like weeds, too, and they think this stack of old chairs (part of Tim's wood supply) is the coolest Jungle gym ever. The other one is more camera shy, so I haven't got a picture yet. Should be a fun day cleaning the yard with Nicky and the cats. Wish us luck

Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!

Wild Wednesday

2010-02-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

The Pacific Ocean near Bodega Bay, California.

New dolls; another blog giveaway

2010-02-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

I'm late posting this morning because I was busy sprucing up our Etsy shop and getting these two new wood elves listed. I read somewhere that it doesn't matter when you list things, but I've found that things I list early in the morning (Pacific time) get a lot more page views than those I list later in the day and weekend listings are lucky to get any views at all. How about the rest of you with shops? Do you find any particular times or days that work better or is it just random? I'm curious to hear about other peoples' experiences.

Anyway, I still have this little guy to list: Rory, the Clan Piper. Isn't he a kick? I think he's one of the cutest ones that Judy has come up with. Actually, it was a joint project; Tim turned all the pipes on his lathe. Don't ask me how. They're only about the thickness of a wooden match but shorter. Personally, I think he has a magic wand out there, or maybe a helper elf.

I also want to share another blog giveaway that I found yesterday. Ingleside Farms is having a felted soap giveaway. The winner gets to pick either a deluxe felted sheep's milk soap collection or a deluxe felted soap kit. All the milk and fiber come from their own special Icelandic sheep and the soaps sound scrumptious. You can find all the details on their blog and see the other items in their Etsy shop. The giveaway ends March 15.

Custom Doll Giveaway

2010-02-15T06:38:00.000-08:00

Happy Monday morning! I hope that everyone had a wonderful Valentines weekend. The votes are in (actually there were only 3, lol, but they were unanimous: the winner of our blogaversary give-away will get their choice of a custom-made doll. It could be a Mermaid (or Merman), Spirit Doll, Magique Mentor or maybe you have another idea. The only limitation is that it has to be under 14" tall (that's the tallest one in our shop). Give us a theme and your favorite color and we'll come up with something that is uniquely yours.
I'm going to keep the rules pretty simple (since I'm typing this before I've had any coffee);

1. sign up to follow our blog if you don't already, go visit either our Etsy or Artfire shop, then come back and leave a comment telling us which item you liked most (it doesn't have to be a doll, I just want to get an idea of what people like). Be sure that your comment includes your email address or some way to reach you if you win.

Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered. To receive extra entries you can
1. Post it on Facebook and leave me a link here or on our FB page.
2. Blog about it and leave a link so I can follow your blog if I don't already.
3.Tweet about it (I don't twitter so I'll have to trust you on this one, but, hey, I know you're all honest).
The contest will end February 28 and we'll announce a winner March 1. Good luck, everyone.
Oh, I just realized we're up to 179 fans on Facebook. When it gets to 200, we'll draw a name from all our FB fans to receive a $25.00 gift certificate. If you would like a chance to win, just be sure to 'fan' our page.

Sunday Spotlight

2010-02-14T09:41:00.000-08:00

Days of Wine and Roses; all of the beauties this week are from people who follow this blog. The shop links are given below. Why not visit their shops and see all of their other wonderful creations?1. Merigreenleaf
2.WillOaksStudio
3. Finding Charm
4. MermaidenCreations
5. Poppetree
6. TataniaRosa
7. OdinsBeadHall
8. EmptyKnits
9. Aquariann

Folk Patterns

2010-02-11T17:31:00.000-08:00

Just a quickie post tonight. Along with other patterns, I decided to destash some of my Folkwear and similar ethnic/period patterns. I listed these 3 today and I have a couple dozen more to list over the next few days (something constructive to do while I'm watching the Olympics). If you're not familiar with Folkwear patterns, they were probably the first company to come out with authentic, usable ethnic and period patterns. They are marvelous for wearable art and for making costumes for Ren Faires or other theme festivals. All the patterns are multi-sized and some have variations for both men and women. Some of the paper wrappers have gotten a little beaten up over the years, but the pattern pieces themselves are still uncut (I always traced the pieces on tissue paper). Come by and check them out.

Wild Wednesday

2010-02-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

I took these photos several years ago during a family trip through the Lewis and Clark Caverns, Montana's oldest state park. It is one of the largest known limestone caverns in the Northwest United States. The tour through the cavern is one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had.

Input needed, please

2010-02-09T08:04:00.000-08:00

As anyone in my family can tell you, I have a horrible memory for dates (along with names, telephone numbers, addresses and other vital information). What exactly does this have to do with anything? It just recently occured to me that I missed our own blogoversary, back on February 2 to be exact. That means we're long overdue to have a celebration and what better way to celebrate than to have a giveaway. Judy and I have been tossing around ideas and finally narrowed it down to either a gift certificate or a custom doll (confesssion time, I'm stealing this idea from Fantasy Clay. If you haven't already checked out her custom dragon giveaway, you should). What do you, our beloved readers, think? Would you rather have a gift certificate (say for $35.00, that can be applied to anything in our shop) or would you like to have a custom Spirit Doll or Mermaid? Leave a comment; I'll check them out for a few ideas and announce the decision next Monday.

In the meantime, we've both been keeping busy. Judy's hard at work adding to her series of Magique Mentors. These are just a few of the ones she's dreamed up, from left to right, a victorian modiste, a wood elf, a policeman (he still needs his hat and truncheon), another elf, and a fireman (the drawing shows his hat). She's also working on a Sherlock Holmes, but I've already claimed that one.

I'm trying to finish up a new Wheel of the Year Quilt, this one with a tree theme. Hopefully, I'll get the machine embroidery done today. Each of the 4 trees is going to be embroidered and embellished to reflect one of the seasons. But for now, I've got a few things to list and more to photograph. Don't forget the Doll Sale that runs through Friday!

Sunday Spotlight and Team Challenge

2010-02-07T08:39:00.000-08:00

I'm on a virtual window shopping trip today, browsing through a few of our Facebook fans' stores on Etsy. It never ceases to amaze me how much truly amazing talent there is out there in the wide world. I decided to start a new feature: Sunday Spotlight to share a few of my findings. Since this is the first one, there's no theme; just a few things that caught my eye. I was going to do each photo secperately, but my computer is being cranky this morning, so I did a screen shot and here are links to each of the shops:

1. Turn Peace Around

2. River Otter Rustic

4. Tolduso

9. Orel Design

I also want to give a shoutout to the Pagans of Etsy Street Team's new competition 'The Turning of the Wheel". The entries are on the team blog here. Please come by, take a look at the beautiful entries and vote for your favorite. While you're at it, why not stop by the Paganteam shop on Etsy to see some more work by this incredibly talented team. There's quite a range of items, including some non-pagan things.

Now I'm off to work on some photos. I hope you all have a wonderful Sunday!

Catching Up

2010-02-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

Lots of odds and ends today. First off, the newest Fantasy Artists of Etsy exhibition is online. The theme this time around is 'To Melt Winter's Heart' and it's just amazing to see how people have interpreted it. I put an Etsy mini in the sidebar, but to really see them, click here. It's well worth a visit.
While we're on fantasy, the lovely lady from Fantasy Clay is having a blog giveaway for a custom made dragon. She makes some of the sweetest dragons (and other creatures) that I've ever seen, so if you fantasy at all be sure to visit her here. The contest runs through Feb.14, which is coming up fast. She's also offering free shipping in her Artfire shop through Feb. 14, so this would be a good time to pick up a special piece.

We've both been busy, busy this week. I add several new dolls to the Doll Sale at our Etsy and Artfire shops: this one that I call the Lady of the Nile.

and two of Judy's new Mentors, a Kitchen Witch to take the place of one that sold, and a Kitchen Gnome.

Now, I'm headed for the sewing room. I hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Wild Wednesday

2010-02-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

I was going through some old photos on the computer today, enjoying a virtual visit to some of the beautiful places that I've been lucky enough to see and it occured to me that maybe some of you would enjoy seeing them as well. So to start off the new Wild Wednesday feature, here are some pictures of Mesa Falls in southeastern Idaho. There are actually two falls, Upper and Lower Mesa, located just a short distance apart on the Snake River. This incredibly beautiful place is only about an hour's drive from where I was born. Enjoy!

Happy Imbolc

2010-02-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

Imbolc is one of the eight holidays on the Wheel of the Year, the calendar that many pagans follow. It's also the origin of Groundhog Day. Falling halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox, Imbolc is when the people in the Northern Hemisphere begin to look anxiously for the first signs of spring: ewes lambing, buds appearing on the earliest fruit trees, migratory birds moving through the sky, and of course hibernating animals peeking out of their burrows looking for their shadows. Sometimes known as Brigid's Day (or St.Brigid's Day), Imbolc is dedicated to the Celtic fire goddess Brigid, who was the patron of smithcraft, healing, and inspiration. That last one alone makes her one of my own personal favorites. Whether you celebrate Imbolc or not, this is the time of year to take heart and know that spring is coming, just as it always has. Soon the snow and ice will be gone and the earth will once again be in full bloom.

WIPs cont, Doll Sale

2010-01-29T17:27:00.000-08:00

I'm late posting today, but I have a reason. We decided to celebrate all the new Facebook fans and Etsy hearters (over 200 now, yay!) and thank all our long-time customers by having a sale. I've taken 25% off all of our dolls - Spirit Dolls, Mermaids, Mentors and any others I can't recall right now - on Etsy and Artfire (except the ones in the Clearance sections) including the new ones I just listed today. These are all one of a kind dolls, so once they're gone, they're gone.

I mentioned yesterday that Judy was working on several new projects. After yesterdays sun, we were back to grey skies today so the pictures don't begin to do them justice. Anyway, here are the River Rats: On the Russian River where I lived for years, being a River Rat was a badge of honor only bestowed on those who lived there year round and survived at least one major flood. I just love these guys. If we get some sun tomorrow, I'll get them photographed and listed.

She's also been working on some St.Patrick's Day table runners including this one. This is actually a much prettier green than it looks like in the picture. She's also got a wall hanging in the works but I didn't get a picture of it. Time to fix dinner; be sure to check out the sale. It runs through February 14.

WIPs

2010-01-28T09:28:00.000-08:00

Lots of works in progress; lots to do today:

Two new Spirit Dolls to finish. The one in the leopard-print wrap is going to the Hearts for Haiti shop on Etsy. They have already raised over $20.000 for Doctors Without Borders. Isn't that amazing? The brown doll is going to be Egyptian; all the while I was sewing and stuffing her, I kept thinking about Sekhmet, the Egyptian lion goddess, which usually means she's been claimed. I'm going to try making a beaded collar for her today. We're going to be putting all the Spirit Dolls on sale this coming weekend, so I need to get her finished and listed.

First though, I have this stack of tea cozies to photograph and list. One of these is going to Hearts for Haiti as well.

And when I get a free minute, I still have all these crafting books to photograph and list.

Judy's working on a new pair of River Rat dolls that are an absolute kick, plus some St.Patrick's table runners and new wall hanging. I'll share those with you tomorrow.

Fire of Inspiration

2010-01-26T16:17:00.000-08:00

I just snagged an Etsy Treasury and posted one called Fire of Inspiration dedicated to the goddess Brigid who brings the fire of inspiration and healing. Just in time for Imbolc!

Link Love

2010-01-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

The reason I've been AWOL here the past few days is that I've been busy promoting our business page on Facebook through something called Link Love. I have no idea where or when it started; I just found it myself. The idea is to increase your fan base, bringing more traffic to your page and to your shops as well. The bonus is that you get to visit so many other amazing pages and shops that you would have never found otherwise. One that I found and fell in love with yesterday was Cherrypik Jewels. She's just started a blog as well and is having a drawing for this beautiful pair of earrings.

Aren't they gorgeous? The contest deadline is February 3rd, so if you would like to enter, better hurry by her blog.

If you have an FB fan page, please feel free to stop by our page and leave your links on the discussion board (the topic says Love Links instead of Link Love; I obviously hadn't had enough coffee when I typed it).

I've also been doing lots of listing. I put this new Spirit Doll on Etsy and Artfire a couple of days ago. She's named Marina after the daughter of Poseidon. I also added some of the books and patterns from our stash. I'll be adding lots more of those as I get time. And I haven't neglected the sewing; I've got a stack of tea cozies and several more dolls ready to photograph as soon as we get some sun or even some light. It's been really grey the past few days.

I think that catches me up again. Now I need to go get my homework and journal caught up for class tonight.

Red Hats and Purple Placemats

2010-01-21T07:59:00.000-08:00

When we were doing shows over the holidays, one of the frequent requests was for red and purple placemats for the red hat wearing ladies. Judy actually made these awhile back but I've been procrastinating about getting them listed. Mostly because red is such a hard color to get decent photos of. Anyway, I finally knuckled down yesterday and got them edited and listed these three sets this morning.

Each one has its own cloth napkin and a holder for silverware. When not in use, they roll up and tie with an attached ribbon for storage. When Judy first started making these sets, I thought they would be great for potlucks and picnics, since I do quite a few of both, but we also discovered that they were popular gifts for people who eat lunch at their desks. Not working in an office, that hadn't occured to me. Anyway, they're fun and cheerful and quite a hit at shows. Hope they do as well online.

This one we donated to the Hearts For Haiti shop on etsy. As of last night, they had raised $8505.96 for Doctors Without Borders.

Hearts For Haiti

2010-01-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

Thanks to post on Facebook yesterday by the lovely lady at Whimsigals, I found this wonderful collective shop on Etsy called Hearts For Haiti. All of the items for sale are donated by other Etsians, with 100% of the proceeds (minus Etsy and Paypal fees) going to Doctors Without Borders to help with the relief efforts in Haiti. Between January 14, when the shop opened, and last night, they had raised over $3600.00. I think this is a terrific way to contribute, both as an artist and a buyer. We'll be contributing some items and probably buying a few. If you would like to learn more, follow the link above to the shop. You'll find all the details and some amazing items for sale. And be sure to pass the word on. Thank you!

Organizing

2010-01-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how it got started, but we've spent the past few days organizing and clearing out an amazing out of old deadwood. We started with the office, eliminating two bagfuls of garbage - stuff that you wonder why you ever kept in the first place, let alone carefully packed and moved - and a pile to take to the thrift store. With all that out of the way, we now have a place to store our finished items and our display pieces. We even found some dolls that had somehow missed being photographed and listed. Yesterday we started on the sewing room, going through all of the patterns and books and weeding out all of the ones that we're not going to be using anymore. I was going to send them to the thrift store, but it just occured to me that I should list them online instead. Okay, so it takes me awhile sometimes to get my brain working. There's some great quilt and doll patterns as well as heirloom sewing and other things. I'll get them photographed this week and start listing them.

In keeping with the organization theme, I just listed this armchair organizer. It has lots of pockets for remotes, puzzle books or magazines, pens and pencils, and whatever else you need to be comfortable. I also listed Ludwig the Musical Mentor, one of Judy's Magique Mentor dolls. Isn't he delightful? I just love him.
Now I'm off to walk Nicky before it starts raining again and then back to cleaning the sewing room.

I just created a Treasury

2010-01-08T09:16:00.000-08:00

The Treasury gods must be smiling today. I already had this set up on Poster Sketch, but I'd about given up on finding an opening. Then I flipped over just out of habit and found the box ready and waiting. So here we are, Winters Dream, the first treasury I've curated.

Happy New Year!

2009-12-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

and a Happy Hogmanay to all you Scots out there. I'm sorry that I haven't been around much lately. I came down with the flu a couple of weeks ago and I just can't seem to shake it. I take an immune suppresser for an auto-immune problem and, of course, it makes me more susceptible to viruses and makes them harder to get rid of. Anyway, I'll be seeing the doctor Monday and hopefully I can get back on track. I've got lots of new ideas and projects to work on. For Christmas, Judy gave me a Sumi-e painting set. I've done a little playing with it so far and it's absolutely fascinating. I've also been learning to do decorative knotting. I'm not sure yet if I'll use it for jewelry or incorporate it with the dolls or both but I'll figure it out eventually.We are the Magique Mentors,

We come to help with your chores.

But remember, for us to help you,

You must believe in magic too.

Speaking of dolls, Judy's come up with a whole new line that she calls Magique Mentors. It started with a kitchen witch and sort of went from there. Or I should say is still going from there, since she keeps coming up with new ones every day, each one better than the last. My favorite so far is the one she made Tim for Christmas to hang in his workshop. He's called Leonardo, of course; isn't he a delight? I'll try to get a couple photographed and listed in the next couple of days.

A Joyous Time

2009-12-24T07:26:00.000-08:00

From our house to yours, here's wishing you all the wonder and blessings of this magical season! Happy Yuletide, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah!

Winter Wonderland Treasury

2009-12-20T08:43:00.001-08:00

Isn't this one of the most beautiful Etsy Treasuries you've ever seen? Thank you, Merigreenleaf, for including my Snow Crystals Quilt and for putting together such a gorgeous collection! Chesk out the treasury here before it expires.

Mama, the kitty wants you!

2009-12-19T08:18:00.000-08:00

The cat that adopted us a while back has taken to sitting on the back of the deck chair right outside the living room window anytime she wants some food or some quality lap time. At first, Nicky would throw conniption fits when he saw her (not that that bothered her in the least; it didn't take her long to figure out he's all bluff). Now, he's starting to look for her and fuss when she doesn't show up. Of course, they're still playing one-upmanship - I got ear rubs and you didn't, nyah, nyah - but at least they're tolerating each other now. I swear, it's like having a couple of small children in the house.

On Thursday evening, I got together with some of my Druid friends at the Labyrinth to celebrate the solstice. Yes, I know the solstice isn't until the 21st, but in these busy days, you fit things in when you can and we figure it's the thought that counts anyway. Doesn't it look magical? One of the people brought enough candles to go around the perimeter, plus the ones that we all put in the center, and the hospital had lights in all the trees. Afterwards, we went to someone's house for potluck and visited for a couple of hours. It was a lovely evening all around.

This next week is going to be really busy. My nephew and his family are hoping to come down for Christmas, so Judy and I will be getting the office and sewing room cleaned out and some baking done. Tim just got a another big rush order for spurtles, so he's going to be chained to the lathe for the duration. Then Monday night, my group in Ashland is having our Yule party (on the solstice this time) and Tuesday afternoon the three of us are going to the Celtic Christmas concert. And somewhere in there, we really need to fit in some Christmas shopping.

However you celebrate the season, have a wonderful, joyous, magical holiday!

Snow Crystals

2009-12-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

I got my new quilt finished and listed. Didn't it turn out well? When I saw that beautiful piece of landscape fabric in the store, I knew I had to do something with it. I paper-pieced the stars, so the points aren't quite as crisp as they could be. One of the things I've learned in making things for sale is that you have to make occasional compromises to save time. It's been a hard lesson for me since I tend to be a perfectionist with my handwork, but it has to be to keep the prices affordable. Anyway, I'm quite pleased with it.

Today, it's off to the post office to mail out an order, then to the sewing room. One of the requests we had at the Expo show was for an armchair caddy for guys (or at least for non-sewers). She wanted one for her husband with pockets for a couple of remotes, a puzzle book and pencils. It turned out so well, that I thought I would make some to put on-line.

Getting Ready For the Holidays

2009-12-12T07:03:00.000-08:00

There's no doubt it's winter. After a week of super-dry freezing weather, a storm moved in yesterday afternoon. For a while there it was raining, snowing and hailing all at the same time. We didn't have anough snow to stick, but there's ice everywhere this morning. Looks like a good day to stay inside and sew. I've got a new quilt all done except for the binding. I was going to finish it last night, but after doing an unintentional slide down the front walk and landing on my knees, I really wasn't in a mood to sew. I'll get it finished up today so I can list it tomorrow. And just wait till you see the new Kitchen Witches that Judy has been working on. They are absolutely delightful! I'll get those photographed today as well. In the meantime, I thought I would share some photos of our Christmas and Yule decorations.

The two dolls here are actually for sale, but we thought we might as well enjoy them in the meantime. They just seem right at home on the Yule table.

Black and White

2009-12-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

An unusual title for someone who loves color as much as I do, but I wanted to share this amazing picture that I took yesterday morning. Our spruce tree silhouetted against the neighbors' birch tree, both dimmed by fog and frost and a little snow. The amazing part is that the picture is exactly the way it looked; except for cropping it, I didn't do any editing at all.

Still on the black and white theme, I just listed this wall quilt on Etsy and Artfire. I actually made it some time ago, but hadn't listed it yet. It has bow tie and fan blocks and I call it the Black and White Gala.

And for a spot of color (I couldn't resist) here's another piece I listed yesterday: Poinsettia Table Runner. It's one of Judy's creations. The poinsettias are made of a light-weight velvet for extra texture. The pictures really don't do it justice.

With the thermometer hovering at 18 degrees this morning, I think I'll go snuggle up in the craft room and work on another quilt. Have a wonderful week everyone!

December Frost

2009-12-03T06:58:00.000-08:00

These are some photos I took in our yard yesterday. They turned out so well I just had to share them. The white is not true frost (although it was nearly cold enought); it's what the local weathermen call gropple (hope I've got that spelled right). When we get stuck in a heavy pea soup fog like we've been for the past few days, the local airport seeds the fog to get enough clearance for take-offs. Since it's too cold to rain, the moisture precipitates in these tiny snowflakes in the areas around the airport. We're very prone to fog here in the valley, so this usually happens several times during the winter. It's beautiful, though I'll be glad when the fog clears and we can see the sky again.

Yuletide Treasury

2009-12-02T13:52:00.000-08:00

Thanks, Merily, for including my Whisper doll in this wonderful Yuletide Treasures Etsy Treasury. For those of you who haven't visited Merigreenleaf's wonderful shops on Etsy and Artfire or her Elbit blog, do yourself a favor and go check them out. They are absolutely wonderful!

December already?

2009-12-01T08:59:00.001-08:00

Where in the world did this year go? It seems like just yesterday we were getting ready for spring and now here it is the first of December (and I'm still not ready for spring). It's supposed to be sunny this afternoon, so maybe I'll get the lights hung up outside. About half of the houses in the neighborhood have theirs up already. One eager beaver started putting his out before Halloween. As much as I love decorating for Christmas, that's a little early.

This is one of Judy's needlefelted hangings that she calls 'Waiting For Christmas". I've spent the past several days really working on the shops, listing and promoting (by the way, we sold our first tea cozy online yesterday, yay!) our Winter Sale. Today it's time to finally put the computer away and get back to creating. Past time, maybe. Judy was asking this morning if I still remembered how to sew. Nothing like a subtle hint, is there? So off to the craft room. Hopefully, I'll have something new to show you tomorrow.

P.S. One of my readers asked how the kitties are doing. I'm happy to report that mama and babies are doing well and getting very good at knocking on the door at meal time. I'll try to get some pictures to share.

Catching Up

2009-11-29T09:33:00.000-08:00

I'll admit, I've been really neglecting our blog lately. Life got really busy (even busier than usual) and I guess I just needed a bit of break. I was being pulled in so many different directions at once that something had to give. So to bring things up to date: On the business front we're through with craft shows for the year, which is good and bad - I love doing them, but they can be tiring. With those over, I've been really working over the Etsy and Artfire shops; adding lots of new items and putting sale prices throughout. The practical items like the tea cozies and sewing kits do so much better at the local shows that we thought we would try them on-line. I think I've got all the pictures on Flickr, for the moment anyway. While I've been working on the computer, Judy was busy sewing a bunch of new potluck sets with a purple hat theme.

On the home front: I'm still attending my magic school class and loving it. Along with studying different forms of meditation (and who would have dreamed there were so many?), we're studying philosophy and - believe it or not - quantum mechanics. As you might guess, I'm spending a lot of time studying, journaling, practicing... I wonder if it's possible to sprain your brain muscles? Somedays I feel like it.

To add to the fun, we've been taking care of a mama cat and two kittens that a neighbor abandoned. Nicky's not real happy about the situation, but as all the local shelters are overflowing, he'll just have to share. It's really hard to understand people sometimes.

Sorry about the long post. I'll try to post a little more regularly, though it won't be every day for awhile.

Holiday Sales

2009-11-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

I know that I haven't blogged much lately, but it's not because I haven't been on the computer. I've listed a whole bunch of new things in the shops - everything from potluck sets to christmas ornaments to new dolls - and changing prices. Everything in the Christmas/Yule and Useful gifts categories are currently on sale for 20% or more off the regular prices plus selected items in other categories (sorry about the grammar, I need more coffee). I'm just off to add a few more things. See you at the sale!

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T07:14:00.000-08:00

Have a wonderful, magical, safe Thanksgiving everyone!

(image from Magickal Graphics)

Holiday at the Expo

2009-11-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

What a great weekend! We spent Friday and Saturday doing the Holidays at the Expo show and it was a blast. The new gift items we were working on - the tea cozies, sewing caddies and potluck kits - were a real hit. The lovely lady in charge put our booth and Tim's next to each other so that we could cross-promote (and spell each other off). There was quite a crowd both days. I was surprised there were so many on Friday considering how cold and nasty the weather was. Anyway, we all had a wonderful time and certainly plan to do it again next year.

New Treasury

2009-11-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

What a nice surprise; my Irish Santa was featured in this delightful Etsy Treasury called Never Too Old For a Doll put together by Fyrecreek.

Autumn's Bounty featured in a blog

2009-11-12T07:20:00.000-08:00

I just had to share this: Judy's Autumn Bounty Table Runner was featured in a blog, Braggin' Rights Finds! How cool is that to wake up to? I hadn't run across this blog before but it looks really interesting. The description says "a blog for the specific purpose of promoting the purchasing and selling of handmade goods." Can't go wrong with that! Anyway, you might want to check it out.

I've been taking a break from the blogosphere this week. There's just been too much going on in the real world. We're doing a big 2-day craft fair Friday and Saturday at the local fairgrounds. This one will be strictly handmade items, no resale or imported things so hopefully we'll do well. The show we did last weekend was over 50% commercial booths. We try hard to keep our prices reasonable, but there's just no way we can compete with mass-produced imports and still maintain our quality. Still, shows are always fun so I can't complain too much. Starting next week, I need to really dig into the online shops, get some new things listed and start promoting for the holidays.

Awareness

2009-11-06T08:16:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy week with one thing and another. Our first holiday bazaar is tomorrow, so we've been finishing up some projects and getting all organized (hopefully) for that. Today is kind of a quiet day, for me at least. Judy and Tim are off to the coast to get some more myrtle wood. He's used up every scrap he had keeping up with spurtle orders, then, just as he thought he was caught up and could catch his breath, he got another huge order. At this point, I don't know whether to laugh or sympathize.

While they're gone, I thought I would work on some of my Magic School homework. Last week's meditation exercise was on Awareness - basically focusing on your senses instead of your thoughts. There are many different ways of practicing; I've mostly been working on it during walks around the neighborhood. I've always thought of myself as a pretty observant person, but until I started conciously paying attention to all the things going on around me, I had no idea what I was missing: the feel of the air and the sun on my face, the rustling of leaves, the myriad shades of color on a single tree and sometimes on a single leaf, the smell of wet earth. The strangest part is how restful and refreshing it is to listen to the world around - even just for a few minutes - instead of the constant internal chatter and worries. This week's homework is mythology, always one of my favorite subjects.

In between other things, I got a start on a new quilt. It started out as a fairy tree, but I'm not sure where it's going now. We'll just have to wait and see.

Updates in the Shops

2009-11-01T11:21:00.000-08:00

Boy, did Nicky have fun last night. In the past, we've only had 3 or 4 trick or treaters on Halloween, but we had at least a couple of dozen last night. Small I know, compared to a lot of neighborhoods, but surprising for here, especially with the steady drizzle all evening. Nicky had a ball, putting on a great show of defending the house against all comers. Of course, all the kids long ago figured out that he's all bluff and bluster, so they enjoyed it as much as he did. Even better, all the barking and running around wore him out so I got to sleep in this morning.

I've been going the shops on Etsy and Artfire, moving all the Halloween and Thanksgiving items to a new Sale section/category and marking the prices down even further than they were. I also reduced the regular prices on some of the dolls, Magique Doors and fabric pictures. Plus, I just listed this new Spirit Doll, that I call Whisper. Doesn't she remind you of a winter morning with frost on the windows and just a few snowflakes drifting down?

Now it's time to grab some lunch and see what new things I can come up with.

Blessings for Halloween & Samhain

2009-10-31T06:38:00.000-07:00

Whichever name you choose and however you celebrate it, may you have a joyous, magical and - above all - safe holiday!

New Treasuries

2009-10-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

I haven't written anything for a few days mostly because it's been a really boring week. Both Judy and I have been busy with routine sewing, getting gift items made for the upcoming craft fairs. Dull enough for us, let alone anybody else. However, I found this morning that one of my spirit dolls was featured in a new treasury called Happy Hallows. Look at these wonderful colors:

Aren't they gorgeous? Thank you to Karen Eliz Designs for putting it together. One of our items was also picked as an alternate by Merigreenleaf for this super Spooky Good Time Treasury

Thank you for putting together this wonderful treasury. So many talented people! For those of you who haven't found it yet, Craftopolis is a wonderful way to find out what treasuries or gift guides your products are in. It also gives a Treasury Clock to help you in putting together your own treasury and a cool feature called Shop Lovers where you can see who has hearted both your shop and individual items.

My New Robe

2009-10-24T12:16:00.001-07:00

Just had to show off a little today. My druid group is having our Samhain get-together tonight and I decided yesterday to make a new robe to wear. Nothing like waiting until the last minute, is there? I've been meaning to make one for months and just kept putting it off, but with this beautiful fabric on sale at JoAnn, I couldn't resist. It's made of crushed panne velvet, with a gold colored satin lining in the hood. Nice and warm and simple enough to wear other places, not just for rituals. Of course, Nicky had to get in the photo. Like any kid, any time he sees a camera, he starts posing. Time to go finish the enchiladas for tonight. Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

Autumn Roses

2009-10-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

My apologies to my readers back East who are coping with snow and freezing weather, but I just had to share these photos of our roses. Yesterday started out cool and foggy, not quite enough to frost the windows, but close. After noon, the sun broke through and these roses just seemed to glow like magic. They should be pretty much gone by now, but it looks like summer's going to hang on a bit longer.

Alex's wall hanging

2009-10-19T06:30:00.000-07:00

I made this wall hanging for my grandson, Alex as he turns 14. His school mascot is the timber wolf, so I started with that. The project is half fabric and half natural fiber of alpaca and llama. The timber wolf is a great example of independence of self, family and territory.

Notice the dragon in the sky. Our family including Alex are really into dragons and fantasy.

Happy Birthday Alex.

Back to Work; Team Challenge

2009-10-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

I apologize for being AWOL the past few days. It's been a rough week health-wise, but I'm up to speed again and ready to hit the sewing machine. It's a good thing, too; those few days off really put me behind in sewing for the Christmas fairs. I can see a long day ahead...

As I mentioned awhile back (at least I think I did, my brain's still a little mushy, lol) we're concentrating on some gift items. The tea cozies were one. These sewing caddies are another.

They're improvements on some I made several years ago for Judy and myself. The bigger one drapes over a chair arm and has a pincushion down the center and a big pocket on each side. On the original one, the pocket were open, so every time I pick it up, everything falls out. This time I added flaps with hook-and-loop closures and ties so I can fold it up and put it in my suitcase.

The little one is small enough, 4" x 6", to slip into a purse (just not at the airport, please!). It has felt 'pages' to hold pins and needles and 2 pockets for scissors, thimbles, etc. Handwork is really popular in this area, so I'm hoping these will be good sellers. I may even list some online. What do you think?

The newest Paganteam Challenge is now on the team blog and open for voting. There are some really beautiful things so, if you could, take a minute to look them over and vote for your favorite. Thanks!

Siskiyou Tom

2009-10-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

My Thanksgiving turkey with an attitude! My husband Tim, thinks he looks like a cartoon character, but we're staunchly denying it. His name's Siskiyou Tom after the Siskiyou Mountains in Southern Oregon/Northern California. He is dry felted from natural animal fibers found in Southern Oregon. He is ready as a wall hanging or to grace a buffet. Hide the wine, he may just help you celebrate Thanksgiving.

Tea Cozies and Golden Spurtles

2009-10-12T07:05:00.000-07:00

Actually, I'll start with the second one first. A while back, I wrote about the Myrtle Spurtles that my brother-in-law, Tim, makes and mentioned that the representative from Bob's Red Mill in Portland was using one at the Golden Spurtle Contest in Scotland. The competition was held yesterday and (drumrolls, please), the Myrtle Spurtle wielding competitor from Oregon, Matthew Cox, is now the official World Porridge Champion. Needless to say, Tim is clear over the moon today with excitement. Personally, I'm still a little miffed that the spurtle got to go to Scotland instead of me, but maybe next year (got to remember to buy a lottery ticket today).

Now, on to other things. Judy and I have been trying to come up with some gift-type items for the holiday shows coming up. (Boy, are they coming fast). These tea cozies are the first ones. Originally, we were just going to do them for the shows, but they turned out so cute, I think I'll list some in the shops. We dug out a whole pile of fabric yesterday, so as soon as I get back from the gym, I'll start cutting and sewing.

Fire & Ice Dragons

2009-10-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Very dramatic! The fire and ice dragons can represent good and evil, or night and day, or hot and cold. Or they can just be my love of dragons.

The Ice dragon is composed of white alpaca fiber, white crystal beads, and feathers. It glides on the air currents and revels in the sun.

The Fire dragon is black and red/orange animal fiber and black lace wings. It creates the air currents and is the wizard of the night.

They are engaged in combat over the waters and small isles. There will be no winner as they are destined to be antagonists over the centuries.

Helping Out Another Quilter

2009-10-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I wanted to let you know about a blog giveaway, but more importantly, I want to pass the word about a very special project that you can help with if you like. Laurie, of A Yankee Quilter, is asking for donated quilt blocks to make a friendship quilt for Terry, another quilter whose husband recently lost part of his leg in a work accident. Thankfully, he is recovering, but, as you can understand, this is a very difficult time for the whole family. Laurie thought a quilt made by the quilters and bloggers out there would be good way to show our support this coming Christmas - a sort of virtual hug. If you would like to help, make a 9 1/2" unfinished block, any pattern or technique (no buttons or other embellishments, please), preferably in country-type colors or patterns and send it to Laurie. If you click the link above, it will take you to the original post. Leave her a comment with your email address and she will email you her land address. Everyone who donates a block will be entered in a drawing to win one of 2 Jelly Roll fabric bundles or a $50.00 gift certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop. If you send a block and blog about the project, you will get 5 entries in the drawing. The deadline for entries is October 25th 2009. If you would like to see photos of the donated blocks on Flickr, go here.
I heard about the project just this morning through Ardea's Nest, a wonderful blog written by Melissa who also writes Crafting For the Greater Good. Be sure to check them out.

Samhain Dryad Quilt

2009-10-05T07:09:00.000-07:00

What a difference a week makes. Last weekend, we had temperatures in the 90s. This weekend it was in the 50s and raining. We nearly froze at the market Saturday. I'm glad to see fall here finally, though. It was really hard to think of winter and Christmas projects with the air conditioning running and Christmas is coming fast.

However, we still have Halloween to enjoy. I finished the quilt I started last week. It's a Samhain version of the Dryad's Dance quilt I made last spring that got so many comments. I haven't thought of a name yet. Hopefully, we'll get enough daylight today to get it photographed so I can list it. It was way too dark yesterday. I took this picture out at the Market Saturday during a sunny break. The quilt was all appliqued by hand. I love doing hand applique, it's probably my favorite part of quiltmaking and I've done it for so long now, I can do it nearly as fast by hand as on the sewing machine. Then I stole a page from Judy's book (along with some of her fiber) and needlefelted the foliage in the tree and on the ground, and the fire under the cauldron. Then I machine quilted it. Much as I love doing hand applique, I don't enjoy quilting by hand. So here it is and I think it turned out pretty well.

I also made up these Goddess charms out of that cool spiderweb fabric we picked up a while back. I'll try to get these photographed today too. Right now, I've got to get some breakfast so I can head off to the gym.

Creativ Blogger Award

2009-10-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

Busy day today. First off, I want to thank the lovely lady at Into the Dawn for presenting us with the Creativ Blogger award. What a lovely surprise to wake up to! I admit, I still find it quite amazing that there are people who actually enjoy reading our blog, and I want to send out a sincere thank you to all of you who do. I know this is just a small part of our business, but it's one of my favorites.

The rules:

1. Thank the person who gave this to you.

2. Copy the logo and place it in your blog.

3. Link the person who nominated you.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that no one would really know.

5. Nominate seven 'Kreativ Bloggers'

6. Post links to the seven blogs you nominate

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know you nominated them

Now, 7 things about yourself. Oh my, I'm not sure I've had enough coffee for this part, but here goes...

1. We're both mystery nuts: books, movies, plays, dinner theater, you name it. Serious or corny, it doesn't matter, neither one of us can resist a good whodunit.

2.We both love computer games. The puzzle types, not role-playing games. You know, the hidden object games like Mortimer Becket, Adventure Chronicles, Azada, and match-3 games like Rise of Atlantis, DaVinci's Secret, Big Kahuna. I'm also totally hooked on the Build-a-Lot series.

3. We both enjoy cooking and baking, which can be an interesting challenge since we're both gluten intolerant.

4. Neither of us started out as artists. I got a degree in anthropology, hoping to work in a museum (unfortunately never happened) and Judy is a retired nurse.

5. We're both Scooby Doo fans (the cartoon, of course) from way back. Do you get the feeling that neither one of us ever quite grew up? You would be right.

6. I love knitting and Judy hates it.

7. We both hate wearing costumes. (Makes for an interesting Halloween, lol)

Now I get to nominate 7 other blogs so they can figure out what to say about themselves.

1. WillOaks Studio

2. Ink Spillers Attic

3. Ardea's Nest

4. Fantasy Clay

5. Mana Moon Studios

6. Art and Inspirations

7. Artangel

And now it's time to get to work. We've been kicking around the idea of putting together some gift baskets for the holiday craft fairs. With just a month to go before the first one, we'd better get a move on.

New Treasury

2009-10-02T17:12:00.002-07:00

Judy's Grand Tetons Wall Hanging was chosen by Day In The Park for this amazing Etsy Treasury inspired by Ken Burns' series on the National Parks currently running on PBS. If you haven't watched it, you should. It's a marvelous show, worth watching just for the incredible scenery. The well-told story behind the Parks is a real bonus.

Halloween is coming

2009-10-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

I was reminded this morning that I am way behind in my blog writing. I love to do the pictures, but not play on the computer. I have grouped two pictures together, Scary Things and the Witches House.

Scary Things is a sample of what makes Halloween. It is Pumpkins, Ghosts, Spiders and Black Cats in the cemetery. It's what causes shivers up the spine and rushes to find a pillow case to go trick or treating. (Find it on Etsy and Artfire.)

The Witches House (here on Etsy and here on Artfire) is the house on the edge of town that only the bravest go to on Halloween. The door is open (after a fashion), and the black cat and jack-o-lantern are ready to greet those that dare enter the gate. I'm sure there are real finger sandwiches and Dragon Scale cookies waiting inside. I'll wait right here for you.

P.S. from Donna: I apologize for not posting anything the past few days, but things have kind of been on hold. Fall literally came in overnight; it went from a high of 93 on Sunday to 51 and rain on Tuesday. That's when we discovered that the broken leg that Nicky had when I adopted him has developed severe arthritis. Needless to say, he's needed lots of extra loving and a ready lap. We've now got him on some medicine for the pain and joint pills that will hopefully help long-term. Now I'm playing catch-up on work. I went through the two stores and marked down all the Halloween and Autumn themed items. The sale will last through October 31st. I've still got a couple of things to add, and one more Halloween/Samhain quilt that I hope to finish today.

Spurtles

2009-09-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Judy and Tim are off to the coast on a wood-buying trip today. For those of you who don't know, Tim is a lathe turner. He makes all kinds of beautiful and useful things, from pens to mortars and pestles, to niddy-noddys for spinners. If you like wood, you can check out his shops on
Artfire and Etsy. He just got a huge order for spurtles, of all things. If you don't know what a spurtle is, don't feel bad; I didn't either at first. It's simply a round, flat-bottomed stick that Scots traditionally use to stir oatmeal. He only made one because he likes working with our local myrtle wood and he thought it would be fun to have a Myrtle Spurtle at his booth. Certainly never expected to sell many. Well, it seems that there is a whole sub-culture of porridge fanciers that we knew nothing about. There's even a Golden Spurtle contest held annually in Scotland, where contestants vie to create the perfect oatmeal. That's where we come in. One of this year's entrants is Bob's Red Mill, based in Milwaukie, Oregon (near Portland). They found Tim's shop through a Google search (hooray for Google!) this summer and have made several small orders. Then last week, they ordered 136. Each one turned individually on the lathe. Looks like a long week ahead, at least for Tim.

While they're gone, I'll get caught up on my Magic School homework. We'll be studying a different philosopher or figure every week. This week is Plato and I can't say I like him any better now that I did when I was in college, thirty years ago. Once I get that done, I can put on a good movie and start sewing. I got a new quilt all cut out yesterday. Hopefully, I'll have some photos of it tomorrow.

R-Rated?

2009-09-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

The funniest thing happened at the weekly market yesterday, I'm still laughing about it. We've got a lot of smoke in the air here from a wildfire burning north of us, so as soon as we got the booth set up, Judy sent me home. When I went back later to help with the take-down, she greeted me with: "We had a little problem today. There was one very unhappy lady." I'll admit, my first thought was that someone took offense at the Goddess items or something like that. Medford is a fairly conservative town and when we first started doing local shows, I was quite nervous about putting out anything that was obviously pagan. That was months ago, and so far we've had nothing but the nicest comments and an occasional question, which I'm happy to answer. However, I was dead wrong. After glancing around the booths, the lady came storming across the parking lot, pointed at one of the mermen and said "That doll is not wearing a shirt and there are children present!" Judy said she nearly choked trying not to laugh. The dolls are so bland and innocent, how could anyone possibly find them tittilating? It wouldn't have crossed my mind in a million years. Oh well, I guess we'll either have to make some mermen shirts or start displaying them in plain brown wrappers. It's just a good thing we didn't have the half-dressed Scottish Selkie out there. She would probably have called the cops. I swear the world's getting crazier by the minute.

Time to get some breakfast and hit the sewing machine. I've got a couple of new quilt ideas bubbling around in my head and I need to get them started. Looks like a Doctor Who kind of day.

Autumn Equinox

2009-09-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the Autumn Equinox, one of the two times of the year when the hours of day and night are nearly equal in length. It is a good time to seek balance in life. A time to relax a little from the heat and busyness of summer, to take a deep breath and simply enjoy the beautiful changes taking place in the world around you. A time to reflect on the many small blessings that bring joy to your life.

In the ancient Celtic calendar, the autumn equinox was the last holiday of the year. The first holiday of the year, Samhain - now known as Halloween - was six weeks away. Those six weeks were known as an in-between time, a very special period when the veils between the mundane and spirit worlds grew thin and easily passed. It was a good time to pay tribute to your ancestors and friends who have passed on. It's also a good time to pay attention to the Faery folk and all the magical creatures who might be dropping in for a visit. For fantasy artists, it's a truly magical time when all things are possible. With all the magic in the air, who knows what might happen and what new ideas might appear out of thin air?

A New Pair of Dolls; Sale Ending Soon

2009-09-21T17:22:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie post to show you what I've been up to the past couple of days. The Fortune Teller and her companion, the Far-Seer. They still need faces and he needs a short cape and a scrying bowl, but I'm so delighted with how they're looking that I had to share. Her skirt is actually purple although it looks better in this photo. I'll try to get them finished up tonight and take some decent photos tomorrow when the light's good.

We're also working on a new twist for our Magique Doors - Magique Villages. It's still in the planning stages, but we're having a lot of fun thinking up different shops and houses, especially for Halloween.

P.S. This is the last week for our Autumn Sale. Sunday will be the last full day. If there's anything you've been looking at, better grab it soon. We'll be starting a Halloween sale the first of October, but it will only be on select items.

Splash Inspiration

2009-09-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

As with everyone else, we needed to get back to exercising. So we joined the YMCA and enrolled in the water-step aerobics. After a few times the routine became old and well learned and the imagination took over. Now as we do the steps, new projects come to mind. I look over at Donna and she has strange look on her face, " how about we do----". "Then we can add, what if, and the ideas are born.

We may miss a step, or even a whole routine, but we come home with new projects and ideas to last a life time, and we go to class 3 times a week. Anyone else want to join us in the pool?

Witches Just Hanging Around For the Ball

2009-09-16T10:56:00.000-07:00

May I introduce you to two new members of out menagerie. The witches of Southern Oregon. The neon colors are brighter than the usual black and grey, but maybe they are waiting for an invitation to the Witches Ball. Their noses are a little longer to enable them sticking them into everyone else's business and their black hats are anchored on ready for broom flight after dark. Invite them for a sip of "Witches Brew" or "Eye Of Newt Soup".

Thank you, Judy, for introducing your new fun-loving friends. Fortunately, the Witches Ball is all set up ready for them. I finally got it finished yesterday and I'll be listing it on Etsy and Artfire as soon as I finish editing the photos.

Wisewoman's Garden

2009-09-15T06:17:00.000-07:00

I had planned to show off my finished Witches Ball quilt today, but I fell asleep last night while I was hemming it and didn't quite get it finished. Today! Then I'll get it photographed today and post it tomorrow. Since I don't have that one, I decided to show off one of my old quilts instead. I made this one back in 1995, and of all the quilts I've made, this is still my favorite. I was able to use my love of history, herbs and quilting, all at the same time. I called it the Wisewoman's Garden. It's a tribute and celebration of all the women through the centuries who used their knowledge and skills to take care of their communities. I used hand applique, piecing and hand embroidery, then hand quilted it. I hope you enjoy it.

Pheasant in the Autumn

2009-09-11T10:45:00.000-07:00

The picture started out as a wheel of autumn produce, but as often happens, it took a turn of it's own. When I sat down to felt the turkey for the middle of the wheel, a pheasant appeared instead. It was too beautiful to change and seemed appropriate so I added it to the picture. Enjoy my pheasant in the autumn picture as it wanted to be done.

Work In Progress

2009-09-11T07:47:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't written a new post for a couple of days. To be honest, I haven't done a lot of anything this past week. I've been fighting bronchitis and it really wipes you out, If you've had it you know what I mean. It's so frustrating! I've got so much work piling up - things I enjoy doing - I just haven't had the energy to do them.

Enough whining for today. I did work on some hand sewing done yesterday. This is my Halloween quilt 'The Witches Ball'. The idea came from the magic shop where I'm taking my magic school classes. As you go into the shop, they have a big wooden coatrack where they display some of the robes for sale, and they have a big party in October called the Witches Ball. So I put the two ideas together and came up with this. It's been so much fun picking out the special fabrics for the robes and hats. I still have to add a couple of brooms and maybe a cat and then quilt it, but I wanted to share it with you.

Judy's been busy enough for both of us. She's got several new things made including an absolutely gorgeous pheasant, but I'll let her tell you about them,

Good Grief! I'm Turning Into a Geek!

2009-09-08T08:30:00.000-07:00

A while back, on the volunteers group for our team, I said if they needed help with the monthly challenge to let me know. Well, surprise, this weekend I got put in charge of the next challenge. This morning as I was writing up the discussion and the blog post for it and linking them back and forth, it dawned on me how far I've come the past couple of years. It's only been four years since I got my first computer and somebody had to literally show me how to turn it on and click a mouse. Talk about clueless. Luckily, I was spending that summer with family and my nieces' kids happily pitched in to teach me. There is nothing like a 6-year old looking at you with utter disgust while saying "Here, let me show you how" or playing Luxor with a couple of teenagers draped over your shoulders to really boost your incentive to learn. Now I'm taking care of 2 online shops and starting a third (more about that later), a blog, a couple of Facebook pages, a Flickr page, a challenge, starting discussions, adding hyperlinks, uploading pictures, whew...I'm not sure if it's good or bad, but my world has certainly expanded and changed over the last four years. Who knows what the future will bring?

Challenge Winner

2009-09-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

I have to apologize to my teammates for being so late in posting this. Yesterday was one of those days when I really needed at least 3 clones to keep up. Anyway, the votes are in on our paganteam Harvest Challenge! The winner with 17 votes was Cobaltquilter with this wonderful quilt

Coming in a close second with 16 votes was Magicalmama's Mabon Jewel Spell Kit

and in 3rd place was Piece by Piece by Kat's Harvest Altar Cloth

Thank you so much to the people who took the time to visit our team blog and vote. As an artisan, it means a lot to know that someone is looking at and appreciating your creation

Market Report

2009-09-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

Well, our first weekly market day went pretty good. We didn't sell anything, but we didn't expect to on the first day, especially since it was pretty blustery. It never actually rained, though it threatened to all morning, and we had to take the canopies down early when the wind came up. In fact, we had more customers come through than I expected. We couldn't have had a better spot - first booth in line - and Nicky along to draw them in. There's nothing like a chihuahua sitting on your lap looking cute to attract customers. Absolutely shameless, I know, but he doesn't mind the chin scratches and ear rubs and he made a couple of new doggy friends, so he was happy. We had a lot of interest, especially in the soft jewelry. Most of the people coming through actually took the time to stop and look and give us some good feedback. All in all, it was a good start and we're looking forward to next week. I'm sorry I didn't get any pictures. I took the camera, I just forgot to get it out.

Weekly Market

2009-09-04T08:47:00.000-07:00

After trying all summer, we finally got a booth in a weekly market. Growers and crafters markets are a big thing in the Rogue Valley and with all the talented indie crafters here most of the markets have quite a waiting list. The McAndrews Avenue market is new this summer and still pretty small, but growing steadily. If they keep on the way they're going, it should really take off next year so we jumped at the chance to get in on it. The fact that it's only about ten minutes from our house was an added bonus. It's supposed to rain tomorrow (of course). That's okay; I'd rather have rain than 100+ temperature. I'm off now to work on my Witches Ball quilt, then come up with some new Magique Doors since we sold 3 of them yesterday along with 2 dolls. A good day all around.

Moonbeams, Stars & CometsExhibition

2009-09-03T07:16:00.001-07:00

I hoped you stopped to look at the gallery I put on top of the page today. It's from the new Fantasy Artists of Etsy exhibition, titled Moonbeams, Stars & Comets. Isn't that a cool theme? Even cooler when you put it in the hands of some very talented fantasy lovers. The full exhibition is shown on the team blog http://faeteam.com/exhibition.html Be sure to pay it a visit.

Making of a Jack-o-Lantern

2009-09-02T07:45:00.000-07:00

Each year we see the fields of pumpkins with crows watching their progress. Before we know it, Halloween is approaching and we pick the pumpkin that will make the fiercest (or funniest) jack-o-lantern. We start carving the face and get the candle ready to insert, again the crows are watching. The trick-or-treaters are lured to our yard with his glowing face now in company of a black cat and witches hat.

Magical Treasury; Flying Leaves

2009-09-01T09:38:00.000-07:00

It seems to be a magical day all the way around. My Astra Spirit Doll was included in this beautiful Etsy Treasury put together by Unicorn's Garden and look at all the other wonderful things she found .http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=79490
Since I was doing a second post anyway, I thought I would give you a quick peek at the autumn quilt I finished this weekend. It was inspired by the beautiful pictorial fabric that I used in the center. The wide border is the traditional Flying Geese pattern, one of my all-time favorites, In each corner is the traditional Windblown Square block, another old favorite. I called it Flying Leaves. It will go in the stores as soon as I finish editing the photos

Harvest Challenge; Magic School

2009-09-01T06:46:00.000-07:00

It's the first of the month again (where is the time going?) and time to vote for paganteam monthly challenge. There are 14 great entries this month covering an amazing range of techniques and materials, everything from incense to jewelry to a quilt all inspired by the word Harvest. Treat yourself, go see the entries and vote for your favorite. Here's the link http://paganteam.blogspot.com/2009/08/harvest-challenge-entries.html

I'm starting on something brand new tonight. The Rowan Tree store in Ashland has what they call a Magic School course and I decided to try it out. It runs once a week from September through May, so it's a serious course (I don't think we're talking Harry Potter here, though you never know). It's supposed to include a lot of meditation and discussion of different cultures and myths so I'm hoping to get lots of new ideas. Even just going into the store and visiting, which I love to do, I come home brimming with ideas, imagine what this will bring. I can't wait.
But before that happens, I've got a newly finished quilt and 3 of Judy's hangings to photograph and get listed. Don't forget to check out our big sale

Autumn Sale Now In Progress

2009-08-31T10:18:00.001-07:00

Okay, it's now official, our big Autumn Blowout Sale is now in progress. I spent part of yesterday and today marking down all the prices in both stores by anywhere from 25-50%. Plus we offer free shipping, so how can you beat that? We really need to move out some things to make room for all the new holiday things we're planning and working on so come on by and check out the great bargains. This offer is good in both our Etsy and Artfire stores. Follow one of these links http://threadsofmagique.com/ and http://threadsofmagique.artfire.com/ or click on one of the store icons in the panel to the right or check out our fan page on Facebook and order directly from there through our Artfire Kiosk. This would be a great time to pick up some gifts for the holidays (they're sneaking up fast you know) and maybe that special something for yourself.

Speaking of holiday things, this is the new drawing I worked on yesterday for a Halloween quilt. It's going to be a blast picking out the fabrics for it. Now that I've got the sale started, maybe I can take a break from the computer and go dig through the fabric cupboard.

A Lazy Sunday Morning

2009-08-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

As you can see, Nicky and I are starting off a bit slow this morning. This is his classic 'Don't bother me, I'm sleeping pose.' I've heard that there dogs out there that bounce out of the bed at the crack of dawn, ready to run a marathon. So far, I've never had one. I had one dog who would finally come dragging out an hour or two after I got up, yawning and feeling around on the floor for his dish like a person looking for their coffee cup. Nicky's not quite that bad, but almost. It's really funny, because I'm a morning person. I'm usually up by 6, 6:30 at the latest and have at least an hour's work done before breakfast. Although I did manage to sleep in a bit this morning and I've been lazing around playing computer games instead of working. Oh well, gotta play hooky once in a while.

Anyway, I mentioned a couple of days ago that we were planning a big sale. We haven't done one in both stores at the same time since spring, so we're definitely overdo. We would really like to make room for some new holiday items, so we're marking things down 30-50%. The sale won't officially start until tomorrow, but since it's going to take me a while to change all those prices, I'll start marking some of them down today. In fact, I'll go get a few done right now before I head for the craft room. I came up with a really cute idea for a Halloween quilt last night that I can't wait to work on.

Fabric Pictures (and a sale...)

2009-08-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Instead of sewing or painting, yesterday was mostly devoted to getting the yard back in shape. Between the heat, the travelling, and some chronic health problems, the lawn and garden had really gotten out of hand. The grass wasn't quite long enough for Nicky to get lost in, but it was getting to that stage and I had to fight my way through some really massive dandelions to get to the tomatoes. Didn't quite get finished. There's still a few oversized weeds out there thumbing their noses, but at least it doesn't look like the house has been abandoned now. Of course, I'm feeling it today. I'll be very happy to get back to the sewing machine and finish up my harvest quilt. Just as soon as I run to the fabric store to get another spool of the thread I ran out of last night.

Before I do that though, I want to get a couple of new things listed. These are a couple of fabric pictures that Judy made a while back and I think they're just delightful. The pictures really don't do them justice. You can't appreciate the depth and texture she achieved.

And now for a head's up. With fall looming and my 50th birthday coming on Sunday, it seemed like a good time for a celebration. And what better way to celebrate than to have a sale? We're still working out the details. Keep watching and I'll let you know as soon as I can.

Duncan the Scotish Selkie

2009-08-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

The Scottish will not be ignored, so Duncan has finally made his way from the inner self to the wall hanging for every one to see. It is up to you to decide if he is taking off the otter skin or maybe putting it back on to return to the sea. It is possible he has been visiting with Angus, my first selkie doll. Duncan is on the quiet Scottish beach.