It has been a very bad week. For the world and for me personally, the past two weeks rank among the worst. Crochet is a small comfort, and the product is comfortable too. I joined a knitting circle at my local library for the winter to get me out of… Read More »Crochet Bubble Cowl
The Connecticut Renaissance Faire is always such a great show! Our big day at the fair was the second-to-last weekend during the Halloween-themed programming. After dark the faire was transformed into a spooky wonderland with extra macabre and fiery entertainment. We made a big to-do of coordinating with many friends… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2024 Halloween Theme Weekend
I have a quick update for you on those T-shirt designs for Team Spoonwood. The team found a local printer and the design has been made into T-shirts, long-sleeves, hats and hoodies! The best part is this printer runs small batches that are completely customizable, so members of the team… Read More »Team Spoonwood Apparel Update
All of my very hard work practicing dance and drumming culminated the end of September in the first Simsbury Movement Arts Festival. The studio director where I dance decided she wasn’t busy enough working two jobs and having five kids, but also needed to put on a giant festival and… Read More »Simsbury Movement Arts Festival
Earlier this year I took a lamb butchering workshop at a local farm to deepen my connection to my food. At the end of the workshop, I was invited to come back to participate in the annual teaching of ‘earth skills’ at a gathering of like-minds known as the Ground… Read More »Earth Skill Sharing at the Groundnut Gathering
This project has been sitting on the backburner, but an upcoming trip to the faire has jump-started my motivation. Funny how with a self-imposed deadline looming, I got way more happy brain chemicals out of pulling thread than without a firm timetable. For a week leading up to the faire… Read More »Fancy Embroidered Collar
Opening weekend of the Connecticut Renaissance Fair, also Labor Day weekend in the States, we found ourselves with a free afternoon and my desire for a particular bodice from a particular vendor opening at the faire. I threw together this cute Renaissance shopping outfit from pieces already sewn to peruse… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Fair Shopping Outfit
I’m learning to play the Sombati Darbuka! Also known at a doumbek, this is a ceramic hand-drum from the middle-east, popularly used to accompany raqs sharqi style dancing, also known as belly-dance. I’ve been dancing for over a decade and I played percussion in school growing up. With a big… Read More »Drumming Cushion
During the winter months my husband plays on a disc golf league that tours the region. This year the team needs new shirts and he had a vision that he asked me to paint. A spoonwood is a mountain laurel, which is native to the area and flourishes on the… Read More »Spoonwood T-Shirt Design
Spent a second day at Kripalu for a yoga retreat, this time with a friend, so much less introspective and more social. At the end of the night we took a workshop entitled “Healing Through Art,” though the instructor admitted she wouldn’t have called it that herself. She’s into alchemy.… Read More »“Healing Through Art” at Kripalu
Breezy summer magic. Pools, beaches, hot-wind on an afternoon walk, and the kimono cover-up made with the power of rectangles. This fabric has been kickin’ it in the stash for almost a decade where I last made a simple halter dress from the rayon-poly-blend. Sun-protective, wrinkle-free, quick-dry, and not much… Read More »Purple Kimono Cover-up
This is another “I made this in front of the TV” project. No patterns, no counting, just wingin’ it. I was gifted this 100% cotton yarn from my aunt who uses it to make wash-clothes. She gave me 2 big skeins so I thought “this would make a good towel.”… Read More »Crochet Mini Towel
I’ve heard that if you’re having trouble with hornets or bees, hanging a mock-hornet’s-nest on your patio or deck can deter the pointy-flyers from invading the “already claimed territory” of your fake hornets. Or is it wasps? I don’t know, but it seems like even a paper bag, the approximate… Read More »Crochet Hornet’s Nest
This is turning into a two-part post because I have too many photos to share and we’re all visual people here. I am freshly returned from a camping trip in upstate New York to Wilcox Memorial Park. This sprawling park boasts over 8 miles of hiking trails, bucolic campsites, a… Read More »Art and the Forest: Summer 2024
At the end of June, the dance studio where I practice had another showcase night so that the adult classes could see what the others have been working on. It’s part of a larger push to prepare for a movement arts festival this fall that the studio is hosting. Photos… Read More »Dance Exposition Summer ’24
On the last weekend in June we spontaneously headed off to the Robinhood Medieval Festival in east-central Connecticut. When the weather forecast called for a break in the heat and humidity and promised a cool, dry, cloudy, blustery day, we were all in! I love a cloudy fair day, even… Read More »Robinhood Medieval Festival 2024
No time for sewing or painting right now; it’s gardening season! I didn’t go as big as last year with the crazy schedules and big yields, instead trying to adapt my well-performers and self-sowers into a larger portion of the 2024 garden. Seeds were started indoors in late February as… Read More »I’m in the Garden 2024
I do not finish a lot of creative projects during the busy summertime months, so today I want to talk about an ongoing real-time internet project. That is…I review books I’ve read in tweet-form. Tweeting a book review is a short and simple way to keep track of what I’ve… Read More »Read and Tweet
I hope everyone in the states had a lovely Memorial Day Weekend. I made myself a super-extra long weekend by taking a few additional days off during which I attended my first yoga day-retreat at Kripalu. I’ve been practicing yoga consistently for about a year-and-a-half, though of course I’d been… Read More »Plein Air on Yoga Retreat
Nothing beats a linen dress in the summer. Softer with age, breathable, natural, a fabric of the ages. Considering that so many fairs take place in the warmer months and I’m always complaining about being too warm to wear many layers of garb, it was time for a linen dress.… Read More »Linen Wrap Renaissance Dress
A renaissance faire two weekends in a row!? How fun. The weekend prior Jake and I attended the first ever Wyndonshire Renaissance Festival, followed by a friend excursion, this past weekend, at sister faire ‘Enchanted Orchard’. Held at the Red Apple Farm in Phillipston, MA, this is another first-annual event… Read More »Enchanted Orchard Renaissance Faire, Year One Review
This past weekend we attended the first ever Wyndonshire Renaissance Festival. Organized in collaboration with the Winchendon Recreation Department, the faire took place in a large public park. The venue was spectacular. Very large with a variety of wooded paths, open fields, paved walkways, water-views, and even an amphitheater. There… Read More »Wyndonshire Renaissance Festival, Year One Review
The hand-embroidered medieval silk cap is finished! Sometimes worn as a base-layer under a hat or veil, but also sported alone, I wanted a cap that was both fancy and good for the hair, so I used real silk in a champagne color. The shape is based on St Birgitta’s… Read More »Embroidered Medieval Cap
Glad to be back with more creations to post after a month of progress. I’ve been reading, thinking, resting, and filling the creative wells. Lots of yoga and dance, including some recent public performances. The first renaissance fair of the year for us is fast approaching at the end of… Read More »Gold Stuffed Circlet Hat
Years ago I was gifted some old saris to make into costume pieces and recycle the silk and satin. Here’s a men’s tunic that I finally finished after years on hold, stashed away since before we moved into the house. Patterned by me in my favorite shapes: rectangles. I used… Read More »Recycled Sari Tunic
My latest masterpiece is complete. Inspired by illustrations of 14th century noblewoman’s dress, adapted for modern ease-of-wear. Does anyone else ever feel rushed for time in a dress that takes 10 minutes and a second-set of hands to lace up or get out of? For those certain events were time… Read More »Cinnamon Rust Medieval Gown
Have you ever heard of a sontag? It’s a historical women’s shawl that was worn wrapped around the body and tied at the waist to keep the arms free for work. It was probably in widespread use before the American Civil War, but that’s about when it started showing up… Read More »Crochet Sontag Shawl
The window bench in the home office was getting worn out on top because my large dogs like to lay there often. A hole was starting at a seam on top and batting was peaking through a thread-bare spot. Before the damage got too far along Jake and I spent… Read More »The Reupholstered Bench
I’ve been making a new dress for the 2024 cool faire season, and to make the project take much longer than usual, I decided to add intricate hand-embroidery to the shoulders. I’ve done minimal embroidery on small projects in the past but am so in love with texture wherever I… Read More »Sleeve Embroidery
Happy New Year! I hope that everyone had a very restful holiday season. I haven’t posted any new projects in a while because I have some really big ones in progress but nothing new completed. In the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my travels and the stunning visuals… Read More »Iceland
He didn’t want mittens, but wanted all of the difficult bits of a mitten that would force me to learn a lot about crochet. I haven’t been crocheting for very long. I can make rectangles, circles, all the basic stiches and some scallops. Baubles, I can do. I don’t like… Read More »Men’s Handwarmers
Who doesn’t love having two garments with the storage requirements of one? Also, the best costumes have a lot of layers. Therefore I have sewn a vest and belt set which is fully reversable! Pattern created by Frankenstein-ing a women’s tunic pattern, I actually had one side of this vest… Read More »Gold Vest and Obi Belt
I finally made myself a perfect medieval chemise. Perfection existing in the fabric, the pattern, and the notions. Past attempts at chemise fell short when I tried to use cotton muslin. The stiff weight didn’t drape how I had imagined in one case or another. This time I found a… Read More »Medieval Chemise
Year number four of pandemic, year number four of our disease-free, plague-themed backyard renaissance faire. Annually since 2020 we have hosted a small group of friends for a pot-luck party, costumes mandatory! This year was pretty chill, as if we’ve gotten better at setting up for the fun over time.… Read More »Family Plague Faire 2023
Continuing the discussion on new items I made for Jake ahead of the 2023 Connecticut Renaissance Faire, is this very large canvas and remnant belt-pouch. Purely a bonus project, for my own decompression between more strenuous sewing, I pieced this pouch together with remnants of fabric from projects current and… Read More »Large Remnant Pouch
We had the absolute best day at the Connecticut Renaissance Faire in 2023. This season has been rough for faire organizers, as every-single weekend has seen rain. This means a lot of overcrowding on the few nice days. My ideal faire weather is overcast with even a very slight drizzle… Read More »Connecticut Renaissance Faire 2023, Review
Jake wanted a vest for the Renaissance Faire, but with an anime pop-culture flare. Very specific directives on the shape and poofy shoulders and collar on this garment. I started with a basic men’s costume jerkin pattern and slimmed it way down. We didn’t need closures or room for bulky… Read More »Poof-Shoulder Men’s Renaissance Vest
I’ve taken a recent interest in head-coverings to really bring a costume together. To that end I’ve sewn Jake a poofy men’s hat. This is a very classic example of a hat you’d see throughout western Europe during the renaissance, though his is a bit more flamboyant in fabric than… Read More »Men’s Renaissance Poofy Hat
If you love hours of traffic and long lines, then you’ll love the New York Renaissance Fair! On Saturday 9/16 Jake and I set out on the long drive back to Tuxedo, NY to attend for the second-time ever, what is largely considered to be one of the North-east’s best… Read More »New York Renaissance Fair 2023 Review
Is it a bonnet? A great veil? Or a Hat? I needed a covering for my head at the renaissance fair to keep the sun off of me without creating too much warmth. My look is not completely historically accurate, but what I make is historically plausible. When researching medieval… Read More »Green Medieval Hat
Never underestimate the power of a 15-minute craft! After making a purse from this rope I had a little leftover, but not enough for anything big. We were also planning a camping trip, and I thought a nice thick pot-holder would come in handy for our metal-handled camping pot. Fifteen… Read More »Quick Crochet Pot-Holder
Do you ever get the feeling that everything’s already been made? That nothing is really new or original, and our culture has been saturated by nearly every conceivable image or utterance? Even more so with the surge in AI, computers are flooding the internet with rearrangements of stolen images so… Read More »2023 Summer Gardening Season Recap
A little late in posting, but late is better than never. A few weeks ago Jake and I took our first trip to the Vermont Renaissance Faire. The summer one! We’ve been to the winter faire several times as the only event happening in the dead, fair-less winter, but have… Read More »Vermont Renaissance Faire 2023
An improvement on the rope-crochet purse! I’ve crocheted an oversized rope shoulder bag. For this project I chose a 2mm rope for a medium-drape. The bag is heavy, but soft and pliable, and does not stand on it’s own. I learned a few things about crocheting a flat-bottom from my… Read More »Crochet Shoulder Bag
You need the right fabric for the job, and this one may not be it. I’ve been seeing a lot of 4-way stretch separates online retailing for hundreds of dollars. I thought the idea was cute for dance as a base-layer. I sewed the pants first, then wore them to… Read More »Dance Separates
My dogs get all the good stuff. I was gifted some baby-blanket fabric and decided to use it all in one go making two new sleepover blankets for the dogs. They will also make nice sturdy camp blankets for them. Our boarding facilities call it “sleepovers” now so us humans… Read More »Dog Camp Blankets
Happy Memorial Day! I hope you’re having a nice holiday weekend if you’re in the US. I’m sewing some clothes for dance, and while doing so I whipped together this twist-headband out of some scrap material. When life feels very full, quick crafts are satisfying. Good for keeping my hair… Read More »Simple Knit Jersey Headband & Gardening
With every painting I am digging to reveal what lies beneath sand Watercolor, colored-pencil, and for the first time a wee bit of yellow gouache on hot-press paper. 9×12″
Hello, art professional here, just learning about the existence of a tool for my particular need. Remember that vacation I talked about two posts ago? While there I did some plein-air sketching of Windsor Lake with some oil pastels. I like sketching with oil-pastels; they’re fast and loose. Never suited… Read More »Oil Pastel Plein-air of Windsor Lake
Happy Beltane! I should have made a garden post for today, but I didn’t plan ahead enough for that. Maybe next week. Continuing my experimenting with free-size pattern drafting, I’ve finished a pink robe with biblical vibes. Knit jersey that I received for free from an online buy-nothing group was… Read More »Pink Free-Size Robe