Some of you know, some of you don’t, but we took a grand family journey back to Arizona over the last week.  Good medicine for the slow drag of winter come February.  I feel cryptic and filled with color, a feeling almost forgotten in my three year baby-growing respite from the road.

Simple sensations of home are fresh and wonderful once again.

Touching :: The faces of my sweet beauties, who are upside down and inside out from three days of confinement.

anna b

Tasting :: The memory of carne asada.  And salsa.  And fresh tortillas.  Sighhhhhhhhh….

Smelling :: Fresh mountain air ~ clean, campfirey, and instinctively familiar on a deep and satisfying level.

barn

Hearing :: The preening of birds and the purring of cats.

Seeing :: The beloved big skies of home.

birdy sky

Stay tuned for pictures.  Lots of pictures.

I take it back about not making any New Year’s Resolutions.  The other day we were out playing under the blueberry sky again and I stumbled across a solution that solved a lot more than my query about how to make the mountains look bigger with my simple camera…

the bridgers on a blueberry day

Aim higher.

crows

The winter lasts a long time in Montana.

A looooooong time.

We are currently in the throngs of Winter 2, the post-Christmas lull before the real deep-freeze madness sets in.

This year we have been graced with plenty of still, blue skies and precocious black birds to waken our dreary eyes.  A refreshing preparation for our next season.

Still Winter.

Hang in there, say the black birds. Make new plans for gardens and summertime frills, fix the parts of your insides that ask for attention still.

Thank you for your message, Brother Birds.  You hang in there too.

sunshine girl

Before Annabelle was born, I laid out a plan of what I thought I could actually achieve with an infant and a toddler underfoot.

I knew that physically creating would be a challenge (to say the least…) so while she was very, very tiny and liked to sleep all the time, I learned to make my own handspun yarn.  Once the wheel became too exciting for tiny hands to resist, I moved into the next phase of the plan, switched gears and focused on laying out the website of my dreams.  I have been deeply immersed in learning the skills to make this happen–not an easy feat.  It’s just about there though and I’m pretty satisfied with the overall appearance and set-up (like the bare bones of my gallery!  take a look!)

And so comes another shift.

wee boots

The time has come for me to drag my mothering hormones away from the children (sometimes kicking and screaming–me, not them) and into the studio for a few hours a week to hit the machines.  We have a summer market coming up you know…but don’t say that out loud because I start getting a little frayed around the edges.  The plan was to begin creating inventory in January and I honestly can’t stop myself.  I just walk into my studio, sit down, and automatically start stitching things together.

Slow and steady.  That’s me.

And that’s a tall order for a woman whose mind follows the pace of the speedy little rabbit.

This year I plan to offer a wide selection of handspun yarns, a variety of knitting and crochet accessories (like the hook and needle cases), and a limited collection of handmade clothing of my own design.

Which just might utilize my skills in hand dyeing and/or applique, like this custom skirt in the works:

sneaky peeky

And due to the unexpected arrival of the girls last fall, you just might see an appearance of some handwoven goods.  Like belts.  Maybe.

my first warp on the table loom

So click your heels three times, whisper a spell and it might come true………

up the hill

nico says wheeeee

fast fast fast

sunshine boys

little man up the hill

10. November 2009 · 1 comment · Categories: just me · Tags:

DSCN6055

DSCN6008

DSCN6060

DSCN6072

DSCN6059

DSCN6100

DSCN6073

04. October 2009 · 8 comments · Categories: just me · Tags: ,

In her true style, Montana has welcomed the dawn of a new season with a christening of snow.  This is a regular event on this side of the Divide, even during Summer Solstice.

It has often been said that those who live here are a tough breed.  Or crazy.  A bit of both is probably most accurate.

While the good-bye to warm weather and sunny skies is a tearful one, we gracefully open our arms in welcome to Autumn.  She brings good things.

chocolate chip and not chocolate chip zucchini bread

Like baking.

handspun gnome hat ~ in the works

And knitting.

urban harvest

And apples.

my belle

And hats.