The connections you make

 One of the greatest treats for me as an artisan is to have someone show me how they took something I worked to create and used it for their own act of creation. I love chatting with people at the markets and shows, and of course hearing that people appreciate the work I do, but seeing the joy others get from working with my products to make something unique to them. So far I have only have two ladies show me their work, I have had people stop by to tell me how well recieved a gift purchased from me was.

Trust me, the craftspeople you see in the markets want you to not just buy our work we make, we want it to bring you joy, we want it to enrich your life. If it is a finished good we want you to love using it and remember why you brought it, who you were with, the beauty of the day and the experience of meeting the artist. If it is a supply, ingredient, or tool, we want you to use it, to touch it and have all those memories, to make with it or to make it into something that carries all those meanings with it.

So the next time you find yourself at a craft fair or farmer's market, stop by and tell them you liked the product or art work you bought, show us what you made, tell the farmer the tomatoes you bought at the end of the year made amazing tomato sauce your family enjoyed all winter, tell me your sister loved the shawl you bought her, or how much your baby enjoys crawling on the blanket. I won't be sitting there thinking "I hope she buys more" all though if you want more I won't stop you! I will be glad to know the energy, love, and work I sent out into the world is appreciated.

If you bought a skein or roving from me, I would LOVE to hear about what you made, how you liked the yarn, and what you learned while working on it! So a big thank you to this client for stopping by last week wearing the hat she made from the skein of grey scale yarn she bought two weeks before. You absolutely made my day and the hat looks great!

~Julia

In the studio, in the market

This is in process, I got this really, really dirty Cotswold fleece and after washing, picking, and carding it I started to spin it. It still had too much lanolin for me to be comfortable with so I stopped at a single and washed it again. It came out great. I am considering dying it now and plying it as a boucle or spinning the rest of the fleece and deciding then.

I have been working on a blind breed study with the ladies of my spinning guild. This one was fun to spin and knit. I am still not sure what breed it is but, it will make a great sweater.

This is another breed in the study and is soft and full.

This is a fun picture. The yarn is from the breed study, I am making it into a nice welcome mat. The sleeping cat is Racer, he is good company and well mannered enough to know that the yarn and roving is NOT a cat toy.

My both at the Westosha Market showcasing my new woven scarves. Also hats, hand-dyed roving in natural and acid Dye and some jewelry! That's Melanie in the back, she runs things at the market and is absolutely great with help and ideas.

Here is some of mine and some of Dad's amazing woodwork, he really knows how to let the wood speak for itself, shining the story of the life of tree into a functional bit of artwork. The crochet hooks are a dream to work with!

Very one needs a friend, someone to keep you company, talk you through the troubles in life, be there for the great things, convince you to let good of that which causes you no end of stress, inspire you to craft more and be the you you're meant to be, and watch your booth while you grab a lemonade or run to the bathroom. This is one is mine. Thank you Resee for always being there when I need you.

Notice the lemonade!