Trimming mugs is really hard when snot is running down your face, just sayin....

I loved our time in Costa Rica, but since I got off the plane 9 days ago, I have been getting sicker and sicker. First it was utter exhaustion that went on for days, then the razor blade feeling in the throat, voice disappearing and now I am a complete and utter mucus factory.
Here are a few of the utterly beautiful vistas from Costa Rica.

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Orchids everywhere!

Mountain Lion in a Refuge Center at La Paz Waterfall

I am utterly shattered, but trying to keep on target with production.  I have lots of little bits and bobs, but I really need to have a new good selection of mugs, butter keepers, garlic pots, salt shakers and serving pieces for all the shows I have now booked myself into. Glad to be accepted, but I need to produce some stock to make it all worthwhile.

I have just applied to Etsy Made In Canada Day, know that I will be at Homespun in Carlyle, Sunflower in Yorkton, Manitoba Fibre Festival and Brandonès Big One....its a little overwhelming to put it all in one sentence. Yikes! Spring means I am still making some fairy houses, mushrooms and more goodies to spur on the imagination as well as some plant pots for the deck and garden.

Time to get my head on Straight!

Yet another wonderful expression from my moms collection. Today this Muddy Mama is avoiding the mud, as my congestion and sinus headache are making me feel completely incompetent of making any decisions.  The reality is that I must glaze this afternoon, for all the upcoming sales and stocking stores.  Expansion everywhere, except in my energy.

This weekend is dreary and rainy inside and out, hoping for a  burst of sunshiney energy to help me thrugh glazing today and tomorrow. Next weekend is the long weekend, and I have a need to enjoy our last summer weekend of 2014, so we are joining the Norwood Naughty Knitters on their annual train ride on the Prairie Dog Central, with  a potluck lunch.

Manitoba Fibre Festival is September 6th at St. Norbert Community Centre, and I am sure with all the great workshops and vendors, it will be a really great day. I am madly making buttons, yarn bowls and mugs.  Of course, there will be BIG ones, to meet customer demand.

The Exchange Uporium is going to continue at 264 McDermot Ave until Christmas, where I will continue to rent space.  Time to begin the seasonal ornaments and gifty type items.  Vitamin C and a good nights rest should get me back on track.

Later this month, there are more good things like the Homespun Show in Saskatchewan,,,,and then closer to home....
WEST, Compendium Artist Market and Etsy Canada are joining forces to bring Manitoba an Etsy Made in Canada event!
September 27
10am to 4pm
St James Civic Center
2055 Ness Avenue
Winnipeg Manitoba

Over 40 Manitoba Etsians from vintage curators to handmade mavens!

Free admission

Free activity room with demonstrations and more!

Events will be happening across Canada! Check it out!

Fibre Festival and More....

July 21st and we are on holidays. Had a great visit to Assiniboine park and the butterfly garden. Definitely a highlight for me!

I am already obsessing about fall shows and sales. The garden is off to the races, starting to harvest some zucchini, cucumbers, peppers, and picking beans later today, it is Casi Cielo, (almost heaven).

Fall is super busy , well August too.  Off the top of my head, I will be doing Sioux Narrows Arts Festival, Matlock Art, Music and Nature Festival, the Barge Festival, Homespun Sale in Carlyle Saskatchewan, the big Etsy Made in Manitoba show, and more!!!

Right now, it is yarn bowls that are  foremost on my mind.  I want to make them useful, beautiful, and special.

Fibre People are friends

for 2014 I am thinking about how much of my business is related to knitting and fibre arts.  My newest item is knitting needle vases.  They would also hold flowers in case you wanted to ask.  I am refining them as I go along

Knitting Needle Vases

 Yarn Bowls are in four stores, and still a great seller

Buttons are fun and evolving as I go along, and enjoy doing custom buttons

Wolseley wool made up these great kits with my mugs.

Labour Day Labours

Labour may not be the right word, unless it means work in your happy place.  I got a good start this morning, and am now waiting for things to dry enough to be trimmed.  Here a few samples, that may leave you scratching your head as to where I am going with these pieces.

Say it isnt so...

September 1!  How did it happen.  Summer has slipped away.  It is not that I feel shortchanged, I have been to the beach, been in the garden for hundreds of hours, had a trip away, and spent many hours of unplanned time with Mr. G.

It is just that I want more!!! I love summer and the heat, and the fruit, and just the more up beat attitude of people in this northern climate.  I feel the pressure of getting ready for activities for me, for my little man, for finishing up the canning, jamming and harvesting in the garden, and making gobs of pots for the shows I have committed myself too.

Here are a few shots from our busy July and August

Now to get ready for the Manitoba Fibre Festival, WEST Sale, and Scattered Seeds, all within the next 7 weeks