News

Two bits of good news:

1. I was recently accepted into the Women's Festival of Crafts. The now three day event will be at City Hall in Burlington VT November 27-29th. This will be my third year doing this show and I am very excited they have extended the days. The show will now open on Friday November 27th from 5-9pm and then all day Saturday the 28th and Sunday the 29th.

2. Trinket on Church Street in Burlington has sold out of my fabric necklaces. I will be dropping off more in the next few weeks. Stay tuned.

Changes

Life has thrown me a curve ball and I have found myself back to work in the real world. I recently took a job as an eCommerce analyst which means I am once again a working mama. I have been home with my kids full time for the past 4 years. It has been wonderful and I have loved every minute of it but it was time for many reasons for me to go back to work outside of the home.

I have been avoiding my blog because it was a way for me to not deal with the big question hanging over my head. What will become of my craft business? I am currently still producing and plan on continuing but at a different pace. I look forward to the challenge or working outside the home and running my little business. The key to keeping it going is to finally decide what has been working and not working for me. I plan on sticking with earrings and fiber arts. I have had a great summer selling my wash cloths at the Burlington farmers market through the wonderful Missy Bly of Clean City Soap. She created a super cute display incorporating my wash cloths with her handmade soaps. My new fiber necklaces and scarves are selling well at Trinket on Church St in Burlington and the response from people has been great so I plan on keeping those going also.

I am excited to announce that I will have work from my fiber arts collection on display at the Art Hop this year as a part of the Burton employee show. Kick off the Art Hop this Friday 9/11 at the Burton reception from 5-8pm. Food, drink, music, and lots of art. Read more about the event here.

Blueberries

I picked a lot of blueberries today. I had my two kids with me but they ate more than they picked. I love freezing blueberries and having them for the winter. I did this last year and I had enough frozen berries to last me through March.

Weekend upate

I am back from a wild weekend away by myself. This was only the second time I have ever left my family since becoming a mom almost 8 years ago. It was a much needed break. Two nights of reconnecting with lost friends. Some I haven't seen in 15 years. As much as I missed my family it was wonderful to be on my own for three days. No kids to watch, no butts to wipe, no one to feed but myself. I missed them madly but it was worth it. The trip also made me miss home a lot. A place I couldn't wait to get away from when I was younger, a place I now find myself wanting to be in again. My life seems to sometimes be one of always living in the past and future. Never the present.

This weekend was all about living in the moment, enjoying, reconnecting, remembering, wondering, reliving, and just plain being.

Let there be lettuce

Let there be lettuce
Originally uploaded by subsixstudios

I harvested lettuce from my garden yesterday. I love lettuce. I wait all winter for fresh grown. There is nothing like it.

fabric and fiber

Tessuto is Italian for fabric. Fabric is not only a cloth produced by knitting, weaving, or felting fibers, but it also means a style or method of construction. To me it was the perfect name for my new line of accessories constructed using various types of fabrics and fibers.

Now selling at Trinket! Some products from my new Tessuto line are now available at Trinket 32 1/2 Church St, Burlington VT.

Trinket

Trinket is a new store located at 32 1/2 Church St (on the top block) in Burlington VT. Rachel Strules (owner of Sweet Lady Jane and Tribeca) decided to open this accessory only store in February of 2009.
I am proud to announce that products from my new Fabric and Fiber line of scarves and necklaces are now being sold at Trinket. Trinket also sells a lot of work from other local artists. Stop in on the top block of Church Street next time you are in town.

Fabric Necklaces

I have combined my love of jewelry with my love of fabrics and started making some fabric necklaces. Fabric necklaces can be worn long, they can be worn short, they can be worn as a necklace, accessory, or even a scarf by triple wrapping it around your neck. I have two styles and colors in my shop now. One version is made from 16 loops of fabric and the other is a lighter version with only 6 loops. Both styles are super versatile and can be worn in many ways. Keep your eyes peeled for more types of fabric necklaces in my shop as I continue to experiment with different materials.

Check out all the styles and colors in my online shop.

Sale!

Everything under $25 is $10

I'm going to keep the sale going for a few days but it won't last more than that. There are a lot of products to choose from. Have fun! View all sale products here.

Etsy: Your place to buy & sell all things handmade subsixstudios.etsy.com

Food, Inc.

How much do we really know about the food we buy in the supermarket and serve to our families?

I am very excited about this movie. Please watch the trailer, watch the movie when it comes out, and get involved. I truly believe that food (or the lack of real food) is the biggest health crisis we have in this country. We have to open our eyes, read the labels, educate ourselves, stand up and say no more!

Curve ball

4 year ago I wrote this post when I was about to quit my full time job to stay home with my children full time. I had a budding jewelry business and high hopes of getting my childbirth education certificate so I could start teaching. Here I am 4 years later contemplating the opposite. I am actually interviewing to go back to work outside of the home. How did I get here? Well the economy went to shit, my husband had to take a pay cut this year when his company had lay offs, house taxes went up, and the list goes on and on. We were skimming by for the past 4 years but now we are beginning to sink. I never finished my childbirth certification class like I wanted, my jewelry business gives me some spending money from time to time, I have had some consulting work on and off, but nothing that provides the steady extra income we now require. It sucks. I am sad.

I can't help but think perhaps if I had just finished the things I had set out to finish I would be in a different place. I am excited about new challenges, but nervous about all I will be giving up at home. At this point so much is up in the air. I am doing lots of interviewing right now for several very exciting opportunities. I am hoping that the right one will fall into place. I will choose to think positively and keep moving forward as I always do.

Monday harvest

CSA Farmshare
Originally uploaded by subsixstudios

I love Mondays now that summer is here because it means my weekly pick up of my CSA farmshare. This week I received two heads of lettuce, salad mix, garlic scapes, pint of strawberries, dill, scallions, and cilantro.

Ever wonder what to do with garlic scapes? There are many possibilities but my favorites are to add them to stir fries, make garlic scape mashed potatoes, or garlic scape pesto.

Here is a recipe for garlic scape pesto.

Garlic Scape Pesto

Ingredients:
1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices
1/3 cup walnuts
¾ cup olive oil
¼-1/2 cup grated parmigiano
½ teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Directions:
Place scapes and walnuts in the bowl of a food processor until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until mixed. Scoop pesto out of bowl and into a mixing bowl. Add parmigiano to taste; add salt and pepper. Makes about 6 ounces of pesto. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator.

Mustard greens

Mustard greens
Originally uploaded by subsixstudios

It was time to harvest my mustard greens today. My first summer harvest. I love putting mustard greens in my salad. Gives it a nice spicy kick. In other garden news my starwberries are growing and turning red. I can't wait to pick fresh berries from my plants this year. I also can't wait for my garlic to be ready. I am really sick of buying garlic from Argentina.

Shop update

Lots of new stuff in my shop!

Eat good food: Baked ziti with roasted peppers

The original recipe comes from the Moosewood Restaurant New Classics I have altered it slightly and put my version here.

Ingredients:
Tomoato sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 28 oz can of crushed tomoatoes
1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning

2 Red peppers, seeded, and cut into long strips
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound penne
2 cups ricotta cheese
2 cups grated provolone cheese
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano

Directions:

In a saucepan, warm the oil and saute the onions, garlic, salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper on medium heat until the onions are very soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile preheat the broiler. Lightly oil a baking pan. Breing a large pot of salted water to boil.

In a bowl toss the peppers with oil. Spread them evenly on the baking pan and broil for about 10 minutes, until soft and slightly brown. Set aside and lower the oven temp to 350 degrees.

When the water boils, add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. While the pasta cooks, stir together the two cheeses, the garlic, basil, and oregano. When the pasts is al dente, drain it and stir it into the cheese mixture.

To assemble, spread 2 cups of the tomato sauce in the baking pan. Layer on the pasta and cheese, the roasted peppers, and finally cover with the rest of the tomato sauce. Bake for 20-30 minutes until piping hot.

What a weekend!

Friday was my birthday. JB took the day off from work so I was able to enjoy a lot of gardening time. Later on we all went out for dinner at American Flatbread and enjoyed some delicious pizza and lovely desserts. I had originally wanted to have some friends over in the evening but because of the holiday weekend most people were away. Despite the lack of a big celebration I felt like it was a very satisfying birthday. I had a wonderful time with my family and received some lovely gifts.

lovely milk glass ring my husband bought me off of Etsy from this wonderful seller

Another gift: the new Neko Case CD. Love it!

JB enjoying a locally brewed beer at American Flatbread

Saturday was a busy day. My littlest turned 4 last week but we had to postpone his birthday party because the whole family got very sick. We recovered in time for this weekend so we had his party on Saturday instead. Just a few of his little friends, pizza and cake. He had a blast. It was low key and nice.

After his party we headed to a goodbye VT party. Some of our closest friends are moving to Boston so they threw an afternoon/early evening celebration that consisted of a keg of Switchback (local VT brew), good food, and great conversation. The weather was gorgeous so we rode our bikes to their house. they live right on the bike path so it is a quick trip for us. It was a lot of fun but very bittersweet. We will miss them deeply.

Sunday was a lounge day for us. We were all exhausted from the festivities the day before so we stayed low key for most of the day. We have become friendly with another family from my son's school and they had invited us over for a BBQ at their house so off we went again. I made a potato salad to bring and surprised myself by eating fish (blue fish) at the party. It was good! I am slowly trying to include fish in my diet (I have been a veggie for 16 years.

new bistro set

Today I splurged and spent some of my birthday money on a three piece bistro set for my deck. I recently lost my glass top table when a wind storm swept my umbrella up and then landed on top of my table shattering it to pieces. I couldn't afford to get a new one this year but thought this little bistro set would do the trick. I just love it! I also recently sold my chiminea pot and used the money to buy a metal fire pit today. I love shopping without really spending any money.

fire bowl

Fairy House

My oldest son just finished the Spiderwick Chronicles and is obsessed with fairies and all the likings. It tickles me pick that he is so into the world of the unseen. I am reading the books now too so I can have a better feel for what is going on in his head right now. I welcome this new phase of imagination and play and I want to encourage it as much as I can. I figured since most of the family is home sick today it might be a good time to build our own fairy house in the back yard. My kids were very excited about this idea. We found some good info on fairy houses here.

The boys found a hollow log we were using for decoration in our garden and they thought it would be perfect. You can also start with sticks and bark or whatever else you can find. The more natural the better. Using glue and rope might be a sign to the fairies that the house is man made and turn them off from entering. We then used some bark, grass, pine cones, broken shells, and dandelions to decorate our house. The last step is to put a small gift to the fairies inside the house.

We had a lot of fun making the fairy house and plan on making more throughout the yard. I can't deny that I still believe in fairies. These houses are as much for me as they are for the kids.

Make one today. They are fun and easy and require no money. Back yard fun is free fun!

Yellow flower fabric earrings

Yellow flower fabric earrings
Originally uploaded by subsixstudios

New for summer! light weight fabric earrings. get them here. Lots of other colors available too.

Craft show recap

here is a picture of my booth

On Saturday I had the spring edition of the Queen City Craft Bazaar. It was my first time talking on the show myself. I had people working with me of course but it was my first solo show without my dear from Sara who started them. Since her move I created a craft organization in Burlington called Queen City Craft. Producing the show is one of the things I do. All in all the show was a big success I think. Spring shows are tough. Summer and the holidays are the biggest selling seasons for crafting. The hits of the economy can be seen at craft shows as well. People were buying but just not as much, and smaller ticket items. I had a great time and I think most of the people involved did as well. If you are interested in seeing pictures from the show click here.

I was thrilled beyond belief to find in my inbox on Monday these two reviews of the show. Not only did they review the show but each one also featured some of my products as well as other crafters from the event.

Not only am I happy for the great reviews, but also because I have found two new indie craft blogs to love.

Here are the two reviews:

Paper + Stitch

Cloth, Paper, Stitches

fruits of my labor

fruits of my labor
Originally uploaded by subsixstudios

Here is a peek at my seedlings that I started indoors this year. I have been bringing them outside every day to harden them off. I planted Basil, oregano, chives, sunflowers, sweet pea, Italian flat parsley, zinnia, cosmo, and lavender.

I look forward to planting them in the garden in a few weeks.

Reusable Errand Bags

We all know we should be using reusable bags when we go to the grocery store. If you are like me you own the big sturdy kind that can hold lots of heavy food items. But what about when you go into the drug store, or one of the box stores to just pick up a few light items. I don't think to bring in my big rugged food shopping bags just to go pick up a new pair of socks. A lighter weight small bag is what you need. Introducing my new line of reusable errand bags made from recycled t-shirts. Making reusable bags from t-shirts is not a new idea. There are tutorials for how to do it all over the Internet. What makes them unique are the types of t-shirts you use. I have several new bags I will be selling at the Queen City Craft Bazaar on May 9th. I may throw a few up in my Etsy shop soon as well.