my blog isn't dead, it was just napping.

my first craft show is coming up in about a week - i'll have a teeny booth at missoula's summer MADEfair next sunday. to get ready, i've been hard at work making lots of new yarn and quilt pendants to show off. i'll be setting up with my beaded pieces too, but my pendants are my unique item - and so much cooler in person than in a photo, i think.

kerry took some photos of my process so i could share a little about what goes into my soldered pendants. for the yarn pendants, yarn scraps get glued carefully to a piece of heavy paper.


i was really excited to try out two new smaller sizes with this batch - little 1" square pendants and medium sized 1.5" long ones.


the quilt pendants start with one or two base pieces, and i hand-embroider the surface, either along with or apart from the design on the fabric, a little randomly until it looks finished. i love how they can come out so different from each other with the same basic techniques.

i would love to learn some new stitches sometime soon.

the most exciting part of this batch was that i figured out how to streamline them a little - instead of sandwiching two pieces of glass, the fabric or yarn is pressed between a piece of a glass and a thin copper plate. this way, they're thinner, a little lighter, and i love mixed metal looks in jewelry.


i got 20 new pendants made this weekend, so i'll have about 50 total to show at MADEfair. anybody in the area that's going to be there too?


p.s. i was featured on a cute blog this week, dzfantasy's fiber art blog. go check her out!

new for summer!

my crafting style doesn't usually involve bright colors, but i guess it's been grey, rainy spring for too long here - here are some my newest pieces for summer.

1. cordelia cuff bracelet: four strands, tiny jewel toned faceted glass, sterling silver bar clasp. $30.
this is VERY different from anything else that i've made before. i was thinking about using these beads as a multistrand necklace, but i found this clasp sitting around unused and decided to go for it.

2. cordelia earrings: multicolored glass beads, gunmetal chain loops. $14.
a little matchy to the bracelet, but not too much - i love the look of the gunmetal with these colors.

3. penelope necklace: multicolored glass cubes, gunmetal chain. $21.
i sold the first version of this necklace to a good friend and immediately wanted to make more of them - a simple row of slightly irregular cube/rectangular beads. the colors and shapes of the beads made me think of greece and primitive art, hence the title.

4. buttons necklace: bright colored button disk shaped glass beads, wire-wrapped on gunmetal. $23.
i just think this one came out so cute. again, gunmetal against these bright colors is a nice change from the softer colors i usually work in.

5. lime necklace: bright green glass statement beads, gunmetal chain. $23.
almost gave these beads away...they are so not me. i'm glad i didn't though, the movement of this necklace is what i really love - a little bit slouchy the way you can wear it off-center, good for layering.

mango and ginger.

of all the things i did not get done this week, we did make really beautiful sushi one night. the sushi making supplies were a congratulations gift from the girl for getting into grad school.


roll #1: crab, avocado, cucumber.
roll #2: rum-soaked mango, pickled ginger, marinated tofu.


roll #3: radish, cucumber, sunflower sprouts, carrot.
roll #4: marinated tofu, shiitake mushroom, radish.

(this me, waiting so patiently.)

we also managed to get our garden planted. some beautiful zucchini sprouts on the kitchen windowsill:


more photos to come - tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, in the ground and ready to soak up some montana sun. photos credit of kerry.

pear and sage.

for this week, a beautiful trio of items in pear and sage: three etsy artists with gorgeous uses of fabric and paper.

1. prickly pear stud earrings. (DancingJellybean)

cute little stud earrings made from polymer clay and covered with yellow-green origami paper. just under 1/2" wide, with silver plated earring findings. i'm so attracted to little stud earrings on etsy lately, even though i don't ever wear or even own any studs. (maybe a future feature? hm...)

2. embroidered silk lily pad hair clip. (TheFaerieMarket)

lots of handmade organza flower hair clips on etsy, but i've never seen a lily pad before. 3" wide, made from olive green silk with teal embroidery done freehand with a sewing machine - 'drawing' with the machine.

3. hand embroidered linen coasters. (BobbiLewin)

i just think these are so beautiful and perfect. i love anything in linen, and these are done so meticulously, yet they look handmade in that one of a kind way. these little bees are embroidered by hand! hey bobbilewin, you should do pillows. pincushions...

p.s. just found out today that i will have a booth at missoula's MADEfair craft show at the end of june. SO excited, this will be my first craft fair. anybody in the MT area going to be there too?

can't stop eating it:

got some beautiful rhubarb at the farmer's market on saturday, so i decided to make strawberry rhubarb jam with it. it came out absolutely perfect - i love making jam but have had many problems with strawberry jam, sometimes it comes out too thin, too sugary, too hard set, or the fruit doesn't break down - so i thought i'd share this recipe, which came from a book i got for christmas, well preserved: small batch preserving for the new cook.


3 c. chopped rhubarb
4 c. sugar
3 c. sliced strawberries
1/4 c. lemon juice

combine rhubarb and sugar in your cooking pot and let sit for 2 hours*. add strawberries and lemon juice, bring to a boil over medium heat. turn heat up to medium-high and cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes. take pot off heat and continue stirring for 3-5 minutes*. (test if desired) ladle into prepared jars and process in boiling water bath for 10 min. makes ~4 8 oz. jars.

*i have a feeling that these are the important steps many might overlook. not sure why.

(one of my 4 jars is already empty.)



my girlfriend kerry took these photos. (also ate a bunch of the jam.) please check out her gorgeous photoblog to see more of her work.