Just a little bit about my business and me.

I enjoy creating things.  I knit, I spin yarn, I weave, I sew and I make soap.  My goal is to create the type of items that are a higher quality and a little fancier.

 

In the summer and during the fall, I attend craft shows to sell my wares.  I will have a calendar up to show when the shows are.

 
Bath and Body:

I have made my goat's milk soap for over 6 years now.  I began making soap because I wanted a more natural soap that I could control the composition of.  I began giving it as gifts.  I quickly realized how wonderful goat's milk soap is, and how good it is for the skin; I began to make soap to sell.  My recipes have evolved to a wonderful balance of oils that produce a smooth silky bubble. The soap is made of some of the richest oils and butters.  Your skin feels soft without any oily feel. I do not use any animal fat, and no animal lost their life to produce this soap, they just gave their milk willingly.  We do not have our own goats, but we do purchase from local goat farms.

 I have expanded my line to include my lotion bars, hand lotion in bar form, men's shaving soap, and body powder.
Jewelry

I started jewelry making as a fun thing to do.  I stopped selling at fairs because there are many people making jewelry, and beading has become a popular craft.  I will sell my jewelry here, and continue to create it.  I try and do things a little differently.

 
Fiber products:
I started knitting and crocheting when I was a girl.  I learned to sew in the 7th grade.  My Grandmother was a professional seamstress, so I guess it is in my blood.  Over the many years I have perfected my craft.

I started spinning when I was active in the SCA (society for creative anacronism).  I saw others doing it, and it just looked very interesting.  I love to create things, and the thought of creating yarn interested me.  I haver been spinning yarn for years.  I have wool, alpaca, and llama fleeces at the moment.  I like blending different types of fiber together. I do not have any of the animals; however, I do try and buy from Connecticut farms.  I also have some cashmere, silk, angora, linen, cotton, and different types of wool roving.  Roving is the fleece after it has been washed, combed, the fibers aligned, sometimes dyed and  ready for spinning into yarn.

I knit to keep my hands busy.  I like creating new scarves, hats, and shawls.  I especially enjoy the challenge of knitting lace.  I have knitted my own home spin and enjoy seeing the results. 

Weaving was a natural progression for me from spinning.  I purchased my first loom about 10 years ago, a small table loom.  I them purchased a 36" floor loom, that I love.  It is 4 harness, only wish it were 8, and I have woven some lovely items from it.  My last loom purchase was a rigid heddle 24", and I love how the scarves come out on this loom.
This is my wish project for the winter.  I am spinning the yarn for this. 

 

This is a  lovely beaded lace shawl, and it will be made from some of my homespun
Sewn and embroidered items:
My sewing evolved after purchasing a Designer 1 sewing machine.  I purchased the software that allows me to take any design and make a stitch file the sewing machine would recognize and use. I can also design the stitch file to be read and used by several different embroidery machines.

For the summar fairs I sew girl’s sundresses.  This year I want to include adult dresses, and Mom and me dresses.

The making of doll clothes came about because I have grandchildren who own American Girl Dolls.  I also noticed there were considerably less people working on this craft in my area, and as a result, I thought it would be great to make clothes for the dolls to sell and give to the grandchildren.  One thing I try to do, is not mass construct all of the same thing and material.  I buy remnants and decide what that material would look good as.  I also make Chinese, Japanese, medieval, and Scottish outfits. I do some doll and me clothes as well.

I also make handbags.  I use higher end fabrics and make each one unique.

Jellies Herbs and Vinagers:
If all the other things I make aren't enough, I make jellies, grow herbs and sell dried herbs and herbed vinagers. My jellies right now are mint made from mint in my garden, cranberry-orange preserve made with Grand Mairner, pepper jelly, and Grape when I have some.  This year we are trying wine with our grapes.  Most of the jellies are seasonal, and I hope to try some new combinations. 

My herbs are gathered during season and dried.  Right now I have some basil and Sage.

I have a few vinagers at the moment.