Bee Love

I had the great pleasure of attending the premiere showing of the film Queen of the Sun last week . It came as a part of the Asheville International Pollinator Week. I can't express how inspired I am after seeing this film. I know that bees are are  incredible creatures, but this film really brought my awe and appreciation for them to a new level. I also feel the calling to protect and nurture them, as they do so much for us. Thankfully, my dear friend and neighbor, Heather, has started keeping bees this summer and I can enjoy watching them swoop over the fence and into my garden. Someday, I would really like to take a workshop with Gunter Hauk at Spikenard Farm and Honeybee Sanctuary. To hear Gunter speak of the bees in the film, as did many other wonderful beekeepers, it was truly beautiful to hear their reverence and deep gratitude.

In honor of the honeybees, I brought the bee mobile project to our local handwork group that meets at Azalea Mountain. I found the idea in one of my very favorite books, All Year Round.

Wool magic and other creations

I am enjoying this wonderful online tutorial with Nicole from Lebenskuenstler  All the wool creations are made without felting the fibers. It is really a subtle art form! I just love the beauty of the plant dyed wool. So far, I have made the bunnies and a sheep.

Vivienne fashioned a cool "new" instrument, which she named the guitar-um, also known a prisoner's bliss. One has to be inside the box in order to play its strings. Pretty fun.

Vivi also fashioned her top out of a bandana and jute rope. She wore it proudly.

And let me not forget Jasper's super deluxe veggie sandwich. Yum. He ate every bite.

Creative days of May

Life has been much busier than I am able to keep up with here on the blog. There are so many bits and pieces that I wish to share! Here are a few creative things that have been happening around here lately. The mushrooms and butterflies are Vivienne's creations. She got inspired to make them and have a roadside stand when our neighbors were having a yard sale. Next is my wool felt version of Wuzzy, the sweet older dog in residence at the girl's dance theater. He is a charming greeter, despite his poor eyesight. I gave this to his owners, Susan and Giles, with gratitude for their wonderful studio.

I am excited to have joined an online Magic Fairy Wool course with Nicole at Lebenskuenstler. It looks delightful and I can't wait for my beautiful plant dyed wool to arrive in the mail. What a treat!

This woodworking project is Mia's, from her amazing and inspiring woodworking class with the wonderful Mr. Crowe. We will miss having his homeschooling classes next year, but he will be teaching grades 1&2  at the newly formed Waldorf initiative, Azalea Mountain School.  And below are the pretty recycled paper flowers that Mia designed and festively decorated our home with.

 Yummy little blueberry muffin...Vivienne dressed it up just for me. So sweet. More to come!

Dear Kale, We Love you...

Ever since the kale started to mature in the garden, our family has been crazy for it. We ate three whole colanders the first evening. After we sauteed some, the kids would run out and pick more, and then they asked if they could have kale for dessert? What? Could my mama ears be hearing this correctly? The baby kale is so yummy. We just sauteed it with a little olive oil and splash of Bragg's. On a related note, Vivi was awarded "adventurous eater" recognition at her Wednesday class. They shared a meal for lunch each week, and she was the only one to eat everything that friends brought. And she enjoyed it all, too!

May Faire

The photo above was taken by my friend, Stewart during the puppet play of The Frog Prince.

The May-pole is up,

Now give me the cup;

I'll drink to the garlands around it;

But first unto those

Whose hands did compose

The glory of flowers that crown'd it.

- Robert Herrick, The Maypole, 1660

Easter Blessings!

Sending warmest Easter Tiding! Our family had a busy and wonderful weekend, filled with family and friends. I enjoyed making Marsha's delicious hot cross buns recipe, which you see on Carey's lovely blog. The children enjoyed hunting eggs of all sorts. I loved the plant dyed ones, they really liked the candy filled ones at the annual Rennicks' egg hunt. I finally got my wheatgrass grown in time for Easter and enjoy it's delicious greenness.

My beautiful purple clematis bloomed!

 Vivienne entered in a fiddling contest at Warren Wilson College's Fiddles and Folklife Festival, and her Granddaddy backed her up on guitar! How cool is that? She played and sang to Crawdad Song and Angelina Baker. It was a really fun afternoon of music, gorgeous weather, and traditional artisan demonstrations such as metalsmithing, woodworking and spinning. I bought the beautiful basket in the first photo from a Warren Wilson student booth.

Mia's beautiful egg hanging that she created with Ines. On the other side there are eggs wrapped in moss and golden thread.

Spring is here!

It is such a delight to have the milder days and see the beautiful spring flowers emerging. Vivienne knitted a hat yesterday with her beautiful birthday yarn. Mia has been working on her Kumihimo Japanese braiding technique that she learned at Super Saturday class. I have been needle felting, one of which is the little green frog in my title photo. It will debut in the a puppet play of The Frog King with the Azalea Mountain Puppets this spring! Jasper and Mia also painted their gourd birdhouses that we grew, then hollowed and dried out last autumn. Our nature table got refreshed, with special thanks to all the lovely people who had the crafty swap with me! And the last photo is a cute little gnome boot-clip from Jasper's pen pal  in New Zealand.