100 posts (GIVEAWAY!!!,) 2 shows down, 3 pepsi's, and 8 dyepots

My word! What a few weeks I've had!

Art a licious while fun was a bit of a bust. I always do this show because it is one of few times where I like to go back to my Alma Mater. Always a fun time and the show has improved over the past few years. Starr was an amazering booth partner as always and it was lovely to catch up with friend and go to the tea pantry in Tecumseh.

Last weekend was Northern Michigan Lamb and Wool in West Branch. I had a really great show for the first time but grossly underestimated my time to replenish stock.... hence the 8 dyepots and 3 pepsi's The woolies are cooling a bit now before I rinse and put em' out to dry for some serious batt making tomorrow evening.

I scored a few really nice fleeces at NML&W ( a teeswater x and a Border leicester lambie fleece) and I got my beautiful horn to be made into jewelry soon. I am thinking that horn and antler pieces will be my January Brownstone show pieces... more on that later. :D

And finally, I had hoped to have a beautiful post full of pictures from the past few shows in this post but instead, you get the cliff's notes update of the past few weeks. Sorry folks. The most important thing, I think anyway, is that this post marks my 100th post and I'm having a second giveaway! The only real request I got was for jewelry so I have decided to go with it.

Who wants a shawl pin?

I mean really, who wouldn't? :D

To win one of my shawl pins , please suggest a color combo and a fancy name for it in the comments here. I will randomly draw a winner who will receive a pin in their suggested colorway and I'll add it to my line.

I'll leave the window open for commenting for about two weeks so suggest away!

Thank you dear readers and wish me luck at Yarncon!

the newest addition to our little family :D

and what is this? post 99? next post will be announcing a giveaway!!! :D

a scrumptious dinner indeed!

so I was toodling around etsy the other night and ended up on the storque blog where their guest curator Ele of Kitchenist blog had posted a most delicious looking recipe for savory broccoli cakes. I vowed I would make them the next night with dinner.

 Joe was running a bit late getting home from work so I had plenty of time to get these all whipped up and have dinner on the table by the time he finished his paperwork when he got home. I felt like such a good little domestic wifey. Oh, and don't think for a second this happens all the time. In fact, Joe cooks far more than I do and had just made a very wonderful pork loin the night before accompanied by some perfectly cooked carrots and smashed taters (one of my most simple favorites from the time I was very little.)

I am terribly stressed out right now because of the once again lofty goals I set for myself and my current lack of motivation. Getting a little creative in the kitchen was just what I needed to ground me a little bit again. Plus I got to use one of my favorite mixing bowls! Usually this vintage beauty is reserved for looks only with its other two nesting buddies but I couldn't resist using is for the photo opps!

 I halved the recipe that was given because I knew the three of us wouldn't go through 12 of these "biscuits" in one evening. I don't like to stray from recipes the first time that I make them but I did make one small addition  to it with a good tablespoon of dill weed.

 I highly recommend this recipe, very tasty, especially when warm as it has been much cooler here. I've been quite ready for Autumn to arrive this year. Winter on the other hand could stay at bay for some time and I'd be pleased.

 Are there any recipes you've recently discovered?

Well back to the studio!

something has been bothering me for some time....

and I thought maybe making another piece would help.

You see about a year and a halfish ago, a friend asked me if I could make a necklace for his girlfriend for their anniversary. "Of course!" I said because he is an old friend and despite having only met his girlfriend a few times I felt totally comfortable doing it... at the time.  I had made my mom this pendant for her birthday.

This is the piece my friend saw which led him to commission the piece for his girlfriend. His only real specification was hearts because there was a significance in their relationship. It was their 5 year so he asked that there be 5.

So what did I do? I designed, I fiddled, I showed him a few ideas and chatted to him about a few. Unfortunately he is a ways away so he didn't actually see the work in progress. Because he had raved to me about this piece, I felt like the commission should have the same materials, so I incorporated an antler slice into it as in the one for my mom and came up with this.

I was actually thrilled with the finished product. I don't much care for hearts because they are usually so trite, so I made them kind of stylized and got creative with placement, not only cutting a tiny one directly into the antler slice, but cutting a hidden special one into the back.

Well, my friend seemed to like it a lot BUT, still did not mention one VERY significant thing about his girlfriend. SHE'S A VEGETARIAN! So a few weeks later when I spoke with him, of course I asked him how their anniversary was, how she liked it, etc. I knew by his tone it was not good. This necklace will never be worn. It will sit in a box because while a wonderfully sweet gesture from her boyfriend, she is put off by it. Special, but not to wear. I can't really blame her, but I still feel awful about it. I tried even to talk to them about it, to set things right, make a  new piece, or rework the current one with another material in the place the antler and received the, "No, no, you didn't know," " it is special still,"  "I don't want to put you out."  End of discussion.

 I have a whole bag of antler slices that have been crying for attention because these two pieces were such a joy to make but the aftermath of the second puts a pit in my stomach every time I think of trying something. It also made me think... ya know, it is a NATURAL THING for deer to shed their antlers, just as sheep and goats sometimes lose their horns in gripping headbutt battles or even just because they need to. I'm am fairly certain no animals were harmed to create these pieces. In the future if I purchase any more, I WILL BE CERTAIN THAT THAT IS THE CASE!  Needless to say it still bothers me.  A LOT.

Well not today my friends. Because I challenged myself. Here before you is a brand new one of a kind piece in my antler slice series of art jewelry and I adore it.

 It still needs a patina to "age" it a bit, but my liver of sulphur went bad so it will have to wait till the new gel type comes that I ordered (very excited to try that btw!)

Hopefully I can get my hands on some sheep horns soon, I think they'd make for really interesting mixed media pieces with some wool incorporated with the metal.

P.S. any thoughts would be welcome.