Amen ~ To All The Teachers!

Check this out! 

Here's a great post about what's happening in Wisconsin right now. 

To anyone who is not a teacher or specialist in the public school system all I can say is...

 "go spend a few days in the classroom & you will change your mind!" 

Art For Your Feet!

 I'm so excited to share my beautiful new,
handcrafted, felted slippers with you! 

These are custom felted slippers made for me by
Veerle of the Meer van Veer Blog fame. 

Veerle is a talented fiber & glass artist living in Belgium. 
She frequently shows newly crocheted or knitted clothing items on her blog. 
Beautiful art pieces  that I drool over.  

 I especially love the new hats she's been whipping up.

 I can't believe how quickly she constructs these pieces.

She had shown a pair of felted slippers similar to these on her blog & I asked if she could make them in my size & she responded "yes...no problem."  I was excited because I have big feet so the fact that she was willing to knit large was great.  In knitting "large" I'm not exaggerating because items that are felted must initially be knit very over sized & are then felted with agitation & hot water to shrink them down to the correct size.  This process results in a thick material that can even be cut without unraveling & is incredibly warm. 

 Perfect for Alaskan winters & standing on a concrete floor in the studio.

A couple of weeks later they arrived in my mail box!  They are a perfect fit (euro 41) & so soft!  I love felted items  ~ so warm, thick & snugly.  This yarn is so soft & beautiful!

She has a lovely hand crafted tag attached & labels sewn into the foot of the slipper but my favorite thing is the "grippers"  (non-skid plastic) that is on the bottom of each slipper.  Can you tell that the black rubber squiggles spell out her name?  How cool is that??   Very clever.

Thank you Veerle!  I love my new slippers. 

Visit her blog to see what she's creating & where she's showing her work.  If you're not in Belgium she may even design something & mail it to you!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

The Main Squeeze Accordion Trio is playing a 

Valentine's Day gig for the seniors at Horizon House.  

I think we need to change our name because now we have guitar player.

If you're in the neighborhood stop bye & join us for some ice cream & music.

11:30 am at Horizon House in Anchorage.

(yes, it's an early party ~ we've got to party while our audience is awake!)

Unpacking Glass in the Rain ~

Ugh!

My glass shipment arrived & it's raining.  Nothing like unpacking & organizing almost 1,000 pounds of glass outside in the rain & ice.

The upside is that everything is packed so well that I can recycle all of the shredded paper, styrofoam & crates.  I haven't purchased any packing material for shipping out my products in a number of years.

I guess this could have been titled; Recycling Bullseye, Again!

The Valley Girl Update~

I'm just back from the "Valley."  

I love saying that... it sounds so California!

In "Alaska talk" that's anything east of Anchorage which includes Eagle River, Wasilla (please don't send me any Palin comments) & Palmer...the beauty of Alaska!  

Truly, the "beauty" of Alaska pioneers & home the Alaska State Fair which we love!

I'm not kidding ~ it's a breathless drive....& not only because of the the ice fog in the early morning.  It was near white out over the Knik river & at one point my legs were shaking so much & almost had to pull over because I thought I might pass out.....

Alas, it was only a panic attack. 

 I did have my camera with me but I kept thinking.."if I have to pull over to take a picture someone will run into me & poor lil' bird (William) will be motherless."

True.

Anyway...I digress.  

After the fog burned off it was beauty of a day in Palmer.

Thank you so much Denise of NonEssentials.  

I think I spent more money than I made but she has the most amazing Valentine's Day gifts, fresh made ravioli (served hot...yes, hot baby!) & home accessories!  

I started a pile of items when I arrived & then shopped between rushes of customers.  

Believe me this is a hot place to shop in Palmer!


Photos, address & more to follow...
crisis to deal with at home in the "now!"

Road Trip ~

If you're in the Palmer, Alaska area today stop bye & visit me at

NonEssentials!

It's a fabulous shop right on the main drag in downtown Palmer right across from the depot.

It specializes in home accessories & gifts.

I'll be there for a small group show ala pre-Valentine's Day!

Join us!