Autumnal Bounty::1

It's been ages since I have been here! Mostly it's the balance of school and work and kids that's getting me. But as you can see, we have been busy in the world. Look at all this color!

silks for sale!

needle-felted doll, hand-painted masks, felt crowns, handmade buttons!

Jonas and his friends had a successful business venture at the Common Ground Country Fair, selling their wares at the Youth Enterprise Zone, which you read about here. There was a lot of group process, mostly by the kids themselves, as they worked out details of the display table, how to keep track of inventory, how to price, etc.

notebooks and pouches

made from recycled plastic shopping bags!

And they did it so gracefully and collaboratively. They made change for customers, worked in shifts, and lowered prices when the afternoon rolled around.

oh! the needle-felted owl!

costumes, aprons, tunics!

beautiful wooden swords!

I don't know why I was surprised that when I looked at their table of wares, it was all stuff that the children have grown up playing with, the essential play things: dress-up, play silks, and wooden swords. It was lovely to see them create such beautiful things that have so much play value.

And in other news, our winged friend hatched and took flight. I, of course, was worried for him/her because the hatching preceded a week of very windy and rainy weather and a low pressure weather pattern. But within a couple of days, this small creature took flight.

Who am I to doubt nature?!

Isn't it fascinating to see what was left behind? This one's for you, Carrie.

Finally, check out my new hair accessories from Orange Iron Fabrications, aka my friend Kate. They made me happy all day long yesterday. So fun and her colors are amazing. Just visit the etsy site if you need a little color therapy, come winter. (Or better yet, you could buy something and bring that color home!)

Common Ground Country Fair

...And more transformation!
It's the annual Common Ground Country Fair, sponsored by MOFGA (Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association), coming up in just two weekends. It's a great sort of groove fest, with all sorts of awesome vendors and amazing food and animals and fiber and art. And they also have all sorts of great speakers and panel discussions which I never get to go to because I am usually running hither and yon to satisfy everyone's whims. (I forget that this part can be pretty stressful.)

This year Jonas and his friends have secured a table at the YEZ (Youth Enterprise Zone), where they will sell their wares. Jonas has been dying silks and even hand-stiched a couple of silk capes (all rainbow colors represented!) and making wire-wrapped crystal pendants. Other friends are sewing costumes and making wooden swords.

These were his very first ones. Up next: purples and blues! I think the dying process was really exciting for him (and fun for me to be the coach!): it's so alchemical and magical! And the results are beautiful. (We used these dyes.)

Here is our new friend, now on day 8 of being in her crysallis. She ate and ate and pooped and pooped for two days and then over the course of one night: WHAM. She turned from yellowy-black striped caterpillar into this jade green gem speckled with gold flecks. Seriously. Gold flecks!!! It blows my mind. I was really hoping to watch the transformation process, but I guess it's private.

Sometimes your mom is so annoying when you are reading your comic book and she tells you to "freeze!" "stop!" "I need that picture!" So here is a real picture of our domestic life, none of these overly-pretty bloggy pics: a few empty apple crisp bowls and a child being pestered by his mother.