Queen Winter Arrives

 With wintry weather settling in, I though I would share a few of the Queen Winters I've made over the years.

I really enjoy seeing how each one comes out with her own unique character.

Here is the most current one on my Etsy shop:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/63664982/queen-winter

A Felted Family

I just finished this custom order for a felted wool family that is going to be a playset for Grandma's House. It was a very warm feeling to create a family treasure for her grandkids to play with. Folks must be settling in and getting cozy for the long winter ahead with their families, because I am also working on a custom order of a fairy family for a little girl who likes to pretend everyone in her family is a fairy.

With chilly Autumn evenings setting in, I welcome and enjoy these custom order projects. Feel free to drop me a line on Etsy: http://mountainhearth.etsy.com, or at mountainhearth@gmail.com if you have an idea.

Spring Goddess Class

A couple weeks ago, I had the honor of being invited to teach a needlefelting class to a group of ladies affiliated with Wintergreen Farm, a local Biodynamic, Organic farm that raises wonderful vegetables, fruits and beef. I wrote a post about my kids class field trip to the farm last year called Farm Field Trip, which you can read about by clicking the link.

With a delicious snack potluck spread out on the table and mugs of tea at hand, everyone got down to work with mats, needles and wool, to create their own Spring Goddess to take home. Many of these folks had never felted before, but they all took to it quickly and enjoyed the discovery of a new outlet of artistic expression. I loved seeing the diversity in everyone's work, and all the various personalities that emerged in their art.

Here are a few photos of these lovely ladies' inspired creations.

It reminded me how important and nourishing it is to get together and craft. This is something women have been gathering together to do for ages, and fitting it in to our modern lives and schedules is worth taking the time for. Hosting a craft night, taking a crafting class with friends, or even setting up a regular craft circle is something I would encourage any and all of you crafty (or even not so crafty) folks out there to do. Creativity and inspiration are meant to be shared.

Happy Crafting!

Lady Spring is on the Way!

I just sold this Lady Spring seasons figure on my Etsy shop this week, and it reminded me that Spring is on the way! Out my window I can see some pink plum blossoms starting to burst out, and the green leaves of bulbs are popping up left and right. It also reminded me that I need to get busy crafting up some new Spring items, so be sure to check up on my Etsy shop in the coming weeks for Lady Spring and her fairy friends.

http://www.mountainhearth.etsy.com/

Garden Goddess

It's late Summer and gardens are bountiful. All the gardeners are busy harvesting, and baskets are spilling over with ripe fruits, squash, carrots, potatoes, onions, greens, garlic and tomatoes. Many folks are proudly wearing dirt under their fingernails on a daily basis.

 The Garden Goddess is smiling on us.

I needlefelted this seasons figure from soft, colorful wool roving in honor of late Summer. You can see more pictures of her here on my Etsy shop:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/74251325/garden-goddess

Lady Spring

"My Lady Spring is dressed in green,

She wears a primrose crown,
And little baby buds and twigs

Are clinging to her gown;

The sun shines if she laughs at all,

But if she weeps the raindrops fall."

~Traditional Children's Rhyme

I just finished needlefelting these Spring maidens from soft wool roving. Each holds a pussy willow staff and a basket of Springtime treasures to watch over as the earth wakes up from Winter slumber.

Lady Spring has returned to the land.

Winter Royalty

I've been busy in the craft room making many things for the holidays. Here are King and Queen Winter. Needlefelted from wool roving in icy blues and whites, they rule over the Winter season bringing snowflakes, icicles and chilly winds. They create blankets of snow to tuck the fields and forests in for a winter slumber. Sparkling ice crystals sit atop their magic staffs. They can be found here on my Etsy shop at http://www.mountainhearth.etsy.com/. 

And here is a little Jack Frost that I made as a custom order for a friend's season table in her Waldorf home preschool. He is rascally, jolly and  his hands are full of snowballs just waiting for some winter fun! I am sure she will bring him to life with her gift for magical storytelling!

Stay warm, it's chilly out there!

Harvest Maidens

When the Autumn comes rolling in, I love changing our seasons table to honor all of the abundant fruits and vegetables, and the fiery leaves outside. Seasons table figures are an idea I got from Waldorf classroom seasons tables, and I have loved making many Lady Springs, Queen Winters, and Harvest Maidens over the past few years (I still haven't made one for summer, likely because we're out camping so much). This Acorn Maiden, Wheat Maiden, and Harvest Maiden represent all that I love about this season. Harvesting food is such a sacred, sustaining activity and a good, honest days work. There is a fullness and abundance in the earth right now, everywhere you look. Autumn deserves some honoring.

This is the Harvest Maiden I needlefelted for our family's seasons table. She stands in our living room on bright orange and rich brown silks, surrounded by painted corn, jars of red vine maple branches, acorns and wheat.

This is the Acorn Maiden. Here is the Willamette Valley, we are blessed with an abundance of oak trees with big fat acorns. I gather them with my children every year, and we turn them into acorn meal for pancakes and muffins. They taste a little like maple syrup. Mmmmmmm.

This Wheat Maiden makes me think of the vast, rippling fields of ripe wheat in Washington State's Palouse region where I went to college. In the late summer, all you can see for miles and miles are these golden waves moving in the breeze. I always try to snag a few stalks for my seasons table when I'm driving through that area. This year I was lucky to have some spring up in my straw sheet mulch!

Happy Harvesting to All!