The Textile Center

We are lucky to have a wonderful textile center in Minneapolis, a place dedicated to fiber arts. There are classes in knitting, crochet, weaving(pictured above), felting, mixed media and much more. There is also a dye kitchen for instruction in fabric and fiber dying.

The center has a gallery for exhibits, a very extensive library, and a gift shop. They just had a juried call for inclusion in the shop and some of my items have been accepted.

These are some of the pincushions I brought down and also some of the eyeglass cases I have been doing. The cases now come in two sizes- a size for standard glasses and a smaller size for reading glasses. I am also going to do some embroidered bags for the fall. The shop is a little empty right now as they are restocking, but there are some beautiful items there ranging from felted cases and crocheted pins, hand dyed fabrics and silk scarves, books and dyes. I am thrilled to be involved in this great center.

Early Spring At the Arboretum

We are so glad to have become members of our Landscape Arboretum. What a great resource to have so close at hand. With all our snow gone now the bulbs are emerging. First to bloom are the dwarf iris pictured above. Such a beautiful color! The snowdrops are also in bloom. I am going to be doing quite a bit of planting this year; mainly digging up an old perennial bed and replacing it with all fruit and vegetables. I want raspberries, blueberries,strawberries and blackberries for jam making and cucumbers for pickles. I am researching the blackberries for one that will be hardy for our zone 4. I am also going to help put in a large fruit garden at my mother's way north of here and she's a zone 3. I know I won't have problems with most of it except for the blackberries. This is where the Arboretum will be invaluable. I will do my tomatoes, peppers, etc. in pots, this always works best for me.

This is the only spot out there that still has a bit of snow as of last week- the woodland area near a babbling creek. We take the 3 mile walk first every time we go and then get off on some of the other walking paths- the Forest walk, Bog walk, Woodland walk- and then take a look at all the demonstration gardens. I am amazed at the variety of plant material there.

In addition to my fruit and veggie garden I have plenty of other areas that need attention. I am planting shrubs along the street front for more privacy and would like to add this tree to the front yard- a Prunus Maackii or Amur Cherry. It is the bark that I just love, it shines in the sun as though it were wrapped in copper. Apparently it has creamy white flowers in the spring and fruit for the birds that I can also use for jam! I will keep taking photos out there and post them- the hillside of crabapple trees should be spectacular!

Trip To Northfield

We went to one of our favorite places last weekend, Northfield. Spring has finally arrived- the Cannon River that runs right through town was roaring over the falls. Just the week before there was still a layer of ice there. the building in the background is the original Malt-O-Meal building.

Northfield has plenty of old, historic buildings. This is the entry to a restaurant/bar in the lower level of the Archer House which is on the river.

This is another view of the river from near the tavern. This is the highest I've seen it in all the times we've been down here. There doesn't seem to be any worry of flooding here, but there is plenty to worry about in other parts of the state.

This is the corner of the block where the old bank buildingis located. It now houses a museum dedicated to Northfield history, most notably the thwarted bank robbery attempt by the Jesse James gang.

I love the architecture here. They have not torn everything down to make way for generic new buildings. The town also is home to two colleges- St. Olaf's and Carleton. Beautiful campuses. Another great day trip which also included some birdwatching-it is that time of year!

Colette's Jewelry

We are pleased to introduce a line of beautiful jewelry handmade by our friend,Colette. Some pieces like these pictured are made with hand painted glass beads, natural shells and stones, and vintage beads and buttons.

Other pieces use vintage costume jewelry put together in interesting and beautiful combinations. These items are currently available on our website. Check them out!

Orchid Show

We are finally seeing an end to winter here. The temps are in the 40's (finally!), but we are not completely out of the woods yet. A few weeks ago when spring didn't seem quite so imminent the Minnesota Arboretum held an orchid show.

Each one is so delicate, exotic and colorful.

The one above was one of my favorites. It was in a glass case as part of a collection of smaller orchids.

I have tried to grow them, but have never had much luck. The cat knocking them over probably didn't help.

I am in such a mood for flowers that I completed a set of eyeglass cases covered in blooms. These go to California and will also be for sale on our website soon. Here's to Spring!

Embroidery Project

I decided to revisit a type of needlework I did years ago; a purely decorative item for my first 'bedroom' piece. The samplers I did in the past were mostly cross stitch. This one is truly embroidered using satin, stem,chain, and french knot stitches. The design is original and I still have some work to do in the corners.

When I finish that I will stretch and frame it and it will be ready to hang. I think the next bedroom piece will be embroidered pillow cases with possibly crocheted trim.

OWOH winner

Congratulations to Zan Asha of beyondvagabond.blogspot.com, the winner of this year's giveaway! Her name was selected using a random number generator. I enjoyed this year's event and thank everyone for stopping by and visiting. Thanks to Lisa for another successful year, I hope to do it again next time.
Our new website/online store is up and running. We will be adding new products all the time and hope everyone will check it out often! www.manitobagifts.com- it is also on my sidebar. The next posts will continue my household chest projects. See you then!