Etsy Denton will host the Handmade Harvest show at the Center for Visual Arts November 5th. Last year’s fall show was a huge success and this year’s location will make it a must-go for anyone that has  anything made by hand on their Christmas list.  This is one of the few local shows that I will be doing this year. Hope to see you there!

On of my favorite one-day-close-to-home shows is the Dallas Flea. Brittany Cobb does a great job organizing the show and she has assembled a great collection of vendors, making it difficult to stay in my booth and not spend some of my hard earned cash on the spot. This month’s D magazine has a great article on Brittany- you must check it out. So if you are in the are , please stop by- South Side on Lamar Saturday the 24th from 9:00 to 4:00

September is National Sewing Month. Sew……. I mean, so… Get out your sewing box- it should have a few needles, several colors of thread, a handful of buttons, a pin cushion and some straight pins, and maybe a thimble. What?? you don’t have a sewing box? run down to your nearest fabric store and pick up these necessities and get to stitchin. Most of us have at least an item or two around the house that could use some thread care. So, make a pile- and while you are watching the Rangers win, or the Cowboys loose- you can be productive and darn those socks and stitch on that missing button. Your wardrobe will love you for it.

After months of hot, dry record breaking weather we had an early morning rain. This time of the year a good soaking always makes the Oxblood lilies pop up. These are my favorite harbingers of cooler fall weather. In fact, I noticed out in the garden the tips of the buds poking through the damp dirt. It wont be long before southern gardens will wake up with these long forgotten heirloom red blossoms.

Color has been a big topic of conversation as well as consternation around the house this week, as we are getting ready to repaint our home’s exterior. This long overdue task has sent me to the local paint store multiple times, looking at swatches, and picking up paint samples to try on for size. Right now we are going for a scheme that is muted and blends easily into the red rock sandstone that is indigenous to this part of the Cross Timbers region. One color that will go on the house has more mystical roots, we are planning on painting the porch ceiling Haint Blue.

Although you can find variations of the color being called haint blue, the use of a tint of blue green on porch ceilings and around doorways in the south is said to keep bugs away AND ward off evil spirits. The Dirt Doctor, Howard Garrett wrote an article on Haint Blue, describing its history and uses.We will have to just keep you posted on its effectiveness- at least as far as the bugs go.

Fair Isle knits and patterns have been working their way fashion collections on and off the runways over the last couple of seasons, and it looks like the trend will continue this fall and winter. I have always had a soft spot for Fair Isle knits although they are a bit more difficult to work into my designs than some of the simpler knits. So what is a Fair Isle knit? It is a form of stranded colorwork knitting named for the tiny Shetland Island halfway between Scotland and Norway where knitters were known for their skill and technique. Traditionally two colors are used in a single row and the yarn that is not being worked is carried on the back of the fabric, creating a knit that is twice as thick as would be normally. Often more that two colors are used in the overall design, but if you look carefully you will not see more than two colors used in a row. The designs are distinctive, and you may recognize them from a warm sweater you have in storage at this moment, but the strands of yarn you see on the backside of the fabric will be the final clue if what you have is a Fair Isle knit