Treasures Mined

Have you ever worked so hard for something that it becomes much more precious than had it just been handed to you? The toil and maybe a pint or two of blood, sweat, and tears makes the end result more special to you, don't you think?

That is the way it is with the verses I have chosen for my stickers. Each piece of Scripture was extracted from reading the Word through days, no, years of brain fog and deep need. The verses were scribbled down into notebooks, poignant truths that touched my heart in the midst of the storm.

My hope is that these treasures mined from the depths will extend their glittering beauty and worth into your life as well.

(Find my stickers here.)

In the Shop

If you love watercolors, inspiring Bible verses, and stickers, you may want to check out my Etsy shop.

Hannah's Spring Flower Picking

2018 in Review: Handwork

Rose Hat: Hannah's and my first test knitting of a new pattern for Reywa Fibers.

My Work Basket

I completed a luxurious merino wool shawl which is now reserved for special days.

Knitting, product photo shoots, and maintaining our Etsy shop fill our spare minutes. 

Signal Flag and Lace

Maritime Signal Flag B and a bit of knit lace, freshly blocked (steamed flat)

The flag is now in my Etsy shop and the lace hand sewn onto pillow cases.

November 11, 2017

Hannah's and my shelves of wool were getting rather unruly. Ikea organizers came to the rescue.

September: Goodbye Doyon

September brought signs of changing seasons. That month also brought another evidence that my bakery season has come to an end. Dad expertly crated up Doyon, my thirty quart bread mixer, loaded and strapped it in the back of the pickup (see orange straps below). He and Mom then drove to Pennsylvania to deliver it to the Global Aid Network Logistics Center. It is time for Doyon to bless more people.

Dad and Mom also delivered one hundred twenty-eight LuoPads (washable feminine pads) that Hannah and I with the help of friends sewed up. More travels for these ahead. Africa, Central Asia, refugee camps...

Note:

You can help donate LuoPads through every purchase made at hand.maid.en.

1 item sold = 1 LuoPad donated

Or sew them yourself with instructions found here.

September 5: Product Tags

Some parts of business seem to take endless amounts of time and have so many steps. Designing, printing, cutting, corner rounding, hole punching, string cutting and attaching product tags is a case in point. Doing the afore mentioned on the deck while listening to a good audio book helps.

Backlog

I have a backlog of life happenings to share with you. Let's begin!

In August we spent a couple last days at the lake for the season.

As always my trusty basket went with me.

Hannah and I found the lake an inspiring place to make good headway on knitting up Nautical Signal Flag Pillow Covers for our Etsy shop.

I Am Behind

Yes, very behind on blogging. For now let it suffice to say that keeping up with everyday life and moving forward on Hannah's and my Etsy shop while chelating heavy metals from my body, killing Lyme and fighting allergies has been a bit tough. Still I can gladly say, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness" (Lamentations 3:22-23).

This morning is no exception. A hard night was followed by a gloriously crisp and sunshine filled morning. Mercies.

When fighting hives...

...sew LuoPads.

Professional Endeavors

Between Lyme exhaustion and the changing pace when spring arrived, I have not had much time for professional endeavors. Yet I managed to move uncut tags from the to-do into the ready-to-use folder last week.

Working Ahead

Spring is trying to come, but Hannah is wisely building up her stock of Scandinavian mittens and her newly unveiled hats for Etsy.

Friends Help

Friends recently gave a couple hours to help our LuoPad stash grow. A quick count shows that we have caught up with our one-for-one donations for all hand.maid.en sales. We even have some to spare.

And What Became of It

I promised a disclosure of Puffin in knit, so here it is. Nautical Signal Flag E pillow.

Front

Back

More signal flag pillows will likely be following in the coming year and making their way onto Etsy. A few improvements will be implemented on the coming pillows, and this one will remain with me. After all, every good product must undergo stress testing. Now to order yarn.

Puffin

Quince & Co. continues to be my favorite yarn source, yet I have tried very little of their selection. Working this chunky yarn (named "Puffin") will be a first for me. I'm already in love just looking at it! What am I making, you ask? You will just have to wait and see.

Update: Since writing this post I have knitted up this yarn. Puffin did not disappoint. Photos will be forthcoming next week.

Crochet in the Parking Lot

My bag of crocheting goes everywhere with me right now... even to the Sam's Club parking lot.

Stash

Inside our table linen and this-and-that closet...

...is my stash of hangers for sale.

"H"

Maritime Signal Flag Blanket "H" is in progress!

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Martha & Ellen