Summer into Fall vending schedule

Where will I be this summer? In my workshop, in the garden, enjoying my beautiful rural neighborhood with my family, friends, and dearest dog, Blacky, some traveling to other beautiful locales to be with family.

And (let's be realistic now)... at the computer.

But many of the highlights of my summer will be on the weekends when I get to interact with the public from the Mountain Ash Design stall at farmers markets, street festivals, and craft fairs. I love these events, the creative growers and artists who are their main draw, and being part of the festive vibe.

If you can't make it to one of these outdoor events in the lovely Green Mountain State (plus nearby Hanover, NH), I am participating in an on-line craft fair right now until July 11.
It's at i heart handmade and you can visit my stall and even say hello here.

otherwise, here's my schedule:

June 27 Norwich Farmers Market
July 4 Burklyn Arts Council Craft Fair, Lyndonville VT
July 11 Trunk Show @ The Clothing Line, Burlington VT
July 18 Hanover Street Festival
Aug 1 Burlington Artist Market
Aug 8&9 Art In The Park, Rutland VT

Aug 29 Burlington Artist Market
Sept 5&6 Mad River Valley Craft Fair
Sept 12 Art Hop Fashion & Accessories Tent, Pine Street, Burlington, VT

Sept 26 Norwich Farmers Market

That's all (WHEW!).

If you visit the Artist Market in City Hall Park in Burlington be sure to look in the alley between City Hall and The Firehouse. There might be artists tucked away in there, including yours truly.

these apron and skirt photos were all taken by my very talented 11-year-old daughter

Tie One On

Great article on apron wearing, both in and out of the kitchen, by Suzanne Podhaizer of Seven Days. I am widely quoted, and it features this sassy/adorable picture of my friend Rachel from The Bobbin Sew Bar + Craft Lounge.
Click here to read!

Talking Kitchen Fashion with Suzanne Podhaizer

This is the apron I wear on a daily basis at home. Here I am looking a bit tough with one of my cast iron frying pans. I took this picture for contrast after taking my make-up off from a particularly girly photo shoot (see below) in March. This apron was an experimental cut with the skirt shaped at the hips. It was one of two aprons I made from one red gingham dress. The bib was the front top of the dress. I took the buttons off and sewed the two front halves together. It is trimmed at the waist with one of my favorite Denyse Shmidt vintage-inspired Flea Market Fancy prints in a cheerful spring green plus a dark, dark shirt collar.


Suzanne Podhaizer, who write about food for Seven Days, got in touch with me today. She's writing about kitchen fashion. We have a phone interview scheduled for tomorrow, but she gave me a couple questions to think about. The words just started flowing so I thought I'd share them here:

How did you get into kitchen fashion?

I've always loved working with fabric. I was also very interested in fashion design when I started. Then I got into quilting. I was making small crazy quilts by putting together all the fabrics I loved into one piece, but I ended up thinking they were ugly, too chaotic. I gave myself the aesthetic challenge of combining just two fabrics in a way that was really dynamic, or wonderfully harmonious to the point that the fabrics really hum together: not boring.

I’ve always been stuck on making objects that have a practical purpose (i.e. I’ve never made a quilt with the intention that it be hung on a wall and not used for warmth on a bed). I think the object is appreciated more and on many more levels when it can be a useful tool or add comfort in everyday life.

So I started making potholders out of two fabrics only about 15 years ago as this aesthetic exercise and giving them away mostly. I was working with vintage fabrics, old bark cloth, interesting prints that were obviously from a different time period and combining them in unusual ways. I started selling HotHolders as a business 3 years ago. My customers have been most drawn to the ones with characters on them: firemen, kittens, owls, day of the dead skeletons, and the pin-ups, so that’s what I make mostly now.

I’ve also always loved aprons. My aprons came about as a marriage of my interest in fashion and the kind of quilt-appropriate fabrics I’m drawn to working with plus my desire to make helpful, attractive objects used in everyday life. I’ve met a lot of women who didn’t grow up using aprons, or their mothers didn’t, but I did. We had a drawer of aprons made by my grandmother, who was born in 1898. It’s not that I’m out to promote a women’s-place-is-in-the-kitchen agenda. Food preparation and clean-up and laundry are inevitable facts of life for most people. When I tie on an apron, I feel purposeful and organized, and they protect my nice clothes. If I feel cute wearing my apron, I’m enjoying my tasks more.

Meanwhile my family life has become more and more food centric over the years. My husband of 15 years and I have always had vegetable gardens, and they have grown every year. We raised lamb for a few years and started raising meat chickens about 10 years ago. It got to a point a few years ago that most of our meals were comprised of food we had grown ourselves. I’d say 70% of what my family of 4 eats year round is from our own land. The stance I have while preparing a meal is less of drudgery and more of profound gratitude and celebration. Tying on the apron to set about making the evening meal is a little ritual, marking a shift in the day away from my work-for-money and towards the task of nourishing my family with food I feel so incredibly appreciative to have available to me. Preparing a meal feels special to me, and having a business making special tools to aid other people in their culinary adventures feels appropriate.

Stay tuned for Suzanne's article on kitchen fashion in her food column in an upcoming issue of Seven Days. Of all the regular columns, I can be most relied upon to read hers, plus the "Side Dishes." Oh, and Mistress Maeve, who is always right on!

Sweet Batch

I've been finishing a particularly sweet batch of aprons with accents featuring pheasants, wranglers, vintage calico, purple feathers, Mexican style embroidery and plenty of charming blue gingham.

This after a solid week of focused time in the "ladycave" (aka studio) while I put all other aspects of the business off to the side.

Still more aprons are on the table ready to be assembled...

...or hanging on the walls with non-committal collars and cuffs pinned on. Sometimes I have to look at the combo over time before it tells me if it's right or wrong.

Time to get back to that other part of work now. *sigh*

Queen City Craft Bazaar is tomorrow!

Hey, I'm really excited about my first show kicking off a busy summer schedule. Head on down to Union Station at the bottom of main St. in Burlington tomorrow for the
Queen City Craft Bazaar! Myself and 39 other indie/alternative crafters from all over Vermont will be offering up our hand crafted wares to you from 10-5. Be there or be square! ; >

MAD behind glass at the Howe Libray in May

If you are in or around Hanover, NH in the month of May, stop by this top notch public library and view some of my creations in the display case near the teen room. I was up until 1am the night before I installed the display finishing these aprons in a wonderfully inspired post-yoga sewing session.

Top shelf: 9"mats, and HotHolders. Hanging below that (from clothesline with clothespins, of course...any excuse I can get, you know) are full aprons.

On the bottom layer is one of my new Laundry Day aprons...

...a clothespin bag from barn board fabric trimmed in vintage 1980s Alexander Henry and rick rack, plus the article on Mountain Ash Design in Upper Valley Life, and also a few HotHolders in the back. I always see somebody I know there when I'm arranging the case. It's nice.


When I was in high school I applied for a job designing window displays for a fashion clothing store. The really memorable part of the application process was getting to go through the store picking out clothes and putting together an actual display in their window. I didn't get the job, but I think it's because I was only 17 at the time. I thought my display was rad!

This Virtuous Baby Quilt of mine was selected for the Eco-Friendly item pole on Etsy, going on for the next 6 days. Go here to vote for my quilt before April 20 at 10pm!

It's made from all vintage and recycled fabrics with a 100% organic cotton batting. You can even see the shirt pocket on the left in the vertical photo.

Midwinter Projects Part III: Custom Mexican Inspired Aprons

One of my fun mid winter projects was to make these custom aprons for Jeff and Colee to go with their new Mexican inspired kitchen (note the tiles below the cabinets). Colee likes the antique-trimmed loteria cards and chose a sweet vintage-y floral for the skirt and neck ties. I added a blue/green piece from my collection as waist/back ties and a pair of powder blue shirt cuffs.
Jeffry's apron was actually a surprise birthday gift. I made it from a length of a new "Paseo do los Muertos" print on black. The rest I repurposed from a variety of textile objects: brown side panels that were a fancy (though not soft enough to rest your sleepy face on) pillow cover, the neck strap was a button-hole placket of a shirt, the back waist ties were the ties from a wrap-around skirt and the entire thing is lined with light drapery fabric with a botanical illustrations. The apron is reversible.
Levi in Jeff's very own "man sling." Colee never wears it.
Awww! Love in the kitchen. One of the many places it belongs.

Floribunda 2009

I had a stall last weekend at Floribunda, a flower and garden show produced by the Women's Club of Norwich. It was my first time attending at all and I was very impressed by some of the displays, especially by the growers and florists. Here are some, plus others of special note.
Above, Killdeer Farm had a sweet raised bed-looking box with corn plants, beans, tomatoes and it looks like squash and other veggies, too. They had some sweet vintage victory garden posters on their back wall.

Cedar Circle Farm. One of their employees painted this mural of the Connecticut River Valley, the river seen from VT, and hills rising in NH beyond; pretty much the setting of the actual farm. I came home with two bags of their tenderest baby greens on Sunday, including a few pea sprouts. I must ask Betsy down the road at Spring Chicken Farm what organic pea seeds to get for sprouting my own.

My friend Chris Esten, aka The Green Reaper. We carpooled from Topsham on Saturday and Sunday morning. Have a look at her lovely new prints of Blue Hydrangea petals when you get a chance. Sublime.

Orchids by Genera, always amazing. Louise and Vince were great neighbors to have across the isle.

I love this arbor by Petals of White River Junction.

Grape Hyacinths and other sweet growing things.

The "Wacky Worm Sisters" of Down to Earth Worm Farm showing a worm/compost cocktail (I think) for your plants.

Another pretty booth by Cider Hill. The whole place smelled really great, too. There were lots of daffodils, and lavender and rosemary plants around, too.

Very fine glass in understated elegance by Simon Pierce, right next to my booth.
Filling out the evaluation form the Norwich ladies provide about the show. You know; what was the most challenging part of the show, what do you think of these ideas we have for next year, etc., etc. I always write in the blank spots they provide because I believe in feedback. Want to give me some?

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Laundry Day Aprons

I've been wanting to make these big pouch pocket Laundry Day aprons for a while now. Just put all your clothespins in the big kangaroo pocket and they are as handy as can be at your clothesline. Don't let my single purpose limit you though. These are great for holding whatever you need to have on hand, anywhere you need to be. Aprons are the new backpacks! And much cuter than fanny packs also. Made from a combination of new and cast-off fabrics and repurposed clothing.

Enjoy looking. I'll have these at Florabunda this weekend at Tracy Hall in Norwich, Vermont and more throughout the vending season.

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