In Joy Emporium

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE!

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, & Lifestyle on the Land:

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Thursday, April 9, 2015

Narnia

I am beginning to wonder if Maine is under the spell of the White Witch of Narnia, never ending winter? We received another 3 inches of snow last night...ho hum. A grey day with a chill in the air. I, optimistically, put my winter scarves in the laundry pile thinking they wouldn't be needed anymore. I swore I won't put my snowshoes on again until next fall. But after a walk the other day on old snow without snowshoes I "post-holed" and hurt my hip. Runa & I needed our walk so snowshoe we did. Once I got going I did enjoy my time outside.

The duck pond is open. I haven't been able to get a photo of the girls in the water. They are taking very quick dips. The water must be pretty cold still. Even with the fresh snow there are signs of melting. The bench by the pond is looking more like a bench than a slab in the snow. It was a good day to hang out in the sewing room and work on some new ideas. Thread was flying and the day passed well. I have always loved winter and wished it would last longer when it leaves on time. I must be careful for what a wish for or some magical Witch may grant me my desire! ;)

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE!

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, & Lifestyle on the Land:

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Part 2 ~ Cat & Mouse

Today the tale of the EcoNip Cat toy. It started with a box of string as any good kitty story should. Well, it is not exactly string but nylon cord. Many years ago I was a member of a craft coop on the coast of Maine. It is where I tried to sell handwoven items and when they won't sell I started making puppets! (selling handwoven is tough if you want to get USA wages with so many items being made where the labor cost are unfairly low... Anyways, I digress.) One day it was my turn to be cashier at the coop and one of our older members pulled up in her car as I was about to go inside. She had 2 big trash bags with her. One bag was full of wool scraps, she was a rug braider. The other was full of nylon cord, her husband made wooden lobster traps and the cord was used to "knit the trap door into the kitchen". Well, this lady told me she thought I was a very handy girl and was sure I would find a use for these scraps. As the old saying goes "Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do, or do without!"

So up to that attic they went, out of sight but NOT out of mind. The 2 big bags sort of haunted me. I needed to come up with an idea. One day while gardening my cat at the time...the amazing Wally...who lived to be 23 years old...was rolling all over a catnip plant. Ah-ha! a light bulb moment! This was before "upcycling" was a word but being eco has always been hip to me! So the EcoNip was born! I have made 100's since then and they have been enjoyed by cats from coast to coast!

I recently re-designed the EcoNip to rat size for longer cat huggable fun! Here is my product description... EcoNips ---> HERE

Each Econip is handmade from upcycled wool. The nylon tails are scraps from the making of Maine lobster traps. The nylon would have just ended up in the waste stream if I hadn't nabbed them. This Rat size Econip is approximately 11 inches long with a 18+ inch tail. The long tail allows you to play with your cat at a safe distance from claws! Contrasting colored ears are fun for cats to chew.

Each toys contains 1 CUP of my own HOMEGROWN Catnip, carefully cultivated using organic practices in Freedom, Maine. I store the catnip in leaf form and only crush it a bit to stuff each Econip. This method seems to leave the catnip more potent. After the catnip is added I stuff the rest of the body with Maine Sheep's Wool. The wool is washed waste wool from my handspinning ... see my yarn works here:::https://www.etsy.com/shop/InJoyEmporium

Vern LOVES EcoNipS I have to store my shop stock on a sealed box on the highest shelf I can find! Some of my EcoNip customers store them in the freezer so their cats won't find them!

Puppets

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE!

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, & Lifestyle on the Land:

~ BUY 1 HAIKU get 2 FREE ~ Mention BLOG in the Note to Seller

"Be Joyful because it is humanly possible"~~~Wendell Berry

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Which came first--- the Cat or the Mouse? (Part 1)

Cats & Mice

I have been hemming & hawing over how to tell this story. Maybe it is a bit of cabin fever or just that the story is a rather long and drawn out tale. We are still very much in the grips of winter. There are signs of spring, though. The sun is a little higher on the horizon, my onions have sprouted on the window sill, and our cat, Vern, is going a bit nuts! (...notice the cat chew marks in the wood...those shims are there to prevent Vern from using my onions as a cat bed!)

I have made strides to alleviate his cabin fever. I found this nice big piece of wool fabric at the thrift shop. I took time away from Etsy sewing to hem it and create a cat tunnel behind the couch for Vernie.

I also sewed up a batch of catnip mice toys I call EcoNips for my Etsy shop. Not sure that helped with Vern's craziness?!? The tale continues to wind...I thought my EcoNip photos needed a something to jazz them up a bit. With cats on my mind I decide to revisit an old puppet pattern. This puppet was inspired by our wonderful old cat, Zippy, and my son's love for the nursery rhyme The Owl & the Pussycat.

Zippy lived to the ripe old age of 16. He was still with us when Vern came to us 3 years ago. He was a wonderful mellow cat. My DH & he had a very special bond the Vern has not quite fulfilled. We still miss him!

This a photo of my son's fun with our mellow boys!

Here are the original Owl and PussyCat (Zippy) Puppets as they look today! They have held up pretty well considering they are around 16 years old. They were my son's toys but, I, also, used them for 5 years of elementary school substitute teaching! They got some real use then!

My son's 4th birthday party with me doing The Owl & the Pussycat Puppet show!

Red-Wing Blackbird & my Boyo!

So here are the new puppet that are now in my shop...Inspired by Zippy & Vern!

Ok...I am * NOW * a mom of a college man ...but once upon a time....

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat

BY EDWARD LEAR

The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five-pound note.

The Owl looked up to the stars above,

And sang to a small guitar,

"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,

What a beautiful Pussy you are,

You are,

You are!

What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Pussy said to the Owl, "You elegant fowl!

How charmingly sweet you sing!

O let us be married! too long we have tarried:

But what shall we do for a ring?"

They sailed away, for a year and a day,

To the land where the Bong-Tree grows

And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood

With a ring at the end of his nose,

His nose,

With a ring at the end of his nose.

III

"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling

Your ring?" Said the Piggy, "I will."

So they took it away, and were married next day

By the Turkey who lives on the hill.

They dined on mince, and slices of quince,

Which they ate with a runcible spoon;

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,

They danced by the light of the moon,

The moon,

They danced by the light of the moon.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

---Shop News--- Buy a Haiku ~ Get TWO!

Makers can be a little obsessive. That is how so much gets done! But, sometimes, maybe, a maker goes off the charts a bit. I sort of over estimated how "popular" Haiku would be on Etsy. Personally, I adore Haiku. As far as I am concerned, it is the quintessential form of poetry. I love the rhythm of the 5 - 7 - 5 syllables. I will clap them when I am creating a Haiku. The structure is like weaving but the subtle meaning is like the heather of handspun hand dyed wool. Well, anyways, that is what inspired me to make so many!

I have been running a buy one get on free until they expire or are sold out. I have 12 left in my shop right now. If you want to get some before they are gone I will GIVE you 2 extra Weavette Haikus when you buy ONE for only $8.00! Just mention BLOG in the note to the seller at checkout. You will get 3 Weavette Haikus for the Price of ONE! Each will be different.

These sweet little hangings are handwoven on a weavette loom with my handspun yarn. A traditional Japanese Haiku is digitally printed on to vintage cotton and sewn to the woven piece with a 1957 vintage sewing machine.

This is a Favorite!

...but the Dragonfly is my favorite insect....

~~~~~~~~~~~My Lively Life~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fiber Art, Weaving, Hand Spun

Hand Made Eco and Upcycled Cutie Buntings, Clothes, & Toys

Vintage Collectibles, Buttons, Clothing & MORE!

Sea Glass & Copper Wire Ornaments with things I have gathered

My Blog~~Makings, Musings, & Lifestyle on the Land: