Handmade Goodness

This post is the first in what we're going to call "Tuesday's Treasure". It will be a weekly post focused on something special we did or found or made over the previous weekend. This one is a week behind but we'll be more timely in weeks to come. 

Labor Day weekend is sentimental for us. It's the annual date for a local craft show called the Clothesline Fair, which was the first craft show that we participated in together. Erin was knitting bracelets out of thin-gauge wire and adding sparkly beads, I made Snowfolk, and our mom was wrapping wine glasses with wire and beads and making lamp and ceiling fan pulls as well. We called ourselves "6 Hands". We're clever like that.

The second year we participated was 2008, the year that mom was diagnosed with a brain tumor. It happened the Monday night after the fair. We watched her struggle with balance and mobility all weekend, and she ended up in the emergency room after falling when she returned home. It was devastating, and it has tainted that weekend and the enjoyment I get from the fair ever since.

This year, however, we had a new reason to be excited about the Clothesline Fair - our booth at Summit Hill Cottage Shoppe! We signed up to work at the shop on Sunday, and on Saturday morning we went out to spruce the booth up a bit and take a stroll through the fair.

G-Man went with us, and was fairly well-behaved. He always has to jump on some vintage tractors...
I wish my grandpa had lived long enough to meet him, and teach him to actually operate one of those things.

I lucked into a free piece of pottery when I pointed out a broken bit to the potter, and was happy to chat with one of my favorite local artists, Temple Skelton Moore. My son talked me into a bow and arrow set made from pvc pipe (it's cooler than it sounds), Erin bought a lovely handmade wooden spoon/scraper for her kitchen, but the only purchase I made for me was to replenish my supply of handmade face cloths. I get at least one every year, and have had a few for several years now. They are made from cotton fibers and have held up through washing machines without any fraying or loose knots. They are simply awesome.

It's a treasure that I get to enjoy every day.