Pixie Playhouse Blog

All hail!

And the fairy dragon

Ok so who dresses up thier precious little girl as a dragon?!?!  Well it’s just that somehow when she was learing animal sounds (you know….”what does the cow say?”  MOOOO) somehow “what does the dragon say?” got thrown in there.  So you say “Alyssa … what does the DRAGON say?”  and she says “grrrrrrrrr” deep in her throat with her little nose scrunched up.  So I had to make a dragon costume.  She sort of hated it …oh well.

Oh yeah and the cousin is cute too!

What is SAFF you ask?  Well check out the info here but its the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival, which takes place near Asheville, NC.  Now that I’m not working every.weekend.of.my.life I decided to make a day trip of it.  Scott declined the invitation to go with me, instead volunteering (VOLUNTEERING I SAY) to keep the babe… a declaration which he tried to recant at about 6am the morning of … no such luck babe, sorry.

I had great ideas to blog this on my return but found when I hit the “gone too far to turn back” point that my camera was at home tucked safely in my laptop bag.  An attempt to take a picture with my phone resulted in my phone near loosing its mind. I mean really…who wants to read a blog with no pictures.  humph

So there were alpacas and bunnies and llamas there and if there were sheep or goats I didn’t see them.  I have decided that my sister needs to forget about horses and start an alpaca farm.  They are so cute AND they produce a crop!   Other than the animals there was a building full of vendors offering every imaginable yarn and fiber product.  I caved to peer pressure and bought a drop spindle and some pinkish/blueish/reddish roving in a wool tencel blend.

I also found red and black sock yarn, 2 bargain bin sock yarns one in  green and one pink, and a big skein of homespun in pink to be made into a hat for the babe.  At that point for the sake of actually paying my bills this month I had to stop.

Before returning home I made a side journey to the Asheville Farmer’s Market, open year round, where I found local muskadines,  apples from Easley, SC, candied pecans, and sausage made from ingredients you can acutally pronounce.

It was a heck of a day trip.  Next year maybe we can make a weekend of it.  Look out llamas …next year I’m taking your picture!!

So this is an assignment long over due but I felt like I really couldn’t go on to new stuff until I went back and hit some highlight of the summer.  Also only just this week the weather decided “Oh hey y’all lets have FALL” so I feel like its really not completely over yet.

This year waaaaay back in July we went to Black Mountain, NC and stayed in a lovely rental home called Thompson’s Tuckaway.  It was just the right size with real live AC, internet, and most importantly, baby gates. They also didn’t try to fool you with the number of folks you can comfortably house by claiming the living room couch as a sleeping area.  All sleeping areas were real live bedrooms with amazing fiber fill mattress toppers.  Even my sister, who hates all beds except her own, loved those.

The view from the deck

Geranium, thy days are numbered…

On the way in we stopped at the Asheville farmers market and got these fantastic heirloom tomatoes which became tasty sandwiches.

One tradition of mine is to go to Montreat Conference Center’s  Sally Jones Pottery.  This usually is the highlight of my trip but was a major downer this year.  The staff was grumpy almost to the point of hostile.  This is not the norm for them and the staff tends to turn over yearly…at least I hope they do.   The master potter was an ass and there was some idiot red head who WAS the proverbial bull in the china shop.   I am harboring a secret suspicion that it was she who broke some raku greenware of mine and quietly tucked it away for me to find in the clay waste bucket the next morning.  I blame it on the overabundace of under-chaperoned teens there that week but I hope there is a different staff there next year.  Otherwise I’m going to have to find myself a new vacation tradition.   Oh there was one exception, Ann, who is there every year and is a joy and a beautiful wonderful patient person who let me stay late to play un-harassed on the kick wheel.  My nerves were so jangled by the whole experience that I produced nothing I am willing to photograph and share.

One day we made it into Asheville although it happened to coincide with a major craft show so parking was at a premium.  We managed to hit the highlights of yarn shops including Purls, who still was my friend even though my stroller attempted to shoplift a skein of bulky hand spun on the way out of the door.  They even suggested the Early Girl Eatery right next door for lunch.

And this kid is ready for it.

The main reason for picking this particular week this year was to see David Lamotte as he completes his farewell tour.  We have tickets to his final concert that happens to fall on our 5th wedding anniversary.

Hangin’ with the cuz, listenin’ to some tunes…

I think this kid likes peaches

Photo op with David

By the way I have 10193480239840234985 pictures of ducks that S took.   This one just happens to include me and the babe.  I guess he likes ducks. *shrugs*

I knitted!  Here is a “skirty” made from Sugar n Creme cotton.  Of course it can’t be worn as a waterproof diaper cover but it gave me a chance to work out my pattern.   I got this loud stuff on sale for about 20 cents a skein and honestly, what else was I going to do with it?

Bye bye mountains … see you next year!

During many summers of my life my family has taken a trip to the beautiful mountains of Black Mountain, North Carolina. This is a tradition that goes back for generations. A newer tradition is making peach cobbler while we are there. I thought that I would share it! Any fruit can be used but for me, fresh peaches from Cook’s Roadside Market on Augusta Road in Trenton, SC can’t be beat. For an added bonus, this is prepared and cooked in one dish so clean up is easy!

A disclaimer: Cobbler is not a health food. Yes, it contains fruit… fresh fruit even, but this does not make it good for you. It is a dessert. If you are looking for something healthy then go eat some broccoli and leave my poor little recipe alone. Also, please do not “tweak” this recipe. If you think its too easy then go make creme brulee or some such complicated item. Do not decrease the sugar. Again, this is DESSERT and is SUPPOSED TO BE fattening and bad for you. Actually if you choose a more tart fruit you may want to add even more sugar. This would be OK. Replacing the flour with wheat flour will also not make this a healthy dish but instead will leave it heavy and you’ll have to figure out the leavening (salt, baking soda whatever) since to my knowledge they don’t make self-rising wheat flour, so you may as well find someone else’s recipe to goof up.

If you think you can handle it, here ya go

Easy Vacation Cobbler
2 cups fresh fruit (peaches, blueberries and blackberries work very well for this)
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar (or more for tart fruits)
1 cup whole milk
1 stick butter, melted (don’t even think about using margarine or some goofy olive oil stuff)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
I use a glass baking dish but any glass or metal dish, including those disposable aluminum ones, will do. Dump fruit and sugar into this dish and stir to coat fruit, dump flour over this, then pour milk and butter over and stir with a fork until everything is moistened. Don’t overdo it…the lumpy bits add character.
Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top will be brown and bubbly when its done. This is supposed to serve 8 but this week its been serving 4. This recipe can be doubled.

Enjoy!

How did this happen????? Its been a whole year and I can hardly believe it. Here are some pictures of her first birthday. I did a ladybug theme. In case you are a relative of mine and you are reading this and get your feelings hurt if you weren’t invited I AM SOOO SORRY!!! I basically ran around town on the Wednesday and Thursday before with some invites I printed on the computer. I’m tellin’ you this thing just snuck right up on me!!!

And the cake … here’s what 2 pounds of refined sugar and food dye looks like. And I made it myself!

and this too

not too sure about this red thing … I’ve never eaten anything this color before

I think I’ll just pick out the black spots

PRESENTS!

Leave it to Granny… this was her favorite thing!

eating paper

wee ladybug shoes

Really … where did a year go?

I started writing this post back in MAY and due to a demanding 11 month old and an even crankier web host, here it sits, weeks later.

Rock ‘n’ Roll is the theme for June at The Whole Shebang so I thought that tie-dye would be just the thing!! Now the Rit-and-rubber-bands method from high school was just not going to cut it though, so after Googling for some ideas here is what I came up with.

First off is a guitar tie dyed lap tee with matching board shorts in Kona Cotton and Michael Miller’s Groovy Gutiars.

This is a 12 month set with appliquéd jeans to match the tee.

The ultimate achievement in tie dye …the peace sign!!! This was actually tied and dyed and not sewn, stenciled, painted, or droppered. And you thought you’d never use geometry in real life!

Pretty nifty huh? Its not as hard as it looks too. I’ll just say that amazing things can happen when you follow the directions, an ability which I do not normally possess.

Also in this series is a little peekaboo back sundress made in Groovy Guitars print with a guitar appliqué.

This though is the coolest thing. I thought I had an original idea but no, its all over the net. Here is my version of record cuffs! These are made from football shaped pieces of old, scratched, uncool vinyl LPs. They are painted with a plastic compatible spray paint then sealed for durability. I love them!

This one features the Art is Resistance flag designed by Trent Reznor check this out to learn more

Rock star

a back view

Anyway … there is plenty left in stock so happy shopping. Look for a beach party at the Pixie Playhouse coming in July!

Not long ago we returned from sunny Cocoa Beach, FL and Alyssa’s first beach trip. After I got over the disappointment that her first beach would not be a South Carolina one, we had a pretty decent time. As Scott points out, “Its all the same ocean”.

Now, this child is the miniature clone of her daddy and now, in addition to looking like a clone, she is developing his quirks as well. This child who will eat any bit of floor lint without regard absolutely HATED putting her hands down in the sand. She would cautiously touch the sand then immediately wipe her hands on the skirt of her bathing suit. It was hilarious.

Also on the beach her Mimi taught her to drink from a water bottle.

Well we will see a SC beach before the summer is over!

I stocked playsilks and a few crayon rolls back at the beginning of May but haven’t had the time to post them here yet. I’m pretty proud of these playsilks so if no one wants them it wont be hard to keep them!

Here they are!

This is a set of mini silks dyed with a low water immersion technique. They can represent pirate treasure or just about anything you can imagine. They are the perfect size for peekaboo with baby too!

This one is huge! Its a tent, a costume, or a wrap skirt all in one!

A tropical sky surrounds the sun or the tropical sea surrounds a desert island in the 21″ square silk.

Now this is a fun idea … a crayon roll!!! This is something I would have loved to have when I was a kid. Coming soon, just in time for summer vacations will be more crayon rolls and travel busy kits!
This one comes in blue as well. I just HAD to title it “Fins to the Left”!

And finally now the Hyena Cart will be stocked with theme items and general items and unsold theme items will be moved over to the Etsy shop. Check it out!

Coming in June… ROCK ‘n’ ROLL!!!! The Whole SHEbang congo will be listing some nifty stuff with a rock n roll theme so keep an eye out here The Whole Shebang

I also have a myspace dedicated to the Pixie Playhouse so see what you think and maybe even add me to your friends.

The Pixie Playhouse on Myspace

Well I am finally ready to roll with this Hyena Cart thing so here are new pictures of the current items!

When I was a little girl I LOVED skirts that twirled. This baffled my mother I think because she was more of a jeans and sneakers type who only played with Barbies because you could bend their legs and put them on Breyers plastic horses. I also insisted that the seam of my socks be placed inside out and exactly across the top of my toes. Anyway…

These skirts are for playing dress up, are easy on and off with hook and loop tape, and are fully reversible. You can also machine wash them on gentle and tumble dry on low.

And the set including puff sleeves!

It seems that the boys get left out of the loop when it comes to dress up so I’ve made these half circle capes. These are also fully reversable, one side being cotton and the other costume satin, They have been prewashed and could also be machine washed on gentle and pressed with a medium iron. Any ideas for items that would appeal to boys are welcome!

Finally … CROWNS!!!! These could be for dress up play or a special birthday kid. They are ever so slightly adjustable with hook and loop tape. I love these! If I had more time I’d make tons!

In other news I made this dress and skirt for a trade. I need to get on the ball and make one for my babe since they came out so well!

Look for more to come with my grand re-opening in May!

I have been fiddling around with this thing since Thanksgiving so I suppose I might as well go ahead and jump in with a post. I am still figuring it all out so kindly bear with the construction.

So here is about me: I am a RN with a husband, 6 month old daughter, and a cat small fur person that lets us live in his house. I have too many hobbies and interests to make this a blog about any one thing really. Currently knitting is topping the pile, with a close second of costume sewing. The sewing is unfortunately at a standstill though due to my sewing machine being in the shop. This is unfortunate because I was hoping to make some extra $$ by sewing play clothes for children.

One thing that will join the competition for my attention in the near future is going to be a vegetable garden. When I was growing up we had a garden most years, and I had my own little plot until I started nursing school in 2004. Now that I am all graduated I’m looking out at my poor little raised beds, which look rather like neglected grave sites at the moment, and thinking of the spring.

And now I’m off to figure out the rest of these settings and maybe start knitting a sock!