In the blink of a Summer

Hello friends!

This lovely Summer has sped by, full of goodness and running hither and yon. So much to catch up on here, maybe just a couple of highlights for now.

The very lovely and rather feisty Jess from Teddy Bear's Wednesday flew all the way from Melbourne, Australia to Portland, Oregon for a visit! We had a fantastic time, so good to meet her "in the fur" as she would say. She even came along on our annual trip to Pickathon, a local music festival. It was a truly special visit and wonderful to spend time in the garden chatting away. Jess and The Buddha Cat made fast friends and since she has left, he seems a bit down. Jess has also got us shouting "Aussie Oy Oy Oy!" at random moments around the house. Thanks for everything Jess, so glad you came to visit our silly family, we were so happy to have you here!

We have been enjoying the harvest from our garden, even though we have been a bit neglectful of it. Thanks to The Engineer and his buddy, we have a new beautiful fence in the back yard, thanks darlin'!

And of course, this one has been growing like a weed.

Oh my, I can see that I am out of the habit of this bloggy business, I'm going to have to sharpen my skills and get back into the swing of things. Looks like it's time to plug back in and see what all of you have been up to while I went underground!

Do tell, what have been some of your highlights of the last couple of months?

Festive

It takes a day or so to re-enter the real world after 4 days of festival going. Cut off from the regular routines and the daily news; it is an environment removed though only 25 minutes from our home. Another great year with friends and music...so much music.

Traversing 80 acres, 5 stages, 87 visits to see Lucky the horse, 4 hula hooping adventures (just to see if I still could), 6 time-outs in the beer garden, and 1 hour of trying not to panic when Pony Girl disappeared into the woods quick as a jack rabbit - search parties (friends) were sent out in all directions all of us saying, "Surely she hasn't gone that far," only to have her turn up at the exact location she had vanished from cool as a cucumber saying, "I just went for a walk."

We dubbed our camp "Li'l Holler" - a cozy compound where respite and comfort could be found along with amazing meals and and great company. Saturday night I laughed so hard for so long, I'm still sore.


Pony Girl fell in love with a little red haired boy camping across from us. Those wiley gingers are a charming lot, I know.

I also discovered, much to my dismay, that my old camera was giving up the ghost while we were there. So, I didn't manage all the photos I would have liked to take. There really is so much visual inspiration at Pickathon.

This year's event was by far the most sustainable festival I have ever been to. I could wax on about it but, you should let the people of Pickathon tell you all about it HERE! Truly remarkable.

As for the music...so much. It all seems a bit of a blur, I caught much of it on the run, chasing after kidlets, on my way here and there, and I enjoyed it all. For a preview of many of the bands, here is a little playlist if you are so inclined.

All in all, another awesome family festival experience!



Now it's back to the real world.

Upon our return, we heard some of the news we had missed while away. I am wishing all of my friends in London and surrounding areas safety, you are in our thoughts.

It's that time again!

We are just about to head out to the 2011 Pickathon music festival! Lots to do, much preparation, the weather is looking good and I can't wait.
You can click here to see past Pickathon pics if you like.
It is a long standing family tradition for us, shared by some really wonderful friends and a whole lot of amazing music. I'm off to pack and cross things off of my list.

Have a wonderful weekend all. See you on the flip side!

Festival on the Farm

Well, it took me a day or two longer to get back into the swing of things after our Festival adventure than I had planned. There were 4 days worth of dusty funk to wash off of everything and a brief interlude with a flu bug to get over. Still, I am ready to report that we had a swingin' time! As always, it was one of the best parts of the summer by far.

Our compound was way back in the far right corner of the car camping area, a bit of a walk from the main stage area but protected on two sides by the woods. We start with a core group of friends and family and usually wind up with some wanderers joining up during the weekend. It's such a wonderful group of people to camp with. Each team plans a breakfast or dinner for the group. Let me tell you, this bunch can cook! We eat incredibly well with beautiful meals that are pleasing to the eye as well as the stomach.

Of course it is a weekend filled with music, wonderful music. It's hard for me to pick out my favorites. Many bands were caught on the fly by as I was chasing Pony Girl through the woods or on our way to see Lucky the horse.

Frazey Ford from The Be Good Tanyas was a favorite of many, Blind Boy Paxton seemed too accomplished and soulful for his years, Heartless Bastards rocked, and the headliner Bonnie Prince Billy (Will Oldham), was a pleasure to see and put on a very animated show! With over 40 bands it's hard to catch them all or choose the best. One of my favorite shows was Michael Hurley in the woods, an intimate gathering in a magical setting to listen to a legend.

Another enchanted musical moment was 'round the campsite, several of us playing and singing, with a random banjo/mandolin/guitar player wandering by to sit in. Sweet!

For the kids there is a circus, with hula hooping, stilt walking, juggling, puppet shows, crafts, and high wire acts! So awesome and not just for the kiddos.

Besides the amazing amount of good music, Pickathon is a festival that is unique in many other aspects. It's commitment to being as sustainable as possible went up a notch this year. In a joint effort with Kleen Kanteen, the makers of stainless steel water bottles, they produced reusable stainless steel cups for the beer gardens. You purchase a cup for $5.00, permanent markers and stickers were provided for personalizing, and you use your cup for the remainder of the festival.

A washing station and drying rack were available so that you could leave your cup next to the bar and retrieve it for your next beverage.

This eliminated over 35,000 plastic cups from going into a landfill! Along with that, no bottles of water were sold at the festival. It was announced that you must bring your own water container. Certified drinking water was brought in and there were filling stations throughout the property. You just fill up your containers at no extra cost, perfect. This eliminated over 15,000 plastic water bottles from being chucked into landfill! More solar power panels were added this year as well.

The food vendors were fantastic, though admittedly we did not need to use their services much due to our camp kitchen. All food at the festival is sold at "fair market value" meaning, prices may not be jacked up to outrageous cost like so many festivals. There was much organic, vegan and vegetarian options, a little something for everyone.
Oh, I almost forgot...biking to the festival was highly encouraged and many people did just that!

All in all, this is one of the most special festival events that I have been a part of. The sense of community and wellbeing is overwhelming. A perfect family tradition. There is a bit of bittersweet sentiment when it comes time to pack up camp and go home. We look forward to next year, which will be our 7th year going as a family! Thanks to all the bands, Pendarvis Farm, the organizers, and the countless volunteers that make this happen!

Whew! That was a long post and I still have yet to see the bottom of the laundry pile. I'm off to tackle it. Take care my friends.

The Bluebird of Happiness is Tickled Pink

It's been a mad week, much rushing and to-doing and wondering where the time goes. Oops, there it goes slipping out the back door! The next day and a half is all about preparations for our annual music festival and camp out called, Pickathon. You can read about the last two year's adventures here.

In the midst of the madness, I realized last night that I had not made Pony Girl her happy festival dress for this year. Really, I could have let it go since last year's dress still fits and there is a closet full of happy clothes that would do. But you see, I'm a manic sewing mama, and I just could not let sleeping fabric lie. So off I trundled into my basement...I mean studio, and began looking for inspiration.

I remembered a photo of a wee cutie I saw over at Foxs Lane, dressed in an awesome stripey number. In a flash of brilliance, I remembered some fabric strips I had already cut for some wayward quilt project that had gone astray. Some late night speed sewing...

...and Voila!
These photos look much better when clicked!
One Festival Express Skirt! Ready for dancing the days away.

The back...

All I did was sew together 4 inch X 17 inch strips with a 3/8" seam allowance until I got the fullness I wanted. Then I embellished with ribbons and some felt appliqué bluebirds and then sewed the final seam closed making a tube. I then gathered the top of the skirt to fit a separate waist band I made from 2 extra fabric strips. Insert elastic to fit and finished the hem with some pink eyelet trim. Easy Peasy! This fits to a size 6-7. Thanks Kate for the inspiration!

I am hoping to get some pictures of this skirt in action at the festival.
I will be back next week to tell you all about it and give you my new band picks.
Have a wonderful few days all!

Good Times

We are back and nearly recovered from our long weekend at Pickathon 2009. We had quite a time! As always, there were many magical moments and a barrel full of great music.

I suggest clicking on the photos for the full festival effect.


Some of the highlights for me were artists that were new to me. Like Alela Diane, such a beautiful voice. The Deep Dark Woods, who I happened to see on the deep dark woods stage, were another surprise goodness.
The folks that I looked forward to seeing did not disappoint. Justin Townes Earle delivered again with some amazing performances. Dr. Dog and Blitzen Trapper put on stellar shows on the main stage. There were many more amazing bands, too many to mention.

Church of the Get Down in the barn

Our girl had a swell time of it. Her favorite part seems to have been the horses that live on the farm where the event is held. Many, many trips were made to pet Lucky, the farm mascot.
The festival is pretty small as far as music festivals go, which is how I like it. Very family friendly with lots of activities for the kiddos. My girl got to be a part of a circus and a kids variety show where she told a joke, sang a song and did a little dance.
Kids craft tent

Farm bus

We have many wonderful memories to tide us over until next year. Ah, good times.


I will be back in a couple of days with a pattern review and other crafty bits. See you soon.