News

Recently I decided my brain needed a news break and I’ve been listening to Spotify- the free version.  I’ve enjoyed how their playlist or "radio" takes you from a familiar artist to a new one but the ads can be super annoying.  One in particular that I've heard a thousand times is pitching a hand sanitizer designed in an aerodynamic bird shape.  It’s a plastic bird that squirts sanitizer.  The sanitizer is made with only “conscious ingredients”. WTF is a conscious ingredient?  To be conscious is to be aware of one’s environment.   We pick flowers and dry them to use in our skin care products but I never think of a dried flower petal as being a conscious ingredient. 

When a company sits down and makes a list of adjectives that appeal to a certain type of customer it’s called “green washing”.  It can be very effective.  When we hear certain words- reusable, refillable, clean fragrances we use our frame of reference and values to make a decision about a product.  Green washing happens in the world of beauty and fashion, and its insidious.  When you are getting ready to make a purchase, pause, because how we spend our money is a vote for the world we want to inhabit.

We had the chance to shop European awhile back.  That’s how we discovered Ritonka Chocolate from Austria.  I’m guessing the chocolate will only be available for a limited time due to world circumstances and while the ingredients aren’t “conscious” they are extraordinary.  The bars are beautiful and have unique garden based flavors and include many of our favorite flowers.  Rose, Marigold, Bee Balm, Cornflower and more.  We have dark, milk and white chocolate bars.  Honestly, I am not a fan of white chocolate, in general, it’s just too sweet.  Ritonka’s white chocolate bar is yummy!  It’s topped with lavender buds- it's not an overly floral, soapy taste but instead a delightful crunch. The dried black currents  give the bar a cool sour explosion in your mouth. 

We take time and care with our products but also with researching products made by other companies.  We love to discover new brands that are making  thoughtful decisions when creating.  It’s quite a bit of work because we have high standards and values.  We know you will enjoy this chocolate, it’s a perfect Easter or spring basket goody or just a treat for yourself. 

Let us know what you think about "conscious ingredients" or your favorite way to eat flowers. 

We are all glued to the news and wondering how Ukraine is faring.  The news is changing daily and I expect it to get worse before it gets better.  Any time there is a crisis in the world, Chef Jose Andres and World Central Kitchen is there.   Over 660,000 Ukrainians have fled since the attack began, with that number expected to rise dramatically. The journey is daunting, with many Ukrainian families traveling for days without food.  World Central Kitchen is serving hot food, feeding not just weary bodies but souls.  We’ve sent in a donation and you can too- here is the link
https://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraine

Of course, there are many other worthy organizations helping to ease the plight of these proud and fierce people.   NPR has put together a list-
https://www.npr.org/2022/02/25/1082992947/ukraine-support-help 

Another great place to check is local social media.  There was a big stuffed animal drive in my area as a Polish American with family ties near the border organized a way to give refugee children a bit of comfort. 

We feel at times that our small steps don’t make much of a difference but imagine the joy of a hot bowl of nourishing soup after an arduous journey or cuddling a stuffed animal while trying to sleep in a strange location.  We might not see or hear how our actions helped but we can know they did.

I’m an avid “stress stitcher”.  Working with thread and a needle is a way to calm anxiety and create something of value.  I’ve been inspired by Clare Hunter’s Threads of Life: A History of the World Through the Eye of a Needle.  Banners and buntings have been used to raise awareness and bring about change through many periods of history.  Both are easy to make. 

Bunting is one of my favorite ways to celebrate a season.  Quick and easy to put together its a great way to use up fabric scraps and is a sustainable way to decorate and avoid celebrating with a bunch of plastic.  Once a holiday is over, tuck the bunting away- if it’s been outside pop in the laundry first and you can use bunting for many years. 

Simple Steps to Make Bunting

-gather together all your materials including fabric, scissors, cardboard to make a template, needle and thread and ribbon or string.  You can sew bunting by hand or use a machine.  Making bunting is a great family/kid project and can be put together entirely by hand using the running stitch.  We have a blog tutorial all about the running stitch here-

https://www.dulseandrugosa.com/blogs/news/lets-get-mending-running-stitch-basics

-decide on the shape for your bunting.  Triangles are traditional but rectangles or squares can be easier to cut.   You can make single layer bunting but putting two pieces together- with the pretty side showing each way makes your bunting sturdier.  If using two layer stitch together.

-cut a length of ribbon, twine or material.  I’m working on using up my fabric scraps so I’ve been using lengths of fabric, folded with the wrong sides together as my twine.  This is also super easy to sew so it’s great for kids.  Place your bunting pieces on your fabric length and stick.  Again you can do by hand or machine. 

-You are done!  Hang and enjoy.

I made my banner using mostly scraps, the blue was from an old fitted sheet.  I did need to buy some yellow as that’s a color I didn’t have in my fabric stitch.  The blue goes on top representing wide skies and the yellow on the bottom for wheat fields.  I added appliquéd shapes- hearts and peace sign cut from bits of fabric.  I tend to trace shapes on scrap paper first and then use as a guide for fabric.  It’s also a good idea to baste the shapes to the banner before doing your permanent stitching.  Basting is a very loose running stitch and holds better than pins.  Hem around all the edges.  You can make a casing (a wide open at both ends hem) to insert a rod for hanging if you want.  I just used a few nails top and bottom to hang my banner.

It’s great to be inspired by the work and skills of others but don’t get intimidated. It’s ok to make mistakes or make something wonky.  One of my bunting strings is completely wonky, everything is off kilter.  Once I hang it up and it blows in the breeze no one will notice.

Seriously, not a big Valentine's Day fan.  Ten years ago, on a cold, snowy Feb 14th I signed the first of many divorce papers.  But something happened this year- perhaps its the almost 2 years of Covid craziness but I felt the need to send a bit of love out into the universe.

I decided to make my own Valentines.  I put on some music, found some old magazines, a glue stick and random bits of paper.  Just like a 12 year old working on a fun school project I had a blast.  

You don't have to make cards.  Buying cards from local artist is a great way to support talent.  There are so many cute small batch cards.

Of course, you don't need to make "Valentine" cards.  It's always appropriate to send a message of cheer to a family member or friend.  I love to send and receive mail.  It's so much fun to open your mail box and instead of a bill or letter from the IRS, there's a card from a friend.

XXOO

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For weeks Claire has been talking about making chicken wreaths.  We love our chickens and of course wanted to spread the holiday cheer...chicken style.  So I got out the sketch book and got drawing some chicken stencils.  Once we had one that worked for both standing and broody (nesting) chickens Carter started cutting out the chicken wire using my stencil.  The day before Carter had wander our back woods picking bags of different types of evergreen tips.  Around here in Downeast Maine "tipping" for wreaths is big business this time of year.  We see trucks full of tips driving to the wreath makers. 

We used the different types of needles to create our feather patterns and differentiate between body, wing, and tail.  After we wove in all our greenery came the fun part.  Using our sewing stash of ribbons and buttons we decorated our happy chickens.  Last we found little forked sticks to use for feet or created nests for the broody mamas using lichens and moss. Making chickens was way more fun then normal round wreaths, you get to give them personality and humor.