Last month I taught a workshop at Kripalu, which I feel blessed to have near-by.  This was the view overlooking Lake Mahkeenac (we always called it The Stockbridge Bowl growing up but I prefer to use its native name – so much prettier!)  Living in this place is quite magical – surrounded by so much natural beauty.  Since I gave up my car I realize what a luxury it is to have time to spend outdoors in nature.  Most urban dwellers have to make a big effort to get off the pavement and onto soft ground.

Working here has many rewards too – while my work keeps me indoors most of the time, I love what I do and am excited with the consistently exuberant response to my workshops.  I have posted my 2010 workshop schedule on my site calendar.  To make it easier at a glance click here for the full year on a page.

Workshops are $150 per day, at the end of which, students have a completed product and the skill to make more!  Days begin at 11am and finish at 5pm and include the use of all tools and materials as well as a healthy lunch.

In addition to the scheduled workshops – held in my studio in Pittsfield, MA, I am available to come to you to teach.  For this my fee is $1500 per day plus travel expenses.  Your group can be up to 10 students and subject matter can be individualized for the setting and group.  Please email me to discuss your interests.

Gift Certificates are available for giving – you can buy them from my shop.

Since my book, The Sweater Chop Shop, was released in August, and all manner of crafty people have been inspired to make with sweaters I have been working on the next big thing.  As any of you who have been scouring your local thrift shops know, wool sweaters are not that easy to find.  While the studio here is still chock full of nearly 10,000lbs of wool, I am inspired to make with t-shirts.  Here is the FIRST shirt I made – The Dickies Theme will be appreciated most by my Kripalu workshop students.  We all got belly laughing about dickies and now here the theme chases us!  Funny thing is that I didn’t even dig deep into the pile to find the emblem – sitting right on top begging to be incorporated!

You can see this one and a few others of my brand new offerings along with the tried and true favs this weekend at Twist in Northampton.  Check this link for directions and hours.  Last year it was a bunch of fun – party atmosphere with a room full of mostly young talented creators.

Stacked wool scraps for flowers in preparation for a filling a big order for a Bar Mitzvah floral table arrangements.

My life has been even busier than usual for the last month or so – In order to prioritize things I will list them here.  Maybe this will help me move through the list effectively diminishing the sense of overwhelm I am feeling.

- Handmade Holiday Festival planning and preparations, 40 vendors (we have a few spaces left for our areas premium, most creative makers – spread the word.)  Christmas trees, cookies and outstanding chocolates to hoola hoops, jewelry, pottery, hand-screened calendars, recycled wool of my creation and lots more.

- Nudging (I feels more like pushing uphill today!) forward motion with our HUGE renovation of the church that houses my studio and Urban Farmhouse next door (former rectory).  Learn more at AlchemyInitiative.org

- Taught off site workshop at Kripalu Yoga Center, Lenox, MA – that was a PLEASURE!  A vacation while working, took me away from my routine (that I love) for four days.  I’d do it again in a heartbeat and have since been invited to teach in CA and NC!

- Marketing my newly released book The Sweater Chop Shop,  Book signing events planned for January in Vermont and Great Barrington MA.  Check my calendar for all the deets and come see me if you can!

- Making product to sell at three fabulous retail venues in the next three weeks – YIKES!  Thankfully I have the best of the best helping get this going on!  I’ll post pictures of our tight knit crew of mischief and recycled wool makers soon.

Here are the places I will be selling:

Live and Let’s Give this weekend at The Lichtenstein Center for The Arts, Pittsfield, MA

Twist Fair November 13 and 14 at The Northampton Center for The Arts

Handmade Holiday Festival – December 4, 5, and 6^th at Alchemy Initiative (our Church) Pittsfield, MA

- Cleaning out the studio and garage to continue the path toward less stuff, more space, better organization

- Parenting my three kids and being a good wife to my good hubs – that is really what I love the best!  I am absolutely BLESSED with a truly LOVING family all around.

- Living without a car – this decision helps me feel like I am part of the solution rather than the problem but it does mean that errands take a little longer and time is such a hot commodity for me.  Not hot enough to get a car however.

- Shipping calendars and running The Dolphin Studio with my sister as my parents pass the baton that is in Stockbridge, MA which is a 12 mile drive (if you have a car).

- Supporting my 81-year-old dad by taking him to his Doctors’ appointments as he deals with the spread of prostate cancer to his bones and beyond.  Wouldn’t be so hard if he wasn’t such a great friend.

- Trying to figure out where we can conjure up money to pay all the bills for this amazing property we own and the renovation underway

- Working on marketing my workshops better to fill them for 2010 – you can buy gift certificates for all your holiday gifts!  There is a post on this subject exclusively in the works.

- Moved screen printing shop into my studio in preparation for the 2011 Dolphin Studio Calendar production.

- Leading the forward motion of Alchemy Initiative with the best group of Initiators ever.  Being part of that group of five is empowering to us all.   It is a huge relief to be working on this giant project with partners in mischief – high-jinx guaranteed!

- Sitting on The Board of Directors at The Berkshire Coop Market and The Artscape Committee (that places public art in the city of Pitty)

So now I realize why I am feeling overwhelmed.

Not a lot of time for posting here – this process has been helpful though, so I think you will see more new entries soon.  If not you’ll understand why.

Storey Publishing sponsored my participation in the hands-on workshop held at the Williamstown Elementary School yesterday.  It was a great day, well planned with the focus around the international day of climate action.  We made the banner above, the number is significant – you can learn all about it at 350.org.  Many parents and children contributed to the LOVELY outcome.

If I had to choose one thing that I had to do everyday for the rest of my life it would be to make blankets.  As fast as I can post them they are selling which is GREAT!  Thanks to all the kind people who are buying them!  In the meantime I am working hard to get some stock made for three selling events coming soon!

First I will be a part of Live and Let’s Give on November 6-8 at the Litchenstein Center for the Arts in the heart of Pittsfield.  This first time event is curated by my friend and fabulous potter Michele O’Hana of Ha’Penny Design.  30 of the area’s best crafters will gather to sell.  Proceeds will benefit Charley’s Fund.

The very next weekend I will be selling at Twist in Northampton Friday evening from 6-9pm and then all day on Saturday November 14th from 10-6pm.  I participated last year and it was a lot of fun and great sales were made by all!

December 4, 5, and 6th we will be hosting our annual Handmade Holiday Festival at Alchemy Initiative.  This year we will have 40 vendors and use both floors of the church for selling.  A great group of sellers is forming!

Hope to see you out there at one of these events and look forward to staying in touch!

Rorey Stella Morningside

The story continues – You can learn all about the Morningside Family with a daily update here.  As my Ragamuffins come to life their history is unfolding – documented for the first time in history.  Learn more with every Ragamuffin posted in my online shop.  Fun and funny!

There is a new batch of Ragamuffins coming into the world.  There is a family history story coming along with them that you can follow with each listing in my online shop. These little ones are CUTE and really fun to make.  Writing the story makes it all the more entertaining for me – and I hope for you too!  Ragamuffin Tails is the new Guiding Light!

Maude Morningside

As of today there are openings all three days of the scarf and blanket making workshop scheduled for October 3, 4, and 5th.  (Class size is limited to 10 people for this one, teaching how to turn cast-off sweaters into lovely handmade scarves and/or blankets.)

Come learn the hand sewing techniques used to construct a scarf (in one day) or blanket if you attend for two or three days.  (Of course you could make two or three scarves (or maybe even 4 or 5 if you are QUICK) if you so choose in two or three days!)

Taking this class will teach you the skills needed to make gifts for all the most important people on  your holiday gift giving list, all, while recycling discarded wool sweaters.  Make the gifts especially meaningful by using out-grown or otherwise cast away sweaters that have a connection to you or your loved ones.

Workshops are $150 per day – that includes the use of all tools and materials as well as a tastey lunch.  Each workshop day begins at 10 am and finishes by 4:30pm.  Students are welcome to attend for one, two, or all three days of the class.  More time allows for more indepth learning and project completion.  Each attendee will finish a project to take home in class.

Feel free to call or email any questions you might have to me at crispinaffrench@gmail.com or 413-236-9600.  Cheers to recycling!

I am walking miles everyday and thoroughly enjoying it, as week two of being a one-car family comes to a close.  On Tuesday we saw a Palliated Woodpecker fly right across our path on the morning journey to the babysitter.  On Wednesday Lucy told me that walking is ’so much more fun than driving in a car’.  Everyday I notice traces of nature and more miles of uninterrupted asphalt in our fair city.  I heard a statistic a while back that 86% of the downtown square mile of Pittsfield is covered in impermeable surfaces – leading to all sorts of drainage issues in the city’s low spots.  That number makes me think I must be remembering it incorrectly – maybe it is 68%?  Either way it is daunting!  Water drainage and plants, greenspace and trees wherever possible nurture me, my community and our planet.  My husband and I own a parking lot that stretches from our church foundation walls without break (accepting a few ever-widening potholes) right up to the adjacent property walls without so much as a blade of grass poking through.  Here is my answer to the lack of plant growth.  Next summer one might see these sprouting up all over the city.  Let’s Hope – please contact me if you are local and have a claw foot tub/s looking for interesting reuse!