New Moon Balloon Lanterns

In honor of Dwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, we made lanterns of wool...

carding it so the fibers lay evenly... 

then felting it around balloons with bits of wool yarn.

 When they were nice and dry,

we popped the balloons, trimmed the openings,

and set a tea candle inside...

May your warm inner light shine throughout the dark of winter!
Click for the link we followed...

Swept Away

Inspired by last month's Dwali celebration...

  we decorated new brooms

 to help keep our homes and our heart(h)s clear.

It was so much fun that we brought out Debra's collection of broom handles 

 

and painted up several sets of lemme sticks too!

This Little Light of Mine...

Coming into the darkest time of year, it seem only right to prepare by hand dipping beeswax Hanukkah/Solstice/Christmas candles. Warm, glowing, honey-gold, sweet smelling remembrance of summertime sunny days, working with beeswax is a light-giving miracle before one lights the tapers!

SOUND Asleep

Rachel continues with her goal of softening the sounds in her living room... this time by making a fabric window curtain.

Darwin modeled rest and relaxation.

Margaret creates a backing for her beadwork while helping Jean and Debra

write the collophon for their Dave's Words book

and then helped Darwin get ready for the night's contra dance!
This is the new moon of Kislev the ninth month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year. In New England, this new moon will wax into the Beaver or Frosty Moon. It is a time when beavers (and all rodents) are very actively preparing for winter.

Berry Nice!

Rachel and Darwin met us at their home for the November New Moon. It was an unseasonably warm and golden day.








After lunch, Rachel gave us each a dreydl she had made and boxed with the origami boxes made during the July New Moon. Also, folded in the boxes were accordion books telling about the dreydls and how to use them.








Then Debra and Jean watched...











Darwin...












and Rachel...











dig holes...




to plant BLUEBERRY bushes!