Mitts...

Dear Readers:

  My daughter Lalana and I were chatting to this lady selling at the North Milton Craft Fair, her passion was upcycling woolen sweaters and making mittens out of them. I loved the feel of the mittens and the fact that they were hand crafted and she used old sweaters that she had felted and sewn. Very cool.

  I thought that although I loved them....I already owned a pair of Hot Paw mittens from a few years ago. As someone who wants to live more simply....my question to myself was...Do I NEED these mittens? Answer...No. Next question....what can I do with the mittens that I now own to add some value and connection to me and my culture. So this is what I'm doing to make my mittens more relevant to me....I'm not finished yet....I want to add more designs and bells. I will update when I'm finished.

It just started to snow so I had better get going and finish these mittens:)

Look after one another.
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Minding Our Business:)

Dear Readers;

Selling a product that you believe in ..is cool. Being around others who have the same belief is even cooler:) People who spend time to make something that they believe in have all that quiet ..alone time to ponder life...so I recommend that everyone buy homemade goods and support your local artisans. Stop long enough to talk to them about the reasons why they make what they do. Try not to barter because I know here on Prince Edward Island...the artisans are not making a huge profit...for instance...I was admiring this beautiful Icelandic patterned hand knit mohair sweater and the seller was selling for a mere $50!!! I'm sure the materials cost that much.

People here in Canada are saying that the economy is just suffering a little downward dip....I think not...just ask the artisans. People aren't buying like they usually do. One gentleman who makes spoons...sold 1/4 of what he usually sells..in comparison to last year.

 Fortunately..when we decided to make soap and beauty products to finance Govindas Farm..it is proving to be a good idea because Om-Made Soap sells well regardless of what is happening in the financial market because we have items that are $2 for lipbalm or 3 bars of soap for $10. We keep our quality high and our prices low so that everyone can afford a $4 bar of soap....thus keeping small qualities of money trickling in.

 With some of yesterdays profits we took one more step forward to simple living and bought a second hand spinning wheel!

  Here are some pics of yesterday in Charlottetown. The houses and Cathedral have some interesting pattern language. A few pics of "grafitti" and things that I bought at the Craft fair:) oooo ..also updated pictures of the wool necklace that I made a few days ago and the head "thingy" that I knit.....I transformed them by dying them with beets from the garden! A very nice lady made the felted marino wool blue flower brooch. I was having a crazy...dead hair day so I wore my funky hat thingy and Lalana just pinned the blue flower to it:)

Take care of one another
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal

Baby It's Cold Out There.

Dear Readers;

  Joke...the definition of "stalking" is.....When two people go for a long romantic walk together...and...only one of them knows about it:)

  So after going for our japa walk...collecting..birch bark...picking various dried berries...fixing the fence...watering the cows...digging up carrots and beets for lunch...when I got into the house ..all I could say is..."Baby...it's cold out there!" That North wind is c..c..c...COLD!

Of course being on the farm there is still loads of things to do. Today I seriously have to finish washing the alpaca fleece...and drying it over the stove. I also picked some willow branches because I am trying to make cordage for my necklaces.

Washing the fleece in our Om-Made coconut oil laundry soap.

Now to dry it over the wood stove..then card..spin and knit:)

Who needs a loom..when we have feet;)

Tada...it's soft..feels good and smells like Lavender:)

Part of human nature is to decorate the body. Of course I have gold and silver jewellery and lots of costume pieces but my goal is to decorate my body with natural ..organic materials that I can find on this farm or on the beach. I made this shell necklace last night with..a shell(duh)..and braided wool. Then I found a "cotton plant" in the bog..placed it into the shell and added a few drops of essential oil. I'm wearing it now and...I like it...feels good. Next I am making myself some earrings...with what ...that is still a mystery even to me....but I will post pictures:) What about guinea fowl feathers?...To tribal?...To hippie?hmmmmm....We are a cow culture....so I'll see what I can find out here. Ooooooo....rolled cow dung pellets as beads?..hmmmmm?
Anyways take care,
Hare Krsna.
Kokum Lal