Berries

The summer is flying by with all the hectic activities on the go. There is a stream of endless tasks along with the major undertaking of building the shop and house. This morning while mowing the grass and organizing around the yard I picked a handful of stray raspberries at the fringe of our yard. I ended up getting a bit carried away. I went inside and got a small container to hold the berries that practically fell into my hands and before you know it I had to go in again to get a bigger container. In less than half an hour I had picked more than 6 cups full.

This year is definitely a “berry good” year. Lots of wild raspberries and there are loads of blueberries ready to pick in the field. The blackberries are just starting to ripen and it looks as though there will be buckets of them too.

Picking berries provides a brief repose from the hectic day. A chance to reminisce about summers as a child in the wilds of Alberta picking berries with my siblings. My mother made endless amounts of preserves from the wild berries we used to pick.  At that time an important part of my summer holidays was to pick wild Raspberries, Blueberries and Saskatoon’s. On our family outings picking berries both my sisters and I had to pick a small bucket full of berries before we were allowed to go play for the remainder of each picking day. After our buckets were filled we would explore the forests and fields. One of my favorite activities was to escape my sisters and scavenge the fallow fields for Indian arrowheads and other stone tooling. In the attic at my parents place is a box full of artifacts I found on some of these summer days gone by.

It is amazing when I reflect back at the amount of work my parents did to maintain our family. Picking all those berries and then preserving them in jams, juices and jellies. I will be putting these berries in the freezer, it’s so easy and Tracey loves to use them frozen for the Smoothies she makes every day. I will be definitely straying away from the regular work day to reminisce among the berries.

One size Organic Hemp Contour

It’s been some time making these one size Hemp contours. Many customers have been ordering them lately, so I’ve made a few small changes.

This is my first color collection and I wanted to start with the gender neutral.

Earthy, clean, simple colors came to mind.

These one size contours work with pins or a snappi.

$18.00 Each now for sale in my SHOP.

Organic Hemp/Cotton One Size Fitted Diaper

These fitted diapers are now ready to ship from my Esty shop.

 

Colored Snaps and matching thread.

This is our One size fitted “Certified” organic diaper.

Made with a layer of hemp terry and an inside layer of hemp fleece.
All our hemp is CERTIFIED organic.
Unbleached cotton elastic are sewn at the legs and back for a soft but snug fit.
2 layers of hemp terry is sewn inside this diaper.
This diaper comes with a snap in 3 layer doubler. This doubler is made with 2 layers hemp fleece and a hidden layer of hemp terry.

The snap in doubler is used when the diaper is at it’s highest rise.
When you fold this diaper front down for a smaller rise, used for newborns, you do not need the snap in doubler. This fitted diaper comes with an extra 2 layer liner. This liner is all you will need for the smallest setting. Providing a total of 6 hemp layers.

Once you are ready to use the snap in doubler and 2 layer liner, you will have a total of 9 hemp layers. This makes an extremely absorbent night time diaper for heavy wetters.

The diaper features high quality snaps with fold over wings.

All the materials that go into my products are carefully sourced for content, quality and ethics.
I design, cut and sew these diapers in my home studio using industrial machinery.

Why choose hemp as a cloth diaper:

Our Hemp requires no chemicals, pesticides or irrigation to grow. The plant does not deplete soils, instead it adds beneficial nitrogen and micro-nutrients. Inherent qualities of hemp fabric are it’s natural anti-microbial characteristics being very resistant to bacteria, mold, mildew and fungus. This quality helps to prevent and even eliminate diaper rashes on babies. Stress tests on hemp fiber have revealed that it is eight times stronger (tensile) and four times more durable than cotton. The unique structure of hemp fibers in fabric make it very absorbent yet breathable. All these natural and unique features inherent to hemp make for an ideal material for cloth diapers.

Spring is in the air

Officially spring is still a day or two away and even though winter once again tried unfurling its fury upon us last week  it has definitely lost its grip with  temperatures well above freezing the last couple days.

The snow is receding extremely fast and the Snow Drops (Galanthus) are peeking  up everywhere. The babbling sound of melt water running down the little streams can be heard throughout our woods while the Robins chatter and chase each other through the willows. It makes for an enjoyable walk with the kids down to the bus.

Silas enjoys his little excursions into the great outdoors with me and soaked up the warm sun this morning. He always  has a fitful sleep after being outside in the fresh air.

It may look and feel like spring but as we know from experience anything is possible and we may see some more snow and cold weather before it’s all over.

Organic Wool /Hemp Nursing pads gift set

Our Wool/Hemp fleece nursing pads are very popular and most new moms need care info for these due to the wool backing.

I  include care instruction for washing my wool products with every purchase of  wool diaper covers, puddle pads or wool backed nursing pads. After purchasing any of these items many buyers return to buy some wool wash and Lanolin.

Now you can get a complete nursing package in this Recycled Kraft box set.

WHAT’S INSIDE?

• 3 sets of wool/hemp fleece nursing pads.

• 1 tin of our silky Lanolin balm.

• Free Wool wash soap flakes.

Get more info on our gift box set in my Esty shop.

Makes a wonderful gift for your next baby shower.

Alchemists Kitchen

Some of the most exciting moments in our daily lives are those spent apprehensively waiting for packages to arrive in the mail. Everything we need comes by mail or in some instances courier, soap making essentials, wool or fabrics for Tracey’s work or many of the materials, supplies or tools I need.  Ordering and sourcing supplies has always been fun but when a tag shows up in the mailbox proclaiming a pending package our excitement peaks. Many times we will be expecting more than one package to arrive. In these instances it is always a guessing game which package it may be. We could of course follow the tracking number provided with most shipments but this would spoil the fun and excitement of a surprise, much like knowing the gender of your child before they are  born.

Today a box arrived with some basic raw materials for making our soaps and for my natural furniture finish. Once unpacked our kitchen turned into somewhat of an Alchemists workshop. Tracey scraping out remnants of lanolin into a beaker to melt. The scale comes out to weigh oils and other ingredients while tins are prepared for the finished product. In the meantime I’m weighing out ingredients of my own and heating them on the stove. As we create our mixtures we both indulge in the fragrances emanating from the natural raw materials spread out on the counter and table. It was the smell of the Carnauba Wax flakes that produced the overwhelming mmmm’s and yumm’s from us today.

Organic Wool Diaper Wraps

We have more Wool wraps in my Etsy shop. I love making these. Organic wool Melton on the outside with recycled wool on the inside. Fun wool felt silhouettes on the back, makes these so cute and unique.

Don’t miss out on a wool cover… but if you do, I can customize one for you. These come in the size 1 or size 2 cover.

A great fit, soft inside wool with amply snaps.