Photos from 4th Holiday Open House 2018

The 2018 Open House was a wild success. It was so much fun to meet so many new people and connect with friends I only see once in a while. We were busy both days and although the finishing touches weren't completely done on time (that is me - wait til the last minute) - it all worked out fine. I don't have a lot of photos of everyone's work --- I was so busy I forgot to take many at all and remembered in the evenings when everyone was gone. My friends Gail Callahan, Alicia Hunsicker and Deborah Garner added their distinct styles to the creative and colorful flavor of our home. 

This year I had help from my friends Kay and Alexxis at the check-out counter (no photos there either) and farm friends Jess and Emily helped me hang holiday decorations because I was so behind. Miraculously I got 2 loads of pottery fired before the Open House - even if the second load didn't get unloaded until Sunday morning. It has been a difficult year for me making with Mark's surgery and slow recovery but somehow I had plenty of things to sell. 

We had a lovely spread of food -- appetizers, cheese, lamb tagine, chocolates, veggies, coffee and drinks. This Apple Harvest Cake which Gail made was a huge hit. Follow this link for the Harvest Apple Cake recipe from my blog back in 2012 - it is delicious and very easy to make. I wish I had photos of the food table because it was so beautifully presented (thanks Alicia and Deborah). 

I will be doing a shop update this weekend with pottery, tea towels and books. If you would like to know when it goes live, please sign up for my Newsletter on the top right hand side of this blog. You will get immediate notice when work is available ON-LINE. It takes a crazy amount of time to photo and list all the work because each is different and needs multiple photos and descriptions. I wish I could pot and make the same thing over and over because it would make that part easier but that would not be interesting to me.

On top of it all, this week our sheep were shorn on Tuesday and Wednesday - hence the lateness of this review post. I'll share photos of that in a couple days.

Thanks to all who came out and thank you all for your support of my creative work, life and family. XO 

Here are some photos so you get a feeling for the 2018 Open House - our 4th. 

Some of my new tea towel designs that I will be listing this weekend. 

Julia's holiday emporium - pom poms and glitter ornaments

Crewel embroidery products for sale. 

Some of our little friends came and were loving the kittens. 

Cali and Bobby asleep on the radio. They were stars.

Some of my pottery that will be listed for sale this weekend.

Ruth - who had come to one of my Creative Retreats brought her finished pomegranate printed and embroidered fabric. So beautiful!

Janet (I think that is her name) sat with the kittens on her lap for at least an hour. She was in heaven.

Our newest litter of kittens resting up after all the holding and activity they got - 

Deborah's beautiful work on the porch - 

The dining room in the evening -

The dining room table full of my handmade pottery - 

The brass chandelier became a bird's nest via the artistry of my friends Jess and Emily