Layering tanks over dresses (or skirts over dresses, or short dresses over long dresses, or maybe just about mixing tights with sandals with a shawl, or any other slapdash outfit hodgepodge mishmash)…
I’m all for it. (Especially with a newly thrifted top and boots!)
Good, I’m glad we had this little talk.
Now doesn’t everyone feel better?
As I have briefly mentioned before, Mycelia and I have been taking fiddle lessons for a while now. My fine fiddlin’ friend Artemas Rex (who you may remember from here and here) recently took me to a hidden little luthier’s shop aways outside of town called Wolf Note Studio. Owned and operated by local musician Luke Wilson, it is located in a small building right next to the house he shares with his wife and long time band mate Maggie McKaig.
I was completely mesmerized by the beautiful instruments, fine craftsmanship, and rusty history the place evoked. Last week Luke and his partner Jon allowed me to come back, take photographs, and ask them some questions.
One question you may have is “what is a luthier?” Unless you play a stringed instrument you may have never heard the word. I first came across the term in a fiddle book (okay, I admit it, it was The Total Idiot’s Guide to Playing the Fiddle) only days before Artemas mentioned the shop to me. Upon reading about what a luthier does, I was aching to meet one in person and see what wonders such a shop would hold. So I was thrilled when Artemas told me Luke was a good friend of his and that he had set up a time for us to go out there.
A luthier is, quite simply, someone who makes and/or repairs stringed instruments. As you might guess, this is a whole subculture within itself, steeped in intricate handiwork, fascinating folklore, and a deep love of music.
On Monday I am going to have a really neat historical musical post full of ghosts and strings and old woodwork to share with you. For now, more dresses and trees and daily life…
Yesterday was the Easter celebration and egg hunt at Garden Fairies Preschool. Teacher Jacquie sprouts wheatgrass in their baskets (okay she was a little late this year and it hadn’t sprouted yet, but it will by the time the actual Easter day rolls around!) and the parents all bring naturally dyed eggs. My friends Jen’s were so awesome- she wrapped tulle and netting around them and dyed them in turmeric water (beets and cabbage are also great plant based dyes).
On a mission!
God bless Graham. Who got Mycelia up and ready for school that morning and remembered this dress that I thrifted for Easter back in the fall. (Look how well her cuts have healed. They’re practically non-existent today. Kids’ bodies are so amazing!)
Nesha knows that sharing is caring.
In fact all the kids did a great job of filling the baskets of those who hadn’t found a lot.
Sweet baby Sriya! And Jacquie’s fantastical and extensive garden taking shape back there.
Goody bags, balloons, and a potluck. Happy, silly kids.
More specifically, the way that some of the hours have been spent in the few days since I returned from one of the funnest nights ever.
New lovelies for the shop! Guatemalan dress, peasant tops, amazing kimonos, black lace bell sleeves, a dirndl skirt, and the sweetest li’l Gunne you ever did see (to name but a few).
I rotated myself 180 degrees from photographing the clothes on the bed and snapped the contents of a special package received in the mail that day- Alela sent us her new album, Alela Diane & Wild Divine, on vinyl! We just got our record player up and working, and it is so much fun to listen to my parents’ old record collection and now this very new recording too! It is lovely and Alela is lovely and good friends who make good music are so very lovely to have.
I thrifted this dress for Mycie the other day. Total springtime farm girl hand made country dress. She loves it.
I thrifted this pink dress on the same day, and haven’t taken it off since. The gray sweater and perfect little bag came from Heather. On our mini road trip this weekend (see 1st paragraph) she gave both Missa and I a gift package. A *themed* gift package. My theme was Wildflower Hills, reminiscent of “the pinks and grays and purples of a springtime twilight in the Sierras surrounded by poppies and lupines”. How totally sweet is that? I think I did that vision justice with this outfit.
