Wool Gathering

At Motherhouse's third annual Wool Gathering yesterday, participants learned the basics of working with wool - carding, spinning, knitting, crocheting, felting... even making your own knitting needles. We also enjoyed a potluck lunch which included lamb stew, sheep's milk yogurt, and cake and cookies shaped like sheep! Discount prices on all Merino wool fleece-wear at Motherhouse Market were available.

The Wool Gathering is one of Motherhouse's series of Old Style Life Skills Workshops, which are family events and focus on the mainstays of country living while promoting rural wisdom, sustainable agriculture, self-reliance and neighborly inter-dependence.




To make knitting needles, each of us began by cutting a wooden dowel into two equal pieces, about a foot long. We then sharpened one end of each piece, using a pencil sharpener, sanded them until they were smooth, waxed them... and picked out colorful tops for them.


Carding separates and straightens the wool fibers so that it is ready for spinning. Harry is using hand carders here.



You don't need a wheel to spin wool! In fact, spinning was done with simple tools for thousands of years. The thread was drawn out of a bundle of fibers and twisted between the palm of the hand and thigh of the leg. The length of the spun or twisted fibers was wound onto a short, straight stick. The process was then repeated. The hand spindle developed from the short straight stick. Over time the stick was notched to hold the thread and a weight was added to give momentum to the stick as it whirled. The weight, known as a "whorl" was made of clay, a round piece of wood, or a flat rock. Thus was born the hand spindle or drop spindle. In the photo above, my daughter Cordelia is using a hand spindle she made at school and brought to the Wool Gathering.


Janet Lynn from The Wheel Thing was on hand to help interested participants learn how to spin.







Dody Clarke-Wolfe, on the right in the group photo above, has found that the best way to teach someone how to crochet is to start them off without using a needle. Here a participant is finger crocheting.


A one-of-a-kind hand made, by Dody Clarke-Wolfe, hat with a lizard, bones, and feathers!





Rhonda Jaacks, on the left with turquoise yarn wrapped around her knees in the top photo, had a knitting circle and taught us how to knit or make a cable! Notice the painting above the knitting circle.





Felting is fun! Debra Tyler, on the left in a dark red jacket in the top photo, and her daughter Margaret showed us how! We started with roving, washed and carded wool, and formed it into a ball or around a piece of soap. We then dunked it into warm soapy water. (The warm soapy water makes the wool slippery, and causes tiny scales on the fiber to swell. The scales rub against each other and bind together, with agitation and water. When cooled and dried, the scales close and lock the wool into a matted material or felt.) After dunking and working and smoothing the ball for awhile, we dunked it into cool water in another bin and then set it out to dry. Above are photos of felting underway and also of Margaret's felted soap.



And while all of this was going on, a baby took a nap...

Market-Making Mondays

Q: What do drip less hand-dipped candles, market bags, jersey milk soap, silk screened greeting cards and hexagonal books about beekeeping have in common???
A: They were all made, printed, wrapped, and/or bound during one of Motherhouse's latest programs; Market-Making Mondays!


Every Monday starting around 10:30 am, Debra and up to five helpers are busy producing products for our on-line store; Motherhouse Market. Last Monday, Margaret helped dip candles.


We started with a load of dripless candle stubs from the UCC - Cornwall, melted them down, strained out the old wicks, added a bit of coloring, started dipping and...


VOILA!! Beautiful 10" X 3/4"" candles -- soon to be available through Motherhouse Market for $10/pair.

Wooden tool-box kits, calendula salve, sewn covered-dish carriers, aprons, tea cozies, hand-bound "Passages" books and hand woven baling twine sashes are on the list of things to do. Are you interested in learning how? Contact Debra to find out when and sign up!

Swinging at the Contra Dance

If you missed last Saturday's contra dance, there's still time to catch one:
Saturday, April 5, Oct. 4, Nov. 1, Dec. 6, 2008 7:00 - 9:30 pm
at the Cornwall, CT Town Hall (24 Pine Street) Suggested Donation: $5/adult, $3/child
for more information write Debra@Motherhouse.us or call Rachel Gall (860) 672-6328

Another Motherhouse event providing place, support, and time for mothers by promoting thriving families and vibrant communities.

Mother Son Day

Because of snow, the February Mother Son Day was postponed until March 1... ANOTHER snowy day! Two courageous moms brought their sons out anyway and we had a delightful day!

Woodmistress at Home

Set in a copse of trees, a few hundred feet off the main road, stands the small, unassuming home of Jean Boutillier. Built in the 1700's, this lovely old house was purchased by Jean's grandfather in 1910, and has stayed in the family ever since. It's easy to see where it has settled into the ground and become a part of the landscape. In Jean's eyes, the settling is not always a good sign because it means another inch or two of "internal leanings", a few more crooked floors and windows that don't fit properly. To the untrained eye, the house is adorable, full of character and ancient whispers of long gone souls still clinging to their home. For Jean, the house is letting go of more and more original rafters and beams, all made out of either chestnut or oak. Under the floor boards are more floors, and then more floors on top of the older ones.

As Jean replaces an original rafter or beam in the attic, the slow, delicate growth of a piece of sculpture, a carved wall hanging, or any number of beautifully turned items like candle holders and vases takes hold in her mind. Using a lovely piece of walnut, Jean carves out an image that seems to have grown out of the wood's natural grain, but then takes on a life of its own with twisting tree shapes and female forms climbing upwards, carved braids hanging down their backs, and long arms reaching towards the sky. Using original parts of the old home that have lost their function in one way, means they live on in another, and the house is less likely to fall down around them. In Jean's case, the balancing act between the artist and the carpenter is perfected.

The art that Jean makes from the wooden remnants of her old home would be enough to single her out as unique. But, unbeknownst to this writer until I met Jean in her home, is the fact that she is a master furniture builder. No little doll's chests or uneven rickety chairs are these, but rather incredible reproduction furniture. A storage bench that has been on display at the Litchfield Historical Society, took my breath away. Designed and made by Jean, the bench includes butternut back slats, maple seat, walnut frame and beautifully carved feet. The list of her accomplishments and shows, including The Philadelphia Furnishings Show and the Wharton Eserick Museum, and Niche Magazine for Progressive Retailers, are many. As well as doing custom work for people, Jean does antique furniture repair.

It's not often that one finds someone literally in their own backyard who is doing such amazing work. It was truly a magical morning to discover Jean Boutieller in her little house in the woods in Cornwall, Ct.
Jane Bean
Feb. 2008

You can purchase one of Jean's chestnut candleholders, made from wood reclaimed from her family's historic home, at motherhousemarket.com

Bee-Ginning with Bees

On the second Saturday of every month, Motherhouse offers workshops focused on the mainstays of country living. a.k.a. Old Style Life Skills. Here's one participant's description of our February Bee Keeping workshop:

Phil and I helped our farmer friend, Deb Tyler, of Local Farm in Cornwall Bridge, CT with her Bee-ginning With Bees workshop this past Saturday, February 9, 2008.

Bee-ginning With Bees is one of Deb's Old Style Life Skills workshops that she does every second Saturday of the month.

This workshop was taught by Mark Moorman of Sprain Brook Apiary in Woodbury, CT and the workshop took place at the UCC Parish House in Cornwall Bridge. As you can see, I took some pictures of this workshop and even figured out how to display them here.

The first picture is of an actual hive that was overwintering. Mark took out one of the wood slots in the middle (don't know the proper term) and showed us that the bees had formed a ball in the middle of the hive to keep warm. Unfortunately, they didn't survive.

Deb hauled out two big boxes containing a hive kit and equipment for beekeeping. Mark and a young workshop participant are taking out all the various parts.










And here's the kit all put together including three smokers and a hat, the guy in the back, Norm, is looking at the gloves that also came with the kit.










Here Mark is showing how to get a smoker going. He used strips of cardboard rolled up and the end set alight then dropped in the smoker.















Phil's first puffs from the smoker.




















After we came back inside, Mark showed us how you start a hive. That box would contain the worker bees and the can at the top allows you to take out the little box with the queen and put her in the hive first while holding the other bees in the box. Then once the queen is settled, you can let the other bees in the hive.
















After lunch, Deb was ready to show folks how to make candles with bees wax. It took a lot of patience and dipping to create candles.









Stay tuned for our March 8 OSLSS workshop: a Wool Gathering where area "spin-sters" will demonstrate carding, spinning, knitting, crocheting, weaving, and felting with wool. Meet a sheep. Make your own knitting needles and try your hand at these soothing traditional arts. Join others in a pot-luck luck lunch. $35/family. For more information or to register contact debra@motherhouse.us.

Herbal Potions: Unguents, and lotions, and salve, oh my!

By: Jane Bean

Fascinating mysteries start to unfold as Herbalist Jean Pollock, of New Marlboro, MA introduced us to some of her wonderful herbal beauty products, bath oils, massage oils, and health treatments from her company called Mystical Rose Herbals. Jean's devotion to her products was clear as she poured us a cup of her delicious herbal tea. The tea, called Berkshire Meadows Tea, is made from exotic sounding herbs like chamomile, hyssop, and calendula. The color is rich and the smell pungent. Adding a touch of your own sweetener is not necessary, but brings out the rich earthiness of the herbs, and warms one's body and soul with each sip. Known as Family Health Tea, it's full of vitamins and anti-oxidants, and even though Jean is not allowed to make a claim that any of her products will heal an illness or cure any medical condition, just drinking this tea seems to define "healthy".

Although you might think that the herbal potions Jean makes are steeped in mystery, with tinctures of this and oil of that, the simplicity of her products is what makes them so desirable. A salve, which is a thickened oil-based lotion, is really made from three things: olive oil, beeswax, and herbs. The herbs can be fresh or dried, but the drying process does bring out some of the stronger elements of the herb.

"In a pinch," says Jean, "you can use fresh herbs tonight to make into a salve tomorrow." Sometimes, a fresh herb like jewel weed or burdock, can actually be more potent than their dried version.

Different herbs have specific uses, while some, like Calendula, are an all-purpose herb. Some of the uses for a Calendula salve would be to treat insect bites, diaper rash, or a variety of itches. Most of the herbs are picked during the warm, dry part of a summer day, and then dried by hanging them upside down, out of the sun, so the natural oils can retreat back into the plant. After a few weeks, at the most, the herbs will be dried and ready to use. To make a salve,
the herbs, complete with leaves, stems and flowers, are placed in a clean, glass jar with a tight fitting lid, olive oil is poured over them, and the lid put on tightly. Let this infusion sit in the sun (outdoors is best so it can cool at night and warm during the day) for about two weeks. If using dried herbs the concoction can be occasionally gently shaken. If using fresh herbs, shake every day to prevent to top layer of herbs from drying out and potentially developing mildew. After two weeks, strain the oil off the herbs, squeezing the herbs well as you do so, and put into a clean jar. In a water bath, heat the oil and add beeswax to it until it melts - generally speaking the recipe is: 2 oz. herbs - 2 cups of oil - 1 oz. beeswax. Stir the warm oil as the beeswax melts. Then, before it cools, pour the oil into containers and label then immediately. You can extend the shelf life of the salve by refrigerating (or even freezing) it. The beeswax causes the salve to thicken and become firm and stiffer than just oil, but when rubbed into the skin it warms and penetrates and won’t leave an oily residue. The reason for using olive oil? It's compatible with your skin, and will penetrate into the deeper layers to provide the treatment you're seeking. Petroleum based oils will just lay on the top of your skin, providing little long term relief. A word of caution from Jean: Cleanliness is vital - make sure all the jars and containers you use are very clean, as are any strainers, spoons, etc.

The study of herbs and their usage is not for the dilettante. Herbs have been used for thousands of years to cure illnesses and soothe skin irritations; to nourish the body inside and out. Listening to, and watching, Jean Pollock as she worked her magic with herbs, one begins to understand that her devotion to herbs and their uses doesn't stop when she leaves the garden or her "office". Family, faith, and good health are all woven together in her work and life, and ultimately in the products she produces. Too numerous to mention, a list of ailments, and the herbs used to help alleviate them, are listed and discussed in great detail in Jean's catalogue. Those of us who were able to participate in the workshop with Jean will well remember the sun streaming through the window as it warmed the lovely Calendula salve we made that day. For a few hours we were taken into a world where our senses were treated with new tastes and smells and textures, and our lives were made a little richer.

A catalogue for all the products made by Jean and her Mystical Rose Herbals, can be obtained by writing to her at:
Mystical Rose Herbals
15 NM Sandisfield Road
New Marlboro, Massachusetts 01230
1-413-229-8057
www.mysticalroseherbals.com