Bear Creek Felting

Teresa Perleberg lives in North Dakota and has her own flock of sheep. She uses their wool, dyes the colors she needs and also purchases or trades with other wool dealers when she needs other fibers. She mostly needle felts wild animals but also has an interest in farm animals and has a whimsical line of cute snowmen and other smiling critters. She has her work and kits available on Etsy and on her website.

Happy New Year 2013!

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2013!

From TAFA and Rayela Art.

Christmas Stars Treasury by Ariane Mariane

Wow!  Christmas already?  Ariane Mariane is getting the season going!  Click here or on the image above to to see the treasury live on Etsy.  Make sure to also visit Ariane's profile on TAFA:

Ariane Mariane

TAFA Team Gifts Under $10

Christmas Quilt Note Cards by Terry Aske

Want to give a little something to a creative person, but not spend too much?  Our TAFA Team members on Etsy have a great selection of affordable gift ideas and you can see all of them with a little searching.  When you go to the search bar on Etsy, type in TAFA and select "All Items".  Then sort the list by Lowest Price.  Wait!  You don't have to do it because I did it for you!  Click to visit the results.  At least now you know how to do it....  You can also add a keyword to TAFA and see what you get.  (ex:  TAFA green, TAFA red, TAFA scarf, etc.)  That way you can narrow down the search to something that might interest you.

But, back to the $10 and under gifts.  Quite a few on this list are supplies, which is great if you have an artsy fartsy person on your list.

The Rainbow Girl has some beautiful hand-dyed embroidery yarns for only $2.81:

Embroidery Yarn by the Rainbow Girl

Here are some other ideas:

Wattle Extract Natural Dye, TangledLair  $4.25

Crochet Applique Motif 

by Nothing But String, $5

Hand-dyed fat quarter by Studio Jules Art

PDF Knitting and Crochet Pattern 
by BernioliesDesigns

Hand Carved Textile Stamp by Oshiwa Designs

Mini Quilt Patches by 
Heather Lair Designs, $10 each

Handcarved Gemstone Beads by 
Afghan Tribal Arts, $3 each

All of those supplies can go in a bag by Sally Manke, only $9!

Quilted Snap Bag by Sally Manke

Just out of curiosity, I thought I would check out what the most expensive item is that we have listed on Etsy:

"Coral Sea", Art Quilt 
by Betty Busby, ONLY $3.500!

And, of course, Jane's specialty ribbons can be used for that final touch:

Organdy Ribbon by TangledLair, $5

Explore what we have and know that whatever you buy, you are supporting real people who love what they do and work very hard at bringing unique, interesting and important products to market, whether they are supplies or finished items, they are a small patch in our wonderful quilt of life.  

Visit all of our shops on Etsy by clicking on the links at the top of this blog, just under the banner.  You will find over 200 shops with gorgeous eye candy, all waiting for someone to take them home.

Happy Holidays to All!

TAFA Team Etsy Pick of the Week: Needle Felted Hearts by Green Baboon Designs

We're starting a new feature here on the TAFA Team Blog in order to highlight one of our talented TAFA members.  Every Thursday, we will post one item from a TAFA Team affiliated Etsy store. In choosing a Team member photo, we will be looking for beautiful, Etsy Front Page worthy photos.


The very first TAFA Team pick is by Green Baboon Designs from Portland, Oregon. 

Needle Felted Hearts by Green Baboon Designs

You can read more about her on the TAFA List or on her Etsy site.  You can also visit her blog, Homemade Serenity.  Happy Valentine's Day!


*Etsy Pick of the Week feature by Stacey Sharman from Peppermint Pinwheels.

Christmas longing from Israel to Mandawa

 A painted door at Desert Resort Mandawa

Women painting wall decorations 

in Desert Resort Mandawa

By Hagar Arnon Elbaz of Gilgulim

Here in Israel, we do not celebrate Christmas nor is it our vacation period. But growing up in Jerusalem (a ten minute drive from Bethlehem) made Christmas difficult to ignore. My German grandmother who immigrated to Israel on 1939 had school friends in Germany who used to send her Christmas cards and presents during this period of the year. The shiny cards scattered with gold and glittering with "diamonds" were given to me. I treasured these cards and was sure these were the most beautiful gifts in the entire world. Christmas was like a far away dream. 

Later on, my mother who was a Hebrew teacher was invited on Christmas Eve to the Finnish mission where two of her students served. Oh, this was an unforgettable evening. One should remember that Israel during the sixties of the last century was sort of a grayish place due to its poverty. Those fabulous green, red and gold colors at the mission were so bright and the choir sang as if coming straight from heaven.  We children could hardly breathe from amazement. When I grew up I came to know every church in the old Jerusalem and went to listen to the midnight mass.

 View of Mandawa palaces

For the last ten years I have gone to visit the neighboring Franciscan women's monastery situated on the hill opposite my house. The Mass is sung in Hebrew and Arabic as well as in all the languages spoken by the nuns who come from all over the world.

 Street Routine on Mandawa

But, last year I was in India.  It breaks my heart with longing to think about it, I miss India so much! On Christmas Eve we came back to Delhi from Mandawa.  I want to go back there so much and I will surely will!

 

Sewing class

This year we are going down to Eilat by the Red Sea. It has nothing to do with Christmas.  I am sure we will meet thousands of tourists who come to Eilat searching for sun in the middle of winter. I feel peculiar not being on the Franciscan monastery for one more Christmas Eve. I promise to send postcards from Eilat.

Mandawa

Desert resort

Eilat

Happy Hanukkah (Chanukah) from the Textile and Fiber Art List

Rachael's Star by Goosetrack Quilts

Hanukkah is a Jewish holiday celebrated for eight days and nights. It starts on the 25th of the Jewish month of Kislev, which coincides with late November-late December on the secular calendar.

Hanukkah Traditions

Every community has its unique Hanukkah traditions, but there are some traditions that are almost universally practiced. They are: lighting the hanukkiyah, spinning the dreidel and eating fried foods.

• Lighting the hanukkiyah: Every year it is customary to commemorate the miracle of the Hanukkah oil by lighting candles on a hanukkiyah. The hanukkiyah is lit every night for eight nights. Learn more about the hanukkiyah in the article, What Is a Hanukkiyah?
• Spinning the dreidel: A popular Hanukkah game is spinning the dreidel, which is a four-sided top with Hebrew letters written on each side. Read The Hanukkah Dreidel to learn more about the dreidel, the meaning of the letters and how to play the game. Gelt, which are chocolate coins covered with tin foil, are part of this game.
• Eating fried foods: Because Hanukkah celebrates the miracle of oil, it is traditional to eat fried foods such as latkes and sufganiyot during the holiday. Latkes are pancakes made out of potatoes and onions, which are fried in oil and then served with applesauce. Sufganiyot (singular: sufganiyah) are jelly-filled donuts that are fried and sometimes dusted with confectioners’ sugar before eating. Learn more about Hanukkah food traditions in the article, Hanukkah Food Traditions.

Read the full article and learn about Hanukkah here.

Hanukkah has eight days of gift giving.  Usually, you get one pricey gift and then the others are smaller, more like stocking stuffers.  TAFA can be your one stop shopping destination for Hanukkah gifts: we have both large and small.

You can explore the tabs at the top of this blog to visit our Catalog of Shops.  Or, you can also visit Etsy and see several pages of our TAFA members who have tagged their items with TAFA.  Click Here.  Right now we have 13 pages of eye candy!

While you shop, enjoy the good humor of Jon Stewart and Adam Sandler:

Happy Chanukah!!!