So Much To Say...

Dear Friends of Earnie, Ellie & Myrtle Efforts -

Wow, do we have a lot to share with you.  I suppose if I were to share more often there wouldn't be such a large collection to share in one post.  When I let myself get overwhelmed my Mom always tells me this - "don't try to eat the entire elephant at once, just take small bites at a time".  Beautiful advice for a vegetarian, but I digress.  Let's begin with the most recent news...

We have always had a list of all the retail shops who carry our wood baby rattles on our website, but it was a three page list, alphabetized by shop name, and I never thought of it as very customer friendly.  Of course, during a rarely indulged caffeine induced moment of inspiration, I decided this weekend that I absolutely had to rectify this problem immediately.  I found a fabulous site Pinmaps where I could pin (with little tree pins) all the shops who carry our rattles all around the world and got busy.  Now customers who come to our website can easily find a small local shop who carries our rattles!  Check it out if you like.

Next on the list, now with a very large check mark, was a project that had to sit patiently (maybe 25 years) while Earnie collected salvaged materials to finish the job.  Finally it began, the last of the materials salvaged and a little cash saved to buy the lumber for the structural element and Earnie was able to complete his vision to enclose the loft in the barn which is attached to the Sawdust Cathedral.  All of the windows were salvaged from remodels; often more than once.  The 6-pane windows originally came from the old VA Hospital in Roseburg (35 miles from where we live) and were a part of our living room for about 18 years.  When we replaced those windows with thermo-pane (nice and toasty in the winter) they were saved for this barn project.  The siding is asphalt shingles left over from multiple roofing projects from all over Oregon and all the trim was salvaged from here, there and everywhere.  Oh, and the colorful glass circles at the very top - those are old train crossing light covers.  Earnie never ceases to amaze me!!!

I've been handknitting and felting my wool & mohair hats for over 17 years now and I finally decided that the time had come to grab hold of those customers who love my hats but are knitters themselves and not going to buy a hat they can make.  My dear friend Felice has one of the top 50 shops on Etsy NicholasandFelice and a booth at the Eugene Saturday Market where we met about 17 years ago.  She is the one who turned me on to Ravelry, which is an online knitting & crocheting community.  Wowzza - I have to limit my time on this site.  This is where I found the pattern for my Owls sweater and my inspiration to finally tweak my hat pattern, create a color chart and put it out there for knitters to enjoy.  You can click on my hat, above, to take you to the pattern.  

We proudly have another new shop in Australia!!!  We love people from all around the world, but we have to admit that the Australians have won our hearts with their joyful spirits and delightful enthusiasm for our work!!!  (We realize we can't stereotype a people - we're just saying...).  And we have enjoyed chatting with Mirakye, who owns Epoche and describes her shop with these words...

Located in the heart of the Dandenong Ranges, in Kallista, overlooking Sherbrooke Forest.
Epoche is for the child at heart in everyone and is filled with beauty, spirit and wonder.
Our exclusive range expresses an innate reverence for children and the natural environment. We offer a discerning choice of finest quality natural products that nourish the whole child and nurture creativity.
We are dedicated to the provision of merchandise made from safe, non-toxic natural materials that have minimal impact on the environment.
Epoche is a Steiner-inspired gift store that specialises in:

• traditional wooden and natural fibre toys
• beautiful children's books
• anthroposophical and inspirational texts
• handmade dolls and felted gifts
• premium art and craft supplies
• organic cotton and 100% wool clothing

We are delighted to announce that their first order of our wood baby rattles are starting their long journey from up above to down under this morning and should be ready for the Kallista community to enjoy in the next couple of weeks. 

Hold tight - two more announcements...

We were recently approached by a couple more online sites wanting to include us in their listings.

Fab Oregon has the most enthusiastic and wonderful mission -

FAB OREGON is a social enterprise company with a mission to increase awareness of, and demand for, products made in Oregon; to boost Oregon manufacturers, craftspeople, and artisans; to grow Oregon jobs; and to increase Oregon’s gross state product.  Call us dreamers if you like, but we envision an Oregon with a diverse and vital economy worthy of its fabulous mountains, forests, coastline, wildlife, and people, and we think it’s doable. 

Visit their site to read more & explore the amazing work that is produced in Oregon. 



Cottage Life is the other site that found us on Etsy and included one of our boxes in an article suggesting Valentine's Gifts for Cottagers.  We didn't reply to their message quick enough to have a picture of the box included, but nearly 90 people visited our shop from this page.  Not bad for a little box!

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I think that about covers it for our latest news.  Life is amazing and we are grateful every day to all of you for helping us live our dream.  May peace and joy fill your hearts and remember to...

Take care, be good & kind, and don't forget to laugh,

Ellie Efforts (aka Heather)

Ellie & The Owl Sweater

Dear Friends of Earnest Efforts -

Ellie in the Owl Sweater

Close up of owls & antique buttons for eyes

Backside

This may or may not be off topic, but I just have to brag about this Owl Sweater I just finished.  It is only my second sweater, and I think I'm now over my fear of sweaters, so there will be more to come (Earnie keeps asking if I've started his sweater yet).  It was designed by Kate Davies and I found it on Ravelry.  If you've been to our Eugene, Oregon Saturday Market or seen us at any other art festival you are probably familiar with my handknit, felted wool hats, but you've never seen my hats online until now...

I just can't bear the thought of trying to sell a hat to someone through cyber-space.  How do you get a good fit?  So, I'm thinking about selling my hat patterns on Ravelry.  I'll let you all know when I get that project checked off my list.  Until then remember...

Take care, be good & kind, and don't forget to laugh,
Ellie (aka Heather)