Wordless Wednesday

submitted by Alfabette Zoope

Featured Artisan - Tiffany of Fair Trade Family

This week's featured artisan is Tiffany of Fair Trade Family.   Tiffany creates amazing wool and cotton play foods for children and many other things!

You make a great variety of items - which is your favorite?
Tiffany:  The item that makes me the happiest to make is the peeling banana and the cupcakes with swappable frosting because I know they make kids smile. That, in itself, makes it very worth it. I love the finished look of my espressos con panna and anytime I make a whole farmer's market set of unusual veggies I am excited.

What is your favorite medium to work with?
Tiffany:  While I am thrilled to offer vegan items out of cotton, I love working with fuzzy earthy wool, especially Peace Fleece, since the company has a focus on establishing cooperatives between war-torn nations. I also love bamboo and any variegated sock yarn when I have the occasion to work with either for a special order.

What was the first crafty item you can remember making?
Tiffany:  I learned, like most children I know who crochet, how to make squares and then little blankets. I really liked making diaper covers and longies but I like shorter term projects that are more about instant gratification. I love food, especially healthy food, but I never thought I would be making toy foods in the mass quantities I do now.

What does a typical day look like?
Tiffany:  Usually, I begin most days with a spinach-fruit smoothie, fair trade coffee, and breakfast with the kids; a 60-90 minute workout at the gym with my 12yo son (the oldest of my four boys); a day of virtual schooling; church and family time in the evening; and whenever my husband starts his hangout time with the kids or bedtime routines I get crafting. Rarely am I without my projects as we go through the school day and activities. My husband and I also love spending time with friends whether it means babysitting for a young couple, opening our home for parties and events, or having single people over for home-cooked meals. I also love coaching soccer and finishing last in half-marathons (lol).

Where did you learn to crochet?
Tiffany:  While my mother was an avid crocheter, she was a busy single parent and was working and going to community college. A neighbor actually showed me how to make those first stitches. And a childhood friend and I dreamed from ages 9-15 of having a store where we sold our (then super hideously made) crocheted goodies. I am naturally stubborn though so I worked determined to be good at it. I still (after thousands of pieces sold) count every stitch in every row of every apple to make sure they are perfect. It is worth the effort, but feels a little crazy sometimes.

Are you ready for a  giveaway??  Enter for your chance to win a custom apple jacket and a piece of cotton produce!

How to Enter: 
Mandatory entry:
♥ Visit Fair Trade Family and leave a comment here telling you favorite item

Additional entries:
♥ Tweet this giveaway and leave a comment saying you did so
♥ Blog this giveaway and leave the link in the comments
♥ Follow the team blog and leave a comment saying you are a follower (if you already are, leave a comment saying that!)
♥ Fan the team on facebook and leave a comment saying you did (if you are already a fan, leave a comment telling us!)
♥ Fan Fair Trade Family on facebook and leave a comment saying you did (if you are already a fan, leave a comment telling us!)

* Congrats to comment #29 Cabootique, our winner! 

Dyeing wool yarn with Kool-Aid

1. Soak your 100% wool yarn in a mixture of cool water, a squirt of wool wash or baby shampoo, and a 1/2 cup of white, distilled, vinegar for about 20 minutes. You may need to squish the water through the yarn a little to make sure it is saturated.

All during your dye-ing, make sure you NEVER rub the yarn or wring it. It will felt and stick together, and you will not get the results you want.


 

 2. While the yarn soaks, mix up your dye. I use 2 cups water, 1 -2 packets of unsweetened koolaid and 1/8 cup (or two Tablespoons) of vinegar per color. The brighter the color, the more koolaid you want to use.



 
 3.Squeeze as much water out of your yarn as you can, and lay it out in a glass 9x13 pan. Only one skein per pan, or you won't be able to get good saturation all the way through the yarn.



 

 4.Pour your koolaid dye all over your yarn. You can be as creative or orderly as you want, but since you are using a pan, the dye will mix along the bottom, and you will get some really cool colors.
 



This is the bottom of the pan. See how the color is mixing along the bottom?

5. Cover the pan tightly with tin foil, and place in a preheated 250 degree oven. Set the timer for 30 minutes. Let it bake. When the timer goes off, turn off the oven, and just leave your yarn to cool. After a while (I usually leave it in for a good hour or so) you can take the pan out to finish cooling on top of the stove.
 




6. Hang your yarn to dry (I use my bathtub). If you squeeze enough water out with your hands, you can roll it up in a towel and press out even more water.
 




 
When your yarn is dry, and it has been reskeined (rewound into a new hank) you can see your beautiful results! Happy stitching!
 


Submitted by Shannon of Gillyweeds