Applefest 2013: The Year We Didn't Freeze

This year, Sam and Liz had a blast at Applefest!  Erica was missed greatly, especially when Sam and Liz were trying to put the canopy up by themselves; that task really benefits from the full trio.  While Erica was busy having a blast at a good friend's wedding, Sam and Liz enjoyed the higher temps of Applefest this year: dare they say it may have creeped into the 50 degree range?!?!  Of course, Applefest wouldn't be Applefest without some adverse weather conditions for this outdoor event, but the girls endured the minimal rain in stride.

Huge bags of kettle corn are always a huge plus.

Despite the rain and mud, a lot of people ventured out to Papa's Pumpkin Patch for this event.  Applefest brought us visitors (including family and friends: Hi Amy!  Hi Laura!), yummy cider and baked goods, the best kettle corn you'll ever eat in your life, and a few small sales.

Laura, Alden, and the camera shy Evelyn

Applefest marks the end of craft sales this year for the Locust Street Crafts team.  We will soon be evaluating which shows we want to sell at next year (have a favorite?  Tell us!), and in the meantime we will be tweaking our display, crafting new products, and enjoying the upcoming holidays with our families and friends.  As such, our posts may become more sporadic but don't fear: we are still here, crafting away.

Applefest!

Dear friends! Would you like to see two out of your three favorite crafty ladies? Would you like to celebrate the fall time with pumpkin EVERYTHING and apple EVERYTHING and crafts and fun? Will you be in the Mount Pleasant Area this Saturday, October 5?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you should come to Applefest this Saturday!

Liz and Sam will be there and Erica will be there in spirit. We have lots of great crafts and Applefest is always a great time! There are lots of fun activities so bring a friend, bring the kids and come and say hello!

Word on the Street: The official "Where in the world did August go?" edition

Friends.  Family.  Colleagues.  We love you all.

That aside, wowwy wow!  It's the end of August!  Our crafty brains are already thinking about fall and the holidays as we craft away.

As you know, Liz recently got married!

The kiss!

After a honeymoon to Ireland, she's now safe and sound at home.

Ireland has some cool waterfalls, did you know?

Liz is now evaluating what crafts to work on now that she can think more about sales and less about wedding centerpieces.  Did you know that Liz has crafty coworkers?  They decorated her desk for her valiant return to work:

Can I hear a "booyah" for die-cutting?

It's good to be married, to have vacationed, to be home, and to be loved.  Of course, it's good to be crafty too, but Liz hopes that goes without saying.

Sam's been doing all kinds of crafty things! She's been experimenting with water bath canning, making pickles, and jams.

She's also finally getting around to painting these old shelves! This is early on in the process and it's still not finished but hopefully she'll have a picture of the finished product to share soon.

She also framed some pictures of friends and family, her diploma, and some Georgia O'Keefe prints for her office! She figured, she's had the job a year, might as well decorate the office. No need to rush these things.

While she hasn't been doing too much knitting lately, there's always a need to knit something quick, easy, and practical. Thus, this pretty pretty dishcloth!

Erica has been venturing further into canning as well! Two years ago she water bath canned apple butter--it received rave reviews from friends and family. Last year she got caught up in wedding planning and moved into a very tiny apartment. This didn't leave much time or space for canning. This summer, however, has been dubbed "The Summer Erica's Kitchen Looked Like A Scene From Dexter." But that's what happens when you can a half bushel of tomatoes, and a boat load of strawberries and a few raspberries!

Spaghetti Sauce or the Eye of Sauron? You decide.

The yield on this summer from a few trips to the Farmer's Market and raiding her mother-in-law's freezer for blueberries:
--13 4 oz jars of strawberry jam
--5 4 oz jars and 8 half pint jars of blueberry-raspberry jam
--10 pints of spaghetti sauce
--9 pints of spicy salsa

There was also an attempt at wine jelly, but that didn't pan out. It wasn't so much wine jelly; more like chunky hot wine in tiny jars. But to make up for the lack of picture, here is a gorgeous picture of her blueberry-raspberry jam.

That color gets her every time. Please disregard the toast crumb.

So far, this is what the Smithnarski canned food pantry is looking like:

Kevin had to move his video games out of this cupboard.
He didn't mind too much, since there's delicious salsa to be had.

And the summer isn't over yet!  She plans on covering her kitchen in all manner of apple products, along with maybe more tomato stuff. And maybe some pickles? There's lots of possibilities!

Unfortunately, all this cooking has meant less crafting, but she has been working on designing her good friend Deanna's wedding programs in her free time.

And that's what we have been up to! What have you been working on during this whirlwind summer?