The garden, finally, looks something like a garden again. It is a patchwork of black tarps, cover crops, bare soil, and mown stubble, but it has a more intentional appearance than it has since early spring. And soon, garlic will be planted.

Though my market season was short this year – just a few Saturdays scattered over two months – it was a good season, and I have you all, my wonderful customers, to thank for it. Small businesses have been struggling mightily this year, and every purchase you make is enormously appreciated.

This Friday, you have the opportunity to support small makers during the monthly First Fridays event in downtown Harrisonburg. And I am honored to have been chosen as the featured artist at Ten Thousand Villages this month! I will be set up inside their store with a table of my crocheted items. So come eat out at a local restaurant and shop and enjoy artwork and music from all of the creative people set up from 5 to 7 p.m. this Friday, November 7.

I don’t have any other events planned for this fall and winter, though I might be attending a Broadway Community Market holiday popup event, so stay tuned!

See you downtown!

Leaves dot the grass, grown long with too little mowing (the insects appreciate this “neglect,” no doubt), as the air cools into October and the light grows golden. The garden, as it has been since spring, is full of weeds. Black tarps cover beds that were never planted, and that now need to be sown with winter cover crops.

Where have I been, if not in the garden or at the market?

I have been raising a different sort of sprout this year. This little bean has ten little fingers and ten little toes, as one of his favorite books says, and he has upended our lives in the best way possible – nevermind the weedy garden.

As we settle into a new sort of rhythm, I have been sneaking back to the market – twice in September, as you may have seen, and hopefully two or three more times before the season ends. At the very least, I will be there this Saturday, 9am to 1pm! I’ll have potatoes and garlic, and possibly cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs, as well as lots of crocheted items, from stuffed animals to dish cloths. I’ve missed being at the market, with my fellow vendors and regular customers, and I’m thrilled to be back.

I hesitate to make any promises (nothing is certain where gardens or babies are concerned), but I can tell you my hopes. I hope to grow vegetables again next year, and maybe do some fun new things with herbs, and set up at the market on a regular basis. I also hope to write more consistently again, and keep you all in the loop. In the meantime, this Saturday I hope to…

See you at the market!

The peas have sprouted, the garlic appears to be growing well, and the lawn is a beautiful patchwork of tiny, blue bird’s-eye speedwell. We are also quickly approaching market season!

The Broadway Community Market will open on May 3 this year, with updated hours of 9am to 1pm. I’ll be there every Saturday (excepting one or two for vacation) with fresh vegetables and herbs and sustainably crocheted items until the season’s end in mid-October.

But first, I have an exciting event coming up this Saturday! I’ve been crocheting some fun new friends for the Vintage With A View Spring Market at the Briery Branch Community Center in Bridgewater, 10am-4pm. My husband, Paul, will also be joining me with his beautiful nature photography, available as framed canvases and notecards. Come enjoy the warm spring weather and browse more than 50 vendor booths!

I have one more exciting announcement coming later this spring! My email subscribers will be the first to know and have early access to sign up for the Exciting Thing, so make sure you’re subscribed! Tip: If you didn’t receive this post in your inbox, you can enter your email in the sidebar of this blog (you may have to scroll up).

See you at the market!