These spun cotton ornaments are dressed in festive shades of pink and red for Valentine’s Day – or any day of the year.

My schedule is now booked solid through Christmas for “Made To Order” spun cotton ornaments and dolls, which are handmade especially for you after your purchase.  You may still purchase these items in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop throughout the month of December, but orders received after November 28th will not arrive before Christmas.

If you were hoping to purchase a Made to Order item from my shop as a Christmas gift and were not able to place your order before my deadline, I am offering the option to purchase gift certificates this year.  When you click the button above, you may choose the amount that you would like your gift certificate to be, and fill out who it is To and From.  You will also have the option to either e-mail the gift certificate directly to your recipient, or to print it and wrap it for Christmas.

The 1770s Festival happens each year on the first Sunday in October.  I attended this year’s festival on October 2, 2011. The setting for the festival was on the grounds of Lord Stirling’s grand manor house and estate, originally constructed in the 1770s.

We had a long and interesting talk with a member of the Revolutionary War military detachment camp, who taught us all about the weaponry and methods of combat during the Revolutionary War.

Skilled artisan Homer Hansen demonstrated paper cutting techniques to achieve beautiful and intricate silhouette designs.

The Quiet Valley Harvest Festival takes place on Columbus Day weekend each year.  The setting is a beautiful historical farm with buildings dating back to the late 1700s – 1800s.   There is plenty of yummy food to eat at the festival…

…farm animals in their pastures (like the sheep above), barns (there were 13 three-week-old piglets in the barn with their mother this year), and petting areas…

…and  demonstrations of many early American skills and crafts, including  spinning, weaving, yarn dyeing, tatting, coopering, quilling, broom making, oak split basketry, outdoor brick bake oven, Dutch oven cooking, butter making, and rope making.  I learn something new about these crafts every year.

This is a reclining primitive Halloween cat doll, dressed in a black witch hat and a black cheesecloth scarf.  Look for her in a Santa hat in my Etsy shop later this week.

And this is primitive Halloween moon wall decoration wearing a black witch hat. I envisioned him as a Halloween man in the moon, but some think he looks like an old crone, which I can see too. S/he will also be in my Etsy shop wearing a Santa hat later this week.

Fresh sweet annie smells so wonderful!

Earlier in the day, a black swallowtail butterfly visited the carrots, dill and parsley in my garden, and laid her eggs in them. Another swallowtail had done the same earlier in the week. I am looking forward to seeing the caterpillars hatch in a few days.

The ornaments pictured above are my newest spun cotton and spun glass designs for the 2011 holiday season. I am now working on another batch of Halloween primitive dolls – a black cat, a witch cat, and a witchy moon. More spun cotton Halloween ornaments will be added next week, and perhaps a Halloween paper doll or two.

What will emerge from my workspace today?

I have new spun cotton ornaments and spun glass ornaments in the works – they will be added to the Old World Primitives Etsy shop later today and tomorrow.

Each of these primitive dolls may be found in the Old World Primitives Etsy shop.

I’m working on a gaggle of primitive cat dolls this week. Look for them all finished and ready for adoption in my Etsy shop after the holiday weekend!

Below are some of my photos from our travels.  My husband has also added a bunch more (even better!) photos to his Etsy photography print shop, Max Gorski Photography.

Liberty Cap and Nevada Falls in Yosemite National Park. It was in the mid 60s during the day in Yosemite, and just above freezing overnight.

The desert sand dunes in Death Valley near sunset. Here it was 109 degrees.

The Devil's Golf Course in Death Valley - a vast salt pan left behind by in an ancient dry lake bed.

Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua trees in Joshua Tree National Park

A giant Sequoia in Sequoia National Park. For a sense of scale, the tiny black upside-down V that you see at the bottom center of the trunk is about the size of a person. It's hard to comprehend just how massive these 2,000+ year old giants are until you see them in person.