More than chocolate at the Chocolate Walk...

Hint to your someone special that you found the perfect idea for Valentine's Day...

Maybe Moon Dance Jewelry by Kelly Moore from Ogden.

Kelly creates her one-of-a-kind jewelry from silverware.Beautiful bracelets, rings, and necklaces

...Or, Soul Garden soaps handmade by Kay Weishaar and Christy Coffman.
The fragrance of lemon-eucalyptus soaps, lavender soaps, and lemon-clove-cinnamon soaps
fills the air when you enter Mary Rose.
...Or, a stained glass heart

Maybe a Polish pottery mug or our new soup bowls with two handles

Hope to see you Saturday, Feb. 11, for the Chocolate Walk!

Chocolate Walk in Perry, Feb. 11th

Come to Perry for our Chocolate Walk Saturday, Feb. 11 from 10:00-4:00. Stroll from shop to shop while you enjoy chocolate treats. Stop by Mary Rose for homemade fudge.

Dagmar Scheel has created the most wonderful felted wool slippers and socks.

Some fit children, and some are for adults. You won't believe how cozy and warm.

Dagmar filled three shelves with knitted socks and felted slippers in the most glorious colors.

See Colleen Eckhoff's needle-felted creations:

...Flower pins

...for your Valentine

Letterpress Valentine cards by Sarah McCoy,

the Permanent Collection

BRR...Bike Ride to Rippey

Bikers will be braving the cold to make the ride from Perry to Rippey for the

35th annual BRR Ride Saturday, Feb. 4.

Stop in Mary Rose for hot cider while you browse.

Stay warm by wrapping one of Jan Busby's unique, handmade ruffled crocheted scarves around your neck--even more than once. Choose from many colors, textures, designs, and lengths.

Jan Busby also creates purses made from wool blend suit coats. She often incorporates the suit coat pocket into the fully-lined bag. Long handles make it easy to sling over your shoulder.

Jan and her husband, Gary, are also innkeepers at their Yellow Swan Bed and Breakfast in Dallas Center, www.yellowswanbb.com.

More wooly, woolies...A crocheted flower attached to these hats I crocheted add a bit of flair. I crocheted the hat on the right from yarn hand-spun by Marrie Williams from Kelley, Iowa.

Keep your hands warm and cozy with felted wool mittens handmade by Janice Johnston from Rippey, Iowa. Janice creates her mittens from felted wool sweaters and lines them with soft fleece.

...Penguins on these mittens

A wool scarf handspun by Sally Farley

and handcrocheted, with a button closure

Another one, over nine feet long with wonderfully nubby textures

Choose from our wall of handspun yarn draped over a vintage iron bed

to make your own creations.

HOLIDAY GLOW OPEN HOUSE at Mary Rose, Dec. 10th, 10:00-5:00

Mary Rose is glowing for the holidays

with gifts made by hand.

Every time I think I've filled all the nooks, I find another cranny to put our latest finds.

Join us for our Holiday Open House, Saturday, Dec. 10, 10:00-5:00:

• 
  
  
  Serving Swedish almond cake and hot cider all day



• 
  
  
  Penoach wine-tasting in the afternoon



• 
  
  
  Jewelry by Wendy Rains, Ankeny lampwork glass artist



• 
  
  
  Hand blown glass ornaments by Art Ciccotti, Ames



• 
  
  
  Needle-felting demonstration by Colleen Eckhoff, Minburn



• 
  
  
  Spinning by Sally Farley, Perry



• 
  
  
  Origami demonstration by Chrissy Von Behren-Danger, Perry



• 
  
  
  Violin played by Janice Johnston, Rippey (She also makes warm, felted-wool mittens!
  

Glass bead necklaces

by lampwork glass artist, Wendy Rains, from Ankeny

I met Wendy at the Metro Arts Expo this year and was thrilled when she agreed to have some of her incredible glass necklaces and earrings in Mary Rose.

I am amazed at the intricacy of her designs--and she uses a torch!

These look like bubbles blown from soap,

but they are really hand blown glass ornaments

by Art Ciccotti, from the Ames area.

I visited him in his glass-blowing studio

and brought these amazing balls to the shop.

More hand blown glass ornaments

A hand blown glass lily

My daughter, Kate, who lives in Winona, Minnesota

created these zippered quote pouches.
It is the quotes she selects that make these a favorite for me.

Those of you who are fans of Kate's work

will be glad to know she has minki baby blankets,

bibs, bonnets, pillows, colored pencil rolls, and more in the shop again.

Kate's gift tags, which accompany her

Handmade in the Midst of Life creations,

say it best:

"I think you're awesome enough to buy handmade for. Go you!"

or

"Your awesomeness enhances my awesomeness.

A handmade gift for you."

Colleen Eckhoff, from Minburn, has needle-felted these Christmas critters

made from wool roving.

At the open house she will show us how it's done.

This is one of Chrissy Von Behren-Danger's origami crane trains.

She will show us how they're made at our open house.

A larger crane train

Swallowtail Jewellry

by Karen and Emma Vincent,

a mother-daughter pair from Nevada

(Yes, two "ll's" in jewelry because that is the British spelling!)

With their use of assymetry, filligree, and stone selection,

their designs have been very popular--

sure to make for a happy gift recipient.

Jeannine Sandler's circular tie-dyed scarves, which are posted in our earlier blog,

continue to be a sure choice for gift-giving.

She had to bring in her own gift stash to keep customers happy.

Hope to see you Dec. 10th!

PRAIRIE SPINNERS, Grand Opening

Come join us April 9th, 10-5:00, to celebrate the Grand Opening of Prairie Spinners, a fiber arts gallery in Mary Rose. We'll have spinning demonstrations, wine-tasting by Penoach Winery, cake ball samples by Bites of Cake (Esther and April from Dallas Center), cookie/cake samples by Auntie B Creations (Bethany Wicks from Perry).

I'm excited to have the Prairie Spinners in the shop. They have filled the front room in the lower level with their hand-spun/hand-dyed yarn; woven rugs, towels, scarves, pillows, shawls; handmade soaps; and much more. It has been a joy to get to know these creative artists who live in the area. I'm learning so much. I look at a crocheted hat and am amazed by the steps involved in its creation--raising the sheep, shearing them, carding the fleece, making roving, spinning the yarn, and then crocheting.

This is a perfect chance to meet the artists who will join us on April 9th for the open house and demonstrate spinning. Before we all become busy in our gardens, find that perfect yarn to create a handmade gift for a loved one.

We are also celebrating spring April 9th with the rest of the shop full to the brim with Easter baskets and handpainted eggs, new April Cornell linens, new Polish pottery, a new stationery line (Michel Designs), vintage finds, stained glass, Scandinavian gifts, and work by many local artists.

Step into Spring at Mary Rose

If you were enthralled with the Christmas ornaments hand painted by Johnston's Corrine Severson, you have to see her Spring creations. You'll find an iron cart filled with hand painted wooden eggs in baskets, a trunk of original watercolor cards, and hand painted signs and flower pots. The delicate touch of her pen and paints to the wooden eggs is reminiscent of Beatrix Potter. She has revived the art of reverse glass painting, preparing the glass so the oil pints will adhere. She enhances these creations with original watercolors and embellishments.

Your will also find my hand painted porcelain eggs tucked around the shop, nestling in grass-filled compotes or crystal goblets.

Dutch Tulips by Mary Rose Nichols

I get to enjoy this everyday. (Prints available at Mary Rose).

Jump(suit) for color!

I have been wanting to do the following project for a long time, and once I got started I couldn't stop. I have had to put my screen printing aspirations on hold for various reasons and was finally able to give some energy to some plain onesies I've had lying around. This represents a small sampling. Hopefully some will be in the shop soon.

They are all secured with heat n' bond, lite and then machine stitched around for durability. I made one for myself and it survived the wash (inside out). I do expect them to fray a bit, but I won't mind. Hopefully, you won't either.

How many do I have... oh, about twenty... How much... $8 for new onsies, $6 for Clear the Trace.

Diagonal Quilt

I finished my first diagonal quilt and unfortunately it is not square. But it is a good attempt and I learned plenty along the way. It is not for sale, but I hope to perfect the diagonal quilt soon and have something to offer in the shop.

Even a lovely old fashioned binding couldn't completely save it. But it is still nice enough that I had to share. It reminds me of a cozy quilt that my family discovered at Christy Point. Rose buds are always a good choice for quilts.

Daisy Mae Felt Pins

I needle felted these heart pins out of beautiful Iowa wool ($3). The other pins are made from wool felt and vintage buttons ($2-$3.50). All of the designs are my original creations. Enjoy!