September hearthcraft

September is made for hearthcraft.

Goldenrod is lighting up the roadside, nights are cooling, and we’ve started the slow work of moving the garden indoors.

Our theme at home this week was apples. We picked up a peck of Galas and Honeycrisps on our way back from camping, and I made good use of them in the kitchen. Along with my usual pies and cabbage bake, I cooked applesauce for the first time using a recipe from ‘Seasoned in Appalachia,’ by Jimmy Proffitt (@theappalachiantale), a really lovely cookbook I just found on Monday. I’ve already got a few more apple dishes marked to try.

Instant mood lift: grinding allspice. It’s what I most associate with childhood, the scent I remember most from my grandmother’s kitchen. The mortar and pestle is also incredibly grounding, and the circular motion is conducive to ritual, especially work that's meant to 'increase.'

Another welcome sign of shorter days is, thankfully, more opportunity to bring out the needles. I’ve been working a bit on ‘Rest a Wile’ by Plum Street, but my main focus is something that’s been on my list for the past few winters: a quilted skirt. Luckily, Folkwear came through with a pattern that I think I’ll be able to adapt to what I have in mind.

On the horizon:

The shop will reopen this Friday, September 18th at 3:00 p.m. ET. I’ll have a couple of Mary statuettes, as well as a new collection of prayer bead sets (featuring Mary Magdalene, St. Dymphna, Stella Maris, Madonna of the Grapes, and a few others). I’ll also have about 10 copies left from my recent batch of Riverbank Saints.

The page from my zine I shared above features art by Libby Kercher (@kibbyer), which looks especially beautiful in the color printing from Rust Belt Inc.

For this release, 100% of profits from all items listed “in offering” will be sent to @the.auto.body.shop, a Pittsburgh-based mobile resource supporting bodily autonomy and community care.

Our fall equinox arrives on September 22nd, with the full Harvest Moon reaching her peak on Saturday, September 26 at 12:49 p.m. ET, followed by Michaelmas on September 29th. ☽