Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Project

On the website here.

In the past few weeks I have thought often of the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I have never personally experienced a natural disaster so I can not really imagine what this has been like for the people of Japan. The enormity of this tragedy is difficult to grasp. To lose a family member, a home or to not have daily needs as simple as food or water is hard to comprehend. Pondering the news reports caused me to reach to the bookshelf and open Ann Weems' Psalms of Lament. I was drawn to Weems' Psalm Twenty-five which starts like this:

On eBay here.

O God, what has happened to your creation?

What kind of world is this

that the innocent die?

Where is your hand

that it does not stop the killing?

How long will you watch

while the world calls you names?

How long will you wait while the river of blood

floods your streets?

Will you let the innocent die

and the guilty go free?

Will the guilty laugh cruelly

in the streets,

while the innocent lie cold

in their graves?

And the last stanza....

O God of justice, stop these plagues,

and stoop to comfort your people,

for you, and you only, are our refuge.

My yoga instructor shared that her young son caught her watching the news report of the recent devastation. He was distraught. She thankfully remembered Rev. Fred Roger's advice after the horror of 9/11. He advised adults to guide children to watch the 'helpers.' We can't always explain bad things but we can focus on the positive of the response from those that are willing to help. Additionally our faith can lead us to establish that in even larger quantities is the presence of God in the midst of the destruction.

The inspiration fabric.

In the studio I personally feel a need to create when I am troubled, distraught or upset. It's often my way of working through the emotion. Inspired by this Asian fabric that reminds me of the beauty of the arts in Japan we have created a limited edition stole. One version is up for bid here on eBay and another version is here on the website. Today, I can't go to Japan and work for, pray with and give hugs to those that are in need. But I take comfort that there are disaster assistance groups already doing some of this. So Carrot Top Studio will try to be "a helper" with all the profit from the sale of the mentioned stoles going to One Great Hour of Sharing to support their disaster assistance efforts. One Great Hour of Sharing is "an offering that makes the love of Christ real for individuals and communities around the world who suffer the effects of disaster, conflict, or severe economic hardship, and for those who serve them through gifts of money and time." If you haven't had a chance to be a "helper" for this calamity maybe this stole and cause is for you.

Piecing Together Our Faith Heritage

Where does our faith come from? From God alone? From an inner mysterious source? Through the study and proclaiming of scripture? Through good works? Wow, this could generate some lively discussion! I am not a theologian and it is not Carrot Top Studio's calling to answer these questions. We see the studio as a vehicle for connecting the visual to the Word through the use of colors and symbols. Something else I know is that there have been a long line of women in my family that the church has been a central part of their life. This photo shows just a few...my grandmother, great aunt, and mother (that's me on the floor.) Many of you probably have very similar photos in your family archives. Coming across this photo and seeing a stash of reproduction fabrics from the 1930's on the studio shelves got our design minds and stitching fingers movin' in the studio this week. Thinking about women (and men) of the 1930's makes me smile. I know it was a time of the "great depression" but I smile because of the lessons we can learn from this time:

• don't spend what you don't have,
• don't pay someone else for something that you can learn or do or make yourself,
• immediate gratification from obtaining 'things' is not as important as relationships with family, others and God.

So the 1930's reproduction fabric we had in our stash has become a statement/reminder of those times where these virtues were embraced. They are virtues that we can hold true today no matter what we believe of where faith comes from. We hope the pieced fabrics are a reminder of some of the best ways to "hold things together" in times of challenge. And that the butterfly will remind us of the promise of the Resurrection and the cross of our faith in the Triune God.


If these stoles interest you....find the one on the left at a special price here on eBay and the one on the right here on the Carrot Top Studio website. 

Watch For the "Funny" Ideas

This stole is available here.

Many years ago my husband and I were bouncing around ideas for Carrot Top Studio. We're both creative people in our own way and have always enjoyed this kind of activity. Trying to honor the brainstorming rule of "no idea is a bad idea" when my better half suggested stoles with Velcro parts I really couldn't imagine this idea coming to fruition but of course I didn't shoot it down (although I think we both were laughing). Well, the laughing probably should have been a clue that this wasn't a truly c-r-a-z-y idea! Fast forward to last fall when a very faithful client suggested a purple Advent stole that told the story of Old Testament prophecy being fulfilled and celebrated. Our clients responded by purchasing this design and even asked for it in a blue version (sorry it's currently sold out). This caused us to think about the concept being applied to the Lenten journey. Our design idea required purple Velcro which it turns out is not easily available. The good news is that we found it half way around the world! The down side was that it wouldn't be shipped soon enough for our new design to be sold in advance of Lent 2011. This story wraps as we can now reveal our new Lent story stole! It is purple with a gold Lenten cross. The hem of the front of the stole has discreet pockets that hold ten symbols that will help tell the story that leads us to Easter. We're hoping the palms, donkey, money bag, bread and chalice, praying hands, rooster, leather strip, crown of thorns, nails, and dice will help you share the story of Jesus and his gift of salvation with the young and young at heart.


Our lessons learned....our clients have great ideas, brainstorming continues to be a source that feeds our creative juices, and pay close attention to the ideas we think are the funniest!


Blessings for your Lenten journey.

Ash Wednesday Closet Cleaning

Next week we will begin Lent with the observation of Ash Wednesday. Its name comes from the ancient practice of placing ashes on worshipers’ heads or foreheads as a sign of humility before God, a symbol of mourning and sorrow at the death that sin brings into the world. We claim responsibility for ourselves, noticing everything around us such as the possessions we hold valuable and the persons we love. We know that all will one day turn to dust. 

This Communion stole is on sale!

Looking at the history of the symbolic use of ashes it is interesting to note an old custom. From what I understand in Italy it was the tradition at the end of winter to burn all the old junk one had accumulated over the year. The village square was the collection spot for the whole community's discards. Rather than have a yard sale, or a garage sale, everyone simply had a good house cleaning and piled up the old chairs and mattresses. From this came the tradition of spring cleaning. 

Ash Wednesday is a somber day of reflection on what needs to change in our lives if we are to be fully Christian. Is spring cleaning a type of self-examination? We clean house, inside and outside. We let in the fresh air, shake out the rugs, clean out the closets. We can assemble all the inner useless accumulations of our life style and throw them in with the dust and ashes that we take up each church calendar year on Ash Wednesday. 

This baptism stole  is on sale!

I can think of quite a few areas of my personal life that need some spring cleaning...the kitchen cabinets could use a good overhaul and the attic is showing signs of being way too full of items not ever used. My prayer life will hopefully be "cleaned up" during Lent as I work my way through "Lord Teach Us to Pray", A Guide to Prayer produced by the Office of Spiritual Formation of the PCUSA and Praying Like Jesus: The Lord's Prayer in a Culture of Prosperity by James Mulholland and get on a better path that draws me closer to God. And at Carrot Top Studio we've sorted through the online store and put some new items in our sale category. Many of these have just one left in stock so don't miss the opportunity to grab a unique, handcrafted ministry stole for $49 + S&H.


How do you mark Ash Wednesday?