Leaves are being painted with russets and golds...there is a nip in the air and apple cider waiting to warm those hands...and I will be putting my unique, handmade hats in another craft show! Come and check them out on at the Love of Grace Bazaar in Andover, MN!

Find those hats to warm both big and little ears, gifts in preparation for the upcoming holidays, snacks to nibble on as you shop, and ME (even if for no other reason than to see my cute baby)!

When: 11/10/18, 9am-3pm
Location: 13655 Round Lake Blvd, Andover, MN 55304
Check out the website for more information...
http://www.grace-andover.org/events/love-of-grace-bazaar/

Sneak Peeks!
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The morning dew on the grass has been kissed into icy designs by Jack Frost... leaves are blushing and changing into golden robes... each breath breathed in holds a nip that turns noses pink... Goodbye, Summer, and welcome, Fall!

Fall means bonfires, jumping in leaf-piles, pumpkins galore, warm drinks, and toasty hats!  Check out the new designs!  New styles include sloths, puppies, hedgehogs, cupcakes, pumpkins, strawberries (hearkening back to warm summer days!), and snow-bunnies.  Come and check them out! 

As a child, summers felt gloriously long, filled with sunshine and beach days, no school and plenty of Nancy Drew books, playing imagination games under the hydrangea bushes and painting alongside my artistic mother.  Perspective of a child considers summers, then, to be long and empty weeks designed specifically for fun.  Summers for adults are a bit different, though, aren't they?  Sunshine and beach days, no school, probably, but filled with.... a million and twenty things.

This summer has been among the busiest yet for this child-turned-adult!  In between working with kiddos, I have been preparing for the arrival of our sweet baby girl (preparing the nursery, feeling her kicks and somersaults, doctor visits, a bit of nesting, etc), illustrating a slowly-progressing children's book, cleaning house and doing laundry and dishes, and crocheting!  Photos have been slow in getting posted online, but never fear, creations are happening and getting ready for the upcoming cooler months. While still happily off in the distance, our lovely Midwestern winter is on its way, and we are getting ready!  In just a month or two, be on the look out for the adorable face of my very own tiny model showcasing these sweet hats. 

Enjoy the rest of your beautifully long summer!


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As summer approaches and people begin wearing fewer and lighter clothes, yarn becomes a little less popular for most people....but for me?  Still going strong!  While I might not choose to wear a heavy winter cap designed for sub-zero degrees (because, after all, this is the Midwest), there are all sorts of fun things to be made and worn that are more ideal for trying to keep cool in the Midwest Mosquito Season -- pardon me, I meant to say, summer in the Midwest!  Hats are in the making.... stay updated!  And don't forget, Designs by Ruthie always welcomes ideas and requests!

Our house is a place of celebration today.  We're excited to to announce that there is a baby GIRL in this mama's mobile home of a tummy! Welcome, Little One!  Stay in there for as long as you need to.  In the meantime, your mama is going to play with colored, wooly strings, pairing them together to make fun, classy, cute and sassy designs, and then whip them up to give outlet to what her colorful brain had come up with.  Hey! Don't forget to check out her new designs!

As a Montessori Preschool teacher, I spend my days with children, and it's not surprising that they should influence my creativity and craft.  I come home every day with funny, little anecdotes of things that were said and done that made me stop and have the thought, "what is going their heads?"  I hear pure, heavenly delight in their laughs in finding a tiny puddle - and then jumping in it to try to create the biggest splash possible. I see wonder fill their eyes as they see a butterfly fly for the first time after coming out of a chrysalis. I join in with their giggles as they explore humor and say something that they find completely hilarious.  I see their quirky little selves, little adventurers that they are, as they explore life, and it raises for me the question: why can't I be more like them?

Let me enjoy the puddles and the splashes.  What does it matter if my clothes get wet?
Let me stop in awe to gaze at the incredible beauty of nature.  If you don't stop, you won't see.
Let me not care about what others think of me.  At the end of the day, their opinions are not what matters. 
Let me think outside of the box, unlimited by the constraints of what I think I know.  

And let me be whimsically childlike in what my hands create. 

These days have been full of baby-planning.  We found out on Christmas Day that we are expecting our own little tyke (a future model for his or her mama's creations!).  What better Christmas gift could there be?  We've been playing with registries, setting up a crib, watching my house-of-a-belly grow, oohing and ahhing over little items that we used to wear when we were babies, and, because they can't stay still, my fingers have been busy!  Pumpkin hat? Sure!  Elephant?  Absolutely! Funky, colorful, little hat with a wobbly pom-pom balls that bounce around with each shake of the head? Sounds purely delightful. Each are purely one-of-a-kind!  Don't take my word for it - take a look for yourself!

Welcome to Designs by Ruthie! I'm so glad you're here. Throughout the years, I have worked with a variety of media, from beading to card-making, painting abstractly to drawing realistic portraits, illustrating children's books to felting to clay-working.  Throughout it all, however, creating with yarn has been a constant that I have returned to again and again.  I delight in creating whimsical designs that appeal to the childlike nature in others, each with a practical purpose so that the items can both be used and enjoyed.  Explore this website and let me know what you think.  I'd love to hear back from you!

​Ruthie