You may have noticed that things have kind of dropped off on the P&E production line front. That's because my family and I have relocated to a new town, where we are about to embark on the big, giant-sized, family craft event that is going to (hopefully) set us up to be as self-sufficient as possible. We like to call it 'life craft'. That is, the craft that is involved in building a house - strawbale, passive solar, off-grid power, water, and waste-treatment - and setting up orchards of fruit and nut trees, berry groves and vegetable beds. I'm still going to be sewing and crafting, of course - how could I not? I'm compulsive! - and P&E custom items will still be available if you want to tell me what you want, but my energies from now on are going to be focused on another kind of crafting that primarily involves strawbales, mud, a bit of timber and a shitload of plants. Some of which will be grown from the seeds sent to me by poster-girl Amber Rules, as a thank you for her skirts. Lovely!

Hopefully this crafting will also involve adventures on the farm (which we've already been enjoying!), feasting with friends and learning a lot. And it's the 'learning' bit we mostly want to share because we've found it, at times, overwhelming. To want to do the right thing by the Earth, to build a house that is as gentle, simple and beautiful as it can be, and to try to do all of this with your own hands takes a lot of help and a lot of know-how.

Now, I want to introduce to you the 'Pearl' from Pearl and Elspeth. My muse, my love, my co-collaborator on exciting projects of many kinds but none as momentous as this life-craft shindig we have planned. She's going to be co-writing from now on, too, which is, I assure you, going to be a treat.

So now you can be prepared for the change in direction we're about to take. Not that it's a change, particularly, just a different kind of craft.