Nashville Flooding

First of all, I am safe and dry at home, so I'm in a much better situation than many, and I appreciate how very blessed I am.

Now that the rain has stopped and we've had a chance to figure out what the situation is, it is apparent that the situation is BAD. Really bad. The affected area is incredibly widespread. Temporary shelters are at capacity. There are people missing and unaccounted for. Homes have been destroyed. One of 2 water treatment plants in Nashville is under water, so we have got to conserve as much water as possible.

Nashville's treasures: historical buildings, greenways, museums, entertainment venues, sports arenas, hotels, and so on are flooded. Many of them are without power to pump out the water, and will remain that way until maybe Friday. Aside from the obvious reasons why this is bad consider the fact that Tennessee does not have a state income tax. The tax revenues generated by these businesses are utterly crucial parts of our economy.

I will say that it has been really wonderful seeing people band together as a community to help each other out in this situation. People with boats have been out rescuing their neighbors. Others have gotten together to help with sandbagging.

There are quite a few ways to help, whether you're local or not. Here's a list of what I know of.

Hands on Nashville ( http://www.hon.org ) is organizing local volunteer efforts. Recovery is going to take some real time, so even if you're not immediately available, there will be opportunities later.

Red Cross ( http://www.nashvilleredcross.org ) You can donate through the website or by calling (615) 250-4300. You can also text 'REDCROSS' to 90999 to donate $10 to disaster relief. Please note that the text method sends money to the Red Cross as a whole, not necessarily Nashville. Of course they're going to do good things with it, but it may or may not be here.

Second Harvest Food Bank ( http://www.secondharvestmidtn.org ) Donations of money can be made through the website.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee ( http://www.cfmt.org/floodrelief ) is accepting donations to support flood relief, restoration and clean up online at or by calling (615) 321-4939.

Nashville Humane Association ( http://www.nashvillehumane.org ) is the place to send your donations if you'd like to help out pets who have been affected.

One of the people who was killed in the flooding is Joshua Landtroop. He was a father of 2 young boys, Heath and Tristan, and a friend to many. If you'd like to contribute to the memorial trust fund for his sons, you can send via paypal here http://landtroop.com or send a check to Joshua Landtroop Trust Fund at Family Advantage Federal Credit Union, PO Box 39, Spring Hill, TN 37174

Happy Anniversary to me!

My husband and I got married 5 years ago today, and I still feel incredibly lucky. I guarantee that Rain's Obsessive Stitchery would not exist if I didn't have the support of a wonderful partner. Also, I can make pretty things, but it's his fault that they look pretty on the internet, and that my website, blog, banners and avatars look good.

So, because I know you've all been waiting impatiently to hear, I decided to work on altar cloths first. But only the spring and summer ones--I can't bear the thought of working on fall and winter things just yet. Right this minute, my embroidery machine is stitching away on a Green Man at the center of a Litha altar cloth.

That's all I really have to say for now. I'm working on putting up new listings over in my Celebrations store. I think that the next one should be this Wonderland towel set. Embroidery designs by Urban Threads.

Spring is coming!

Spring is coming! I keep telling myself this. It seems that Winter is going to have to be dragged out, kicking and screaminig the entire way, but that's OK. Spring will be here soon. The equinox is only a couple weeks away.

I've been doing what I can to bring on Spring. I have a whole stack of towels here with birds, flowers, and butterflies embroidered on them. I've been working on some suncatchers, and I have a bright new banner that'll be going up at http://paganpacks.com/ sometime soon.

Here's a picture of one of the new towels. I'll be listing them for sale very soon.

I've picked up a couple of new events recently. There is a craft fair at Two Roads Cafe once a month, which is a great way to support local business and art. Pagan Packs has regular online faires, which are great opportunities to meet new people, play games to win prizes, and to support pagan businesses. Here is a list of upcoming events. The Pagan Coffee House is a social event only, and I'll have my wares available at all the others. Let me know if you need any more information about any of them.

Nashville Pagan Coffee House
March 13 12pm-3pm
Cafe Coco, Nashville TN

Two Roads Cafe Arts and Crafts Fair
March 20 12pm-5pm
Two Roads Cafe, Lebanon TN

Pagan Packs Online Faire - Waking the Willows
March 26 10am-10pm central

Full Moon Gathering
March 27
Chelsea's House

Full Moon Gathering
April 24
Chelsea's House

Pagan Unity Fest
May 13-16
Montgomery Bell State Park, TN

Now I just need to figure out whether I want to work on tarot bags, altar cloths, bibs, or T-shirts next. Any suggestions?

I missed you!

Good morning blog! I missed you.

I have worked on quite a few interesting things since last time. I've been working with several dyeing techniques--vat dyeing and painting, with both silks and cottons. It's really interesting how completely different the processes are for the different materials.

I have made progress learning to digitize--I recently finished up the first design that is 100% mine--I drew the design and then did my own digitizing, and it turned out great. It's a Thor's Hammer design, and I will definitely be getting some products using it ready for Pagan Unity Fest.

Tomorrow, I will be setting up at the craft fair at Two Roads Cafe. Stop by if you're in the area!

For now, I need to go finish getting things ready for said craft fair. I'll be back soon, though, I promise!

Major Celebration Giveaway WINNER!

The winner of the giveaway drawing is Oreon!

Thank you to everyone who participated, and thanks for all the wonderful birthday/Solstice wishes.

My husband gave me a dremel for my birthday. He is the best husband ever! I have wanted one for years, and I'm super excited to play with it.