11/09/2026
An evening of heritage crafts, folk singing, and seasonal snacks for my 44th birthday party 🌾🎶🍰
I was and am honored to be surrounded by these powerful magical women to mark this year’s solar return, and thankful to be held in community in such a soft and sweet way.
In lieu of a traditional birthday cake, Apothecarve~Wooden Heirlooms and Appalachian Brooms and Emileigh Zola assembled a symbolic tower of apples with candles, and Autumn Skerlec performed this beautiful birthday ritual (slide 2) in place of the traditional birthday song, after which Emileigh and Marisa Figueroa offered additional birthday song alternatives to the evening which were really beautiful.
While this event was a whole vibe, the song Song Speak Saro arranged for the evening (slides 4-6) was the magic that brought everything to life. I can’t remember the exact translation, but it’s essentially honoring the Cailleach, saying goodbye to summer, and welcoming November I believe.
I taught everyone a very simple wheat weaving braid, the compass plait, and we made countryman’s favors while we sang before ending the official programming of the night with a brief ritual of thanks where I presented each guest with one of the Cumbrian mell dolls I’d made that each contained a unique wish from me to the recipient tied to the apple. I also sent everyone home with a Cailleach print and a few sticker sheets (corn dollies, turnip o’lanterns, and sawtooth stars).
As usual, I went overboard with the food and decor, and am deeply thankful to b.strong for her help and guidance. I think the kransekake turnip o’lanterns may have been my favorite thing we made, but the Nutella moth pastries were a real sleeper hit.
In reality, this event for me marks the beginning of a new iteration of my Crafting Coven. While I’ll still offer craft kits through my official Crafting Coven brand, I’m leaning hard into a small and intentional in person event that will happen four times a year. I look forward to sharing more about that another time 💖
