Festive Felt

Learn needle-felting skills with Willamalane

Leslie Seese’s needle felting class is Dec. 5 at Springfield’s Dorris Ranch

Unless explicitly discussed beforehand, EW doesn’t recommend giving pets as gifts. Too often, holiday puppies and kittens grow up to become shelter dogs and cats.  We do, however, endorse checking out the cute critters made by needle-felt artist Leslie Seese or, better yet, you can learn to make them yourself at her class in December. Needle felting is a craft that involves poking wool with very sharp needles to tangle the wool fibers so that they take on a desired shape — a heart, snowflake or reindeer, for example. Continue reading 

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Local tastes and experiences as gifts

Red Wagon Creamery. Photo by Amanda L. Smith.

With the holidays just around the corner, finding the right gifts for family and friends can be a daunting task. But what if I told you this could be accomplished from home, in your pajamas, all while benefitting the local economy?  Shopping for experiences — through subscriptions and memberships — can be fun, and it helps support some of our community’s most important cultural and culinary institutions. Continue reading 

Gift Guide

Local gift ideas for everyone on your list

What’s this? Twinkly lights wrapped around trees? Christmas songs in stores? People with an inherent lack of holiday cheer raging about red coffee cups? We must be nearing December!  It’s a time of rampant commercialism, but don’t fear — by buying local, you can find one-of-a-kind gifts for loved ones while also making a contribution to Lane County’s economy. We’ve rounded up some of our favorite gift ideas for all the eclectic characters in your life. Dive in and see what’s out there.     Continue reading 

Hit the Books

Do Not Sell At Any Price: The Wild Obsessive Hunt for the World’s Rarest 78RPM Records By Amanda Petrusich. Scribner, $18.95.  Do Not Sell At Any Price is an engaging, well-paced peek into the world of buying, selling and coveting rare 78-RPM records. (SPOILER ALERT: Did you know one of the world’s leading dealers of 78s lives just down the road from Eugene in Grants Pass?) Continue reading