Quilts, Hand Work, A Give-Away

~ A beautiful hand quilted Crazy Quilt ~

Neither Dave nor I have any clue from whose family this quilt came; could be his, could be mine, we just don't know. This quilt has some wear and tear, mainly because there's such a mix of textiles. The quilter used wools, cottons and silks and, needless to say, the silks haven't stood the test of time as well as the sturdier wools and cottons.

It's a beauty though...a crazy quilt but not dated nor signed, that I can find, so the maker is lost to all but God. I've not been signing my quilts but that's wrong of me. It's not pride talking, it's so that people who come after me will know the date and the maker of the quilt. Even if they never know who I am, it still means something to some people. Some people care about those things; I know I care and I bet you do as well. To do all that work, by hand, so material won't be wasted and someone will sleep warmly during cold winter months. Amazing!

Central heating is a recent invention. My Daddy grew up in an old Appalachian farmhouse that had a fireplace in the living room and a wood burning cook stove in the kitchen. That was their sole source of heat...a fireplace and cook stove for a two story farmhouse! That and lots and lots of quilts. Grandmother and Granddaddy had double beds in the living room, alongside the walls with rocking chairs in the center of the room and Granddaddy's chair beside the fireplace. He'd sit in his chair each evening and take off his work boots, putting them where they could warm up and dry out overnight. When we'd visit, I'd sleep with Grandmother, my brother would sleep with Granddaddy and Mama and Daddy would sleep upstairs. If it was winter, Mama and Daddy would wake to snow covering the bed covers. They would shore up their courage and, having placed their clothes where they could be easily and quickly reached in the morning, grab them and dash downstairs to dress beside the fireplace. BTW, the stairs to reach the second floor were outside so that mad dash included a quick exit onto the front porch and then a quick turn into the house and living room.

I well remember being held up in Daddy's arms so I could speak on the hand crank wall mounted telephone and using a water pump at the kitchen sink as opposed to a faucet. The bathroom was a Very Long Walk...out back. Various Aunts and Uncles lived down the valley, some miles hence, and every neighbor on the telephone line would race to listen in when they heard "3 longs and a short ring". Everyone knew everyone's ring and everyone also knew you didn't tell anything during a telephone call you didn't want the entire valley to know. Have you ever heard, "telegraph, telephone, tell a woman"? -smile-

It's just been since Dave and I have lived at Thistle Cove Farm that Aunt Esther has gotten her own private telephone line and the folks up the river from her have gotten electricity. City people don't realize this country is still, basically, a rural country with the population majority centered on the East Coast and then on the West Coast. Virginia is within a day's drive of fifty percent of the country's population but even where we live, there are folks without central heating and indoor plumbing. Count your blessings, folks; count your many blessings.

~ Aunt Esther's 1930's hand made quilt ~

Aunt Esther made this quilt sometime in the 1930's and it shows a lot of love and wear. She gave it to me many years ago and I know there are some who would cut it up and use it for craft projects. I'm not one of them. I tend to be fiercely loyal...some would say I have "loyalty issues" -smile- and I Hang On to things. When someone would ask Aunt Bonnie if she would sell something they hankered after, Aunt Bonnie would say, "It's not eating nor drinking a thing so I guess I'll hang on to it." That's me. I hang on to things and it pains me to think of this quilt being cut up for craft. It hangs on a wall in a bedroom and that's where it will stay, at least while I'm living here. Hopefully, one of the nephews will want it when I'm gone.

~ Beginning of a hand work project ~

This little project is a small quilt hanging about 12 x 12 inches. The front and back is the same 100% cotton fabric and the middle is polyester batting.

~ Sewing the quilt on my Singer Featherweight, circa 1953 ~

My brother gave me a Lot of coned thread so I guess if I live to be three hundred and seventy-two it should last. You can see a cone of bright yellow thread behind the Featherweight and it's so much fun to be willy nilly in the use of the thread. Thread is so expensive, I've always been a bit judicious in my use but no longer! -smile-

~ Coming together nicely, I think. ~

The page is torn from a devotional and says, "You must have long-range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short-range failures."

Ain't that just the truth?! Unfortunately, most of us plan our vacations with more care and precision than we plan our lives. Yet, we're all headed somewhere and most of us are going there fast! Recently, I heard a preacher say if a person was 55, they had a bit more than 19,000 days left to live. That's according to the Bible verse that says a person has "three score and ten" which is 70 years. That gets MY attention as I'm a tad older than fifty-five.

So, what am I going to do with my 19,000, more or less, days? I'm going to live them with wild and reckless abandon...I'm going to live them...one day at a time. I'm going to focus on breathing, just for today. I'm going to play with the kittens, snuggle with the puppies, drink wine with my husband, read my Bible, talk to God, pray for folks, travel, work in the studio, hang wet laundry in the hot sun, make short bread for my neighbors, carry my spinning wheel to the pasture and spin amongst the sheep, make snow ice cream, brush the horses, wake up at 3 a.m. and listen to the nightingale song, save as many animals as I can, bury the ones who have lived here long enough to die of old age, pray for our country, quilt, knit, make rag rugs, take photos of the full moon...in short, I'm going to LIVE as if today is the last day of my life. Because, you know, one day it will be the last day of my life and I want to live ready.

~ Some silk, ribbons, threads, buttons, smell good stuff, lace, bits and pieces. ~

So, if you're still with me, this is the finished small quilt. It hangs by a twig sewn on the back...nothing much fancy but made with love and prayers. If you want a chance to win it, leave me a note and I'll do one of those random generator deals and send it off next week. Sunday, 8 p.m. is when I'll stop taking names and by the time I find a box to fit it, I can probably get it mailed Tuesday. Nope, you don't have to blog about it nor follow me...although it would please me mightily if you did -smile-...all you have to do is leave me a note and say you'd like to win this little quilted, inspirational wall hanging. In my mind, you're already a winner.

Blessings ~ hand work ~ quilts, no matter the size ~ thread ~ my studio ~ folks who read this blog ~ folks who leave a kind word or three ~ life ~

Friday Fiber Arts Carnival

In Marrakesh the dyers of yarn hang heavy skeins overhead in order to dry in the hot, bright sunlight. As we walked in the souk amazing sights were on all sides and above!

It's been mentioned before, Dave and I love to travel and one of our favorite places is Morocco. We've spent many happy times there and in various places including Marrakesh, Tanjer, Ouarzazate -pronounced wherezitat or "where is it at" said rather quickly - Zagora and Mhamid which was our jumping off point for our camping trip into the Sahara Desert with the Bedouin and the Touaregs sometimes know as the Blue Men although that's not quite factually correct. At any rate, we had fabulous times, great memories and if you're interested in hearing some traditional music played by Touareg nomands, click here. We didn't travel with this particular company, the Blue Men link, but they look interesting and bring back lots of my own memories.

Yarn is not precious, the way some consider it here in the USA or ooo-sa as it's pronounced around the world. This yarn looked to be a down breed type yarn and took heavy abuse of all sorts. I bought some skeins in a deep brown shade. Above, it's piled up outside the shop, spilling onto the path so visitors and shoppers had to side step around the pile. This shopkeeper also sold scarves and other pieces of material.

The first time we went to Morocco, we spent time in Marrakesh before heading to parts south and east...specifically, Ouarzazate, Zagora and Mhamid and then into the Sahara Desert about nine -9!- miles from the Algerian border. We did not get as far as Timbuktu but are saving that for another visit...or perhaps not as that area tends to be a bit dicey. Wikipedia call the Tuareg nomands a "pastorial" people but other sites call them warriors, They are nomads, perhaps the most nomadic of all tribes left and have a favorite saying, "houses are the coffins of the living". More truth than beauty there, especially if one has spent time in the company of nomads, living amongst them even if for a short time.

Dave and I live in an area where the night sky stretches into where the horizon meets the earth but is not truly visible due to the mountains. The Sahara Desert is where the horizon meets the earth and the stars tumble into the sand dunes. In a word: AMAZING. Or incredible, tremendous, awesome...and I've never, ever used the word 'awesome' lightly...the sight is, literally, breath taking. There, in the company of Bedouin and Blue Men, Muslims all, I felt as close to God as I've ever felt. Remember the Sistine Chapel where Michelangelo painted the finger of God touching the finger of Adam? That's what I thought of, standing in the Sahara Desert...if I stretched up my hand, toward heaven, God Himself would reach down and touch His finger to mine. Corrie ten Boom was right, paraphrased, "there is no place, God is not there".

There, in the Sahara Desert we had delightful discussion about my God, their Allah and how we individually worship, how we see other religions and other people. We found out we're not all that different. We want to live our lives, worship as we see fit, raise our families, celebrate weddings and birthdays and bury our dead. We talked about how the fanatics around the world make the world an unsafe place for everyone...this especially interesting as we were SO close to the Algerian border!

Some of their concerns included the encroachment of the Sahara Desert and how their nomadic lifestyle was being threatened by change, desert and oil cartels. How much their world had already changed since they were toddlers, only a couple of decades ago. I was a bit older than the mothers of several of the young men and listened as their voices held a tone of sadness as they recounted changes come and yet to come.

Even though we were in the desert a short time, when we returned to Marrakesh it was culture shock. The women wore clothing that was suggestive, especially the tourist women, and even some of the Moroccan women were smoking and wearing mini-skirts. It was strange how I became, in such a short period of time, so used to modest clothing and behavior. Marrakesh is an old, modern city where Muslims, Christians and Jews live together peaceably. One can hear church bells and the call to prayer within minutes of each other; I found it pleasing. While I am a Christian and truly believe heaven is through salvation in Jesus Christ, I enjoy learning about other religions because I enjoy people and am not threatened by other religions nor cultures.

Remember the abuse I alluded to earlier? The dyer has a large pot over a wood fire and the yarn is poured into boiling water...yes, boiling!...and left to boil the dye into the yarn. All I'd ever heard about hot water, friction and wool came to a screeching halt. This stuff was NOT felting, it was having the dye boiled into the yarn; mind enlarging indeed!

I keep getting closer and closer to the dye pot, my eyes unwilling to see, my mind unwilling to comprehend the Boiling Water!

I remember walking out of the little shop...really, no more than a stall about six by eight or, at the most, eight by eight feet, and saying to Dave, "He's BOILING the yarn!"

The hand carved wooden spoon is for swishing the yarn around so it can absorb all the dye, then for lifting the yarn out of the pot and sitting it aside so it can begin draining.

I wanted to buy a skein of this orange yarn but it was several, several thousand yards and luggage space was limited. Next trip, I'm sure...


More lovely yarn hanging overhead, partially blocking the hot sun.


Yet another shop keeper with dozens upon dozens skeins of yarn spilling out of his shop. Again, you can see the yarn is simply laid on the street, not put delicately into a crate where it can be fondled by hoitey toitey knitters -smiling and poking fun at myself here-.

I have no idea what the pink dye material is but the red is, I believe, henna as cochineal is native to the western hemisphere.

These skeins of yarn combat the sun for beauty while the blue yarn may be purchased by a Blue Men tribal woman.

Above a typical aisle in a souk which is, essentially, a small village within a village...a shopping mall, if you will.There are places to purchase clothing, footwear, food, drink, leather goods, silk thread, head gear, bags, rugs, carpets, antiques, kitchen supplies, home decor...the list is endless! I'd never, ever been in such a place and loved, loved, LOVED it! The sights, smells, sounds...the haggling, bargaining, the hot tea and the ceremony wherein it's poured out for guests, the noise, the tactileness...yeah, yeah, I now that's not a word-before now! smile- The souk is the heart of the old part of the city and was steps away from our riad or bread and breakfast as it's otherwise known. Dave was a Master Haggler and haggling is something that's expected when shopping in a souk. The better haggler one is, the more respect the merchant shows; basically, it's just a big game one engages in, although I always "hid behind Dave's trousers" and watched him at work -smile-. The shop owners had more respect for both of us as I was a "proper, traditional wife" and let the husband conduct the business. I strive to show respect when we travel and generally wear a scarf, keep arms and chest covered and, when possible, wear long skirts. When I show my "host" country respect, I find they treat me as a valued guest as opposed to an "ugly American".

As we left the souk we saw this fellow pulling a cart loaded with yarn. He was taking it into the souk to various dyers and we were amazed at the load he was pulling. We had scarcely finished talking about this fellow when we left the souk, entered into the center hub of Marrakesh and saw this fellow pulling his own heavy load of yarn. He would steady the load from behind as it would, sometimes, shift and come perilously close to upsetting.

Have I mentioned how much I love Morocco and the Moroccan people? -smile- We've visited the southern part of Morocco once but have been to Tanjer -using the old spelling- two times and that's because we were in Spain on holiday. Tanjer is only a thirty minute ferry ride across the Strait of Gibraltar and is fairly exotic in itself as it seems all of Europe goes to Northern Africa via the inexpensive ferry. There's a lotta world left to see but another trip to Morocco still ranks pretty high up on my "bucket list"; I find too much of a good thing is Simply Wonderful! -smile-

Blessings ~ travel ~ Morocco ~ yarn ~ Dave haggling ~ souks ~ riads ~

Fiber Arts Friday Carnival

This photo of a covered wagon that's falling to pieces in a pasture near Thistle Cove Farm. It's a shame, really, because I would have LOVED to save that old wagon!


I'm a bit surprised myself that I remember to post a Fiber Arts Friday Carnival entry. Around here, we go like our feet have wings and it's easy to forget to eat much less remember to post on a specific day. I'm thinking I do so poorly at remembering Fiber Arts Friday Carnival, I should bow out and post as I remember...then, I'd probably remember every week! That's how my brain chooses to work -smile-.

Are you familiar with KC Willis? She's the art wrangler over at Lipstick Ranch and have you ever heard such a great name!?! A few weeks ago I purchased her DVD and am grateful to KC for making it available for purchase. I live in the rural hinterlands and the excellent professional quality of her teaching is only available via her DVD.

KC, you're a wonder!

She's making available studio retreats at her place in Colorado...be still my pounding heart!...I SO WANT TO GO!!! and the small sized classes ensure personal attention where your inner creative "cowgirl" is unleashed and you don't even have to climb into the saddle!

So, you don't want to be a cowgirl or you're not artistically inclined? How about this...KC makes art that celebrates w-o-m-e-n. Not just women but women who built this great USA of ours, women who got their hands dirty, who carried a rifle in their hands, who hunted supper, who planted gardens. Those strong, sturdy pioneer types whose blood runs in my veins and whom I look up to and remember with great fondness. Women who avoided housework by going outside...HEY! that's MY kinda woman! I've long said, "hire someone to do housework so I can go to the barn and muck stables!"

In speaking about her art, KC said, "One of my favorites is an image of a pioneer mom, just a Western-settler, sod-buster type. The mom reflects, "They look to be the men to be heros, but we were the women who raised the boys who became those men."

Were truer words ever spoken!? I like the fact KC celebrates real women and not those painfully bone thin women fostered upon us by Madison Fifth Avenue in their advertising campaigns. Real Women who would NOT allow their neighbors to go hungry, women who know what a pot of soup means to a hurting body or a fresh baked pie means to a hurting soul. Women, like the Velveteen Rabbit, who are R-E-A-L.

The work of our hands has long been under-appreciated or, at least, that's my opinion. Women's work is fleeting...a nourishing meal, a warm quilt, a kiss on a skinned knee but all those things that add up to a life well lived. Generally, our work is not that of constructing buildings that last a hundred years or more or of laying down train track. Yet, it's exactly the work we do at home that allows the world to carry on without falling to pieces. The work that Real Women do daily without much of a pat on the back or a nod of the head except and until a woman like KC comes along and says, "let's make art at Lipstick Ranch!"

KC talks about how she was raised watching Hoss and Little Joe; I well relate to that. I was raised watching them and others. In Sunday School a few years back we were talking about heros and someone said, "Isn't is too bad children don't have heros anymore?"

I looked at the woman and said, "Don't you have heros?"

She looked startled and said, "Why no. I'm a little old for heros." "

So," I told her, "that's why children don't have heros. The adults don't have them so the children can't follow."

She looked puzzled. "Do you have heros?"

"Why, yes I DO! My heros are Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, Billy and Ruth Graham and my Mother and Daddy."

By now the puzzlement was written all over several faces and some looked a bit uneasy at my, perhaps, lack of sophistication. But, you know what? It's I who feel sorry for them! To be so concerned...afraid???...of what someone else thinks of you. To be hero-less because someone might look at them the way they looked at me?

NO, thank you sir! Thoreau said, "men lead lives of quiet desperation" and I find that to be true. Sadly true. So, if you can't make it to Lipstick Ranch, check into the DVD and if you can't get the DVD, make your own heart...errr...ART -smile-.

It's never too late to become the friend you've always wanted.

Blessings ~ KC ~ DVD's ~ Lipstick Ranch...'cause I just LOVE the name! ~ heros ~ heART ~

Friday Fiber Arts Carnival

For the longest time, I've had nothing on the knitting needles. I've been in a bad place with my knitting and just couldn't find the wherewithall to either start nor finish one of the many UFO's lying about. For those who don't know, UFO means unfinished object and I've several that have been on the needles long enough to have their own zip code.

This week I visited Millie, Master Knitter Friend, in Columbia, SC. She always knits like there's going to be a world shortage of yarn; she always has something on her needles and it's always beautiful and, usually, tough to knit. She went to Stitches last month and took a class with Susanna on Brohus knitting. I am in AWE, I tell you! Millie has even knitted a Most Beautiful Sweater with steeks! Here, I'm giving you the Kids Knit info page for steeks because I figure if they can explain it so a child can understand, I may, possibly, have a small glimmer of hope. HA! BTW, the Kids Knit steeks info page is "only" seven pages long so, be prepared, there's lots to learn.

Millie always encourages me to knit, sometimes to learn something new and is always gracious with her knowledge, time, patience. Even so, I've shocked her before when she was attempting to teach me how to knit socks. Apparently, I've "un-invented"...get the Elizabeth Zimmerman reference, eh?...a way to knit socks inside out and backwards. Trust me, I didn't know what I was doing and the lone sock has since been put into the back of a drawer somewhere. I trust my nephews will run across it when I'm long gone and they are weeding their way through this maze of a farmhouse with steamer trunk in every room. I keep thinking I'll find someone who has only one foot and would like a wool sock for their remaining foot but, thus far, no joy there.

Millie helped...ahem, meaning she actually cast on the start of this moiebus shrug shawl. It's a lovely pinky ruby purply wool acrylic blend yarn that, when finished, should sit on the shoulders, "shrugging" one in a warm hug. This is actually yarn that is to go to the Russian orphanage but in a finished state not as mere yarn. I wanted to send something to the woman who runs the school and hope she finds this acceptable.

The Komi Kids Yarn Project is one I started in 2004 and I'll tell you about it in another post. For now, gaze at the beauty that's, eventually, to be a warm hug. Dave took me to the eye doctor yesterday as I thought I'd scratched the cornea of my right eye. It's been bothering me for several days but not enough, really, to be worried about. Until Wednesday and then I got worried. It turns out I've several, more than a dozen, eyelashes growing into my eye ball and the doctor had to pull, cut and shave them so they eye would be pain free. Let me tell you...it takes GREAT faith to sit there, eyeball wide open, still as a mouse while the doctor comes at you with sharp instruments. The eyelashes were white, blonde, gray or something like that so they were difficult for me to see when I was peering in the mirror. I'm told this will reoccur so welcome to old age -smile-.

While in Bluefield, we went to Tuesday Morning and I found this lovely Araucania yarn. Again, it's in a purple ruby color and is a bulky blend of 70% Merino 20% alpaca 10% silk. AWWWWWW, OOHHHHH, touchy feely, moaning noises, sighs, sounds of joy and bliss. I bought all they had, a bit over 600 yards and I want to make something for me. Any ideas?

Also found this delish cashmere yarn by Elsebeth Lavold and it's incredible! There are three small hanks but enough, when combined with the tobacco colored yarn of same name and content, to make lovely hand warmers. Oh goodness, won't they feel like heaven when cold weather returns?

It would appear my knitting slump is over and just in time for warm and hot weather. Am I good or WHAT!? -smile- My timing seems to be a bit off but as long as I'm knitting it's okay. I've missed having yarn running through my fingers and as much as I adore quilting, it's just not quite the same as wool or other animal fiber.

Blessings ~ Millie ~ knitting ~ cashmere ~ wool ~ alpaca ~ silk ~

Fiber Arts Friday Carnival

Mary Martin, Lost Arts Guild member and friend, made this AAAdorable felted sheep. She gave it to me when she came to Sheep Shearing Day and I love it. From the heart on either side to the tiny bell to the tiny, tiny braided nose halter...it's Beautiful! Mary has alpacas and shearing day is coming up for her. I've seen alpacas sheared but never Mary's alpacas and am looking forward to visiting in early May.
Above, another felted sweater tea cozy; this one with Mickey Mouse on the upper right hand corner. The felted cut out hearts are being tethered, like balloons, with rickrack. Needless to say, it's a work in progress because I'm still not sure where it's headed.

The back side has stars in the top and the lower piece of tulle is being held in place with sea shells sewn on with yellow thread and different colored beads. The sea turtle is nose to button bearing a yellow star and held in place, again, with colored beads.

The piece needs a lot more work before I'm happy, I'm just not sure of the direction it wants to go. Time will tell. In the meantime, I'm working on baby quilts and have half dozen to finish and get to the babies. I've also got a bed size quilt that needs to be finished by end of April, a couple of pairs of pants to hem and more flowers, apple and other fruit trees and the herb and vegetable gardens to plant.

Thanks to hard work, sunny days and clean air I'm sleeping well these nights.


Blessings ~ friends ~ sheep ~ fiber arts ~ work ~ orchard ~ gardens ~ good sleep ~

Friday Fiber Arts Carnival

I've finished a few projects and am posting photos. My apologies to my swap partners because I am, woefully, late in mailing. All of us were late in the exchange but that's still no excuse and I apologize to my textile post cards folks. Next time, I'll have the cards made and *then* join in the exchange.

This post card is encased in plastic wrap, ready to be mailed. There's an opening on the backside for the stamp so it can be hand cancelled. It's entiled M is for blue Monday. Frankly, I have few blue Mondays but the exchange was "M" and I liked the way the blues came together. I especially like the rainbow ribbon around the card. Like Dolly Parton always says, "I figure if you wanna have a rainbow, you've got to have the rain." She recently released "Backwoods Barbie", for sale at Cracker Barrel, and I figure it's got to be great. It's Dolly, right!? I absolutely know she'd make a fabulous Galfriend, doncha think?
The rotten truth be known...? Basically, I'm self taught, using magazines and the i-net to teach myself. The rural area of Appalchia where I live is lacking in classes in the textile arts. There are some quilting classes and I love the little group that has taken me under their wing. They are Teachers, one and all. There's no competition, no rivalry, no oneupmanship. Jut a very real and very basic desire to pass the craft along. I've been to other quilting groups that were a tad "frozen" in their approach. Their words of "praise" were, somewhat sadly, lacking in real enthusiasm. Somehow, "that's nice, dear" lacks the ring of conviction of what we hear in our little group, "HOW BEAUTIFUL! Look at how those colors are put together." Or, "just look at that stitching, how tidy!" These women can find beauty in the simply fact that someone t-r-i-e-d. What a gift, the gift of enthusiasm, of kind words spoken in season. How Very Real!


It's obvious I was on a Blue Monday kick, haven't any idea why, really, but here it is. But, back to the rotten truth. My textile postcards aren't like the textile post cards I received. Those are stunning. They have this stitched edge that's even and goes all around the card; there's, probably, a word for that stitch and a special sewing machine that does that stitch, but I haven't a clue what either is.

My work is, to put it nicely, primitive. Maybe not even that; it's "me" though and I thoroughly enjoy what I do. I just hope the other women enjoy them and, hopefully, have kind words to bestow.

The post card with the yellow felt bird is for my friend, Mary Lois. She and I have been friends for almost thirty years, have seen good times and difficult times, but have been friends throughout. She's a wonderful person and my life has been greatly enriched by her friendship. I know she'll be pleased to receive this little card; she has a grateful heart and is genuinely appreciative.


The bottom card is the M series and this one is for mask, moon, mirror, me in the mirror. Gosh, I was really on an M kick there, eh?

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, aka Grandma Moses is probably one of the best know folk artists and she began painting in her seventies. Few people know she already had a career in embroidery that she gave up due to arthritis. She was self-taught and that gives me courage to keep in the direction I'm headed. I love fiddling around with textiles and fibers and I love seeing how I can take a bit of cloth or sweater and make something useful and pretty. Grandma Moses is a pretty woman, even in old age, and reminds me of Dave's mother. They both have that "grandma" look although Mrs. Bricker wasn't keen on being a great-grandma, however she was proud of having taught hard science at the college level. Both women have that early to mid 20th century "look"...black pillbox hat with veil, gloves and both have that spark that translates to a love of life, what the French call joie de vie.

Here's to LIFE; may you live it out loud with a grateful heart!

Blessings ~ life ~ laughter ~ the work of our hands ~ love ~ rainbows ~ Grandma's ~

Fiber Arts Friday Carnival

The two hand dyed skeins of yarn are farm spun while the naturally colored yarn is mill spun. I bought the naturally colored yarn from someone, now retired, in Pocahontas County, WV. As you may know, that's the home of Pearl S. Buck, 1932 Pulitzer Prize winner and 1938 Nobel Prize winner for her book The Good Earth. The Stulting Family, in 1847, immigrated from Holland to Greenbrier County and later to Hillsboro, Pocahontas County, WV where Mrs. Buck was born Pearl Comfort Stulting in 1892. When she was three months old, her missionary father moved the family to the mission field in China, and subsequently, English was her second language, taught to her by her mother and tutor.

The Boxer Rebellion split the family apart and women and children were sent to the, relative, safety of Shanghai where they lived for almost a year. Eventually, she would attend Randolph Macon Women's College, here in Lynchburg, VA, to earn her degree, Phi Beta Kapa, in 1914.

As a side note, in 2006 Randy-Mac, as it's fondly known, began accepting males and the next year formally changed its name to Randolph College.

Back to Mrs. Buck. I can vaguely remember dissension in our WV family regarding Mrs. Buck. I was never sure what the problem was because grown-ups shut up when 'little pitchers with big ears' were around. I've since researched and found out, essentially, the dissension was, as put by liberal Presbyterian Harry Emerson Fosdick, "Shall the Fundamentalists Win?"

Sigh. It's this kind of controversy that, in my belief, ole Lucifer just loves to stir the kettle. When we Christians are arguing over theology, it takes our eyes of the primary prize...Jesus Christ. If we could but keep our eyes on the prize, stay the course we would ALL be rewarded with eternity in heaven. But, no, we must argue, fuss and fight over who has the right to say what's right and what's wrong. Sheesh. I thought God had already decided all that and it's up to us to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" as it's written in Phillipians 2:12.

Anyway, Mrs. Buck's views became highly controversial in the Fundamentalist-Modernist Controversy and she had to resign as a missionary. Her life is fascinating, full of twists and turns; she was a very public figure and worth a deeper look.

All that to say, the naturally colored yarn is 50% Cheviot wool 50% silk with the wool coming from Pocahontas County, birthplace of Mrs. Buck, and being spun with Chinese produced silk, in China, in the Jiangsu Province where Mrs. Buck once lived. That has a circularity that's rather comforting, I think, and I mean no pun on Mrs. Buck's middle name.

This skein is all I've left and the hang tag is a 1934 photo of Daddy when he was seven years old. He's kneeling, arms wrapped around twin black lambs and beaming at the camera. Look closely and you'll see the stacked rock fence in the background. Daddy was the youngest boy of thirteen children and most beloved of his oldest brother and sister. As to the skein of yarn, I've yet to decide whether to hand dye this skein or even what I'll make. I do like to hold it and think about the history of what it represents, the people who have had a hand, so to speak, in the making of it; the two countries that have produced it. To me, it represents history both in the past and in the making; probably in the future as well.

Blessings ~ God who has infinite wisdom, patience, mercy, grace, love ~ history ~ my skein of yarn ~ Daddy ~

Friday Fiber Arts Carnival

I'm on my way out of town, taking Aunt Esther to the annual Pickens Pancake Breakfast. This is the 25th year of the WV Maple Syrup Festival and Aunt Esther and I have been to most of them. She's 91 this year and full of spunk and refuses to say, "No, dear, I don't think I'll go this year." The only time one of us doesn't go is when we're too sick to get out of our bed.

So, Friday Fiber Arts Carnival will be a photo of my spinning wheel and some store bought and handspun yarn with imagination for future projects. Yep, photo was taken one summer and I've enjoyed it ever since. The red shawl, on the chair, was woven on a tri-loom.
Blessings ~ family ~ Aunt Esther ~ spinning wheels ~ yarn ~ maple syrup ~ pancakes! ~

Fiber Arts Friday Carnival and Farm Life

Squeaking in under the wire but better later than never, eh?
The Fiber Arts Friday Carnival will spark my memory and allow me to update my fiber fun while keeping me on track...hopefully!

For the past while, I've been working on felting sweater and then making tea cozies, pins, wristlets, anklets and a slew of other fun things.

Some are for sale, others for gifts and I just let my imagination take me where it will. It's been fun and some, like the Mickey Mouse tea cozy, are intended for specific friends while others are intended for my OWOH winner and I'm keeping the birdie for me.

This little tea cozy is in progress; not quite sure how it will turn out but know it will be cute.

I found Fiber Arts Friday Carnival through my association with Mary Jane's Farm. If you're not familiar with Mary Jane's Farm, and if you're interested in farming, sisterhood and the like, you really should visit Mary Janes Farm. You'll be glad you did, I promise!

Mickey Mouse is for friend Mary Q. who has a serious thing for all things Disney. Some of the hearts don't suit me so they will be snipped off and other somethings put in their place. It will have to be special because Mary is special!

This tea cozy is for me not because of the bird but because it was the first one I ever made and I really like it. It's happy and makes me happy just looking at it. There's a felted dragonfly who has glitter wings, a trapunto yellow bird, buttons, mirror...and that's just on one side! There's much, much more on the other side! Oh Lordy. Here's a stack of baby quilts ready to be sewn then birthed. Some already have babies they belong to while others are waiting for their baby. I've also got three Thomas Train, something or other...can't really remember but little boys SCREAM for this one, ready to go. I don't claim to be up on all the baby stuff but, trust me, I seem to have a real talent for buying what children will love. Or, maybe because they are children, they love what I make them. Who knows? Who cares? I'm happy, they're happy...it's a match well made.

I have several double sized quilts ready to go and even more ready to be cut out and pieced together. Who ever said they were bored just haven't bothered to put a few brain cells to the "problem". There aren't enough hours in the day to get done what needs to get done. Now, getting closer to spring, I'm thinking garden and talked to Daddy tonight; he's saving me some thornless blackberry vines so I can have a good start. I've got a couple of fence posts I can use, some good strong wire and, within a couple of years, those blackberry vines will give me 15 gallons of berries! Another tea cozy that needs a lot of embellishment. I pin in place, mess around with placement and embellishments before attaching everything. They are always a work in progress and more is more so I enjoy adding buttons, beads, feathers, yarn, ribbon and as much stuff as I can attach. Somehow it all seems to work and adds a bit of cheer to a breakfast table.

We woke up to a winter snowstorm that, quickly, turned into sleet, ice and rain. The poor poppy had pushed through the earth only to find it's not spring, not really, so best to hide again.

This brave little row of tulip soldiers is coming up in my bulb garden but I hope they don't bloom before the snow and ice melts. I've got photos of blooming flowers but the evening is drawing to a close. There are folks who get by on a minimum of sleep but I'm not one of them.








Yesterday and today I've spent cooking and baking. Winter time is a good time for comfort food and I've been on a blueberry kick lately. We eat baked oatmeal at least once a week around here. It's a good, simply, hearty dish that I can start before going to the barn and it's ready when I return.




















Quilting was last night, or was supposed to be last night, but was cancelled. I didn't know before hand so made a peach and blueberry cobbler to take with me. The peaches and blueberries I put up last summer so the cobbler was especially delicious. I know because I stopped at Brian and Donna's house and we all sampled it bofore I had to leave. I figured I needed to taste test it before leaving it with them as I didn't want them to get sick or anything -smile-. We all decided it was delicious and my instructions are to remember how to make this particular cobbler again.

I'm fairly well known for my pies, probably because not that many people bake pies around here. I've had young men seek me out to tell me how wonderful my pies taste...those young men sure know how to make sure there will be another pie, or three, at the next community dinner!














The above photo is of the cobbler before the topping goes on and the photo below is with the topping. I like quick, easy and delicious and pies and cobblers fit all three -smile-.


Blessings ~ cobblers ~ textile and fiber arts ~ oatmeal ~ blueberries ~ flowers that bloom on their own schedule ~