The Big Black Bear

Here is a Puff Quilt in progress by a very talented friend of mine. She makes about 5 quilts a week. Along with taking care of her grand babies and in-firmed husband, she makes quilts, bakes from scratch, raised her own chickens and crops, e-mails  and crochets anything.

Her thread collection which she uses.

She is trading me a computer monitor for her industrial Singer sewing machine. This is a big black bear of a machine; but it can sew through anything. It has the knee control, pedal for speed- fast. 

Kimono No Go

I am growing Orchids! So happy to have old info from books and knowledge from others who have raised them. And I have wonderful friends who made me these wood planter pots.

I bought this kimono on the cheap. I had no idea just how gorgeous it is! All hand made embroidery. It is too pretty for me to cut up. So I am going to fix the tears and hang it for all to enjoy.

The gold fabric is tearing from the weight of the bottom. I will remove the extra weight and reinforce the torn fabric with tulle from the back.

Cleaning the Tank

Here is my husband and Cotton. Since it is very cold outside he is cleaning the fish filters indoors.

Cotton is always around in every task we do. She is not afraid of anything.

One of the perks of being raised with 8 other kittens and being part Ragdoll. She is a very laid back cat.

Cold Weather and Warm Friends

It has been a cold few weeks here in the Ozarks. I got to visit my friends and see what has been going on their farm.

They are raising Corgi and Border Collie pups. Only 2 survived this round and are already spoken for. Short, spotted and very soft. I love the Corgi breed but not the Border Collie so much.

My friends are farriers. This is their horse shoes cemetery.

Bacon bring raised. I have had some from their previous pigs, good stuff.

Auctions and Flowers

This is a wicker pig planter and a Chinese Sheng or flute. I got the pig for a dollar and the flute for $30.00. The flute is ebony wood with ivory tips. It was one of the items I had to have after spending all day at an auction for antique furniture.

Cotton resting as normal.

Dahlia, zinnia and mums all in bloom on our farm.

Fall Production

These were a friends surprise pumpkins. They did not have high hopes until near Halloween and they had a bounty of squash.

I have been baking and making seeds and pie filling for days. My horses and poultry have lots to snack on.

The extra room in my garden gave me late bell peppers. I dehydrated them for winter use.

Oh so many tomatoes. The days hot and the nights cool and still I have more to pick. Been canning the juice and the paste.

My first tomatoe paste from an old recipe I found.

Let there be Light

I bought this lamp at an auction a year ago.

It has an amber glass shade and clear crystals dangling from the brass ring. Only about 4 were left. It looked like an unfinished project.

So for a year I tried to track down 137 crystals for under the amber shade. Wow they are hard to find and are expensive even used like on-line auctions. After a year I stumbled upon beaded fringes being sold off the lamps. They still make these fringes or you can make your own.

After a lot of sewing I got the fringe sewing unto the ring.

I also rewired the lamp with new electrics and Edison bulb.

Finished lamp as good as I could get it. It is not to everyone's taste, but I like it. The amber shade is very inviting and the beads look neat. I think this lamp was a marriage from its original parts. But that is fine. It goes with my studio.

Local Mt. View Quilt Show 2016

Last weekend there was a local non competition quilt show at the local community center. It was free to walk in and look at the quilts. I loved all the quilts I saw there. So much talent and great ideas.