My Space

Night View

This is how my world looks at night in winter.

It makes me feel like I'm wrapped in a warm blanket, looking out on the "sea".

Early evening view

The old shed is a hangout for animals.

 This is my world inside the cocoon.

 I can't think of a nicer place to be when it's white outside.

And here would be the best place for a winter's nap--under a pile of quilts.

Here's hoping you have a space of your own to cozy under.

Small Miracles...........This Week On the Farm

Oh, Look at those little bunnies!

Ain't they cute!?

More about these later......

This was the corn on May 27.....

This is the corn today, June 20.  It's about 6 feet tall and 

it's tasseling.....

Each one of these hairy "blooms" is an ear of corn...

Look how pretty!

And this.....

I think they're showing off!

It's dry this week, so we're getting plenty of road dust on the garden.

The blueberries are growing like gangbusters this year.  Bird netting was necessary. 

Mostly it's been mockingbirds so far that want them.

We've still had plenty for two pies and about 4 gallons frozen. Mmmmmmm......

We'll be picking green beans soon, and....

...making pickles!

Here's a garden tip for ya:  Black plastic (held down) will kill anything underneath it.

I'm using this method, along with tilling, to keep the crab grass under control, which is extremely a pain in the neck to remove by hand.  I'm saving this space for pumpkins, which won't be planted til July.

So far, so good!  Corn in the back, green beans, then tomatoes and then peppers.  Watermelons and cucumbers to the left (by the plastic) and blueberry bushes to the right.  Love this garden!

Had a visitor over the cornfield.  There's a patch in the middle of the field that the corn didn't grow, due to too much rain.  I think they are looking for something else.....

We've had some small miracles lately.  This saucer magnolia is blooming for the second time this year, after a torrential rain.

And this white crepe myrtle is LOADED with blooms this year.

Last summer it never bloomed and looked like it was going to die.

This pecan tree sprouted from a "dead" pecan tree.  It was nothing but a black stick.  It got fertilized, and it sprouted near the bottom, and it's going crazy now.  The next picture shows another pecan tree, and how big it would be if it had not "died".

Pecan tree, large. 

Okay-- a really cool "miracle":  baby bunnies.

This photo only shows one, but there were two live baby bunnies borned in the garden.  Two didn't live.  Their nest was disturbed by some unknown source, but found when weeding.  The two live ones were obviously under stress, breathing hard and weak.  It was also very hot outside, so...

I had to help "save" them.  Fed them some water and milk with a dropper.  They don't have their eyes open yet.  They were really stressed, but they perked up and looked much better after a few minutes.

Just so you know, these are wild cottontail bunnies.  If they look like this, they are 5-7 days old.  If a human touches them, the mother will still take care of them.  But the best thing to do is leave them alone.

This was a rare opportunity for me to hold something this small and alive in my hand, so small, so light, so soft, and alive!

After their "refreshing", they were placed in a safer nest location, yes, back in the garden, only a foot away from the original nest, and the mama came and moved them somewhere else!  Whew!  That's good!

I wonder if I'll recognize them when they're older?

Time for a hug!  Don't be scar'd! This is Stinky.  He's just as affectionate as a cat, rubbing on you for a hug and petting!

He loves water!

Awwww...! Only a face a mother dog could love...!

Sneak peek of new apron design in progress.

Lilac Hill pattern by Jan Patek,  all needleturn on the applique.   Fun- love doing needleturn.

I'll leave you with this- the corn,

reaching to heaven.

Happy Summer!

I Am Still Missing Her.......A Memory Quilt

~~ Dottie Rose ~~

~~~

Grief is a funny thing. You think you have things under control, you’re going along well,

or so you think. Then something triggers the sad feelings that come, and you suddenly realize you’re not in control. It’s like waves of the sea that you don’t see coming, and boom- you’re engulfed. No way to get out of it now. So there you are.

Once you’re there, hopefully you can find a way to console yourself, because there’s really no one else who can. Everyone will experience grief at some point in their lives, so you’re not alone, but grieving is a very personal experience. You want out of it, you don’t want to go back to that first initial shock wave, and you slowly recover from it, but it does eventually come back.

 I try not to fight it. I try to ride this wave. I try to find things that perhaps might make me feel better, somehow.  Today, it’s just looking at pictures of Her. And pictures of a quilt I made for her, which I’m so glad I did. I want to share this with you.

 The quilt idea is from Wendy Etzel’s book called The Collectibles Quilt. (Don’t know if you can still get a copy of this, but here’s the info on it: RCW Publishing Company, 1995, Wendy Etzel; Rebecca C. Wilber Publishing company, RR #3 Old Post Lane, Columbia Cross Roads, Pennsylvania 16914-9535; ISBN: 0-9627646 9-8.) I fell in love with this quilt book and it looked like a fun project.

I made a list about what things were my mother’s favorites: movie stars, food, vacation spots, clothing, flowers, books, quilt block, hobbies, etc. I sent her the list in the mail and she wrote her answers on the page. ( I kept the list for myself as part of the quilt documentation.) Then I set to work, adding my own things into the quilt, from my memories of her at home.

I love how this turned out. The pictures are horrible, as I had only a 1 or 2 megapixel camera at the time, but I think you can get the idea of how it turned out. It is such a precious keepsake. It is a great way to remember someone in this way.

So this is how I have comforted my self today, remembering Her, and how great a time I had communicating with her about her "Favorite Things". I think the worst we can do to people is not remember them when they are gone. The best we can do is create memorials about them or to them when they are gone. I hope you enjoy this memorial of Her..........And think about making your own quilt for your loved one while they are still here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Easy Baby Quilt to Make

Occasionally, I get asked to make a baby quilt on short notice, like lately. I didn’t feel too much like ordering any new fabric, so I looked around at what I already had in my stash. I found a free pattern and a Charm Square pack I had set aside- so here we go!

This is an Easy baby quilt that you can make from one Charm Square pack of 5 inch squares (36 squares). It’s based on a design by Kate Spain- which you can get here: http://www.unitednotions.com/fp_verna.pdf 

 

I only made a couple changes–I used a two and a half inch (unfinished) square for the very middle of the quilt, and instead of the 2 ½ inch inner border, I made it 1 ½ inches for a finished 1 inch inner border- the purple and green polka dot.

The Charm Pack I used is The Three Bears Collection by Darlene Zimmerman from Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Don’t know if you could find these anymore, as it was from a few years ago. But there are SO MANY great fabrics out these days, I’m sure you won’t have any trouble finding a Charm Pack to use instead of this one.

You can make the top in an afternoon. I used all fabrics I had already, so it was quite easy, but did have to purchase backing and binding. Quilting is a large "X" in the alternate squares, and a lopsided five point star in the other blocks, with meandering in the border.
This quilt finished size was 39 inches square.

Voila! One Baby Quilt, ready to go!