Tea on Tuesday

                                                First -

                  I must show you the happy, happy, VERY happy mail I received the other day!!!!
                                                       
                                                                From Gene Black -

This happy little embroidered block, that I happened to notice in one of his posts, and admired- ended up in my mailbox!!! Woohoo- thank you, Gene!!!!
He created it from a free download with his Brother(?) machine.After much thought, I think I am just going to frame it.
                                           LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!
                                          And, it is perfect to show off on Tea on Tuesday!!


This morning's tea, at the crack of early, yet again, is one my friend Teresa sent me from her trip to New Zealand.
                         NZ Breakfast tea (made by Twinings) , with some local VA wildflower honey.

Here is the little group of teas that "T" mailed me - the Black Adder is licorice, and boy, you can almost smell it from across the room!!!!

I am working up my courage to try the hawthorn tea! We have some hawthorn trees on  the property, and I attempted to dry some berries this past season, none too successfully. I am told hawthorn is good for the heart- I will test taste some and report back one of these Tuesdays!!!

Last night, I attended a fabric trunk show at J&B's Country Store/Ben Franklin, in Broadway, Va. Very interesting, and some really cool fabric. Of course, I ordered some.........!!!

 

Here are some of the quilt tops created from some of his fabric lines:

 

Some of the samples - I think I ordered the lime green with black swirls below.

OOPS! My friend Bobbie timed walking in front of me just right, I see!!! LOL

**(I had some of my fliers for the upcoming Mountain Meadows Quilt Retreat (August 25, 2012 with Pat Sloan!) printed - so did a little networking and passed them out at the trunk show!!

As soon as the website is up and working, I will let everyone know - so you can make your reservation- class max is 25 students! And, you know, you don't want to miss out on becoming an official "Sloanie"!)

Please join us every Tuesday for tea- drop by Patty and Kim's blogs, for a list of other tea fanciers!!!

Tea on Tuesday

 

Came home yesterday to a hysterical daughter, who, when she went out to feed the horses, could not find mine.

She looked everywhere, thought someone stole him. After calling her dad, she came back to the barn, calling my John, and heard a groan - he was in one of the other horse's stalls, on the ground, up against the stall door.

He was down and could not get up.

Katie, on the verge of a panic attack,  got ahold of the vet- and she was coming to meet me when I pulled in the drive.

My husband had been calling me to go home and meet someone who was coming to look at the car we had for sale. 

I pulled in the driveway, and Katie said - dad lied.......I could not figure out what she was talking about,( she later said I was just staring blankly at her-)and then she told me about John.

D/H had lied to get me home, thinking I would have driven off the road in my haste to get home, had I known the truth! I wouldn't have- but I certainly would not have stopped to get my sandwich, had I known my horse was in such dire straits!! D/H and I had a little chat.......LOL

There is nothing sadder than sitting in a pile of poop and pine shavings, holding your groaning horse's heavy head in your lap....sigh ...and not being able to help.

Very long story short, after some IV fluids, and alot of heaving and pushing,  mostly on the vet's part -we managed to get John on his feet.

He wobbled very unsteadily out of the barn, only to collapse shortly after in the mud of the paddock. More heaving, tugging, bribery, pushing, finally got him up again.

He has been upright since, in a separate paddock from his friends to recuperate. Not allowed in the barn the next 2 nights, lest this happens again.

Near as we can tell, he fell and got stuck in the stall, with a weak stifle- the muscle above his knee/elbow on the rear leg. Maybe a sprain, from the alternating ice and mud we've had lately;  maybe something worse, we will know more on Wednesday depending on how he's progressed. I won't bore all the non- horsey people with any more details!!!

John is the dominant gelding- he may have injured himself, trying to put one of the others in their place. I'm betting it was Cisco - since John was down in Cisco's stall, and Cisco looked quite guilty!!!LOL They can't understand why they can't all be together- but at least it is only a wire fence between them.

It's always something!!

So, I will be drinking heavy doses of chamomile - to relax!!!!!

For more actual tea related posts - please visit Kim and Patty for a list of other tea lovers!

Quick and Easy " Recipe"

                                                   

                                                   I love old gold and gilded frames. 

                           My master bath is filled with antique gold framed mirrors.

I have 2 ornate frames, found in a thrift store, that I had  mirrors cut to fit, and put in. Those hang in my living room.  

But, I do really try to keep the gilt frame theme in the bathroom!!!

Here is a quick and easy earring display I made for my bathroom. 

Most of my earrings are stored in jewelry cubbies- sometime the earrings of the day are just tossed into a huge abalone shell on my counter. This frame not only solves the problem of where to put them, but also lets me see what I have,- rather than wasting time rummaging thru the cubbies looking for a certain pair. (And, believe me - I have way more than are hanging on this frame!!!)

 

recipe

1 gilt thrift store picture frame- no glass

1 backing- pattern/design up to you

Cut a piece of chicken wire (or 1/4 inch mesh) to fit within the frame

Put frame backing on

Hang earrings on wire

VOILA ! 

FINI !

Happy Mail- Bonus Box!

I forget when or where I started swapping with Michelle. But it has always been so much fun!!! I never know what treasures I will find when I open a box from her!!!

I love her blog, and I love getting packages from Poland- I hope she loves getting packages from the US!!!

Late last year, Michelle started a project with 50 participants- and asked me to be one of them. It was really more a project for HER! Everyone was to mail her 50 pages/papers of a certain size- vintage paper, art paper, ads, any old ephemera. She was then going to assemble 50 notebooks (!), cutting, mixing, and matching all the paper she received.

                                   What a massive undertaking!!!!

Yesterday, a postage stamp encrusted box showed up at my PO - finally, after a long trip across the sea......

Unwrapping the box- I discovered a lovely handmade hang tag, and something wrapped in great brown       paper.

                                              Here, also,  was the Projekt Zeszyt- Project Notebook!

                                           Below, was what I found in the brown paper - I had sent Michelle some canning jars a while back - and she was sending me one - a great Polish glass jar! Took me a minute to figure out how to get it open- and then, that spring just FLEW off at me!!!!

The jar was stuffed with wonder-full pins- crocheted by Michelle- little flower brooches - and an adorable little button tree!!!

The jar was wrapped in a beautiful crocheted purple shawl- it is so nice - THANK YOU, MICHELLE!
My daughter saw it, and said - "It's PURPLE!"

                                               Uh, oh, hide the shawl - she loves purple!!! LOL

And, finally - here is the notebook - upside down, of course (thanks, blogger, thought we had resolved this....)

There were 50 pages of all types - so neat - just took pics of a few of them - everything from vintage, to hand painted vellum, mostly European. I almost don't want to even put anything else on the pages - each page looks great as is!!

I did already take some of the polka dot red tape that was on the package, and use it on the cover of the journal. I will probably use the stamps, and brown paper in the journal somehow also, and one of the flower pins!

What a great swap and project!!!

Be sure to drop by Michelle's blog and see some of the wonderful things she creates!!

Tea on Tuesday

                                      Today's tea is a new Stash tea I discovered- Lavender Tulsi- definite scent of lavender, with the peppery tulsi flavor. I am not usually a big fan of Tulsi teas, but this one is nice.

                                               

I am using one of a thrift store set of black and white  English Alfred Meakin ironstone- Old Orchard pattern.
I bought these several years ago to resell, but, as you can see, they never left!!!


******************************************************************


 In keeping with the Tuesday tea theme, you must visit:  Milady Productions - Art Farm

 


 for

Tea Time - A Drawing Challenge.

It's a blog post full of inspiration- with links to other participating blogs. I think anyone can still "play along".

Make sure to click on the link, at the bottom of Art Farm's post - Ariane- where you can see a list of all tea related posts- very cool!!!

Please drop by anytime- and visit Patty and Kim for a list of other Tea on Tuesday bloggers!

Scenes Around Town.....

       
                                                             New Market, Va

                                                      Just playing around...................

               
                                          I just love this door - someday I am going to open it!!!!

                                                           Hmmm, what's wrong with this picture?                                                                            

Leaving Your Mark

As I awoke this morning,with lots of unrelated ideas floating around in my head, I narrowed in on an idea for my Mountain Meadows Quilters Retreat on August 25th.

There are many ways to leave your mark- being philanthropic on a big scale- like Oprah or Bill Gates.
Parents leave their mark on their children, just by what they teach, and what they do.
Volunteering will leave your mark on your community.

But, something that has always intrigued me, and is a very simple, literal way of leaving your mark, is a signature.

 Old autograph books have always held a fascination for me- my grammar school autograph book, my mom's, and antique treasures with spidery fountain pen script and silly flowery poems, like:
                                       
                                                Remember me, when this you see.........

Hidden away somewhere, I even have an old pillowcase, signed by ladies from somewhere in the Midwest. They left their mark- we don't know why, but it is fascinating just looking at the old names, and trying to figure out who they were, and why they signed a pillowcase!!??

In my UFO pile (OK,OK- UFO MOUNTAIN!) are one or two signature quilts that are slo-o-o-owly  nearing completion.
A thought came to me, why not have a signature quilt of some type, for my quilters retreat?

It would be kind of cool - especially if this retreat thing really catches on (and why wouldn't it?)- and I could do it again next year. To have a quilt that participants could sign, and be on display the following year.....hmmmm. I like it!

**Now,- shall it be a whole cloth - just a large piece of muslin, laid out for quilters to sign and date at some point during the day of the workshop? With a whole cloth, later machine quilted, there is the option for adding signatures another year.

**Should I pass out individual blocks, for each attendee to sign/embellish in their free time? That, of course, would mean, I would be responsible for putting those blocks together into some semblance of a quilt.
Big project.................hhmmmmmm.

**I also thought of individual blocks, signed, and then later put together as a fabric book. Also, a project , but not quite as daunting. And, could be added to, if the Quilt Retreat is a success and comes back next year.

A while back, my ever active brain designed a pattern for an autograph hound - remember those? - I had one in grammar school - wish I still had him! As I recall, he had more of my doodles than actual signatures on him- not really a testament to my elementary school popularity!!!LOL

                           Anyway, I digress- the hound will be for another project-stay tuned.

                                                            So, what do you think?

                                   

                                  A whole cloth signature quilt
                                                                            or 
                                    
                                   individual 4 or 6 inch blocks 
                                           (for a quilt or a book)


Valuable input, ideas, and opinions really needed!!!!

Miscellaneous.......

On this grey, frosty morning- soon to be a rainy , grey morning - enjoy a bit of spring in our     flowering bulbs:  

                                                                    AMARYLLIS                           

 

4 beautiful blossoms all at once!

The headily scented paperwhites

Their scent is a cross between hyacinths and something dead!!LOL

(I suppose, if I was thinking, I would have removed the for sale sign and taken a more artsy photo!!!)

Some thrift store scores.........a perfect $4 vintage scarf- maybe it will become a pillow, or just be casually draped in the hunt theme room

Some vintage folding rulers- I have and use my grandfather's- but can't resist whenever I come across these! These two will probably be put in my Etsy shop (another NY's resolution- get busy and stock that darn shop!!!)

 

This vintage folding screen below was in the truck with all the condo contents- I love it - altho' I don't love the teal color scheme that was an obvious favorite of the former owner.(Note the teal-ish magazine table!)

Right now, it is standing near my sewing table in the basement studio- to help deter the soot from the wood stove from wafting over my fabric! At some point, I will replace the fabric on the screen.

                                      And last- more additions to my vintage horse tack collection:

A tangle of rusty bits was something I could not pass up - most will end up on Etsy, since they are duplicates) - EXCEPT for the two very cruel ones pictured below. Can you imagine - putting these in a poor horse's mouth?????

 

 

On a lighter note, ending this post,  a happy baby pachyderm - brought home by my mom, to add to my elephantine collection!!

Tea on Tuesday

Well, here we are............10 days into the 2012th year!.

I've made no resolutions - except maybe to blog more and be more artsy- finishing what I start!!!!
That's about as resolute as my scattered mind can commit to!!!!
 I am starting a journal for the year.

I dug out a watercolour Moleskine I purchased last year. I calculated, that if I can get 6 days per side of a page - I can fit all the days of the year into this book!!!

So, I have begun- a little blurb about each day, and a little sketch or watercolour...... pigma pens, watercolour pencils and markers. Still have to put paintbrush to water on this page, but so far, I am keeping up with the days........just thoughts and scribble scrabble!

This morning, I am drinking a tea, that suggests I should drink it with someone I love!! Since I am the only one home,  I will drink with my fellow Tea on Tuesday bloggers!

Here's the tea:

As you can see - blogger still refuses to cooperate with flipping pix - I am so frustrated with my inability to figure this out. Considering this was taken with the camera upright - like all the other pix - and this is what blogger chooses to do with some photos.

Here is the teacup of the day- a thrift store orphan that was too pretty to pass up, even tho it had no matching saucer!!

 

Another sideway that was not sideway ....sigh

Really makes me want to go back to Wordpress, altho I would lose alot of followers!!! And that took me too long!!!! I am wondering what happens when I upgrade to the next camera- how blogger will react!! Never any issues with the Nikon, only with the Canon.....

Anyway, in keeping with the artsy "resolution" for this year, look at all the art supplies that recently fell into my lap! .

D/H helped a friend empty a condo - and all sorts of goodies found their way to my house!!

Portable easel with complete set of oil paints and palettes - never used!!!!

Endless supplies!

                                                               Water colours also!!!

So, more distractions added to my daily living!!!!

I will leave you with an early morning view out my window - frost quickly fading as the sun comes out!

Please join other tea fanciers- visit Patty and Kim for a list!!!

Fell free to join us every Tuesday, even just to visit and comment!!