The Paths We Take

When I was a very young woman, my head was filled with dreams of traveling the world.....

and becoming a writer.......also........ deep inside my heart........ was a dream
of living on a farm,

raising lots of chickens.....


and lots of children.

One day, I met the man of my dreams....tossed my traveling, writing ideas out the window.....

and started a family.....much smaller than my first idea.




Then........

One day....it happened...we moved to our country home....which I am trying to make into a farm.
(yes, this is our home and that is a real rainbow I captured right over it!)




I still write....when time permits.....

but I took a path in life that has me cooking and baking,

doing the laundry,

and pursuing my other passion...embroidery.

A wonderful path where morning glories bloom,

pumpkins grow....

ducks waddle,

and chickens roam.

As I sit out in the late afternoon.....I sometimes wonder what life would be like if I had taken another path.....













But I am glad that this is my path in life.....

and I am happy about where that path will lead me.


So now......all of you.....go back ...what were your dreams and plans....why did you choose to do what you are doing now? I can't wait to hear!

Candy, Grains, or Seeds?

I get my love for antiques from my mom. When I was very young, my parents would pack my brother and I into the car, load a picnic lunch and take off on any old country road they might find. These were the days before tresspassing and vandalism got to be so bad. They would find and old house that was just about ready to fall down and search the grounds for old treasures. On many of these trips, old canning jars would be unearthed.

I have always loved old mason and ball canning jars. I remember how pretty these jars were filled with tomatoes, blackeyed peas, and peaches.My mom found me another one of these pretty blue jars the other day and brought it to me!

I have several blue jars and several white jars. My mom gave them all to me one Christmas many years ago. She spent days baking cookies and candy and packed these jars full of those sweets. Plus she canned homemade salsa from her tomato harvest that year. I want to put something in them. I think they would be so cheery with candy sticks, cinnamon and butterscotch disks, and gumdrops in them. However, there are still hungry teens running around my house. I don't mind them eating the candy, however, they are not careful with antique dishes. I just know that it would not be long before one of these jars would be broken from constant handling.

So I am thinking my only solution is to put something in them that will still look pretty, but not tempting to eat. Maybe dried beans and peas? Corn or popcorn? I was thinking buttons, however, these are in my kitchen, and I want to keep the kitchen/ food theme going. What do you think would be good? Do you have clear glass containers? If so, do you use them and what do you put in them? I can't wait to hear!

The New Girl Scout Cookies Remind Me Of Grandmother's Buttons

I am sure there are a lot of you who cherish old buttons, and like me, probably have a few of Grandmother's or Auntie's buttons tucked somewhere away in a jar.
I remember while visiting my Grandparent's I would be allowed to go through Grandma's button basket and play with these beautiful pieces. I could sort and stack for hours. I also would string them on a string to make them spin....I bet a lot of you did the same?

Yesterday I took a little trip out of town and on every corner there were adorable little girl scouts waving their arms at traffic along with their moms and dads. How can one resist and not pull over? I picked out the usual favorites...mint thins, caramel deluxe, peanut butter,....and then my eye caught the delightful daisy box! How cute they looked.One of the moms told me that these were the first time to sell for this year. I just had to buy them as well.

They come in individual wrapped packages......

and they are a little bigger than large buttons! Look at the detail...aren't they precious? They taste like animal crackers. I just love them. They reminded me of my grandmothers buttons....the favorites that look like flowers.

I think this one came off of a coat, I would love to knit a sweater to use this on!

and don't you love the detail in this one? I'm not sure what it came off of, again, I would love to use it on a coat I make.

As you can see, the cookies fit perfectly with the buttons!

They are also perfect with a cup of hot tea on a windy cold afternoon! And now my question to you..... do you have pretty buttons from some loved one? Do you plan to use it or just admire it? What is your favorite type of girl scout cookie? I can't wait to hear!

Making it a little more feminine

First of all, thank all of you for your suggestions on the types of towels you think the embroidery on the last post would go good with. You are all such a wonderful help!

While shopping the other day, I noticed this beautiful pink cotton shirt in the ....men's section. Is is just me or do any of you find that it is hard to find a women's shirt in this color? Where I live, that is how it is. I could not help myself. I love men's shirts for only a couple of reasons. They are made of better quality cotton, they come in prettier shades of colors and they are spacious enough in the arms so that I can do my outside work comfortably. However, they are sometimes just right in some areas and not right in others. I want the oversize comfort and the casual look, but I don't want to look like I am wearing a man's shirt.
So with just a few simple tools and a few minutes of time.... this shirt can be made to look a little more feminine.

I wanted to cut the low hanging shirt tail of the shirt off and make the shirt even all the way around. I use a clear ruler and decide how much I want to remove.

I then make sure the line is clearly marked.

This is the scary part......
I button the shirt up and make sure seam sides and ends match up. I then use a rotary cutter to cut through both front and back at the same time.

I make sure to leave enough fabric to make a nice hem.

To give it that extra touch, I either place lace on the top of the pocket or crochet a small edging on top.

I decided to crochet the edging for this.

I think the thread color and the size of the edging is just enough to say "ladies shirt".

I love to wear broaches or pins! My husband buys me one every year at Christmas or when we are out somewhere. This is one of my favorites.

I also cuff the sleeves. I can also wear a t-shirt underneath this since is is over sized.

As you can see, the ends are even and it doesn't quite look like a man's shirt. Do any of you feel the same way about women's clothing when there is not access to very nice stores? Do you have a favorite pattern to sew perhaps? I would love to hear!

I finished the little embroidered strip I had started when the cold ice spell set in.
I love the colors of burgundy and pink together. I think this little strip will be perfect to dress up a guest towel.

Now.....the towels. This is where I love to hear your ideas. I have this pretty mauve/pink check,

It would look like this with the embroidery.

This is a moss green towel, though the color did not show up well in this photo,

This is how the embroidery would look with it.

And then there is a larger plaid mauve towel,

Which the embroidery looks like this with it. What do you think the better one would be? I would love to hear.

I am thinking about this green towel for the pansy I showed you all a few posts back. It seems to bring the colors of the embroidery out well. Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I love to hear from you!

New stitching and a surprise from The Beehive Cottage!

I just want to tell all of you who stop by to visit me and take time to leave a comment, just how much I enjoy hearing from you! I love to hear where you like to decorate with linens, what favorite creative spot you create in,your ideas on colors and design, and what your favorite things to do on a cold wintry nights. I am so amazed and thankful to find "common threads" in this large world tapestry we all share!

Old man winter was a good guest....he came on time, he visited a short while,.. left a little something to remember him by.... and then went on his way.Everything was dressed in sparkling white,....when the sun shone, it looked like little diamonds across the prairie.
As everyone huddled either in the hay outside or by the inside fire.... I worked the cold hours away on a cross stitch piece and on a new design for a guest towel.


The next day everything was thawed out and sunny weather graced our land. I was able to drive down to the post office where I found the sweetest surprise waiting for me in my mailbox! Maryjane at Beehive Cottage http://thebeehivecottage.blogspot.com/ sent these precious hand crochet dishcloths my way! She crocheted them herself.

Didn't she do a wonderful job? The colors are my favorites. Pinks, creams and greens. Just lovely! Go visit Maryjane... she travels around in the cutest little trailer when she's not at home making everything lovely! You'll enjoy the visit! I love crocheted dishcloths, rugs and doilies. So my question to you is... what is your favorite crocheted thing? Do you crochet or knit? Do you have a special crocheted item passed down to you? I can't wait to hear!

Winter has arrived, a good night to stitch

The weather here in our area has been in the 80's for a couple or more weeks. Any kind of temperature drop, is cold to me. Today, there have been more birds than usual, gathering seed,...they know what's coming....a cold spell. A REAL cold spell. The forecast says it is to be this cold all week, tonight there is to be patches of "frozen fog"......I didn't know fog froze. What happens when you drive through a wall of "frozen fog?"
Sophie and I took off for a late afternoon walk, if you look off in the distance, you can see the fog coming our way.

By the time she and I made it to the main road, the temperature dropped, the wind bit our faces, and the fog was coming at us like a blanket....but not a frozen wall yet... we didn't want to wait around to see if it actually would freeze.... the coyotes sounded more scary than usual.

Sophie was more than glad to lead the way home, and we both were glad to see the welcoming light from the window.

Sophie found her spot to spend the cold winter night, in front of a crackling fire. Soon she will be lightly barking in her sleep....chasing those cows in some warm pasture far away.

Salem was waiting for me along with my stitch work.He is my companion while I sew, sometimes approving a skein of floss with his outstretched paw. So this is where I will be as I listen to the wind blow around the house tonight. With a week of this to come, I won't be outside much..... I will get a lot of stitching done. Now, tell me.... how do you spend your cold winter nights? Watching an old movie, perhaps? Putting together a jigsaw puzzle, or stitching a new creation? I would love to hear.

UPDATE ON THE COLD SPELL THAT MOVED IN LAST NIGHT

I was awoken by the phone ringing at 5:30 A.M with the school telling me that classes and buses would be delayed until 10:00 A.M. Then the bus driver called me to say that the buses would not run at all and that my son would have an excused absence from school if we did not want to try driving him in. We live 30 miles away from school on roads that are treacherous during these times. So he has the day off. I go out to check on all of the animals and hear the crunching and snapping of the frozen woods surrounding me.


Everything is coated in layers of ice and the wind chill is even worse. All of my critters were tucked in their hay and warm, so off I go back to my stitching and I think I will make a hot pot of soup today. Stay warm everyone!!