BITS AND PIECES...

The weather has been cold and wet. So, since walking in The Woods was not really a good option, I took on several short and fun projects. One of these came up after we had the carpets cleaned and I was touring the house pulling out all those small squares of Styrofoam used to protect furniture legs from wet carpet. Ah! An opportunity! They are about 2 inches square and the perfect size to carve and make stamps. Here are three of them (I have about forty!) quickly carved and some test stamping done.

Then, while wandering the aisles at JoAnn's Fabrics I picked up 6 yards of cheesecloth. By simply putting sewing pins in the wall above the window I have some funky drapes for my studio and the light still comes through. ( No, it's not just for Halloween.)

I dug through my fabric stash and found a large piece of knit fabric, just enough to make slip covers for my two file cabinets. I only get into the paper files about once a month so covering the files is not going to be a problem. Now, they look like fun end tables! Finally, I decided to make place mats for the dining table. A tablecloth covered it up and I like looking at the top made from very old barn wood. The rain has stopped so today we are going to a local cider and apple festival. I will take photos to share!

LINING UP THE PROJECTS.....

I understand, I really do. Winter here will be long.........and wet.......and white........and did I mention long? Every time we meet someone new who finds out we are from "somewhere in the desert", the first question is "Are you ready for our winters?" Good grief....... We get it! I personally think winter is also a curious state of mind. I understand I might not be able to leave the house every day (and those of you who know me do know that has never really been an issue) . So, lets move on people; your weather that you are wearing like some kind of badge of honor will be respected by us 'desert people" and I think we can handle it. The first year we lived in our straw bale home with a plywood floor and open foundation was cold. Yes indeed it was. We knew this the morning we woke up to find that the cat's water dish on the floor had frozen over. So, I do believe we will be fine. (rant over)

Now, about those projects! Here is a photograph of my shopping trip this morning. This pile of "stuff" will eventually turn into a sweater made from a lamb's wool and polyester fiber called "Rose Heather". This will require some precision (like counting stitches) so will be an exercise in patience. I will share results, good or bad!

WORKING THROUGH THAT LIST...

Yup, I am a list maker. Can't help it. It is the ONLY way I can get everything done since I tend to "forget" those things I don't really want to do. So, the curtains are finished; well most of them. I am finishing up a quilt I started in New Mexico and put aside until I knew the size of the bed it would be going on. It is going to be just beautiful! So, we took out some time to do a little bit of creativity. Here are our walking sticks for the trips into Our Woods. Roy is collecting sticks, sanding them and turning them over to me for embellishment. Soon, we will have several for friends and family. How fun is that?

DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE AN OPPORTUNITY HERE? ?

You KNOW I do! I would love to hear your ideas on how to best make this wonderful "canvas" not so "white". Speak up my friends!

AND THE THIRD FLOOR....

The top floor of our home has two bedrooms and a sitting area between them, as well as a large bathroom. I have to tell you, I am getting a LOT of exercise!

This is the master bedroom. This desk and chair belonged to my Grandmother; it was her writing desk.

This is the guest room.So now you have seen the lower level (my studio), the main level (kitchen, dining area and living space), and the upper level. We love it a lot!

FEATHERING THE NEST.....

One reason you are not seeing many creative posts is that we have been busy putting our living space in order. This has included moving the right furniture onto the right floor of this 3-story home. Also, I have been making curtains! So, here are photos of our main living space; the dining area which has the long harvest table Roy made while we lived in New Mexico, and the living room which has the wood stove. It really feels like home now!

THE LAND OF FERNS.....

Recently we were discussing the need to have more ferns in the planting areas around the house. This is one of the areas before we planted ferns. Don't you just love that moss growing across and around the bricks?We mentioned to family members that we were going to go buy some ferns. Sweet and gentle people that they are, they pointed out that we might just want to transplant some of the Hundreds Of Ferns we have in our forest! Terrific idea! They have a shallow root base and took the move easily. I plan to move more of them for sure! Here you can see how much nicer it looks with the new ferns.

Oh, we have no idea who might be buried in our front planter but I'm not too concerned , are you? Actually, my plan is to bring those markers inside this winter and mosaic them! In the meantime, they do cause one to pause and reflect, huh.

TECHNICAL DRAMA...

For the past few "forevers" I have been unable to blog anything for you, my dear readers. The new camera would not play nice with the new laptop and after Roy spent 3 HOURS on the phone with Olympus it was determined that I had ONE corrupt image in my very large database of over 400 images. The problem has been solved and I am back on track. Whew!

I have so much to share with you I hardly know where to start. So, I will start with out street sign, or "signs". I guess you really can't have too many street signs, right? Yup, we live on Gravel Run Road. (both of them I guess)