In Search of Wild Orchids

Jack and I took a walk yesterday to search for wild orchids that are coming up by our nearby stream. It seems so unusual to me to see something so exotic growing here in Pennsyvania. I have to do some more research into what these plants actually are. There is quite a bit of "skunk cabbage" coming up around them. Jack thought that perhaps they are a precursor to that. If you happen to know what these are, please leave me a comment!

Inspired!

I have been asked by several people...."How was the quilt show?" Well, as I stood with gaping mouth staring at amazing works of fabric art, all I could come up with was.."WOW!" Now I have more ideas than time left on earth. But I am going to try my hardest to think outside the box and get creative with my fabric stash. I actually did not spend my wad of cash as I had anticipated. Funny, when you have money in your pocket that you decide to spend, you suddenly become very picky about what you spend it on. Also the fact that I was totally overwhelmed contributed to my difficulty with shopping. Besides....there are always more quilting shows to come....I have to pace myself!

So, as soon as I got home, I immediately got out the fabric that I had earmarked for a quilt for my daughter Jenn and got to work. This quilt is going to be a patchwork made from 2", 4", and 6" squares and stripes...with coordinating sashing between panels and a few embellished patches just for fun. This picture shows the first panel and one patch onto which I appliqued a coordinating flower. I will put a border in one of the dark brown prints around the entire thing and then finish it with binding in the same fabric as the sashing. This grouping of fabrics is very popular with young gals, it seems.

Today's forcast is rain, rain, rain, but I am not bothered by that in the least. I am planning to drive to Lancaster for a huge quilting show. I am so excited! The laundry and housework are done, so my conscience is clear. I am going to spend my day getting my creative juices stimulated. It is great fun to see the creations of other quilters and stroll down the aisles filled with fabric, patterns and such. Woo Hoooooooo! Off I go with a little stash of cash and my camera......

Something Different

I needed a quick project over the weekend....so I tried this. I call it a folded star, but I am not sure what the official name of this is. I used a few Amy Butler fabric fat quarters that I was saving for something small.

Everytime I go into my sewing room I am tempted to start to cut out my next quilt. I am using a group of fabrics in chocolate and aqua that are just yummy. They have been laying there staring at me for a week now...fairly driving me crazy. I just can't seem to gather enough time together for a sewing day. Spring is such a busy time. But, the fabric is not going anywhere; and when I finally have enough time I will begin this next project. Until then...just small things like this hot mat.

This Just Struck Me Funny!

We were hiking through the woods on Saturday and came upon a tree that Jack had decorated years ago. Seems poor Woody caught a cold and has a runny nose! It is good to know that there are spiders out there with a sense of humor.

Happy Easter!

I am hoping, dear friends, that your Easter was full of blessings. We began ours with our farm animal friends and ended ours with a long drive to take Ryan back to Penn State. It was a beautiful, crisp, blue sky day. Yesterday's snow has melted and there is once again the promise of Spring in the air. The long car ride gave me a chance to count my many blessings. I am so fortunate to have good health, the love of a wonderful man, children who are happily making their own good lives, true friends and the ability to enjoy my varied endeavors. I am a very lucky woman. Life is good.

I finally got a good picture on my first quilt finished and hanging outside the barn....

Finished!

I had hoped to take a picture of this quilt outside, but it is way too windy today. So for now, I will post this picture. I am happy with the end result. Saturday I will hang it on the wall of the living room in the farmhouse.

Final Three Blocks

Well, the final three blocks have been made. The sashing and border have been added. Now it is time to assemble the quilt top with the batting and the backing. Then on to the task of quilting it all together. I hope to have this finished by Saturday, so that I can hang this quilt on the living room wall of the farm. This quilt has been so much fun....I could hardly wait to begin each new block before I had even finished the previous one. This has given me much practice in the machine applique technique.

Pretty soon enough blocks to make a quilt.....

This little tractor represents my John Deere tractor/mower and our other two farm tractors. Our favorite is "Tin Lizzy"...a vintage 1950's tractor that still runs, but most of the time serves as decoration by the barn. Our other workhorse is a Cub Cadet that looks a bit more like this quilt block, but is all yellow.

This second block represents the day lillies that grow everywhere around our farm. They line most all of the roads in our county. They are sometimes referred to as sh__house lillies because they would grow around the outhouses on local farms. Regardless of their name, they are quite lovely and add another touch of beauty to the landscape all summer long.

This morning's quilt square commemorates the 100 blueberry bushes that we planted last Memorial Day. We hope to some day have a high enough yield to open a pick-your-own blueberry field. We envision a place where families can come with a picnic lunch and pick blueberries and see the animals. At last week's inspection it seems that all of the plants have made it thru the winter and are starting to show buds already.

Today's Quilt Block

Happy St. Patty's Day....today's quilt block has nothing to do with St. Pat's. The inspiration for today's quilt block came from the grape arbor that Jack and I built together last winter and the grape vines that we subsequently planted around it. Last summer we harvested 5 grapes.....yes, I said 5 grapes.....just a taste of what is to come in the future. Hopefully we will have enough grapes to someday produce our own grape jam with the excess.

Spring Rejuvenation

Saturday was spent outdoors. The weather was warm. The sky was clear. The ground was finally drying out. I spent a good deal of time with the goats...brushing O'Malley and harvesting lots of angora wool, and petting and holding our new goat babies. Jack and the girls and I went for a walk through the magic forest (our 88 acre woods) armed with camera and video. All around us were signs of Spring. Some of the brush was beginning to bud, crocus and snow drops were blooming. The wild orchids had broken through the ground. The moss and ferns were bright green. We picked up a rock and found a salamander...not yet ready to venture out of his protected den.The bluebirds were nesting and all around us were the sounds of birds singing their cheeriest songs to attract prospective mates. It was sunny and delightful....making it almost impossible to bear any return to snowy weather.

More Blocks....

Yesterday's sewing yielded these two blocks, representing the strawberry patch and the pond which is stocked with fish. I especially like the fabric that I found for the fish....it is a print that looks just like fish scales to me! I must tell you that this is the second fish that I did. The first one (and they are not quick) I assembled the fish parts and very carefully appliqued and embellished to the wrong side of the fabric. When I realized what I had done, I tried cutting the fish out and using fusable web to adhere it to the right side of another block, but it looked cheesy....so I started from scratch and made another fish. I actually like this one better anyways.

Log Cabin

This patch represents our 200+ year old log cabin that sits by our driveway on the farm. It is very rustic. You can see a picture of it on my farm blog (in the title area).

Another Day.....Another Block

Today's quilt block is in honor of the fainting goats....this one looks a little like Chip.

A New Quilt Takes Shape

I completely finished my first quilt (which I will post as soon as I get it outside for a photo in the sun.) My next quilt is beginning to crystallize in my mind. I am making it one block at the time and designing each block after something significant on the farm. This will be my official Bee Have Acres quilt. Here is what I have come up with so far. I still have to applique the corn and the bluebird blocks shown on the right. And I have more blocks planned...such as a goat, a horse, strawberries, blueberries....and more that have not reached my consciousness yet.

Back Home Again

(This is Andy, my son.)

Wow! What a lot of driving I did. Seven and a half hours to N.C. on Friday and the same on the way home Sunday. But the inbetween stuff made the trip well worth it! It was great to visit with Andy and spend a bit of time together. We took a trip to the Biltmore Estate on Saturday and toured the house and the winery and did a wine sampling. The weather was beautiful....a great taste of Spring. The Biltmore is more like a castle than a house...and the grounds are vast and beautiful. Daffodils and tiny iris were blooming (meanwhile it was snowing back home!).
It is great to be home again and I look forward to Spring here in Pennsylvania!

Heading Out of Town.....N.C. Bound

Well, a week has passed and I have not gotten a single chance to sew....How can this be? And now that my work and errands are all caught up and potentially I could sew for he next three days while my DH is on call and busy with work....well, no sewing for me now, either. I am leaving this morning to drive to North Carolina. I checked on flights, but they were astronomical. It would be lovely to arrive in 1 1/2 hours rather than at the end of an 8 hour drive.....but I just cannot justify that expense simply for the comfort of my Bum!!! So, down interstate 81 I go in about an hour. The drive is actually quite lovely and the reaization that the further I go, the warmer it will be is delightful.

My golf clubs are packed...in case. Perhaps Saturday we will take a trip to see the Biltmore Estate. Our itinerary is open for now. We always have a great mother/son time so I am not worried. Andy is my youngest... an engineer, 23 and single, and quite handsome if a Mom is allowed to say that! He is in the process of searching for his first home to buy. So I think we will look at a little real estate also.

Well, I will be back on Monday with pictures. Have a lovely weekend!

My First Machine-quilted Quilt

After what felt like hours of assembly, I finally finished putting together my quilting table. I am now ready to machine quilt my first "official" quilt. Although I have made previous crazy quilts and hand tied them, this is the first that will be quilted with a machine. I spent most of yesterday afternoon and night on the floor with what seemed like hundreds of metal parts...that eventually fit together (with a couple of problem areas.....a hammer worked fine on those). Now I have enough space to quilt even a king size quilt. There is not much room left over for any other activities in that room! Oh, but what fun this will be!!!

I Am

If you think you know who I am,

By the words that I write,

You are wrong.

I am not my words.
I am the space between them.

(B. Frankeny)

My Little Chickadee

Grey sky, frozen ground

Howling wind, the only sound.

Garden sleeps, awaiting Spring

Chickadee cheeps and spreads his wing.

(B.Frankeny.2008)

If you like Chickadees....you will like this website!

Dark-eyed Junko on a snowy morning.

Do You Believe?

Do you believe in fairies, and gnomes, and elves, and angels, and Santa Claus? Some people say "seeing is believing", but I think that believing is seeing! The world is full of magic if you only open your eyes....but not the eyes that connect to the brain. No, you must open the eyes that connect to your heart...and you will see a much different world than you are used to.

A long time ago, when I was a child, I found a fairie in the woods. She was very small and very young and she was lost. It seems that she had been out with her fairie sisters coloring wildflowers. She had become particularly entranced by a honeybee gathering sweet nectar and fallen behind the rest of the group. I found her huddled in a hollowed-out tree stump with a tear in her eye. She was very surprised that I could actually see her (most people walk right past fairies everyday and never see them!) and explained to me that because I believed.....I could see. I offered her my outstretched hand and she climbed aboard. She has been with me ever since.

Occasionally someone will ask me how it is that I get so very much done in one day and I usually reply that I have the help of fairies. I must admit...I fib a bit, because I have only had the help of one fairy....meet Daisy Weatherbee Honeypot. She is a wee bit older than when I first found her, but since fairies do not age as quickly as humans, she is still quite young. And....she is quite industrious and brings a touch of magic to every one of my days!

Quiet, Wintery Days...

...are good for so many things that I ordinarily cannot take the time for....such as reading a good book. You might like to check out Eckhart Tolle's newest..."A New Earth...Awakening to Your Life's Purpose" It is a fascinating look into the motivations behind human behavior and how destructive our egos can be. This is one book I would place on my "Books that every human being needs to read" list. Today has also been a great day to get caught up on correspondence.


A quick walk with the dogs was followed up by a bit of quilting. I am almost finished with a quilt top in a "crossing paths" pattern.










I took a little break from quilting to make this little needle case from wool felt. The bee and the doorway are needle felted onto the front. This one is my own design. The cottage needle keeper is from a free pattern on Patternbee.com.

On the Lighter Side...

I found this link on Kay's (The Rustic Cottage)blog. Just for fun:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Lady Beverly the Prickly of Chalmondley St Peasoup Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

And I am married to:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Marquess Jack the Assiduous of Mellow under Trollness Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

And who might you be???

Writing Through Tears in my Eyes

I usually reserve this blog for things light and cheerful, but today I have to write from the heart. And this morning my heart is so very heavy. I was up early and did some work around the house. At 7 Am I decided to eat a little breakfast and watch Good Morning America. The lead story was about a huge beef recall that has been issued. Finally, and none too soon, the Humane Society has film footage of incredibly cruel and torturous treatment of cattle that are being raised to supply hamburg to schools and such. This particular California slaughterhouse has been slaughtering beef cattle that are too sick to even stand on their own feet and shipping the beef to the rest of the country. Now it goes without saying that it is unconscionable to be supplying humans with meat from sick animals. But even worse than that in my eyes is the horrendously cruel treatment that these poor innocent animals have had to endure. One segment of the film footage was a man driving a tractor and pushing sick cows with the bucket because they were unable to walk on their own. These cows were awake, aware and being shoved across the ground like they were piles of manure. I can only imagine the terror that they endured in their final hours....no to mention the suffering that was their lives up to that point.

How is it possible that any human can look into the eyes of an innocent animal and treat it with anything less than kindness and compassion. How is it possible that some humans have become such monsters. Is it the result of capitalistic greed? I need to know how this happens. It seems that if we cannot figure out how man can become this way, then we will never know how to stop it. I am so very tired of feeling helpless in the face of all these amazingly awful acts of inhumanity that we see every day in our news. Personally, I have vowed to never eat another piece of beef that comes from these stockyards, CAFO's and slaughterhouses. I will pay more for meat from locally grazed, humanely treated cattle. I have decided to eat beef and pork only on occasion and never again in a restaurant.

And don't for a moment think that this is a solitary occurrence. This is commonplace. This is the Hell that we have created known as the beef industry. This happens every single day.

How is it that mankind has taken this entire beautiful world and systematically unleashed his cruelty and violent rage on each and every type of living creature....ravaging both flora and fauna for his own greedy gain? Where is mankind's soul? Where is its heart?

Please, please, please help me stop this insanity.

Felt Cottages and Ribbon Posies

On my travels through cyberspace I came across a couple of sets of instructions. The first was for a felt needle keeper in the shape of a little cottage. This one is my version. All of my sewing needles are safely tucked inside of it.

For some reason these little ribbon posies also caught my eye. I am sure at some point I will find some item that will be in need of embellishment....and these will come in handy. Who knows, perhaps next Christmas my packages will all be adorned with red ribbon Poinsettias. They are quick and easy!

Happy Valentine's Day....The Winner Is....

Happy Valentine's Day! All of the gals who visited my drawing post went into a hat this morning and danced around together. Then we pulled a name! And the winner is....Nasbabe!!! You can visit Nash's online store here, as she is quite the soaper, apronista, and candlemaker! Nash, I will be sending your goodie out in the mail today!

Thanks everyone for visiting my blog....this was so much fun for me! Have a wonderful, love-filled day!!!

To my husband...Being married to you makes every day the happiest day of my life!
To my "kids"....I love you more than you know (someday you will love your own children and understand what I mean). I am proud of you for the caring adults that you are becoming!
To my parents....Thank you for the love, understanding and foundation that you so willingly gave to me.
To my friends....you are the sunshine that fills each of my days with joy!
Happy Valentine's Day

A New "Grandchild" For Me!!

After what began as a very sad start to the new year, my daughter Jenn has recovered from the loss of her dear little Yorkie, Kody, and ventured back into the world of dog-ownership. Meet Rocky. He is an adorable Boxer pup (seen pictured here with my Maddie). He is sweet and smart and a great addition to her family.

The Products of a Blustery Day

So I seem to be stuck on these little travel bags. They are slick and quick to do and are great practice for quilting. The bag on the right I made from fat quarters that were a thank you gift from a farmgirl friend...Bekah! You can visit her blog Pumpkin Seed. She and her adorable little girl hand picked these fabrics.....so very special and I love the green/pink and black/white combination. Thanks Bekah....you are a sweetheart!!!

Things to Do on a Frigid Winter Day

This is the view from the front window in the farmhouse. It seems that the whole world outside my front door is frozen....deep in wintery slumber. Not only does it look cold, but it is cold....bitter cold. With wind chill, the temperature is around zero. Schools have been delayed. It is just too cold for outdoor activities. So, I am staying inside and getting caught up on a little work and then doing a bit of sewing. I even have done some fabric shopping this morning. That is the beauty of the internet...supplies at your fingertips without ever leaving your warm comfortable nest!

This morning I found some yummy fabric at Starlit Nest She has some wonderful prints that have inspired me for a few new projects.

This past Saturday brought 3 inches of snow, so I sat inside, sewed my felt pins for a swap at MaryJane's Farm and drew my inspiration from my garden (or what my garden looked like a few months ago).

Crafting Travel Bags

It seems that I may be hooked on these little creations. Each one unfolds and opens up to reveal lots of pockets for transporting crafting supplies when you are on the run. These give me a chance to practice quilting and also to use up my fat quarters and fabric scraps. Hmmmm...might one of these be a giveaway item???? I wonder.....maybe, maybe not.

Valentine's Day Giveaway

In honor of that special day of LOVE, I have decided to have a Valentine's Day Giveaway. If you visit my blog on a regular basis, please leave me a comment here so that I can enter your name. I will toss all names into a hat on Valentine's Day and have my dear hubby pull a name. The person whose name he pulls will receive a Valentine surprise treat from the Bee Haven Maven (I think you will like this!!!)

Stormy Day in Central PA

Today was a day of unseasonably warm temperatures for this time of year. It was in the 60's. This week, last year we had record breaking low temperatures...I know, because I was at the farm all week long...outside in the frigid temps keeping animals fed and clean. Today, however feels more like Spring. Apparently, though, a new cold front is following this warmth bringing us a line of thunder showers. We have been very lucky compared to the tornados that have ravaged the southern states. I decided to schedule today as a "sew-all-day" kind of day. I have several projects that need completed. One of which is a Spring apron for the Sassy Apron Swap.

Diving Into the World of Free Motion Quilting

Sadly, I have not had much time for sewing lately. However, I did take the time for a lesson in how to use my quilting machine. I love the machine....it sews like a dream. What I learned at the class was how to do free-motion machine quilting. This is a really slick and quick way to quilt. I tried my hand at a wandering stitch. The only rule with this stitch is this: you start quilting and fill up your entire space with stitching...but you may never cross a line that you have already stitched. It was a bit of a challenge and I might add that I did cross my line a few times. But, all in all, I think it turned out OK and I am happy with my first little project. This is a carry all for sewing or crafting tools when travelling or going to class, etc.