some sunshine from the mailbox

It was a cold, gray, and damp day when I stepped out to feed chickens, horses, and cats and to grab the mail.

That day became much brighter for having opened this package that came from June at Junie Moon...

...a beautiful sterling silver chain with a moon charm. Thank you June,

and thank you for organizing the Junie Moon Bandage Brigade effort, which provided 69 bandages for leprosy patients!

Pay it Forward

A few weeks ago I was fortunate enough to win a Pay it Forward gift from the lovely Emily at Ravenhill. I was amazed at how quickly I received her package all the way from Norway. Inside...this gorgeous pin that she made...

...as well as a lovely card, a vintage doily, and some candy!

Thank you so much Emily!!

(And, Emily is hosting another giveaway, so if you would like a chance at some beautiful kimono fabric, pay her a visit before Dec. 3!)

Which brings me to the giveaway I mentioned a few days ago. In return for the gift from Emily, I promised to pay my good fortune forward to three others. So here it is: "I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise!The only thing you have to do in return is 'Pay it Forward' by making the same promise on your blog."

in the mail

When I posted about this washcloth I knitted, I mentioned that it just needed a bar of handmade soap to go with it, as soapmaking is something I've been wanting to learn how to do. I was very touched when Carrie ~ GiGi offered to send me one of her Under the Willow soaps.

I wish you could smell the beautifully packaged 'Richly Almond & Mango' bar that I received ~ it has such a wonderful scent! And, to top it off, she also sent a Mint Chocolate Puddle lip balm from her new Mud Puddle Girl line of products.

It smells good enough to eat!

Carrie has lots of great products including soaps for the kitchen & bath, linen sprays, lip balm, and gifts, and she has a wonderful blog as well ~ I highly recommend checking it out!

Thank you Carrie!!

mail to brighten my day!

After spending the week fighting off a cold, it has finally gotten the best of me this weekend. I have spent the day curled up in front of the fire with a box of tissues, so it was really nice to receive a special package recently from Clarice.

A beautiful handmade valentine from Clarice, Auberne, & Chloe...

this very cute picture trimmed with ribbon and little jewels...

some really heavenly chocolate....

and the the most beautiful thank you note ~ isn't this pretty!

A huge heartfelt thanks!!

it's all my husbands fault...

It's all my husband's fault that I have been away from my blog so long. He surprised me Christmas morning with a new sewing machine ~ I had absolutely no idea, and he had this bought back in September!

It is like going from a volkswagon to a cadillac. My very, very simple old sewing machine was having a few problems, but I was getting by fine. Now I am amazingly spoiled by this new machine thanks to my most thoughtful husband!

So, I have been really motivated to get some sewing done. I've been making some bags to add to my shop (long overdue!), and I have also been having fun making some fabric coasters. These below are made from a flea market piece of linen with different patterns woven into it in red.

I also made one with a stamped design to use for my tea mug...

I was also so lucky to receive a package from Lisa that really brightened my day. She sent me this beautiful collage you see here...

... and this gorgeous little box containing some great buttons. Thank you again Lisa~I love them both!

Thank you again, also, to those of you who sent cards and left kind wishes in comments ~ I appreciate it so much.

I also want to mention the photo in my previous post, which so many of you commented on. The picture was taken by Stephanie of our much loved pony Jessica during one of those amazing fluffy 'snowglobe-like' snowfalls last year.

wonderful mail!

When the mail lady drove up the driveway I knew we must have a package. When I saw the box and the beautiful way it was addressed my heart skipped a beat, and when I saw who it was from, I was not surprised that that loveliness had come from Mrs Staggs.

I was completely overwhelmed to find this wonderful thank-you gift inside, that I feel completely undeserving of. This gorgeous mixing bowl is filled with a pumpkin-bread candle (which smells delicious!), cookie cutters (including a thanksgiving turkey), a dish towel with a turkey sugar cookie recipe, some perfectly pear tea, some cookie stencils, a wooden spoon, and wooden acorn, with some autumn leaves and a sprig of acorns nestled among the gifts. And a lovely vintage notecard...

I am going to enjoy everything soooooo much! Thank you Mrs Staggs...the world is a much nicer place because of you. I am thankful for every one of you who visit my blog~you're wonderful ladies!

works in progress, reading, apples...

I really loved reading all your comments last post...thanks for the breakfast ideas. Kim, I have to say I have never had peanut butter on pancakes, but I thought maybe my daughter would like that as she really doesn't like syrup. I have done oatmeal in the crockpot like Lisa...really good with cinnamon and apples. And thanks Jody for the cornbread idea...I have one of those cast iron pans that makes the cornsticks, but I have never done cornbread in the skillet. I hope it isn't a dumb question, but is it cooked in the oven or stovetop?

Since I finished my husband's hat, I got started on the tea cosy. It's really fun knitting with these bright bold stripes...

I've also been working on this reversible winter capelet I started last winter. I ran out of yarn at the end and it's been tucked away til now. Just the ribbing on the sleeves is left to be done...

I found this Robert Kaufmann cherry fabric at Joanns recently, and it reminded me of a Cath Kidston fabric in blue and red that I love but sadly don't find where I live. I want to make a tote or book bag out of it...

At the library this week I picked up Where Women Create. Wow, what great studios filled with wonderful ideas for storage, organizing, and just creating a beautiful work space. Definitely has me inspired...

Today I'm making some apple sauce and hopefully some scrumptious apple bread that is a favorite around here every fall. I will try to post the recipe here next week. This is the little tool that makes it all possible...

...it's the apple peeling gizmo from LLBean and it's the greatest for peeling and slicing apples. I just realized I chopped off the handle in my picture, but you can find it here.

Have a great weekend everyone!!!

blogging blahs....

I've been putting off posting recently because I was feeling kind of blah, and I didn't really stop to think of 'why?' until today. On Monday, my daughter started college and on this coming Tuesday my son will be going back to school for his junior year. I'm no longer a home schooling mom, and even though I will enjoy more time for my own pursuits, this leaves a big, sad void for me :(

It was a great journey and I sure will miss it!

Anyway, I have been keeping very busy...it's that time of year for canning and freezing. I've been canning quarts of tomatoes and am doing another batch today. The other day we bought some peaches at a local farm stand and I made a pie...still lots more to be frozen.

I also have lots of basil which I would love to make into pesto and freeze...reading this post reminded me of that task still to be done.

The other day I cut hydrangeas for drying....

I have managed to start another purse to add to the shop, even though I haven't yet finished the quilted one...still not sure what I'm doing with the straps on that one...

And for those who didn't see this at A Happy Miscellany, here are the goodies sent to Mrs Staggs for my 100th post giveaway. I wanted to show you the keychain because it's a snap to make and I really love it; another great tutorial from Creative Little Daisy!

I hope you are having a great week!

Vintage Button Swap & WIP

My vintage button swap package from Melissa~all buttoned up~arrived today...

pink tissue paper wrapping with a twill tape bow and a beautiful fabric & button pin.

Inside, cards of vintage buttons were paired with these lovely fabrics...also a great Amy Karol card...

Aren't these buttons wonderful? and what clever packaging!

Thanks Melissa!!!

This is todays work in progress ~ two lampshades I'm covering with this floral fabric. I still need some kind of trim for them also...

they're headed to the kid's bathroom to be used on the vintage sconces we put up recently...

Have a great weekend everyone. We are headed to Stephanie's horse show tomorrow and maybe the Renaissance Fair on Sunday.