Applique Projects...

I have made many different kinds quilts but my favorite kind is appliqued quilts.  But now I'm working on smaller projects and I'm making applique pillows and towels.  Here's a few recent ones.

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Enjoy Your Journey

Just Go! and Scottie Dogs

Today is our first sunny day in a long time...we've had peeks of sunshine but today was a spectacular spring day in the country.  The grass is growing and the weeds are sending long roots down...yikes!

I have put out my red bowl with grape jelly to entice the Baltimore Orioles that will be returning shortly.  I can't wait to have them back outside my window.

We have begun to get ready for our Spring Farmgirls Country Sale scheduled for June 10 and 11.  It needs to warm up a bit more though to be able to paint in the barn...my fingers won't work if they are frozen.

Hope you are having a great early spring and we'll talk again soon!

Take care,
Bonnie

Unexpected Joy...

Another long absence...life sure gets complicated and is going way too fast.  I always say - "It's Thursday again - garbage day!."  Well - when you are retired there are certain things you have to remember or there are consequences....like living with your garbage for another week!

My latest projects ended up being so much fun.  I had a request to make pillows similar to my final outcome.

So now I'm on a roll...pinkeepers, hoops, and more pillows.  Maybe even a journal cover....tote bags...to name a few.  Ha!

Back later with more applique...one of my favorite ways to express myself.

Take care, 
Bonnie

 

 

Cooking With Minimal Heat in the Summer...

I am in love with my new Presto Pizazz Plus

 (click on the name - it will take you to Amazon where I bought mine.)

This is the machine - the part with the heat and the tray that sits on it and goes around.

You set the timer for the time your oven would take.

But there is no preheating and there you are - done!

We love pizza but this summer - the heat - oh - the heat.  So I saw that a friend of my daughter had one of these.  So I decided to go to Amazon and see what it was all about.

I'm so glad I did - I brought it to the lake where I'm never quite sure of the oven which is always gas.  I guess I'm somewhat afraid of gas and when its an oven I don't know...well, you know.  So I bought this little contraption and it worked great!

My g'kids loved it and so did I.  We made pizza and chicken wing appetizers on it.  It's great for those kinds of things.  Oh and we made Toaster Strudels and S'mores on it too.  We did have a small fire...the marshmallows need to be cut in half or as they get nice and brown...well, nothing was damaged.  And this is why you have to be near when you are making that kind of thing.  The kids and I still laugh about our S'more flare up.

Easy clean up too!  No smoke coming out of the oven so the fire alarm doesn't go off!!!  Yay!

Supper's done!

Take care,

Bonnie

Anticipation...

Most of the time, I live in anticipation.  It seems like I am always getting ready to do something - getting ready for another shop sale, making a special order, and now getting ready for a Farmgirls Country Sale at our farm.

I don't know if its healthy or not...I would like to totally relax.  But I'm thinking that I'm not that kind of person.  I suppose I need those goals to keep my spirits up - my drive going forward.

Reading in the middle of the day is a real luxury - I need to give myself special permission to do that.  Some day I will read during the day every day.

Most of the time I spend on the computer is for my business...bidding on auctions, keeping my Farmgirls Country Sale Facebook page updated with comments and pictures, pinning ideas on Pinterest to use on my old vintage stuff, and purchasing stuff I need to do all of that.

Anyway I needed to put words to paper and tonight was the night to do that I guess. Anticipating tomorrow and what it will bring...and getting my To-Do list accomplished.

 Now to go relax and read...finally,

Bonnie

Melting in Minnesota!

Ok - enough hot and humidity already.  This is Minnesota...remember?  It is true that we've only had 3 or 4 days of this heat and high humidity but I give.  I have stuff to do and can't when it is like this - and I'm inside the house!

When I water the plants on the deck, they are dry before I get back into the house. The tomatoes are doing pretty good in the galvanized tubs and wheelbarrows but next year it is back into the ground where they do so much better.  I just didn't get the raised beds weeded in enough time....actually they aren't weeded yet!  Too much to do always!

The beans Addy and I planted the end of July are doing pretty good as long as the snow holds off for a couple more months!!!

We're going to the lake for four days next week and by Monday, we will have relief.  But and I say but!  I have to get stuff ready to take with and then there's food to make.  Jeez...

Well - not to go on and on too long, that's all I can think of to say because I am melting in Minnesota!  Funny - I just remembered that my most popular post is about too much snow... Ok - That's Enough Snow Now...never happy I guess.

Take care and take time to dig in the dirt and smell the roses or zinnias or petunias....they are all good.

Bonnie

Cecil, the Lion

It is a sad day when a hunter kills a beloved Lion..."Again, I deeply regret that my pursuit of an activity I love and practice responsibly and legally resulted in the taking of this lion."  He is a dentist from Minnesota...I'm embarrassed that he's from MN.

I can't wrap my mind around this concept.  I'm just so sad - now Cecil is dead and his 24 cubs will be killed by other male lions so they can mate with the mother's of his cubs.  

I think of all the elephants and rhinos that are maimed and killed for their tusks and horns.  Humans just can't leave nature alone and at peace.

 Rest in Peace, Cecil.

Bird Rescue...

This year I have been leaving my screen house open on the deck and I had just been wondering why a bird had not flown into it and become trapped.  I had left it unzipped but not all the way up....thinking this would keep the birds out.

Well - yesterday I was coming back from a walk with Annie and heard something chirping and flying around in the screen house.  It was against the east wall and fluttering and falling and fluttering.  I decided to pull up my big girl pants and go in to rescue this poor little bird. 

Oops - I thought - better take Annie in so I put her on the porch and ventured in the doorway.  Now the bird had dropped into a big pot that had a plant in a pot in it.  There was water in the bottom and the poor thing was drowning!  

Oh my - what to do.  I pulled on the heavy pot that has a metal trellis in it and tried to get it out but it was too heavy so I could only pull it to the side.  It was enough for the soaked bird to get out and fly low over to the other corner.  

They get so scared when they are trapped that I was worried it would fly into me and I would scream and well, you know.  But I was able to pull the screen up at the corner high enough for it to fly out.  Whew!

I'm thinking it was a Thrush of some kind - it looked like this Hermit Thrush but bigger.  The beak was similar and the coloring was like this little guy.

Now I will keep the doorway zipped....it isn't a very good zipper this year so I was nervous about using it so much but in order to save the birds and myself - I'll zip it and forget it!!!

Take care,

Bonnie

My Garden is an Heirloom...

As I walk around my gardens, I remember all the people who have donated and/or exchanged plants with me.  What great memories.  We've lived here 15 years now so some of the perennials we brought along...like a pickup truck full - are gone now but the Phlox are everywhere but not blooming quite yet.  Did you know that in the fall as the seeds pods dry up that they burst and seeds go flying???  I thought I was hearing bugs in the garden and then discovered it was the Phlox!

These Hydrangea flowers came from my Mom's cousin.  

A garden is like a puzzle or mystery...to me at least.  Some things grow just great and then others not so much.  I should spend more time investigating the different plants like I used to.

Not sure what these are but the are so gorgeous!

 Bearded Iris Autumn Circus

My friend, Franci, gave me some Iris when she was dividing hers.  They come up each year but just one blooms...it is so gorgeous.  This picture isn't of mine because I forgot to take a picture this year and can't find one from previous years.  Franci lost her fight with cancer but I have this flower to remember her.


I'm getting excited to go back out in the garden because I have found someone to help me weed...hopefully we can do some dividing and planting soon.  I would like all perennials so because they keep the weeds to a minimum.  Even if they are just green leaves after flowering, I don't really care.  I love their leaves.  I have made bouquets of just leaves...they last longer than the flowers do in the house.

The silvery gray stalks are some kind of Dusty Miller.

Not sure where the tall, lanky Dusty Miller came from but last year I babied one lonely plant and now look!  My Granddaughter helped me plant my 5 wheelbarrows and in this one we planted a tomato in the middle and Mesclun (Mesclun is a salad mix of assorted small, young salad green leaves, that originated in Provence, France) around the edge.  So we have a virtual salad in a wheelbarrow!  Addy took some greens home to put on her tacos this week.  She was excited.

Those plants around Mr. Frog are radishes from last year!

The radishes didn't do that well last year so we'll see how they do this year...those little volunteers.  I thought something was fishy when I saw them around the edge...probably when it rained the seeds floated to the edge.  They weren't quite so close to the edge last year.

  

Snow on the Mountain gone crazy from our last home...

My goodness, Snow on the Mountain not only flourishes (invades) but they reverted to all green with no snow on the edges.  And they went forth and really multiplied.  My friendly gardener cleared me a path so I can get out there now without wearing a Hazmat suit!  Don't you love the non-invasive striped grass!  Time to divide and conquer!  I want to plant some out along the fence along with some Hostas.
 

The Stellas are from my friend, Doris!

Not too many years ago, I planted the Stella lilies from my friend, Doris.  Now I have a wonderful lily hedge - the grasses really like to hang with the lilies though.  More weeding to do...always!

Miniature Iris - they were so pretty this year.

 

I have three different kinds of peonies.

A couple of weeks ago we had the most beautiful peonies and miniature Iris.  The peonies have been on this farm forever and when I tried to move them I found out how big and long their tubers/roots are.  Wow!  I just cut off a part of one and moved it to the raised bed by the deck...the other one is in the garden below and will stay there as long as I am the gardener!

The lilac I planted outside my kitchen window is now huge...its a French Double White.  It is over 15' high now.  So fragrant and usually some little bird builds a nest in it so we can watch them play house.  A Robin comes back each year to the Purple Lilac that is right next to it.  This year they built their nest higher in the bush.  It is fun to have nature so close.

I will do another garden post when the other flowers are in bloom and the weeds are gone.  My grandkids helped haul up Hubby's garden from the basement so they are playing catch up right now.

Take care and go play in the dirt!!!

Bonnie

Necklace Made From Scratch...

It was so cold yesterday that I didn't accomplish much on the cabin porch...but after supper I decided that I needed to do something.  

I love the little owls that I used to make the owl necklace earlier this week so I decided to make another one.  I had seen a steampunk bracelet that connected gears to make the chain and thought that would work for this necklace.

  
So this is what I came up with - gears, two different chains, a key and a charm.  First I stacked and glued some gears together and then I paired the owl and key together so the owl would show up better.  Using jump rings, I connected everything.  Then I glued the tiny balls off a ball chain in each gear piece and in the owls' eyes.  Done!

I don't solder - yet - so I use heavier/thicker jump rings that are stronger than the normal size.  I like the way this turned out...hope it will find a good home.

I bought vintage clip earrings with the idea that I would make a bracelet.  After finding enough earrings, I made this vintage bracelet!  I'm pretty sure my Gram had one of these pairs of earrings.  She loved jewelry...her one dresser drawer was filled with the little boxes that jewelry was sold in back in the day.  Such treasures in each of those little boxes.  It was magical just looking through her treasures.

To look on my dresser, in the drawers and in my jewelry armoire, you just might guess I got my love of jewelry from my Gram.  She had many earring and necklace sets...in those boxes in her dresser.

Met a friend for lunch, stopped at the dollar store and finished up at the quilt shop.  I'd say it was a very good day even if I don't do anything else.  

Take care,

Bonnie

Jewelry Metamorphosis...

Metamorphosis...is defined as a change into something new!

Today after returning from a visit to a couple of antique stores and a take-out-to-the-park lunch, I dug into my three train cases full of jewelry parts.

First I decided to organize things a bit and found this pendant/pin with an earring glued to it.  I had made another pendant using the other earring and this one never moved me to finish it.  While the other one sold, I didn't like the way this one floated in the oval space.  I pried it off and in the process, two of the blue sapphire looking stones came off.  Using E6000 glue has always worked great for me so it took a little abuse to remove the earring.  I just glued both stones back into the piece and it awaits another future creation.

In my organizing, I found these fun owls...now one of these is not like the other.  Can you tell which one doesn't match?  It actually pays to open the little bags when you get them from an Etsy seller.  The connecting o-ring was missing on one. 

Anyway - I thought - hmmm.  I think we have a match...and it fit nicely into the space.  But I didn't like the brass background so I thought of gluing a piece of an old book page into the oval.  However, no old books along.  So what else can I use when I am here at the cabin???

I had picked up a free paper at the antique store so I paged through it and there was my old looking book page look.  An old business card for a tea room...so I cut out part of it and pressed it to the pin.  It left a mark where I could cut out the oval and then I glued it on the pin.

Now its looking better after I glued the odd owl into place.  The eyes were just indentations so being the glitter/bling girl that I am, I looked around the table to see if I had anything that small.  All my rhinestone things were too big.  Then I spotted the ball chain....Aha!  So I cut off two of the little balls and used my E6000 on a toothpick to glue in the eyes and now it looks complete!

I really like the look of my little odd ball owl...and the pendant looks way better to me.  I like to use ball chains on my necklaces.  I leave them super long so you can just cut them the length you want your necklace to be or you can add a different chain.

It was a good day - nice cool breeze on the cabin craft porch!  Let me know what you think of my little metamorphosis.  Funky owl makes me smile.

Take care,

Bonnie

To The Lake...

 
It's that time again...we're off to the lake in a couple of days.  So today I cooked and baked.  Now when we get there, we'll have all kinds of good eats and I won't be spending so much time in the kitchen...I call it the play kitchen.  It is small and somewhat awkward with minimal counter space and cupboards.  But we like it there - we can bring our dog, Annie.

Usually we meet friends two or three times during the week but last week Annie had two strokes - one on Sunday and one on Friday.  So while she is better, we don't want to leave her in the cabin while we are gone.  Her balance was way off so she would stumble and actually fall over.  Now she is stronger...she walked around the whole driveway for the first time in a week.  Her head was turned to the side and now it is straighter most of the time.

Today the weather was perfect for me...in the 60's with a cool breeze.  I hope that is how it will be Upnorth at the cabin.  I love sweatshirt weather!

 These pictures are from last year...makes me excited to get the car and truck packed up.  I will report from Upnorth and my home away from home.  I'm bringing jewelry supplies and books and maybe some hand sewing/embroidery.

 I finished my Bluebird pillow and will bring it into the shop tomorrow.  This pillow was made on my embroidery machine...I love this software.  This is my third one - can't wait to make them all.  I made one with a Cardinal and another with a Chickadee.

 

Well - off to bed to read.  Lots more to do tomorrow to get ready for relaxation at the cabin!!!

Take care,

Bonnie

 

Remembering on Memorial Day...

Well - that was a busy day and far from home!  Our family still puts flowers on the graves of our loved ones.  So today my brother, one of my daughters, and I traveled 85 miles to the cemetery.  With three of us, we accomplished all eight plots in about an hour.  

We were hurried because asphalt was being laid down on all the roads we needed to be on within the cemetery.  So because there weren't any roadblocks...I did leave an impression - on one of the roads - with my tires.  It did have to be repaired and we saw them re-rolling that part that I drove on too soon as we wandered around trying to figure out how to get to our destination without causing too much more distruction.  It is just a few days before Memorial Day when most people focus on paying respect to their loved ones...not the best time to be making chaos at the cemetery.  Our best guess is they wanted it to look nice.  Huge, big, dump trucks waited at our second stop until we had finished planting so they could do their work. 

This is always is an emotional visit for me but today with two others helping (they actually did most of the work but I drove!) it was just a pleasure to be outside, in the sun, with family digging out the grass that had over run the little planting area by each marker.  

My Dad always wanted them planted by Memorial Day and he would be proud that we got it done for him on time this year....love you Dad - hope you like the plants!  One of your nephews will be adding to what we planted so your new resting place will be fully decorated by Memorial Day!!!  Yay!

Hurrying because of the roadwork and all the biting ants!!!

Together again...

Grandma, Grandpa, Great Aunt and my 2nd Grandpa

Memorial Day

 a day of remembrance... take some time to remember.

Take care,

Bonnie

Spring means Rhubarb!!!

 

While Annie was out exploring, I decided that the cake mix and box of jello on my kitchen island needed to be transformed.  So I picked some rhubarb and made this Rhubarb Dump cake...because, of course, we need more sweets!!!

  My rhubarb is ruining my raised bed...

It is huge but not real tall - yet!

I used this recipe because my Hubby bought a yellow cake mix and truth be told - I always use butter.
 

Rhubarb Dump Cake

Cook Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 4 to 5 cups of cubed rhubarb (raw)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 (3 oz) package of strawberry (or raspberry) Jello - may be sugar free
• 1 white or yellow cake mix (2-layer size, about 18 ounces)
• 1 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup melted margarine or butter

Preparation:

Put ingredients in a buttered 9 x 12 x 2-inch pan (I use a glass pan so the rhubarb doesn’t eat the aluminum pan) in even layers in the order that they are given - do not mix. Bake in a 350° oven for 1 hour. Delicious served warm! 

I tasted it...it is yummy and vanilla ice cream will only make it better!!!

So today was a productive day in the kitchen - fried up a pound of bacon (thick sliced) in the oven - made BLT's for lunch.

After picking up auction items, we got our Heggie's pizzas that were a fundraising item for our grandson's mission trip in August so it was pizza for supper.  They are made locally and so very cheesy and good!

Dessert will be our still warm Rhubarb Dump cake...with ice cream.  No calories today!

Take care,

Bonnie

P.S.  I bought a new mop and even used it today.  I'm so impressed with my homemaker self.