Getting Back To Normal...

Brynwood Needleworks - Art by Linda Ravenscroft

Sunday was a completely relaxing day for me. While Handsome readied his equipment to play a concert in Sarasota - and then played said concert - I only had to be an avid and engaged listener.

I took my knitting to work on while he and the other early arriving-musicians set up at the concert venue. Their patrons are so eager to hear them play that they always arrive well before the concert begins to get the "good" seats. We dined with friends afterward, and then came home to Tag and Bella.

Today is Bella's First Birthday! I wanted to make a big deal about it here today, but Tag insisted on writing all about it tomorrow. He doesn't always get his way around here, but I thought you might like to see the Birthday celebration through his eyes, instead of mine.

In the meantime, I'll be catching my breath and enjoying getting back to "normal" around here.

Perhaps It Was The Faerie Dust...

Be sure to click on the pictures to get a closer look!

 If you recognized this as the cabinet that used to be in my studio, congratulations! 

I know I said I wanted to get rid of it, but I just couldn't. I love it too much.

I moved it onto the covered lanai so it would be out of the weather, and then 

I placed my Nantucket baskets and seashells into it. It's been like that for

most of the summer, but we came home from Wisconsin with "company", 

so I decided it was about time I did something to make them feel at home.

 You see, we came home with faeries. They followed Tag back to Florida!

 I had lots of things that were just their size, along with a few other special

touches, and I think they'll be so much more comfortable here now.

 On this end, you'll see that they have sweet, little chairs to settle into,

and I've made sure the faerie bunnies have a little hidden place to play.

My friend, Krisann crocheted a little brown, covered acorn for me, but 

it's just the perfect size for a faerie basket and the acorn top is now a

tiny tray to hold snacks on the chair arms when the sprites get hungry.

 If you peek in the back, you'll see a couple of faerie babies tucked in

and sleeping...and a wee Corgi will watch over them to keep them

safe! He'll bark an alarm if anything dangerous tries to bother them.

 There's a little red-haired faerie hiding behind the morel mushrooms. 

I know one red-haired granddaughter who will love this faerie!

Morels grow in Wisconsin in the woods, so I knew they'd be a nice addition

to help the faeries feel at home. Do you see the heart-shaped stone? It was 

a gift from my friend, Denise, and we want the tiny folk to know they're 

loved. There's another baby sleeping under the oak leaves, too! Good babies.

If you've got the feeling that this is a little faerie "daycare" you're so right!

 If you're wondering, "Why a daycare?", this corner explains everything.

You see, the other faeries aren't just hanging out in the Florida sunshine.

They're gardeners! They've been collecting acorns and air plants, but 

there's also a tray of mini faerie veggies and empty pots waiting for 

them to plant more! If you look around, you'll find other treasures 

they've collected and brought into their yard. 

I even gave them Wellington boots in their size so they don't get 

muddy feet. Of course, they're still sitting next to their tools, so I 

guess they really prefer to be barefoot when they're out exploring.

Even though I have a placed a lovely acorn-adorned birdhouse in

 back for them, it can be a sturdy, little house for the faeries live in, too. 

 I know when our granddaughters come to visit, they'll have fun investigating the faerie garden their Grandma created. Until then, I'll play there from time to time, too. I'll rearrange and add more treasures to it as I find them. It's fun to create something that's different from what I usually do. I found myself setting everything up, moving pieces around, and I was  surprised to see how quickly the time flew. Perhaps it was the faerie dust?

Tuesdays With Tag - In Search of The Faeries of Breezy Hill...

 Hi, Everybody!!!

I'm so excited. I finally get to tell you about my biggest adventure 

 since comin' to the Wisconsin campground. There's magic afoot here!

 

 You might remember that I've been spendin' as much time as I can with

these two young ladies. (They're my our granddaughters.) When last I

saw them, The Little Redhead said, "Did you know that I adore you?"

 Me? Can you believe that she adores me???

You do know that I'll take all the adoration I can get. Non-stop.

Well, these adorin' grandchildren shared a book with me recently.

 It's called "How To Find Flower Fairies".

(I prefer the Ancient Corgish spelling, "Faeries" myself.)

 Inside its pages are lots of pop-ups and flaps...and so much information

that children should know about locatin' Faeries. They could be Treetop or

Forest Faeries or Meadow Faeries, or Faeries from many other places. 

They're actually all around us, if we just take the time to look for them.

Now, while youngsters might need special teachin', this is a talent 

that has always come naturally to their magical Faerie steeds, the Corgis.

I suggested that Mom bring along her camera for a day in the campground

because I had noticed that there were very unique Faerie formations here.

 This is the first location that caught my attention. I had to check it out. It's

 actually in the tree that has our number marker for our campsight, and I

 seem to remember ancient lore regarding Faerie affinity for locations with

 ready-made addresses. (That way they can send Faerie dust to each other.)

 You'll notice that there are hidden spaces behind this front facade. I think

it's a doorway. I could smell that there had been Faeries here recently. 

Maybe this is where Faeries gather for their weekly or monthly 

councils to plan rabbit trainin' schedules or perhaps who will be feedin' 

the birds for the upcoming moon cycles? It's been a long while since any 

Corgi has attended any such meetin' so I can only imagine these things.

 I did notice a gnome rootin' around the base of one of the trees. He seemed like a friendly enough sort, but he was all tight-lipped when  I approached him on the subject of local Faeries. He just smiled and sent me on my way. (Gnomes are just harmless troublemakers anyhow.)

 I happened upon a baby rabbit, too. Man, I wanted to chase him somethin'
fierce, but I kept my cool and turned my thoughts to more pressin' matters.
I did make a note of his whereabouts for future reference, though.

 Sometimes, you just have to get real quiet and move into "stealth mode".
(Can you see me? Right. I didn't think so.)

Faeries have very sensitive hearin', but so do Corgis. We don't miss
much, unless it's on purpose, of course. Then we can be deaf as
doornails! (It's called "selective hearing" in some circles.)

 Heh, heh. Here I am. No time to goof off. Gotta keep my nose
down because I'm gettin' all itchy. My "Faerie sense" is kickin' in.

 Oh, boy! Look what I found.
A tiny warren of enchanted baby bunnies!!! They froze up when they saw 
me and didn't move a muscle. Obviously, they weren't any help either.

 What's this?
"Hey, Mom. Check this out. I think we just missed 'em."

 I found evidence of a Faerie, obviously a hard worker, too.

This one has been collectin' acorns and clover blossoms.

Did you know that if you pull apart a clover blossom and suck on the ends
 of the flower closest to the bud, it's sweet and syrupy? Yup. I'm not kiddin'.
Mom used to do it when she was a kid. She knew Faerie secrets way back then!

I just bet this Faerie is collectin' clovers to make a natural sweetener for
 their chicory or dandelion teas. They might even drink lemon grass tea! I
wonder what he or she is gonna put in that empty bucket. What do you think?

One thing I was sure of though...we're gettin' real close to findin' a Faerie.

 Then, I turned around to the next tree and look what I found. Tucked into a soft bed of moss and grasses - and hidden in the shade of flowerin' air plants -  I sneaked upon the sweetest, teeny, tiny sleepin' face. I nearly missed it! Shhhhhhh. Be very quiet.  We don't want to disturb this little one. It's a Faerie baby!

 The baby was restin' on a pillow of clovers with a headboard of weathered 

oak leaves. The Faeries left a Lady Bug to guard the little one while they work.

Lady Bugs are very vigilant and, in case of danger, they fly away to alert the

 Faeries to return quickly. I bet you didn't know they make the best of nannies.

She knew that I would neither wake the child, nor harm it, so we were able

to sit and admire her precious charge for a little while and then quietly leave.

 So, there you have my very special story this week of my adventures in search of the "Faeries of Breezy Hill". If you keep your eyes open, you  can see their little lanterns twinkle in the moonlight just like lightning bugs!   We'll return again next year to continue our search. I'm sure the Lady Bug  will tell the Faeries that I was gentle and respectful this year. Perhaps the  next time I'm here, they'll come out to visit with me. I'm sure hopin' so.    Maybe, I''ll even be allowed to act as their trusted steed one full, moonlit night, just like the Corgis of ancient days. That would be an honor, indeed.   We're leavin' Wisconsin tomorrow to start back home. Next week, I'll tell you how our trip went and then settle back into my regular routine. I know. Lyin' around, swimmin' and chasin' lizards isn't exactly glamorous, but it's the life I love and I'm anxious to get back to it. 'til next week... "Wag Like Ya Mean It!"

Faeries...

 I have a thing for calendars...especially if I think I might be able to use

the images later for something else. I'm particularly fond of Cheri Blum

images from her calendars, but these are so aesthetically pleasing to me.

 These woodland images were created by Linda Ravenscraft for a

 calendar that was produced in 2007. I have it safely tucked in the

studio along with my Cheri Blum calendars, just waiting for me.

 I have used Cheri's images in decoupage on furniture, and can just 

imagine how wonderful these might be on just the right piece. I think they'd

add a perfect touch to a chest of drawers, or on the doors of the armoire 

that stands in my studio. I can imagine acorn adornments with them, too.

 This is the front of my calendar, and it's just like new.

Now that I'm looking at it again, my mind is full of ideas for

using these images. Don't be too surprised if you see one of

them again - in another context - in the near future.

 I'll be at Coffee Club this morning, and this afternoon all of us

will be attending Flo's memorial service here in North Port.

All of her local friends will be gathering to remember her and 

all the good times we shared together. I hope the sun shines.

It would be appropriate.

Binding The Faeries...

Yesterday, I sewed the binding onto the "Faerie Glen" quilt. I chose to bind it with the same fabric that I used for the back. Beautiful, green leaves to really complete the theme of the quilt.
I sewed the label onto the back (baby's name obscured here for privacy). I'm really happy with the way it turned out, and I'll be putting it in the mail to the birthday girl today.

I'm on a binding "roll" now, so I'll finish the French General and Williamsburg Welcome quilts next. I'll share my progress tomorrow.

Hey! It's already Friday. Man, this week went fast! What did you accomplish this week? What's on your agenda for the weekend? Something fun, I hope!

PS. Thanks for all the compliments on my new look. There are a few things that have to be tweaked yet, but I'm really loving it!

Faeries In The Studio...

(You can always click on my photos to enlarge them for a better view.)

Two of my favorite young ladies are having birthdays a week apart in August. I wanted to make something special for each of them, so I decided on quilts. These ladies love dolly tea parties, picnics on the beach, and little naps in the afternoon, so I think they'll love having their own special blankets to dream on.
I decided to use a fabric line featuring garden faeries for one of the quilts. Nothing like busting into my stash in search of the perfect assortment for the task at hand. So, yesterday, I pulled out the collection. 5 1/2" strips rolled into a compact package and tied with a ribbon...patiently waiting for me me to take it off the shelf and decide how it would be cut. I decided on 5 1/2" squares (my own charm squares), from the assortment, and I added 5 1/2" lavender-colored fabric for the opposing squares. Then, I added the light lavender sashing and darker lavender corner blocks between each square set.
I started cutting the fabrics around 10 am yesterday. By 6 pm, my sewing day ended with a mostly finished quilt top to show for my efforts. It's a sashed, four-patch pattern, and it measures 48" square, which should be the perfect size. I'm going to quilt this one, and the next one (for the other little lady) myself, so I'll piece the second quilt top today, and do the assembly of both quilts (pinning top, batting and back together, finish quilting and binding) when both tops are finished.

I'll show you my progress tomorrow. Hope your weekend involves doing something fun or creative!