I've got chickens!

My dear, sweet husband built me a chicken coop for our 5th anniversary and yesterday we filled it up! I'm so excited--they are just too stinking cute!

We got two Buff Orpingtons(Buffy and Pecker(in honor of a dear friend--because chickens peck!)), two black sex-linked chicks(Monique and Unique), one Silver Wyandotte(Eagle), and one Rhode Island Red(Chicken Little).


Tade loves them so very much! It's so cute to watch. If all goes according to plan, we'll be getting 15-30 brown eggs per week beginning in late January. Hope I'm hungry!



I also received a swap package in the mail today. Thanks so much Solidia for such an awesome apron and package!

Here are the only confirmed quilters in the bee:

Bumble Beans
Yukon Viv
Solidia
Melina
San-Dee
Tara

This means I still need 6(!) to get this ball rolling. Some that had said yes have never gotten back to me so I don't want to count on them unless I hear from them. If you're interested, leave a comment letting me know and e-mail me your address. I have to hear from you in order to count you in! Invite your friends, invite your family, but invite somebody!

I still plan on having a giveaway of a bag made out of the curtains, but my sewing machine is in the shop, so SOON! (I hope!)

When I grow up I want to be an old lady

Hello Strangers! I've missed you all! Been very busy and have had bloggers block.

First things first--Congratulations to treevillemary who won my salt scrub giveaway! Please e-mail me your address and I'll get that in the mail to you straightaway!



I'll host another giveaway next week for any and all to join, just because I really like to! It will be a bag out of this wonderful broadcloth. They are recycled curtains and I just love them! My 95 year old neighbor Wilma Borges passed away three weeks ago, and she was the sweetest, kindest woman I've ever had the pleasure to know. These curtains hung in her spare bedroom and were made by her daughter Virginia in the 60s.

She was a great friend of mine and she adored Tade. She lived by herself until the last few weeks of her life and I was truly blessed to know her. Her daughters generously asked if I would like anything of hers, and I requested her rag rug which now has a place of honor in front of my sink. Knowing it was made by her hands truly makes it special.

Then her daughters gifted me with some lovely cups and saucers, vintage milk bottles, some beautiful vases and a bag marked "quilt tops to finish". I certainly didn't expect any of this but feel so lucky that Wilma counted me as a friend too and let her family know that.


These 12 stars are rather crazy quilted out of what I believe are mostly feedsacks. These were peiced by Wilma's mother, which makes them quite a treasure!



These funky blocks were pieced by Wilma's husband Roy's mother. These made me smile because her daughter Irene said that Grandma Borges wasn't much of a quilter, yet I love them all the more for their funkiness.



I also made this Everything Tote that I LOVE from Weekend Sewing. There are quite a few errors in the pattern in the book, but I persevered and will be making another bag like this using burlap are the outer bag. SO excited to see it finished!

Now for a bit of business--the quilting bee. Here is a list of the joiners.

Victoria
Heather
Melina
Alexis
Viv
Amanda
Lisa
Solidia
Colleen
Jennifer(?)
Mary(?)
Tara

There are a couple that have expressed an interest but haven't confirmed, but I'll see what I can do to convince them. Please e-mail me all of your addresses, so I can get this thing organized. We also need a name for our bee so let me know if you have any brilliant ideas!

I'd like to start in September, please let me know if that works for everyone!

Tara