Olde Pumpkin Jack Pattern

Always one of my favorite things to create.... prim olde pumpkinhead dolls of all sorts.    I've finally had a moment to get this prim guy posted in pattern form and will be listing the pattern model this week.  

Enjoy your Sunday and Happy August.  

a new week and a different note

so... Friday's post got moved to it's own permanent page   I'm not proud of doing that, but felt it had to be said and if it saves one soul from the heartache then so be it.    After a rally of support, stories, and laughter from some very good friends and people in the know, my spirits are lifted once again.  It is truly a blessing to have some amazing and special people in my life.    <><><><><><><><>   It's another scorcher of a week with temps in the 90s and Matt is staining the house.  This time we are using a different stain with a 25 year warranty..... by then I expect we won't care if the siding falls off :-)

  a snap from the winter.     tis not a fun house to stain....    He did most of my momma's in the past few weeks, but she is all one floor, so it was much easier for him. 

  I will stay in and enjoy the ac for now.   This is my day to cook for the week for my momma.    I'm going to start the week off with moldmaking.   I've been saving some autumn naturals for just that, but in the meantime I've got the wax on for some autumn ornies.....   Autumn is so easy but so hard to work on... I am on overload with ideas and the vision of what I want my booth to look like.  two shows, two shops, and a few last minute additions to manage.  and there's wood, cloth, wax, etc Autumn patterns have been selling well, so I can tell I am not the only one!      

So anyway, wanted to start the week off on a different note! 

 

Enjoy your week, wherever you are and whatever you are doing....

Today's Work Table

A busy day here....

 

Laura said our handmade blocks have been a hit at Hidden Treasures, and today was spent working on another batch.   They will be in shop by the end of the week.  This batch was done with mother's day in mind, but will also be great any time you are thinking of your momma!  Just a peek of what's coming...

 

 

if you like her facebook page (badge on the blog sidebar) you will receive updates whenever I bring new goods in! 

  We've been busy getting ready for our journey.... a couple more days of packing and planning.  My boys will be holding down the fort for us, with a little help from my momma, but are not able to do my orders.... Any orders will be processed when we return.     

Happy May Day!

May Day always brings back memories of my Grandmother.  Every year she would bless us with stories of May day, and help us to make little baskets to celebrate the day. 

My newest distraction is Pinterest, and this morning I've looked at all things May Day, just a little blast from the past.

The 1st of the month listings are up on The Olde Primitive Peddler, and I've added four new items.... take a peek if you have a moment.... button is on my blog sidebar.

I am now occupying a double space in an awesome new little shop in my hometown.  You will find Teaberry Treasures on Rt 190 in Enfield, at the crossing of South Maple Street, in Hazardville.   The proper address is 312 Hazard Avenue.  This little shop features the work of  local artists and 100 percent handmade in the USA items.  It's a bright cheery space, filled to the brim with unique items perfect for gift giving. 

Shop hours are as follows, and will be expanded during the summer months.

closed Monday and Tuesday

Wednesday 10-6

Thursday 12-8

Friday 10-6

Saturday 10-4

Sunday 10-2

shop telephone number is 860-763-0418

Have a happy month of May!



Deerfield Spring Sampler

Hope you'll Bee there :-) We can be found in booth 106.

 

I've been working on prim dolls, birds and bunnies, feedsacks, bees and flowers for the show.
We're going to be blessed with a warm sunny weekend, after a snowstorm during setup. Hopefully this will be the last snow.... we've all had enough already!

A nice day for a craft show... some photos

What a gorgeous day for a show!   Thank you Barbra!!!!  for all your work putting this show together.    I appreciate everything you do and this is one of the reasons I come back every year!  
Thanks so much to all my awesome customers and friends who stopped by to see me again this year, I really appreciate your friendship and your purchases!



I woke up very late and a bit cross, scrambling to get ready.... And I remembered to bring everything except my bag of stuff to work on.  Thankfully I did not need it. 

My husband helped setup before work, thankfully.  I did not have the fortune of his company to break down and the van is a hellish mess!   I am afraid to open the back door!

A little smaller setup than I do for the big shows.... It was very sunny, and hence these are not the best of photos, but a glimpse anyway...  The sun did feel good as it was in the 70s and breezy. 

If you see anything you MUST have, email me early this week as I have to repack the remains.  Most will be gone after my upcoming shows.

Came home with a really bad headache.   Hope to rest a bit today before I unload...

Don't forget my little pumpkin man on ebay....  He has more watchers than ever, and hiss auction will be over tomorrow. 
Pumpkin Feedsack Dolly

Have a fine week!

With Gratitude!

Oh my gosh, what a wonderful honor to be voted 1st place winner. Thank you ladies!    There were so many absolutely awesome dolls!  This was such a nice start to the summer...  Thank you Sherrie Nordgren for all your hard work on this challenge!    
 

Arts AFlutter May Lisitings

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue!   How quickly this month has gone...

Vegetable Garden vs the Trees

Well, we did it finally.  I'm a bit sad, but also excited... When we built our house 19 years ago, we kept as many trees as we possibly could.  I  love! all my trees, as well as the birds and squirrels that make their homes high up in their branches.     

 However after 19 years of working doubly hard to have a great vegetable garden while lacking the proper sun, we finally took down two mammoth oak trees at the top of the hill.  We are both not getting any younger, and I want a working garden more than ever, while we are still young enough and able to get the structure in place.   I enjoy growing our own food, and it's great exercise too.   Most years we have been able to grow some tomatoes, summer squash, broccoli, cucumbers, and leafy vegetables, but not in the great quantities we should have with the raised beds.  I cannot grow eggplant or peppers, two of my favorites.   

.  This shot was taken quite a few years ago.  We have about 24 raised beds, about 4 x 4 1/2 each and a long bed across the back. They're about 10" high, with nice rich soil.    The paths between them are lined with heavy black plastic covered by several inches of gravel.  We have room on the wooded side to add another long bed, but put it off because some of the boxes are getting crumbly after several years.  While we replace them we are going to re-do a bit, and make narrower longer beds.  It'll take longer because hubby has irrigation lines running into each bed to conserve water.   This past time we used 2 inch thick pine (not pressure treated, it's poison) for the boxes and that held up for a long time.  This time we are using thicker rough cut pine from the sawmill, and blocks from Home Depot.  I really like the cobblestones and might buy a few at a time so I don't realize how much I'm spending on them!  They might be expensive, but will never have to be replaced again.   The raised beds are pretty and make it so much easier to garden. Usually in the fall we dig in some of our shredded leaves and some compost, and the beds are nice and fertile.  We don't have to till anymore, and can just work the soil a bit and put the plants in.    After planting we add some composted chicken manure and then line each bed with newspaper and a ton of shredded leaves so there is very little weeding to do.    

Anyway, I have convinced hubby to add a whole new garden to the top of the hill where the trees were.... That is what we will concentrate on for this year, and I will plant the existing garden for one more year.  We've finally learned we can't do it all at the same time anymore, especially with my growning list of craft shows...

...will take some photos along the way!  

    

an ahh-haa! moment this morning!

oh my!

now usually when I'm this close to a crawly beast, I am shrieking! ...but only because it's caught me by surprise, I'm not afraid of snakes!

This morning I was working on some bears at the kitchen table and noticed the kitty high on his perch at the back door, straining his head and stretching his neck a lot more than usual....

I got up to see what had caught his attention, expecting to see one of my squirrel friends. Surprisingly, right away I noticed Mr. Snake, and after watching for a few moments, grabbed the camera. I snuck outside, kneeled on the porch, and watched this little guy enjoying the sun. It is a beautiful day here.... the best time of year!

Then this little chipmunk poked his head out from under the porch and these two watched each other for quite awhile. It was an amazing moment....

Kitty was looking at me like well do something mom!

lol.... well I should get back to my bears now.

Have a lovely day, wherever you are!

Americana Sam Stocking

Having a great time with my patriotic dolls and looking forward to Deerfield. The pattern to make this prim stocking is complete, and posted on my website, as is the finished doll. I had a great time making him!

Spring and Sweet Annie

My vegetable bed looks pretty sad this time of year, but that will change quickly!

Here are a few snapshots of my newest Sweet Annie so you can see what it looks like when it self seeds...

I will have to move these once the get a bit bigger as they won't like it under my picnic table...

and below is a present from my mom.... she has at least several pots that look just like this, all self seeded. It's nice to see the Sweet Annie emerging for another year, especially when we've had a bad winter.

Early Bird Setup for Deerfield

Thanks to my husband Matt for making my garden bench and table display pieces, in his "spare time". ~ and thank you Matt, Josh, and Jess for helping setup in the torrential rain that arrived just in time for setup! Love ya all!

Early Bird Setup for Deerfield