VERY Primitive Wool Pear Pinkeep

This is  my other yellow wool  pear pinkeep.  This one is very Primitive, as you can see.  Still hand dyed yellow wool, but  I just prim'd it up a bit....  IF you are interested in this one, please e-mail me!

Sweet Wool Pear Pinkeep

I  finished this wool pear pinkeep and added to my ETSY site for sale.  I hand dyed the wool and I love how soft the yellow turned out.  I also did a very PRIMITIVE pear, which I will add next. 

www.tillysfarmhouse.etsy.com

YUMMY AND QUICK MUFFINS

I love short cuts in cooking.  Use whenever I can....Saw a great sounding coffee flavored chocolate chips muffin recipe..HAD to make right then and there. 

Had one of the quick muffin mixes that just needs water added to mix .  Lucky for me, the one I had  was chocolate chip. 

I stirred some instant coffee in the water called for and stirred that  into dry mix.  Now my water was very warm, so of course the chocolate chips melted.  OH Well.  I ended up with chocolate, coffee flavored muffins....They were really so good.  Wanted to take a picture, but we ate them all!!

Next time I will add something crunchy on the top.  Maybe chopped walnuts!!!

Enjoy!

A Penny Rug I Have been working On

I am like a dog with a bone when I start something and want to finish!!!

 I decided--weeks ago---I wanted a large, long penny rug mat for my kitchen island (hum! it is small and came from IKEA)..

Cut this mat about 34" long and I wanted to use a black background and a deep tan I had dyed for the larger penny and shades of deep red for the smaller pennys.  Decided to throw in some shades of "greenish plaids and brownish plaids as the colors did not seem right.  Then I decided to add 3 French knots in black in the center of each penny stack.  When I am done I will take a better picture and a close up!

 I am still playing around and everthing is just "laying" and Yep, I can see the rows are not straight, but this is what I have to far.  Determined to finish next week, but as they say--life keeps getting in my way!!
Here are some pictures of my progress!

What I am working on..

I have been really busy working on some wool projects and painting projects.  I have 4 pieces of furniture in various stages being worked on in the garage.  It has been so damp and misty, that I finally had to give up today and will wait on better weather.

 I will post a picture of a tool box I have worked on.  I picked it up at an antique "garage sale"..   It started out in really bad shape.  Old, dirty unfinished wood on front and back, 2 small pieces of painted wood on the side.  AND I loved the handle and the "nails" on the front and back.

 I did a light sanding to get rid of splinters, etc.  Stained it, but was not sure I  really liked,  HUM!   so I painted.  As I was painting, did not like color, so, OF COURSE,  blended my own color.  Loved it.  Decided it need "something else"....So I had been using one of the cheap mini sponge roller brushes on another piece of wood that I was painting black, so I took the almost dry roller brush and brushed the edges and top to "age" it.  Really cool!!! 

Don't know if the pictures show, but was easy and kept playing until I go the look I wanted...

 

 

 

Now all I have to do is seal this piece when the weather breaks.  Want a good seal as I might put plants in...OR I AM OPEN to suggestions!!

 

Have a fantastic day,

Margaret

Better Pictures

I apologize for the awful pictures I had downloaded yesterday.  Here are some better pictures that will show the color of the backing of the mat so much better.

 

IF you have found me, I must apologize as the "gremlins" are at work again.  I can not post or add pictures the way I always have.  Will work on the problem.  I have been doing some wool dying and would love to show you the results.  But will have to fix this posting problem first.

My best to all my blog friends.  Have a blessed day,
Margaret

FINISHED!!   I really like how the extra detail of the french knots
made the mat looked  "complete".  I know the color picture
does not show the true color of the background.  It was a hand dyed
piece I had bought.  It is a rustic reddish/burnt "orangey" color!

 OK this is in the middle of adding the Black French Knots!










 

How I reworked a penny rug mat!

I am so excited about a "rework" on one of my penny rug mats.  I have it for sale in my ETSY shop, but I  always felt it needed something else.  Then "LIGHTBULB MOMENT"  I decided to add some black!!!  With French Knots in the center of each small penny.   I love it....Added 3 french knots and anchored them in without going to the backside of the mat.  

IF anyone is interest in purchasing, just e-mail me!!

I will do the before, during and after pictures!

OK something is very wrong here.  I can not access my pictures to post!! Will keep trying!!

Just got the pictures from my husband's phone from our weekend adventure...Can you believe these icicles!!

 

 

Me by the B&B we stayed at.  Can you see me shivering!!  Burr!!

 

 

AT the very top of the picture you can see the frozen waterfalls.  We were about half way up the mountain.

 

 

MAY YOU ALL HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND MAY THE NEW YEAR BRING YOU LOVE,  GOOD HEALTH, AND A LOT OF HAPPINESS . 

BLESSINGS TO ALL MY FRIENDS,
MARGARET

 

Had trouble uploading pictures.  This B&B was beautiful.  Will try to upload more pictures

 

Lower part of Crabtree Falls, Va.

 

 

Way up near the top. That is ice!!

 

Monticello

 

 

I love this picture.  This was a tree growing next to the larger one and it "wrapped" around the larger tree.....

 

 

 

Anniversary Surprise!

My husband I and just came back from a 3 day get away at a beautiful B & B -Harmony Hills B&B in Arrington--in the Virginia Mountains to celebrate our 27th anniversary.  We even had a fireplace in our bedroom, which was perfect as it was in the 30's, cloudy, and a few snow flakes not to mention the howling wind!!  We went  to Crabtree Falls and climbed the 1.7 miles up the mountain, even climbing over icy rocks.  What an adventure we had.  Freezing---but still an adventure!!  I believe I read these are the highest falls east of the Mississippi--but I could be remembering wrong!! We could not get one picture of the entire falls...took lots of pictures as we climbed up the mountain....After being so cold and windy, we really enjoyed  the fireplace in our room and "hot chocolate" afterwords.  We also saw other things in the area and then spent time at Monticello-Thomas Jefferson's home.  What a fantastic place--even prettier in warmer weather, I am sure!!  A great anniversary and now we are looking forward to Christmas.  Hope you enjoy these few pictures! 

Let me see if my computer will let me upload a few more Christmas pictures from my house :-)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hope you enjoy.  Have more pictures, but figure that is plenty.  The painted Santa on my mantel was done by my father-in-law many years ago  He passed away 11 years ago and I wanted the Santa painted on slate to be in a special place this year to honor him.

 

 

Hello my friends,
My computer has not been so friendly for the last several months.  Guess Santa is going to have to bring me a new one.  This one is only 1 year old, but has never worked right.

Finally got my Christmas decorating done and I wanted to share a few pictures.  I just love this time of year.  I am making a few candles right now and my house is smelling so good and so "Christmasy".  H ope all of you are enjoying the season and and finding time to relax!

Well, dang!  Now my computer will only let me load these 3 pictures.   Will log off and try again.
 Smiles to all!

I am so sorry that I have not added pictures or info in a few weeks.  I know I promised info on the latest wool dyeing.....

It has been crazy and we are going on a trip starting Saturday.  I am just trying to finish up packing and you know how that goes!!!   We will be up in Pa.  visiting family, then on to West Point Military Academy, New York for my husbands' class reunion.  I am so excited about going back to West Point.  We always have so much fun and will enjoy the beautiful Fall colors, the football game, and seeing old friends..

When I return, I will post pictures of our trip and beautiful West Point. 

Thanks and see you soon,
Margaret--Tilly's Farm House

Just finished this wooly sheep and her blanket with pennys!

 

 Been rainy, chilly here in Williamsburg, Va. for days and days......So I decided today was a "me" kind of day.  Make something I have been wanting to make.  I love sheep (and crows and saltbox houses :-) and so on)...  So I took 2 different patterns and a stitchery pattern and came up with this gal.....and since it is cold--she had to have a blanket with some pennys on it.. Just finished and I took quick pictures.  Yep, the pictures are not very good, but here she is....  I am going to draw my pattern for my rug hooking pumpkin and crow and get my rug hooking together.  Then I think I will make my sheep gal another quick blanket, but maybe a bit longer on the sides.  I want to put a pumpkin on this one--for Fall......    She will fit right in now and then I will make her a Christmas blanket.... Oh, what fun!!!  

 

I know I said I would add the pictures I took of my pumpkin dyed wool and I will add tomorrow... Until then, everyone have a fantastic day.....  Sunshine is being sent your way--even if  like us here in VA. , you haven't seen the sun in days!  Margaret

 

 

 

Do you have one of those projects that you start and just never finish...well, to be honest I have a few.  But I started a needle punch Halloween piece probably 4 years ago--maybe even longer than that.  A dear friend gave me the piece and I got about 1/2 of it done and just quit.  I decided I just did not enjoy needlepunch as much as I thought I would and my hats off to all that enjoy this artform.  Maybe I would enjoy more if I did it more.  But I really got tired of rethreading that needle!!

Anyway,  I finally finished and had intended to frame my "masterpiece".  It is an odd size of 5" x 5" and I did not like how it looked in a frame.  I ended up cutting it down and made a small pillow tuck that I backed in black wool.  Looking back, I should have made the "pillow tuck" bigger by adding strips of wool to frame the piece then back it with the black wool ....   But I love it and I will enjoy pulling this out every Fall and remembering how long it took me to finish this piece..

Do you have a piece you took forever to finish....love to hear your stories....

Hugs,
Margaret



 how it looks in my kitchen.  I also did the rug hooked pumpkin piece on the shelf above the needlepunch piece.  I really love to rug hook.  I just dyed some white wool a pumpkin color with dark and light shades...  and am going to draw a pumpkin and crow to rug hook.  Will add my wool dyeing pictures next as I love how the color turned out  and I will show the progress of my rug hooking!! 

A few pictures of my Fall/Halloween Decor

Every year I take pictures of how I have decorated for the season.  The pictures are always just for me so I can decide if/what I want to do different next year.  I was just looking at them and decided I would put a  few in my blog.  Nothing is staged and you can even see my dirty dishes!! lol!!

 My decorating is for me and my family and will never be like the beautiful rooms I see in magazines, here on other blogs and on Pinterest, but that is OK.    I just love the fall season and  I am happy with whatever I come up with and have fun changing and adding as the years go by.  I have even done a bit of changing around since I took these pictures.  Oh, well........

It is too warm and early to add real pumpkins yet and I only have mums on my porch so far.  And  now I have decided that I am going to work on sewing up some more wool pumpkins to add around the rooms....because adding one more thing to my "to do" list sounded like fun!!!!

 I did want to crop some of the pictures, BUT for some reason, my picture editing program is not working right now, so please excuse these somewhat sloppy looking pictures....

HAPPY FALL AND ENJOY!

 

OOPS!  I meant to put these in some kind of order!  :-)