Meet the girls! We had two extra passengers on our return trip from Cali and I am delighted to welcome them to my art room. The girl on the left still needs to be attached to the stand and adjusted, assuming the waist will crank to a MIDDLE-age dimension! The girl on the right (what a hussy!) had to be carefully packed so as to not moon anyone out the side window or send the State Patrol in hot pursuit on the way home .
She is modeling a beautiful new red cardigan sweater my MIL made and kindly gifted to me, along with "the girls". The two stands in front of them will be stored away in the attic until my dreams come true and I take on a space at an antique mall.
This beautiful Sugar Pine stands next to my MIL's deck. Some of you know we spent this past week visiting her in California's gold country - Amador County. She is preparing to downsize to a smaller property. We checked out the potential new locations and offered encouragement.
She is retired but has a large home studio filled with her current projects and the remaining inventory from her long career as proprietor of Lisa's Yarn Shop in downtown Jackson, California. If you knit or do needlework be sure to check out the destash in her Etsy shop,
MagicWithYarns.
I filled a little pot I had on hand with the very long needles that covered the ground under the Sugar Pine. I need to buy some Spanish Moss to tuck in around the edges. The closet box on the right came from her studio. Who needs California Closets when you can have an "atomic age" closet!
Warm, handmade, wool vests to keep me warm this winter.
She grows delicious oranges. These won't be ripe until January but they are already plump with promise of what is to come.
This beautiful Firethorn (Pyracantha) grows next to the front gate in her white picket fence.
Have you ever tasted a Prickly Pear?
These plants are higher than my head and the fruits are pear-sized, indeed. The fruit is dark red and delicious, once you get to it.
She gave me a shoebox filled with dozens of these little crochet pieces. They were gifted to her by a woman in her 90s who said that her mother made them. They are more than 100 years old.
We sorted and admired and concluded they were samples she made as she worked out her crochet patterns. These need to be used in a very special project. I am thinking of a fabric sampler book. Opinions, please... do you think I should wash them or leave them showing their age?
Leaving this beautiful country home is not an easy decision for her but I feel confident she is making a good choice and what her new home lacks in garden charm will be more than made up for in more time for friends and new adventures!
I did make one quick stop at an antique mall during the visit and I got a big new box of buttons just before we left plus I have nearly finished a project that has been sitting on my desk for months. Time to get back to my regularly scheduled programming!
