~ Simple Country Life ~

Good Monday afternoon stitching friends.

In my corner of the world we are being blessed with 

a gorgeous cool summer!  

No need for air conditioning at night, just a cracked window....in fact

the temperature has been so cool I have to shut the window

completely during the night! 

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Lovely weather for working outside!

I didn't have time to plant a garden this year, so I've been

enjoying going to our local 'farmers market'.

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Do you have a special tape measure in your sewing basket?

Here is one from my sewing collection of goodies....

~ Early Nickel-Plated Brass; Turtle ~

This style of turtle tape measure always has a little 

saying on the top; this one says ~

'Pull my head not my tail'

The real early ones will always have a cloth tape.  

Also, an early turtle tape should always have a nice old

patina to the nickel-plated brass.  

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Last year for my birthday my dear friend Olga (hi Olga) sent 

me this wonderful gift.....

It's a sweet little night light that plugs into an outlet.  The

design is a alphabet sampler!

This was such a lovely gift....I enjoy it out in my Studio.

Over the weekend while looking for

something, I discovered I had kept the

original box it came in, so if your 

interested in purchasing one.....

The front of the box has all the contact information listed.

....and the back of the box has the bulb information.

Their website offers LOTS of different designs to pick from,

and I think my friend Olga picked out the best one!

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My book review this week is for a primitive style magazine....

~ A Simple Life Magazine~

Here's the contact information.

Here's an example of the contents of this lovely 

magazine.

This issue contained 97 pages...it's a nice thick magazine!

Every issue is packed with great country decorating ideas.

.....gardening ideas

....sewing ideas, and much more.

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I finally got a picture of a butterfly.....

Great contrasting colors!

The sad thing is, its got a broken wing!

Hopefully after resting it will be okay?

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I love good pictures of chickens & roosters....this was

at a local farm.

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While on our Sunday drive yesterday we passed this

load of army vehicles....

This was taken in Tomah, Wisconsin.  There was a convoy of 

six army semi's hauling equipment to Fort McCoy in 

Sparta, Wisconsin.

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For my fellow rabbit lovers....here's a nice 

old clip art print to enjoy.

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~ Weekly Soul Food ~

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,

and put YOUR trust in the Lord.

~ Psalm 4:5....KJV ~

Have a lovely week, and please visit again on

Friday.

~ Kindly, Tammy ~

~ Farm Fresh Sawdust Tip For Pinkeeps ~

 Hello dear friends and stitchers!

Hard to believe it's Friday again....hope you're enjoying

this beautiful summer day.

I've got lots of different things to share with you today, 

and I'll start with my wonderful find from Ebay....

~ Early Primitive Sewing Basket ~

This sweet woven basket is from the 19th century.  What makes

it very unique is the two set-in attached basket pockets, 

and two attached pincushions.  

It's in wonderful condition for its age, the only sad 

thing is that it's missing a top lid, but that's

okay with me....I've got great plans for it!

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This next piece I've had in my collection for many years....

~Early Thread Well With Pincushion & Storage Box ~

I remember purchasing this lovely piece while on a road trip 

to Madison, Wisconsin to visit all my favorite shops.

 It's hard to find these 'Thread Wells' with all the original

pins that go through the center of the spool, and holds

it in place.  This one also has hand painted vines on 

the wood, plus its original pincushion.

The pincushion lifts up to reveal a center storage box.

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I know it's a little early to be thinking about Christmas, but in 

looking for inspiration for designing Christmas patterns 

coming up, I LOVE this book....

~ An Early Christmas ~

By Tina Woltman

Wow, this is a really awesome book filled with color photos

from cover to cover!

Hardcover, 160 Pages

Copyright 2011

Printed in the U.S.A. by Custom Printing, Inc.

Appleton, Wisconsin

It you love antiques and primitives, this book is overflowing

with wonderful ideas and inspiration.

Also, if you love German Sheep and Santa's....this is a book 

worth searching for.

During the Christmas season I'll share photos of my personal 

collection of antique German Sheep.

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Next up is my special feature for sharing my 

farm fresh idea on how I dispense SAWDUST.....

Back when I was a retail shop 'Salem Stitchery' I used

an antique automotive oil jar with the funnel 

top as my candy jar....it worked perfect for

candy hearts, jelly beans, candy corn,

M & M's etc. 

It was really nice because customers were only 

touching the candy that they were dispensing into their hand.

When I transitioned from my retail shop to designing, I had 

this empty dispenser, not knowing what to use it for.....one afternoon

the idea came to me, how about my sawdust?

I absolutely love how well the idea worked out!  It really keeps my 

work area nice and neat.

The tip of the funnel fits nicely into the slit of the pinkeep being

filled, and you can control the amount of sawdust coming

out.  I just keep slowing pouring the sawdust in and

keep packing it down with the tip of the funnel.

I was lucky to find an extra oil dispenser out in my husband's 

workshop....this one holds my crushed 

English Walnut Shell.

I love to use big old candy jars to store my extra supply.

Hope you like my idea?

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Here is a photo from my Studio showing my one of my

 worktables with different fillers....

I love turning old objects into something practical for my 

sewing passions.

These smaller glass tobacco jars work well for odds and ends....let

YOUR imagination run wild!

(small oil cans, lavender & cedar balls)

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While walking out to our pond, I was so happy to see our 

Purple Cone Flower is in full bloom....

This field of Cone Flower covers about half an acre 

surrounding our pond....it's really pretty!

The sound of bees buzzing is really intense!

They just fly from one flower to the next.

Also, lots of butterflies, but I couldn't focus my camera on 

one that would stay still....I'll try again next week!

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We woke up to a nice gentle rain this morning...the 

Marigolds just love it!

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We had more visitors in our hay field....

Six Sand Hill Cranes walking and squawking....this time I 

was able to get a little closer.

They finally decided I must be a predator...and started to fly off.

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I have decided the thread & linen for my next pattern....

The chosen threads will be DMC.

The linen for the model is going to be 32ct. Belfast 'Heritage'.

Here's a tiny peek at one of the Rabbit's eyes, sorry I can't 

show more.....maybe on Monday?

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I'm off to my daily trip to the post office.

Hope you enjoy your weekend.... please

stop back to visit me for my 

post on MONDAY.

Country Blessing,

~ Kindly, Tammy ~

~ Summer Fair ~

Good Monday my dear friends!

Hope you enjoyed a wonderful weekend, 

I sure did!

I spent all day Saturday in my Studio working 

on my next pattern release.  

After my husband's artistic eye and critiquing, a few

changes were made and hopefully later today

I'll be choosing just the right 

threads and linen.

One big advantage of having an artist for a husband, 

is that I can always get a good honest opinion 

from him (even if I don't want it), plus if I have many different shades
 of one color, and I'm frustrated with which one to pick....I just ask
 him and he always knows the answer!

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Sharing with you today from my collection of needle cases....

~ Polish Folkart Needle Cases ~

I'm actually half Polish, which my Irish husband loves to give

me a hard time about!

I love the great folkart colors, mustard, black, deep orange!

The bottoms are both stamped Poland.  They are made of wood

and have a nice lacquered finish.

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For those who love all things primitive, here's a great book....

~ Fragments by Jill Peterson ~

'Fragments' is a lovely full color book that will show you how to find inspiration in the simple things!

Copyright 2012

www.frontierhomestead.com

Hardcover, 143 pages

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While on a drive to Winona, Minnesota we always pass this 

unique hill.....

From a distance it always reminds me of "Mt. Crumpet" from the

movie "The Grinch who Stole Christmas"!

  
It's so unique the way it looks perfectly divided in half.

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On Sunday we went to our local Fair in West Salem, Wisconsin....

I thought this was a nice idea using a rusty old water
trough as a large planter.

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For me the best part of the fair is getting to see all the animals,
and of coarse I'll start with my favorite....

This fellow actually reminds me of my pattern
~Spring Meadow~ that I released back in May.

I love spotted Rabbits!

Black ones are my next favorite.

Another spotted rabbit!

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Wow what perfect timing, caught this rooster while he was
crowing!

Wonderful redheaded rooster....

Shiny black rooster....

....and a golden blond rooster.

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Oh, so sweet the chirping of these baby chicks!

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These ducks were having fun entertaining the crowd!

These guys were making a lot of noise with their quacking!

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Pretty Nubian Goat....

You can always distinguish a Nubian Goat by its long droopy ears, 
and high rounded nose.

Wonderful markings on this one!

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This horse was so photogenic, full of confidence...she should
take up horse modeling!

I love to feel their soft noses!

This horse was standing with its back legs crossed!

Little miniature pony rides for the kids.

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I've never seen a more beautiful colored Beef Cow!

These two milking cows look like they are enjoying a 
conversation with one another!

These nice grey cows look like they are enjoying a Sunday 
afternoon nap!

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Check out the 'solid round rear' on this pig!

I've never seen a redheaded pig before!

Unique markings on this one!

After all the exercise these pigs were getting....now they are
exhausted!

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~ Find Inspiration In The Simple Things ~

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~ Weekly Soul Food ~

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning,
O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer
unto thee, and will look up....Psalm 5:3 KJV

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Enjoy the peace that comes from sitting quietly 
pulling your needle & thread through linen.

I'll post again on Friday.

Farmhouse Blessing,
~ Kindly, Tammy ~