What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

Christmas is coming!  We have six kids (plus significant others) and seven grandkids.  If you let it, things can get expensive.  A few years ago we decided that the adults would each make something for the others rather than spending a bunch of money.  It's been a lot of fun for Hubs and I to see what the kids come up with.  We have actually been pleasantly surprised at their creativity!  I prefer getting something homemade rather than store bought for sentimental reasons.  We had no idea our kids could be so artistic.

Prodigal Son is probably the most ...

Sometimes I have to remind the fellas that we need to post more of what they are doing.  They've been working on this piece and I have been chomping at the bit to show it to you.  A local lady owns an olive oil shop.  She sells olive oil in various vessels, including wine bottles.  She was looking for a custom piece and contacted us.  Going from rough sketches of what she wanted, this is what they came up with:

I'm a fan of the Alaskan shows.  My favorite is probably Alaska the Last Frontier.  I love how they work as a family and have such a strong work ethic.  While watching Life Below Zero a LONG time ago, I fell in love with the Alaskan Ulu knife.  I told Hubs I just had to have one.  He offered to make me one, but time passed, we were busy and it just didn't happen.  He surprised me with one for Mother's Day.  He had started one for Christmas when he got his shop all set up, but ...

Hubs had been making things to take to all the homesteader gatherings we were going to.  We were vending and in addition to the things I would be taking, he was looking to jumpstart his business.  As an increasing number of them have been getting cancelled, I was feeling a little pressure to get his items listed on the website. 

It's not easy being me - I am webmaster, order filler, buyer, quilter, soapmaker, candle maker, gardener...I wear a lot of hats!  But I wouldn't have it any other way.  

So, I bit the bullet.  I had already ...

Hubs is a blacksmith.  Some of you already know that.  I bought him a T-Shirt last summer similar to this:

I finally set up a page on the website to sell the items Hubs and Prodigal Son are making in the workshop.  So far, most of what they have made have been requested by yours truly due to customer requests.  I have somewhat kept them from turning out the designs they have in their heart to do.  While I should 'probably' leave them alone, I just can't help myself!  :)

The first item I had them make was a garden dibbler.  A dibbler is used to plant seeds or bulbs.  The notches on it start at 1/2" and then ...

The cold weather finds me sitting in front of the woodburner all nestled up and cozy.  A lot of people start to feel depression this time of year.  The days are shorter.  The nights are longer.  We don't venture outside as much and doctors attribute the "winter blues" to a lack of Vitamin D and lack of sunlight.

Yesterday, we had a bit of warmer weather.  After spending all day Saturday in the kitchen working on this, that and the other....I needed some time outside.  I have garlic that is late being planted, so I violated the rule ...

The metal shop is up and running.  The wedding is coming in November....what???  Prodigal Son is getting married in November!  I am blessed to love all the significant other's of our six kids.  The theme of the wedding is Sunflowers.  Auntie Mo Mo (what the kids call Prodigal Son's bride-to-be) loves sunflowers and even got him to wear a sunflower shirt to the shower.

You know I can't resist posting a pic of my Puddin Pop!

For the months leading up to the Hubs' retirement, ALL he talked about was wanting a truck.  He wanted an older truck with no electronics.  He wanted to be able to work on it himself without having to have special equipment to do electronic checks, etc.  He was even willing to roll his windows up and down manually!  *GADS*  He and our two sons kept an eye on the classifieds for just the right truck.  He didn't want a restored truck.  He wanted to be able to haul farm stuff without worrying about scratching it up.  When he found ...