If money were no object!!

Our old worn sectional couch had to go and I looked at thrift store and on Craigslist for something to replace it...  But everything now is so huge and overstuffed and totally inappropriate for our old house....  So I finally settled on a used sofa with a Victorian look for the end of the room... Now there was nothing for the dogs to sit on to look out the window and this would never do. 

Of course something like this old chaise would be perfect except for the price..

 

Then I ran across a "Victorian sitting bench"....arms on both ends and no back..... perfect except for the price.

So when I ran across this I knew I could make a Victorian sitting bench that would be perfect for the dogs and  off I went to the barn to find 2 old wooden folding chairs that had been destined to be returned to the thrift store from whence they came years ago....

Stay tuned..... to see these chairs transformed for Morris and Molly to watch the birds again.....

 

 

Upcoming Fan RR

Several years ago we had peacock as a guest for several weeks...  He had escaped from a nearby farm and the owner tried everything to entice it to come home... which it finally did.  But I enjoyed him immensely while he was with us.  Here he is by the door into the barn shop.  He was either here or by the slider on the house....admiring himself with his reflection....and what a strut... At night he roosted in the apple tree by the bedroom window.

I started a peacock block which had problems and went into the UFO basket... But I want to see if I can salvage it and combine it somehow with the fans from this upcoming RR.  You can see some thoughts on modifying it on Block Talk With Gerry.

I'm choosing traditional peacock colors to use in my RR fans.

Washing, Ironing and Thinking!

My hankies are laundered and need to be ironed and I laid out my table cover to get my brain working... I do like the floral focus off center and since I'm in the bird mode I can even see more bluebirds on this piece... 

My new computer arrived and it has Windows 8 which is very fast but unfortunately most of my software is not compatible with it and most is not even sold any more.  I'm thinking that I will have to keep the old computer going just to use that software.  Also the text on Win8 is so much smaller that it is very difficult to read..  It is a mixed bag...  I'm still trying to figure out where everything is.... 
 

When the buttons go on it's almost done

When I do crazy quilting there is a specific order...piecing, laces, trims, embroidery, beads and the final step is the buttons.. So when you see me adding the buttons you know it's almost done.  I've been collecting the buttons for my women's suffrage quilt for 3 years.  They are mostly vintage metal and black glass.

I have been doing buttons all week...hundreds of them.

To see the final stages go to http://olderrose.blogspot.com/2014/01/plans-are-shaping-up-for-border.html

My adventurous granddaughter

My 25-year-old granddaughter Madison has traveled a lot in her life but the last few years she has been doing it  SOLO with a backpack, a budget, youth hostels and cheap transportation.  She worked all summer in Alaska and now plans to spend the winter seeing South America.  

This morning I heard from her.

I have been in Columbia for almost 3 weeks. I have been  from the white sand and turquoise water beaches to the amazing jungle. I did a 5-day hike to the Lost City and am now in the city of Medellin.  In a few days I'll head south to the coffee farms to do some hiking and exploring then to Cali to catch a 20 hour bus to Quito, Ecuador.

She has started a blog to journal her travels and to give tips and advice to others with wanderlust.  I usually find out afterwards when she's gone into the Moroccan desert alone or up some jungle river on a raft in Cambodia.    She's much braver than I am...   I chuckled when I read her list of things to put in your back pack and among the very few absolute necessities was a bottle of polish for her toe nails...