Plenty

He who tills his land will have plenty of food, But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty. ~Proverbs 28:19


This is my great grandmother. She passed away when I was very young, but I do remember her. When we would go to visit her, she was nearly always either working in the garden or her flowers. What a blessing it is to have a heritage of love for the land and for the plants God blessed us with!

denim and burgundy

I have an aunt who taught me to love old barns. We could be driving along just about anywhere, and she'd spot and old barn and comment on what a great subject for a painting it would be. She trained me to look for them without even realizing it.

There is a barn a few miles from my house that I just love. It's not particularly interesting in it's structure, and it's probably not really that old. But the colors draw me in! The way the galvanized tin and rust blend is so beautiful. I look forward to seeing it every time I drive by. One day I stopped to take pictures so I could send them to her and I thought I'd share them here as well.

Sailors Take Warnin'

My daddy and I were avid fishing buddies when I was growing up. It never got too hot or too cold for us to go fishing. (In Tennessee the water never (that I know of) froze enough that you couldn't get a boat through.) On nearly every trip, Daddy would look at the sun and quote, "Red sky in the mornin', sailors take warnin'. Red sky at night, sailor's delight." I was reminded of this as I came in from milking. The sun had just popped over the horizon, and it was a beautiful blaze.

Wrapped Up in Love

My stepmom (who hates the whole "step-" concept, but what else am I supposed to call her?) created these beautiful quilts for us. The first one was my Christmas Gift for 2007. I got to be deeply involved in the selection of style and colors. I've always wanted a double wedding ring quilt done in shades of white. She laughed and told me if I wanted a double wedding ring quilt I'd have to do it myself! :-) I love organic, unbleached fabrics, so she made it with that for the field color and the backing. I just love it. The pieced parts are done in pastels, which I also adore! The blocks are done in trapunto, which is my favorite quilting style. When I sleep under it, I feel so peaceful and refreshed. I know every stitch was a labor of love.

This next quilt was created for Wayne. It was his gift for Christmas 2008.

It's made from plaid flannels and, I think, homespun fabric. The quilting is in the shape of oak leaves. How cool is that?!?!