Heather Bailey inspired sleeping bag.

Heather Bailey, herself, is a doll. She looks like a doll, and she's a sweet as they come. So perhaps that's why I started my series of napping sacks with her. A great big cozy nesting doll like the ones from Russia, to snuggle you, while you snuggle the doll, that snuggles the tiny doll. Get the idea? A nest of nesting dolls. Not quite warm enough for the great outdoors when it cools off, and not water proof, so really it limits you to overnights and afternoon naps. Next, Jennifer Paganelli doll, of course... not surprised- are you? Then maybe and Amy B., Denyse S., Heather R....... I better get back upstairs to the machine.

They can be made to order upon request.

Easy Sunday BBQ

It's Sunday, the last Sunday of August. It's a beautiful day, too nice not to cook out on the BBQ. Here's a healthy, simple meal to cook on the barbecue. Very little prep and hardly any dishes. Here is a recipe for Cedar Plank Salmon w/ brown sugar rub.

If you haven't ever cooked on a cedar plank, now's the time. You can use many different types of wood, but cedar seems to work best for fish. When my shop is up ( hopefully by October, via the OPEN SKY PROJECT) I will be able to sell 100% organic would planks of all types for the grill. The cool thing about this method, is it is almost impossible to dry the fish out, and the moisture from the wood will provide juicy-ness to a dry piece of beef or pork. The flavor from the wood is rich and lovely.

All you need is brown sugar, salt, pepper, and a nice salmon filet. Soak an untreated cedar plank for 20 minutes or more, watch the video, and you are good to go! As Julia (Childs) would say, "Bon apetite!"

Such raw talent.

See what I almost walked through when I went to feed the horses this morning? And I thought my handy-work was good! Thanks for humbling me, oh Mighty One!

Cookie and Lucky- here we come!

I was able to get appointments with the editors of COOKIE and LUCKY magazines to see if they would want to feature any of my inventory. Tim, my husband, was nice enough to drive Trigger and me into the big apple- those quilts are heavy! Who knows what may come of those meetings... fingers crossed! I look a bit like our dog, Cheech, when we take him for a ride.

Keep your man busy.

When my husband, Tim, isn't busy stitching old feed sacks by hand to make some sassy bedroom pillows, he finds his way to the power tools. His latest project, and it was a big one, was to build 5 sets of jump standards for the riding arena. Check the video tutorial for how to build your own.

(That's my friend Sally Waugh on her horse Captain John.)

First there was the filly, then there was Colt.

Guess who we met while we were at a big horse show at HITS on the Hudson in Saugerties, NY last weekend?
Tim got bored when I put him to work sewing pillows and took off on his bike with his camera. He met a nice guy hanging out with his cute 9 month old boy, Colt. Cute name, right? When he told me who the guy was, Olympic rider Todd Minikus, I told him to get back on that bike and go do some pictures! He and his beautiful wife, Amanda, were nice enough to pose on my quilt with baby Colt. I absolutely love these pictures. We gave Colt his first mount! Black and white Sis Boom Casey Scroll Horse on a stick- he really responded to the black and white one.
What a lovely young family. Good luck at the Hampton Classic next week, Todd!
Starstruck? Who, me?

That darn cat!

What a ham! Ollie always tries to get in the picture- hope the new owners of this quilt aren't allergic!

Another "dark horse" enters the light for the very first time.

This is my friend Brooke Brown's new baby by Bethje, Friesian goddess.She was born just 14 hours before these photos were taken. We were able to see her enter the big wide world for the first time, from the safety of her birthing stall to the hot bright outdoors. In a weird way, it was as if she had been here for thousands of years. Life is truly a miracle. Thank you to Brooke, Larry and the entire Brown clan at Old Tavern Farm for sharing this memorable moment. I feel so blessed to have been a witness. Welcome, little one!