Birthday dinner.

Not to toot my own horn, but yesterday was my birthday. Toot toot! (Thank you.)
When asked what I wanted to do to celebrate I suggested grilling up some steaks, a blue cheese wedge salad, twice baked potatoes and red wine. The finished meal never got photographed, as we also snuck a martini in before dinner...
I let the horses out to graze in the yard while Tim got the coals going (sometimes propane just doesn't cut it) and then set the table. I used my new Sis Boom Collette table cloth and all of a sudden it felt like a party! You can have one too. They are available in pink and blue on the Open Sky shop. Jennifer did a beautiful job on these.
It is now 4 a.m., I am blogging, and I think it's safe to say the party is over... back to quilting. I'll share this special project when I am finished with it later today.

Our new baby.

The life of an older school pony can be an uncertain one. Horses are expensive and when the 20 year old lesson horse can no longer take those big jumps without a chance of injury, and it's too much to do lesson after lesson, they find it hard to earn their keep.
Meet Serena. A star jumper at Ox Ridge Hunt Club for years, and then star teacher at Stoneyside Farm in Wilton after that. She is still a great pony to ride, but she deserves to be spoiled now, and she needs to be able to have a nice big stall to lay down in, and her very own paddock. She can still jump and I will give lessons on her once I have conditioned her a bit and she settles into her new surroundings... which she seems to have had no problem with. She and Tys have already bonded, maybe a little more than I would like.....
My friend Lola is going to share her with me, and a few other handpicked friends will learn how to ride, take care of, and love horses with her. We are going to give her all of the tender love and care this princess deserves.
How's that for sounding like a proud momma?
So, on behalf of Tim, Genevieve, Jack, Cheech, Ollie, Lola, Jan, Ronnie and Mila and myself- Welcome to Dark horse Farm, Serena.
Welcome home.

Have you hugged your weed-wacker today?

Yes, the ultimate green weed-wacking device on the market today. You just need a cat like Ollie to oversee that special crops, in this case Catmint- don't get "wacked" along with the weeds!

A fine pair.

After doing the tutorial this winter with the black and white felted horse pillow, I decided to make my girl silhouette in black and whit. I think these look so great together.

Did you really think the Easter Bunny would forget Tys???

Lucky boy. Luckier me.

Still stuck in neutrals.

A new member of the Dark Horse Farm extended family has arrived. His name is Dove and he is a Rocky Mountain Horse. His earthy toned coat and silvery mane and tail would be envied by any Orange County Housewife! His coloring has inspired another project. Placemats with a kind of primitive horse motif, brown and buff like him, with a bit of a sloppy zig zag boarder to give it that folk like hand made feel.
Cut the pieces 16''x 20''. Fold over edges 1/2" and sew seam. Sew a row of zig zag next to that, and anther straight seam down the other side.
I think we will have fun with him while he's here, and I know that Tys will no longer be lonesome, now that we have Dove.

I've been back at MaryJane's Farm.

This month treat yourself to MaryJane's Farm magazine and enter her world of down- on- the farm, nostalgic, organic goodness. It's not just me who checks the mailbox early every other month to see what knits and purls of wisdom she has to offer. Even super model Carolyn Murphy takes MaryJane to the beach on the days she has to indulge in her favorite things. This issue she has one of my saddle pads that has "repurposed" an old wool blanket. I've had the pleasure of doing custom work for her in the past, and she always sends me incredible vintage goodies to work with. In the the time you have to wait for your subscription to arrive in your mailbox, you can go visit her website http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/and watch her videos, read her recipes, order her baking mix, and wonder - like me- how long would it take to get to Moscow, Idaho???

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.)