Phew, settle in, this could be a long one!!

I'm not sure if it's this house, or Spring approaching, but I feel a sort of "rebirth".  Of course, the ever shrinking snow mounds and birds chirping are great for morale, but this house.....oh this house.  I just love this house!!  It makes me want to pull out my seasonal decorations and constantly "redo", and as you'll see below, I am constantly pulling my camera out.  And I know that as summer "green" approaches I'll be snapping even more pictures outside.  I am in my happy place for sure!!  Here's a sampling of what's been happening around here since my last post.  

Like I said, I'm constantly snapping pictures lately.  I think it's an age thing, or again, maybe this house, but I am finding beauty in everything.  I snapped this picture below of some indigo blue and flag stripe wool heading out to a lady who s hooking our Antique Coverlet rug in blue and white.  It's going to be stunning.  I had a very nice phone call from her saying she loved her wool!! 

Speaking of finding beauty in everything.  Oh Baxter, my loyal dog.  I bought this wicker dog bed for Ollie.  He's a Jack Russel/Rat Terrier mix and is always cold so I thought he would cuddle up in it in the dye kitchen while Mom was in there.  Well, he doesn't like it, but guess who does?  So, Baxter has taken it over in my studio!  

It was Christmas here yesterday as we got 6 large boxes of new Woolens.  Watch for them soon on www.theoldtatteredflag.com  

....another view.....

It's not hard to find beauty in this.  Here are some 1 yard pieces Mom has hanging in the dye kitchen.  I don't know what she has planned for them, perhaps they will be on the website soon, or maybe headed to the quilt show in Clayton in June...

...and here's some serious "before" pictures.  Here's the future home of The Old Tattered Flag.  We do have heat in there which is good because although Spring is showing signs of coming, heat is still needed (that's an understatement).

Enclosure of the first garage door....how exciting.  I can already picture the front facade.  I can't wait!!

Oh how pretty.  I dyed a batch of my spotted white the other day.  This is the background floss used for my "No Two Alikes" (snowflakes) design..

My once clean studio/office hasn't been that way since I showed you pictures of it finished.  Here's the "to do" corner.  Floss inventory and dyeing, new designs, patterns to draw....

...and my least favorite thing to do..........taxes!

I showed this a couple months ago.  I wanted to hook three valances for my living room.  I pulled it out to hook yesterday when the hookers were over, but, it's just not going to happen.  The windows are 40 inches wide.  Too big, I don't have the time to do them, I don't know what I was thinking.  So, I'm going to turn this into a hooked carpetbag purse!

Last weekend Mom and I ventured down to the Dulles State office building to the Antique Show.  How great it was to see all the beautiful Antiques from the North Country.  I did manage to pick up a couple of goodies....

like this cute little silver basket, that I plan to make into a little pin cushion..

...and this beautiful Glove box for my bracelets...

...and this tiny pin cushion.....

....a few blogs back I posted some photos of some beautiful vintage rug patterns given to us by Alice.  This one below was nearly finished, just needed some more background.  So Mom matched up the wool and finished it.  Just lovely!!

Wool of the Month ~ April

Mom really outdid herself putting this beautiful assortment together.  

To see more about it click this link: Wool of the Month ~ April

Yesterday was hooking day at The Old Tattered Flag.  We had a room full.  I think everyone feels the same way I do, with Spring in the air it brings us out more.  I love it when the ladies bring over their work.

Ann finished Polly Minick's "4th of July Parade".  Great job Ann!

Tamara brought over her beautiful Rooster quilt.  

Notice who photo-bombed?  Really Baxter?  I swear, he knows when a picture is being taken.  What a ham!!

Our yard and the surrounding fields has so many flowers that you pretty much can pick a fresh little bouquet everyday.  I love to have flowers on the dining room table, it just brightens the room.  Well of course those flowers aren't here yet, but, this cute little arrangement does the trick..

So, with the hookers coming over I felt the urge to make a little snack.  I found this great recipe on pinterest for lemon bars but with the added goodness of fresh strawberries.  It didn't disappoint.  Watch for the recipe in our newsletter which I hope to get out this weekend.

...and last but not least, with Spring in the air I felt it was time to take out the few Easter decorations I have (I must work on this).......

Does this bunny look familiar?  It was the inspiration for my "Through the Tulips" design...

...and my favorite Easter decoration is this gigantic carrot carved from wool with wire tops.  I got this years ago from Ginger Schraeder in Missouri.  When we were stationed at Fort Leavenworth I use to participate in her wonderful shows.  She held them four times a year at her Saltbox home.  It was new but looked like it came right out the 1800's.  What a wonderful lady she was.  I wonder if she's still doing those shows....if anyone knows let me know....just curious.

...and last but not least, I love this picture of Baxter and Tamara.  It's almost like he's saying "I'm sorry I photo bombed your picture, do you still love me?"  Of course we all do, he can do no wrong!!

Keep checking back as I have some exciting new things to show you that we will be offering on the website....

Have a good day and

....until next time....