Lessons of 2011 - Part One

January-was COLD

February-

I struggled with a battle between my heart and my head. I'd work for almost 10 years for an amazing person. Someone who was at first my health care provider, but whom in time became a very dear friend.

I struggled with the decision to move away from my Office Manager responsibilities in her office. It took me a long time to construct a letter of resignation. It is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I knew in the end though, it was the right choice for me. I knew in my heart that I was no longer the "right" person for the job and my heart belonged at home. I left my duties in April, but will always have a friendship to share with her.

March-
There are always daffodils

April-

I adopted a new agenda. My heart won the battle over my head.

May-

Was filled with a wedding for Kristina and Myles

May also came with a great sadness. My Aunt Penny (Willa) passed away from cancer. She was such an important part of my life growing up. I spent endless vacations and Summers with her and my Uncle. She guided me through my "teen" years. She was always there for me, both in good times and the not so good. 

 She passed away on her birth day, May 21st, early in the morning. Kristina was married on the same day.

June -

Came with sunshine, gardening and a PUPPY

TO BE CONTINUED................................

The Girasole Lady

Our Children

“Whatever they grow up to be, they are still our children, and the one most important of all the things we can give to them is unconditional love. Not a love that depends on anything at all except that they are our children.”

The Girasole Lady

The Family Man

This is one of my favorite movies.


I'm going to watch it tonight, tomorrow, and the day after that.  YEP-Becasue I love it that much.

"Don't screw up the best thing in your life just because your a little unsure of who you are."    ......   movie quote

It positively is a MUST SEE movie.

The Girasole Lady

Preserving A Past To Be Proud Of

In Spring of 1999 I gave my Grammy a book:
In this book she recorded many things for me about family. She told me about when and where she was born. She told me about her parents (my great Gramma and Granpa). She told me about her brothers and sisters, her home life, and her Grandparents (my great, great grandparents).

My Grammy died in 2009. I cannot even begin to tell you how precious this book is to me.

If you are looking for a gift for a grandparent, or parent, this Holiday season, or any season for that matter, give them a book like this. This book, and many others, are available through Amazon. (I have no affiliation with Amazon).

I promise one day you will be very, very glad that you did.

The Girasole Lady

To Be A Child

This time of year I think a lot. 

I think of times long, long, ago when I was a child. The child I was once is still here.  She is young and innocent and believes in magic. She believes in a world of peace and happiness. She believes in love and happily ever after fairy tales.

She believes that the world is not all bad, because for every dark shadow there are a hundreds rays of sunshine. There is good in nature, good in people, good in the world.

She watches the sun rise every morning and never tires of the beauty in each and every day.

She knows that living today will bring yet another tomorrow to be filled with life.

“Know you what it is to be a child? It is to be something very different from the man of to-day. It is to believe in love, to believe in loveliness, to believe in belief; it is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear; it is to turn pumpkins into coaches, and mice into horses, lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything."   -Francis Thompson

The Girasole Lady

Downtown Aprons

The past few days I have been busy sewing Aprons.
These Aprons were sewn and sent to a dear friend in Georgia:

VEGGIE BISTRO

The veggie print fabric in this Apron is designed by Mary Lake Thompson.

It is called "Kiss The Cook".

 FRUIT BISTRO

I can never guarantee exact alike Aprons, because I do not buy my fabric in bulk. There are limits on what I have available, therefore each Apron has its' own unique look.

I am very excited to have some of my Aprons displayed and for sale at a local home town store.......

Mary Lake Thompson

1870 Montgomery Street

Oroville CA 95965

These are some of the Aprons that will be in Mary's store:

 The above Apron, except for the ruffle, is made from fabric designed by Mary.

I love the kitchen utensils.

This entire Apron is made with fabric designed by Mary.

The veggie print and adorable canned farm goods.

Mary sells this fabric in her store as well.

These Aprons are also in her store:

Apples

 Coffee & Tea

 Tea Pots & Farm

The cost for each Apron $26.95

I really love our small downtown. I try to shop and support the local business.

 I am certainly happy to see Mary carrying some nice quality fabrics. Mary's fabric designs are manufactured by Robert Kaufman Fabrics. Please have yourself a visit to her store. Mary has wonderful, charming items for you and your home. I promise you won't be disappointed :)

Once we had a wonderful fabric store downtown in an old house on Montgomery Street, "Something To Crow About". Does anyone local remember the store? It was so very nice, and I was a frequent shopper.

If I could afford it I would open a fabric store downtown.

Maybe for another time....

If you are interested in purchasing an Apron you may contact me

girasolefarm@hotmail.com

The Girasole Lady

Apron Box & Tags

I completed a display box and Apron tags today.
The box is a wooden wine crate that I covered with scrapbook paper from Stampin-Up.

FRONT

the top edges are out lined with green ribbon

 SIDES

 BACK

I will line the wood box with a wonderful smelling drawer liner.

This tag will be pinned to the Aprons

front of tag

back of tag



The Girasole Lady

November 30th: Apron Reveal

I finally finished the Patchwork Apron. Ruffle re-done 4 times/pockets re-done 3.5 times.
I was so tempted to just trash the whole apron.

Patchwork Apron

 I tried to make the ties long enough to pull around to the front for tying. I prefer my Aprons to wrap around my waist and tie in the front. I have a very fluffy waist line, and it does wrap around me. This Apron is fully lined with 100% cotton muslin.

I made these Aprons a while ago, but wanted to share them.

Bistro Apron

 It doesn't look like it in the picture, but it hangs below the knee. Depending on your height, maybe mid-shin area. It is also full lined on the back.

Work Apron

The pockets are deep, big, and double lined for strength.

 The waist band on this style comes completely out of the waist casing. I tried this because I wanted an adjustable waist band, something you could gather or wear flat against you. Just depends on what look you want.

 I'm trying to show you the depth of the pockets. (Not sure I got the picture I was looking for)
The pocket is divided into three sections, one in the middle and two side pockets. Buttons for decoration :}

My aprons range from  $25.00-$40.00 each + $5.00 for shipping.

Here are some fabric combinations I will be working with tomorrow:

I haven't decided which style I will be making with these.

I always like to try something different.

Any suggestions?

Just a note about my Aprons:

Each Apron is hand crafted by me, here at Girasole farm.

There are no two Aprons exactly alike.

There are slight imperfections in each apron, because I am not perfect.

I buy high quality 100% cotton fabirc. MODA is my favorite. I am also a fan of Robert Kaufman, Michael Miller, Amy Butler, to name just a few.

I promise complete satisfaction. If you are not completely satisfied simply return the Apron and I will refund 100 %  of the cost of the Apron and cover the return shipping costs.

This is a new adventure for me, so please share your suggestions and comments with me.

The Girasole Lady

November 29th: Come Sit By My Fire

"If you are a dreamer, come in.

If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,

A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer . . .

If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire.

For we have some flax golden tales to spin.

Come in! Come in!"

~ Shel Silverstein

I worked on aprons again today, well I should say apron as in singular.

grrr... I spent the majority of the day fussing over a ruffle that I ripped out, re-attached, ripped out and re-attached more times than I care to admit. Finally- I got it right. I will finish it up tomorrow by making the waistband. I promise to have a picture to share tomorrow.

The fog lingered all day here, except for the 20 minutes late in the afternoon where we had a lighter shade of gray. It was cold and damp all day. This morning when I went out to the barn for feeding it was so wet from the fog it felt like a drizzling rain. Kristina came out late this afternoon and we worked together with the horses. I cleaned stalls and she exercised the horses in the arena. After being inside all day it felt good to be outside, even in the fog. I appreciated the fire all the more when I came inside from the cold.

I love having a wood burning stove. It's the only source of heat we use to heat our home. We have a wall heater that was used for the first winter we lived here, it hasn't been turned on since we installed our wood stove. We had the same model stove in our old home we lived in, before building this home. I'm not a fan of central heating, nor is my pocketbook.

I'm so thankful I no longer have to drive to work in the fog. I hated the 30 mile drive in practically zero visibility.

I hope you are warm and snug in your home.

The Girasole Lady

November 28th: Aprons

I managed to make a couple of aprons today.
Very basic, old fashioned, tie at the waist, 2 pocket ones.

I came up with some fun ideas tonight after finishing these and hope the thoughts still feel as good in the morning.  I started a patchwork apron this evening, but I'm not a night owl, so no midnight sewing for me.

It's off to bed for me.

The Girasole Lady

November 27th: Back to Business

We've had damp morning fog the last few mornings.

This is the cattle pasture out back.

Today Beth and I went to both the book store and the fabric store, but I came home with neither books nor fabric.

There was nothing I saw that said "take me home".

I did get an unexpected start on Christmas shopping. I hadn't intended to, it just happened.

It was a wonderful surprise.

Tomorrow I'll be back to business working on some new Apron projects.  

I spent the afternoon cleaning and organizing my fabrics and patterns.

My Apron page has been "under construction" for far too long. I came upon a opportunity to display some of my aprons in a small shop downtown. If that isn't motivation then nothing is.

Until tomorrow...

The Girasole Lady

November 26th: Thanksgiving Endings

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.

A.A. Milne

The Holiday is coming to its' end.

My sis is heading home for the city tomorrow. 

I will miss her.

We are the story of The Country Mouse and The City Mouse.

Tomorrow morning Beth and I are going to Barnes & Noble.

Books and fabric are my favorite "go-to" things to get me back on track.

The Girasole Lady 

November 25th: Central Park NYC

Remember earlier this year, January, when New York City had that horrendous snow storm?
Well, my daughter Beth was there for a Market show to work the Mary Lake Thompson booth. Beth flew from Dallas to New York, and was in New York for a couple of days by herself, waiting for Mary, and another co-worker to arrive. The weather was so severe everyone had trouble getting into New York, due to numerous flight delays. Beth, my baby, ALONE in the Big Apple all by herself! I'm her mother, of course I was worried. Beth has been to New York many times and loves visiting the City.

As always, Beth was in her glory, and had a marvelous time. Central Park was absolutely beautiful in the still quiet of the City. Beth described it as beauty beyond imagination. She trudged through the snow and took amazing pictures of the park...............

After walking in the park Beth took the subway to the American Museum of Natural History.

She'll be going back again this coming January.

For today-we shopped downtown Oroville and had a great family outing once again.

Tomorrow is another big family day, taking a field trip to Tonya and Ryan's house to see the building progress, and a dinner of ham and beans back at my home.

I'll be back, I promise.

The Girasole Lady