Isn't this gorgeous?  Hand dyed and beautiful,  from the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival.The lady who dyed this wool was a winner thats for sure.  I want to try dying some of my wool this summer.  Trouble is I hate to lose the creamy white of the sheep's natural color.  But this is calling me to give it a try.  I have dyed with Kool Aid and that was fun but the colors were not vivid like this.

I spent an  hour spinning and plying wool this afternoon.  It is amazing to see the wool go from 'locks' to yarn.  I am spinning long haired Borderleister that is very curly and very white.   And knitting my socks, which are coming along nicely.  I've just completed the gusset and am ready to work my way down to the toe.  God is good! New recipes to try,  new things to knit and always the Lord to pray to with thanksgiving for answered prayers this week.

'Serve the Lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of  his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving.'...Psalm 100: 2, 3&4a

I love  French Pressed Coffee.  Have you tried it?  It is very mellow and so delicious!  It can even be made in a mason jar with a wide mouth....I googled that info and tried it.   Perfect.    And then,  I saw a French Press pot on sale and  yielded to temptation.  I thought I didn't need such a thing and don't drink much coffee but now.....I'm a big fan of French Pressed Coffee.  They say once you try it you'll never go back to the regular way of making coffee.  It's true for me, and I  thought my percolators were the cat's meow.

 Hope you are having a good day.  Its windy here and getting ready to storm.  I'm tempted to suds up the wicker love seat and put it out for the storm to rinse clean.  But I know what would happen.  It would blow wildly over the neighborhood and break.  I have the best ideas....they just don't work at all usually.   =)

 One of the many sheep at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  The weather was nice and the day perfect.

 A large sheep getting sheared.

 This miniature sweater was exquisite, knit on 000 needle size!

 I loved this!  I bought three items from this booth.  Everything here was fashioned from vintage silverware.   Oh so fun!

 This man was a one man band and so much fun for the children to join in and play washboards etc.  A happy scene.

The colors of wool everywhere where breathtakingly lovely.  I bought some alpaca to spin and have already spun my silk.  I am still a bit tired from all the events lately, but it was so much fun to browse these stalls and tents and buildings.  The wools and things for sale and available on the spot was super nice.   There had to have been thousands of people there at the Maryland Sheep & Wool festival,  it was well attended and then some!  Really nice!

 Here we are, back home from a visit to our daughter and her sweet family.  She took me to all of her favorite consignment stores and what a treat it was to visit these shops.  Talk about fun!  I've taken some shots of course...just for you to see and maybe something will inspire you as it did me.

 These bundles of vintage book pages tied with twine and lying about in baskets fascinated me.  I love books and wanted to read each page.  I would hate destroying old books though....=(.  On the other hand  if you found something you loved and it was in very bad condition.....well, there you go.  I would do this then.

 I would never have thought of  using children's books to make a charming birdhouse like this.  I think we can do this now that we've seen it, don't you?   Just glue the pages on the wooden premade birdhouse and use a book to top it off....and one underneath too.  I think the birds are going to enjoy this as much as we will.

 We stopped at a store called 'Habitat for Humanity'  and they had a bulletin board with these ideas on it..and that is where I took the pictures of these grand ideas.  I Loved....this chair swing.  It is really cute but would it be comfortable?  Will hubby have a try at making me one??  Hmmmm.

 This one is a bit crude but ingenious,  I have to admit.  You know, for those antique chairs that have broken seats or backs that we fall in love with at flea markets....and are cheap to boot!

 How this one works I'm  not sure, but our grandsons love legos....

And how about this!  A corsage 'ring' for your finger.   Pretty neat I think.

I finished another tatted bookmark and love the results and the tatting.  Now that I'm home I will get back to my sock gusset knitting.  (I am still such a newbie at knitting socks that it intimidates me a bit).  So many blessings, and so much to do.  Leaving  you with a wish for a happy day.....and ever mindful of God whose love for us is so great,

'Behold the throne of grace;....The promise calls us near...
There Jesus shows a smiling face.....and waits to answer prayer.

My soul, ask what thou wilt.....Thou canst not be too bold;
Since his own blood for thee was spilt,....What else can  he withhold?

Thine image, Lord, bestow....Thy presence and thy love
That we may serve thee here below....And reign with thee above.

Teach us to live by faith....Conform our wills to thine;
Let us victorious be in death....And then in glory shine.'   John Newton

 I found this pattern online and it gives permission to tat it...and even sell the tatting..just not to sell the pattern.  It has been a long time since I tatted anything and I loved doing this bookmark.  The variegated thread is a kaleidoscope of gorgeous colors that change from one color to another before your eyes like magic.

The tail of the bookmark is made of 'split rings'  which I'm out of practise with, but I've got it going now!  The first two inches or so are just a curly repetition of a half st.

 Here you can see the split....see how one half of the larger oval loop is yellow on one side and solid pink on the other side?   In a split ring like this, the ovals are joined end to end instead of the normal....'side to side' joins.

 Here is the next ball of luscious color waiting to be tatted up into one of these flower book-markers.  Don't  you just love color....I do!

 Here we have little 'Baby Beth'.  Long years ago I would sew Baby Beth matching dresses to go with my little girl's  dress or blouse and off to kindergarten they would go.

I don't know if I like my yellow purse or not.   Last year I quickly sewed up this floral one....I called it my rag purse because the strap was just roughly finished.  And I loved it....loved it!   It was pretty and as light as air to carry.  Well, that is before I filled it up with 'stuff'.

 We dry apples in our dehydrator that I got one year...like new at a yard sale.  Oh happy day!  and did I tell you how delicious they are?  Yes...yes  they are really good!

I found these recipes in a copy of Taste of Home.  All the yummy things you can make with a tube of crescent roll dough.  Oh how I wish ....I wish....someone would make gluten free crescent roll dough for me....ha ah.  Mother used to tell us,  'if wishes were horses, beggers would ride'.  So ends that wish!.

You know that little hymnal I told you about?  Well, Charles Wesley wrote an amazing number of hymns that just are soul thrilling with their truths and worship.  Sharing part of one here....and hoping your day and evening are filled with  tranquility.   p.s. now that that was said about Charles Wesley...I find a gem by James Montgomery.  I hope you like this as much as I do.

'Come at morning hour...Come, let us kneel and pray;
Prayer is the Christian pilgrim's staff...To walk with God all day.

At noon, beneath the Rock Of ages, rest and pray;
Sweet is that shelter from the sun...In weary heat of day.

At evening, in thy home, ....Around its altar, pray;
And finding there the house of God,
With heaven then close the day.

When midnight veils our eyes,...O it is sweet to say,
"I sleep, but my heart waketh, Lord,
With thee to watch and pray."   J. Montgomery

 Fresh roses from Aldies,  they are lovely, so delicate and beautiful. Enjoy them with me.

 A really informative sock book from the library, although those socks on the cover look pretty complicated.  Yet....I have strong hopes of finishing the pair I've started, from a much simpler pattern.  Its enjoyable to knit in 'the round', not hard at all.  So far.

Here's where I am just now.  (Marie,  I will try knitting a pair of child's socks..as soon as I find a good pattern....thanks for telling me how nice they turn out)  I would love to make my grandsons some. Maybe!

 This is the flea market lamp we got recently...I'd posted it before, but what a nice shot of the night light in the base.

 Aren't these shoes adorable?  We found them in a thrift shop for $5.00  I think I've already posted about them also, but not with the vintage photo.  Just look at the dapper bow tie the young man has on. Very nice. I love old photos, don't you?

In today's paper there was an article about a hymnal from 1640 that is going on the auction block and could bring as much as $30 million dollars!  I have an old Methodist hymnal that is very old but I don't know how old.  The front page is missing.  No,  I'm not hoping to sell it for a few million.   (of course it would be nice to have that happen...ha ha) Mine has about 700 pages and is only 6x4 inches in size. & I'm thankful for it.   I'll close my post with a bit of it called 'Hallelujah' hymn # 733.... It has  no lined music....just the words. Hope you have a wonderful Lord's Day!'

1. O Thou God of my salvation....my Redeemer from all sin;   Moved by thy divine compassion, Who hast died my heart to win,     I will praise thee;

Where shall I thy praise begin? 2. Though unseen, I love the Saviour;  He hath brought salvation near; manifests his pardoning favor;   And when Jesus doth appear, Soul and body will his glorious image bear.

3. While the angel choirs are crying,   "Glory! glory to the Lamb!   O how precious  Is the sound of Jesus' name!

4. Angels now are hovering round us,   Unperceived amid the throng;   Wondering at the love that crowned us,   Glad to join the holy song;   Hallelujah,   Love and  praise to Christ belong!    by Thomas Olivers.

 How precious to be his child!  This is so beautiful and so true!

 I am learning to knit a sock.  See the cuff take shape?  5 needles though, but so far so good.  I am thankful for a new knitting friend who is teaching me the ins and outs of sock knitting.

 We have been to the most wonderful sales lately.  I treasure the message of these vintage Christian magazines from 1956.  They may be dusty and old but they have the dearest and wisest advice for parents.  Here is a poem from one of them....

               Begin Today

Don't wait until the later years, When he has older grown...... to tell your child the story,  of the Saviour you have known.

Oh, it will be much harder, If you wait until that day...... You'll find the world has crowded in.....And stolen him away.

So tell him while he's little, As he plays about your knees.....   For sweet the name of Jesus, On his baby lips will be.

Don't wait until the later years,  To show your child the Way; You'll find the telling easier,..... If you begin today.        by Bessie A. Olson

 I found this delightful Jello Dessert book last week at a sale also.  Someone told me the way to remember how to spell 'dessert' is that dessert is something you always want 2  pieces of.....and so it  has two ss's in the middle.  Was that someone you?   I can't remember...smile.

 Can you believe this yummy looking pie is a jello recipe???

My hubby found the copy of 'The Elderberry Bush' for me at a sale and I love Doris Gates books for kids.  I also love Andy Buckram's Tin Men....which has become a collector's item if you can find it at all.   I love books that transport you to another time and place in good ways,  whether they are written for children or adults.

I hope you are having a good day!

I Have Learned the Wondrous Secret....

I have learned the wondrous secret....Of abiding in the Lord;   I have tasted life's pure fountain,
 
I am drinking of His word;   I have found the strength and sweetness...Of abiding neath the blood....I

have lost myself in Jesus, I am sinking into God.    from the hymn by A.B. Simpson/A.B Smith.