A Little Country Church

I've started painting again... churches for now... and I hope to eventually paint barns with fields of lavender. I want to do several for the Lavender Festival in June next year.

 

I love the randomness of it all and the unexpected textures and colors that come from palette knife painting.

I think I have mentioned why I love old churches before, but here's why:
Daddy was a country preacher, pastored several churches during his lifetime, and held many revivals in the rural areas of middle and east Tennessee where we lived. My church paintings are inspired by all the little country churches I attended as a child... and still attend as an adult today.

I couldn't help sneaking my glass glittered sheep into a few photos.

And my mercury glass owl...

This church painting will be listed in a few days here, and in the meantime there are a few other church paintings in my Etsy shop.


I just realized this is New Year's Eve....
so I wish for you a Happy New Year...
one that is full of love, happiness, blessings, and grace.

Take care and God bless,
Lana

The Stockings Were Hung...

I have a few Christmas stockings made and listed in my Honeysuckle Lane shop. I'm just not as prolific in my handwork right now, so the pickings are slim. When they're gone, they're gone.

These are lined and may be hung facing left or right.

I'm trying to use all the fabrics I have on hand instead of buying more... do you know how hard that is???

Oops! 😏 Sorry about the excessive nail holes in the wall. I took me three tries to get something hung right, even with measuring! I meant to photoshop those holes out, but forgot to do that. I normally have something over the holes, but removed it to display the stockings.

I used an old fringed damask towel for this one... it's old and worn, but I love it!

Visit my shop HERE to see what's still available.

Have a lovely, blessed day!
Lana

Peppermint Candy Sticks

Nowadays, time seems to get away from me over and over. I make plans, but then those plans change... quite often. I thought I'd make certain things to offer you before Thanksgiving, but those things are nowhere to be found, other than in bits and pieces, still waiting to be brought together on my workroom table.


Instead, I found all these fabrics in a box and decided at the last minute to whip up some old fashioned Christmas decorations. I will have several Christmas stockings listed tomorrow afternoon. All are lined and have loops for hanging. Some are long and skinny, more colonial in style, and some have cuffs and are more traditional, and then there are a few one of a kind stockings, that won't be duplicated and are not sold in pairs.

Among the fabrics, I found some red stripe canvas ticking... perfect for old fashioned peppermint sticks! There are several bundles available. You may need a few to tuck here and there throughout your Christmas decor. While making these peppermint sticks, I thought of an old country store in my hometown. It's no longer operating as the store where you could buy feed for your horse, a twist of tobacco for your grandpa, a chunk of bologna for your dad, fabric, shoes, or stockings for your mom, and a piece or two of candy for yourself... but the building still stands.

photo from facebook

The exterior was made from large blocks of the local sandstone, while the interior was creaky wood floors, wooden counters and shelves overflowing, and there was an old stove with chairs nearby for all the men to sit and spit and tell tall tales.

I have no idea how long the store was there... I think at least as far back as the 40s or 50s, maybe earlier. I remember going there in the 70s when I was a little girl. And later, in the 80s when I was in high school, that's where my mom bought my sewing supplies for Home Economics class. I still have those scissors and used them to cut out these peppermint sticks and Christmas stockings.

Ahhh, nostalgic memories! :)

Tonight, I have the peppermint sticks listed. Tomorrow afternoon I will add the Christmas stockings.

View An Old Fashioned Christmas here.

Take care & God bless, Lana 

Fragments ~ a folk angel collection

Hi everyone!
I finally managed some time to make a few folk angels. It's a small collection, but at least I'm getting some work done after a dry spell.

This collection is called Fragments. While working on these angels and sifting through all the pieces of antique and vintage trims and laces... sometimes very small fragments... I thought of a passage in the Bible where Jesus had fed several thousand people with 5 barley loaves and 2 small fishes. After everyone had eaten, Jesus told the disciples to "gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." The fact that all those people were fed and there were even more leftovers that what they began with was a miracle in itself!

But for some reason what Jesus told them stayed with me. And I'll share with you what was going through my mind and heart while I worked with those fragments of laces and trims:

No matter how small or insignificant we may feel, or how broken or fragmented our lives seem to be, God loves us and wants to save us --- remember what Jesus said, "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost." He wants to gather us up and create a work in us that is beautiful and everlasting. Isn't that an amazing love?

So, that is why this angel collection is called Fragments. Maybe in some way, one of these angels will remind you, that no matter how small you feel at times, you are important to Him. Or maybe you can share that story and an angel with someone else that needs to know.

Visit the Fragments folk angel collection here.

Take care and God bless, 
Lana

Seeing the Whole Picture

I wrote this over a year ago and somehow it got saved as a draft and was lost in the long line of posts. I just discovered it again, and I suppose, just maybe, it is meant to be shared now. :)


“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

This reminds me of my husband, who is a carpenter. Sometimes when I go to the work site, I can't even imagine what it's going to look like later... it looks like a mess to me... but Roger has a vision. He can see that gorgeous new home or that newly remodeled kitchen... he isn't looking at the mess... he sees the finished product and works toward that goal. And when it's finished... it's beautiful!

So remember, God may be knocking out walls or tearing off the roof... but He sees the whole picture, not just the mess. He's making something you could never imagine... something wonderful and for your benefit... all because of His love for you.

God is so good! Don't you agree?

Blessings,
Lana

Petite Pumpkin Papercuttings

I forgot to come back the next day as promised, but better late than never I suppose!

A few of the pumpkin papercuttings have already sold, but there are three left from this first batch.

Two of them are on my Early Work Mercantile page and one may be found in my Honeysuckle Lane shop.

Each paper cutting was done by hand using simple utility scissors and stained, aged, and painted, parchment paper. Some of the papers were printed with copies of 18th century indentured servant letters. The slightly distressed frames are new and have an easel back. Glass covers the paper cutting. The artwork is about 2 3/4" x 1 3/4" and the frame is 5 3/4" x 4 3/4".



After I took photos of them, I realized they coordinate with some other things I've recently made. The pincushion and quilt are also available at Honeysuckle Lane.

Have you started decorating for fall yet? I guess I'd better get busy pulling some things out of boxes this week. Autumn seems to go by so fast and before you know it, everyone is decorating for winter and Christmas!

Have a blessed day!
Lana

Pumpkin Papercuttings Preview

I thought I had missed the Early Work Mercantile update which is always the last evening of the month. My "store bought" calendar on my wall has only 30 days for August! So, I actually have time to finish everything and get it listed tonight... on time.

You can find my work here, but it won't show the pumpkin papercuttings till about 9pm.

I'll be back with a reminder in the morning and share a few of the finished pieces.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Lana

European Linen Whole Cloth Quilt

Quite some time back I was thinking about making some linen towels, sheets, and a few quilts for us to use here at home. After a while I decided to buy enough fabric to make a few pieces for my online shop, Honeysuckle Lane.

I've started off with small crib quilts which could also be used for lap quilts. These are whole cloth quilts. I love the look of them and whole cloth quilts allow me to focus on machine quilting rather than piecing the quilts. I'll do that at a later date.

I love how a quilt looks once it has been washed and dried.

I used these gloves while machine quilting. I found them at Northern Tool and Equipment for only $1.99! If you need several pairs for a quilting class or group, you can get them for less than $1 a pair here.

My sister gave me these mini clips. I don't know the brand, and I'd never used them before, but they are so much easier to work with than pins. When sewing on the binding, I used to get my thread caught on the straight pins... but that hasn't happened with these clips. And for such a small size, they sure are strong!

I also use an Ott Lite lamp when doing handwork, especially when sewing on the binding.

I have slowly been listing more items in my shop, including the quilts I've recently made. Come visit and see what's available... and bring your gift list! You may find something for an upcoming birthday, anniversary, baby shower, etc.

Thanks for dropping by!
Blessings,
Lana

I Love My Juki

So... I bought the Juki TL-2000QI and I love it! It runs smooth... and fast! If used full speed, it will sew 1500 stitches per minute!

I haven't tried free-motion quilting yet, but I have made a couple of whole cloth quilts and quilted them using the even feed foot.

The first one with the paisley fabric and folk birds was quilted with a wavy line design.

getting ready to add the binding

I've been using Aurifil thread when quilt making...

and an Ott Lite lamp illuminates everything perfectly! 

I also made a linen whole cloth quilt. This one is quilted with a diamond design. And this linen is so soft! I love it!

I'll be adding these to my Honeysuckle Lane shop soon.

Thanks for stopping by!
Take care & God bless,
Lana