Introducing Luli Bags!

Sonoma Antique Show

What a fun day! We were invited to participate at a container opening event in Sonoma today. So many beautiful things to look at! I told my husband that I've missed my vocation - I'd rather shop than sell...but who doesn't!

I love, ADORE our new antique German farm pillows! I'm having a really difficult time giving them up for sale. The original black, gothic writing shows the name of the farmer, the location of the farm and the year it was established. The number indicates the kind of grain a particular sack held. These pillows make such a strong graphic statement, but for me it's the historic element that holds the greatest allure.

New Pillows

Show time in SF..

My Little French Pouchettes!

New Recycled Wood Frames

Happy Valentines!

Kaitlin with Baerli

My Aunt Lucie gave me this Steiff bear for Christmas in 1954. How I loved that bear! He knew everything about me. Baerli could talk, but only on Christmas Eve. Not that I ever actually heard him speak, but I tried to stay awake many a Christmas Night to catch him chatting it up with the other toys. Before I went to sleep at night, I'd tuck Bearli under a blanket beside me, that is, until the year that I was married. When I left for America, he stayed behind. My sister must have felt sorry for him, because she took him in and let him sleep beside her, even though she was married.

Years later Baerli made it to the States. By then, stuffing was poking out here and there through the worn out fur, and one ear was entirely missing. His voice had gone silent years before. How I miss his deep, comforting growl! When he finally got here, my children were too old to form strong bonds with him. Today Baerli is great friends with my grandchildren. They hold him, rock him and dress him up. He's not too old for that sort of thing, and I think he likes the attention. Sometimes he winks at me.

French Pillows?

I had looked for month trying to find this Morning Glory monogram. I finally located the pattern with a company in Madrid, Spain.

Canning with Sarah

Between the two of us, my daughter-in-law Sarah and I put up 30 pints of Apricot jam over the last couple of days. We had so much fun just talking while cutting up fruit into bits, mixing pectin with sugar and stirring the thick jam in huge pots and finally ladeling it into hot jars.
Rows of freshly put up fruit are soo appealing, and I've been stacking and restacking my fifteen jars every time I pass through the kitchen.

Today's Harvest

New Projects

Some mornings I wake up with my head full of ideas for new projects. It's really a rare thing for me to have many ideas at once, but last week was such an occasion. Now if these creative outbursts would just be accompanied by an equal amount of physical energy... Oh well! Here are some pictures of my new items.

Eye Pillow and Small Pouch

Until recently, eye pillows and aroma therapy were new concepts for me. When heated in the microwave or chilled in the freezer, these pillows are said to relieve a variety of ailments, such as sinus congestion, migraine headaches and so on. I filled my first eye pillow with a mixture of flax seed, French lavender and chamomile. I was really pleasantly surprised when I tried it out. The combination of the flax linen with the seeds and herbs felt wonderful. Against my expectations, I could breath easier, congestion was relieved and most importantly, my neuralgia, which had plagued me for the better part of the week felt alot better. Who'd have thought!