Bee Tea & Quilt ~ Tea Time Tuesday

It is Tea~Time Tuesday again and I have missed joining in the fun lately. I have enjoyed being a part of this blogging party celebrating all things tea, so even though there were so many things I needed to get done today, I set them aside and brewed myself a pot of tea. Doesn't this bee-hive teapot with matching sugar & creamer make you smile? It is so sun-shiny happy during the cold, dark, days of February. Last week I just wanted to brighten things up and spread a cheery quilt made by the sewing & quilting ladies of Lacamas Community Center. ( they are now meeting at Ohop Grange)

I am showing you snippets and squares of the quilt that particularly celebrate bees.

Notice the detail of that tiny strip between the green & black fabric.

Did you think I would forget to show a teacup or two on Tea Time Tuesday? It was hard coming up with a teacup that fit in with the honeybee theme, but I like these not- too- delicate rose chintz patterned cups & saucers. Honeybees need flowers to make honey. A bright yellow teacup would be nice here too,maybe even better, but I still like the chintz for this setting.

Click onto the picture for enlargement.The teacups are Rose Chintz Gracie China, made in China. The two teacups are from a set of 4, and are perfect for tea parties with grandchildren. Real china, affordable, & dishwasher safe too.

Click onto any picture, it will enlarge and you'll be able to see the bees in the quilt squares.

It just makes me happy to see the quilt and teapot on my table, bee happy !

I am linking up with the ladies listed below for Tea Time Tuesday .

• Terri at Artful Affirmations *
• Martha at Martha's Favorites *
• Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

The teapot, sugar & creamer were purchased at Fred Meyer's just last week. How could I not buy such a happy trio, especially when my husband is a bee-keeper? "Pleasant words are as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body." Proverbs 16:24

Jeannie's Quilts ~ 'Liberty Or Death'

Jeannie Austin is amazing. Her quilts show a woman who is not only talented in quilting, but design, family history, story-telling, and sharing her skills with the community .Her love of quilting spills over into her family & community in great abundance. Because so many wanted to see her quilts and photograph them , Jeannie brought them to the Lacamas Community Center in our little community and with help, hung them up for photographing. There were a few of us snapping pictures and I missed some very good shots of her quilts, but I hope the pictures I did capture show her quilts in good light. Please click onto any pictures you want enlarged for better viewing. Close-up of one square. Jeannie's quilts are stories told in fabric, and most of her quilts are fabric & thread stitching her family history.I wish I had taken notes on what she was saying as each quilt was unfurled to be photographed, and this post shows only one quilt. I will be sharing the quilts I photographed in coming posts, but really feel her quilts are works of art . I think she could hold a quilt show and easily fill a large room with them. I did not get pictures of the backs and bindings of the quilts, but they too, were worthy of their own display.Jeannie inspired me to sew with care, creativity, and an attitude of sewing for the future generations to come. With the high price of fabric, the rarity of hand-sewn & hand-quilted items, combined with the love invested in a quilt, it is well to consider the design and future of any quilt you set your heart to make, and make it well! * I am thankful for women who freely share their skills and knowledge with other women , thereby passing on the joy of creating a life well-lived and well-loved within the means and abilities God has granted .

Lunch ( and Tea ) On The Trail, The Oregon Trail

Our youngest grandson is enjoying his tea with us, his friends & family, as we learn a little about the Oregon Trail at Lacamas Community Center in Roy, just down the road . Karen Haas *, an actress, story teller, participant in many historical re-enactments, was our featured speaker for this luncheon entitled Lunch on The Trail. Karen portrayed a woman who traveled the Oregon Trail, singing songs and telling stories of the long, difficult, and dangerous trail many traveled in covered wagons from the Eastern states to Oregon, Washington, and California in the days of our country before railroads. ( I hope it goes without saying there were no planes & automobiles either)

We had musicians, very good musicians !

Karen had volunteers hold a rope to the dimensions of a typical covered wagon. She then "filled " the wagon with people representing an average size family of the time, and also pointed out the family would have filled their wagon with food to hopefully carry them through the journey, along with the minimum of necessary clothes, bedding, tools to aid in them when they reached their destination and needed to clear land and begin building their new homes . Imagine crowding all that into a typical SUV of our day and embarking on a 6 month journey with no stops at fast food restaurants,motels, stores....no freeways or roads either.

We made our own butter for the sourdough and cornbread some of the ladies made.

Some of the ladies of Lacamas Community Center chose to host a table . This entailed decorating the table, and bringing everything necessary for the table except the food. We tried to stick to table settings appropriate for such a luncheon, but if we were to be authentic all the tables would have had tin plates and cups and the food would have been dished out of the pots it was cooked in. Above is my table. I used a few teacups I felt looked right on the table . The table cloth is a very old hand-pieced, stitched, and quilted quilt made by my paternal grandmother in the very early 1900's. I covered it with a clear plastic cover so as not to worry about food stains.

Ruth's table. Very practical. I like her outfit too.

This is my favorite table , by Beth.

Beth placed a framed photograph and kerosene lamps in the center of her table and each place setting had a burlap pot of pansies as a take-away gift and remembrance of the luncheon.

Isn't this lovely?

Pam M's table. Pam had her grandson set up an Oregon Trail scene as a centerpiece.

This is Pam W's table. This particular quilt top was one of my favorites.

Robin's table, her quilt top is so pretty.

Another view of my table before we sat down to lunch of hearty beef stew. Two of the teacups I used are shown below. They were used in other Tea Time Tuesdays so I have linked them to previous posts.

Royal Grafton's 'Majestic'.* Thank-you LindaSue & Skip !

Grindley cup & saucer. *

Karen Haas * story- teller extraordinaire !

I am enjoying the privilege of holding our youngest grandchild while listening to Karen , realizing I am very thankful for the many people who made the difficult journey on the Oregon Trail, opening up and settling this part of the United States I call home.

~Ladies of Lacamas Community Center who helped put on this luncheon.~

Tea Time Tuesdays I link up with the ladies listed below who host many tea parties and show off the loveliest teacups & all things tea. Please click onto their links, you're sure to find something that is "your cup of tea".

1. Martha's Favorites *
2. Lady Katherine's Tea Parlor *
3. Terri at Artful Affirmations *
4. Wanda Lee at The Silken Purse *
5. Pam at Breath Of Fresh Air *
6. Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage *

Lacamas Christmas Bazaar ~

I told you Santa and I are good friends. Santa came to our local Christmas Bazaar at my request. I know he is so very busy this time of year and it was a very BIG favor to ask, but he and I are very, VERY good friends..so he paid a little visit today.

Some of the children were happy to see Santa, even though they were a little shy.

A few of the grown-ups were happy to sit a spell with Santa too.

Here is just one of many wonderful booths at the Christmas Bazaar held here every year at Lacamas Community Center in Roy, Washington. Joyce has so many interesting things for sale and her booth takes awhile to peruse. She usually has something for everyone. ( she did NOT pay me to say this either)

Santa let me sit on his lap! You know though, Santa had a few other ladies sit on his lap too ~ I'm not so sure I will ask Santa to help out next year! ( just kidding, I am sitting in my booth very close to Santa you know)

The fearless volunteers of Lacamas Community Center manning the kitchen where they sell and serve breakfast , lunch, and yummy snacks to the Christmas shoppers and vendors. Ken Wilson ( far right) fries the eggs and burgers to suit the requests of customers, his wife Pam ( far left) is also here as all around person in charge of the kitchen and many, many other volunteer activities that make Lacamas Community Center a hub-bub of activity year round. If you're in the area come on out to Lacamas today and see the many wonderful items for sale from people in our community. Have breakfast or lunch, have your picture taken with Santa and buy a $1.00 raffle ticket for a chance to win a handmade quilt crafted and sewn by women in our community.Visit with me too, I'd love to meet you.

"Christmas is the season for kindling the fire of hospitality in the hall, the genial flame of charity in the heart." Washington Irving "There has only been one Christmas- the rest are anniversaries." W.J. Cameron "When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?" G.K. Chesterton

Market Saturday!

~Our local community center is hosting Lacamas Community Center SATURDAY MARKET !

This will be the first, but hopefully not the last of a Market attempting to promote , encourage, and profit the small holdings in the area. Many in this area grow or raise farm produce, farm animals, or products made from what is grown on their small holdings. I will be bringing things to sell too. Yarn ( above ) and wool batts ( below ) from the fleece of my Jacob sheep.

~.....the last of the little purses I made of my handwoven fabric.....

~ I also spent a fair bit of time today deciding which of my many Frizzles I could bear to sell...and after choosing, rounding up, and dusting them with an insecticide type powder ( poultry dust )..I crated up three Frizzles to sell....a rooster and 2 small hens.

~I have a few dozen farm fresh eggs to sell....~

~...and after a busy winter, my dove population has reached a number that cries for MORE dove pens, and much more money for the Dove & Quail Food, or..yup, gotta sell some doves . I decided on the 4 I could part with and they too were dusted with poultry dust and crated for the market. ~Since this is the very first SATURDAY MARKET, and the weather forecast calls for rain and low temperatures, there might be a small turn-out, but I will dress warm and bring my spinning wheel to spin up more yarn while I visit with friends who also will be selling their farm products. I fully intend to have fun, no matter what, and I hope we continue to do this throughout the year...so if you're in the area, come on out to Lacamas Community Center and browse! Maybe something will strike your fancy and you will buy too!