Thank you Lidi!!!

Yesterday I was surprised and thrilled to receive my Etsy order from Lidi Stroud. I couldn't believe how quickly it came in the mail all the way from Australia!

Her work is astonishing! She is truly a master artisan. I can only guess at how many years and miles of thread it has taken to achieve her incredible level of skill. I love the natural color of the thread she used. The inside of the basket is as beautiful as the outside is.

Lidi overwhelmed me with a magnificent gift! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw there was a second basket in the little box. OMG!!! It is this gorgeous hanging basket! :-) It has little beads on both sides where the handle is. How in the world she wove this tiny shape is beyond me. The top actually rolls over on it's self.

Both of these are very special treasures in my collection. I am so thrilled to have them.

Thank you so much Lidi!!! I LOVE them both. XXXXX

PS... Lidi has a wonderful article in AIM this month with her lovely basket weavers shop. It is a must see!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/AbsoluteBasketcase?ref=seller_info

http://www.artisansinminiature.com/issue10.html

Roses

This is one of the English old roses kits I ordered from France. Finally...I got them together and in the vase today! I am afraid the rest of the flower kits I ordered are going to have to wait. They don't have English translations yet. I opened them up and looked at all the pieces, then quickly closed the plastic zipper bag!!! LOL

The glass powder jar, perfume bottle and white vase with the pink rim were made by my old friend Frank Whittemore. I am sure you recognize the mail Linda made for me. I love it so much I put in a few pieces in most of the pictures I take. :-)

Lidi Stroud

I have admired Lidi's work in CDHM for a very long time. I love the texture baskets add to a to a miniature scene. When I discovered she had opened an ETSY shop I couldn't resist this basket. Do stop by and have a look at her beautiful work. http://www.etsy.com/shop/AbsoluteBasketcase?ref=seller_info

A White World

It is a rare occurrence in my city for us get anything like this. We can go years without seeing any snow at all. Here are a few pictures of my house and garden this morning. I will be staying home (working on a cat sculpt)! No one in this city knows how to drive in it.

I guess the landscapers won't be here today to plant the other trees I bought for the front of my house. LOL

New Table LOL

I do love Colin Bird's work. He makes beautiful furniture. For instance... The "Double Bow High Back Elbow Chair" you see in several photos on my blog. I would have called it a Windsor Chair.

I have wanted one of his kitchen tables for a long time but I didn't want this particular piece made out of pear. Which is what he is using for them at the moment.

Recently he wrote to me and sent the picture above. It is a piece yew he has, it is just five inches long. He asked me if I liked it for my kitchen table. It didn't translate in my minds eye into a table nor could I truthfully say I could understand what it would look like when the wood had a finish on it. I do love all the tiny little knots in it. I just told him I trusted his judgement and to go ahead and make it out of this piece of yew. He is about to start working on it. It shouldn't be too long before I can show you the finished table. I am so curious. LOL

Dreaming Of Spring

I had forgotten how perfect Braxton Payne's terra cotta flower pots are, until Linda Carswell reminded me. I bought several from him many years ago at a show in Chicago. These are ones I ordered from him not long ago. They are so thin and they even have a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. Yes, they are kiln fired! http://www.braxtonpayne.com/HomePages/HOME.htm

I have admired Pascale Garnier's flower kits for a long time. This weekend I indulged my self in putting together two of her Geranium kits. I know it won't be long until I order from her again. I really enjoyed making them.

Yancey... That is not a fire hydrant! ;-)

The Chandelier For The Kitchen

For so long I've had this chandelier I made stored in a box. Today I had some time to play and I just wanted to see what it would look like up.

Usually after I make something I decide I would rather have something else instead... One step forward two steps back. (?) Now that I see it hanging with some of the other things that will be in the kitchen, I know I will use it.

It is going to be a bit of a pain to get it positioned so that the arms are at the right angle. I didn't bother with trying to get it to do that today.

I plan to spend all this week designing a house... It is waaaaay past time.