WillowTreeHill Sampler.....

all of you are seeing it here first!

It isn't the best photo but if you had seen the effort I put in to getting this shot you would appreciate.  

Should I just say.....bedcover displayed on our bed, with me standing on top of the rolled coverlet, that's on top of the apothecary that's on top of the blanket chest that's at the end of our bed.....hanging on to the pencil post of the bed on one corner while reaching out with the camera hand and stretching out to try and get it all in the shot.  While remaining upright of course!  

There are a few embellishments that I intend to add for myself but will hang it on a wall later today for the photo for the pattern front.  

The Girls at Blackberry Primitives are working on the big wool order sent along to them and as soon as it arrives here at the Lane, me along with a couple of my helpers, will be measuring, cutting, folding and kitting the first block up for everyone!  

I'm so excited about this project!

I have two full classes that will be working on their blocks here in the Cellar Studio once a month until finished.  If there is enough interest I would love to add an additional class.  

I will also be packing and shipping these off to those not close enough to attend the classes.

A confirmed order last night from California....thank you Jul!!

If you would like more info on the bedcover, classes, etc.....

please email me at

yellowdoglane@gmail.com or phone at 231.629.1385

Enjoy this bit of spring we're being blessed with in February!

From the Lane,

Sharon

Penny Candle Wrap.....

our project for Wool School this week with the Cellar Stitchers.

Easy, simple, useful and pretty to boot!

Kit's available for pick up or to ship.  Space available in upcoming class as well....

we'd love to have you come join us here on the lane.

For more info or questions, just email me @

yellowdoglane@gmail.com

Five new needle punch designs coming soon as well!

Hope you're all having a fabulous week.....

From the Lane,

Sharon

Happy Valentine's Day.....

not just a day to celebrate your true love, but a day to celebrate

true friends.  

Good true friends seem hard to come by at times in today's world.

With all the social media, internet and the like there are times when you think everyone in the world

 wants to be your "friend" ~

I Googled the word "friend", see there you go....internet,

as I was going to pick out the simple definition and share it here with all of you, but....

I guess I didn't realize that there are actually dozens of different definitions for the word "friend".

Well of course this made me ponder the word just a bit more and you know, there are lots of types of friends.....

There are best friends, pretend friends....big friends, little friends and just right friends,

red and yellow, black and white friends.

Old friends and new friends....and the list could go on but if I had to choose the best type it would be the

Tried and True type.

And with that said I would like to share with you part of a note that my friend Tilda sent along to a group she refers to as "The Ralph's".

I got my Simple Life magazine today. I have only read Lizzie's story and looked at all the pictures, and will pay more attention to it tonight. But in Jill's opening letter, on friendships, she had a paragraph that jumped straight out at me.
If I ever get my book written, there will be a chapter on my friendship with BrunieMae. We have history.
Some of it could never be captured in print. Most of it borders on marginal hysterical. We laugh a lot.
We can finish each others sentences. We know what the other is thinking simply by looking at each other. And often, it is not good. It is just eyes meeting, knowing what the other is thinking. No. Not always good, as our insides are erupting in laughter.
Jill wrote: Those (friends) are the kind you like to go on road trips with. And laugh until your stomach hurts. And junk food until your teeth fall out. And you end up driving 20 miles out of your way because
you were talking and missed the turn.
Roads trips with Brunie? Oh, we have had many. We have talked for days on end with no stop. How can you talk so long to someone you already know so well? What do you talk about for 3 days?? Junk food?
We are always armed with red licorice. Many bags of it. Or tootsie rolls. Wrong turns? WRONG TURNS??? We make the SAME wrong exit every time when going into Indiana. We KNOW it, and we still make the wrong exit. Every time.
We turn into the wrong driveways. And no matter what she says, it is NOT always my fault !!!
We have butter mishaps. And bad hair days. And problems at toll booths with coins on a hot hand day.
And we repack trucks. And repack again, and again yet.
We laugh.
When I read Jill's words, I thought of all these things. We have SO much more. We have a common word. Nothing else needs to be spoken. Just the common word.
We have secrets no one else knows. And never will.
This is a friend.

I will just say that these words Tilda wrote and shared with everyone, warmed my heart....

made me smile and reaffirmed what I know...

She loves me as a friend for who I am, not because I'm exactly what she wants me to be, but because I am me.  Sometimes I'm good and sometimes I'm bad.  I make mistakes and try to make up for mistakes.  I'm human, I'm not perfect.....

and Tilda loves me just the way I am.

Tilda ~ A Tried and True Friend

Wishing all of you, my friends, a wonderful Valentine's Day.....

send along a note to one of your tried and true friends, it just might make their day!

In true friendship.....

From the Lane,

Sharon

There's no place like HOME......

and a trip away just instills that deeper!

Just back from the Market in PA and although I enjoyed the time away, seeing and catching up with old friends, making new ones and seeing all the offerings for some possible upcoming sales.....

it's still oh so good to be home.  

Lots of laundry to catch up on and a few other things as well....one of them being catching up with all of you.  I so totally thought I had posted in February but obviously.....not!  

I'm not sure where my mind is sometimes, not with me I'm guessing.  

My bedcover design is almost finished.  The border has been added and now just a few embellishments and it will be ready to photograph for the pattern.  

I am still awaiting the wool so that I can start on getting the first block into kit form, hoping for it to arrive soon.  

I feel like I am in sort of a brain fog this morning.  Hoping it is just from all the travel and activities of the past week and not that I'm coming down with a bug.  Way to much on the "to do" list to be dealing with something like that.  I had planned to tell a bit of a story to all of you this morning but the words aren't coming to me, so.....

I will share a pic, wish you a great rest of the week and a promise to send another note along soon.

From the Lane.....

Sharon

p.s. See the little red ware plate?  I was able to tuck a small bunch of those into my luggage and bring them home with me to offer up for sale!  Stay tuned.....

WillowTree Hill Sampler.....

and here's a sneak peek!

The colors are darker and richer than they appear here but you can see that the background is a mix of textures and solid wools.  Still a bit to go....adding the border and finishing the back, but that's not much at all figuring all the hours I've put in to it all up to this point!
I'm thinking I will have block #1 kitted up and ready to go come mid to late February.  Will post a full photo once the border is finished.

It's cold, cold, cold here on the Lane....might just need to throw this over the covers tonight!
Sounds like a bit of a warming trend is on it's way though.  No complaining....just winter here in Michigan!  Gives me a reason to go brew up a cup of hot cocoa.....
or a toddy!

Wishing you a happy week ahead....
From the Lane,
Sharon

Brrrrr.....

it's cold and snowy outside, and warm and cozy inside.

I'd say, life is good!

Been busy here stitching on the wool bedcover I designed for one of the Cellar Stitcher groups....

and it's almost done!  A big WooHoo! on that one.  I should add that I'm almost finished with the design, as well as stitching it all and putting the blocks together.  I do, however, still need to draw up all of the pattern pages, figure the wool and fabric requirements, order the wool, get the patterns printed....then measure, cut, fold and kit the blocks up!  I am excited to share the design with you soon.  It will be available as a Block of the Month with 7 blocks and a Border Kit that will make 8 total.  I'm not positive on cost yet as I need to finish figuring the wool/fabric requirements before I can cost it out.....stay tuned if you might be interested!

Some other exciting news to share!  Several of my designs have been picked up by

Home Collections by Raghu

and will be reproduced by them on several of their table top items.

This is one of the everyday designs, their adaptation of it.

This will be available as a pattern and/or kit from YDL very soon.
We use all hand over dyed wools from Blackberry Primitives and it does give the project a more aged, handmade look.  

 There will be a few more everyday designs as well as a few Holiday ones!  

I will be ordering these in soon, excited to see how they look in person.  

Won't take up any more of your time, just thought I would pop in with a bit of the latest news from here on the Lane.

Hope things are well with All.....

Soon,

Sharon

Two Girls and a Blazer.....

that would be myself and Sophie, best little Shotgun Rider around!

We decided to venture out today to check out some antiques.  It was a nice day weather wise, even a bit of sunshine, and the best day promised for the next few, so.....off we went!

 We talk and sing along the way....well, actually I do all the talking and singing but she smiles all the while.  Not so much at the conversation and song but because she's just so happy to be along for the ride.  We get a lot of second glances, and smiles and even some quizzical stares, but it's all good.  I know I'm not crazy, well, for the most part and Sophie really doesn't care, she loves me just the way I am.....crazy or not so much!

For those of you who know me well, you know that I deal with some anxiety issues....and now for those of you who don't know me so well, there you have it!  

As silly as it might sound to some of you, having Sophie with me eases some of the anxiety that I might confront and actually gives me the courage to venture out when I otherwise wouldn't.  

So...we donned our red scarves and off we went!

We had a fun few hours and these are a few of the great things we found!

The number 4 churn crock with great blue markings and you can't really see the stack in this pic but there are three nice old rimmed bowls.  Also an old metal sewing display (not pictured) that I'll use in the Studio and several other smalls not pictured.  We couldn't take the truck today as it's laid up in the garage awaiting a new window to arrive for the topper.  We can pack a pretty good lot in the Blazer though.  Tilda can confirm how good a packer I really am.....she can also confirm the anxiety and that I really am not crazy.  Right Tilda?

Well....enough of my "craziness" shared with you today.  I have promised myself that I will be better at posting our happenings here on the Lane this New Year....

We hope you'll all enjoy a peek now and again in to our daily lives here at

YellowDog Lane.  

Happy Friday and a wonderful weekend to All!

Sharon

Saying "Hello" to a New Year.....

bidding the old one ado.

2015 was a year of loss for me....

the loss of several dear friends, a Mom, a best friend, fellow class mates.

The year was also a year of change for us....

a move from the Farm to the Lane, about as big a change as you can make, but a change that we chose and are so happy that we did.  As a rule, I fight change, most especially when I am comfortable with where I am, who I am and who I'm with.  I was comfortable with all of those but still embraced the change....still happy, still comfortable.

We also had so much to be thankful for this past year as well.....

a new home, a Grand daughter graduating, birthdays, anniversaries, good health, family, friends and much, much more.

2015, loss & change but oh so much good as well!

As we move in to the New Year, loss is expected, but not embraced.

Change is expected, some embraced, some not so much.

Much to be thankful for....

each new day, family, friends, birthdays, anniversaries, another grand daughter graduating, 

a nieces wedding and much, much more!

We're ready, are you?

We have a new direction in which we'll be heading this year....

a few sales here on the Lane, classes in the Cellar Studio and a few more

surprises along the way.  

We hope you'll continue to follow us and the happening here on

YellowDog Lane.  

Happy New Year,

Be Blessed,

From the Lane,

Sharon

Come like us on our FaceBook Page!

https://www.facebook.com/yellowdoglane

Christmas on the Lane....

the halls are finally decked and I got a few minutes today to take some pics to share with all of you!

Please keep in mind that I am not a photographer.....

that these photos were simply snapped with my iPhone....

with no editing!

Enjoy!

www.picturetrail.com/yellowdoglane

Merry, Merry Christmas!

Almost ready.....

and it's almost time for

"Christmas at the Farm"

This week....

Friday November 20 ~ 10am-4pm & Saturday November 21 10am-2pm

We have the Barn filled with lots of great greens....faux and fresh.

Wreaths, Santa's, antiques, ornaments.....

and so much more that we're sure you're going to love!

Cindy is busy baking her famous molasses cookies and the coffee will be on!

Make plans to join us!

From the Farm....

and the Lane,

Sharon

email us at saltboxfarm@yahoo.com with questions

Happy November.....

where oh where has this year disappeared?

It seems like just a few weeks ago we were preparing for the move to the Lane and here we are, here nearly six months already!

Update on the "Snowy Gatherings" candle mat class here at YLD....

We have two daytime classes filled and have a night time one scheduled for December 1 at 6pm with two spots left.  Please let me know if you'd like to join us for this evening of fun!

I have been diligently working on getting the Barn at SBF in order for our

"Christmas at the Farm" 

November 20 & 21

Still lots to do but things are taking shape.  I had no idea what I might have hanging out in my inventory of trees but I've ordered some new ones and I've been busy making some great little feather trees in antique containers.  Stitching up some wool items, lots of handmade ornaments and plans next week to start putting fresh greens, berries and rose hips together....oh, and I found some awesome witch hazel that I'm hoping to cut and mix in as well!  

Coverlet stockings and cross stitched cupboards hangers are also on the list.  

I do mean "the list" literally.....as if I didn't make "the list", my ADD would take over my OCD and it's no telling what you might be greeted with on the 20th!

I have two wonderful wing chairs, custom made from Country Manor Furniture that I ordered and purchased for the new house.  Well, I had forgotten how large this style of wing chair is...and although it lent itself well to the Farmhouse...not so much here in the little Lane house.  

I have tried them everywhere and they just don't work here in the Gathering room....or the bedroom, believe me I've tried. 

So, I am offering these very, very gently used chairs at my cost to anyone who might be interested.  

They are top grade fabric in a muted mustard solid coverlet pattern with antique stained wood legs.

They are wonderful but this house cries for something much smaller.

If you think you might be interested let me know.  The fabric is a bit more mustard than it shows here but still very neutral.  I love this fabric!  I wanted to let all of you know before I post them elsewhere.

I would be happy to send along more pics and you are also welcome to set up a time to come see them.  

saltboxfarm@yahoo.com

yellowdoglane@gmail.com

231.629.1385

Wishing you all a fabulous week....looks like some great weather coming our way and I am hoping to wrap of the task of decking that Barn out!

Soon....

From the Farm and the Lane,

Sharon