This is a great thread. We all love what we collect and isn't it wonderful that most of us collect something different? I collect blue and white Staffordshire Transferware from England, early to mid 1800's. I have over 100 Cup Plates, a little more or less than 4" diameter. They were used as a coaster with the handless cups with bowl shape saucer of 6" from the 1820-1850 period. Often confused with a child's plate from a toy tea set. I also have many patterns of dinner ware pieces of a specific potter E. & G Phillips, Longport England. American butter stamps, butter churns and English cream pots with dairy names stamped or transfered on the pot and numerous other things too many to list. I am just addicted to antiques and collectibles. I also clean and repair and resale and upgrade my English china. So my life is a constant buy, clean, repair, resale, collect more upgrade..etc. I tell my husband I am recycling and being green! I love,love, love what I do. I cannot imagine not ever being able to buy and also resale to share my knowlegde. I also have an extensive library of reference books and love researching everything.

I am taking a year long class at my Pfaff dealer that is a block per month sampler. We are supposed to be adding the sashing, batting, backing & quilting each completed block as homework. (I am a tad behind in my homework). Sometime in the fall we will be completing this quilt from this QAYG method. In addition to the QAYG method, we learn vastly different blocks - we are currently using Marti Michell books and templates on the harder level blocks. I do not know how the actual quilt gets finished, but have googled QAYG. I do know the instructor designed this quilt for her classes, and her quilt is very nice. I will report back on this method after I finish the project. So far it appears to be a great method for making a very large quilt.

Hi Rebecca! I love Scabiosa as well, they really add to the cottage garden look! I was going to buy a few the beginning of July, but decided to pass until I see how the current residents fill out next year. The corner I'm trying to fill in is all wild bush at the moment! It's the very corner of my lot, and my little ones use the path that goes through it to get to the bus. It's backed by a tree line, and has a lot of shade except one corner, which gets full sun. I'll put a picture in, of the area :) I have a post on here somewhere asking about larger rose bushes that will do in that specific spot (lots of wind, very cold etc) ...I've been given so many wonderful ideas from members I'm having a hard time choosing now! This is the area :) it goes further along to the left, about 15-20ft Where the small sapling is on the right, is where the single rose bush will go. There's a path in there somewhere as well, although it's not visible from this angle :) The lower hanging branches and smaller saplings along the tree line will be removed in fall, along with all the weeds! (Hahaha) To the back, we're planting Annabelle Hydrangeas, Hosta, Astilbe & Ostrich Fern (there's about 4 hours of light there) Next layer in more light (5hrs) will be low growing catmint, lupine, allium, tulips, daffodils, etc. We're trying to fit in a clematis or two, but I'm not sure where yet :) I need some pinks and reds in there.

For some reason I am no longer able to add photos, nor can I edit old posts; that kind of stinks. Winter doesn't get very cold here, there is rarely some frost or a little snow, but it's not common, nor does it last long. I'm not planning to do anything to winterize this pond. A large part of its appeal is the adaptation and evolution of the system; from that perspective, the only reasonable winter plan is to let anything that can't stand the conditions die, and something else grow in to fill the niche. I think the overall oxygen level is slowly but steadily improving. It's been a long while since I've found a fish corpse. Not only that, the minnows (adults and fry both) are cruising lower in the water, they aren't skimming just below the surface all the time anymore. I suspect adding the sand and gravel is helping that, in two ways: the decomposition cycle is starting to find a stable balance point, no longer robbing oxygen in big bursts; and some of the anacharis has anchored itself to the bottom, where any oxygen produced by photosynthesis must be exchanged into the water, not the air.