Nesting on the Farm

Not long ago, Al and I discovered a killdeer nest on the farm. Killdeer are a very interesting bird. They get their name from their distinctive call, have you ever heard "kill-deer!" being screeched from above? They also play a wonderful trick on their predators. If they see an animal coming for their nest, they will move away from the nest, stick one wing up in the air, and flounder around like they are injured. Then the predator will go after them, thinking they are an easy target, instead of going after the nest. Clever birds!!

There isn't very much "nesting" to their nests, either. They like to lay their eggs on gravel - with a very thin lining of grass. So, the gravel path outside of our barn, with grass sprouts and hay, made a perfect spot for them. With all of the daily activity around our barn, we've had to be really careful not to disturb the eggs!

I'll keep you updated on the baby killdeer - they should be hatching soon!

Mother's Day Quilt

As many of you know, my daughter Erin moved to Michigan this year to work for The World Race. She and her friends found a woman to take sewing lessons from and she completed her first quilt not long ago. She did an amazing job and it is beautiful!

Last weekend, Erin came home to North Carolina and gave her first quilt to me as a Mother's Day gift! I will cherish it always as a precious gift of the heart.

Susan Winget's Mother's Day Quilt 2010 from susan winget on Vimeo.

Smell the Roses!

Earlier this week, our studio took a field trip to McGill Rose Garden - located right here in Charlotte, NC. The garden was gorgeous and the scent of roses filled the air. They have hundreds of varieties of roses - definitely a "must-visit" destination for rose lovers! Below are some photos of our visit and a video of our tour. Watch the video to hear the beautiful history of McGill Rose Garden.

It was drizzling during our tour - but it made the roses even more beautiful, with the look of fresh dew.

The garden is also full of beautiful sculptures and community art projects by different artists, schools, and organizations.

These benches were painted by the women of UMAR - an organization that supports adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities that our studio has come to know and love over the years. How beautiful are these?!

Hay-Baling Time!

Every May, our family gets together to bale the hay on our farm. As Al says - the family that hays together, stays together! Erin and Sam both came home to help, and our friend John Hammond came to help as well! It was a long day of hard work... but, we managed to have some fun too. And of course it was a wonderful weekend having all of my children in one place again!

Here are some photos from our hay-baling adventure!

This picture is so funny to me - my daughter woke up with a hurt eye so I made her a patch. She laughed and said that this is what you get when you have a hypochondriac-artist mother! ...the patch worked and her eye was all better in no time! Click here to read more about our baling on Erin's blog!

Apple Cake!

Recently I received an email from Lori of Happy Bird's Crafting Haven. Lori found the coffeebreak page on my website and tried our recipe for Apple Cake. She was kind enough to send us a glowing review and photo of her cake - Doesn't it look delicious!?!

Check out Lori's Crafting Blog where she writes about all kinds of fun crafts, recipes, and more!

Thanks again, Lori!

JoAnn's Fabrics

I am so excited to share all of my new JoAnn Fabrics with you - now available on their website! Click Here for fabrics from my studio with floral, nature, cupcake, and safari themes - just to name a few! Their fabrics are beautiful - I hope you enjoy them as much as we have!

Also available from JoAnn is a "Quilts Galore" project using my designs - Click Here to download the PDF and get started on your next quilting project today!

Thank you, Teachers!!

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day! So, I wanted to take a moment to thank all of the teachers that are working hard everyday to make a difference in the lives of our children. Coming from a family of teachers - my mother-in-law, my husband Al, my son Mac, and my daughter-in-law Megan included - I know the sacrifices that teachers make everyday. It is truly a profession of love and I am humbled by the dedication and selflessness of the great teachers I have come to know personally. I cannot say enough about how vital teachers are to our communities - thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Stephanie, a designer at the studio, made the following video to show appreciation to her daughter Genevieve's 1st Grade teacher Mrs. Nichols. She is one of the wonderful teachers at Mt. Gallant Elementary School in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Check it out!