Tag: The Farmbar

Interesting Information: A Pretty Picture of a Farmer

Interesting Information:  July 15, 2014

A Pretty Picture of a Farmer

 

Tara Derr Webb sent me this picture this morning–from Awendaw, South Carolina, which is north of Charleston.  (See her updated web site:  www.thespartanproject26.com)

IMG_8856

That’s Georgia, the baby goat she brought home in her car and raised.

Here’s a video of a young Georgia:

Turkey Tracks: “Earth” Quilt

Turkey Tracks:  December 20, 2013

“Earth” Quilt

This picture is not the greatest picture I could have taken of this big, bold-hearted quilt.

It’s hard to get a good overall picture without two people to hold a big one like this aloft somewhere.

Earth 2

I hand-sewed about 2/3s of these blocks this past summer–which are known as Winding Ways or Wheel of Mystery blocks.  Then I discovered that they sew really well on the machine as well as the curves are not extreme.  It’s easy to cut four layers of fabric with the templates I have (you can order the set online–John Flynn makes one) and with a SMALLER rotary cutter–like the 45mm.

The dark/light blocks form big circles on the quilt–which I really love.  And I really love all the geometric shapes that show up as well.

Earth block

I put in bits of the blue you see–and those bits show up like little polka dots.  Or, pools of water scattered across the earth.  They sparkle across the quilt top’s surface.

It takes a “deep” stash–many fabrics collected for many years–to make a scrappy quilt like this one.

I pieced the backing–and like the way it came out:

Earth backing

I had the dark brown/teal print in the pile of fabric I used in this quilt.  And I cut 10 1/2-inch blocks from other pieces to make rows on the back–an idea which came from Bonnie Hunter’s books.  I also put in some random blocks left over from the front of the quilt.

I really like the border–which is vintage Bonnie Hunter:

Earth border with back

Here’s another view:

Earth border and binding

And I quilted overall with a feathery pantograph pattern I’ve used many times now:  “Simple Feathers” by Anne Bright.  (I love her patterns.)

There is a lot of work, love, healing, and emotion in this quilt–more than most I do.   Here’s the label.  (The saying came from Bonnie Hunter’s web site quiltville.com.)

Earth label

This quilt was delivered TODAY to Tara Derr Webb, whose age fits between my two sons.  I have known her and loved her and worried with her and rejoiced with her since she was eight or nine years old.  Today is the day that Tara is cooking out of “the Farmbar” for the first time in Charleston, SC, where she and her husband Leighton own and operate a developing farm.  Tara is also a photographer, and you can see her work and pictures of Deux Peuces Farm (two fleas) and the Spartan trailer that is “the farmbar” on her web site:  www.thefarmbar26.com.

Interesting Information: Homing Bees

Interesting Information:  April 2, 2013

Homing Bees

Old friends Leighton and Tara Derr Web are working with bee master Tamara Kelly Enright (my daughter-in-law) to start ten hives on Deux Peuces Farm in Awendaw, SC.

Leighton oversaw the building of the ten hives.  Here’s Tami trying her hand at cutting some of the hive wood:

And here are Tami and Leighton “homing” the 50,000 bees in the ten hives.  Tami is setting up a hive by installing the pieces which the bees will use to build the interior of the hive.  I presume Tara is the photographer.

Tami’s honey is called “Talula Bee Honey,” and it is highly prized in the Charleston, SC, area.

And you can see much more information about Tara and Leighton and their farm on THE FARMBAR web site, which is linked on this blog.  See the right sidebar to click over to The Farmbar.  There are some gorgeous articles and pictures on The Press section of Tara’s blog.

Turkey Tracks: Georgia the Goat

Turkey Tracks:  March 18, 2013

Georgia, the Goat

So now that I can put up videos, I have one that I’ve saved for about two years.

Some background:

My friend Tara Derr Webb lives in Charleston, SC, very near my sons.  She grew up with them, and they are all like brothers and sister.  They were thrilled when she and Leighton moved back to the East Coast from the West Coast and abodes abroad and settled near them.

Two years ago, Tara read Kristin Kimball’s THE DIRTY LIFE and started on a journey toward farming.  She visited a farm in the Atlanta, Georgia, area first.  There, a tiny baby goat was born and abandoned by her mother.  The farm family could not expand resources to manage a baby goat, so Tara put her into her car, brought her home, named her Georgia, and raised her with the help of husband Leighton and two nursemaid dogs, Milo, a Great Dane, and Eloise, a charming female of indeterminate age.

Here’s Georgia goat when she’s about 9 months or younger:

Tara and Leighton have gone on to start a farm (Deux Puces, or Two Fleas), a goat herd, vegetable crops, and a soon-to-be restaurant called “The Farmbar” made from a repurposed Spartan Landcraft.  You can read all about it, and them, and see videos of the tiny goat they just adopted on The Farmbar web site, linked on the right-hand sidebar of this blog.