Always Home

Well I Guess That's That

2011-12-03T10:25:00.001-06:00

I thought I might, thought this Christmas season might get me back into blogging,

but I think not, think I'm over it. Over flickr, over it all. Just doesn't seem as fun as it used to.

This last non-Christmasy photo is for you Glenda, (my aunt's work) think I can fill in all those little flowers by Christmas?? I'm sure I'll still be over to visit you from time to time. :)

Christmas, Part 1

2011-11-18T09:16:00.001-06:00

Christmas Pyrex!

Just makes me smile!

I have quite a large Pyrex collection, and I remember the first vintage piece I bought. It was the small blue mixing bowl that goes with the primary set, bought right after I got married just because my husband didn't think my bowls were big enough to eat cereal out of. I now have two complete primary sets, I can never pass those bowls up when I find them for just a dollar or two. And I love my pink gooseberry and turquoise butterprint, but if someone asked what would I really like to find, the answer would be Christmas Pyrex. These two pictures below? They're mine!

This is a big 2 1/2 quart casserole called golden poinsettias. Earlier this week I came down with a terrible cold, and leaving for work early to stop and get some medicine at Walgreen's, I still had a few minutes to kill. Handy that Goodwill was right across the street. :) I spied this as soon as I walked in the door and made a beeline to it. Seeing the $8 price tag kind of irked me. Our Goodwill folks have recently discovered the value of Pyrex, and mark it higher than anything else in the store. When I got to the check out, the lady told me since it had a yellow tag, it was half price, yay! I'm already planning what goodies will be cooked in this Christmas season.

Four quart mixing bowl "golden leaf".

I found this at a garage sale this summer ($2 I think) and was thrilled! Couldn't believe the luck, I had no idea I'd find that casserole in just a couple of months. This one has already been used to make a big batch of chocolate chip cookies before it found a home in one of the cupboards (it's getting harder to find spots!).

And the Christmas quilt, rows all sewn together, yay! I should note that this is not my pattern, or something I made up. You can find it here. Did you ever see a quilt, or something else and want to make one JUST LIKE IT? That's what this was for me. I did change the dimensions a little, the original quilt was 60" x 60", mine should finish at 54" x 78", after I add a 4" border all around. I wanted something to cover me from chin to toes, and also my 6' 3" husband. Last year she put the pattern on sale a little closer to Christmas, that's when I got mine. ;)

Some more cute blocks, just because I love 'em so!

Santa

I made an apron out of this fabric two years ago, love it!

A snow lady

And a scottie (of course!)

Hello!

2011-11-15T12:15:00.000-06:00

Hello! Anyone still out there? I've been trying to decide what to do with this blog, I checked and it was March last time I posted! I haven't been too good at leaving comments on anyone else's either. Of course I haven't been able to resist cute kitties, puppies, babies, you know the important things in life. ;) So, I've decided to do a twelve things of Christmas (could never do twelve DAYS in a row!) So between now and Christmas I'm going to share twelve Christmas-y things, to hopefully get me in the mood, and that will take me to about the end of the year, and I can decide what I'm going to do with the blog then. So if anyone is still reading, I'll share some of the vintage Christmas things I've found this past year, figurines, cards (or were those Valentines?) Pyrex, YES, Christmas Pyrex! A few paper projects, and the Christmas quilt I've been collecting, swapping, and taking donations for almost a year now. Here's a little peek at some of the adorable fabrics that will be in it. The blocks are all made, and hopefully they will be sewn into rows in the next day or so.

So if you've kept me on your reader, thank you! If not, I'll just be talking to myself for the next few weeks, and getting in the Christmas spirit. :)

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T07:00:00.006-05:00

Just having fun playing with paper again. :)

The Tag Along That Wasn't

2011-01-05T11:03:00.004-06:00

LOTS of pictures here!

I signed up for a year long tag along (linky over there on my side bar), but had so much fun, I finished all twelve (supposed to be one a month). We were to pick one pad of paper, or ten sheets, and use just that the whole year. We could also use any extras we had around the house, buttons, rick rack, etc. I chose Cosmo Cricket Material Girl for my paper and vintage advertising for my theme. Since I started these, I've decided to step away from my blog and blogs in general for awhile. So I guess I'll drop out of the tag along, thanks for the fun Elizabeth! And since I'm dropping out, I have an extra set of tags, if anyone is interested? Just leave a comment telling me which one is your favorite. I'll pick someone to send them to next week. I know not everyone reading here is into paper thingies, so you can still have a favorite without actually wanting to be entered in my drawing, just let me know. :)

This is my daughter's favorite, love these old images!

Any movie buffs out there? This sure looks like Judy Holliday to me.

Great for that hole in your head! Funny stuff!

I remember TV dinners!

Another favorite of my daughter's, love that look on her face!

My mom has never owned anything but an Electrolux, had to use this one. :)

Coke Santa, couldn't think of old advertising without him. Actually I could have done the whole year with Coke, they've got the greatest ads (even though I prefer Pepsi products myself).

An extra, I didn't like the way it turned out. Love the image. You'd think it would have been easier to find old make-up ads, but it wasn't. Or Tupperware, or PYREX, I so wanted to do those two, but no luck on a good image.

I may be back, maybe not, but I'm sure I'll still be over on flickr, see you there!

Just a note (1/12/11) to add, as soon as I'm able to get out of my snow filled driveway, my tags and a few extra goodies will be headed to Nan in Alaska. Thanks to all who took the time to visit and leave a comment.

Christmas Paper-ing

2010-12-18T13:29:00.000-06:00

My last block of the month for the year. It doesn't normally hang in the tree, but the tree is blocking my favorite picture taking spot. She kind of fits in the Barbie section of the tree anyway. ;)

This was made just for fun, I loved the image. Looks like she's really going to do some celebrating when the clock hits midnight, doesn't it?

And here are all my wonderful swap tags from Elizabeth. You can go over to her blog and see a lovely individual picture of each one. I think they're so pretty all together!

And here is my 22, yes 22! I made. Such a fun swap!

Not sure if I'll be back before Christmas, if not, I hope that this joyful season brings you all you've been wishing for. :) Merry Christmas!

Christmas At My House

2010-12-13T15:41:00.000-06:00

I could have titled this post "How the Elves Took Over", but so far they've stayed confined to the mantle.

Christmas aprons in the kitchen. OK, the two on the far end aren't Christmas, but I couldn't cook without my favorite apron there (the tiny print one) and the red one is really one from Mexico, but it looks Christmasy, doesn't it??

Above my kitchen sink, these are the Christmas dishes we've been using, but we don't have much company so these two live up here through the season. :)

On top of my frig, this is last years picture, but it looks the same!

And Milo has been chasing sunny spots all day, it's cold here! And yes, the tree is still naked except for lights, a spinny disco ball and carousal. That's my plan for this evening, hopefully a good old movie on TV. Maybe White Christmas again?

I've Been into Quilting Lately!

2010-12-06T13:46:00.001-06:00

Long time no blog, right? Been trying to keep up with my visits, while working on this quilt. It's my first finished quilt from a pattern (hint: she does put them on sale occasionally). Oh, I've sewn simple squares together for years, but never actually followed a pattern. I love the way it turned out! This is the best picture that's going to happen today, it's cold out! It was 10 degrees when I got up this morning, and it's made it all the way up to 23 right now. I'm not ready for this winter stuff, at least no snow yet, my sister 2 hours away got eight inches this weekend

Milo says it sleeps well. :)

I made this Christmasy table runner last week, again no pattern, just a simple disappearing nine patch.

It goes well with some adorable little pixie elves I picked up at sales this summer.

I love these guys, I have tons of red ones, but these are the first green ones I've been able to find (and afford!). This is the only Christmas I have out so far, how bad is that? I visit everyone else's blogs and it looks so festive, I really need to put the quilting away and get on that!

Chicago in November

2010-11-16T11:10:00.000-06:00

Who'd have thought you could enjoy a walk in Chicago- in November- in 72 degree weather? Not me, but was I pleasantly surprised! We started off the day visiting a college that my daughter is interested in attending in Naperville Illinois, a very historic old town. The college took us on a trolley ride around town, so many beautiful old homes! After our tour we headed over to Oak Park, the home of Frank Lloyd Wright, and more amazing homes, and our own little tour.

My daughter and husband enjoying the view, so different from our usual one, we live on five acres, the closest house is a quarter mile away. These apartment buildings fascinate me, I'd so love to see the inside.

My favorite of the day (I think!). I wish our house had a big covered porch.

Row houses, so pretty in the sun.

Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio, our starting point. My daughter is doing her senior project on him.

Just one of his homes we saw on our walk. In all honesty, I can be impressed by his homes, but it isn't my favorite style, give me a craftsman style bungalow any day!

Back to the rural life, and getting ready for Thanksgiving. . . then Christmas, anyone else starting to get nervous about getting everything done in time??

Apron Pocket Swap

2010-11-03T08:16:00.002-05:00

Here are my paper apron pockets sent off to Elizabeth for her fun swap.

We were to come up with a diner name and enclose an appetizer recipe in the little pocket on the back. My diner is actually a drive-in, and once upon a time it was a real place. I never once got to eat there when it was open, but the fun we had when we drove by! Whenever we would pass the place with my VERY vocal boy cousins, they would demand the horn be honked by my mother or my aunt. Oh the things they would yell, just had to "tell 'em" something! Somehow I don't think that's what the owners meant, but we sure had fun with it. ;)

Here's the very yummy dip recipe I included:

Buffalo Chicken Dip

1 can chicken breast

1 cup spicy ranch dressing

1 cup hot wing sauce

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese

shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Soften cream cheese and spread in a 9" round pan; pour dressing, sauce, and chicken over cream cheese; sprinkle shredded cheddar over top. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with crackers.

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T00:01:00.003-05:00

Nothing scary here this year!

Though the girl in green does look a little frightened. That's my daughter, the blue crayon. The only costume making I did this year was sew up four colored "tubes". The girls took care of everything else themselves. This is my daughter's senior year in high school, so after seventeen costumes, cute kitties and puppies, Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, a witch, Robin Hood, and so many others, I think my costume making has come to an end. It's been fun!

Halloween, October 31st is also the anniverary of my first date with my husband. Twenty three ago. At the time where I was working, we had a new employee. He and his wife were new to town, and they decided to have a Halloween costume party. They begged me to come, and fearing since they were new in town not many would show up, I gave in to go. But wait, I'd already made a date! Now remember this was before the days of texting and being on the phone constantly, I just couldn't get up my nerve to call my date and tell him to dress up! But I went ahead with my costume. You can imagine my husband to be's look when I opened the door in a twenties flapper outfit, oh how I wish I could find that picture! Shimmy dress, stockings with a seam up the back, headband with a feather, long rhinestone cigarette holder, and four inch pumps (yes, I know flappers didn't wear high heels, but I love classic pumps). We made our appearance at the party, I don't think he was too embarrassed to be seen with me, he found out early on how much of a goof I can be, but that's OK, he's a goof sometimes too! We've never dressed up again (for a few years, we did always put on our matching Spock ears, I told you we were goofs!), but I always remember that first date on Halloween, and I'm glad it turned out the way it did. Anyone else have any romantic Halloween memories??

Happy Halloween Week!

2010-10-25T09:22:00.001-05:00

October's block of the month, I just realized only two more this year, yikes, Christmas is coming isn't it??

My lovely Halloween banner (it was hard to take a picture of!), put together by Elizabeth at Bluebird Papercrafts. I know most of you have probably seen it already on the other talented ladies blogs, but just had to share the spot where it lives in my home. That's new paint on the walls, it's called peanut butter! If you know me, you know that I LOVE peanut butter, I couldn't believe they had a paint color just for me. :)

After several days of spotty, then no internet service, I think they finally have the problem fixed. I'm trying to catch up with all your blogs, it just may take awhile. Oh the joys of living in the boonies!

So Many Things, but Nothing is Getting Finished

2010-10-18T07:30:00.016-05:00

Ever have a week like that? So many ideas, but you just can't seem to get anything done?

This little shopping kitty is for a stitch along over on flickr, it's going very quick, so I do see this actually getting done in a day or two. What I've stitched so far was all done last night. You can check out the group New Embroidery with Vintage Patterns by clicking on the button over there on the right. We had a shopping theme this time, usually Thursday on day-of-the-week towels. I love these two kitties, I think the one really did "shop till he dropped".

A pile of yo yos, they're done, just what they go on isn't.

(yes, there is one odd ball in there)

Lots of apron pockets for Elizabeth's swap. These just are not turning out how I pictured. Blah! Maybe it's the weather, it's been beautiful here, too nice to stay cooped up inside. I'm not complaining about that! I just wish I had a little more focus. Hopefully I'll be back later in the week with a finished project.

Why I Take the Time to Stop at Goodwill (and some family pics)

2010-10-07T14:26:00.000-05:00

So handy, that on my way to the grocery I have to pass the Goodwill store. Especially when this is what awaits me!

Oh my, isn't it beautiful?? I couldn't find "quilts" on their price list, but thought maybe it fell into the bedspread or comforter group. That would have made it $8.52. I was OK with that. When I got to the check out, the girl just glanced at it, rang up $4.52, then took off 25%. I know my heart was racing as I left the store, if they'd made a mistake, they weren't getting it back!

I found this black background one at Goodwill about a month ago, and was very happy with the $10.52 I paid. Who is pricing this stuff??

And since my Mom lives in my grocery shopping, Goodwill buying town, I just had to stop and show her my find. It made her think of this one she had packed away. She thought today was a good day for it to go home with me. :)

Look at that fan quilting, so pretty! I think that's how all the women in my family quilted.

This is the house that my mom found that quilt in, on the floor, dirty, being walked on. My mom can do some cleaning magic!

This house was built by my family about 1870, all the woodwork in the house was made from trees cut on the property. Woodworkers from Pennsylvania were brought here (Illinois) to craft all the doors, mantels, etc. The house was sadly torn down a few years back, but all the wood was saved. Since my husband is one of the few woodworkers in the family, we have all the wood safely stored at out house now. I don't even think the mantel will fit through any of our doors! This was a big house!

I have no idea when this drawing of their farm was done, but I like how they have their former residence up in the corner. Imagine going from a tiny log cabin to a brand new, large brick home. And the garden, look how it's laid out (bottom right corner) I wonder if it really was like that, or the artist just thought it should be? A lot of the family members that lived in this house had tragic lives, I think I'll hunt through my pictures (and get my stories straight!) and share about them another day.

Today has definitely been a good day!

I Can Stipple!

2010-10-05T09:14:00.000-05:00

A new fall table runner I made last weekend. I guess I have to admit fall is here, it was 35 degrees when I got up this morning, yikes!

I love these fabrics together, they're from the Moda charm pack Saltbox Harvest. I used a disappearing nine patch, couldn't be easier. What's most exciting to me is I finally got up my nerve to try stippling, I can do it!

It's not perfect in places, a little pointy where it should be curvier, but I can do it!

Gourds, I got 'em! This is just a tiny portion of what I grew this year.

Before washing, guarded by Mr. Owl.

And taken this summer, while still growing. There's many more varieties, I think surely there's more ready to pick by now. I think that's how I'll spend my pretty fall day. :)

Boo!

2010-09-29T18:31:00.000-05:00

I still haven't made my October block of the month, when I sat down to do that today, this is what I came up with instead.

A "boo" to hang over my fireplace.

I think my Halloween decorations have become buried in my attic since last fall.

I can see them, I just need to move A LOT of stuff to get to them.

So, I just made something new. A project for another day, cleaning out that attic!

September and August?

2010-09-24T09:02:00.001-05:00

Last night I got to thinking, what could I make for my October paper block? I hang these beside my desk for the month, it makes a fun decoration. Then I realized I never shared September's and August's?? Talk about forgetful!

I loved my August one, hey, I love summer (and the beach!). The beach sign is from graphic 45 and the August calendar is from a Tim Holtz paper pad. The little shells are from Florida years ago.

In September, I think of school, even though here this year my daughter started on August 16th, that seems so early! I've had this little girl saved for a while on my computer, I think she originally came from flickr.

I haven't come up with anything for October yet, but hopefully when I do, I'll remember to post it a little sooner!

Sorry for the not so great pics, it's a very gloomy day here.

Quilt blocks 2 and 3

2010-09-23T09:52:00.002-05:00

Two more blocks finished for my sampler quilt, I think having a record of them here will keep me motivated. Both of these were originally published in the Kansas City Star Newspaper.

The pink one is called granny's choice, published December 29, 1948.

The green one is called trails or kings crown, and was published in 1931.

And on a blog note, blogger is being really stupid! It won't let me add my blog list back to my side bar, it just freezes up and nothing happens. I know what blogs I read, but apparently blogger doesn't want me to share it with the world. ;)

Quilt Block 1 (Grandmother's Pride)

2010-09-20T11:45:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I came home from the most fantastic garage sale with TONS of great fabric. You can see

pictures of it over on my flickr page (I really am better about posting pictures there than on my blog).

On the second weekend of the sale, I bought several block of the month kits, so fun! Each has a pattern and enough fabric to make one 12 inch block. I finally got around to trying one last night, made templates for the pieces from a plastic file divider, cut out all the pieces, then stitched it up by machine this morning. This is definitely less intimidating than a full size quilt. All of the blocks came with 30's and 40's prints, and together I think they'll make a wonderful scappy quilt!

All of the block kits came from Grandma's Attic Sewing Emporium, which I've bought from before (they have great tea towels for embroidery). All these kits? $4! $4 for all of them! I plan to cut out another tonight. :)

Stitching Along

2010-09-15T09:37:00.001-05:00

This little kitty was stitched up for a stitch along over at the flickr group New Embroidery With Vintage Patterns (there's a button to go there over on the right).

On vintage patterns, usually Wednesday is sewing or mending day, and we could each pick our favorite to stitch up. That was hard, there are so many cute patterns out there! I lost track of how many times I changed my mind. This will become something later, maybe a pillow? I've got some cute sewing themed fabric I think would be perfect to go with it.

I haven't been doing much embroidery this summer, it's more of a winter time thing for me. You know, kicked backed in the recliner in the evening watching mindless TV. ;) But the days are getting shorter now, so I've been going through my patterns picking out things to stitch. I did doodle Florida one day this summer, love those old souvenir tablecloths and such. This one will definitely be a pillow when it's finished. I apologize to anyone who knows the shape of Florida better than me, I was just looking off an old souvenir hanky at the time, I probably should have got an actual map out!

Another Anniversary

2010-09-11T09:53:00.001-05:00

Not mine this time, but my grandparents, on my Dad's side. The day after mine and my husband's anniversary (see last post), I got these old pictures in the mail from an aunt. And since I love looking at old pictures on everyone else's blogs, thought I'd share.

My grandparent's are celebrating their 45th here, in 1968. I really don't remember them that well, I remember their house, and always having lots of cousins to play with, but they were older and I was one of the youngest, so I didn't get to be with them as much. I do remember my grandpa was born in the 1890's, and as a little kid that amazed me, not even this century! He served in France in WWI, and I think he's the only person I've ever met to serve in that war.

Here they are with all my dad's brother's and one sister. That's my dad in the suit on the left, nice white socks! And how about that wallpaper?

And here are the cousins, I'm the little one on the left that looks rather petrified for some reason. Those are my sisters in the back with the nice flippy hair (hi!). There was one more boy cousin born after me, but sadly him and the pretty girl in the striped dress were killed by a train, just out picking strawberries early one morning.

My grandparent's did make it to their 50th, and I've seen those pictures, but so far no one has shared. I remember that party a little better, all of us cousins were required to wear long dresses. It was 1973, anyone remember Gunne Sax dresses?? I was way too much of a tomboy to be happy all day in that dress!

21 Years and Counting

2010-09-09T00:01:00.022-05:00

Happy Anniversary to us.

Photo by my sister

July 2010

I don't remember what we were doing here, but whatever it was, my sister caught us. :)

21 Years ago today, doesn't seem possible!

If you missed last years anniversary post, you can go see pictures of us here.

L is for . . . Lisa?

2010-09-07T17:15:00.000-05:00

No, not really, but that is my name. Elizabeth at Creative Breathing asked a few of us to help her put together a H-a-l-l-o-w-e-e-n banner, each of us taking a different letter. I picked "L", because it just seemed like that's always been my letter, so why not? She also asked us to share how we put our block together, nothing fancy here, just lots of cutting and glueing.

First I found that cute little girl image here (she has more to share too!). The pumpkin came from flickr, I think, but I'm not sure, sorry! I used my trusty Creative Memories shape cutter, love those things! There's not much else they have that interests me too much anymore, but if my little blades ever wear out, I would definitely replace them. I cut just a partial oval, first out of black cardstock, then a little bit smaller out of that pretty orange paper. The spider web paper on the bottom I just cut to fit, I decided those webs were a little too white, so I used distress ink all over it. I think it goes much better with the orange paper now.

I used gold stickles on the girls dress, shoes, hat, hair, and on the pumpkin. I can't remember whose blog I read the tip about using a paintbrush with stickles, but it's a good one, so I'm passing it on.

I made the little rosettes with a 1 inch circle punch, and used a hot glue gun to glue them to the curly gingham ribbon. The hardest part for me was figuring out how to get the silly "L" on there somewhere. It started out big on the left, then not so big right in the middle, finally a rather small "L" stuck on that rosette. I guess it works. :)

Then it was glue, glue, glue!

I used cereal box cardboard in the middle between the cardstock so it would be nice and sturdy.

All ten ready to go!

And the back, just punches and stamps. When I was ordering crafty Bible School stuff this summer, Oriental Trading Company had these Halloween stamps on clearance, and they came with a punch. Just had to sneak them in my order!

Mine will go out in the mail tomorrow, and I can't wait till I get all the other letters to spell out Halloween!

A Little Red

2010-08-26T08:58:00.000-05:00

I thought since I claimed in my last post that red was my favorite kitchen color, I'd share a few of my finds from this summer.

Up first is a pretty old juice decanter found at Goodwill early this summer, on top of a garage sale towel. I've been using this towel a lot, love those flowers!

State glasses (just the reds!). Anyone else collect these? I try to just get the states I've been to, and I inherited a lot of my aunt's, so fun! I should do a whole post on state souvenir stuff, I love it! Most of these were bought for about 10 cents.

More old crocheted pot holders (can't get enough, lol). They're sitting (like the glasses above) on a tray found at the Salvation Army thrift store this summer. Not old, but it's come in very handy all summer.

A litttle vintage nut chopper, I've always wanted one of these, and this one couldn't be more perfect in red. :) Two more vintage towels, pretty!

A BIG tomato bowl. I saw this at the SA a few weeks ago, thought it was pretty, but where would I keep another big bowl? When I went back last week, it had been moved to the 25 cent shelf, so it had to come home with me. It's being put to good use right now, the tomatoes are exploding in the garden! Anyone know anything about this bowl, old? new? There are no makings on it.

Wonderful old silverware, bakelite? And yes, if you think something is missing, it is. No forks! Didn't realize that till I got home. Goodwill had them sealed up in a bag. They were only $1.76 though, maybe I'll find the forks someday. ;)

Gorgeous tablecloth, garage sale find from early this summer, pretty!

So, do you think the red and pink can mix??

And I Thought Red Was My Favorite Kitchen Color

2010-08-19T11:09:00.039-05:00

It all started with these last summer, you can read their story here.

Then I found this. Still searching for a lid.

Then this.

Then this super cheap.

Ta da! A complete set!

Then these, an (almost) complete set.

And finally, some great (pink!) retro glasses. 25 cents each.

So much pink, I love it!

Wild West Swap

2010-08-05T20:02:00.001-05:00

I signed up for a Wild West swap over at Paula's Palace of AltAred Art. Fun, fun, fun!

The front

And here's the back, I couldn't stop myself, or decide what images to use, so I used 'em all! That little girl is me on Reddy. Probably about 1968, but I forgot to ask my Mom that when I borrowed the pic. Thanks for the fun Paula!

Edit: Had to drop out of the swap. :( Still it was loads of fun making this. :)

Family

2010-07-31T08:41:00.001-05:00

If anyone has noticed, I haven't been around much lately. I've tried to keep up with your blogs, but haven't been doing the best job of it. So sorry! My sister has been visiting the last week or so form California (two years since I've seen her!). She brought me this old fruit crate label, how cool is that? A very good friend of hers is the caretaker for the Buck Mansion, go check it out, beautiful place. Be sure to look at that pool, my sister spends many afternoons lazing around there, I'm soooo jealous. A while back they were cleaning out the mansion and came across quite a few of these old labels. I had some copies of old ones, but no originals, love it! My husband said he could make me a frame, we'll see how long that takes. ;)

A Thoughful Button Tag

2010-07-13T10:24:00.006-05:00

I used the inside of Elizabeth's card this week, couldn't resist the sweet look on this girl's face. I think she's looking off into a beautiful summer sky. It's the time of year for daydreaming, isn't it?

Button Tags and Enjoying My Summer

2010-07-08T08:23:00.006-05:00

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer. :) I've been (trying) to stay away from the blogs-flickr-internet in general, being outside more-reading more. I haven't been doing that much, it's been a rather uneventful summer, but it's summer, I love hot weather (long as I can step into the cool of the house!), it makes my garden grow. :) In just a day or two we should be eating corn, THAT makes me very happy. I've still been going to garage sales-Salvation Army-Goodwill, quilts-jadeite-pyrex-linens, oh my! It just started to seem silly to show everything and say "lookie what I found"! But I do have a thing about finishing what I started, and I started making these little button tags, so I will finish (and show) them. You can find the images over at Creative Breathing.

A Happy 4th of July To Everyone!

2010-06-30T10:58:00.005-05:00

My favorite morning spot, my front porch.

My block of the month for July.

This is just for fun (and it was the next picture on my camera). A few years ago they painted these really cool murals all over our historic downtown, this is my favorite, thought you might like it too. :)

Have a safe and happy 4th!

4th of July/Patriotic Table Runner Done!

2010-06-18T08:22:00.002-05:00

I love it when I finish something by when I said I would. :) Now for those festive paper pinwheels I was thinking about . . .

Button Tags and I NEED SOME SUNSHINE!

2010-06-15T08:49:00.010-05:00

This weeks button tag (image from Creative Breathing). Milo wouldn't give up about the only light place in our house right now.

I thought I'd show you where I keep my tags, but it's very hard to take a picture of this dark little corner. That little teapot was a find a few weekends ago, no lid, but I loved the colors. My daughter crocheted the little scottie on top of the cupboard, she knows what I like. :) And I made that fabric covered board on the wall last winter, what do you call them?

Another spot where I keep a few pretties, I've discovered that thimbles are the perfect vacation souvenir, don't cost much, and don't take up much room.

It's summer, seems like I should be showing outdoor pictures, but it never stops raining anymore, blah! Even Nick (I don't think he's made an appearance here) the pony is tired of slugging through the mud of his drylot to get to the pasture. He would not come out for a picture. And the garden is one big weedy mudbog, no way I'm stepping out in there to pull weeds. We've had five inches of rain in the last few days, and it's raining more right now. It's summer, I NEED TO SEE THE SUN!

Edited: Bookwormbethie asked if I'd show a couple pics of my favorite thimbles, well sure! I love these cloisonne ones, they don't remind me of a special place I visited, but I think they're so pretty! And yes, that's Elvis on a thimble ;), my daughter brought me that one from a trip to Memphis.

And this tiny, tiny (it's not a token out of a Monopoly game!) one was my aunt's. I found it in some of my aunt's things after she died. She was the expert sewer in our family, and always answered my silly questions. The day we were going through her things, I found this penny the little thimble is sitting on in her driveway, dated the year I was born. Anybody read Ann Landers? All that pennies from heaven stuff? I'm way too practical a person to believe in all that, but there was no way I was going to throw that penny away. :)

A Few Things Finished, a Few Not

2010-06-09T08:37:00.006-05:00

A person a little more focused than me would probably already have this table runner done, me, I'm just aiming for the 4th of July. Ever since I learned how easy it is to make half square triangles (HST), I've become addicted. They go together so fast, and I love this Zippity Doo Dah charm pack from Moda, very festive! I do have two more blocks just like these done, just need to sew them together, quilt, and bind. Plenty of time before the 4th!

And then there's the quilt (please ignore the wrinkles) I started awhile back, more HSTs! It will get finished someday. ;)

Now paper items, that goes much faster! Here's this week button tag (image from Creative Breathing).

And I skipped a couple months, but this is another contribution to my block of the month collection. I think this one is my most favorite so far. :)

Another Fruit Post and Playing With Paper

2010-05-28T10:06:00.006-05:00

Elizabeth at Creative Breathing is sharing a vintage button card each week to make your own tag, so fun! No pressure to make a ton for a swap, no deadline, just a fun, quick way to be a little creative. If I keep up, I should have fifteen of these by the end of summer. Did I say it was fun?!

This is what I'll be doing with the rest of my day, pitting cherries. Not the funnest thing in the world, but oh, they're worth it! And I need to go pick more strawberries, even after sharing with friends and family, I've got so many. I put nineteen containers of jam in the freezer, we're eating them everyday, one way or another, it's definitely a good year for fruit!

Strawberries!

2010-05-21T14:53:00.004-05:00

Is it odd to be so excited over a few strawberries? I took a walk out to the garden today in between showers and discovered we have TONS of strawberries ready for picking. I'm just back in the house to finish up a little laundry then back out I go with bucket in hand. What should be first, strawberry pie? Strawberry shortcake? Strawberries and ice cream? Or just strawberries and sugar?? The jam will come later. I think I'm so excited because somehow it means we might actually have a summer after all the awful, rainy, cold weather we've had this spring. Strawberries just mean summer to me. :)

Update: I went with strawberry shortcake for supper tonight, yummy!

Vintage Camper Tag

2010-05-17T18:56:00.003-05:00

Paula at Paula's Palace of AltAred Art is hosting a summer tag swap, the Happy Camper Camporee. I didn't have the nerve to join, NOTHING was coming to mind, even though I love those little vintage campers. But on another dreary, rainy day, I made my own, just for me.

It's a Little Scotty Serro Sportman camper, aren't they cute? I hope you can tell what I was trying to do, making the jalousie door window. And if you look close I think you can see where I accordioned the paper to give it that camper look. Those party lights are almost like the ones we use when we go camping (we're tent campers though). I tried for a long time to cut out little shapes that looked like our lights, but finally gave up and used a Christmas tree punch, and turned the shapes upside down. I think it works!

Really I should be the owner of one of these little cuties, a few years back, my husbands best friend had one, a perfectly minty pink and white camper, little pink sink, little pink stove, perfect, the woodwork inside gleamed! He got rid of it, sold it, without telling me! For $5oo! A bargain! I still give him a hard time about it, but maybe another will turn up someday, right?

Vintage Cards and a Barbie Pattern

2010-05-07T17:55:00.008-05:00

I found these two adorable cards at one of my favorite little antique stores today, they've been closed all winter and I had been so looking forward to going when they opened back up for spring. These cards are as cute on the back as on the front! They're both dated 1947 and have the story of the girl inside. I'd never heard of Polly Flinders, she got in trouble for getting her good clothes sooty, those black smudges are supposed to be there!

And Cinderalla (one of the cutest ones I've ever seen). Feel free to use these in your crafting if you like.

Does anyone else look forward to Twyla and Lindsey at Two crazy Crafters Barbie Wednesday posts? I do! A few days ago, Lindsey shared some old Barbie patterns, so I thought I would too. Isn't she pretty?

I'm Still Here!

2010-04-14T10:07:00.009-05:00

I think Spring has sprung here, it's been hard to be inside. But I have to come in occasionally to get things done, today it's laundry. I'm sorry for not visiting your blogs more often. :( Between the weather and my stinky internet service, my comments have been few and far between lately. I do get most of your posts read in my feeds, but when I try to click over to leave a comment, nothing happens. I've discovered that if I do a search on your blog, and not read it through my feeds, I can get there instantly, does anyone know why?? It's really kind of a pain though! Living in the boonies has it's good points, but internet and phone service, and sky high electric bills definitely could use some improvement!

I went to my first sale of the year a couple of weeks ago, a church basement sale. Has anyone ever seen one of these? Can you even tell what it is? I bought a little box for the pair of stork scissors inside (love the ones I already had), but when I got it home, I found this neat-o magnet thing. You put one magnet on each side of your project, and it holds you needle and even your scissors in place. I know I've been guilty of sticking my needle in my fabric, only to come back a few days later aggravated at myself for leaving holes where there shouldn't be holes. One of these would be very easy to make, two strong magnets (decorate them if you want) connected by a pretty ribbon. Quick and useful project!

This is the latest tea towel I've been working on, I do have more than this finished, just not a more current picture. I love that little pencil guy!

At first I thought this was just another tomato pincushion, but then I saw the little tab with a pull out tape measure, how cute! You can see part of "Japan" on the end of the tape. 25 cents!

My Mom gave me this little vintage scotty tape measure for Christmas, I love it! It has Germany West Zone printed on the side. If I remember my history right, that would be fairly soon after WWII, before they got everything settled, and it became West Germany.

I think I see another collection starting!

I wanted to share some of the pretty things going on in my yard right now, it's a beautiful time of year!

Apple blossoms (yellow delicious), I hope we don't have another frost to ruin our apples! We have several Redbuds

Wild plum, smells wonderful!

Lilacs, I can't decide which smells better, but my whole yard smells delicious!

See you next rainy day, or when I have to do laundry again!

Happy Easter

2010-04-01T08:31:00.002-05:00

Hope everyone has a Happy Easter!

This card is dated 1914, and addressed to my Grandma and her sister. More of their cards on my flickr photostream.

A Few Things Finished

2010-03-26T16:10:00.013-05:00

I have plans to make a quilt (has always been one of those someday things), starting small, I made this little table runner last week. I kind of followed this tutorial here. As much as I love a wrinkly, puckered quilt, I made this thinner and just backed it with flannel. I thought that would work well for a table runner. I love the way it turned out! Definitely gave me the confidence to try something bigger. :) The next few pictures will give you some idea of how things work around here. ;)

Milo always close by to help. . .

Here's his "aren't I cute" pose. . .

But don't turn your back for a minute!

And here's the tags I made for Elizabeth's retro tag swap all finished. Even if you're not interested in paper crafting, click on the photo to make it big. Seriously. Best dessert recipe ever! I got this recipe from my husband's Grandma years ago, and I take it to almost all family and church dinners, yummy!

Have I mentioned I love Aprons?

2010-03-09T13:40:00.006-06:00

I spent waaay too much time this morning trying to take a picture of an apron I made last week, if I didn't manage to cut my head off, or be caught in mid-stride trying to get back into position before the timer went off, I looked like a total goof. But I do like the apron! Really, could this fabric have been used for anything else?? It's another one I just kind of made up the pattern from an old vintage one I have.

And since Milo had helped me (won't show the one where he tripped me good and the camera caught it!). He got to be in one of the shots. Just cut off the top of our heads in this one. :)

I've also been working on my aprons for Elizabeth's retro tag swap (finally got that button up over there on the right). They're turning out so cute! I'll share a finished one after I mail them off to her.

I so enjoy looking at the old pictures that others share here in blogland, that I went in search of an apron one to go with this post. This is my husband's family, taken in the very early 30's and that's Granny McCann on the far left, and you can't really tell it from this picture, but she does have on an apron. They say she never went anywhere without one. The girl 4th from the left in the back row is hubby's Grandma Chaud (pronounced Shad, real name Chaudoin). This would have been taken not long before she married, and see the fiddle? They were such a musical family! I'd hear her talk so many times about the dances they had every Saturday night upstairs at the grocery store. There was always a band and singers and she said they always lasted so late. I've seen pictures taken at the dances, but nobody has made me any copies of those yet. Grandma Chaud died two years ago at 93, and was one of the sweetest women I ever met, and I have a few of her aprons. :)

March is Here!

2010-03-01T14:49:00.011-06:00

I got my block for March done just in time! What else do you think of except St. Patrick's Day for March? Maybe windy days and kites?
And just in case I get tired of Looking at that cute little Irish girl all month, I made this one too. I have no idea what it has to do with March, I've just really been into Leyendecker's art lately. Look him up if you don't know him, beautiful! Makes you want to read/watch the Great Gatsby again.

Elizabeth at Creative Breathing asked me to make a button linking to my blocks I make each month, I'm working on that. It should appear soon over there to the side, grab it and make your own block each month, be sure to let me know!

And if you're still reading, have I ever mentioned here that I hate my internet service? It stinks! So I want to apologize to all the ladies with the beautiful blogs, I read your blogs in my feeds, but if you've got huge pictures, or a pretty background layout, I just can't get over to you! The internet was bad enough in December that they refunded our entire bill, but I have no idea what is going on now, hopefully they'll have it fixed soon, and I'll be back over to see you!

Too Much Stuff!

2010-02-15T11:02:00.005-06:00

Does anyone else clean out closets and drawers and boxes during the long winter months? That's what I've been doing, and I've come to the conclusion I've got too much stuff! The Goodwill pile is growing, but there's just certain things I don't want to take there. So, I got the not so original idea to open an Etsy shop. For now it will just be a clean-out of general sewing, embroidery, knitting, crochet, and apron patterns, all vintage. And greeting cards too, that's the only thing I've actually gotten in the shop so far, and I've already sold some! That was a great incentive to get me going on the other things. I know there are so many things on Etsy, and my little shop may get lost, but I'm going to give it a try. Wish me luck!

Some of the patterns I have laying around are really tattered, and the really bad ones I probably won't list, but I like to play with them, clean them up, and maybe I'll do something someday with this image. Feel free to use it too, if you'd like. I just love these old dresses!

This is before, what do I do with these beat up ones??

Update: I just added a bunch of vintage apron patterns, more tomorrow!

Vintage Hankies, And A Place To Keep Them

2010-02-09T15:37:00.008-06:00

I think I started this last summer?! I found the pattern on hooplove, and thought it would be so pretty stitched up, and I thought I needed a place to keep all the hankies my Grandpa had given me. I don't know why it took me so long to finish, other things just got in the way, but I finished last night, and stitched it up into a pouch today.

Every year on my birthday, I'd get a card from my Grandma and Grandpa with a hankie in it, and quarters stuck in the front. Do you remember those cards? With a slot to stick a quarter or two in?

Red ones. . .

Two alike . . .

Cute as can be. . .

More cuties. . .

These were the last ones I ever got, they came boxed, but somehow the box was smashed in my drawer, the reason I wanted to make a place to keep them.

And these are just some pretty ones I've picked up here and there.

February Block

2010-02-02T16:43:00.005-06:00

February kind of snuck up on me, one month into my "make a block a month" and I almost forgot already! No ribbon in this one to hang it yet, it's resting on the prettiest Hazel Atlas plate I picked up at Goodwill this morning. I think it will be perfect for some decorated Valentine cookies!

I found this vintage Valentine image over at Two Crazy Crafters, they've been sharing some adorable cards the last few weeks, there's many more over there (and some wonderful crafting tips too!), if you're planning to make some Valentines soon, head on over!

Baby It's Cold INSIDE!

2010-01-30T13:39:00.005-06:00

This is the temperature upstairs at my house now, and really that's much better than it was a couple weeks ago when I made a mad dash up there. I think it was 12 degrees then! This is the room where my sewing machine and most of my craft supplies are. I so envy all the blogs I visit where people have these lovely craft/sewing rooms that they can stand to be in 12 months of the year. So, my sewing machine gets parked in the living room for most of the winter, and I decided it needed a new cover.

Ta da! It will look so pretty when it's in it's rest-of-year home, but for now it kind of sticks out like a sore thumb in my very neutral living room. I got a Clover bias tape maker, and tried it for the first time on this, fun and very easy to use! I think I had been scared of bias tape for years, all going back to an eighth grade sewing project. I could never get the hang of it then.

But at Christmas, I made this Santa apron, entirely edged in 1/4" bias tape, I think I've finally mastered it! And I have a new favorite apron pattern, only one yard of fabric, and super quick to stitch up. That's my Mom as the headless apron model. :)

National Pie Day (and another silly block)

2010-01-21T16:12:00.005-06:00

Just in case any of you weren't aware, Saturday January 23rd is National Pie Day. Seriously, it was on a calendar of mine a few years ago, and my husband has never forgot! He'll use any excuse to get a pie. The winter is getting long here, and after so many days of not being able to go outside, I've got to do something to fill the time. So, I made another block to commerate the day. Now, I just have to decide what kind of pie to really make. Apple is my hubby's favorite, but I've got cherries, blackberries, and blueberries in the freezer from last summer, oh I can't wait for those days again!

And the day of antiquing I was supposed to have on my birthday? It didn't happen. We're in our sixth or seventh day of heavy fog, really, I can't see the end of my driveway. Throw in a little bit of freezing rain (daughter put her car in the ditch yesterday going to school), and it's just a better idea to stay home. Had I mentioned I'm ready for spring?? Give me much longer, and I'll be looking kind of wide eyed and crazy like the pie lady on my block!

A New Year

2010-01-18T10:58:00.007-06:00

It's a new year, and after trying to decide if I wanted to continue with this blog (what do I really have to say??) I did decide to share a few things I've been making. Inspired by Elizabeth at Creative Breathing, I've decided to make a block for each month, and whatever else may strike me. Mine are 4x6 blocks, perfectly sized to put in a Martha Stewart recipe box when it's time to put them away (see my last pic). January comes first of course, and the snow and cold is all we've had here, so many days when the wind chill was WAY below zero, I'm so ready for Spring.
Elizabeth also gave us the idea to make a Betsy McCall paper doll tag/block from the year we were born. A Girl Scout was on my year! Should I let you go and look for the year, or tell? I'll tell, 1965, I guess that's not the end of the world, 45, yikes! And it's coming tomorrow! I was a Girl Scout leader for years, and always had so much fun with my girls, so glad I could make this!

And here's my so cute Martha box, and that's Milo, always my helper, I think he approves. :)

A Little More Christmas

2009-12-15T08:35:00.009-06:00

Everyone about ready for the big day? I finished my shopping yesterday, yay! I feel at peace now, just kidding! Just seemed like a good thing to say leading up to show about the only thing I've made lately, a peace pillow. Sorry for the kind of fuzzy pic, just couldn't get a better one. You can see a little of what I call my Christmas quilt on my bed, it's needed a pillow of some kind for several years, glad to have that finally done too! Only problem is, my BLACK cat thinks I made it for him. I keep finding him laying his head on it, just like a person. I had to do some serious sticky roller-ing to be able to take this picture! You can find the pattern on my flickr photostream, if you feel the need of a little peace too. ;)

I recently participated in a tag swap over at Creative Breathing, and they came in the mail yesterday. So many talented people made such beautiful tags! I call these the pink ones.

Cute kids

Cute animals

Traditional Christmas colors (that's mine I made in the middle)

It was fun! I have them all hanging together right now in my dining room, such a pretty and fun to look at decoration!

My Halls are Decked

2009-12-10T09:51:00.007-06:00

I've got my house all decorated with some of my favorite things, I just love how all the lights look at night, but it's better for taking pictures during the day. My Grandma made my stocking when I was little, and I still hang it every year.
My litttle kitchen Christmas tree (some of you probably know where that came from). And of course Santa mugs, I've seen so many on other peoples blogs recently, guess they're a Christmas requirement.

My uncle gave me this bank when I was tiny, from the real bank he worked at for years.

More fun little Santas.

An angel snuck in! She's new to me this year, and she's so pretty lit up at night.

And one more Santa, a gift from my cousin. I never really knew what he was for, I use him as a soapdish in my bathroom.

My house is ready, now I just wish I had all my shopping done, so I could sit back and enjoy it all!

Thanksgiving Greetings!

2009-11-25T07:22:00.002-06:00

This card was sent to my Grandma and her sister in 1912. Hope you all have a wonderful day tomorrow with your families!

Why Didn't I Think of That?!

2009-11-18T10:45:00.005-06:00

Goodwill was good to me this week, three great books to make me add more to my list of things I want to make. It's not the Martha Stewart books I found so exciting (though at $1 each, a great buy), it's that one on top Christmas Stichery. Even though it was published in 1986, and some of the projects are a little dated . . .

Look at these lovlies! If you click on the picture and make it big, you should be able to read the caption. Look at that last paragraph, they suggest using cookie cutters! How neat is that? Maybe everyone knew about that little trick but me, but I have so many ideas swirling around my head now! It wouldn't just work for felt, but fabric to applique, or just plain fabric ornaments, or paper cutouts for any holiday or event. Even if you don't have a massive cookie cutter collection like I do, they're very easy to come by in any shape or size you can think of. Hope you all think this is as neat an idea as I did!

Making Things With My Daughter

2009-11-16T10:53:00.003-06:00

I was asked to make centerpieces for my sister in law's upcoming baby shower, and who knew it could be so much fun! You can probably tell from all the green and yellow that they don't know if they're having a boy or girl. I didn't think anybody let themselves be surprised anymore, but I think it's nice. After this baby is born in January, their only other child will be 18 in February, they're starting all over! But that's not what I came to tell you about (as Arlo Guthrie would say). Sorry, but it's a Thanksgiving tradition on our local radio station to listen to Alice's Restaurant at exactly noon on turkey day, and I've been thinking about Thansgiving. But anyway. . . My daughter and I had so much fun buying all the goodies to go in our baskets (check out those little tennis shoe socks, too cute!). Then dragging out all the papers, and cutting tools and stamps, I'd forgotten how much fun we always had when we did that together.

And no, the tags my daughter made aren't fancy, but it got us in the mood to scrapbook again, and spend an afternoon together around the dining room table, with a paper mess in front of us, talking and creating, and I think that's a good thing, don't you?

Christmas by Threes

2009-11-09T08:27:00.012-06:00

I don't usually get in such a Christmas-y mood this early, it's not even Thanksgiving yet! But I found this adorable little choir last week at Goodwill. I love these old candles, we had several from different holidays growing up, and I know my Mom has her pilgrim kids out right now.

Then a few days later, at two different places I found more elves to add to the collection I started last year, you can see them here and here. Don't know too much about them, but I love 'em!

Stopped at Goodwill another day, and I found brand new, still in their box, s'more choir! I love these guys too! Maybe you remember my Halloween s'more tree from my last post, or you can see my Christmas s'more tree here. It's always the first thing I get out each year, easier and quicker than the big tree. ;)

Another thing that's making me think Christmas is I'm taking part in a Christmas tag swap over at Creative Breathing. She shares tons of her vintage images on fickr, but I really wanted to use my own, since this is the first paper type swap I've ever done. I asked my Mom if she had any old cards (she's a keeper of things, at least I know where I get it) that I could scan to use. She lent me these old German postcards. Not too many Christmas ones, and not quite the look I was going for, but I love looking at them! Most were sent to my Grandma or her sister in the mid teens.

These calling cards were in the same box. Hands and doves were big weren't they? I love the idea of dropping one of these off when you stopped to see a friend.

I did find my own little collection of vintage Christmas cards at a tiny little antique store later that same week. Sadly, they told me they are going to be closed all winter, they just can't afford to heat the place. They don't have near as much business since a new highway bypassed their little town, progress, eh?

So I'm working on my tags with one of these images, I'll try to share a picture of the finished product in a few days. Anyone else thinking Christmas yet?

And a big thank you to everyone for the nice comments last time about my daughter in her costume. :)

Happy Halloween, from me and Robin Hood

2009-10-29T08:18:00.006-05:00

How messed up is it that my seventeen year old daughter gets to wear a Halloween costume to school, but when she was in grade school, they wouldn't let the kids do anything? We just happened on a 99 cent pattern sale a few weeks ago, and she picked this out for me to make. She says she does want to learn to sew, we just haven't taken the time to practice yet. I love the way this turned out! The moccasins are mine, and the fedora came from Goodwill. Seriously, who on earth owns a green fedora that they can donate to Goodwill??

I've done a little Halloween stitching too, just on a cheapo Dollar tree towel, not the best for getting perfect stitches.

My favorite Halloween decoration, I love these little s'more guys!

Hope everyone has a fun holiday, however you celebrate!

Rainy Day Sewing

2009-10-28T08:08:00.005-05:00

I think all it ever does in central Illinois anymore is rain, then maybe you get one sunny day, then another week of rain. So when your husband decides it's time to start destroying the bathroom a little more (our toilet set on the deck all day yesterday, really!). I needed a project so I wouldn't be following along behind him, cleaning up every little speck of dirt. Oh, if it was only nice outside, I could just leave and forget it all!

I've been meaning to make this purse for quite awhile (nice fall colors, right?). Only thing is, I didn't have quite enough fabric, so I had to shrink it down a little, do a little patching on the lining, and worry about my people's heads going the right direction. I like the way it turned out, and my daughter (oh teenagers!) tells me, it doesn't look at all like a granny purse since it's so small and cute! The pattern is from the fall 2008 magazine Quilts and More, designed by Monica Solorio-Snow of the Happy Zombie. And just in case your interested, this will be our new floor when it's finished, isn't it perfect for our 1941 house? I love it!

I'm Back! (With Lots of Pictures!)

2009-10-19T12:43:00.013-05:00

Wow! It's been a long time since I posted here! I was having a great end to my summer, we had our annual Steam Show and Flea Market, which I had really been looking forward to. When almost as soon as I walked in the gate, I saw this toy stove, I had to snap a picture for Carol over at Old Glory Cottage. She posted about her childhood toy stove here. The stove is the only picture I actually took at the Steam show, I hate it when I do that!

I was starting to have a really bad backache that weekend, and spent most of the next week in the recliner on a heating pad. It got worse, moved around to the front, so off we went to the emergency room, and I ended up having to have my appendix out. I feel great after about a week of recovery, but my goodness we've had yucky weather! Rain, then colder, then more rain. The sun finally came out today, so I jumped on the chance to take some pictures.

First, is an adorable little sewing box (a child's?). I plan to use it to store some of my vintage sewing notions.

Like these, I've picked these up here and there this summer. I just love the old images! The one that says Happy Home, I've seen several places online, does that mean it's a reproduction? Or were there really just lots of them? Anyone know?

This batch below was all in a Fire King bowl for $1, at the first booth I stopped at. That funny looking red thing is a needle threader. The airplane card is out of a pack of cigarettes during WWII. My Mom told me that she had two aunts with boyfriends in the service, and they would send them cards just like this in their letters home. Click on the picture and make it big so you can read what that little kit is for at the bottom.

Three! Yes, three lovely vintage aprons! I love these! I know I could make them, but I truly love to find one of the old ones, I like to imagine the ladies who wore them.

And, just as my sister and I were leaving the grounds, someone living right across the road (aren't they smart?), was having a garage sale. Still in the shopping mood, we stopped. I was going through some old patterns and the lady asked if I sewed, well yes, some I said. She told me to come over to her truck, she had some fabric she hadn't even bothered to unload, didn't figure anybody would want it. Lookie! Brand new scottie dog fabric! Two to three yards of each, all for five dollars, along with a couple of unused purse patterns. I won't make purses out of this, but I love it! Maybe an apron. . .

Here's another scottie, the only embroidery I've done for ages. It's on one of Aunt Martha's red striped towels, from a pattern I picked up at a quilt shop this summer

Embroidery and Thrifting, Together!

2009-09-23T13:10:00.014-05:00

Last week at Goodwill, I was lucky enough to find two books on embroidery, both are older, but both are filled with wonderful information! A few projects, some out of date (see picture below), but definitely worth the 75 cent (paperback) and $1.00 (hardback) price tag.

There's great pictures of lots of stitches, some I know, some I don't, but they're all very clear and easy to understand

Who knew you were supposed to separate your threads like this?

I don't know what to say about this, other than you sure can tell this book was published in the early eighties.

On to real embroidery (but not my own). A lovely tablecloth, so much work, it's big! 25 cents at a sale last week.

I think this is a child's apron, it goes around me, but no room left to tie it! I stared at the embroidery at the top forever, it made no sense at all, but in the picture you can clearly see it says Juarez Mexico, 10 cents.

And no, this isn't embroidery, but it was too cute to leave out. Small pyrex refrigerator dish, 10 cents. I'll find a lid for it someday. Potholder from sometime this summer.

Playing Catch Up (the garden keeps me busy)

2009-09-11T09:13:00.015-05:00

Zucchini, what can I say, if you've ever grown it, you know you end up with waaay more than you need! We've eaten it fried, under the broiler with nutmeg and parmesan, in bread (tons in the freezer for that this winter, yum!), in casseroles, on the grill, and it's even good on homemade pizza!

Corn, as far as I'm concerned, is the whole reason for the garden. I've never understood what they do to that stuff at the grocery (canned and frozen), it doesn't even taste the tiniest bit like fresh Illinois sweet corn. There's 50 quart bags in my freezer right now, enough to take us to next summer when the corn is fresh again.

Broccoli, this stuff amazes me! You think it's never going to do anything, then boom! You get the most wonderful heads! When you cut one off, sometimes another nice little one will form (that's what this is). I can't imagine how much money I would have spent to buy all the broccoli we've eaten this summer.

Onions drying in the sun, think we have enough?! Note to self: pick up the onions before you mow the yard, geez!

Okra, I think people either love it or hate it, we love it :)

This was the first year we planted potatoes (yukon gold), and I had no idea when to dig them up, but we ended up with a pretty good crop. I don't have a scale, but I'd say probably 7-8 bags like you would buy at the grocery.

Way too many of these to count.

Next time I'll either post some of things I've made this summer, but never got around to taking pictures of, or some of the fantastic things I've found at garage sales. I think the sales are winding down around here, but that's OK, I'm starting to get a little bit burnt out.

Twenty Years Ago (yesterday)

2009-09-10T07:38:00.005-05:00

This is what we were up to twenty years ago. . . could it really be that long?? And yes, we were happy in this picture, but I think we were having a good laugh too. One of my husband's work buddies was standing right next to the car (my Dad's brand new Cadillac) and saying "he ain't going to let you drive that thing is he Gravy?" This comes through loud and clear every time I watch our wedding video. You have to know, that around here, if you're male, you MUST have a nickname (Gravy is my husband's). I don't think my Dad thought my dress would fit in my little Camaro, or that it would be fitting to drive away from the church in my husband's truck, nicknamed The Mud Dog (was the truck a male too?). He drives a truck that's not quite so high, and doesn't have huge tires now. A little further into the video, you hear my husband telling the photographer "you better put her hand on top, it's prettier than mine".

I like how I hear my husband asking "How 'bout a Big Red kiss?" And he still does that occasionally. It's our gum of choice and anything that comes out of my purse smells of cinnamon. I like that we still go to the church we were married in. I like that I can still fit into my wedding dress. I like that my husband can still fit into the same size Levi's. I like that my husband still tells people "she let me get married in my boots!". I don't like that one of our best friends that stood up with my husband died last year, but I like that we have pictures of him with us on our special day. I like that I married into a wonderful family, that treats me like one of their own. And yes,

I still like my husband, and love him even more.

Smoky Mountain Memories

2009-08-03T14:57:00.011-05:00

We went on a vacation last week, drove through Kentucky then on to Tennessee to the Smoky Mountains National Park. Beautiful! We looked at Mountains.
Shopped in Gatlinburg, a very busy town, but it had a neat mountain village shopping area.

We went through several old time settlements in the park.

We stopped to play in the river, this was also almost exactly the same view as from the room where we stayed, we could hear the roar of the river all night!

Saw some beautiful flowers, I need to get out the wild flower book to look this up. Anyone know what it might be?

We were silly too, I look pretty proud of my figure here, don't I?

Also in the shopping area, boy I wish I could remember the name of that place!

And somewhere in the middle of Tennessee, my husband got tired of driving and pulled over at a sale (I don't know what got into him). I scored so many old potholders, 25 cents each! I don't even know what this was supposed to be, we'd seen so many signs for flea markets, but I was good, knowing hubby and daughter would be bored to tears, this was just tents set up along the road with goodies galore.

How cute is this guy?

I wanted to include a picture of my first trip to the Smoky Mountains, I think I was eight or nine, but I can't find them, grrr, I know they're somewhere in my house. We had a wonderful time, but it's good to be home, except for all the laundry, and getting back into cooking supper every night, the yard needs mowed, the garden needs weeded, and so on and so on. Back to regular life :)

What I Found Yesterday

2009-07-18T12:48:00.003-05:00

I only went to one sale yesterday, it was just on my way to where I had to be. I did find two wonderful bargains, a sewing rocker and a sweet little apron. I think my last few posts I've told you exactly what I've bought my finds for, but thinking back, it might just sound like I'm bragging, and I don't want to come off like that! So just know, if I buy it , it's a deal! Isn't this just the sweetest little rocker ever? It won't live in this little corner of my kitchen, but wouldn't it be great to have a kitchen big enough to hold a rocking chair? Can you tell what my favorite kitchen color is from this picture? I love those old crochet pot holders, and you can see one of the towels I've embroidered there if you look close. That little stand my Mom found somewhere, she gave up in frustration of ever getting all the icky green paint off, so I just covered it up with black. Works well in this tiny corner.

And here's my new apron, teeny-tiny rick rack, yay! For some reason the lighting in my kitchen makes it hard to get nice sharp pictures, but I think you can get the idea.

I Love Garage Sales!

2009-07-13T10:22:00.003-05:00

A few weeks ago on a rainy Friday, I had no plans to hit the weekend garage sales. After lunch I realized I needed to get to town to buy horse feed, and going to the farm supply store is not one of my most favorite things to do, especially since I'd been sent the week before for chain saw parts. Does anyone else get sent on fun shopping trips like that? Anyhoo, to make the trip a little more worthwhile, I grabbed the paper to check out what kind of sales were going on, and one was starting just as I got to town. I almost fell over when I walked up their driveway! Fabric everywhere, and quilt tops for $1.00! Yes, I said $1.00!

This is my favorite, for a full size bed.

Another for a full size bed, a little bright, but pretty.

And this one for a twin, did I mention they were all a $1.00?!

My Grandma's quilt frames are at my Mom's house, so I think next winter they'll be set up in my living room, and I will finish at least that first one.

This bag of fabric was 50 cents.

I bought two of these silk-screened Harwood Steiger fabric panels, I have one already in dark green and white, that was turned into a tablecloth, but I'm not sure what I'll do with these.

Also at the sale were tons of quilt books (rather high priced) and tons more fabric. I really didn't even feel the need to go to anymore sales that day after finding this one, bought my horse feed, and went home a happy girl.

They charge us a fortune and . . .

2009-07-13T10:04:00.006-05:00

This is what happens to your nicely shaded hostas when the electric company . . .

does this.

Stitch Project

2009-07-08T07:02:00.002-05:00

Anyone else participating in this stitch project? I just saw it last night, thought it sounded kind of fun, and this is my contribution. That's a little 4x6 block and you're supposed to put your name and the town you live in on it. I think it looks like my name is Lisa Franklin, it's not! I was going to add my state, Illinois, but I just couldn't make an I and a L look right. I of course had to add a kitty :)

I'm off today to Hannibal Missouri, the boyhood home of Mark Twain. I've done the caves and museums so many times, this will just be a day of fun shopping and lunching. There's tons of antique stores and quilt shops and even an old fashioned ice cream parlor, looking forward to it!

Mail Fun and a Little Stitching

2009-07-06T09:09:00.015-05:00

I was surprised a couple of weeks ago when My1stBambina asked for my address, she had a little something she wanted to send me. I got my "little something" in the mail over a week ago (I've been kind of busy lately or just lazy), it was more than a little! Two wonderful books, one cute, one beautiful. The Amigurumi Animals to crochet was more for my daughter, she taught herself to crochet in ONE DAY. So unfair, I still can't get the hang of it. She loved having another book of cute things to make, now if she'd just sit still long enough to make something else, (she's 16 and having a great summer). The bird book is gorgeous, fun to look at, but I'd definitely like to try a few things in it, maybe next winter when there's more time to sit and stitch bigger projects.

And a fun fabric panel, aren't they the cutest?

Another pretty piece of fabric, and some special floss. Now, do you call that just a little something? Thank you Monika!

I have been doing a little stitching, not much, by the time evening gets here and I get sat down in the comfy chair in the living room, there's not much left of the day. These patterns are from Wild Olive, I think they're adorable, and quick to stitch up. I think they'll eventually go on a towel, somehow I plan to use some red and white gingham with it, I'll post a picture if I ever get it done. What do you think of these little ants? The french knots came out great, but it's hard to put those little legs on without messing them up. We'll see . . .

A cute little hot dog guy :)

I did stitch up my version for the Follow the White Bunny stitch a long, pattern here. Most of you have proably already read what I wrote on flickr, how my daughter came home, and thought I'd stitched an owl, farther away, it does look like an owl!

If anyone remembers my bottle fed kittens, happy to report they're doing great!

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th, ours was kind of a bust. It rained all day, and our fireworks were cancelled :( On the bright side, because of the rain hubby was able to get the day off (first Saturday in two months) and he had Sunday off too, I think he's had maybe two Sundays off in the last two months. I'll be glad when his busy season is over! I'll try to be back sooner than last time, I've found some wonderful treasures these past few weeks that I"d love to share with you.

Sometimes Things Turn Out Great!

2009-06-17T08:43:00.002-05:00

A couple of months ago, Glenda at Wren and Stitchy sent me the book Sewing Green by Betz White. I was super excited about some of the projects in the book, but kind of got distracted by other things, and it got put on the shelf. I guess I was really in the mood to sew last weekend (and we were having some really yucky weather), I made two things from the book, and I LOVE them both! These lounge pants are made from an old sheet I picked up for a dollar at a sale (that's the green part, reusing items). Very easy pattern to follow, and they fit perfect. I did buy the little bit of fabric I used for the cuffs, I think that really adds to them.

I know it's a little hard to see the fabric (sheet!) so here's a close up.

This skirt they suggested using a pillow case to make, but I bought fabric instead. This is some super cheap fabric from Walmart ($2 a yard). I think I made this skirt in about an hour and a half. I can't tell you how great I think this pattern is! What do you think of the ric rack? I think it really adds to the skirt. Now that I know how easy this skirt is, and how well it fits, I plan to use some of my more expensive fabric, it only takes a yard, how neat is that?
I think this red and white from Robert Kaufman will make a great skirt. I want to use ric rack again, is that too weird?

My daughter talked me into buying this blue Heidi Grace for a skirt, love it too!

My $4 box from Mary

2009-06-05T08:51:00.017-05:00

In my last post I promised to show what I found in my $4 box my Mom bid on for me. First I have to tell you that right beside the box I wanted was the most awful, ugliest, fur coat I had ever seen. No one would even bid on it, and the auctioneer ended up throwing it in with another lot, but whoever bought it left it laying on the wagon. My sister and I were having a pretty good laugh over this coat, but when I got home I found this picture. Mary in the coat! It was mounted on an old mailing envelope, from Mary (maiden name) addressed to her future husband when he was with the 130th infantry. She made a pin-up of herself to send to her sweetie, isn't that sweet? I'm so sorry I laughed at your coat Mary, I would have kept it too!

In the box were tons of old crafty type books (way too many to take individual photos). I so wish I knew how to crochet! I've been practicing, but am having trouble getting the right tension, anyone have any tips?? Most of these are from the 1940's.

And more hoops. Does anyone know what that big silver ring might be used for? I've embroidered that lady at the sewing machine, it's neat to have the original.

Buttons! They aren't old, I think Mary's latest craft project was to take the back off of buttons and make earrings out of them. I counted 61 packages of earring making supplies!

And old patterns, love the artwork!

Eek! Aprons! I love aprons!

And even Barbie clothes!

In the bottom of the box, I found Mary's stash of state quarters too, $8.75, I actually made money on this box!

Just had to add this, still bottle feeding my babies :)

I went to an auction and . . .

2009-06-01T09:34:00.006-05:00

I don't usually go to auctions, they just move way too fast for me, but Saturday my mom was wanting to go to one in her home town two hours away, so I drove her over. I found a box I wanted and she said she'd bid on it for me (I didn't even get a number, she's the pro). Yay! I won it! It's going to get it's own separate post, I'm STILL going through it. After I won my box, I walked away, and my mom bid on this beautiful old quilt, won, then gave it to me, $7! Said it was just for driving her over, thanks mom! Isn't it pretty?

One of my aunts was at the auction too, and was bidding on a box of dishes, these pyrex pink gooseberry refrigerator dishes were in the box, and she cared nothing about them. I've been wanting some gooseberry for ages. Thanks aunt Fran! Those potholders are from a garage sale last weekend.

After the auction we went down to my Grandma and Grandpa's house, that will sadly probably be torn down this summer (it's sat empty for about ten years). I found these glasses in an old cupboard, I can't believe nobody else had ever taken them home. There were ten, but my sister took two, so now we each have some :)

I seem to have a knack for just finding one salt or pepper shaker lately, but I couldn't resist this little cutie.

Or this pretty bird.

This is what kept happening when I tried to take pictures inside yesterday, Milo is such a helper.

And yes, there was a little stitching this weekend, this will be a pillow in my spare bedroom, the room needs a little color.

And these scottie glasses live on a shelf in my kitchen, I just wanted to share them.

Looking for bright spots

2009-05-22T09:09:00.006-05:00

Isn't this adorable? I won this from Elizabeth over at Creative Breathing. My Mom's 1970's kitchen helped me win this. Do you remember harvest gold and avocado green? My Mom may have ended up hating it, but the memory made it so this little cutie could come to live with me.

Do you see those roses? So simple yet beautiful, if you head over to her blog here, you can see how she makes them. I want to put roses on something now!

Our wiegela is in full bloom now, it's almost taller than the house.

Look at this cool egg I found on my walk to the mail box yesterday (red winged black bird I think).

And here's what has mostly been on my mind lately, this baby and her brother. Their mama, Weeble (that's her up there on my blog header) disappeared two nights ago. These babies are only barely three weeks old, so I'll be bottle feeding every couple hours for a few weeks. Weeble was a bottle baby herself, her Mom disappearing at just about the same age. I really wish I could keep all my kitties safer, we just don't have a way to lock them up at night.

A few weekend finds and a little stitching

2009-05-11T10:49:00.006-05:00

Happy late Mother's Day to all the Mother's out there, it was a busy weekend here, but I found a little time to go to a few garage sales Saturday morning. Really I went into town to buy food for the potlucks Saturday night (mother daughter banquet at church), and a big get together Sunday with my husband's family for Mother's day. I just happened to drive by a sign for a sale and had to stop. I love old tins, they're wonderful to keep things in, and they're so pretty sitting around. I made a bee line to these two, and knew I'd buy them if they weren't too high priced, nope, they weren't.

BUT, look what I found in the pink one! There are some skeins in here that must be super old, I've never heard of the brand, so fun!

I found this neat old Christmas tablecloth too, that actually fits my dining room table. Most of my older cloths just fit a small kitchen table. The lady I bought it from had it ironed and starched beautifully, but I managed to get it dirty in my car. Note to self, don't put fabric in the trunk after going to the nursery the day before, and not cleaning the trunk out, argh!

Saturday night after getting home from the banquet I had a little time to stitch (daughter had to go be with the boyfriend and husband had a race to watch on TV). I'm still working on this silly handkerchief envelope, not the most fun thing I've ever done, I don't know how many times I've pulled stitches out, but I swear I'm going to finish it!

It was frustrating me so much the other night that I decided to start something super simple, and this is how far I got on it.

Mother's Day was a beautiful day here, I hope you all enjoyed yours!

A few finds from this weekend

2009-05-04T10:45:00.002-05:00

Oh my goodness I love garage sale season! I found so many wonderful things these last two weekends! And just think there's a whole summer ahead of sales and flea markets and auctions. I wasn't even going to go this weekend, but I had to go feed my in-laws animals Saturday morning since they were out of town, and would you believe there was a sale out in the middle of nowhere, miles from any town, I couldn't pass that up. They had a freebie table, all these workbasket magazines and the sewing basket full of goodies. I felt a little guilty not buying anything, so I found a brand new in the box cribbage board for $1. I have no idea how to use it, but it did come with complete instructions.

I think this dresser scarf is beautiful, it's from last weekend, someone has starched it so much!

The "mammy" towel is from the same sale, no tags, but I don't think it was ever used.

Next picture is one of the tablecloths bought this weekend, a beautiful towel, and a lamb planter I just couldn't resist. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it, but it was a dime! Too cute!

Last for today is an old feedsack with the label still attached, which is probably how I'll leave it. Funny thing is, I only have one other labeled feedsack, and it too is from ADM. I've had that one for about a year, and they came from different towns.

A little Stitching, More Fun In the Mail, And A Few Weekend Finds

2009-04-27T08:12:00.004-05:00

Yeah! More fun came in the mail on Saturday! These three oh so cute fat quarters came thanks to Beth (bookwormbethie). We had a little trade, I sent her a couple of my vintage embroidery patterns that I had doubles of, and she sent me FQs. The apron one was a surprise, and I have the perfect idea of how to use it. I'll hold off on telling exactly what I plan to do with it, I have lots of ideas, but sometimes it's a long time before I get around to them!

I went to a couple of sales this weekend, first the ladies auxilary of the salvation army (or something like that). All of these transfers and patterns were 25 cents each, and that Vogart one was crammed with extras. I haven't quite figured out what they are yet, but some are ones I'm pretty sure I can post on flickr. That entire batch of hoops was $1!

This stack of fabric is also from the salvation army sale, as much as you could stuff in a bag for $1! I didn't get to the sale till about 11 o'clock, and it started at 8, I wonder how much great stuff I missed? Those are a few of my favorites laid out in front.

Last, this is one of the things I've been stitching lately, it's for some friends who recently moved to the country. They've got chickens now and are planning a huge garden this Spring. I'm going to do the farmer leaning on his hoe too. Not everybody will appreciate this particular pattern, but trust me, these folks will. It's so "them"! I THINK I like the way the chickens came out.

Fun In The Mail

2009-04-25T09:50:00.008-05:00

Look what Glenda over at Wren and Stitchy sent me in the mail this week, just because she's a generous soul. Sewing Green is a wonderful book, that has projects that actually seem doable. And look at that card, could it be any cuter? I've never tried stitching on paper, but I might have to now.

The first thing I plan to try, are these comfy looking lounge pants. They suggest using an old sheet to make them (that's the green part), and I found one at a sale yesterday that I'm going to use for my first pair. I traced off my pattern last night (there is a full sized pattern sheet in the back, but you have to trace them to keep from cutting into the other patterns), and I'll get started as soon as my old sheet has a run through the wash. And there are other great looking patterns too, a skirt made from a vintage tablecloth (don't know if I could stand to cut into one though), another skirt made from a pillowcase, and a cute apron made from a man's dress shirt. Thanks Glenda!

Well, the sales have definitely started around here, I've found oodles of goodies last weekend and yesterday. Vintage embroidery patterns, hoops, embroidered linens, old tablecloths, and tins, all the things I love! I'll post pictures later, today is (finally) a nice warm day here, too nice to be inside for long!

Not a stitchy post, it's about recycling

2009-04-16T09:22:00.005-05:00

As of yesterday (April 15th) I can no longer recycle. We live in the middle of nowhere, and the closest largish town where I do all my errand running, had bins where we could drop off all our plastic, cans, newspapers, etc. They removed them! The folks who live in this town now have curbside recycling (for a fee), but what about the rest of us? Has anyone else ran into this? I know of people who have owned their properties for generations, and they all used to have their own "dumps", a ditch somewhere away from the house where everything that wouldn't burn ended up. Well, we all know now that's not a good idea, but what are our options? I've already told my husband we're not doing that, but what to do? Does anyone have any ideas? Are there other parts of the country going to this? I've heard there just isn't a market anymore for these items. Now some of these items I can "recycle" in my own way, those milk jugs make nice little protectors for young garden plants, tin cans can be turned into craft projects for the kiddos at Bible school (time to start making plans for that), and there's always some use for newspapers, but that's just using up a small amount of the trash we produce. What about the rest?

The picture above is what I'm stuck with in my basement, in what's known as the SCARY ROOM, not pretty is it?

Looks like I've been stitching up a storm . . .

2009-04-10T09:44:00.002-05:00

But not really, I just haven't shared what I've been stitching here, only over on flickr. They've been working on our internet tower ALOT lately, and service has been rather spotty at best. I'm hopeful they've got all their bugs worked out, but I have my doubts. The service is still rather new, and when it works, it's great, but it does have it's problems. When you live in the boonies, you don't have much choice, and I think it's been almost exactly one year since we were able to give up dial-up. Oh, happy day! I think we were up to 12 hours when we had to download an itunes update. I got an update yesterday, and it took less than hour, BIG improvement!

Anyway, on to the stitching! I made this geranium pillow for my Mom (Mother's Day I think). Nobody has prettier flowers than her, mine look nice, but they can't compare to hers. It's from an old Artex pattern, I haven't shared it on flickr, but if anybody wants it, let me know. Since taking this picture, I did buy a larger pillow insert, it looks much more filled out now.

This tea towel was stitched for a stitch along with the flickr group "The Pattern Portal", what a funny pattern! That's a horse radish horse, I think he's kinda' creepy looking! There were some tiny parts to stitch on this, those hands! I did it all in a backstitch, knew I couldn't make those tiny curves with anything else.

I stitched this little Dutch girl months ago, but I saw recently that doe-c-doe shared the pattern, and reminded me I never shared it here. It's all done in a split stitch, and some not so great french knots. I had to stitch her up, I'm Dutch and I stitch, and I might have been that cute when I was little, but thank goodness I don't still have those chubby cheeks!

Last, these silly fruits were just something I worked on while recuperating from gall bladder surgery. Wonderful not to be in pain anymore! I seem to be able to eat anything now, just not too much at a time. They're stitched on a Dollar Tree towel, which is surprisingly nice (for a dollar). They do a great job of drying the dishes too!

Easter stitching

2009-03-23T13:48:00.004-05:00

Just a towel I stitched up for Easter, seems like I have to have some type of embroidery going, and I haven't needed to make any gifts lately, and really how many dishtowels does a person really need?? Well, I didn't haven't one to hang out for Easter, now I do! I have the pattern posted in my flickr photostream (just in case someone else needs an Easter towel).

A purse and checkbook cover

2009-03-18T14:25:00.004-05:00

My daughter picked out this material last summer, and just this past weekend did I get her a purse made! Not all my fault, she had trouble deciding what pattern she wanted me to use, then winter came, and we bought different "more wintery" material (I don't think I ever posted that one). This one was a free pattern from here, I probably won't get to make myself one of these now, you know how sixteen year olds are, having the same purse as Mom just wouldn't do.

I did make myself a checkbook cover this weekend, something I've been meaning to do a long time. My Mom liked it so well, I made one for her too (no picture of hers, she's already using it). When you're forty it's OK to match your Mom. A little hard to take a picture of without showing you all my checks (not to say I don't trust any of you, but you know. I made myself a purse out of these two fabrics last summer, they've always been some of my favorites. The gingham piece has cardboard in it to put under my duplicates when I write a check. Does anyone even write that many checks anymore? I know I always use my debit card when I'm at a store, but there's still a few bills I have to pay by check. Anyway, I like having a pretty place to keep track of my account.

Only one more thing to go towards my goal of five things made before spring, I might make it!

What I've been making

2009-03-12T09:14:00.002-05:00

This winter I've found so many great patterns online, I've kind of gone into pattern overload! I told myself last week I had to make at least three things (said five first) from my "oh! I've got to make one of those!" list. Last night I made two! Yay! I might have to go back up to five now! I started off quick and easy with this adorable little needlebook, this isn't from a pattern, and I can't remember where I saw it, but very simple to make, two circles of material (I used a bowl for a pattern), a smaller circle of felt stitched down, and a pony tail holder to close it with a cute little button. Easy!

Next, I made a list taker from jcasa's pattern here. Her instuctions were great, I was able to finish it in just an hour or so. This was my first experience machine quilting, not scary at all! Last week I took a 40% off coupon from Joann's and bought a walking foot for my sewing machine, I'm loving it! I had wanted to try machine quilting for quite awhile, and this was a great small project to start with. I think I'm ready to move on to something (a little) bigger now. I really do think I'm going to work on making five things from my list before Spring gets here, and I'll be spending a lot more time outside. (And yes, this does still need a button to close it, can you believe I couldn't find a decent black button in the house?)

Look What I Won!

2009-03-04T08:02:00.006-06:00

I played one of Elizabeth's fun puzzles over at Creative Breathing, and I won these beautiful little note cards. Believe it or not, they were a consolation prize! First prize was one of the adorable peg dolls pictured. If you've never visited her blog, head on over, she has the most delightful stories, it's one of the first things I check each day, hoping that she's shared another memory with us.

AND! I won this book Miniatures in Minutes, over at C&T Publishing, I haven't received it yet, but I'm so excited to get it! Quilting is something I'm just starting to get into, and miniatures sounds like a great place to start! I'd love to someday be able to make the beautiful quilts like my Grandmas did.

Half Moon handbag

2009-02-21T12:50:00.003-06:00

Half Moon handbag
Originally uploaded by barncat1

First try at making one of Keyka Lou's patterns. I just used one fat quarter for this (I had to make the strap a little shorter than it was supposed to be), it turned out very small, which I could tell when I got my pattern pieces cut out, but I wanted to go ahead and make it right then. I've already enlarged the pattern and plan to make another that is more my size, but I think it turned out adorable! The pattern was very easy to follow, here's a link to her shop http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=2221.

Shopping trip and what I found

2009-02-11T10:46:00.005-06:00

Having some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, I went on a jeans shopping trip yesterday. Why oh why can I buy my husband the exact same Levi's every time and they always fit perfectly, but if you're a woman you HAVE to try them on? The town I live closest to has one store choice for jeans: Penney's. For some reason my Penney's never has anything smaller than an 8, and I'm a 6, so off to the big city to look for jeans. Yay! Found them right off! So what to do with the rest of the day? Barnes and Noble of course, I've got plenty of novels laying around the house to read right now (just had that birthday), so I headed to the craft section. Found this adorable book! I'd seen it mentioned online somewhere, but it really has great pictures, and a free pattern in the back, fun!

Then I went off to Joann's, I needed some yellow floss to finish something I'm working on. Stupid, stupid, stupid! I'd written the number down wrong I guess, 702 is green, not yellow! Ended up I bought 3 different yellows, and hoped that one was the right one (it was). The picture below is the project I'm working on, it will be a tote to carry whatever my other latest project happens to be. I thought this was a fitting pattern (available at Sublime Stitching) for a project tote.

Valentine's stitching

2009-02-04T08:14:00.002-06:00

Yesterday morning I had some dental work done, and instructions to take it easy the rest of the day. I could go along with that! The wind chill temperature outside was way below zero, what better thing to do than kick back in the recliner, watch old movies and stitch something up? I kept waiting for the pain the dentist said would come, but it never did, I could go along with that too! I stitched this on a flour sack towel I picked up at the Dollar Tree, a little thin, but hey, Valentine's Day is only one day a year, this towel isn't going to get that much use. I might go pick up some more for those other one day holidays. You can find the pattern here http://ninimakes.typepad.com/nini_makes/.

While I was stitching, I watched Sweet Bird of Youth with Paul Newman (one of my favorites). I've seen this movie several times before, but you know how if you watch movies on TCM Robert Osbourne talks about the movies before and after? Gives you little bits of trivia about the stars or the movie itself? Well he told me yesterday that Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams when it played on Broadway (with Paul Newman playing Chance Wayne there too), had a totally different ending. Not only did Chance not get the girl in the end, he was castrated by the mob. Yipes! Poor Paul/Chance!

Scottie scarf

2009-01-27T13:03:00.005-06:00

I recently decided I needed a cream color scarf to go with my black leather jacket, but I couldn't believe how hard it was to find one. Another one of those times I wish I could knit! I did find one at Macy's for $75, that wasn't going to happen. Finally thought of fleece, which I found out is super cheap (at least compared to $75). I had originally planned to embroider black snowflakes towards the bottom of the scarf, but discovered you need to use quite a few strands of floss to look decent, and when you use very many, it's hard pulling it through the fleece. In other words it just turned out looking kind of bad. On to plan B, cover up those ugly snowflakes! What could be better than Scotties? I used Sublime Stitching's Scottie pattern on felt, and just appliqued them on. I was going to just use a single layer of the fleece, but after you take ugly snowflakes out of fleece, the material is never the same! I thought I was going to have two scarves for my 1/2 yard I bought ($2.22), but I ended up just sewing them together for an extra thick scarf that's extra warm, and hides my goofs.

The Greatest Thing I Ever Learned In Girl Scouts

2009-01-23T08:46:00.004-06:00

Yesterday it was a little warmer here (in the 30's) and I accidently let the fire in the woodstove die down way too far. Went to grab one of my handy dandy little firestarters and realized I was about out. Time to make a new batch. These things are seriously great, start a fire and use up stuff you would normally throw out. All you do is set a cardboard (not styrofoam) egg carton by your dryer, when you clean out your lint trap, fill up the little egg holes and when it's full, go get all those little candle stubs (I have a couple people who donate to me too) that don't look so pretty anymore, melt them on the stove in an old tin can (I make a poor spout with pliers before it gets hot), then pour the melted wax over your lint. Make sure to lay down plenty of newspaper, or you'll be picking wax off your counter. When they're cool, cut apart, instant firestarters! When you're ready to start a fire, just light, and put in with your kindling, they'll burn for quite awhile, plenty of time to get your fire going good, no need for newspaper or boughten starters. We've used these for years, I shared this with a friend, and she now makes them for Christmas gifts for her family with fireplaces. From the picture you'll see they're not the prettiest things in the world, but they sure do work!

2009-01-20T10:51:00.004-06:00

This silly chicken is embroidered on an apron for my husband. He volunteers at an annual fish/chicken fry, and his job is always cutting up chickens. He seemed really pleased with his new apron! I've had the chicken done for quite awhile, but thought he needed something else, so I just added the sign last night. I think it's done now!

Pizza

2009-01-19T08:49:00.003-06:00

On flickr recently I was tagged, and listed 16 things about myself. One was that I make homemade pizza every Friday night. Might seem an odd thing, but it's more than just making pizza, lots of friends and family members know I do this, and show up to eat with us on Fridays. Some call ahead, and I'll make another batch of dough, some don't, so we just get out the chips and salsa to go with it. It's always a fun time! Anyway, here's my super easy and (we think) super delicious pizza recipe.

Basic Pizza Dough

1 package dry yeast
1 cup hot water
pinch of sugar
Mix with a fork and allow to stand till yeast starts to foam (10 minutes)

1 tsp salt
3-3 1/2 cups flour

Mix in salt and 1/3 the flour. Mix in another 1/3 of the flour, until the dough forms a mass, and starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Sprinkle some of the flour onto your work surface, remove dough from bowl, and knead in rest of flour until smooth and elastic (about five minutes). Place dough in oiled mixing bowl, and let rise in a warm place about 45 minutes. No second rising is needed with pizza dough. Punch down, and then I divide into two balls to make two 13 inch pizzas. I use Pampered Chef pizza stones. Use your fingers or a rolling pin to flatten on your pan and top with sauce, tons of cheese, and toppings of your choice. Bake till the cheese looks like you like it, (we have some disagreement on that in our house).

I use Ragu homestyle sauce (no homemade), I like very little sauce on my pizza, to me it's all about the cheese and toppings. In the summer when the garden is going crazy, thinly sliced Roma tomatoes and zucchini really add something to the pizza, but the rest of the year, it's usually just cheese, mushrooms, green peppers (frozen from the crazy garden), and ham. The fat edge of the crust makes excellent breadsticks too, we always put the butter on the table with the pizza. We really do eat pretty healthy the rest of the week!

Onesies

2009-01-12T10:18:00.003-06:00

I stitched these onesies for a neighbor, their first baby and their last name is Crow, that's why the "baby crow". Thankfully I don't know anyone else having a baby soon, 'cuz they're sure not getting onesies! I hated stitching on the t-shirt material! I tried the stabalizer that dissolves in water, then the tear away kind, and it was still such a chore! Anyone have any ideas for making it easier?? The fish pattern came from hooplove, the dog and bird from annieoakleaves, and the truck and moon from sublime stitching. I wasn't real happy with the truck, but I guess it will do, I don't know, maybe I can make a little improvement there, I just so much don't want to stitch on this material again!

Funny chicken and more

2009-01-06T08:44:00.002-06:00

There's a current discussion in the embroidery group on flickr about the best way to transfer to dark fabrics, which is exactly what I've been doing lately. My first attempt, I used white transfer paper, but quickly noticed it was rubbing off as I worked. I found this pencil pictured in my sewing basket, I have no idea where I got it, or how long I've had it. I just went over my lines before they totally disappeared, and they seem to be staying, yay! Anyway, this silly chicken is on an apron for my husband. He volunteers (ha) at an annual chicken fry, and he actually seems excited that he'll have a new apron to wear this year. Maybe there's some kind of weird apron competition going on between the guys back in the kitchen??

Just have to share, speaking of the husband, he was off work yesterday, and I heard him start up my sewing machine! He had gone and bought about six yards of strange gilly suit material. If you dont know this is, it's a type of camoflauge material with holes cut out, supposed to look like leaves I think. He had plans to make some type of camo poncho thing. It turned out quite well!
He did great on the machine until he ran out of bobbin thread, asked for my help with that, and when I went in he had dismanteled the entire bottom of the sewing machine to get the bobbin out. Oh my! On the bright side, there was a lot of lint in there that I suppose was good to get out! All came out fine and he was able to go hunting yesterday afternoon with his new poncho. Sorry to anyone out there against hunting, it's not just for sport here, we eat whatever he brings home.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T07:56:00.003-06:00

Here's hoping that each of you is having a joyous holiday season!

Eiffel Tower bag

2008-12-22T08:41:00.004-06:00

Eiffel Tower bag
Originally uploaded by barncat1

I made this bag for part of my daughters french club gift exchange. The lining (which I should have taken a picture of) is red to match the embroidery. It's a different pattern than I normally use for little bags, but I needed the bigger area for embroidery. Usually my zippers go right across the middle. I don't like how the zipper went in, it won't lay flat on top, I really want to try to make another and work on getting that zipper in better! The little eiffel tower pull is actually an earring I just happened to find this weekend at Claire's, I think it's perfect!

Kitty Christmas ornaments

2008-12-18T10:33:00.002-06:00

Kitty Christmas ornaments
Originally uploaded by barncat1

You can tell it's a fake tree can't you?! Last year we had a drought here in central Illinois and there were very few trees to be found at Christmas. Then we had a terrible ice storm (we were without power for four days) thank goodness for the woodstove, and any tree that was around was coated in almost an inch of ice, they didn't fare too well when thawed either. So we finally broke down and bought the fake one. This year we were debating to use it again or not, when my husband in his big floater truck (a huge piece of farm equipment) was hit by a semi. He walked away from the accident, but had two broken bones in his back, and orders not to do or lift anything for several weeks. That kind of ruled out going and getting a live tree. I was able to haul this one out of the attic on my own. Maybe next year things will be in our favor for a real tree again, but I'm thankful this Christmas that my husband is here to share any tree with me :)

Tea teatowel

2008-12-18T09:48:00.002-06:00

Tea teatowel
Originally uploaded by barncat1

I made this for my sister, the cups are supposed to be Jadeite green. She loves her Jadeite, anytime I find a piece at a garage sale, flea market, or antique store (I can't always afford them), I always buy it for her. A few years ago she totally gutted and redid her kitchen, it revolves around her collection of Fireking Jadeite, beautiful! Wish I had a picture of that to post, black granite counters, glass front craftsman cabinets, and of course the perfect shade of green walls.

thirsty snow kitties

2008-12-16T11:18:00.003-06:00

thirsty snow kitties
Originally uploaded by barncat1

Sully, Annie, Reeses, and Ashley getting a drink while they can, It's 12 degrees here today! I feel so bad for all our animals, but the cats all sleep together, and some of them act like they like playing in the snow (makes it hard to feed the birds though, sometimes I feel like I'm just baiting the birds for the cats to catch). Then there's our border collie, Jena, she loves the snow! A few moments ago I looked out and she was standing at the back door with her ball in her mouth wanting someone to come play with her. Sorry Jena, it's gotta be warmer than this for me!

Simpsons pillow done

2008-12-16T11:06:00.004-06:00

Simpsons pillow done
Originally uploaded by barncat1

Finally finished my Simpsons pillow last night, I'm still really loving this satin stitch. I think I'm done making anything I plan to give as a gift this Christmas (this is for my daughter) it should go well in the room upstairs where all the kids hang out when they come over. It's the room where we keep the wii, ALOT of Guitar Hero gets played up there. I guess I have one more project to finish, but it's for part of my daughters french club gift exchange, and they don't have that party till January 6th (there is a reason for that, some custom), but I forget what it is. It means I have some more time though! I have a couple more dish towels I've made for people, they're in the wash right now, hopefully have pictures of them tomorrow.

Simpsons in satin stitch

2008-12-12T15:45:00.001-06:00

This is soon to be a pillow, along with some "Where's Bart" fabric I found at Walmart. Most people either love or hate the Simpsons, around here we love 'em! I also discovered I love the satin stitch! All I had done before was little eyes or noses, this was fun and great practice. I want to do something else in the satin stitch now.

Simpsons in satin stitch
Originally uploaded by barncat1

chococat applique

2008-12-06T11:25:00.003-06:00

This is what I just finished working on, a chococat pillow for my daughter. She'd been after me for quite awhile to embroider chococat for her, no way was I going to fill in an entirely black cat! I finally came up with applique, even though I've never tried it, I don't think it came out too bad. Now, I think it might have been cuter just on the print fabric, but this is how she asked for it, so this is what she got.

Welcome

2008-12-06T08:40:00.000-06:00

Well, I've done it, tried to venture into the world of blogging, we'll see how this goes! I look forward to posting about my crafting, collecting, family life, and life in general. More to come later!