turkey feathers

Symptoms of the Season

One of my poor little gals has been suffering all week with the first cold of the season, with lots of coughs and sniffles and the general misery that comes with the territory of being sick.  I've been holding my own---with honey & lemon, echinacea tea, and a couple of zicam swabs shoved up my nose, trying not to catch it.  You know, doing everything short of wearing a bag of herbs around my neck, like grandmother Sadie, from Holland, used to do.  I found that creepy as a kid, but now I'm beginning to understand and appreciate the wisdom of that, and wish I'd learned what was inside that magic muslin pouch of hers.  She had some odd habits and beliefs, but was, after all the mother of a dozen children (all her own) and we never-ever questioned her, thinking that she must know wise things we didn't from her vast experience. Well, for the most part my cold-resisting-regime was working, until about 4:00 AM this morning when I heard a scream from down the hall and suddenly Ginger burst through my bedroom door with a raging nosebleed, which sent me scit-scatting all over the place in a sleepy one-eyed panic.   She tends to be a wee bit dramatic and this usually gets played out in the wee hours of the morning when I'm least expecting it, and when blood is involved it's immensely more dramatic, for everyone, but we finally got things under control, got everything and everyone cleaned up, and settled back into bed again just before the sun came up.  So now I'm starting to feel very tired and my throat is sore and my head is pounding, and there's nothing more to do but give in and let the germs take me down.  I'm shuffling around the house today, not getting much done, kicking back a little, and resting.  I've got a fresh supply of magazines and an armload of books from the library that I've been itching to delve into, and some quilting I can do from my chair between naps.  So I'm good. 

Hopefully, I'll be back on my feet soon.

These pictures, by the way, are from the vintage craft show last week. 

Went back on the last day and wandered around a little more. 

It was apparent that a lot of merchandise had moved out the door since I was there. 

Although it's hard to believe looking at all this.

I didn't buy anything this time; was more taken with the artful arrangements of all the odds and ends, old and new, that were so beautifully displayed. 

The colors in this corner were so pretty.

(Click on the top images to see them full-size.)

Enjoy the tour!

It's That Time Again . . .

So, we headed up to Portland yesterday for one more birthday gathering with family before I had to relinquish my crown. (sob!)  It sure was a fun week while it lasted.  I did lots of fun sewing and can't wait to show you my new apron and some other things.  In fact, I hardly left my sewing room.  Well, that's not entirely true.  I did sneak off and take a peek at this happening in a neighboring town. 

OK, it was more than a peek.  I ended up snagging a duvet set and a pillow, then waited in a very long checkout line for almost an hour with everyone else that showed up.  This place was packed in more ways than one, as you can see.  The Albany grange hall opens its doors a few times a year when the Blackberry Junction gang comes to town, and they stack it to the rafters with all kinds of wonderful stuff.  The event lasts one week, then comes back to town around Thanksgiving, and shows up again in the Spring, before Easter.  I have to go back.  Not that I need anything in particular, it's just fun to look at things and get inspired.  I'll be sure and wear comfortable shoes in case something, um...just happens to (cough) slip into my basket...and I wind up in that crazy line again though.   

Aren't these dishes pretty?  I was telling Toni, when she was visiting me last month, that I was itching to decorate my walk-in pantry.  If I ever get around to it, I think I'll refer to this photo for inspiration.  This was in one of the "white" corners.   The overhead fluorescent lighting in the building gave my pictures a yellowish glow, and due to the crowd trying to get past me, I didn't have time to adjust camera settings.  In fact, I was lucky to get any pictures at all without getting trampled.  (I hear the first day of this event is always a little bit of a mad house, and I probably should have waited a few days before rushing in, but like everyone else I was excited to see it all.)

I'll try and get more pictures the next time I go.  These little nooks and corners are fun to study in the quiet of my room without distractions.  I'm seeing things I missed while I was standing there gawking.  I really like white-on-white rooms, they seem so clean and calm.  The clear vintage glass adds a nice sparkle, don't you think?

Sugar Craft

Along with doll quilt mania at my house, there's been some fun spring crafting too.  We're making a few more decorations for our egg tree, using this idea from Martha.  (Stay with the video for awhile, she talks about magnets first, then demonstrates the tissue-paper egg craft.)  And with Easter right around the corner, my attention has turned to other 'sweet things' in a more literal sense.  For instance, this hollow sugar egg, the vestige of Victoriana at it's finest, was made over twenty years ago by my dear cousin, Shirley.  She made them on occasion (before her eight children arrived), and when she gave me this, I was completely awe-struck.  Actually, I still am, when every year, I carefully remove it from it's tissue paper wrappings and just stare at it.   These are also called 'panorama eggs' because there's usually a little scene inside, (mine has chicks and bunnies) all made from sugar, and it's entirely edible. (Her mushroom kills me! It's less than an inch tall. )  It's just the most beautiful little thing.  Years ago, her mother, my aunt Bev, passed down the skill and demonstrated the technique in her homey, small kitchen, which seemed simple enough at the time, but I've long forgotten how she did it, exactly.  It's just another one of those lovely arts that's become lost to most of us. (sigh) Which is why this is so special to me I guess.  Obviously I couldn't bear to part with my tiny crystal wonderland, much less eat it.  It's remarkable too, how long this fragile confection has lasted.  Only a little discoloration here and there.  I've kept it carefully wrapped in tissue paper and stored in a zippered basket tote, and bring it out once a year for display. And pray no one drops it.  Or the humidity gets too it.  Or varmints.  Homemade sugar eggs like this used to be more common, but not so much anymore, which is a shame because they are so magical to a child.  (Although, commercially made eggs can still be purchased from specialty shops like Blumchen and possibly, from sweet tooth, see more of her updated pix here.)  Or, I could try and make one from the kits and sugar molds here.  Although time is running out now, so maybe this is something to file away for next year. 

Objects of Affection

Jeepers! I was off on a happy adventure in a neighboring town and came home to find emails galore in my in-box.  My sweet blog pals alerted me that I was going to need a much much bigger bonnet for the doll-quilt-give-away drawing, and I was almost afraid to look at the numbers.  But when I did, I was so happy!!  Thanks you guys, I just hope my little offering measures up to the expectation now.  (Thank you Hillary, for sending more peeps my way after the lovely post about my little ladybug picnic doll quilt too---I can't stop thinking about strawberry shortcake now!)  I was really thrilled to see so many of you entering for a chance to win, but my next thought was, in what manner shall I select a winner?  Not wanting to print-out and cut hundreds of slips of paper into the eleventh hour, or any hour actually, I put the question to my girls.  They are homeschoolers afterall, and my chief problem-solvers around here.  So we brain-stormed around the dinner table and Grace thinks she can design a computer program to count and sort.   She primarily taught herself VB last year and is deep into Java now.  Apparently she's inherited uber geek-talent from her engineering father.  Certainly not from me. I just stand back in awe of it all and smile and nod and don't have a clue how any of it works.  Not a clue.  I'm perfectly happy to go off and bake a pie or something while they speak that mysterious language.  So.  Here's how it's going down.  In between making dollhouse cakes and miniature donuts, (still hard to fathom how she switches from one to the other) Grace is going to design a program she's dubbed the "Super Shuffler": tag for her Digital Easter Bonnet version 1.0! It's so funny.  I'm not sure how it's going to work yet, but she is completely confident that it will.  And I never, ever doubt her abilities, because she is our "amazing Grace" after all, and usually spot on.  I'll keep ya posted on the progress of that. 

Anyway, I was out and about yesterday, and found some lovely treasures over here again.  Remember I told you this was a twice-a-year event?  Once in the fall, once in the spring.  Well, I wasn't paying attention and almost missed it.  When I finally remembered, I just hauled myself right on over there in a split nano-second to see what lovely things were in store, and was not disappointed.

Oh my.  So glad I grabbed my camera.  Because looking at these pictures again are so fun.  Lots of cottage, shabby, and chic sprinkled with sparkly glass and glitz.  So yummy.

This simply sent my head spinning! I kept circling around the place gathering things into my basket as I went along, including a beautiful quilt and matching runner for my dresser, made by a sweet older lady, who came up and thanked me for buying her quilt.  I wanted to hug her for making it!  It is gorgeous, and exactly what I would've made for our own bedroom if I'd had the time.  It's a combination of spring green, robin's egg blue, with soft touches of brown.

But my most exciting find was this old iron bird bath.  Which the sight of immediately sent me dreaming about The Secret Garden by Frances Hodges Burnett, and our own, enchanted garden.  What a perfect addition to our Victorian-styled home.  A soft rain fell last night and birds were already visiting it when I glanced out the window this morning.  I keep thinking about the past lives of old objects, and the stories they could tell. 

Ondori Morning

Waking to birdsong. The sun came out this morning and I'm feeling energized.   

Spring is in the air and I want to make music.   

Hard to decide what to do first.

I've got a long list of things I want to get to this weekend . . .

 

. . . some that I've only been dreaming about,

and drooling over.

Including a fun (secret) sewing project already in the works, that I can't wait to get back to.

   

None of which have anything to do with this book from, Ondori (1987), that I picked up from a second-hand book shop a month ago.  These designs seem fresh and new again, don't they?

Making Discoveries

These little vintage cookbooks are fun.  I found them on my last thrift outing, along with the hand-embroidered linen tea cloth.  The stitching on this is beautiful, not a single spot on it either.  The delicate flowers and leaf sprigs remind me of chamomile, and send my mind drifting to the summer herb garden.  Well, when I saw this I knew it would be the perfect compliment to the soft blue toile print in the bedroom and decided to make a little pillow out of it for the chaise.  A nice weekend project perhaps.

Anyway, these ABC cookbooks were published in the 1950's-60's by Peter Pauper Press, a third generation family publisher that's been around for over 70 years.  I found the three entitled, "The ABC of Jiffy Cooking", "The ABC of Casseroles", and "The ABC of Wine Cookery".  (There were two of the latter and I'd be happy to pass one along to the first person in the U.S. who leaves a comment here that wants to claim it.)  As luck would have it, or maybe because these are on my radar now, I ran across another one, "The ABC of Salads".  I don't know how many there are in the series, but when I did an online search I found one for canapes and another for desserts.  I'll be on the look-out for those now that I seem to have a collection starting here.  They seem to be geared toward young brides and new homemakers and have practical simple recipes from A-Z, which was funny to me when I realized this because of the A-Z quiche challenge I'm doing.  And if I get stumped, I can just thumb through these and see what's cooking for a particular letter.  There are  cute "decorations" throughout by Ruth McCrea, with her quirky quips like, "There's grit in the salad, and way too much salt, the cook is in love, so it isn't her fault."  What a great excuse when things go awry in the kitchen!  (I'll  have to remember that one the next time I burn something and set off the smoke alarm.) Oh, another treasure I found, Betty Crocker's Party Book (1960).  Such a tasty treat.  Almost as delicious as my cornbread.   

Alternative Craft

I always feel a sense of satisfaction when I find new uses for old things.  Like this sewing tote and lunch basket I found at the grange hall over the weekend.  I can use them to take projects with me on the go, or to store things inside of on the shelf in my sewing room.   It's fun to recycle with vintage and re-purpose objects in creative ways.  I guess that's one of the things that really appealed to me when I opened the pages of a brand new book that Felicia Sullivan from Harper Collins dropped in my mailbox a while back.  It's called, CRAfTIVITY 40 Projects for the DIY Lifestyle by Tsia Carson, founder of SuperNaturale.com.  I got a sneak peek but now it's out and in bookstores everywhere, so make a note to yourself to check it out.  Just about every project in the book uses recycled, natural or commonly found materials in interesting and imaginative ways.  For instance,  did you know you could actually crochet something using plastic grocery bags, dye wool with Kool-Aid and vinegar, or sew cute underware from old cotton t-shirts? Well apparently you can!  I also loved the idea of turning a moth-eaten sweater into an art statement by embroidering around the holes.  As crazy as that may sound, it actually looks pretty cool.  And since Fall is here, you may find that this has actually happened to some of your favorite sweaters that got stored away, so you might want to keep this trick in mind.  The book inspired me to take a look around my own house and come up with creative solutions for re-using things too.  Yesterday, I mentioned a few of the projects I started this weekend, and one of them was a candlestick lamp make-over.  I had a pair of these in shiny brass that weren't that great, so I painted them matte black and covered the bases with wall paper from a sample piece I had tucked away in a drawer.  It was so easy, I just used a glue-stick.  Another ugly lamp got a make-over this summer with left-over white paint and cotton fringe from an old chenille bedspread I bought at a yard sale for $1.  I snipped off the fringe and hot-glued it to the rim of the shade.  The rest of the bedspread was turned into two big cozy pillow shams and some other smaller sewing projects. And I'm really happy with how my mirror turned out. I think it's the best crackle job I've ever done and it was mostly by accident. That medium is a little tricky and timing is everything. I allowed plenty of time, but it was a damp day and so I miscalculated the drying time and wound up having to cook dinner and dab on the final coat in tandem. Seriously, I think everyone around here thought I'd lost my mind. Including me! Paintbrush in one hand, spatula in the other. Running back and forth like a lunatic between both tasks. Trying to lay down the finish just so, and not burn the meal, which actually did happen anyway. But the mirror turned out perfect so no hard feelings over a few burnt potatoes. If you drag your mouse over the picture, you can see the 'before and after'.

Old Things

An interesting thing happens when you place ordinary stuff under glass.  Or in this case, Plexiglas.  It becomes art.  Well sort of.  You may develop more appreciation for it anyway.  For instance, none of these old kitchen tools that I'd gathered over the years from thrift shops were given a second glance in the basket they were thrown in, but now everyone is stepping closer and marveling over them.  My youngest daughter suddenly had questions about the "olden days" and a discussion followed.   I had to laugh though.  Why do all children think their parents rode in on a covered wagon?  It sometimes seems inconceivable to them that times could be so different than they are today.  How lucky we are to have so many modern conveniences that make our lives easier and free up our time for things like making "kitchen art".  I seriously doubt my great-grandmother would view these objects in the same way though, because to her they probably represented hard work and endless chores.  But from a relatively modern perspective I imagine simpler times, with images of porch swings and homemade goodness on the table.  A bit idealistic I know, but true in a lot of ways and that's what comes to mind when I see these old kitchen tools.   For a time, I was actually using some of them but discovered the paint was chipping and the wood was cracking from tossing them in the dishwasher.  I'm guessing some are close to sixty years old and were not exactly designed for such harsh procedures no matter how well crafted they were.   And they obviously were, to have survived all these years.   So few things are truly well-crafted anymore.  The shadow boxes I used are a case-in-point.  Out-sourced and poorly made they gave me absolute fits of frustration because none were the same dimensions.  Not one piece of glass I had cut for them fit, which is why Greg had to come to my rescue and fitted them with Plexiglas instead. 

My well-appointed modern kitchen is decidedly old-fashioned though.  A farmhouse style with sunny walls, cabbage roses and red & white gingham.   Comfortable, practical and unpretentious.   It's a welcome place where we still gather for daily meals around an old country French pine table that's well over a hundred years old.  And yes, it looks it.  The top definitely could use another sanding and polishing.   But it's quite sturdy and has character after all.   (That's what you say about old charming things that are starting to fall apart anyway!)   

Cat in the Cradle

Here's a new favorite corner, or maybe I should say, this is Lily's new favorite corner.   I finally worked up the courage to ask the Mister to chop the old changing-table in half to make a cat crib.  I've had the idea for a while but, you know, sentiment gets in the way sometimes.  No telling how old this thing is, we bought it at a garage sale for a few bucks many years ago, and it's seen a lot of diaper changes.  We'd been using it as a sort of toy bin after it was outgrown.  I covered the foam pad with a pretty vintage fabric but then I started thinking of all that loose cat hair, having to remove and wash it (often) to keep my allergies in check,  and decided to toss an old towel on top.  Easier to wash.  Lily seemed to feel more at ease with the towel anyway, and has hardly moved from this spot since I set this thing down on the floor a week ago.   It's tucked away behind the sofa and is the perfect spot for birdwatching and sunbathing.  Hmmm... I think this post might just qualify for use what you have and fave corners! 

Cool Caddy

Oh Goody! Just look what I found on ebay last week. This cute vintage sewing caddy swivels open and reveals a secret compartment for buttons and things. I love the little tomato pincushion too.  Thanks Mitzi!