Flower Valley Quilt Show

Here I am, arriving at the quilt show.  Okay, not really me, but it could be. 

I really liked this one.  The colors really appealed to me.

This was cross stitched, then the quilting added.  I liked the way the quilting made it look like snow on the ground.  This was one of my favorites.

 The next few quilts show what a difference color can make.  Scrappy quilts where the design is made by positioning the darks and lights. 

 Tumbler quilt with no fabric repeats.

This is a mini log cabin.  I want to make one.  Liked the fabrics a lot.

Scrappy again, with the stars made using lights and darks.

A string quilt, again the pattern uses the juxtaposition of lights and darks.

This is a Denver Log Cabin.  The stars in the sashing are what differentiates it from a regular log cabin.  I loved the blues and pinks.

This is a self portrait quilt.  Titled Please Eat a Banana, I'm almost Finished. Weird quilt fact - the poodle was made using hair trimmed from the maker's dog. 

This is my favorite of the show.  It is a duplicate of one that the quilters mother made in the '30's.  This quilt was made using 30's fabrics, plus fabric from each decade since then. 

I had a nice time looking.  I entered the drawing for the raffle quilt, which is very pretty.  Also had a card stamped by each vendor, and that went in a drawing for "prizes".  Didn't specify what. I didn't buy anything, which is good, since I have too much already. 

And that's what I did today.

I'm Back!

Can't believe it has been more than 3 months since I posted.  My sister Nancy got married on 6/18 and the month before was extremely busy.  Had a brunch for 30 here the day after and the prep for that kept me tied up.  Then guess I got out of the habit....  I just went back and reread the earlier posts.  Some things have changed.  The rose bush died.  The yard got beautiful, but has struggled since, due to several weeks of 100 degree days and hardly any rain for the past two months.  Despite lots of watering, it's pretty bedraggled out there.  I have done a bit of sewing, but not a lot.  Have bought more fabric though.  Imagine that!  The main reason I wanted to post is to show you this picture. 

We babysat for baby Riley last Friday night.  Her mama brought the quilt I made for her to use that night, and I got a picture.  She was a good baby, we both survived and I changed a diaper for the first time in about 12 years.  Just wanted to share a photo of the quilt in action.

I promise to be better about blogging!  Later -

Cindi

The Big Reveal

Sounds like one of the home decorating shows, doesn't it?  I had mentioned a project I was working on, but didn't want to show it, because the intended recipient mentioned that she has read my blog.  My coworker, Catrice, is expecting a baby at the end of this month.  Yesterday, we had a shower for her at work, and I gave her this. 

 A small quilt, made with 1930's reproduction fabrics. Here's a picture of the back.

 I used the Jelly Roll 1600 inch quilt pattern, however, instead of using forty 40" pieces, I used forty 20" pieces.  I couldn't wrap my mind around the math, and hoped it would turn out to be a good size.  What actually happened was it turned out just as long, and only half as wide.  So I took off several rows, cut them in half along the length, sewed them back together and used them for the long side borders.  This made it shorter and wider.  Here's a picture before I sewed on the borders. 

This pattern is super easy, and I loved the way that a simple thing like sewing the strips together at an angle added so much interest to the quilt.  I think the new mom liked it, and she seemed surprised that I had taken the time to make her something.  Hopefully it will be babies favorite lovey, and she will drag it around everywhere. 

I really like the 1930's reproduction fabrics.  I like the little designs, the pastel colors and they remind me of feed sacks.  My mom talks about clothes she had made of feed sacks, and I have one small tablecloth that her mother made and crocheted a lace border on. 

I have another quilt cut out using this fabric, and have plans for another.  Better get busy, hadn't I?

I'm sharing this on Coloradolady's Vintage Thingie Thursday .

Cindi

I'm Happy!

A nagging problem in the backyard has been solved.  The ground at the base of the deck steps was always a muddy mess.  It gets walked on a lot, it's deeply shaded, it's in a corner and the leaves seem to pile up there all winter, smothering the bit of grass we have managed to grow during the summer.  We have seeded and reseeded and even sodded and the grass just ends up dying.  Then we're back to mud again.  Recently we were plant shopping.  I went out the door from the shop to the garden area, looked down, and saw a landing of  cobblestones.  Pink granite cobblestones.  I love pink.  I love pink granite.  And we even have some cobblestones that were just sitting in a heap, waiting for a brilliant idea.  I enlisted the help of my stepson, and this is what we came up with. 

We only have 9 cobblestones, but I've found a source for more and plan to put two more rows in.  You will note that there is grass seed between them, I'm still hoping for a bit of grass.  My theory is that if we are not stepping on it, maybe it will agree to grow.  I"ll let you know how it turns out.

Cindi

Mystery Solved

This is a picture of a quilt that was made by one of my sweetie's relatives.  Unfortunately, he doesn't know who.  Possibly an aunt or his grandmother. (For you quilters out there, this is why we label our quilts.) I have wondered what the pattern is called.

Here's a view from another angle.  The blocks all are scrappy, but the center of each set of three diamonds is either red, deep pink or red and black fabric. 

Here's a close up of one block.  Judging by some of the fabrics, such as the blue, green and black piece in the lower left, my fairly uneducated guess is that this was made in the 1950's. 

I've been thinking of doing a tumbling blocks quilt, and while researching those, I came upon a picture of this block.  It's called Flying Swallows, or Swallow in a Star.  Most of those I saw had all of the diamonds the same color, and they do look something like a swallow.  I don't know if this pattern has a different name when it is scrappy. 

I love the scrappy look, and love the way that quilters "make do".  If you don't have the exact color, use something close.  You may be able to see that the green background is two shades of green.  

I'm sharing this on Colorado Lady's Vintage Thingie Thursday.  Enjoy!

Cindi

P.S.  Can someone explain how I add the Vintage Thingie Thursday button to my post?

The yard is continuing to look better.  Just took a walk around and took some pictures to share. 



The peonies opened today

 



The clematis are going crazy.  My sweetie built a lattice wall 3 years ago, and they seem to love it.  There are 3 varieties, this is the first to bloom.



                                                              My vegetable garden.
We have a fairly shady yard, and I was unsuccessful at growing a garden.  Until I filled this tub with soil and started a salad garden.  I have radishes, spinach, mesclun, black seeded simpson lettuce, onions and spinach in here.  Should be picking radishes in a few days.  We usually get salads for a couple of weeks from this. 



 Ninebark, a native flowering shrub.



Golden Alexander in my native plant area.

Hope you enjoyed the walk in my yard. 

Cindi

I invented a Pizza!

Decided to make a pizza for dinner.  I keep prebaked pizza crusts in the freezer, so I'm ready for pizza at any time.  We buy them 6 at a time at the Italian grocery store, way cheaper than the ones made by Boboli.  I usually make 'clean out the fridge' type pizzas, using whatever I have on hand.  My sweetie had bought spinach at the produce store today, and I started thinking about spinach and Alfredo sauce.  So opened the fridge and started pulling out ingredients.  I sliced up a couple of cups of spinach leaves, threw in a teaspoon or so of minced garlic, chopped up 6 or 8 marinated artichoke hearts, diced 2 green onions, then gathered up my cheese.  I had about a cup of grated mozzarella, a small chuck of pesto Havarti (from The Osceola Cheese Factory ) and a huge wedge of Parmesan.  I grated maybe a half cup of Parmesan and added all the cheese in.  I just stirred it all together, instead of layering it.  If I had had some Alfredo sauce, I would have spread it on the crust, but I didn't.  After arranging it all on the crust, I grated some more Parmesan over the top.  It came out looking like this.

I preheated the oven to 450, then baked it for about 12 minutes.  When it was done, it looked like this.

I can now report that there is not a speck left!  All gone and very good. 

Looking forward to a Happy Mother's Day, hope you all have one also.

Cindi

Sewing report

I got to spend some time sewing last night. I was participating in the Friday Night Sew In.  I had planned to stop on the way home for some batting.  But the afternoon drive ended up including lots of wind, the biggest rain drops I've ever seen, tornado warnings and hail, so I decided to come straight home.  I did get borders sewn on my secret project, and a table topper basted.  I'm not ready to reveal my secret project yet, but here is the fabric.

And here are some of the trimmings. 

Here is the table topper.  It's paper pieced and I'm looking forward to using it on Easter.  The folded fabric is the backing.

I went to the store today and bought the batting for the secret project, so getting ready to baste and quilt it, and quilt the table topper.  Making progress. 

Hope you all had a great Saturday.

Friday night sew in

I'm participating in the .Friday night sew in with Handmade by Heidi.  Check back tomorrow to see what I accomplished.

Fun on Wednesday

Last night I finished reading Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte.  This afternoon I went to see the movie.  I enjoyed it, though as is usual with a movie, they had to cut out a whole lot.  I felt like I was watching the movie of the Cliff's Notes.  I'd be interested in the opinion of someone who has never read the book.   Did they have trouble following the plot, or were they totally shocked by some of the character's actions, which were unexpected, since there was little foreshadowing.  The movie was under 2 hours, so think they could have fit in a couple more scenes that would have given more continuity to the story line and better followed the book.  I really enjoyed the English countryside, the clothing, tapestries, paintings and furniture. Also, St. John was not very handsome and Rochester was, which is a reversal of the book.

After the movie, I walked around the mall a bit.  I am not much of a shopper, and I don't think I have been to this mall in over 30 years.  It's the most upscale mall in the area, and I'm not really an upscale person.  I went to Williams Sonoma, and bought a pot holder and oven mitt, I've been looking for yellow for some time, and finally found it.  Also went to Pottery Barn.  There I saw a bowl, similar to this.



I didn't check the price, but the shape reminded me of one that we have, that came from DH's mother. I think it probably came from her mother. It's marked Alfred Meakin, England on the bottom. I think it's probably over 100 years old.  I love the shape of it, and have displayed it filled with many things.  Right now it's got some spring flowers and some plastic eggs. 

Now I will show you why the Pottery Barn pieces really reminded me of this one.

I have never been too bothered by a few chips and cracks on pieces I like, and this one does have a good side and has been well used by family, so it looks beautiful to me.  The distress on this one is definitely not faux.

After the mall, I stopped in my favorite fabric store and did some serious browsing.  I did buy one fat quarter for one of my secret projects.  Only need about 2 or 3 more. 

In case you think I just live the life of a lady of luxury, I pulled weeds and did my House Blessing before I went to the movies. 

I'm sharing this post on Vintage Thingie Thursday with Coloradolady.

Cindi

Where have I been?

I wanted to blog over the weekend, but I couldn't.  I spent most of my weekend either sewing or shopping for fabric.  Sewing a gift for someone who I know has read my blog, and shopping for someone who may read my blog.  So will have to wait for gift giving day to reveal the secrets. 

Today I wanted to share some more of my collections, to participate in Vintage Thingie Thursdays with Coloradolady .  Last week I showed you my fish bathroom, today some of the items in my bird bathroom.  Have you ever noticed on TV or in movies that you never see a toilet?  And have you ever tried to take a picture in the bathroom without taking a picture of the toilet!  I didn't figure you really wanted to see mine.  So I did my best!

This is the shelf above the you know what.  Again it's filled with a combination of vintage and newer, campy without being tacky (I hope).  I guess I like finding items with a common theme and then combining them. 

The bird bathroom began when I needed some curtains.  I found some fabric I liked, for $2 a yard, and it had birds on it.  I then gathered items I had that seemed to go with the fabric.  Also, have added more over time.  There is sort of a sub theme in the room, gardening.  The picture above shows the curtains, and a glass block that I decorated at Girl Scout camp.  They had various bits of wallpaper you could choose from, and this piece seemed to be made to go in the room. 

The top shelf features a flamingo salt shaker given to me by my cousin, Carol, a tea cup and saucer that belonged to my grandma, an old leather covered bird book, and a blue bird bowl that was dug out from beneath a friends cabin.  I have soaked that bowl repeatedly in Efferdent, but it seemed to reach a point where it was not getting any cleaner, so I decided to just leave it, with the patina of the ages embedded in it. 

The lower shelf has a post card I bought at the Smithsonian, a Homer Laughlin Pastoral pattern saucer, a little dish that was my great grandmother's and a bird house that I painted and distressed myself. 

The top of the It That Cannot Be Named has a McCoy bowl, full of dried rose petals.  Also two green metal trowels.  I really want a wooden handle painted green, but haven't found that yet.  The dipper hanging from the towel bar was used by my husband as a boy.  It hung by his grandma's cistern and was used to get water when they were outside playing.  When he showed it to me and I hung it up, he said 'How did I know that you were going to turn it into an antique?'  This is a tiny bathroom, so there is not much more to show.  I do have a vintage apron hanging on a hook and a Japanese lantern hanging on a hook on the door.  One other thrifty touch was the green paint.  I bought a gallon and painted an accent wall in the kitchen, this bathroom and a bathroom at my mom's.  Got a lot of mileage from that gallon.

Hope you have enjoyed another peek at my vintage thingies.

Cindi

Beachy Vintage

Once again, I have some of my favorite things to share for Coloradolady's Vintage Thingie Thursdays.  We have two bathrooms on our main floor and we call them the fish bathroom and the bird bathroom.  Neither of them get a lot of use, so I can decorate with all my little collections and they aren't in any one's way.  The fish bathroom is painted a pale turquoise, and stenciled with white squares topped by dark turquoise seashell stamps.  The sink area, back of the toilet, top of the medicine cabinet and the wall shelves have ocean related items.  I like to collect things that are a bit campy, just short of tacky (at least to my eyes). 

These two small shelves came from Target.  I liked them because of their size and I thought matching white shelves would allow you to see the treasures and not notice the shelves. 

You can see I have a variety of ages and values on my little shelves.  The top shelf contains a beaded starfish that I carefully unsewed from a purse my sister was throwing away, driftwood with barnacles that I picked up on a beach, a couple of McDonald's Happy Meal toys, a shell man with a paper guitar, a sand dollar wedding favor, and a shell.  The bottom shelf has a starfish, a little shell black girl with a slice of watermelon, a painted face shell, some vintage sunglasses, and another piece of driftwood.  The little black girl is one of my favorites, and I'm glad I was able to bring her home and keep her safe. 

Here's the little girl close up.  I bought her from a man who had purchased a box lot at an auction.  There were several expensive items in the boxes, and I think he wondered why I wanted her.  But he sold her to me for 75 cents, and I was happy.

The top shelf on this unit features a very large sand dollar, another star fish, a seahorse carved into a shell, a Van Briggle flower frog and Flounder, also from McDonald's.  On the lower shelf, there is a china young lady, who is visiting the beach (she is carrying a suitcase), two pelicans on their driftwood perch, a shell turtle, a set of shell violet earrings and pin, and a little souvenir bottle that my son bought me in Florida. 

Hope you have enjoyed a partial tour of my fish bathroom.  Don't forget to visit Vintage Thingie Thursday and see all the other fabulous finds that people share. 

Cindi

Spring Decorating

We have had temperatures above 80, the daffodils are blooming, and now it's SNOWING!  It must be spring!  I made a little progress on the spring decorating.  I love snowmen, and have LOTS of them.  Slowly I've been putting them away and getting out the spring and Easter decor.  You may notice these are closeup pictures.  That means I don't want you to see the surrounding areas!  By June, I promise, I'll have all the spring decorating done.  Here is one of the "before" pictures -

I love my snow family - Mother, father, two kids, and the snowlady in blue is their grandmother.  I had put out a Valentine's decoration before I took this picture, the Ukrainian egg decorated with hearts. 



Here's the same table, ready for Spring.  The table cover is Mary Engelbreit fabric.  There are 3 more of my Ukrainian eggs, the one on the left is the only traditional one I have done. The little bear with the sweater is a childhood friend of my husbands, so is over 60 years old.  There must be a hole in the bottom of the ceramic baskets, the jelly beans keep disappearing! 

Another before picture -

                                        

 Don't you just love this fabric?  These are mostly Hallmark ornaments.  The mailbox on the left belonged to my husbands mother, the snowbabies on the right were made by my mother.



Here's how the table looks now.  The bunny baby was made by my mother, the little charm on her wrist has my name on it.  There are assorted eggs around her.  The plastic eggs with the cartoon wrappers are more than 25 years old.  Proves again that some plastic is going to be around forever! 

I just looked out the window.  We've had about 3/4" of snow and it's sticking on the streets.  Baseball opening day is this week, so it must be SPRING!

Another of my Fancies

It's time for Vintage Thingie Thursday again.  Someone recently asked "What DON'T you collect?", after I listed a long list of things I do collect.  So far I've shown you some Swanky Swigs and some vintage aprons.  Today I thought I'd share some of my costume jewelry.  Although I do buy occasional  items at antique stores, I much more enjoy those pieces that I find at estate sales for a great price. 

Don't remember what I paid for this set, but very little.  It is missing a couple of rhinestones, and the necklace has a broken clasp, but both of these flaws I have chosen to overlook.  The clasp has been replaced by a safety pin, which fortunately is hidden by my hair.  I'm guessing it is from the 1950's.  Maybe '40's. 

I bought this sterling circle at an antique shop in Florida, it was missing whatever once hung in the middle, so again was a bargain.  I repurposed it a bit with the little bird fetishes and get many compliments on it.

Cufflinks are another item that can usually be had for next to nothing.  I went online and bought a couple of French cuff blouses to wear these with.  The cat pin was a gift and I think she is from either the late '50's or early '60's. 

Out of all the items I'm showing today, these are the most expensive.  I bought them at a shop last fall for 20ish dollars. It is 3 pins, and besides the fact that they are silver, and dogwoods, I love them because they can be worn many different ways. 

We often hit the estate sales early on Saturday mornings, but then go back on Sunday afternoon for the half price sale.  That is when I got these 3 items.  The bar pin is painted china, and is probably one of the oldest pieces I own.  I'm guessing from the 1920's.  The porcelain flowers were still in their original box.  The heart shape pin puzzled me, I could not figure out what it was made from.  After I brought it home, I did some research and discovered the background is made from a butterfly wing and the scene is reverse painted on the glass.  I spent $5 and saw some on ebay that were selling for over $50!  So was pleased with that purchase.

I hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse into my jewelry box.  Thanks for visiting my blog.

Cindi