Saturday, April 16, 2011

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, April 15, 2011

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.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

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.


Tuscan Planters
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

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

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