Anyone Can Quilt

Here I will sit...

Today is quilting day.  I got the beast basted yesterday, and then had company for dinner, so had to put the quilting on hold.  But today is the day!  I think I have mentioned to you before that we are in the slow do it yourself renovation process of our home.  This is our little dining 'area' off of the kitchen... sort of in the kitchen... We don't have an actual dining room is what I'm saying.  Anyway, my husband has done such a great job with our kitchen/dining area.  He gutted the whole thing and re-did the plumbing, electrical, dry-wall, floors and so on.  But, he's afraid of finish work.  Which is why we don't have trim around the doors or windowsills in here.  They're naked.  So, in turn, I haven't felt the need to make any window treatments for the windows in here.  But in the evening the sun shoots through this here window and burns the retinas of it's victims.  So I hung up an old embroidered tea towel with a tension rod.  It's actually kind of cute I think.  Cause I'm a girl, and I like cute things. 

I have these little cuties on the no-sill window to keep me company.  I love birds.

My friend MT sent me this hippie weiner dog, it cracks me up every time I look at it.

I also got a wonderful surprise in the mail the other day!  My wonderful friend from Germany, Sabine, sent me a gorgeous home magazine from her country.  Along with a sweet card and two beautiful pieces of fabric.  Sabine is great, we have become such good friends over the past few months and have found that we have so much in common, even though we are from two different parts of the world.  I have so much fun looking at all of the gorgeous pictures in this magazine, even though I can't read a word of it!  Sabine put post-it notes throughout so it was like she was here visiting while we browsed together.  Thank you so much Sabine!

Well, when I can pull myself away from this gorgeous magazine, I will get to my quilting.  I've got a nice mug of tea and will keep the kettle on.

The tools of the trade, hopefully I won't be needing the seam ripper though... wish me luck! x

Back with goodies!

So sorry for my absence my friends!  I've had some computer problems this past week.  My computer is working now, but my wireless internet isn't working yet.  Since my household runs on wireless internet that is a bit frustrating for me.  So I have to use the lovely orange cord that has been fished up from the basement to have internet at the moment.  It's real purty.  But, at least I can still use the computer, lovely orange cord and all... I hate cords.  Anyway, I am here, and please forgive my silence, I'll be spending the next few days catching up on blogs and responding to emails!  So, some good news, my Summer Stash quilt top is done!  Yippee!  I plan on quilting it this afternoon. 

Don't you hate it when you hear about those lucky people that find some wonderful vintage treasure for nothing at a garage sale?  That drives me crazy.  Buuuuuut... I did find these old plates for  $ .25 each when walking the dog the other day.  Please don't be angry with me.  I want everyone to like me...

Let's take a look at them one by one shall we.  They were in a box marked, "chipped plates, 25 cents" .

 

I hung this one up already. 

Now before you start calling me bad names, this one wasn't 25 cents.  I bought this one a few months ago at a thrift store.  Just wanted to show it to you! 

I also found this sweet pillow for the girls' room. 

And this box is from the Goodwill, don't know what it was for, but I like it! 

Now, remember the 25 cent plates?  These were from the same place, and yes, they were 25 cents too.  Now stop giving me the stink eye!  It's not my fault! 

Look at that little guy.  Little things like this completely make my day.  That's how I roll.

I wonder if I could get Mr. Precious to wear some boots....

We got 5 of these old children's magazines.  They are so wonderful!

In the back of each magazine is a calendar. 

Guess what this picture does?  Yep, it makes my day.  "Have some cheese dear... Why thank you!"

Oh, and look at this.  This is one of the treasures that my Mother in-law brought to me.  I haven't opened the box yet.  But look how cute!  I can't wait to set it up for Christmas.  And apparently, it's 'attractive anywhere', so that's a plus...

Happy Monday!

Someone special turns 2 today.

Happy birthday to the sweetest boy.  My nephew, baby G. was born two years ago today.  He is sweet, funny, and so handsome!  And I must say, the worlds largest baby.  He is now wearing a size 4T my little sister tells me.  Whoa!  Have a wonderful birthday, we love you!

Come on, who can resist those cheeks....x

We party

 Saturday's birthday party for our newly 8 year old was a blast!  Family and friends came over to our tiny house for a birthday barbeque.  We made yummy food and had great fun visiting.  K was so exited all day until our guests started to arrive around 3:00.  I love watching kids at birthday parties.  They are all so exited and hoard around the birthday kid when it's present opening time, so exited to see what gift will be opened next. 

Now, K got all kinds of wonderful and generous gifts.  We got her a Nintendo DS, which she's been wanting desperately.  Our family got her all kinds of games to go with it and she's been having a blast playing all kinds of games.  But I thought I'd share with you my favorite gifts that she received.  I asked her older sister what she wanted to get K for her birthday.  She decided on some accessories for her American Girl doll, Kit.  I love American Girl dolls.  They are so wonderful.  They have a line of modern dolls, and also dolls from different times in American history.  They are a bit spendy, but are so well made, and their accessories are amazing!  This is Kit.  She is from 1934, growing up during the Great Depression.

I love Kit's green iron bed and chenille bedspread.

Now I'll show you what L choose for K's birthday present.  Kit's typewriter.  It is made of metal and is the cutest thing.  It even came with a box with typed papers and some blank ones too.

She also got Kit's school supplies.  Which came in a little faux leather book bag.

Her school supplies include: a geography book, a note pad, a pencil case w/supplies inside, a multiplication table, and her report card of course!

My other favorite gifts were the handmade cards from her friends and cousins. 

She had such a wonderful day.  Thank you all so much for your kind birthday wishes for my girl. x

Appreciated gifts.

My wonderful Mother in-law brought us some special things this year.  I mentioned some of the treasures in one of my first posts!  Everything that she brought me had belonged to her own Mother.  With the exception of some precious dolls that were hers when she was a little girl.  It was so fun to open up each box to see what was next.  Here are some of my favorites.

I love this crystal cake plate!  I can't wait to make a lovely cake and serve it outside with tea on a cool afternoon.  I especially love the box it came in.

Then there is this old mixer.  Isn't it fabulous?!  I think this baby got a lot of use.  I imagine the cakes and cookies My husbands grandmother made for him when he was a little boy.

I also am in love with this tea and coffee service set.  Please forgive the picture quality.  This set is displayed on top of a wardrobe and I was standing not so steadily on a chair to try to get this shot.  Don't you wish you were at the tea party where this was used?

More pretties...

Then we have the suitcase that belonged to grandma Doris.  I wonder how many trips Doris took her trusty suitcase on.  How many times she snapped it closed after carefully packing everything she'd need on her trip.

Ok, get ready to witness my daughters dream come true.  When the box that contained this little darling was opened, we were quite exited.  Meet Tiny Tears.  Or as she's known in our house, Linda Sue.

She still has her original clothes and suitcase.  She has wonderful wool hair and is so special!

There were quite a few dolls in the boxes, along with lots of old doll clothes.  Unfortunately some of the dollies weren't in great shape.  I'm talking disjointed limbs....and heads.  Poor things.  My Mother in-law found her Terri Lee doll and was so exited.  Too bad she was one of the ones with detatched arms and legs.  We got online to see what we could do to fix her and found a talented lady who specializes in restoring Terri Lee dolls!  So we wrapped her carefully and sent her off to the doll hospital.  She looked like new when she returned.  Here she is.

I just love her new hairdo!  And she has the cutest outfits.

I can't tell you how much fun my daughter has going through the doll clothes and dressing up the dolls that her grandma played with when she was a little girl.

I am so appreciative of these wonderful and meaningful gifts that my Mom in-law brought.  It means so much to me that she trusted me with things that were her own Mothers, a woman who I never got to meet.  But who I feel a new closeness to.   I have much more to share, so stay tuned for the next installment!

Leona's necklace

I just finished my grandma Leona's necklace from the post before last.  Oh my.  I am in love with this necklace.  I spent time this morning soaking and scrubbing the delicate crystals one at a time.  When I started I wasn't actually sure if they were a light beige, or clear and dirty.  They were definately clear and dirty.   Then I carefully restrung the necklace and added a new sterling silver clasp. 

I decided to add a delicate extender to be flexible on the length a little bit.  And yes, the necklace is on a neck form.  Don't you all have one of those laying around the house?  No?  Well I have a ton of them.... but alas.... that is a story for another time.

I had the wonderful idea to present my grandma with her new and improved necklace on Mother's Day.  I unfortunately hadn't taken into account that we had the crazy dance weekend to contend with.  Soooo, I can't wait to bring it to her tomorrow.   

Before:

After:

I can't get over how gorgeous the crystals came out.   My grandma is going to look so elegant wearing her Mother's necklace.  I love being able to be a part of this special memory of her Mom. x

Something from her Mother...

I was visiting my grandma Leona and Grandpa Joe the other day.  One of the things that I love about visiting with them is learning new stories about our family.  My grandma often shows me things she finds that had belonged to her mother, Crystal.  My great-grandma Crystal was a crafty gal!  On the visit before this one, my grandma gave me a ton of yarn.  It was so fun going through the big boxes and seeing what kinds of wild colors my great-grandma used!  On this last visit though, she brought out another treasure.  It is a gorgeous vintage crystal necklace and earrings.  My grandma would love to wear this beautiful set, it reminds her of when her mother used to wear it.  But it isn't in the best shape.  Luckily I am a jewelry maker!  Did I never mention that?  Oh, sorry friends.  I will have fun jewelry posts in the future.  Anyhoo.... I am so exited to get this necklace and earrings taken apart and re-strung.  They are strung on some sort of clear cording (used to be clear, now is yellow).  I'm going to clean these crystals and get them sparkling again.  I can't wait to get this set back to Leona, just in time for Mother's Day.

I love the crazy shapes of these crystals, they're bold, but feminine and pretty.
Speaking of pretty, get a load of Leona's wedding picture, and my handsome gramp too of course!

These two are lookers!  I've always thought that my grandma was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.  She still is.

I can't wait to show you how it all turns out!

Oh, by the way......

A little yellow

The Cottage Magpie is hosting a color challenge!   April was yellow, perfect for spring!  I got to do a little spring planting yesterday, I can't wait to have colorful flowers sprinkled around the edges of my yard.  It's too rainy today to take pictures of the flowers soooo .... I searched around the house for some pretty yellow things......here's what I came up with:

I absolutely loooove yellow, in all it's beautiful shades.  Join in the yellow challenge!  This was fun!

What could it be?

Last night while the girls played, my husband played his guitar, and the Mr. Precious and Rosie reenacted a WWF wrestling match in my living room, I got a little stitching done.  It's not perfect as I decided to just wing it.  I should have drawn it out on my fabric so I'd have a bit of a guideline, but of course, I did not.  I have to admit it's still looking pretty cute, wonky bits and all.  What is it you ask?  I'll reveal the finished project later in the day.  Hopefully....

I'm so happy that my tulips finally bloomed!  They showed their lovely faces last week on a sunny day.  Then I heard we were to have a bit of snow....hugh??  I don't know what's going on with the weather this year.  But, I decided to clip some of the lovelies to enjoy indoors.  I got the best pictures I could on my kitchen table on the dark no sunshine day.

It was a cold and rainy/snowy day, but the tulips inside made it a bit more cheerful.  It was a perfect day to catch up on some of my favorite blogs and do a bit of yummy desert baking.  See my laptop next to the stove?  That's mostly where I keep it.  I'm standing there at this very second.  I really like to look up wonderful recipes and have them right next to me on my laptop while I cook.  And of course the wine fridge is strategically right below......  Sorry about the ironing board, I had to iron my pretty vintage sheet table cloth!

This next picture is of the bridge that goes over the bay in Newport.  I love this bridge.  It's a great part of my little community.  I took these pictures the other day when I was driving home from the girls dance classes.  It is such a routine thing for me to drive over and under the bridge.  I don't always stop to think of how beautiful it is.  This post is turning into quite the hodge-podge!

And now, last but not least....I mentioned above about the chubby cat and the baby dog wrestling.  They are getting along now!  Almost too well at times.  They constantly wrestle.  I'm glad they're having fun but sometimes I have to separate the two so they don't get too carried away!

New friends...

And it starts...

Soon it will be a flurry of brown and black on the floor, giving me heart palpitations......Lord help me....

Meet Rosie...

Hello friends.  I haven't posted in a few days and feel terrible.  But I had a good reason.  This is our new baby, Rosie....

Our neighbors dachsund had puppies 11 weeks ago, and we just recently went over to play with them.  Of course the girls fell in love with them.  Our nice neighbor asked if we wanted one, and hoped that we would because they want them all to stay close to home.  Now what were we supposed to do?  The girls wrote us letters telling us how well they would take care of a puppy, they promised.  The letters were so cute. 

It was so cold when we took her out this morning the poor thing was shivering.  So I grabbed an old turtleneck of mine, cut off a bit of the sleeve, and cut her two little arm holes.  Voila!  Instant sweater!  I've been trying to take some decent pictures of her but the lighting is terrible and she won't hold still.  She is so sweet!  I love her wrinkley little eyebrows.  And look at those little nails, she definately needs a puppy manicure!

I did take some wonderful pictures around town and will hopefully post them later in the day.  If any of you dog owners have any amazing puppy tips we would greatly appreciate them!