“Shall I compare thee to a Summer’s Day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate: Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May, And Summer’s lease hath all too short a date.” ~William Shakespeare I made this little crocheted throw blanket for my daughter Gracie. I used my favorite Boye crochet hook (F/5-3.75MM) and…
~Seeing~ The brilliant colors of gourds and mini pumpkins, and candlelight in this centerpiece I put together today. To make your own: pile mini pumpkins and gourds in a large, clear hurricane lantern. In the winter I use vintage glass Christmas tree bulbs, in the summer I use lemons, and in the spring watercolored Easter…
“Methinks it is a token of healthy and gentle characteristics, when women of high thoughts and accomplishments love to sew; especially as they are never more at home with their own hearts than while so occupied”. ~Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Marble Faun, 1859 This is a quilt I made for my daughter Grace using vintage reproduction…
I ordered this vintage British poster for the wall above the desk in my studio. Love it! I’ve started a “quote wall.” I’m framing all of my favorite quotes so all I have to do is look up at the wall while I’m working to get inspired. This one is going in the center 😉…
“Plants cry their gratitude for the sun in green joy.” ~Astrid Alauda Another gorgeous autumn day! The sun didn’t join us until later in the afternoon, which was okay because my friend Nancy and I were busy making magic in her kitchen. We talked and talked while we cleaned and cored bushels of apples… plunged…
~Make cider floats! Pour real apple orchard cider over cinnamon ice cream ~Harvest grapevines and make homemade wreaths for Christmas gifts…here’s a new twist on this idea. homemade grapevine wreath ~Go to a grape stomp or participate in a grape harvest at a local vineyard. ~Host a harvest party: plan a hayride, have a campfire,…
This is a delicious, cinnamony-sweet butter spread for toast, scones, muffins, popovers…whatever! You may want to add jars of this yummy treat to your Holiday gift baskets. I like to use my Red Wing pottery beater jar to make this spread. This little jar is also nice for making salad dressings, beating eggs, and even…
My friend Rachel just started writing a new blog with such an inspiring theme, I have to share. The opening quote on her home page will give you the basic idea… “When you’re in a rut, you can definitely see where you’ve been and have a pretty good idea of where you’re going, but it’s…
I was paging through some old copies of Country Living magazine and came across this cute idea from the September 2006 issue. It’s such a fun, useful idea that I had to pass it your way. Repurpose decorative metal serving trays as magnetic memo boards. Use them to hold to-do lists, invitations, or newspaper clippings…
“During the last quarter of the nineteenth century, decorative surface embroidery on practical household linens came into vogue in America.” From the book Red & White American Redwork Quilts by Deborah Harding My hubby gave me a boxed set of redwork books for Valentine’s Day a few years back. I’ve been interested in embroidery and…