Kim's Hutch

Thursday was a good day for an hour's drive over the ridges and along the rivers to my sister's home. A perfect day above and not so great below. It had, in fact, snowed at her place. No snow at mine. 

As I entered Kim's kitchen, the heavenly aroma of banana bread greeted me. Two loaves were cooling on the rack and soon the aroma of coffee also filled the air. The fire was crackling and hot and I sank into one of those chairs beside it. A fireplace in the kitchen is a tremendously pleasant thing. I am officially jealous.

We chatted along for a good hour before we ever turned our thoughts to the dining room. When we did, it was to unpack dishes that Kim hadn't seen for nearly ten years. That was fun. She found a few that are heading for her daughter's home and a few more that are headed for Goodwill. 

Thank goodness for dishwashers. Kim used hers even though some of the dishes were vintage stemware. She used the gentle cycle and none were lost. She did not wash anything with gold or handpainting.

Then we cleaned the hutch itself more thoroughly. It has been in storage for a while and needed the attention.

Soon, we had it gleaming and ready for some decorating. Course by that time, weary of our labors, we turned our attention to some tv while we took a break. An hour of that and we were hungry and took off for a late lunch at Olive Garden in Augusta. 

Oh I want to show you a close-up of the wallpaper because it has much more color interest than I first supposed.

Gosh I hope that you weren't expecting the final reveal. We didn't get much further than this...

Looking in from the living room...love that Penobscot Wall where reclaimed wood was used for the wall application. The wood doesn't rot because of the low level of oxidization while the logs were submerged for over a hundred years. Do you have wood reclaiming industries in your corner? You can't go wrong to purchase some of that wood for decor purposes, though it is certainly pricey. What I love about this is that the hutch blends in perfectly with the overall look of what is going on. The table set doesn't match, but that doesn't matter with all the wood tones going on.

That's a wrap for now. If Kim sends me a photo of the finished styling, I'll share. She's still looking for the rest of her dishes somewhere in the basement. I hope that she finds them because, until then, I've got nothing. Blog fodder is becoming so rare around here. 

A blessed and happy weekend to you!

Of Dollies and Such

First allow me to apologize for discussing Shirley again so soon. I've been under the weather and my thinking abilities are failing me. This should teach me to have a post or two at the ready for such eventualities.

This product is what I am trying for making the fussy, fiddly clothes. It helps some, though I think that there has to be an easier way!

This is a photo of Shirley and my mother's doll. I wrongly thought that my mother's doll was also a Shirley Temple doll. She's not, she is an Effanbee Anne-Shirley doll. So interesting. Both dolls are 15 inch dolls, but have very different body types. They will not be able to share clothes.

These are Anne-Shirley's shoes and socks. Unlikely that they are original because they are so clean. Anne-Shirley has seen better days, most specifically her mohair hairdo.

Some of Shirley's clothing is very shoddily constructed. I hope to make my dolly's clothing very easy to use with open backs and snap closures. If I get good at this, John has lots of great-grandgirlies.

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This is the fabric I hope to make Shirley a simple dress with. It seems to be the right scale and I do love yellow and the dainty rosebuds.

The little cap sleeves ready to set in.

I don't know...I may have to quit this dress and start over, which reminds me of what Lord Grantham said of Edith, "I know, but for poor old Edith, who couldn't make her dolls do what she wanted! It is rather wonderful." And I do hope he is right! Edith deserves some happiness; Mary does, too; Tom does as well. Suppose that Mr. Fellowes will marry everyone off this final season?

Piglet and Friends in a pile...
I'll be back when I have some blogging fodder and am feeling better. Have a great week!

All Over the Place

It's hot, hot, hot. In the 90s and humid. We are not used to this. 

Okay, I have a lot of things to tease you with. You can skip and hop around to the things that interest you because, otherwise, this post is too long for the average human to read. 

New apron in the house!! Just as my beloved Boleros are fading fast away, a Bolero-colored apron arrived on Saturday from *Susan at My Mother's Apron Strings.* Susan creates a beautiful apron to give away every. single. month. She's a busy gal now let me tell you. Between running a business, building a new home and a new treehouse, baking, and sewing, I don't know how she finds time for being so generous. Thank you so much, Susan. I love my apron and you!

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The last time I left you, I was doing a wee bit of creating of my own. Since I've had some questions, I'll give a little more information. *Here* is the tutorial I used. Remember, I used the method (which is excellent), not the measures. I used my own measurements and a much narrower elastic — ¼ inch. 

~Scrunchy Kit~

My hair bands look almost as if they were made for little girls because they are so much smaller and more narrow. All I wanted was a covering for the elastic to protect my hair. Even purchased hair bands were damaging. I think I'll make some out of t-shirt fabric next. I follow the method to the point where the ends are joined. That's where I do the remainder by hand. The two ends of the elastic are then sewed together very securely by hand and then the opening is closed, also by hand. Just too small and fiddly for me to do on the machine.

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Moving right along... I have been wanting to show you that I do get out and about from time to time. This is the new wedding venue overlooking the White Mountains of New Hampshire. If you look closely in that valley, you'll see me waving from my front lawn. ☺

This brings us full circle from some time ago when I showed a barn reconstruction going on and wondered what it was all about with full windows on the end looking over this scene. (If I find the post, I'll link it.)*~*~*
Saturday, my daughter invited me to a street art festival. These are some of the photos she took for me without much commentary from me.












This home on Main Street is being restored. Here's a closer look at the third story blind that looks out on the scenes shown here. What a happy little getaway.



That one gave us a chuckle...you can't see it very well, but there is also a banana splatted on the sidewalk with an outline. Quite the funny crime scene!*~*~*
Before time completely gets away on me, I must share a photo or two from the 4th of July.
2015
2015

Except for my son's socks last year, it looks remarkably like 2014.

At last, we have come to the end of this post. Blogger was trying to kill it from the beginning so I have been here for hours...hours! (☺Secret message to Jill...nope, didn't work.)

Catch you later...

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Where Comes the Call???

Golly, it's a good thing some of you don't mind chatty posts because that's about all I can come up with these days.

~no bricks in this photo~
Just so you'll know, I am not confused about what day of the week it is. Thursday, right? Usually, I try to post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Tomorrow, my daughter needs a driver so I will be busy. Yes, that ulcer. Hopefully, they will get to the root of the problem and be willing to give her the medication that she needs. Healthcare these days! Don't even get me started.
(For those who have wondered about my father. He has moved from Rehab to my sister's home where he will continue to recover and hopes to move into an assisted living center when he is able.)   
This morning, John and I were out in the yard early puttering with bricks. 

This is the project I showed you a day or so ago. Now it's all finished with some minor adjustments to be made. These bricks came from John's cull pile at the Ponderosa. I think he secretly loves it when I have a need for something and he already has it stashed somewhere. It vindicates the saving of good things. He has always loved the Edison quote: To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. 

It hasn't been all work and no play around here either. I had to document the first peony so tried to duplicate the Fotor collage of yesterday with a Photoscape one. Not quite the same, but good enough.

And to close...a Netflix recommendation from Hallmark: When Calls the Heart.

~*Abby's* Recommendation~

It is the story of Elizabeth who travels to a coal mining community out west to teach school. Just so happens that there's a handsome mountie on assignment there. This story is based on a Janette Oke book. Some of you will appreciate the irony here as I can not tolerate reading insipid love stories. However, at the end of a tiring day, I do enjoy watching a little something~something that isn't death, disease, destruction or murder. (Not that life is without its challenges out West!) Anyway, this perfectly filled the requirement.
I loved that Elizabeth journals so there are some enjoyable take-away lines. Here's one:

I've never felt so frightened in all my life, but my fear pales in comparison to how safe I felt in Jack's arms when he came to my rescue. It makes me realize that sometimes we need heroes in our lives, and sometimes, for the people we love, we actually have to become the hero.

Couldn't help tucking Jack in there again as he is not too difficult to look at. Ahem.
So do you have any fun video recommendations? Abby and I'd love to hear them!

Out With the Old and In With the New

Goodbye Old Blue! It was time. 

Superman took out the old and Superman 2 brought in the new with help from his Super Wife (no pic).

The new set is forest green with sage. It is every bit as heavy as the old and sits on big bun feet. I'll be able to see vacuum under easily. It is much more comfortable and easy to rise from. I do have some repairs to make as my sister's cat has had her way with this set. Naughty Lily! I think the color is better for what's going on in this room so I am pleased. John did not think it was green, but it so happens that he was wearing a shirt the very same shade of green when he first saw it after church. I told him that if he sat in the chair, he'd disappear and he very nearly did.

I have shoes by every exit these days as a visitor is with us this week who needs to get out and about a few times a day.

I hope not too many times today as it is cold and rainy and we'd prefer to stay cozy.

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Sewing Room Nightmare

Why am I doing this to  myself — showing off the disgrace that my sewing room has become? Because I hope that it will motivate me to do something about it today. If it remains cool enough, I hope to get up there and put things back to order. I'm taking up a big bag to "release" a lot of stuff that has no business being there in the first place. My plan of attack is to place a large sheet over the top of my bed and use that to organize from...maybe. This could backfire if we have no place to sleep tonight. It could also backfire if I have no afters to share by this evening. 
Stay tuned.
Have a productive day!
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Edited to Add: Oh my. Some of you know me too well or else this is an Everywoman story. The minute I got a surface cleared I started making something or mending something. Thus far, I've assembled a dozen magnets, made a potholder, mended a pillow, and ironed dinner napkins. I was up there until four this afternoon when it definitely became too warm even with AC. So now I'm going to take the evening off. Oh, that's right, the bed is loaded with stuff. My plan is going to work like a charm: grab all four corners of that sheet and chuck it into a corner. ☺

Unfinished Business

Can anything be sadder than work left unfinished ? Yes, work never begun.

~Christina Rossetti Unfinished business is the story of my life. Yours? I told you weeks ago now that I would share a tea towel tutorial with you. Days and days went by with my neglecting it. The trouble was that I had started a different towel and now the photos didn't match. Then I washed one of the towels and the prairie points were never the same again. Then I learned that I didn't like this or I didn't like that. So today I'm sharing some photos, offering some suggestions, and letting it go so that I can delete the files of useless tea towel images and so I can finally keep that silly promise of mine. I feel guilty when I don't finish a thing or don't keep a promise.   

These two towels, one for summer and one for autumn, are heading for Abby's house. You can find tutorials on Pinterest and they really are very good. In the end though, I just looked at the pictures and did my own thing as far as fabric size, etc.

 The edge...if you take the stitching out of the tea towel you are embellishing, you can take your fabrics around making it look even more tidy and polished.

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Using a seam ripper, you just open as much of the edge as needed to take the fabric around. Sure, you can just float the fabric on the top and stitch it all around, but this looks preferable to my eye.

Here's a better look at the autumn tea towel. My source for plain linen tea towels dried up. I created my own with painter's cloth, but depending on the painter's cloth, some were just too heavy to be practical.

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The fabric taken around the edge and restitched.

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An example of a painter's cloth towel...too heavy by a lot.  This was made using some prairie points. I like the look, but once the towel was laundered those prairie points were never the same even with ironing. I stitched them down.

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There are a couple of methods of prairie point making. The one where the fabric meets in the back is far preferable for the look of a project.

A wee corner of my sewing room...have I ever shared The Lonely Doll Learns a Lesson? Probably. At this point, I've shared everything. ☺
A wonderful August to you...