Oodles and oodles

Redding up

I grew up with the term "redding up," which probably is familiar to anyone who grew up in western Pennsylvania. My mom said it (and still says it) all the time: "I need to redd up the house," or "I'm redding up the attic." It's the same as tidying up. Putting things in order.

 

I'm in an all-things Pittsburgh mood this week, so I did some redding up. Sorted through the bin of fabric scraps. Considered getting professional help for my inability to throw away the tiniest scrap of fabric. Found this little quilt top, which I forgot I had. No, it's not enough that I have my own unfinished projects. I collect other people's unfinished projects, too.

 

So it went in the "out" pile, and now I'm wavering. I don't think I'm quite ready to part with it. But I'm hoping I'll be in an all-things-Pittsburgh mood next week, too. I'm hoping I'll be reflecting on yet another glorious Super Bowl. Either way, I'm sure I'll have more redding up to do.

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Go, Steelers! (And Bruce? The halftime show? I can only think this may be the greatest Super Bowl in NFL history.)

Plans for embroidery

I don't think I'd much enjoy darning, even though I've got pretty much everything I need to do it.

What I do like is this darning bag - as if the woman who owned it didn't have enough to do, she went and made herself a little bag to keep her darning in.

I like embroidery, too, and I haven't had much time to work on it lately, it seems. It's not for lack of projects. Those stamped towels and pillowcases and dresser scarves - pretty easy to find, always cheap, always impossible to resist. I should try to get this little lamb done by Easter.

Tiny stamped doll clothes. The stitching that is done on them is pretty rough - probably a beginner's project.

I've been wanting to start these for a long time - they're huck towels, and the design is woven rather than stitched.



And this dresser scarf is pretty cute just as it is, because it's stamped in color. As I've been posting this, my kids have been discussing the snowstorm we're supposed to get next week (noooooooooo) and how many snow days they think they'll get. My daughter predicts three. Three! If they get even one, I'm taking my embroidery and barricading myself in my room.

No way to sugar-coat it

Not even a Depression-glass sugar bowl and silver spoon ...

a hot cup of tea in a china cup ...

and painkillers served up on a tiny saucer ...

can sweeten the task that awaits me today.

Curtains on the cheap

In a perfect world, I would find the curtains I wanted at the thrift store: two pairs of floor-length floral cotton, please. Who am I kidding? I couldn't even find the ones I wanted brand-new.

 

I got just the kind of print I wanted on the Cath Kidston website, and at the price I wanted by ordering a king-sized duvet with the same print on both sides. It's like buying two king-sized sheets. I deconstructed the duvet, cutting it into four long panels, and then spent several fairly boring hours pinning, pressing and sewing lots of long, straight seams. I'm really happy with how they came out.

I keep sticking stuff on my dresser until I decide where to put it. The dresser is the least of my worries. I have a bed to sleep in! Curtains! A closet! A tray on which I can put my beloved tumble-up. (That's the pink glass and decanter in the first photo, in case you missed the thrilling post in which I found it at a yard sale.)

I think I've finally figured out the theme of the bedroom (other than pretending it's a room in that little house in the picture.) I'm going to put every floral printed thing I can find in there until it keeps me awake at night.
 

Decisions, decisions

I'm making over a tray to put on the table next to my bed, but I can't show you the "before" picture first. It might scare you. Instead, I'm showing you a picture of some vintage fabric that I might use on the tray. It's one of my favorite pieces, and it would be nice to kind of showcase it.

OK, now that you've sort of been warned, here's the tray I'm making over.

It's a little hard to experience its glittery excess in a photo, but that mass of gold is an abundance of cheap dime-store glitter. I think there was kind of a good idea for this tray - the Victorian paper scraps and the frame and the metal handles are pretty nice, but it just didn't work out. Probably that's why its owner put it out for a yard sale last summer. (Oh, or maybe it was a gift. I'm going to go with that thought. It was a gift, and the recipient did not like it, but she was really nervous during her yard sale last summer that the giver would see her selling it, and that's why she was so happy I bought it.)

I had hopes of saving the paper scraps (I think they're reproductions), but the glass, the glitter, the scraps and the base seemed to be joined with some industrial-strength super-adhesive. It was all I could do to get the glass out in one piece. Anyway, my plan was to repaint the frame white and use a floral fabric on the base.

Next to prying the pieces apart, the part that has taken the longest in this project is picking out a fabric. I like this print a lot, but I'm about an inch short of the width I need.

I think I've mentioned my soft spot for gingham before, especially pink gingham flocked with tiny pastel flowers.

I'm always looking for a way to use a piece of this fabric, because I love those dramatic roses on the black background.

But this yellow print never fails to cheer me up.

So - which one would you have picked?

I think I knew I had to go with the yellow as soon as I ironed it. I think we could all use a little sunshine about now.

Since sunshine and flowers seem to be distant memories these days, I'm going to make do with this.

Feelin' the love

I'm certainly in the valentines spirit today.

It's not because I've spent most of the day taking pictures for eBay and etsy listings. (The eBay listings don't start until Sunday - I'll try to remember to put in a link for once.)

Kinda cute, but I can't keep it all. That's my new motto.

Nope, I'm feeling all warm and happy because not only do I have new slippers ...

I have all this handmade goodness and more because ...

I won the giveaway from Twyla and Lindsey at Two Crazy Crafters! The two of them redefine the word nice. My box was packed full of Twyla's knitted and crocheted work, Lindsey's tags, and little things they knew I'd love: a vintage glass, a Gurley angel candle, vintage valentines ...

 

I *heart* it all! Thanks!

The bedroom project

The bedroom project is never going to be finished. The walls are painted, and I have a bed to sleep in, but there's a lot to do, particularly since I dream of creating this stunning, cottage-style bedroom that tricks me into believing I'm sleeping beneath a thatched roof somewhere in England. Without buying any new furniture, and by spending money only on the basic stuff like paint and lamp sockets. I'd like the room to be done, but I kind of like the challenge, too. (I would have no way of knowing this, but it seems to me it would be pretty easy to decorate if your budget was unlimited.) One thing that's in place is an armoire. This is what's on top of it - a watering can, and a hatbox in the background, and some McCoy vases and flowerpots, a few things I really love.

I was cleaning out a drawer and found a tattered - really tattered - piece of linen, and I couldn't imagine why I'd kept it. When I unfolded it, I realized that the ends were trimmed with these big crocheted (is this filet crochet?) triangles with birds on a branch. It fit the top of the armoire perfectly, and the tattered parts don't show up at that height. I love when a plan works out, even if I didn't realize there was a plan in the first place.

This photo's kind of weird, but I wanted you to see the crochet. It was one of those box-lot auction treasures.

I'm happy with how the new pillowcases (the flowered ones) look with the vintage pillowcases peeking out from underneath. This is a pretty good view of the wall color, too, kind of a soft aqua. Everybody except my son seems to like it. He stopped in while I was painting, and his only comment was "Does Dad know what color you're painting your room?" I didn't take that remark as approval.

OK, prepare for a "before" picture, which you might remember from a week or so ago:

 

If you can look behind Mr. I Need to be in Every Picture, you can kind of see the headboard and footboard of the bed. I've had this bed since college - it belonged to my great-aunt - and while I liked the style, the dark wood was always a little too somber for my taste. I'm pretty reluctant to paint furniture that hasn't been previously painted, but I took the plunge ...

and I'm really glad I did. It's a full-size head- and footboard, attached to a queen-size frame. This turned out to be easier than I thought it would be. All I had to do was bribe my husband with an offer to run to the store for beer.

1-20-09

Treats

It's completely normal to bring home new housewares and want to make a still life with them, isn't it? (This is the part where you're obligated to say yes.)

It's just that I was so very happy to find these at, of all places, Marshall's. It seemed like the reward that was waiting for me after four hours at the mall with two teenage girls (my daughter and her best friend, and I love them both to pieces, but four hours at a mall is a LONG time.)

And then there was a box waiting for me when I got home, and here's what was inside.

Ordered from here, after a tip from the lovely Suzy. A double dose of Cath. Not much better than that.

p.s. still experimenting with backup camera ... pictures may be more odd than usual!

Tiny treasures

I found a use for the wooden mushroom.

The little compartment in its base holds an entire collection.

There's a little snowy owl ...

a spotted fawn ...

a puppy dog looking at the owl and the bluebird which I had previously found in the drawer ...

and most importantly, the bucket of spilled milk that goes with the kitty. (Thanks for reminding me to look for it, Patty!)

 

I think this represents my very first collection. I used to save up my babysitting money and allowance to buy these little figures one at a time from a gift shop. When I didn't have enough money to buy one, I would study all the figures in the glass showcase and debate which one to get next. I don't remember who made them, but they came attached to a small cardboard square. They probably haven't all been in the same place since sometime in the 1970s.

My husband and son are off to the inaugural parade! Part of me is wishing I was going, and the part of me that was having nightmares last night about being stranded in Philadelphia knows that staying home was the right choice. Logistics and crowds are not my strong point.

They're taking the camera with them - so if I don't post for a couple of days, it's because I couldn't get the somewhat unreliable camera to work. At any rate, I'm loving the feeling that I am living through a historic moment, and I hope you are, too.