From the July archives, Part 1

Just sharing a few links from the July archives.  Enjoy!

From 2006, Words to Wash Dishes By shares some quotes I have pinned up above my kitchen sink.

On Working Efficiently, from 2007, will not be a revelation to most organized people.  But it was a lesson I was excited to see myself beginning to catch onto.

I love it when God shows me Spirit Lifters in  the course of my daily routine.  They're always there.  Do we have eyes to see them, and do we know whom to thank?

When you are overwhelmed could be an encouragement if you find yourself overwhelmed by life for any reason.  These are lessons God taught me during a season of life that could have felt impossible.
 
You might also be blessed by this devotional thought: Trees of God’s Planting.

Want a perfect summer pie to share with family or friends?  Strawberry Lovers’ Pie is a good option.

Photo from Taste of Home

Finally, these Vintage-Style Pillowcases from my Christmas blog are a simple, fun sewing project to do in July.  They make nice gifts for either kids or adults.

 Later in the month I'll probably do a second July archive post.

Adding warmth and charm to your home with needlework

Country Baking sampler "framed" with a dish towel

I so enjoy displaying needlework in my home, whether it is a project I have done or something someone else has made.  Today I thought I would share a few of my needlework treasures with you all.  I'll just put captions under the photos and call it good.  Busy day today!

Colossians 4:6 sampler

Embroidered tea towels always add a nice touch -- I made these for someone else.

Simple fall stitchery

Sorry for bad quality of photo -- I made this Hummel stitchery for my grandmother years ago.

My sampler wall in a narrow hallway -- the tall sampler is Isaiah 1:18.

I saw this saying in a catalog and made the wall hanging for a gift.

Sampler of Luke 6:38

Philippians 1:11

Psalm 73:24 -- made for a grandchild's room.

"His eye is on the sparrow" -- made these pillowcases for a gift.  Pillowcases are another nice use of stitchery in the home.

My friend Les stitched this for my strawberry themed kitchen!

Tea-time trivet made for my daughter.

Crewel wall hanging stitched for my son

2 Timothy 1:7 sampler

"Love is a shared umbrella" -- crewel design stitched for my parents years ago.

"My Mother's Garden" -- stitched for my mother

Hand-hooked picture made by my great-aunt

Schoolhouse cross-stitch by another great-aunt

Psalm 118:24 by my friend Marilyn.  What a great attitude adjuster each morning~

Hope you've enjoyed this look at some of my favorite needlework projects.  What type of handcrafts do you display in your own home?

Linking up today with Sandi's No Place Like Home at Rose Chintz Cottage.  I'm also linking to Bernideen’s Tea Time, Cottage and Garden Blog Party.

Thrifty craftiness

Image from The Graphics Fairy

Like many of us, I enjoy visiting thrift stores.  When in Nevada, I always like to visit some of the local ones because they have great prices and the things I find are often quite different from my finds here in New England.  On this visit to Elko, my daughter and I took a few hours together to visit several of their local thrift stores.

Most of the buys she found involved children's clothes, books, games, and other kids' items.  Interestingly, most of mine involved crafting in some way or other.  I had taught Emily a couple of simple crochet stitches while we were out there, so when I found a bundle of crochet hooks in one store, it seemed meant to be.  In another store, I found a barely started plastic canvas kit with a horse design, so picked that up for one of the boys.

But I also found some fun things for myself.  This pretty pillowcase, adorned with hand-crocheted lace trim, was either 25¢ or 50¢, I forget which.

Pillowcase is folded in the photo.  It doesn't do justice to the beautiful lace.

 I noticed later that it must have had a hole or a small tear in the seam, because it has been carefully and beautifully darned in one tiny spot.  It was a toss-up whether I would decorate with this pillowcase or simply use it, but after washing and ironing it I noticed it was made from the tubular pillow case material that used to be so prevalent with home sewers.  This typically produced skinnier pillowcases that don't work so well with today's pillows.  It's so beautiful, though, that I will display it in some way.

In the same store, I found these pretty embroidered handkerchiefs.

I apologize for the wrinkles ... think these must be linen.  They were very hard to iron.

I think they aren't really all that old, but the embroidery reminds me of those gorgeously embroidered baby clothes that used to be imported from the Philippines and were almost too pretty to use.  I will use the handkerchiefs in some project eventually.  I paid only $1 for the two of them; I found them in the same bin as the crochet hooks.

And I saved the really fun buy for last -- a bag of sunbonnet girl quilt squares, hand-appliqued and embroidered.

I took the top square out of the bag to get a better picture.  The pattern was even included!

Just a few of the vintage fabrics contained within the bag.

When I picked up the bag (it was $3), my original interest was in the vintage fabrics it contained.  But I will definitely sew the completed squares together and use them for something, possibly a table runner.  I couldn't spread out all the squares (there are at least 20) to take a photo, because as I was looking them over after buying them, my daughter noticed a good bit of pet hair sandwiched in between some of the unfinished ones.   I don't want to get that all over my house.  I'm going to keep the squares contained in the bag and sew them together quite quickly, then wash them before proceeding.  I will throw the unfinished ones (complete with pet hair) away, and wash the print fabrics before storing them.  I'm hesitant to wash the squares before sewing, because they look as if they are made from flour sacks and seem rather fragile.  It will be a fun project to work on, though.

On another day, we also visited Jo-Ann Fabrics so Emily could help me spend part of a gift card I'd won in a giveaway.  She had fun buying beads, yarn, and a wonderful crochet book for kids.  And while we were in Ely, we happened upon a needlework shop that was going out of business and everything was 50% off.  There, I bought mostly yarn.  So there was lots of thrifty craftiness going on this vacation, for sure!

Just a quick post ...

... with a few random thoughts.  There's not a lot going on here, although there could be another ten inches of snow here this weekend.  We'll see, but it looks as if we are on track for another nor'easter.

Vintage card from my personal collection

My thoughts are very scattered these days.  I have a lot on my mind all at once, and am finding it hard to keep track of everything.  Each of the things I'm thinking about is something that, if I turn it around, has great potential for thankfulness.  (For example, the planning for a trip to visit loved ones.  The planning is stressful, but how wonderful that they want us to visit and that we can afford to go!  Or how about the annual summer devotional book I put together for kids in our church's childrens' ministry?  It takes a lot of thought, but this year I can thank God that I can re-use one of the older manuscripts with only a little extra work.  I can praise Him for this opportunity to use my writing gifts for His glory; I can thank Him for the kids who are part of this ministry and the chance to encourage them spiritually; I can thank Him too for the lady at the print shop who told me last year that I could save money on the printing by emailing a pdf of the manuscript to her.)  See what I mean?  Every one of these situations (and there are many more) is taking mental energy, but every one of them also contains much to thank God for.

All that to say I'm  not sure how much blogging time I'll find in the next month or two.  I will try and get here at least to post weekly and monthly goals.

I've been wanting to share a few links with all of you -- sites or posts you might find interesting or edifying.  Do you ever visit Little Birdie Blessings?  If not, you will want to visit.  Abby is a pastor's wife and lives in Maine.  She makes beautiful graphics using vintage images, Scripture, sheet music and more.  The graphics are often free for our personal use, so do check this site out.  Every Thursday Abby shares some encouraging devotional thoughts from Scripture.  Here's one I enjoyed:  Everyday is a Gift.  (I may have shared that link already, but I can't remember.)  I hope you all enjoy Little Birdie Blessings as much as I do!

Sweet Tea and Simplicity is another favorite site.  Mrs. Smith has some inspiring devotional thoughts.  Here is a recent one I enjoyed: You Are So Loved.

If you've never visited TipJunkie, do take a look.  You will find lots of inspiration for homemaking, crafting, and so on.

I can't remember if I shared this here, but The Legacy of Handmade from Myra at My Blessed Life was an encouragement to me to keep on creating handmade gifts for my loved ones.

I have found many fabulous sewing tutorials at Sew4Home.  If you haven't seen their site, and if you love to sew, you will want to visit soon!  Lots of inspiration and sometimes they have great giveaways of fabric, books, and sew on.  

Do you prefer cross stitch?  Check out this wonderful site: ABC Stitch Therapy .  I've visited their store.  It is right here in New England!

For fabulous embroidery inspiration, go here: Crabapple Hill Studio .  Many of their projects and patterns are on my wish list.

If you have little girls who love paper dolls (or maybe have never seen paper dolls but might enjoy them), check out these free printables:
New Year's Paper Doll and
Paper Doll Camping Set.  Those are just a couple of the sets available.  They have paper dolls for most of the holidays -- Christmas, Valentine's and so on.  Very cute, and there are accessories and backgrounds to match.

I finished up a couple of craft projects this week -- one being a pair of vintage style pillowcases to coordinate with some sheets I already had.  I've had this fabric forever and finally found time to make these up. 
 
I've made many over the years for adults and kids alike, using all sorts of different fabrics.  This is a quick and easy project once you have the pillowcases cut out.  The main pattern piece is rather large and unwieldy.  Find the easy tutorial here:  How to Make a Vintage-Style Pillowcase.


And I also finished a project I've been wanting to do for years -- a Christmas shadow box using a vintage wooden silverware tray and lots of vintage bits and pieces. 

 
I found the idea and basic instructions in Gooseberry Patch Christmas book 7. I'll post more pictures of the process and finished shadow box over on my Christmas blog.

I'm making dinner for my daughter (who's recovering from surgery) tonight and changed my original plan of making white chili to making this: Chicken Chili Lasagna.  Salad will be all the accompaniment that is needed.

Photo by Taste of Home

 It's delicious and will be easier to transport on their iffy back road and driveway.  I don't think they will mind the substitution!  For dessert I am taking this tried and true recipe for

Photo by Taste of Home

Blond Brownies .  They are yummy and so easy.  I baked them in a foil pan so the pan won't need to be washed or returned.


 I will be making these tomorrow, most likely, to have with our Saturday baked beans and cole slaw:  Oven Potato Wedges.  So easy.  You might like to try them, too.

One last thing -- I have a folder on my computer desktop called "Blog posts in progress".  One of the items in it is a word processing document with a list of links I want to share or have shared.  I happened to come upon this one: God is in the Details of Life from 2010.  It's no accident I stumbled across this link today.  With all I have on my mind, this was a powerful and encouraging reminder.  Maybe it will help someone else today too!

Apron Giveaway at Retro Revival!

(Photo from The Vintage Sheet Blog)

If you love aprons as much as I do, you'll want to check into this Apron Giveaway at Retro Revival.  It's actually a guest post by Heather of The Vintage Sheet Blog, and includes a wonderful-sounding orange dessert recipe as well as the giveaway of a pretty orange apron.  The apron is a half apron made from a vintage pillowcase.  Ordinarily I am not much of a half-apron wearer, preferring the type with more protection from spills, but I would make an exception for this one.  It is just so cute!  Wouldn't you love to win this apron?  I know I would!  Head on over to the Apron Giveaway and get in on the fun!  A winner will be randomly selected on Sunday night, October 28.

A small flurry of handmade gifts

I still have one belated Christmas gift which I'm working on.  But I thought I would show pictures of the last few more-or-less handmade items that I gave.  You'll see why I say "more-or-less" in a minute.

Quite a few years back, I came up with a small "puzzle kit" gift for kids which really seems to go over quite well with kids and parents too.  Basically, it's a small-size child's puzzle from the dollar store or Walmart, packaged with a packet of microwave popcorn and one of hot cocoa mix.   (If you know kids who can't eat popcorn, or their family doesn't have a microwave, you can just adapt this by using animal crackers, fruit treats, or something else instead of popcorn.)I designed Christmas packaging for the packets and a little instruction tag for the kit.  Sometimes I will design new packets specifically to go with a a certain puzzle, like Cars, Toy Story or Thomas the Tank Engine.  Here is the blog post where I tell about how to make the kits. Puzzle Kits

And here are some of the kits I gave this year. I tied them all together with some candy-striped yarn I found at a dollar store in Nevada.


 

I also made some more "His Eye is on the Sparrow" embroidered pillowcases.  These are a slightly different design from the ones I did last year.

Here's where to find the bird designs:  Bluebird Embroidery Designs.  And, if you would like to read my post from last year about using the designs in other ways, plus learn exactly how I transferred the designs to the pillowcases, you can find that here:  Bluebird & Sparrow projects.


Lastly, I did several crocheted pot holders.  My daughters use these as hot mats on the table, and they keep them in a drawer, so I eliminated the hanging loop on these.  This is the pattern I use:  Scalloped Potholder.  This easy pattern can look so different depending on your color combinations.  I saw one done in red & white which I really loved.  Future project!

In Christmas colors

The reverse side of the hot mat below

More Christmas colors

The variegated color in the next few is called "Winterberry".  I actually only made 2 mats, but they are double-sided.

 

Hope  you have enjoyed this look at a few little crafted gifts!