My Woodworking Days

Yesterday I was tackling the unending job of organizing my digital photos.  Hopeless I'm afraid!

But I did find this picture and wanted to share.

(Not the best pic but the only one I have.  Excuse the wad of wires please.

We were Christmas decorating.)

I built two of these little beauties out of oak in a carpentry class at the community college 5 years ago. The joints are mortise and tenon which was quite an experience.

I found the pattern in an Arts & Crafts Furniture Era book.  There was no coffee table pattern so I drafted my own to build the next quarter and the carpentry program was discontinued. 

I was so disappointed!

 I have made a few other items and refinished antique mirrors and picture frames, but for now my woodworking days are over.  Fabric is much more forgiving and I love forgiveness!

Don't you?

Bird's Nest Sachet Pillow

I was browsing through my daily reading list of blogs (which has gotten quite lengthy of late) when I came across this great tutorial from Katie's Rose Cottage.  If I could, I would buy one of everything in her store!  Knowing I wouldn't have time in the next little while to make one from the tutorial, I bought this little bird nest pillow sachet.

It is so sweet! 

In the back of my mind I thought I would use it to have on hand for a quick gift and then make my own from the tutorial.  Uh-Uh!  This little beauty is mine!  It smells delightful and I love it!  If I need a little gift, this will be one of my go-to tutorials.

Have a great day!

Favorite Things Friday

Hi, 
I'm trying to hook up to Favorite Things Friday but am not sure I'm doing it right.  It was suggested I list the Donovan quilt  there so here we go.  This is the link to Favorite Things Friday.  http://fairybreadmusings.blogspot.com/ 
Be back Monday with some delightful estate and garage sale finds.  Have a super weekend!  xo, Karen

Isn't This the Cutest?

I couldn't resist!

4.5" wide X 6" tall

The patchwork block under the needle is a 2" square.

I love the wheel!  Everything seems to work.  These were called a child's sewing machine or

simply a miniature machine.

The back is in great condition.  This little beauty was made in Germany.

Enjoy!



The Be-Gratitudes by KC Willis

KC Willis posted this last Monday on her blog so some of you may have already seen it.  But if not, take a look!  http://kcwillis.blogspot.com/2010/09/be-gratitudes.html  She is a gifted, uplifting writer and artist!

Style Statement

I am a reader, a lover of books so much that even the feeling of the pages against my fingers is part of the joy.  There's no one favorite book, but rather many favorites within a variety of subjects.  (I'll be putting together my personal favorites list as time goes by.)

I came across a dynamic and thought-provoking book over at Green Paper that Mary has on her favorites list.  Its called "Style Statement."  To quote, in part, from the front flap:

"Two Words to Live By

Your 'Style Statement' defines your authentic self.  It is a compass for creating a life that reflects

what's true to you in everyway.  From your wisdom to your wardrobe, from your longings to

your living room -- your Style Statement is where your essence meets your expression."

Where your essense meets your expression. Powerful words and exactly my desire.  I was hooked.  Somewhere towards the end of this book everything fell into place for me and I knew what belonged and what didn't belong in my life.   For the first time in a book like this, I filled out every page and answered every question. Yes, some of it was hard work but it was good work. Rewarding work.  I like to be rewarded.  :)  This is not a "heavy pop psychology" book, but rather a journaling 'aha' moment experience, a diving board into introspection if you will.

I highly recommend Style Statement.  You can pick it up used at Amazon.

Have a wonderful Tuesday dear friends!

From Donovan Part II

I've had so many wonderful comments and emails about my quilt from Donovan that I feel I need to add a little history as a follow-up to my last post.  Donovan took a beginning quilt class and decided to machine applique a quilt for my Christmas gift.
This is the one he chose.

Its called 'Winter Dance' from "Once Upon a Season" by Becky Goldsmith & Linda Jenkins

Piece O'Cake Designs (great book)

These are the colors as shown in the book.

An ambitious quilt for a beginner!  He changed the color scheme to green, navy & cream. I love it!  Please see previous post for more pics.

 

He switched to hand applique because he liked the look better.  He soon realized he wouldn't have time to get the quilt done by Christmas so took 3 weeks of vacation from his job to finish it!  Then he machine quilted it on my grandmother's old sewing machine which is a bit of a beast.

He finished quilting it on Christmas Eve then threw it in the washer and dryer to give it that old look.  He then hopped in the car and drove 4 hours to be home for Christmas!

What a guy!  Truly...what an amazing guy!

  

From Donovan With Love

As promised yesterday, here is the story about one of my dearest treasures.  It was made for me by my 29 year old son Donovan for Christmas in 2002.  I was surprised and completely stunned!  I didn't even know he could sew.  He took one beginning quilt class and jumped right in with this quilt.  No nine patches for this guy!

First came the card.

Then the quilt. Five feet square, hand appliqued and machine quilted.

At this point I was trying to hold back the tears.

Then he showed me the label on the back and that's when I lost it.  Yep, alligator tears.

It is an amazing quilt from a truly remarkable man.

Thank you Donovan!

A Special Gift

I am so happy to be up and running in blog land.  I have already met the nicest people!  Thank you to Barbara Jean over at Treasures From The Heart for all the encouragement and support while I've gotten my blog together.  You're a gracious woman Barbara and a good friend!

My name is Karen and I'm a collector and lover of all things vintage. I have been a quilter for 25 years and recently started dabbling in fiber arts and collage.  What fun!  I can't wait to play more! 

This quilt is one of my dearest treasures.  It was a special gift from my son.  I'll tell you about it tomorrow.  Thanks for coming by.