Monthly Archives: May 2009

Mixed in with all of the quilting stuff, my great-grandmother also had tons of little scraps and cards and sentimental things. I like this one. Just a little morning greeting for you!

My planty pics from a few days ago, highlighted the gorgeous violas, or wee pansies, or whatever they are (they’re in the same family, no?), that I picked up at the nursery. Clara and I decided they would look lovely with some moss, so we went out and foraged for some and lined this little wire basket that i found in the attic. I love the deep purple with the moss. Who doesn’t love moss, really. There is alot of it in our shady backyard and the woods behind our house, and Clara likes to lay down on it and pretend it is a fairy bed. Very cute. It also makes a very snug resting spot for her favorite stuffed kitty cat. While I was sorting through my bookmarks awhile back, I found this idea for moss graffiti.  Kind of clever. I need to plaster my pots with that recipe, so they get some nice mossy growth.

 
A while back, my dad went to visit his uncle, who, knowing I was "crafty" thought I might be interested in some of my Great-Grandmother's quilting stuff. Apparently there is alot of it. She was pretty crafty herself, making tons of quilts, and enormous cross-stitch works, as well as paintings. I also have some beautiful crocheted things that she made as well. A few years ago, I got a lovely yo yo quilt that she made.  But this box of quilt squares, and a half-completed quilt had not been properly sorted through, so on  Saturday, Clara and I sat down outside at the picnic table to check it out.  Here are just a few pictures I took of the goodies inside, before it started to rain, and we had to rush back inside with the ancestral quilty bits.

 
 
 
 
 
I love all of these antique fabrics. That's always the fun of these old quilts, to stare at all of the fabrics, and pick your favorites, and to imagine the garments they might one have been. I really like all of the old shirtings she used. And everything hand-stitched! A labor of love! Someday I will make a quilt. I think my first quilt will be using our repurposed garments. Check out this dress shirt quilt…  And of course, Hillary's sweet baby clothes quilts, are a fantastic idea.

If you live anywhere nearby, you should attend the Earth Angels show this weekend in Warwick, NY.  Just a warning, though, these shows can do some serious damage to your wallet. It is reeaaallly hard to resist all of the amazingness.
 

Jen has all of the info on her blog. Also, there will be a web show on Sunday night at 8pm!

I found these teeny tiny little flowers in the garden, and couldn't resist putting them in a teeny tiny little pitcher, and making the smallest ever bouquet. I am a bit obsessed with how cute and small this is, and it has me wishing I still played with Barbies (ha!) so it could adorn her kitchen table for a breakfast date with Ken. Sorry. I do, however have Miss TigerLily the cat, and she is admiring the mini bouquet. It's just her size! Ahem, time to go back and get dressed Miss TigerLily! There's a wee update coming soon, with some other small critters who will be up for sale! You don't want to miss out on finding a snug new home!

I may be the last person to read this amazing book. I don't know why it took me so long…I guess I just saw the cover and thought it was a novel.  But suddenly it occured to me that it was not, and I am so, so enjoying it. I can't put it down. It has me so excited for the season that is upon us, and all of the great food we have growing in our garden, and available locally and at our farmer's markets. I am totally ready to get making my own cheese, yogurt, bread, and buying only the minimum at the grocery store. Jay and I talk about getting our own chickens and goats all of the time, and I completely want to immerse myself in being a farmgirl now.  It is so funny to think of the Jenn of 10 years ago meeting the Jenn of today. Any sort of notion of a hip, sophisticated, oh so modern life I might have wanted has been abandoned as I embrace everything simple and old-fashioned.
I think alot of it has to do with my mom. I am the youngest of seven kids, and my mom had me late in life. I think growing up with a mom who made everything from scratch (we never had any sort of packaged food, or "junk" food…I appreciate this now, but was bummed about it then), and cured my ills with old fashioned remedies and old fashioned wisdom, and did everything the way her mom had done it, gave me this sense of nostalgia for this era that she grew up in, and talked about, and whose wisdom, and recipes and values she instilled in me. 

I am home alone today. After having a stress filled day yesterday, my mom offered to take the girls so I could have some alone time. I think this is a much needed thing for stay at home moms…there is rarely anytime to get your thoughts in order or be inspired, because there is usually a little one who needs you in some capacity from morning to night.  So, what did I do? Well, I had grand plans to start some creative projects, but I decided to run errands and shop for plants.  The plant shopping proved to take forever.  We have a sort of sad back patio area, that needs sprucing up big time, but won’t get the full attention it needs until a later date. So I have this vision of it being like a little French garden apartment kitchen garden-y thing. We’ll see.

So, just because I am at a loss otherwise, here are some planty pics. I am rather fond of pictures of plants.

What else, what else. I am also organizing my bookmarks, and rediscovering all sorts of exciting random japanese websites filled with cute little bears. I ate a cheese laden lunch, which was not good. I swore I would have some lovely arugula salad with strawberries…but I did not. I am perusing blogs that I haven’t looked at in ages. My word, there are ALOT of good blogs out there. It is waaay too time consuming. 

Well, my alone day is over, though. It is time to go pick up the little ladies.