SIMPLE SPRING CENTERPIECE AND A SWEET MEMORY...

As we snaked around the "S" curve in the rutted bumpy road topping the rise just near the Horton's rusty old mailbox sunk into an even rustier bucket I asked him to let me out there indicating that I would walk the rest of the way.  It was and is a familiar stopping place.  For as far back as I can remember in spring and summer and fall, weather permitting, I have walked the last leg of the journey to the farm gathering a large bouquet of wild flowers that bloom in profusion along the roadside to present to my grandmother.

She always made a big fuss over them exclaiming, "They Geeeee!"  I was wrapped in a warm snug hug and kissed on the cheek.  She is no longer at the end of the journey to receive them but the tradition remains the same.  I walk along gathering whatever is in season, bundling a bouquet ready to slip into a water filled mason jar to grace the farm house table top.  Mostly it was a profusion of pink this last time, blooming just beginning there and all, Red Bud trees, Bee Balm, a few shrubs and bushes I know not the names of on sturdy woody stems. 

The jar was slipped into an old metal pitcher resting atop a vintage linen.  The crazed ivory platter is replaced with a buttery yellow one that is filled with water.  Two little blue bird figurines are borrowed from her collection of knick-knacks.

With a walk around the yard and through the old garden spot Fire Bush blossoms, Dandelions, fresh Mint, Purple Grape Hyacinth, Bee Balm blooms, and little pink flowers are gathered.  A piece of weathered wood will do nicely too I think.  Back inside the buttery yellow platter is transformed into a birdbath in full bloom.  While one little blue bird splashes and plays in the water the other is perched on the edge of the "tree" centerpiece.    

 

It was in such displays she would greatly delight, letting me rummage through her cupboards, cellar, or shed to find just the right things to make what is now often called a tablescape.  She would exclaim over and over how pretty it was and direct everyone to look at what "Nay" had made just for her.  She enjoyed it for days after until the last of the pretty petals dropped.

In a way I hope she still knows that I do this in honor of her memory.  Whatever weekend we can get away to the farm I still stop at the Horton's old rusty mail box and gather as I go.  At the end of the weekend as we head out of town we make the long loop up and around the mountain in the opposite direction of home until we weave our way around to the little white picket fence enclosed cemetery.

We pull up beside the family plots and I ease out with my mason jar full of whatever the season has to offer, quietly and reverently, greeting in remembrance each of my relatives as I pass their final resting places until I reach my Granny.  I tell her that I love her and think of her everyday.  I give her the bouquet I collected and share what would certainly be a shared smile as I can hear the old caretaker grumbling about "Lucille's girl's girl aleavin' them confound mason jars full o' weeds!"  Him well knowing that my aunt will come by and collect the jar and dispose of the "weeds" in a few days time.

I bid her farewell until the next trip up and for a fraction of a second I think I hear her say, "Nay, you always are and always will be Granny's girl."  

 
I hope each of you gather to yourselves a beautiful bouquet of memories this weekend!

 

SEW FAR...

May your bobbin always be full!

-Author Unknown-

Since my last post I have finally been able to alight on something...sewing.  Settling myself in to the sewing center of my studio I wiled away the hours popping out pillows...

 First I made a set for my daughter to match her new sofa.  I forgot to take pics before I delivered them to her, sorry.  Then I began the sewing for the farmhouse living room starting with the sofa pillows.  Sew far this is where I have gotten to...

 I am still stuffing these three and need to button tuft the six paneled one.  I love the Dupioni silk backing on these...

 After looking at them I am not sure how they are going to blend with the airy other fabrics, these might get to live here at the Quill.  I will have to wait and see how they all look together.  Today I am moving on to the lighter brighter shades and hopefully to prep the ottoman for upholstering.  Sew far so sew good!

I came across a cute find a few weeks ago and had no idea what I would do with it, a little crackled cupboard with wire insert doors...

 I also came across a couple of those old metal receipt holders and they were interesting enough to bring home to even though I did not know what I would do with them.  I stuck them inside the cupboard to carry them home and there they sat.

While I was sitting and mindlessly stuffing pillows I was looking at the thread spools on my candle holders and that gave me an idea for my bobbins...

 I abandoned my stuffing rummaging around a bit I found a couple of extra thimbles and a couple of corks.  I stuffed the corks into the thimbles cutting off the excess, layered my wound bobbins onto the receipt holders and topped them off with the new thimble topper...

 The rest of the bobbins I placed in the little drawer on the front of the cupboard...

 Now not only are some of my thread spools handy but so are my bobbins!  

Now you see why I am fluttering!  I start one task and another idea bumps right into it.  I am off to discipline myself into cutting strips of fabric to make some welting, yuck, but I can't find ready-made in the colors I need, oh well.  

I hope you all have a beauty filled day and find deep satisfaction in whatever ever it is that you set your hands to. 

Many Blessings,

Sandy

SEARCHING FOR A NEEDLE IN A HAYSTACK...

What I know about antique or vintage furniture could probably fill a thimble therefore it is making finding a missing dining chair like searching for a needle in a haystack! I am hoping that through this posting someone with greater knowledge than I will stumble across it and give me some hints as to the make, model, and origin of my newly acquired dining suite.

Last week I dropped by a favorite local furniture consignment store to browse, instantly, I was transported back into the storybook pages of my childhood as I gazed at a table and chairs that sat before me. Something about the sweetness of the set reminded me my great aunt Ruth. Baby Ruth we called her because she was all of 4 foot 9 inches tall. The suite greatly resembled one that graced her home.
It made me think of warm kitchen smells, afternoons of fresh baked oatmeal apple raisin cookies and milk. It made me think of her high pitched laughter that would ring like merry tinkling bells. It made me think of sweet wreathed smiles and sharing happy stories around just such a table. Everything was always better sitting at a Goldilocks and Three Bears kind of table and chairs with Baby Ruth beaming at you.

Just for curiosity's sake I tipped the price tag over and gaped, seriously? THAT is the price? The store owner saw me admiring the set and came over and flipped the tag over and said she would knock off another $25.00 if I would consider it, after all, it was missing a chair. I am thinking to myself, don't let her see you sweat or jump for utter joy, keep it cool, calm, and collected all the while I am texting Handy Hubby as fast and as furious as I could sending snapshots into cyberspace and telling him to get the truck here while I pay the lady!
He met me later in the day to look it over and we agreed, our cottage needed a Goldilocks and Three Bears kind of table and chairs, of course he gets the captains chair being the Papa Bear and all, I readily agreed so we brought the sweet little suite home.

Here is what I think I know about them, I think this is considered to be of the Colonial Revival Style or Federal Style which is a reproduction of original American furniture that was produced from 1620-1780 and based on English pieces. My little suite would have been produced somewhere between 1920-1940. This style was at its popular peak in the mid 1920's and production tapered off in the mid 1940's. At auction the suite would be valued at about $450.00. Let's just say I feel like I stole this set paying less than one forth that value.
The set originally came with five armless chairs and one captains chair with arms. This single armed chair was reserved for the head of the household who sat at the head of the table. While it comfortably seats six, it has a built in butterfly leaf mechanism that allow for two more guests. The table slides apart and a folded leaf is flipped over and unfolds into place to allow for extra dinners.

The suite is solid wood, more than likely maple, with its original stain in tact and just a couple of scratches, it is in amazing shape. It has sturdy machine turned legs on each end that are fitted to the table top in a " V" pattern. I could not find a manufacturer marking but the table and all chairs bear the stamp underneath of: NO 400 TAP.I04-3.
I have scoured the internet in hopes of finding a replacement chair for the missing one but no such luck yet. The crazy man of the house wants me to find three so that when we have guests all the chairs will match! (Dream on dear) I will be happy to at least find the one missing armless chair. I did find very close matches online but the harp back fretwork piece would be slightly different or the turn of the leg would be a little different so I am not even sure I have made a proper identification or not.

If you have seen my chair or know anything about this suite that might aid me in finding my needle in the haystack I would greatly appreciate your sharing your knowledge. Is there a website out there for replacement chairs? In the meantime I will be visiting as many flea markets and antique stores as I can to see if I can find one. I know, its a tough job, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! Thank you in advance for any assistance.

I hope you are enjoying a tucked in cozy kind of day!

BYE-BYE NOOK, HELLO NEW LOOK...

Cottage: A small modest single story dwelling, typically in a rural or semi-rural setting

Nook: A small corner, alcove, or recess, as in a room
The ringing in of the new year here at Quill Cottage was signaled with the sounds of hammer and saw as we tore down a wall in our house. This past weekend we began what is looking like a series of remodeling projects that have been put off for far too long. The removal of the wall being one of them.

As stated many times before, I live in a small cottage with odd angles and nooks and crannies. The sum total of dining space in my little dwelling was a 7 1/2 by 7 1/2 foot nook. If you only had a table to seat four it was fine but as our family grew, so did the size of our table and maximum capacity in that little nook, if you packed in like sardines, is eight, leaving some guests at an overflow table in the living area. Once seated NO ONE could get out unless everyone filed out. The dining rule was that those who don't eat seconds went in first so that those that do could get up without having to play musical chairs.After we went through this whole routine once again at Christmas I decided enough was enough and the wall between the dining nook and living area had to come down. This wall also served as sort of a hall wall. The wall and I have a long history of a love and hate relationship. When we first moved here the wall had a huge pass through opening that was off center, which drove me crazy and was a decorating nightmare. After trying to decorate around it or disguise it, we closed it off. The living area side served as sort of a hall wall and I turned the other side into a display area. It still bugged me that it was off center but not as much.While this solved one problem it created another. By walling off the pass through it cut off a lot of light. Our house faces north with the living area being and interior room with no windows so even during the day I had to keep lamps on in all four corners of the room to keep the cave-like atmosphere at bay. Handy Hubby kept trying to convince me to just take the wall down but I was not so sure about it. After spending so much time sick or incapacitated this past year I did a lot of decorating in my head as I recovered and I envisioned whacking out that wall.

I also envisioned solving another thing that has always bugged me, the fact that these two walls intersected without a proper dividing wall...I kept a tall cabinet on the dining side to disguise the transition and decided to treat the areas as separate rooms. Problem solved, I had Handy Hubby frame up a little side wall here and leave an equal amount of the old wall on the other side. We are turning the new opening into a case opening that will be standard door height and trimmed out on both sides.This, the only outlet in the nook, will be relocated too...I am assuming the previous owners plugged a clock or something in there, not sure, I can't reach it and have never used it, just hung something over it to cover it up.

I was slightly freaked out the first day after we took the wall down. I have never lived in a home with an open concept floor plan so it felt awkward until the sun rose. The entire cave-like living area was flooded with morning light and I marveled all day that I did not have to turn on one lamp. I really think I am going to love it after it is complete.
But, there is always one of those isn't there? Now, the last of the old teak-wood parquet flooring is glaringly obvious, so, guess what we get to do next? And, now that the two rooms open up to one another there is a clash of color and decor, so, I will need to do some painting and since the nook and kitchen flow together...well you get the idea. Thank heavens the kitchen has been fully remodeled and it will only be paint!Darling Daughter and I have chosen a paint color, Valspar's Buckskin Pony, that will blend with the living area colors for the upper walls and I am going to paint the cladding on the lower walls the same color as the trim in the living area, Valspar's Creamy White, to lighten and freshen it up. I am really limited on color choices since I have very distinct color cabinetry in the kitchen...All of the cottage florals will be going away, although, I am going to miss my light fixtures. The table Handy Hubby built will be cut down slightly and moved to the farm, and I will be scouring flea markets for possibly a round or oval table with a removable leaf. I'd love your opinion on this idea, we have two options, to get a table that extends for when we have gatherings (extra chair storage is a problem with that) or get one that seats four and fits the space better and invest in a long folding table and chairs for large gatherings. I do have storage for cushions and chair covers as well as the folding set. I am torn.I found a light fixture for the dining area at a flea market for $7.00 and it just needs a little spray paint and new wiring. I would show you a photo but Handy Hubby thought it was for the farm and when he ran up to check on things he took it along with some stuff that was for up there. Next trip up I will bring it back home, revamp it, and get him to install it. I will need a new one for the kitchen too so that is on my " to find" list.

Sorry that there is no pretty to look at here today, construction is messy!

I am off for a fun day with my friend, Pam, we are heading out to some small town flea markets and a most wonderful bakery for lunch. I hope your day is filled with joy and laughter!

A ROMANTIC NATURALIST MELANGE HILLBILLY CHIC KIND OF CHRISTMAS....

Naturalist: One who studies nature, especially by observation

Melange: odds and ends; a motley assortment of things; a collection containing a variety of miscellaneous thingsNaturalist Melange, that is the closest description I could think of for my holiday decor this year. The phrase " a motley assortment of things" perfectly fits my Romantic Hillbilly Chic mix of rustic tattered natural elegance. I hope you enjoy the photo tour below, you can click on any photo to enlarge for detail viewing.
Being sick put a HUGE damper on my ability to get my holiday decorating done this year. I decided I had to pull together things that were already in the house and holiday them up a bit. The only things I removed from storage were the mantle garland, a mini nativity set, and two shoe box sized ornament containers...period. I did get a new tree, because as most of you know, a mouse ate mine, and five new taper candles. Kind of sparse beginnings for an eye candy kind of Christmas.Handy Hubby gave me a beautiful flea market table I had been admiring for an early Christmas present and I decided that would be the perfect place to showcase my Christmas display. I borrowed items from all over my house, especially the studio, even little pieces of art make an appearance.

I brought and old gate in from the garden, took the mirror off the wall near my closet, and potted the tree in an urn style planter then just went crazy layering all my favorite things. It is not at all what I expected but better than I dreamed. Hang on to your hats the photo tour is about to begin. NOTE: There are a lot of photos on this post, to load faster scroll down to bottom of my blog page and turn off the media player. The shelves above the sofa just got a little bit of live greenery to make them festive... Oh, and if you see anything that looks like dust in the photos, its not, really, in my house that is called patina!

The side table got a quick treatment too. I removed the usual piece of art that hangs in the basket and replaced it with this fantastic angel collage by KC Wills...I have it on very good authority that there will be a little something under the tree for me from her too. No, I did not peek, exactly, but that is a story of another day.

In front of the sofa I have an antique chest topped off with a velvet runner. I keep this very simple and easily removable because when large crowds are here I roll it over the wall, top it with a cushion and add some pillows for overflow bench style seating. I place a stack of old books coupled with candles and a little Christmas star I made on one side. In the middle is a little iron holder that usually is in the studio holding tattered books that I collage with to serve as a Christmas card holder. An old birdcage rounds out the display with a touchable Nativity scene complete with cookie cutter star that the grands can enjoy. They LOVE playing with anything in this bird cage.In the hall I hung a hand carved angel that was gift from my husband many years ago. I topped the table with a stack of old books, layers of vintage linens and laces, a crazed platter, paper roses, buttons, a jar of string, all from my studio stash. I added in a broken iron clock and bell that the grands also love to play with to bring the dark tones of the iron down into the display. A little greenery and battery operated twinkling lights under the lace round out this tattered table top.Since I only have a sum total of three inches of mantle space to decorate, stuffing a bit garland in there is about as good as it gets. I kept it super simple this year, a few small pine-cones gathered from the woods with a mixture of vintage glass and handmade nature or romance inspired ornaments.I add a tiny twine tied sprig of greenery to this " table top" display and that was it. I have been looking for the right table so this picture frame plopped on a plant stand base is a stand in until I find what I want but it is kind of growing on me so we will see. Now, for the big finish, a Romantic Naturalist Melange Hillbilly Chic kind of Christmas decor! The " wreath" , an old oval frame embellished with my grandmothers jewelry, dried naturals from the woods, vintage lace, and flea market finds...The tree...The tree is potted in an urn style planter from the garden...A gathering from nature; twigs, dried leaves and grasses...
Hand made coffee filter and tulle garland and somewhere in there gold chain garland from the hardware store...Last years handmade ornaments...Tiny handwoven birds nest complete with little blue birds...Vintage amber bottle tied on with twine sport an emu feather and a sprig of old millinery flowers ...All topped off with a rusty tin bird, twigs, and emu feathers...
The whole crazy melange...All kinds of artful things from studio supplies,Old books to burlap,
To nature and flea market finds, all stuff I already had on hand...Christmas greens and handmade things...
Do you think Santa will take put me on the naughty list for robbing Rudolph of his antlers?And candle light round out the scene...Times run out...I love this upside down clock as a tongue in cheek touch!Can you tell I kind of miss having a booth and merchandising just a little? If I had one thing to do over, and I still might, I would have left the tree undecorated, just a green tree with white lights to tone down the over the top feel of it all.Now I need to wrap the presents to fill up that empty shelf underneath!

I said I was only decorating one room this year but it seems I broke that rule, the dining nook got a wee bit of a transform and I will share that with you next week. Don't forget that tomorrow is Rebecca's (A Re-Purposed Life) Birthday Blog Party is tomorrow! See details HERE. And if you missed it, you can sign up for my Warm Winter Wish Give Away HERE.

Today I am linking up with the following:

Debra of Common Ground for Vintage Inspiration FridayFeathered Nest Friday at French Country Cottage
And Funky Junk's Saturday Nite Special
I hope you all have enjoyed my Romantic Naturalist Melange Hillbilly Chic kind of Christmas!

Have a very wonderful weekend!