Applique' and Crochet - Five on Friday

Hello, Dear Friends, I hope that you are 

having a good Friday and looking forward

to the weekend ahead. 

I have lunch and an antiquing day 

planned on Saturday with a dear friend. 

I will be keeping my eyes open for 

all things 'Green' for St. Patrick's Day,

coming up. You know how I like to 

re-decorate my kitchen for the holidays :) 

Any holiday will do! 

An Irish holiday is a favorite, 

as both my Grandfather, and Ramblin' Man's 

came from Ireland. 

The same county, too - County Cork! 

We might be distant cousins......haha! 

Click on the link and you can read more about

this beautiful place. 

As you can see from my photo above, I have replaced

my glass 'coffee table' with a padded 

storage chest because of the Grand-babies. 

Ethan - 22 mos. 

Gavin - 3 mos.

That would be these two.....

Walking toddlers and glass tables do not co-exist

easily. I have filled the chest with toys :) 

You can also see the ever-present dog bed on the floor.....

And that would be for these two - the top photo 

is Kai  and the other is Whitey Bear. 

Are they on the dog bed? 

Or any dog bed? We have 3! 

No - they would rather fill my carpets with dog hair. 

They like to attack the vacuum cleaner, 

so are always giving me reasons to get it out :)

That's about the only exercise they get these days.

They are getting quite portly. 

We all need to go on a diet..... 

So let's get on with my Five on Friday! 

The first thing I want to show you is this 

applique' wall-hanging I made a few years ago. 

It's been folded and stored away because 

I can't seem to find a place that I like to hang it.

You can see the crease I didn't get out when I ironed it. Ooops. 

So disregarding the crease.....I have hung it 

here for now. I am thinking it might make a good pillow. 

What do you think? 

Maybe with a new border in soft green. 

Then I can put it on my green sofa. 

Or use it for my 'Irish' decorating. 

Hey, these might be Irish birds :)

A couple of 'love birds', one holds a key

to the other one's heart. 

The second applique' to show you is this 

basket of berries I made years ago.

 I had fun making this one - finding 

all the fabrics and stitching it together. 

I haunted fabric stores and thrift shops 

for snippets of fabrics in the 'discount' bin

or old clothes that I could cut up. 

I made two of these - one for my Dear Mum, 

and one for me. 

This was my inspiration......

The title page for this book....

When I was a young Mother,

trying to make ends meet, 

I would create dozens of these little applique'

stitchery's to sell at a country shop 

in the next town. 

Chickens were a favorite, but I made cows, sheep, 

pigs, ducks - you name it. This is a farming community

and they were very popular. 

3.

This one never sold, so I kept it. 

It is actually one of my favorites. 

A kite flying over a late fall hillside. 

It hangs in my laundry-room. 

This was the inspiration in the book. 

4.

This is another one that never sold. 

It is a little odd :) haha! 

It's supposed to be plants in a window

with the moon rising. 

This was the inspiration. 

Somehow it didn't 'translate'....

It is a conversation starter, though! 

Crafting styles come and go........ 

I have always been drawn to the 'Primitive' style

of the American pioneers. 

I love reading books about these adventurous 

founders of our country, especially the women, who threw caution 

to the wind to settle in unknown territory, 

traveling hundreds, if not thousands of miles

over wilderness with the bare essentials, 

in their quest for independence and their own land. 

I can relate.......

Fabric was a sacred commodity and every little snippet 

was saved to make quilts and other essentials. 

The creativity and desire to embellish even 

the smallest things is endlessly inspiring to me. 

The fifth and last item I would like to show you

is this little sweater that I made for Gavin at Christmas. 

This is a very easy pattern that I have used 

for the third time now. (The other two were for Ethan). 

I used this yarn. 

It's acrylic and so very soft. 

Most importantly, it is washable! 

It is made entirely in half-double crochet. 

It was one of those free patterns that you find

in the yarn section of the craft store :)

Here is the pattern in case you would like to make one. 

I may have smeared a little chocolate on it :) 

It's still a little large for Gavin, but when he fits into it, 

I will share the photo with you :) 

Well, that is my Five on Friday!

I want to thank-you for your dear visits and comments
to my humble blog. I love getting to know you a little
more each time you visit and sharing in your thoughts
and lives. We truly are 'Kindred Spirits'!
xoxo

I hope that you have a lovely weekend, Dear Friends! 

xoxo

Today I am linking with:

Love Made My Home - Five on Friday

Won't you join the fun?

xoxo

Idle Hands - Five on Friday

Idle hands are the devil's workshop. 

Remember that old saying? 

My Scots-Irish family was full 

of wonderful old sayings, 

mostly in my Grandmother's

and Mother's voices. 

If we were caught with nothing to do, 

or Heaven forbid - complain of 

nothing to do, we might very well

be admonished in this way 

and speedily given a chore. 

Mostly, not to our liking.......

So we tried not to appear 'idle'. 

I've been hearing these voices

from so long ago and trying to 

keep my hands busy. 

I've been thinking of all the dear loved 

ones from times gone by, 

as I work my idle fingers crocheting and sewing 

to pass these winter days. 

I've been doing what women (and some men, 

bless their hearts) have been doing

since the beginning of time - 

creating 'something out of nothing'

to make our homes a little more beautiful. 

Useful little things, but made to bring a smile

as we go about the sometimes weary, dreary 

chores of every-day life. 

Today I will share five of my 'Idle hands' creations

for Amy's 'Five on Friday' link party. 

Here, I've made some sweet little dishcloths, 

towels and a little blue scrubby pad - 

all gifts for a hard-working loved one

who deserves a little cheer. 

Here is another gift-set with a slightly different 

crocheted edging.

 (a row of single crochet and a second row

 of evenly spaced single crochet and chains).

You can make your own flowered dishcloth and scrubby

with the pattern books at this website....

marymaxim.com.

I've used Lily, Sugar'nCream 

and Lion Brand, Kitchen Cotton

for all the dishcloths and towel edgings. 

For the scrubby, I used Mary Maxim 'Scrub-It'. 

All yarns are 100% cotton. 

My latest project is a crochet edged pillow case

for a throw pillow that I've made out of vintage curtains. 

The edging is a shell stitch border. 

I first made 1/4 inch stitches around the edge of the pillow

with thin green crochet thread. Then added a row of

single crochet through those stitches. 

I used the same crochet cotton yarn as in the dish cloths

for the shell edging (directions below). 

The pillow case is 20 inches square and has a zipper for 

easy removal and laundering. 

I was nervous about installing the zipper, 

but it was easy! I just basted that seam 

together with large machine stitches,
(before sewing any other seams)

then pinned the zipper face down
 on the inside of the seam,

sewed both sides of the zipper in, then cut

the basted seam stitches and voila'! 

Can you tell I am proud of myself? haha! 

This pillow will go on my daybed in the kitchen.

I made these pillows for the daybed, too. 

I found the vintage heart crochet lace 

a couple of years ago at the thrift store. <3

I simply made a ticking pillow, 

then made a pillow-case out of white

cotton dish toweling. 

The result is so soft with a charming vintage style. 

I deliberately made the pillow-case smaller

than the pillow to allow the sweet ticking to peek out.

I'll share the daybed redecorating next week.

This is how it looks now.
I want to trade the winter plaid
for something more feminine and romantic. 

I've also been crocheting Valentine's hearts.

I can't tell you how much fun these have been
to create.

They have two sides with an opening at the top
to insert a little sachet of lavender
or a cotton ball with your favorite perfume.

This is a very old pattern I've had since I was
a new bride, many years ago :)

It was from an old needlework magazine.
I believe it was McCall's.

Here is the pattern that I wrote down
so long ago.....

If you are an experienced crocheter, this will be easy to follow.
If not, here are the abbreviations:
ch - chain stitch
sc - single crochet
sl st - slip stitch
hdc - half double crochet
dc - double crochet
picot - decorative edge
Any good crochet how-to book will explain each stitch.

I will show you how I used these in my
Valentine's decorating next week.

I hope you enjoyed seeing my 'idle hands' creations
and that this inspires you to keep your
hands from idling too long, too!

I'm sure I could find something around
here for you to do!

xxxx

Today I am linking with:

Love Made My Home - Five on Friday

Won't you join the fun?

A Touch o' the Irish - Spring Greens

Hello my friends, I hope you all had a lovely weekend! 

Ramblin' Man was away at a Sales Conference all week, 

and then we met in Seattle on Friday night
to celebrate his company's 30th Anniversary
with 250 of his business associates, 

many of them good friends. 

We stayed at a lovely hotel downtown, called 'The Maxwell', overnight. 

We had a lot of fun - sorry no photos :(

The rest of the weekend was spent hanging out inside,
as it was cool and rainy, so I decided to do a little
redecorating in my kitchen for spring.

I 'shopped my house', and gathered all things green
to add a little touch of spring, and honor
my Irish roots. My Grandfather, John Leo, (husband
of Beatrice Euphemie :) was from County Cork, Ireland.
He had a lovely Irish brogue.
You can see their wedding photo on my sidebar.

Ramblin' Man's Grandfather was also from County Cork!
I hope to travel there one day......

In the meantime, I will celebrate the wearin' o' the green,
by dressing the kitchen in this lovely color.

So step inside and I will brew a pot o' tea and I will show
you around!

I've added a subtle touch of green to the table with
 faux checkered lilies in a basket-weave pot.

I like using table runners rather than whole cloths,
as I use this table for many things, including meal prep
and crafts, so it is easy to just slide the whole table runner
down to one end :)

My hand carved wooden candlestick was a thrifty find.
The shell and brass candle snuffer was from Pier 1 Imports a few years ago.

I've replaced the Royal Albert tea-set for Valentine's Day,
with my collection of green Depression Glass and
similarly hued modern finds.

The green canning jars were a Ball Limited Edition
release just a couple of years ago.

I sporadically collect green glass and
I have had many pieces for years, but the
two center platters and the relish tray
were recent finds on a shopping trip with daughter, Heather.

I also found this vintage St. Paddy's Day postcard.
Can you see the little shamrocks in the window?

I need to find a sweet frame for this.

A favorite cookbook comes out of hiding.

This one is illustrated by Tasha Tudor.

The napkins draped over the cupboard door are a set of four,
found a couple of years ago.

They are beautifully embroidered with crochet lace inserts.
I can't bear to use them as napkins, but they are
lovely as tray liners or pretty accents under serving dishes
or bowls.

The other door holds a sweet tea towel.

Charming embroidery.

Some of my own handy-work - crocheted
shamrock garland around the cake dome,
and two little crocheted baskets.

I found the directions for the garland in this sweet book.
( I receive no compensation for mentioning it)

The baskets holds green handled cookie and biscuit cutters
and green stevia packets for tea.

My spice racks get a green update, too :)

More sweet canning jars.....

A miniature painting I recently found.

Sweet vintage shamrock cookie cutter and St. Paddy's Day mug
for a cuppa with treats.

I've added some spring green to my cozy
daybed corner, too.

A thrift store painting takes center stage.
I've hung this painting in many places,
 depending on my mood.
I keep a little collection of paintings in storage
 - all thrifty finds.

A gathering of green and cream colors.

Handmade pillows of 'Irish Lace', made with
vintage doilies, place mats and table runners,
taken from my living room.

'Shamrocks' (Redwood Sorrel) that I have had for
several years. These winter inside, but reside happily
on the shady side of the deck in summer.

Marbles found in the garden where my children's sandbox
used to be.

An appropriately titled book....

A collection of green bottles in the light.

The view from the daybed.

My green vintage tool box.

A perfect seed box - my next project inside!

Thank you for visiting, Dear Friends!

I hope this inspires you to bring in a little
 green to your home
for spring.

xoxo

Here are a few Irish Proverbs:

The smaller the cabin the wider the door.

Great mansions have slippery doorsteps.

God is good, but never dance in a small boat.

Be kind to those that you meet as you rise,
you may pass them again as you fall.

Long loneliness is better than bad company.

A guest should be blind in another man's house.

A loud voice can make even the truth sound foolish.

xoxo

Today I am linking with:
Julie's Lifestyle - Cooking and Crafting with J&J

The Enchanting Rose - Roses of Inspiration

Strangers and Pilgrims on Earth - The Art of Home-making Mondays