White

It's Etsy Cottage Style Colors Week! The color is white.

Hmmm, lets see . . .

First, two photos from the Phila. Flower Show::

Home to my house!

The Lion in the foyer.

Time for a nap and a book . . .

See my newest bear - she's up for adoption!

I've been sewing all week . . .

Summer flower girl dresses.

My Rhodies. They start pale pink, but end up white. Have a pristine day!

Love, Linda

Needle-art Stash Show n' Tell

When I was little, my father's mother taught me to embroider. She gave me a little hand towel stamped with a water lily sitting on a lily pad. I got to choose my colors and we went to Woolworths to pick out the floss. Of course, the flower had to be pink, the leaves green, and the little water ripples on each side were blue.


She taught me the stem stitch, the satin stitch, and French knots (for the stamens). I had to do the leaves first, and very quickly lost interest. That poor hand towel took literally years to finish and became very grubby! I wish I still had it, because even though my interest was sporadic, that was truly the beginning of my love of needlework.


I promised to show off some of my needlework stash, so here goes! The first piece is cross stitch. It may have been a stamped design.

This one is a hand towel with counted threadwork. How do you like the color choice??

And embroidery: This a sometimes called "redwork," consisting of red thread on a white ground, this time on a tablecloth.

There's pink and orange in there as well. Very bright and cheerful!

Now for some satin stitch embroidery - can you imagine making these tiny eyelets??!!

Some more drawn threadwork,

Next is some beautiful cutwork.

When I look at these pieces, I often think of the woman who made them, maybe for a trousseau, maybe stitching away while her baby slept, or as a wedding gift for a daughter. Each perfect stitch, side by side is a marvel to me.

This is applique, sometimes called "shadow applique."

Not only are the stitches tiny, but the batiste is very light.

The backside if this work is beautiful as well.

We move on to crochet. This placemat is part of a set of four.

An intricate crochet design, part of a tablecloth.

The next few photos are filet crochet. I tried this once, which increases my appreciation of this art form.

A set of coasters.

And tatting - oh my gosh!

Tatting is done using a shuttle and your fingers. I once took a 6 week tatting class; at the end of the class, I was not doing well, so I took it again. At the end of 12 weeks, I had about two inches of tatting! Enough to drive one crazy!

Two crocheted bed covers. Perfect and wonderful!

Below, bobbin lace edging on a napkin.

And knotted filet lace.

Lastly, a pillowcase made by my grandmother, stamped cross stitch with crochet edging.

I hope you have enjoyed this show n' tell with me.

Have a creative day! Love, Linda

Happy Solstice

"The Earth is my Mother,
She takes care of me.
The Earth is my Mother,
I take care of Her."                                   -Native American Song


I want to share my potato project. Remember? You put a little soil in the bottom of the pot and plant your seed potatoes in there. As the stems grow, you fill in the pot with soil. Here they are so far:

They are about five feet tall. Do you think there are potatoes in there???
My next post will be a long one, I will be sharing photos of some of my needlework and lace stash. Have an enchanted midsummer night.
Love, Linda

Roses from the Past

Hi Friends,
I was just looking at Jo-Anne Coletti's roses on her blog
vintagerosecollection.blogspot.com and thinking about the roses I used to have. I had the David Austin roses, as well as Queen Elizabeth and some other favorites. Roses can be difficult, they are heavy feeders and they like water - but not every day. In the spring I gave them epsom salts around the base, and buried a banana peel next to the roots a couple of times during the summer. (advice from Martha Stewart).


I also fed them every month with diluted plant food. I didn't have problems with Japanese beetles or any other bugs, but they did get blackspot if the summer was wet.

This one is Abraham Darby

When I broke up with my boyfriend of 14 years and we sold the house, I dug up and moved fourteen rosebushes in my car. There I was in the car, (I had a little Chevy Tracker), surrounded by mountains of shrubs, their roots wrapped in black trash bags, their thorny canes scratching my neck, and promising them out loud that if they would only live through this, I would never move them again. Now, that I live in the woods, I have wisteria, bleeding heart, hostas, hydrangeas and shady plants. Roses would hate it here. So I was able to keep my promise and not move them again. They were too big anyway. Huge!

This one is Fair Bianca.

This is Eden, grown as a climber. Eden was my favorite.

Hmmm, can't remember this one's name. I loved it, it was a dark pink.

Hope you had fun looking at my roses, I sure did.

Love, Linda

Sewing Project

It's about time I stopped wandering around the woods, taking photos of trees and dogs. The next sewing project is another apron to take to the Kutztown Folk Festival.

So, I grabbed a pile of lace and a couple pretty blue pieces and some cute ribbon . . .

and started layering . . .

Hmmm, need something for the pockets.

vintage hanky pieces!

Perfect. Trim with a little blue embroidery.

Almost done.

And, all done! I need to press it before the photo shot - you can see it next post.

And a new white bear is listed on Etsy:

Have a great week! Love, Linda