Oh my--December is sure flying by. Like everyone, I've got my work cut out for me. It's that time of year after all! Between all the busy work that the holidays bring, the girls and I took some time out to run over to our favorite thrift mall just outside of town. This has become a bit of a tradition for us to kick off the season. In all the rush and excitement, I forgot my camera! But Grace stepped in with hers, and got some wonderful little corners to share with you. Enjoy the eye candy! This vintage ornament... Continue reading

Hello again . . . and with the flip of a page, it's December already! Whoosh. 2018 is nearly a memory. But not yet. There's still lots to do in the next few weeks. Having some fun and making merriment is high on my list. And I've already started. Here are some of my helpers. After participating in a couple of doll shows recently, I got inspired to dust off my old dollhouse and give it a much needed make-over. The girls have been prompting me to do this for years, but I just never had time for it. I... Continue reading

I'm thankful for a lot of things, including my dear blog pals "out there". Here's wishing you all a good Thanksgiving wherever you are today. Thank you for stopping by. Cheers! Continue reading

Greetings Everyone . . . Well, here it is Thanksgiving time again! I bet you've been busy getting ready too, in some form or fashion. I just finished cutting a whole French baguette into cubes for my stuffing tomorrow. I put the cubed bread in a shallow roasting pan and popped it into the oven (on low heat) to toast. Pretty soon the kitchen will start to smell like fresh baked bread. Hopefully, that will help remind me not to forget about it! So. I'm excited to share the news that I just finished my Field & Forest quilt project!... Continue reading

Hello Friends! Well, I may be just a wee bit biased, and rightly so, but isn't this phone cover adorable? Ginger, our youngest daughter (who I can't believe will be turning 21 in a couple of weeks . . . ACK! My "baby" is all grown up!), has been quietly developing a line of sweet little things over the past few years, inspired by her love of animals and nature. And now, she's recently opened her own Etsy shop, called Friendly Hollow, with a focus on 'charming gifts and keepsakes'. I'm pretty excited (naturally) and couldn't wait to tell you... Continue reading

November is off to a busy start! I'm going in all directions. Happily so. But at times, I feel like I can't catch my breath. I'm reminded of the words spoken by Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." That just about sums it up I guess. It's that enthusiasm that keeps me up and running and spinning in dizzy circles. Three cheers for enthusiasm! Hip hip hurray! Enthusiasm is key. And speaking of enthusiasm . . this week, I received a wonderful HUGE box of vintage embroidery patterns. They were generously donated to the PatternBee archive... Continue reading

The sun came out this morning! Only for a few moments, but it was heavenly while it lasted. This redbud, 'forest pansy' is still putting on a show. It's been raining on and off for over a week now, and although I don't mind the Oregon rain, I am disappointed with the timing, as it brings down all the lovely autumn tree color with it. Fall is short enough as it is. A few more dry golden days would be awesome. As a consolation, we do have some colorful gingerbread cookies though. And that's something right? There's sure been a... Continue reading

More fun fall stitching! This pattern is new to the website this month: Finnish Folk #8012 This old Finnish embroidery pattern was gleaned from a 1960's Woman's Day magazine. There are six motifs in all, featuring country folk sharing chores on the farm. I found this motif especially charming. I think it was probably intended to represent spring, but with bright autumn colors it works well for fall too. This plain olive-green dish towel made a lovely background! I wish I could find more soft cotton dish towels like this. They came in a set of different colors. The border... Continue reading

There's been a lot of stitching going on over here! Just listed this sweet little doll in my Etsy shop. Now if I could just get caught up on the laundry. Continue reading

So far this week, the weather here has been amazing! For awhile there, I thought maybe autumn would escape us, with all the rain, wind, fog and frost. But, it looks like we may have some more good days ahead. I took the opportunity to get some fresh pictures of my Field & Forest quilt in progress while the light was good. I've started on the feather-stitched borders around the embroidered blocks. It's coming along nicely. There's something meditative about the rhythmic repetition of feather-stitching that I find rather relaxing. The contrasting colors are so pretty too. I rarely work... Continue reading

New in my etsy shop--one bundle of autumn sachet peeps! Thanks for the quilt love. A random pieced scrap quilt is often full of surprises, so glad it turned out nice. I may do a little more embroidery on it before I add the backing. While I'm thinking on that, I'm getting stuff ready for a local doll show coming up this weekend. Trying not to procrastinate until the very last moment. Like I usually do! Continue reading

Quilt top is done! Somehow, miraculously, all my little bits and bobs, odds and ends, and jellyroll scraps came together to make a vibrant autumn-themed patchwork. Continue reading

Hello October! The weather here has turned much cooler with gray skies and scattered sprinkles. The perfect backdrop for the emerging autumnal show--which is just starting in my front yard. It's all so exciting! Maybe I have already shared about our redbud tree (Cercis Canadensis), also known as 'Forest Pansy' in past blog posts, but it really bears mentioning again (and again!), because it's such a gorgeous thing of beauty. If you are ever looking for a fast-growing landscape tree for zones 5-9, this is it (in my opinion), not only because of its lovely shape and manageable size, but... Continue reading

Ahhhh....here's a sweet cotton print from the 'Studio Christmas' collection by Michael Miller Fabrics 2018. Fawns, bunnies, butterflies, berries and spotty mushrooms...what's not to love? Continue reading

It's been a busy month so far! But in between gasps for air, I'm still making steady progress on my Fields and Forests quilt. Because this is a willy-nilly kind of quilt, mostly randomly pieced in a spontaneous manner, there have naturally been times when nothing seemed to work. Reminding me that there are many things to appreciate about well-planned quilts. So when color choices weren't harmonizing or pieces weren't lining up exactly right, and my idle staring didn't solve the problems, I just walked away and didn't worry about it at all. I've learned that time away from any... Continue reading

Following right on the heels of Jelly Roll Day, we are gathering together with jelly rolls of a different kind, along with dolly donuts, teensy cakes and big hugs in celebration of the very first anniversary of The Dainty House Dollhouse Miniatures! It's hard to believe it has been a year already since Grace opened her own Etsy shop. I went up to her work studio this morning and found her happily crafting some darling little things for the fall season and upcoming holidays. Even though her art is on a miniature scale, I can tell you that lots of... Continue reading