Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

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A DIY Garland Project

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I knew you’d understand the Christmas blues. My hope is that all of us somehow cope with them and find joy in this Christmas season. Thank you for each and every comment. I can’t tell you how much they mean to me.

I may not be in the Christmas decorating mood quite yet, but I continue to be in a crafty mood. You know all about the obsession scarves, of course, which are ongoing. I have the pattern memorized and the other day as I was crocheting away, a thought struck me. I had an idea for a project that involves just the flower portion of the pattern.

I started out with these:

These are cones of Peaches & Creme Cotton that I had in my stash. I once had this in several colors – I used P&C to make dish cloths. The reason I chose P&C for this project is the texture of the yarn. It’s a bit stiffer (in a good way.) More on that later. I crocheted about 12 of the flowers – 6 in each color.

There they are. Then I found some ribbon that I liked and strung them on the ribbon.

I tied a knot in each end and hung my little crocheted garland on our living room cupboard.

I’m not sure whether this will stay on this cupboard; more likely it will move upstairs to the studio. The cupboard seemed like the perfect place to hang it for this post (and it’s sort of yummy with the pottery on top of the cupboard.) Wait a minute – maybe I’m talking myself into leaving it here. The flowers certainly look like snowflakes. Perfect for Christmas. You could crochet these in white and hang them in your window or as a garland on your tree. That’s another reason for the Peaches & Creme with its stiffer quality. It holds the design nicely, almost as if the flower is starched.
If you want me to post the pattern for just the flower, let me know in a comment.
This makes me smile. Maybe all this crafting is quietly gearing me up for a bit more Christmas decorating. I know one thing: I’m headed out to the porch to hang some lights.
Edited to add: It’s too cute on this cupboard, so staple gun in hand, I stapled the ribbon ends to the inside of the door. Now we can open and close the door and it will stay in place.

Studio Projects & a Celebration

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The studio fluffing and sprucing continues – inspired by the addition of Letitia. Remember when I made the chalkboard for the kitchen? I had an extra board that I painted with chalkboard paint and I ended up drilling two holes in the top, threading twine through the holes and hanging it in the studio.

Well after the arrival of the cabinet and the dismantling of most of the design wall, I wasn’t sure where to put it. I was considering shoving it in a closet when husband’s words rang in my ears…”why don’t you use the doors to hang things?” Well, I don’t want to use every door (there are 3 of them that open onto the studio) but I started eying the door to the guest room/office/music studio. I found some trim that I had on hand, painted it to match the shelf and the re-imagined bulletin board and glued it to the sides of the chalkboard. Then I threaded some pretty aqua ribbon through the holes. And now it hangs on the door.

By the way, have you tried those fabulous Chalk Ink Wet Wipe Markers? Oh my gosh, they are so much better than chalk. I suppose they are what restaurants use on their chalkboards. I’ve been on the lookout for some and found them the other day at Michael’s. I see much chalkboard writing in the days ahead.

I also painted the shelf I discovered in the shed. It now has a home just above the sewing machine table. (Why I didn’t take a photo of it before I hung it, I’ll never know.) Because this little area is a niche under the skylight and can be dark, I had to fiddle a bit in Picnik.

Excuse the cord. Now I have a place to put stuff that used to clutter up the table. Another view:

Now, if only I could find an attractive version of the lamp on the left. Any ideas or recommendations?

This morning I spied this little one in our back yard. (I also put her on my photo blog.)

She was looking at me through the kitchen window. Look at those eyes. This is why I am a vegetarian. This is why I am against hunting. And though that may not be popular, it is a very big part of me. I’m proud of it.

And it’s my birthday this weekend. I’m celebrating me.

A Potpourri Post & a Question

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I have a lot to share with you today! And at the end of the post I have a question for you.

Thank you for all the anniversary wishes! We had tea and scones in our favorite tea room and hung around MHC the rest of the day. I’m very grateful for my husband. I waited a long time to find the right guy and he was worth the wait.

Thought I’d share a photo of the kitchen island in it’s repainted, pristine state. All too soon husband will be cooking and Riley will be circling the island endlessly in search of crumbs and it will lose it’s luster.

I had to leave it untouched for 3 days while the Varathane sealer cured. Husband, yesterday: When can I use the island again? Me: Not until tomorrow morning. I love this piece – originally a very dark sideboard found at auction for $60, it has been invaluable to us in our cupboard-deprived kitchen.

My friend Debi of Life in My Studio had a giveaway recently. A friend of hers sent her a box chock full of beautiful trims and she generously chose to share some of the beauty with us. My package arrived the other day.

Isn’t it pretty? Look closer – that is a beautiful flower brooch with a lovely doily tucked behind it.

This will be adorning  my jean jacket. Immediately. Debi, by the way, is extremely talented. If you haven’t visited her, you must. I am continually in awe of her creations.

My goodness! This is just part of the beauty that was in that package. Oh my gosh. Here’s more.

Since I am a relative newcomer to the beauty of trims and lace and ribbon, my collection was rather small. Not anymore! Thank you, Debi. I see these in a pretty jar in my new cabinet in the studio.

My friend Jan of Bessie Mary wrote a post recently about Halloween candy and she mentioned some pumpkin spice malted milkballs. In my comment I wondered if I could find them around my neck of the woods and related a story from my college years: my Mom would send me cartons of malted milkballs (they actually came in milk cartons) because they were my favorite candy. Look what arrived in the mail:

My own beautiful package of pumpkin spice malted milkballs. And I’m here to tell you that they are delicious! Thank you, Jan!

(It strikes me that I really painted the table white so that I had a new staging area for blog photos…)

I have been given awards by two of my blogging friends and have been remiss in posting them. Cory of Pink Dogwood Blossom gave me the Cherry on Top Award and Julia of Julia’s Sew Sweet and Special Occasion Clothing for Children gave me a Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you both very much. I will post them on my awards page.

Lastly, remember my new cabinet for the studio?

I would love to hear your thoughts on painting or not painting it. Right now, it is a sort of khaki/tan color with blue trim.  I’ve been back and forth on this – it’s not my usual color combination, but maybe that’s a good thing? I’ve thought of giving it a finish like the one I did for our television cabinet:

I added a few layers of paste wax after painting and got a wonderfully aged look. But that may not work with the almost deco look of the cabinet.

What do you think? Paint, no paint, a different color combination?? I’d really love to hear your ideas.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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