Christmas Penny Rug

With all the Thanksgiving preparations I haven't had much time to sit and stitch, but yesterday I finally finished another one of my WIP's. I took Lisa Bongean's penny rug class at the 2010 Primitives of the Midwest event and had most of the motifs attached, but hadn't completed the stitching and details.

Lisa's original design included all kinds of little branches gracefully cascading off the evergreen vine, but I went with a simpler version, just to tie it all together. If I included the vines I'd still be stitching and I have another WIP to finish before Christmas!

It's a Quiet Black Friday

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I was very blessed this year to have a lot of help in the kitchen. Even though we have a small family gathering I always find it a challenge to get all the sides and the turkey completed at the same time.

Sasha and Mark work on the Brussels's sprouts.

 I use my Franciscan Ware Apple platesfor festive occasions. 

After dinner we, along with half of Kansas City and their dogs and out-of-town guests, headed down to the Plaza for the lighting ceremony. A celebrity with local ties always flips the switch to turn on all the lights and this year it was Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family.

The weather was unseasonably warm and it was fun to stroll through the Plaza enjoying all the festive store displays and burning some calories before heading home to pumpkin pie and card games.

I have resisted the urge to hit the shops today in search of fabulous Black Friday deals and will make some pumpkin bread for the boys to take back with them tomorrow. And then the decorating will begin...

Finds-Old and New

Do you shop with a goal? I try to have a plan so I don't overspend so when we went to the antique shows in Illinois last weekend I hoped to find a bedside table for our guest room and things to display on it. Here's what I found.

The table is from southern Indiana. I liked its tapered, turned legs. The scrub box is pretty primitive for me, but I think it works in this grouping. The lamp needs to be antiqued or painted--any suggestions?


I have a weakness for treenware and loved the patina on this piece. This dealer thought it might have held sugar, but after seeing a similar piece on Antiques Roadshow, I thought maybe loose tea.

Also found some great handcrafted items. The funky tree will probably go in my kitchen.

Photos don't do this wonderful bird by Ginny Henson justice. We weren't familiar with her work but she has a unique way of incorporating primitives, such as the hog scraper candlestick here.

And for old finds, my turkey collection is making its annual appearance.

Ceramic by local artist Chris Farr

My "boys" will be heading home Tuesday for the holiday. My wish for them and for you and yours is safe travels and no weather delays!

Simply Primitives Update

Simply Primitives has all the mid-month updates added, so please drop by and see what all the talented artisans are offering this month. Lots of Santas and other winter goodies! Here's one more pillow that didn't make it to the Simply Primitives site this month.

Design by Dancing with Bears. This 13" X 9" pillow is wool applique on a cotton background. $26 ppd. Please email me if you're interested. Thanks!

Homesteaders of the Prairie

Homesteaders of the Prairie

Hope you had a fabulous weekend. This was a weekend I'll long remember. Early Friday, Leslie and I headed east to Illinois to attend several absolutely wonderful shows. 36 hours later we returned home with a car full of primitive treasures and heads full of all the beautiful, carefully gathered and displayed things we'd seen and the sweet people we met.

The weather was beautiful but brisk and we were glad we didn't have to wait too long for the show to open. Once the doors opened the fun began and the booths quickly filled with avid antiquers. Since many of the antique booths also contained original handcrafted works, I didn't take many photos here but the vignettes were lovely.

And as we were passing through the aisles I recognized blogging friend Patti from Winding Vine Wanderings, creator of the most beautiful pillows and samplers. After following her blog for so long it was very fun to meet her in person.

After shopping our little hearts out at Homesteaders and the Country Spirit show in Arcola we stopped at Las Cuzuelas for a late dinner, then headed back to the motel and collapsed.

Chicken Tostada-Yum!

There were more shows to see, though so we were up bright and early Saturday and headed back to Arthur for A Gathering on the Prairie. Leslie had run into Sharon Clymer from American Harvest Antiques the night before and quickly headed back to their booth while I meandered around, visiting

Darlene Lesicko

Stone Fruit

The Paddy Wagon

Love the Under the Stairwell Cabinet

Outback Antiques

This Went Home with Me

Country Love

Bell's Antiques

American Harvest

By George

and others...

 

Whew! Please forgive me if I've misattributed any of these displays. I tried to take notes as I went along but you know how that goes. I'll post more photos of some of my finds in another post.

My A to Z's

Here's a peak at more WIPs that I'll be finishing up for this month's Simply Primitives. After these two projects I have only one more Christmas WIP to finish! Then on to new projects with a promise to finish what I start!

This probably fits the category of TMI, but I have enjoyed reading everyone else's A to Z's so here's my take on the list.

A~   Age:  54 and fighting gravity and creaky knees.
B~  Bed: Cherry pencil post by American Starbuck, a local shop that is no longer business.

C~  Cats: Cookie and Foxy.

 D~  Dog: I'm waiting for grand-dogs. 

 E~ Essential start to my day:   Breakfast. I never run out the door without eating something.
F~  Favorite color:  Green
G~  Gym: I go almost every day because of "A".
H~  Height:   5'7"+
I~ Instruments I play:   None currently, although I took piano lessons for five years. I hated practicing.  Apparently my musician son takes after DH's side of the family.

J~ Job Title:   Coordinating Assistant to Kansas City Missions, which basically means I work with lay leadership to ensure that things go where they're needed.
K~  Kids:  Blessed to have two wonderful sons, Andrew and Mark.

L~  Live in:  A suburb of Kansas City
M~ Magazines: I think I'm addicted, especially to those about cooking, gardening and crafting!
N~ Nicknames: Berta, Robbie and beanbag to my sister.
O~  Organizing:  I'm happy spending an afternoon putting everything in order!
P~  Pet Peeve: Thoughtless, rude people.
Q~ Quote from a movie: "He's not a tame lion" about Aslan from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
R~ Right or left handed:  Both--left handed for small motor skills and right for sports.
S~ Sisters:  Two older sisters. Yes, I'm the baby.
T ~ T.V. Shows: Mad Men, Modern Family, football and what I call "murder and mayhem" like 48 Hours.
U~ Underwear: Soma Intimates--beautiful and wears well.
V~ Vegetable you hate:  Just tried kale for the first time and thought it was tasted pretty bitter.
W~ Wheels: Subaru Tribeca. Good for antiquing and those trips to and from college.

X~  X stitch: So many patterns, so little time to stitch!
Y~ Yoga: One of my favorite classes at the gym. 
Z~ Zoo Animals:  Giraffes. They're so sweet and graceful in a gangly sort of way.

Holiday Gathering-Baldwin City, Kansas

 

My friend Leslie's show began last night and continues through today. This is the tenth year for her show and it has grown so much since the beginning, both in the number of participants and shoppers.

 

 

 

 

 

As I think you can tell, Leslie could be a stylist for a primitive magazine. Some of us help her put the "bone" in place on Thursday and when we leave Leslie works her magic, often staying up all night arranging everything into perfect vignettes. 

Can you believe this is her garage?

And then the crowd descends and happily disassembles everything in their search for that perfect gift or treasure!