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!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

Primitive Gatherings Design

I can't believe it. Halloween is barely over and already the Christmas commercials are running! I just want to look forward to Thanksgiving! Appropriately enough, though, while watching all those Christmas commercials I'm stitching away on Christmas penny rugs. This is another mat that I began last year. I hope you're not keeping track of how many WIPs I had in my stash, but it feels great to be tackling them and finally completing them!

One last look at Halloween. I had to work at the church on Sunday and asked DH to carve one of our pumpkins. I thought he would just do the typical pumpkin face but he was in a creative mood and came up with his own design. Didn't he do a great job?

Handcrafters

Handcrafters has finally come and gone. I was so nervous about doing this show. It was the first big show that I've done on my own in years and I didn't get nearly enough done (although I think I'll always feel that way). And as I was packing my inventory it was obvious that I was heavily slanted towards fall decor. Maybe I need to invest in a few more Christmas and winter patterns!

The Handcrafters show is known for having actual, handcrafted items and attracts vendors from as far away as Nevada. There are a couple of vendors who have been "grandfathered" in who have imported market things in their booth but the majority is actually handmade. Still, several people asked me if I actually sewed everything in my booth. 

Design by Shirley Blystone

The show was really good, but the best part was meeting new friends and reconnecting with former customers and rug hooking friends. One of my hooking friends, Mimi, had a booth filled with her wonderful painted items and you can see some of her original work here. Mimi is a creative dynamo, always finding new ways to apply her considerable creative talents. I have a little bag she designed and made that I use to carry all my sewing needfuls when I travel. 

Isn't it wonderful! The show is not far from my home and DH dropped by yesterday to bring my jacket because it was really chilly in the building. I took a quick bathroom break and when I came back DH proudly told me he'd sold something. He didn't write a sales receipt, charge tax, offer a bag or really know how to describe what he'd sold, but he's apparently a great salesman! I wish he had spent more time hanging out at the show!

T-Day is Coming!

I love Thanksgiving. I love that it's a holiday that's all about celebrating the bounty of fall and the blessings in our lives, especially family and friends. I think Maggie Bononomi's cornucopia design celebrates the beauty of nature and the tradition of a perfect Thanksgiving celebration.

Here's the finished version. I decided to just add a backing and no trim which seemed fitting with the simplicity of the design.

I also finished this fun little pillow based on a Brenda Gervais pattern. This is another one of those projects that I began some time ago and wasn't happy with it's look, but after transferring the letters and turkey to the army blanket background and adding the dyed chenille trim, I was happy.

I tried growing sweet potatoes for the first time this year. This was an extremely challenging year for the garden, due to the heat and extended drought, but I was able to dig and harvest a few meals' worth of sweet potatoes last weekend and will save some of the big ones for our Thanksgiving table.

Platte City Antique Show

And a beautiful day it was! We have been blessed with wonderful fall weather. The Platte City Antique show is held in the high school and there is usually quite a line of people waiting to get first dibs on the goodies, so a warm fall day was appreciated! As you enter the school the main hallway is lined with vendors with more set up in the cafeteria and gymnasium. My eagle eyed friends quickly pointed out an army blanket which I snapped up. Seems to be getting harder to find those around here!

There are a variety of antiques and collectibles for sale. I guess this little dress caught my eye because I never had a little girl to costume for Halloween. I always sewed my boys' costumes and made clowns, dinosaurs, pirates and Power Rangers, but no dresses. That's probably why I turned to doll making!

Brenda Kilgore of Farmhouse Collection had a beautiful booth full of naturals, handcrafts and vintage goods. I couldn't pass up one of her dried sunflowers and a couple of her wax pumpkins and they were the perfect addition to my yelloware bowl. 

How many pumpkins do you have to have before your considered a "hoarder"? This little bench also came home with me and will hold a birdhouse or two in my new herb garden come spring.

Hope your weekend was filled with lovely times as well! Now, back to the craft room for me.

Weekend Work Plus Maggie B. and Bethany Lowe Designs

Maggie B. Design

October is going to be a crazy month around Cottonwood Lane. We are getting ready to undertake a big remodeling project (let's get crazy before the holidays!) and I'm spending every spare minute trying to get stuff done for my one big show this year, so I'm afraid my blogging time will be limited. I'll still drop by for visits every chance I get because I really enjoy reading your stories and seeing your projects.

Maggie B. Design

I finished assembling this penny rug design while listening to the Chiefs-Colts game on the radio. Crafting seems to go better when the team is winning or at least look like they have a chance to win.

I bought some dried oak leaves at Michaels last week. I like their look but was very surprised and put off by their strong chemical smell when I opened the bag! I left the branches out on my deck a couple of days to air out, then added some leaves to the jar of naturals in my entryway.

Bethany Lowe Cat with Cart

The leaves also make their appearance in the dining room.

Bethany Lowe JOL

The silverplate came from my husband's grandparents. Do you remember the days when banks used to give you bonuses for opening checking or savings accounts? DH opened an account when he was in college and one of the bonuses was a silver plated set that he purchased at a deep discount. The set included a tray, bowl and stand and DH bought these for his grandparents. They were really touched and told him they'd give him the set back when he married and that's just what they did a few years later when we were married.We've never really used it for entertaining but it's nice that it's back in style for decorating.