Another Quilt, Rescue the Perishing: A Bowtie

 

 A few weeks ago, I purchased this quilt at the flea market.  

As is nearly the case with each old quilt I find...there is need of repair involved.  

It makes sense...they are old, they have been used many times, often stored poorly and sometimes mistreated.  Because of those facts, I usually get them at a good price.  Good for me...and good for the quilt as I will try to repair it and 'make it all better.'

 

 This one, A BOWTIE quilt, is in fairly good condition.  I've just laundered it...something that in itself can be time consuming....but does the quilt a world of good.

 

 There are few places on the quilt that need replacing, but only one other as bad as this one...the original square of dark fabric that was sewn there is, at this point, nothing but a memory, so that will have to be replaced.

 

 There are a couple of places where the seams have not only come unsewn, but have unraveled.  Don't know what I will do there...but I'll manage to fix it somehow.

 

 This one won't be too hard....just a little seam repair.

 

And, here's a hot mess....holes on the back of the quilt, but thankfully, the hole didn't go through to the front.

It, too, can be fixed.

All it takes is a little fabric and a pretty good amount of time.

While I don't see myself making more quilts....

I see no end to rescuing old quilts.

A labor of love, really. 

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️

A Basket, Some Buttons

 

 This morning I decided to bring out my favorite basket in the house and put it on the new old green table.  

This basket is rather fragile, as it is about a hundred years old.  It's big....13" x 26."  

And, it's wonderful!

So, I wondered for a bit as to what, if anything, I would put in it.

And, then it came to me...

BUTTONS

 

I rounded up as many buttons as I could, having a stash of them in several places in the house.

 I wanted them to be mostly white, off-white, or Mother-of-Pearl.

With a few exceptions.

For instance, not there yet, but I am going to put some larger brown ones in there.

 

I also added a big spoon.

For gathering up a handful at a time.

I will add more when I find more.

And,

I will enjoy choosing buttons for a project when needed.

No way I can fill it.

#1, it would take so many more.

#2, it's already heavy, so more would make it impossible to pick up the basket.

#3, I don't want to damage the basket.

So, what do you think?

Right now it is a fun thing to look at and it's always fun to run your hands through a bunch of buttons.

Does there need to be any other reason?

until next time

BE WELL

from 

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️

 

A Wish for You

 

 Tonight I just wanted to wish you all the best. The best of everything.  

To you and yours.  

Vintage postcards have just the right amount of emotion and sentimentality if you ask me. 

 They can 

"say" things that we can't seem to and who cares if they can sometimes be a bit sappy? 

 What's wrong with sappy? 

So, tonight, here's a wish to you...from my heart,
 aided by a beautiful vintage postcard:

A large share of happiness,

A tiny share of care,

A minimum of cloudy days

A maximum of fair -

Sufficient wealth, and

best of health

The love of friendship true

And sweet contentment

in your heart

Is what I wish for you.

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

 ❤️❤️❤️

Simple Little Houses and Some Trees

 

SIMPLE LITTLE HOUSES.

I wanted to talk about them tonight. 

I am a fool for them.

I mean, I LOVE them to the moon and back.

I dream about them at night.

So here's one simple house project I have made with my own two hands,

and

three houses which I purchased.

 I've shown this pincushion so often on this blog, I should probably be ashamed to do it again.  And, yet, here it is.  It's three inches square.  At least three people close to me have requested to receive it when I die.  In order to manage that...A.  I have to die and B. That's not happening yet, I hope. So, C.  Guess I'll have to make a couple more reasonable facsimiles.

 

Then, recently, I found this little hand-painted one.  It is two inches square and just adorable!

 The one on the right is about one of the tiniest prints I have ever seen.  It's adorable too.

The print is mounted on wood and has a tag on the back which says New View Gifts and Accessories.

 

Here, the one on the left is painted on a surface I can't identify and signed by a name I can't read. 

I also got it at the flea market.  

It is one and a half inches by four and a half inches. 

The landscape painting is an oil....signed A.M. and labeled Agnes M. Meyers Gift Shop, 

San Antonio, Texas.

I also bought it at the flea market quite a few years ago.  I knew it was Texas the very second I laid  eyes on it, because I am from Texas and I've seen many fields of Bluebonnets...

as they say - "back in the day."

This little painting is four by six inches.

And, dear.

By the way, I know these two paintings are not of Simple Little Houses,

but because they are also SMALL I chose to show them also.

 

 A close-up of the pincushion.

 

 A close-up of the tree.

  

 The Bluebonnets.

 The two tiny prints are so sweet.

 

  I couldn't resist them.

Simple Little Houses.

And there you have them.  

four of my favorites

 plus a tree and a Texas Landscape.

"ART IS LONG AND TIME IS FLEETING"

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 until next time

BE WELL

from 

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️

 

A "New" Old Table and What It Holds

 

So, I did have an antique coffee table here.  Smallish.  Dark.  Oval.

I have wanted one on the primitive side, long, and tall "ish" for the longest time.

Well, since I moved in here for sure.

I took the unwanted coffee table to the flea the other week.  But not before I found this old table.

Primitive.  60 inches wide (exactly my height).  Tall "ish" - a little higher than the seat of my sofa.

And, my favorite color...GREEN.

 

 I'm very pleased with it.  In fact, I love the thing....

So, I'm showing you where it is living in my house. 

And, how I am using it.

I realize that most would think it overloaded with books and things. 

 In fact, most might say the whole room (house) is overloaded.  And, they would be correct.

But, you see, I live in my own little world here, so I'm not bothered by what other people would do.

I really enjoy puttering around here...and will, as long as I'm able.

About the books....

anytime I want to, I can take a trip to my favorite places...because there is probably a book about  those places here and there, but especially on the coffee table.

Just give me a book, a quilt, a cup of tea, and my favorite...a rainy day or night.... and I can sit here and enjoy reading for hours.

The same goes for books about birds, flowers, embroidery, mending, cooking, and so on.

I also love a really good mystery to get lost in.

My current favorite mystery writer is Canadian.  Louise Penny.  

 

To complete my little display here...some birds, a vintage English tin, a tiny bird plate, a paperweight or two, what I call my Crystal Ball....and oh yes, the remotes.

Thanks to Netflix and Amazon Prime, I can also take a trip via the tv, or solve any number of mysteries.  My favorite of all time is Foyle's War. 

There are also many others.  I've watched the entire lot of Midsomer Murders THREE times!

There are others.  In fact, on weekends, I tend to binge watch.

All from this little area in my living room.

Also, one can stitch, or knit, or quilt or unsew right along with the tv, if one likes to do handwork.

 

 So, here's a closer look.

 

 I just love that little English bird tin.  It is dear.  And, that tiny bird plate. 

There are several glass coasters with a bit of crochet in each one.  

  

A glass heart paperweight sits atop a book from 1898...."Love in Art".  Complete with art photos.  Do you love the way old books smell?  I do.  A book on roses, a book called "Places," a small round magnifier.  Very helpful.

 

 "The Quiet Room."  Acquired recently at the flea market.  It's foreign, but the text is in English.

And, it's beautiful. 

  

 Just a different look at it all.....yes, I know....someone is going to say...."what about the dusting"?
And, I will say....yes, I dust.  Everything.  Maybe not as promptly as some....but often enough.

My thoughts on dusting are the same as my thoughts on doing dishes.

If you have dirty dishes, it means you have been lucky enough to have food to eat.

Doing dishes is showing your gratitude.

Yes.  The same with dusting....I'm lucky enough to have my own home and what's in it.

 I'm grateful for it....so I dust.

There you are....all because I bought that old primitive green table.

I'm over the moon about it.

Go figure!!!

 

Today I wanted to take some of my cut up book pages and make a little something for this post.

So, I can ask you....Does it please you?

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️ 

This May Be A First

 

Yes, this just may be a first.  I was sitting here at my desk thinking about what to post tonight...sometimes it's hard to think of something.  As I sat here....I realized I had a good post right in front of me.  Something I see every day and it's been good for me.   So, here are three things:

1. Something cute - that little Minion.  Perhaps you don't know, but at the Junk House, my friend Kathy and I are sometimes referred to as the Minions.  (Well, of course you don't know!) Yes, we are into all kinds of stuff around there. Sometimes we get in trouble.

I sometimes think of us also as Lucy and Ethel.  And, I sometimes refer to Kathy as Lola, which is an entirely different story. Anyway,  Kathy found two little Minions at an auction.  One for each of us....so every day, I get to laugh remembering something these two Minions have done at the store.  And we all know that laughing is a very good and therapeutic thing to do.

2.  Something beautiful - that rose.  Actually, that is a vintage postcard.  I love it and have had it around the house in different rooms, which change from time to time.  I recently put it in this frame, now on my desk.  It never hurts to have something beautiful to look at.

3.  Something meaningful - a quote from Maya Angelou.

I usually have my morning tea at my desk.  So, every morning, I read this quote...since it's right in front of me.  And, every morning, I take it to heart.

In this day and age...well, it seems important to me that we might all take this to heart.

After all, I think I want to feel better about things and I bet you do too. 

So, there you are.  Kind of a first....considering the three things.

 

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️

Rescue The Perishing: An August Scrap Quilt

 

 I bought this quilt top at the flea market on Wednesday.  I couldn't resist.  Well, for one thing, it had a lot of pink in it.  And, for another thing...it had a good selection of plaids, stripes, florals and solids.  I paid a lot of attention to that because the minute I saw the quilt, I knew I would rescue it.  And, not in it's entirety, but I would use the scraps each in it's own way.   And, the price was right.

 

This being August....I had one of my favorite books turned to the right page for this post and my new little bird looked so cute with it, going so well with all those scraps too!  A gift from Kathy, it was.

  

 And, here is the quilt all folded up.
 I haven't measured it, but I believe it is "not quite" twin sized.

 

I've already got some ideas on projects using this quilt.  I've really been looking for one like it.

Scraps....in really good sizes, so I can use them in lots of ways.

(And, one where I didn't have to mend the scraps before I use them.)

 

 Yes.  It looks like lots of fun to me!

 

Once again, I say, who could resist?

Well, me, that's who. 
As if we didn't know.

 

 This red piece is pretty cool too.

 

 I love this really pink piece with the dark and light lines going through it.  And, that pink and gray.

Yummy!

 

 Then, the oddest thing.....this blue and white fabric is all the way across both ends of the quilt.

About ten inches wide.  It's really a nice fabric....but looks so out of place there.  I may take it off the quilt, see how much is there,  and then see if my sister wants it.  Her favorite color is blue. If not, it may wind up at the flea. Well, lots of ways to use this quilt to make a multitude of items.  It will be fun to play with.

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️

A Little More Pink and a Bird

 

 My friend, Sherry, likes it when I show some of my favorite sewing "ingredients" on a plate or platter.

And, actually, I enjoy creating these little "collections."

So, tonight I took a look at this little plate, at the time holding a burning candle, and thought I might do this one just for Sherry.

 

There is an assortment of things on this little salad sized plate.  It's one of those odd things you buy because there is only one available...and it's just so darn pretty!

 There is a tiny 2 1/2 in square crocheted pincushion.  Above it is a magnetized butterfly which is a needle holder.  A sweet rose bud which is really a boutonniere.

At the top there is a resin basket applique that I bought many years ago to attach to a piece of furniture.  I never did.

There is a lovely blue bird handkerchief...so sweet.

A large covered button I made quite a while ago....lots of French Knots that I love to stitch.

There's some pink and ecru lace...and there, underneath the plate, some tiny doilies.

A sweet bejeweled butterfly pin and lastly.....

seven Mother-of-Pearl buttons in graduated sizes.

Surely at some point, I will find the perfect project on which to sew a complete line of buttons.

 

Some closeups.

 

  

 What would be your favorite of these things on a beautiful plate? 

Or, 

is your favorite thing the plate?

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️