MEMORIES OF LAURA

 

 MEMORIES OF LAURA

a quilt

made in 1988

by 

Patricia Eaton 

The last time I posted was in September of 2019.  I intended to carry on, really I did, but

 last year was not the happiest year I have lived through and it got the best of me.  My heart just wasn't in it. My blog posts suffered because of it...I could no longer come up with anything I thought interesting enough to mention to you.    So, I let things go.  I thought many times of just closing my blog. 

I'm so sorry about that.

The holidays came.  They are always hard for me. I'm not sure I've ever told you that.

And, I thought a lot about things during the last two months.

Being kind of a hermit....there is lots of time to think.  It can wear you out, especially during hard times.

 And, oh...there is also that OCD thing.  

Yes, I AM my own worst enemy.

Do you ever talk to yourself?  I do.  One day, recently this just came right out of my mouth:

"It's hard to be me....even I have trouble doing it."  

Now that is a quote from actress Tallulah Bankhead.

But, that day, it seemed clear as a bell that it actually fit me.

It IS hard to be me....and it may ALSO be hard to be you.  We are going through tough times.

So, I need to just get a grip and get on with it.  

You want to try it with me?

Right then, I decided to get out a quilt and show it to you, even if I have shown it many times before. 

And, this quilt got my attention one more time.

Yes, I made it in 1988...a lifetime ago.

I wanted to remember Laura Ingalls Wilder as I had read all her books in my youth and loved them dearly...then watched all the Little House of the Prairie shows on tv too. 

Below a quote from her I believe to be quite fitting for current times.

 

 Below, take a closer look at all parts of this quilt.

The quilt hasn't changed either...after all these years.

So, once again, Laura can inspire us with her words.

And, maybe this quilt will also inspire us in it's own way.

 

  Hand appliqued, embroidered and quilted.

  

One stitch at a time.

Each one, as I've always said, a prayer, a meditation, a poem.

 The sky fabric and all those shades of blue....hand-dyed specially for me by my dear friend, Mary Morgan.  Upon giving it to me, she told me "don't make a scene."

 What she meant was she didn't want me to try and pay her for it.

So, I just made another kind of scene!

 

 

 One of my favorite parts of the quilt is Laura's tiny pocket, it's a real pocket.

 

 The label on the back of the quilt.

(Gosh, it seems like only yesterday when I sewed that label on!!!)

I just may read these all over AGAIN.

 

 Yes, studying this quilt again and thinking of Laura also...I like to think she was right and the "real things" haven't changed.  

I will carry that with me through this year.

So, a HAPPIER New Year to you too!

 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

❤️❤️❤️ 

Roses on Wednesday

 

 I am certainly missing the boat getting things posted by Wednesday night aren't I?  So, I'm thinking Thursday is much more realistic.  This photo is showing some things I managed to bring home yesterday...with a few from past visits to the flea market as well.  On Sunday, I will have a post about the flea with an amusing story to go along with it...but, for now, I hope you enjoy seeing a few new treasures keeping company with some of my older treasures.  

 

 This was the last thing I chose that day.  Because, as you know, I'm a fool for a beautiful rose.  The artists name is on it, but it's too faint for me to read.  I think it is beautiful!!!  $1.00

 

 This platter and the buttons I'm using as a nest here came from The Junk House in earlier times.  I don't remember where the bird flew here from, but she seems perfectly at home in her button nest!

 

 OMG!  I can't even tell you how I really feel about that jar.  It was love at first sight, but I didn't buy it the first time I saw it, or even the second for that matter.  After a few weeks, apparently no one was going to buy it but me....so it came to my house and I began to fill it with buttons.  Last summer when I was in San Francisco visiting my son....well, I happened upon a box of buttons...mother of pearl...and I bought it, knowing full well it would just about fill up that jar.    The jar is embossed with flowers, but with the buttons, it doesn't really show up well.  No matter....I'm nuts over it anyway.

 

 So, here's more gorgeousness....this lovely book, a vegetable bowl and a decorative box.  But, first the book:

 

Last year it was Paris in Bloom.  This year, New York in Bloom.  Think next year is London in Bloom.  I'm looking forward to San Francisco in Bloom, fingers crossed.

 You can almost smell the flowers.

Of course, it didn't come from the flea market....but I had to show it anyway.  Because of that rose plate!  Look at all that pink!  Oh, yeah.....you know I'm going to say it...always makes me think of French Knots!!!

 

 I've had this pin for a very long time....so cute.  To me it just looked like it could roll right through  Central Park!

Since there is no bookstore here (yeah...sure rubs me the wrong way!), I ordered this one from amazon.com.  Well, what's a girl to do when she wants a book?

 

 Then, there is this decorative box....so feminine and fussy.  It will definitely make another appearance on the blog at some point....I'm searching for the right words to add the perfect "finishing touch" to it.  And, by that, I mean the perfect embroidered words.

 

 Love the detail and that lining is in pretty good shape, considering.  I love the edge on it.

 

 Even the bottom is pretty.

 

 And, here is the vegetable bowl.  So pretty!  I loved the shape of it.  Perfect for serving a delicious green vegetable...let me guess, Cabbage?  But many others too. 

 

 And, it's marked. 

 

 There are three of these with the cutest little feet.  You could use them for a multitude of things, but I imagined a little bar of fragrant decorative soap there.

 

 And this vase.  Another embossed clear glass beauty.  And BIG.  I'm going to put some actual real flowers in it soon........It's going to be one of my favorites, for sure.

 

 So, how am I supposed to resist a thing such as this?  A beautiful garment made for a child.  Although the bodice and the skirt have been separated from each other (why?), and it's stained, it's still beautiful.  

 

 And, this crocheted trim is fabulous.  Looks to me like it was crocheted with a size 0 hook.  Just lovely.

 

 There was also a small embroidery hoop.  An older one and with a bit of crochet in it.  So very cute!

 It's about four inches.

 

 The front of the bodice is so cute...maybe I can improve it a little bit, although to me it is special just the way it is.

 

 And, the back.  Adorable!

  

 And, the hemline.  Gorgeous!

 

 And, here's the dress in a lovely basket tote.  Who can resist those?  Not me.  

  

 And, once again.....more words cut from books.  I'm not sure, but I don't think I'm going to be able to stop doing this for a while here....it's so much fun! 

 So there.  This week's flea market update, I guess.  I'll have more on Sunday...an amusing story, and some very old photographs.  

until next time

BE WELL

from

Bird Nest Cottage

❤️❤️❤️

 

HAPPY EASTER

 

  🌸  HAPPY EASTER  🌸

 

  

until next time

 BE WELL 

from

Bird Nest Cottage

 ❤️❤️❤️