A Peek Inside

 

A peek inside.  That's what you are getting today.  Now, if I were a photographer, I'm sure these photos would be much more interesting, but since I'm not...well, you'll just have to make the best of the 'peek.'  I hope you enjoy seeing this stuff as much as I enjoy playing around with it all.  And, bear in mind, it didn't all appear at my house in one fell swoop, it took years to gather all this stuff together.  In the last few months, I have had some friends visit Bird Nest Cottage.  Some had been to my previous house with the studio, and some were visiting me for the first time.  I'm sure it is a shock when they come in...as I am a hoarder.  Last Thursday, I had a delightful visit with my friends from Mountain View, Kay, Linda, Susan and Joan.  All but Joan had been here before, but you'd never know it....all the funny oohing and ahhing.  Without saying a word, they gave me the idea for this post.  You see, for some reason, when people come here....they just want to look at every little thing, know the stories, see and touch, so I just tell them to open any door or drawer they want to and look around.  I enjoy it very much.  

For some reason, that day, they were drawn to the closets in the bathroom.  I have an odd bathroom, it's big and there are four closets in it.  I'll explain as I go.  For instance, when you enter my bathroom, there is a closet on the left...see it there with vintage clothes hanging from the door.  There is also another closet just past it...there with the mirror.  That closet there...the one with the clothing on the door - I call it the 'Bead Closet.'  There is much more in there than beads, but that's what I call it...for short.  Susan and Joan opened it and that is when the fun began.  They made me laugh...which is a really good thing.  So...here....let's take a look.  I'm not sure how to go about showing you this...so, in a round about way...here is what they saw:  (Remember to click to enlarge if need be.)

 

On the back of the door is my latest attempt at organizing...all my regular sewing threads organized by color....in a see-thru shoe organizer from Walmart.  That got me started on my latest craze...finding uses for shoe organizers.  I bought four and they are already full and in various places in the house.
Now...my house has great closets and that day...discovering what I had in them was a goal and like I said, they had permission to look anywhere they wanted.  I think they liked the thread storage, but when they both stepped INTO the closet at the same time, it became FUN! 

 

Those little drawers are also full....collected over many years...both the drawers and what is in them.
Beads, broken jewelry for embellishments, all kinds of stuff.  And, the trays are actually commercial embroidery thread shelves...labeled Star Six Strand Embroidery Cotton, 5 cents.  This time, they are filled with embellishments of all kinds...some in very good condition...some not so much, but useful, nonetheless.

 

That tie rack was there when I bought the place, so rather than take it down, it became home for strands of beads and other necklaces....a beaded bag, just anything I wanted to hang there.  Atop the little drawers of beads and such is a collection of decorative boxes...gosh, I love those things!...some with contents, some waiting for contents!

And, a few other things besides!  The two wooden jewelry box hutches are from my friend, Jim.  He knows I love little cabinets, small drawers.....doors and things with little shelves. 

 

 And, when you run out of space...start attaching things to walls!

The top three drawers in this stack of plastic storage drawers, holds all my DMC embroidery floss.

Years ago, I posted my way of storing and organizing my DMC floss and I still use that method today.

You can read all about it  HERE .

 

Here you can see the rest of the closet and the sewing thread in it's entirety.....It's all tucked away nicely and makes it very convenient for me.

 Another photo of what is above all the bead storage. 

 Another peek. 

  It really made me laugh to see and hear Susan and Joan in the bead closet!

  

Right across from that closet is a vanity.  One of two in that bathroom.  Now remember...I live alone.  There is no reason for me to have two vanities....so below the sink is towel storage, etc, but above is stuff that is totally not necessary....for instance...a few things just to "look at."

  

 A tiny little "pie safe."  With small spools of rayon ribbon, some books - one to one and a half inches tall. And, a tiny, tiny cup with my name on it...another gift from Jim.  

You will have to enlarge to see.

 

A tall decorative jar filled with lavender and a tiny cup with a bird on it acting as a scoop...so cute.  A votive candle holder...looks old but isn't...and then, a china coaster....in a silver holder.  Not in great condition, but I loved it anyway....and who could throw out that wonderful floral wreath/basket/bow?

 Well, I couldn't!

And, on the towel rack, a beautifully stitched vintage linen hand towel.

 

 Be still my heart!!!

 

Now, that brings me to the medicine cabinet.  Well, I only need one of those, so this one is "an extra."

Knowing me, you know there isn't anything in there that is 'supposed to be' so let's peek in there.

 

 Peeking....

(Yes, a string of vintage buttons hanging from the knob.)

 

 And, here is what is stored in here...a treat for anyone peeking into this cabinet!  

Vintage sewing thread!  And, a tiny crocheted pin cushion.  A button card, so cute!

You'd be surprised (or maybe not) at how many folks just do NOT see this as a treat...but rather, something on the weird side!

(I don't mind that they don't 'get it.')

 

 Vintage crochet thread!

  

 So, there you are!  

And, I LOVED that my friends enjoyed the peeking as much as I did!  They GET IT!

Here they are....what a fun day we had!  Thank you girls for the visit.  You drove a long way to stand in my closet and entertain yourselves.  WHAT FUN!!!

 

 Susan and Joan.  And, they were giggling like young girls. 

 (A GOOD THING!!!)

  

 And, there was Linda and Kay....doing their own giggling.  Enjoying, I think, that 'odd' medicine cabinet. 

 Just made my day!!!

  

 Just look at Kay's expression and Linda pointing.  Oh yes, it was a very good day!

I loved it!!!

THANK YOU, MY MOUNTAIN VIEW GIRLS!!

And, I hope you out there in blogland enjoyed the peeking too!!!

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until next time

♥♥♥

A Happy Mother's Day!

 

Well, here they are....my two reasons for being.  Aren't they cute? 

 She is Kelly.  Born April 1, 1967.

   He is Scott.  Born June 25, 1968.  

Adorable.  

Still.

  

And, here they are.....not a recent photo, but a handful of years old.  They still look exactly the same. When I look at them, I see the 

"the old navy man."  And, that is a great thing!  I am thankful for them, that's for sure.  

 

Wishing you a very Happy Mother's Day too!

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until next time

♥♥♥

A Little Pink on a Tuesday

 

I decided this a.m. to post a little something PINK here on my blog.  Just a little something.

I've taken this photo on the table at the foot of my bed....just in case you ask.  It's actually a worktable, for as you may or may not know....my studio is now in my bedroom.  Having left my wonderful backyard studio when I moved, and having nowhere here to put all my important "stuff," I've had to spread studio contents in just about every room in my new house, including the garage.  It works fine for me...for others, well, maybe not so much.

But, back to the PINK!  

I just quickly gathered up a few things that I thought you might enjoy seeing.

   

First the box of lace.  I seem to have a serious fondness for these beautiful boxes...a bunch of them live in my house.  I nearly always get them at TUESDAY MORNING, but have also found a few of them at the flea markets. 

  

 Here you can see a closeup of some of the lace pieces I have put in this box.  Just waiting to be used somehow in many future projects. 

   

 And, the box itself.  So pretty.

  

This neat jar of threads I bought at a flea market, complete with the threads and the stitched lid.

Well, really, how could you be a 'maker' of the stitching kind and not buy it? 

That pink and green doily was given to me by my sister...I received it in the mail just last week.

THANKS, Debbie!!  There is a crocheted pincushion, bought at the flea...I do own several of these, some with ribbon woven in the stitches, some not.  

Then, there is the doll.  I made it in 2006.

 

She was made from an vintage embroidered dinner napkin.  I used every bit of it....for the little bag, her arms and legs, and her body.  She has a glass button "pin" and for her hair, I tore strips of different colors of fabric, tied the strips in knots, then sewed the knots to her head.  Her face I drew on with a permanent pen.  She has a pin back, so I have actually worn her before, but my favorite way of wearing this little doll, is pinned onto my bag when shopping.  As you can see...she is also a shopper!

 

This crocheted bag is like a little clutch purse...it has no handles.  So cute!

  

 Here it is with the flap open.

 

 And, here it is with bits of lace tumbling out of it.  Makes a lovely place to save small pieces of lace, although that is definitely not why it was made.

 

 And, here it is with one of my vintage crocheted pincushions...this one without the ribbon woven through it you see on so many of these pincushions.

  

 I wanted you to see this length of vintage quilt.   It is about forty inches wide, eighteen inches deep and the little blocks are four inches square.  This is the way I bought it.  Naturally, I didn't pay much for it....but, I thought I could use it for collage stitching work...and it is a wonderfully faded pink color.  In the condition it's in...I would not hesitate to cut it up....and as you will see, someone else has already cut the quilt in pieces.

 

 Even in the poor condition of this quilt, there are things one could make from the 'usable fragments.'
So, here are some close-ups of it......and one day...I hope to make a few 'new items' from this old quilt.

 

 And, here are a couple of photos showing you what the 'good parts' look like.   I do like the 'something good from something old and worn' idea.  I definitely would call it 'previously loved to death.'  I'm looking forward to stitching something on it....sometime soon!

(Actually it should provide enough pieces to make more than one project.)

What would you do?

 

 

 So, there you are...a bit of Pink on a Tuesday.  Have a wonderful day!!!

from 

BIRD NEST COTTAGE

 until next time

♥♥♥

Suddenly, Birds Everywhere!

 

I visited Mountain View a couple of weeks ago with a friend.  It was a very nice day!  Thank you, Shannon♥ for acting as my 'driver.'

We visited some friends who live there and had a wonderful time.  BBQ for lunch, a flea market visit, and good friends.  What could be better?  We certainly hope to visit again in the not-too-distant future.  Of course, we managed to leave Mountain View with new purchases in the car, one of which was this blackbird you see perched in my living room.  Do you see it?  Created by my friend, Kay, one of the dearest people ever....it sang out "take me home with you."  And, so I did!  Thank you, Kay!!

  

 A closer photo....funny....when I brought this dear bird into the house, it immediately told me where it wanted to perch.  It's crazy how that happens!  I couldn't bare to remove the tag....Kay and I both tend to talk a lot, so I can hear her voice when I read the tag...yes, it's staying put.

 

 I guess the little bird is happy here...maybe it feels at home.  I think it makes my home a happier place, so we are even.  And, with a button in its mouth!  How appropriate in Bird Nest Cottage!

  

And, perched on one of my old bobbins....love it!

 

 So, there you are....a new bird in the house.  One from a friend...the best kind!!!

Earlier this week, I looked out the front door to see hundreds of blackbirds.  (Maybe they came to visit my new blackbird!)  Actually, I could hear them before I knew they were out there.  So, I tried to carefully open the front door to get a photo or two.  You have to be quick!  These aren't the best, as I wanted to snap a few photos before they flew away, but they are the best I could do.  It was amazing!

  

 It was a rainy day....but they seemed happy to be out and about...some even wading in the puddles!

 

 There were millions of tiny little acorns around for them to feast on.....of course, why they were there in the first place!   Oh, these birds are Grackles.  A nuisance to many, but I enjoyed their visit!

 

 They usually arrive in a huge flock....when we lived on the farm...they would visit by the thousands.

  

 Photos taken from my front door.....I tried not to make any sudden moves or noise.

 

 

But, wouldn't you know....I was spotted and they all flew away.  And, so ended the visit!

A nice day with a nice visit....from hundreds of birds, and one who came to stay!

from

Bird Nest Cottage

until next time,

♥♥♥

The First Bluets

 

 Every Spring I search to find the first Bluets of the year.  At least in my little world.  And, I did.

I found them last week as I was on my morning walk.  These were growing right next to the curb on the street behind my house.  Hardy little Arkansas Wildflowers...I love them.

About my Morning Walk.  Sometimes I walk in the morning.  Sometimes I have an Afternoon Walk. On a really good day...I walk in the a.m. AND the p.m.  I'm trying to get some exercise.  I feel I need a reward to do this as I'm not really an exercise person.  Finding little beautiful things like Bluets is, in my mind, a great reward!!!

 

 They are very TINY!  Here is a little Bluet as compared to my index fingernail.   It's a wonder to me that I even see them, but really, I do try hard to find them.

 

 One lone little flower....so sweet!

 

 And, then, several in a little row.  Aren't they just dear?  By the way, Bluets can be blue, purple, pink or white.  Who knew?

 

 Really, they are so small I thought you might want to see them in comparison to other things....like a spool of thread, or my thimble.  And, aren't they cute in this little vintage glass I have?

 

 Here you can see the whole plant, from roots up.  About an inch and a half.  Just dear.

And, here is a little thought for you...one I love: 

"Just living is not enough...

one must have sunshine, freedom,

and a little flower."

Hans Christian Anderson

 Hope you are having a good week!!!

from

Bird Nest  Cottage

until next time

♥♥♥