doe-c-doe

black friday

2009-11-27T08:21:00.001-06:00

we had a lovely thanksgiving...hope you did too!

no plans here for being anywhere near a shopping center today...however, mom & I do have plans tomorrow to go to this very cool yearly sale:

if you're in the kansas city/liberty area I hope you'll stop by too & support some very lovely local artists.

on our agenda today...more sitting on the couch embroidering & knitting with some cookie making thrown in for good measure...perfect :)

{have a lovely weekend!}

thursday = embroidery {& thanksgiving!}

2009-11-26T10:09:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone has a wonderful day full of food, friends & family! I won't be with all the people I wish I could be with today...the people I'm so thankful to have in my life, so to them I just want to say I love you & I miss you but I will see you soon :)

thanksgiving or not, thursday on this blog wouldn't be the same without the weekly vintage embroidery transfer:

happy stitching!

p.s. yeah, I'm incorporating paint by numbers with embroidery again :) and I'm working on a shop update - more to come on that next week

merry-go-round

2009-11-25T07:45:00.000-06:00

olly olly oxen free

2009-11-24T08:43:00.000-06:00

whenever I go thrifting I always look for old quilts with condition issues. they tend to be priced much lower & are great for repurposing into new things. so at a recent sale I was happy to pay $4 for this quilt:

when I got it home I looked into that hole there & this is what I saw:

since I planned to cut it up sometime in the future anyhow, I decided to go ahead & take it apart right away so I could see what was inside:

after removing all the ties I separated everything & found this inside:

back in the day, old quilts that were beyond repair were often used as the filling for new quilts. in this case a very resourceful seamstress had taken an old quilt, basted on some fabric to the areas that were most worn then used it as the basis for her new quilt. a quilt sandwich with a quilt filling if you will...

as I was carefully folding all the pieces for that photo my mom said how happy she imagined whoever made each quilt would be to know that they were continuing to be loved & cared for...I hope that's true :)

I'm a little bit country

2009-11-23T07:32:00.000-06:00

among other things this weekend, I tea dyed for the first time:

and I assembled the holiday mantel:

I hadn't intended for the mantel to get all christmas-y when I started by hanging the little $4 quilt I found at an estate sale recently...but it just sort of happened. I'm not sure I'm completely satisified with how it looks...but I'm too lazy to try anything else right now.

I also played hide & go seek with a thrifted quilt - more about that tomorrow.

counting the minutes

2009-11-20T07:42:00.000-06:00

my mom arrives later this afternoon for her traditional thanksgiving visit...there is much eating, couch sitting, tv watching & crafting planned. I can't wait :)

{have a lovely weekend!}

thursday = embroidery

2009-11-19T07:29:00.000-06:00

I found yet another way to combine my love of paint by numbers with another of my hobbies!

I thought I would keep the woodsey theme going with this week's vintage embroidery transfer & so have selected this cute shawl wearing, flower toting squirrel for you:

happy stitching!

the answer book: McCall's guide to carefree sewing

2009-11-18T07:22:00.000-06:00

I can't find a copyright date, but I'm going to go out on a limb here & say its sometime in the 1970's:

{if this blog had smell 'o vision the scent of old spice would be wafting through the air right now}

out & about

2009-11-17T07:53:00.000-06:00

the other morning I took the camera along with the dog & I on our morning walk...

sadly the pretty portion of fall seems to be over already. it is just raining, cold & dreary now...it even snowed a little yesterday. there is not enough hot tea in the world for me to comes to terms with that fact.

recently thrifted

2009-11-16T07:53:00.001-06:00

I got this because it reminded me of my dad {he grew garlic in our backyard}:

a perfect purse for fall:

chair bottom says cosco household products, inc. columbus, indiana:

and this plate is marked made in italy - RAM 39/73 - Raymor - 5219 on the bottom {but I have no idea what that means...anyone out there know?}:

donut love

2009-11-13T07:52:00.000-06:00

there is something about fall that makes me crave mini hostess powdered sugar donuts...

and it appears I'm not the only one who loves them. this is what I found when I came back after leaving the dog briefly alone in the same room with the donut:

{have a lovely weekend!}

thursday = embroidery

2009-11-12T07:00:00.000-06:00

what I'm currently working on:

I got quite a few inquires about the rest of the alphabet after last week's vintage transfer post so I'm putting the rest of the letters up over on flickr - including this one:

happy stitching!

McCall's embroidery

2009-11-11T07:52:00.000-06:00

"I'm really loving purple for fall this year"*

2009-11-10T08:08:00.001-06:00

that title has nothing to do with these images of the dec. issues of marie claire idees that came in the mail over the weekend other than I thought of it when I saw this wreath photo:

* I made that comment about purple while out shopping with my friend jill the other day...we both laughed at how ridiculous I sounded. but it's kind of true & it all started with this pair of shoes I bought at target recently:

although I guess they're technically cranberry according to the description. so it appears I'm actually loving cranberry for fall this year. sorry purple...I hope we can still be friends.

recently thrifted

2009-11-09T08:13:00.001-06:00

last monday I showed you some of the things I didn't buy on a recent thrifting excursion...here's some of what I did get:

out & about

2009-11-06T07:58:00.001-06:00

located in independence, mo - I don't know how the food is, but their sign is fantastic :)

{have a lovely weekend!}

thursday = embroidery

2009-11-05T06:56:00.000-06:00

my current wip:

today's vintage embroidery transfers make me think of being cozy, which is exactly what I want when fall comes along. I can't get enough of wrapping myself in vintage quilts & hand-knit sweaters while curled up on the couch...

the transfers were in the original mail-order envelope, which had this great graphic:

happy stitching!

consumed

2009-11-04T07:11:00.001-06:00

lately, I find my thoughts often turn to pumpkin whoopie pies throughout the day...

source - {vegan} recipe

source

source & recipe

I heart fabric

2009-11-03T07:38:00.000-06:00

especially vintage fabric...which kim over at the very cool true up blog asked me some questions about as part of her vintage fabric collector series. I was very flattered to be included & hope I don't sound too dorky or boring :)

if you'd like to see some of my fabric collection check out this flickr set and if you're visiting the blog for the first time from the interview - welcome!

recently {not} thrifted

2009-11-02T08:14:00.001-06:00

as a solo thrifter, it can be hard to go with another person...you need to have the same endurance level, same ideas about what & when to eat during the excursion, be comfortable enough with each other to give {& get} advice on how something looks, wear different sizes {especially in vintage coats if you are into them & get the other person hooked on looking for them too} and have slightly similar but different enough personal style so you can be happy for each other when you find things, even if you're a little jealous.

if all that falls into place, thrifting can be even more fun...saturday I was lucky enough to get to go thrifting with a friend who made it just that fun :)

we both got some cool stuff, but here are some of the things we liked but didn't buy...

trick or treat

2009-10-30T06:34:00.000-05:00

wishing everyone a fun & safe halloween with lots of yummy stuff to eat!

thursday = embroidery

2009-10-29T08:29:00.000-05:00

here's this week's vintage embroidery transfer:

I like how it sort of feels they're taking their little spoon out trick-or-treating :)

happy stitching!

he-man hand knits

2009-10-28T08:28:00.001-05:00

from the introduction:

the first important step in knitting for a man is to be sure to choose a style he'll like. this book is chock full of the styles men want today, smart new continental styles, from giant bulky knits to the tremendously popular turtle necks. they're all here, he-men styles from the world's leading centers of fashion in clear, easy-to-follow instructions, each quick and easy to make.

and then there it is on page 14, the he-manliest hand knit of them all...the belted sweater!

or as they call it "belted interest no. 6305"

images & text copyright 1961 bernhard ulmann company

{confused about my interest in belted sweaters? take a look at this post to see where it all started}

recently thrifted

2009-10-27T08:00:00.001-05:00

fall colors:

hello & goodbye

2009-10-26T08:22:00.002-05:00

the monarch emerged saturday - after his wings plumped up he flew off:

I wished him safe travels...