Show and Tell Friday: Aunt Dot’s bedspread

Posted on August 17, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.“

Some of you know that I have lamented about not having any heirlooms passed down through the family. Well, a few months ago I was talking to my aunt on the phone, and she asked me if I would like to have a bedspread crocheted by my great Aunt Dorothy (or Dot), who was my mom’s namesake. Naturally I said yes, I’d love it. Then I forgot about it. But it arrived last Friday!

I tried to drape it fetchingly over the sofa, but it was too big and heavy to drape. 🙂

I think it is at least a full sized bedspread, possibly a queen sized (I just took it out of the vacuum-sealed bag it was in tonight, and my husband is occupying our bed, so I don’t think I ought to toss it on to check the size just now. 🙂 ) It’s at least 30 years old, probably much older. My aunt said in the years since she has had it, she’s tossed it in the washer several times. I’m amazed at the great condition it is in.

I love to think of my great Aunt Dot crocheting this with her own hands and lovingly passing it down.

I do remember my Aunt Dot. She and her sister, my Aunt Ruth, were very close and I always seem to remember them as a pair. They always gave the nicest gifts when I was a child. I remember when I graduated from high school I felt awkward about sending an invitation because I hadn’t been in contact with them for a while and didn’t want it to seem like I was just sending a veiled request for a present — but when they didn’t get an announcement, they scolded. I don’t remember how long ago she passed away, though she passed on several years before Ruth.

I am not sure yet whether I will use this or keep it put away for a while. I’ve avoided solid light-colored things in home furnishings with three boys in the house (who am I kidding — I tend to stain things as much as anyone else…). And they’re old enough now that they don’t even come into our room much. I do need a new bedspread, and I can just picture this with something pink underneath peeking through. I do have a quilt rack someone gave us which is stored in the attic because we didn’t have anything to put on it. I’ll have to mull that over. But I am very glad to have this in itself, but especially because it is a connection to my past.

Show and Tell Friday: Boyd’s Bear figurines

Posted on August 10, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I used to like all kinds of bears, and then I discovered Boyd’s Bear figurines. I love them! They’re so cute and so detailed. Through the years my family, mainly my mom and my husband, have given me various ones. Some of my favorites are the ones that reflect my interests or what’s going in my life.

I have several “couples,” most given to me by my husband. This one is special because he gave it to me on our last anniversary because we had gotten engaged while sitting on a log in a state park.

This is where we’re headed. 🙂

Here are a couple of the “Mom” ones.

This reflects my love of reading…

…and chocolate. 🙂 And hearts.

This is a Boyd’s Bear Collector.

I love Irish folk music, and this bear is holding sheet music for “The Last Rose of Summer.”

My mom gave me this one when we were home schooling several years ago. This was one of my first Boyd’s Bears.

I love these gals “just because.”

Cooking is, of course, one of my major duties.

This is a little sewing basket. I used to do a lot more sewing.

Finally I want to show you the little curio cabinets where most of these stay (though I have several throughout the house.) These were just little cheapie ones at Wal-Mart, and we discovered when we got them home and put together that they weren’t deep enough for many of the figurines. So my husband took apart the back and added about an inch of wood all around the back and added a mirror because the bears really weren’t showing up well amidst all the brown. Isn’t he talented?

Show and Tell Friday: Bear

Posted on August 3, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I made this little bear some years ago, I think before we even had children. I don’t remember where I got the pattern – -I think perhaps from a local program that used to be on years ago with a lady who did the kinds of things you find on HGTV now, only in one half-hour local show. 🙂

I did learn enough from doing this to realize I don’t want to make stuffed toys for a living. It was kind of tedious. But I’ve enjoyed having him around.

I didn’t make the chair. I found it for a dollar or two somewhere.

To see other “Show and Tells” or join in the fun, click on the button at the top of this post.

Show and Tell Friday

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Barbara Harper

“That which we elect to surround ourselves with becomes the museum of our soul and the archive of our experiences.”
—Thomas Jefferson

A few years ago my husband was given a trip to Chattanooga, TN, as reward for something he had done at work. One of the places we visited was the Chattanooga Choo Choo, and I think it was in a section of little shops there that we found this beautiful plaque.

Sorry for the weird angle — it was hard to get a shot that didn’t have either a glare from the flash or a reflection of me taking the picture. It says:

Families are like quilts —
Lives pieced
and stitched together,
Colored by happiness and tears,
Bound by memories
and love,
Cherished throughout the years.

I love what it says and think it is so true. I have this plaque in the hallway in the midst of family pictures (I had to take it down to get the picture). I also love the way it incorporates lace and flowers and other three dimensional effects. This was before the scrapbook craze was as big as it is now. Its colors are darker than what I have in the rest of the house, but they coordinate.

When I took that plaque down to take its picture, this smaller plaque on the same wall caught my eye. I got this at a craft show, but I don’t remember whether it was in SC or GA. I love to have Scripture all through the house, and this was the first piece in which I remember seeing calligraphy in different colors. The verse is one of my favorites.

By the way, tomorrow is my one year blog anniversary, and in conjunction with that I’ll be having a contest over the weekend. Hope you can come back for that and help me celebrate!

Show and Tell Friday

Posted on July 20, 2007 by Barbara Harper

(The Friday’s Feast is below this post.)

Since I’ve had rather lengthy “Show and Tells” the last few weeks, I decided to keep this one short and simple. 🙂

We lived in GA for four years, and when it came time for us to move back to SC, the ladies Sunday School class I was in gave me this as a going away present. I love it.

Show and Tell Friday: Houses

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Barbara Harper

(Scroll down for the Friday’s Feast.)

When we moved to this house a little over nine years ago and I was unpacking all my decorations, I didn’t realize I had several little houses. The first item was a cookie jar.

I also found somewhere along the way this cute little house. It’s supposed to be one of those things where you put a small candle in the back and something scented that melts in a little impression above it — but scented things like that give me a headache, so I just enjoy looking at the little house.

I put everything else in a grouping on the kitchen wall.

I love the little house-shaped pot-holder with the heart in it. I couldn’t use it as a pot holder, so I am using it as a decoration and enjoying it that way. It will last a lot longer!

Here are some close-ups of some of those things.

These were unframed prints at the Christian book store for just a few dollars, and I got some 2 for $5 frames for them.

The top one says, “Treasured friends: time only makes them more dear.” The bottom one says

Let’s visit — just come in and sit.
Our homes warmed by your presence — so linger a bit.

This is one of my favorites. I love this saying. I think I got both of these at a craft show.

The two on the right here were craft show finds as well. The little windmill my husband brought home for me on a trip to Austria that had a layover in Holland.

This doesn’t have a house on it, but it says “Happiness is home made” — which kind of fits.

I’ve shown my some of my hearts and pink roses collections before, and several of these little houses have hearts and/or roses on them. But I don’t have the space to expand this collection like the others, so I am trying to keep it as is. I did, however, buy three little wooden house cut-outs that I want to try to paint “some day.”

Show and Tell Friday: Pink roses

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Barbara Harper

I am drawn to pink roses. I just love them. I thought today I’d show you just a few of the things around my home with pink roses on them.

My stoneware is Pfaltzgraff’s Tea Rose pattern.

My living room furniture has pink roses in the fabric pattern.

This is a small topiary that I found at our Christian bookstore.

These aren’t pink, but I deliberately chose sheers with roses in the lace pattern. 🙂 The swags that go over these are also pink with very light roses in the pattern.

I bought the little heart-shaped vase and my husband bought the taller figure for me. I think it is possibly supposed to be a candle holder, but I have never put a candle in it. And you see a little of the living room wallpaper with pink roses on it behind them.

My husband bought this for me (doesn’t he have good taste? 🙂 ) I love how it fits in with the wallpaper. I am sorry it is dark and not very clear — I was having a hard time trying not to get my reflection in the glass and not having a glare from the flash.

I was delighted to find this for $2 or $3 at Hobby Lobby!

I didn’t get this just for the pink roses on the front. 🙂 It has beautiful letters, sayings, and illustrations in it. I got it at the Cracker Barrel restaurant years ago.

I also got this little pillow at Cracker Barrel. Some day I want to learn how to do ribbon embroidery.

Some friends from church bought a little coffee and gift shop and turned it into a restaurant. They sold off all the little gifts at clearance prices and this little miniature armoire was one I couldn’t resist.

I got tis print for about $6 at a frame shop and then found an inexpensive mat and frame for it. I loved everything about it — the Victorian feel, the peacefulness of the feel, the girl reading (another love of mine!), and the roses.

My husband got this for me at our Christian bookstore.

This is the carpet on our bedroom floor. It was here when we got here and probably has been here for ages — its discolored in places, but I just love it.

I got this years ago at a Home Interiors party and loved the front porch with flowers and the mom stopping what she was doing to hug her child and see what he had drawn.

Outside:

With the exception of the big wall print my husband bought, most of it wasn’t much money at all.

I know too much pink and too many roses can seem too sweet and cloying, and really, believe it or not, I try not to let it overpower the house. We do have some rooms with little or no pink or roses in them, my concession to living with all males. My husband doesn’t mind, but my sons complained about “all the flowers” when they were younger. I think they’ve gotten used to it now…though they may have been trying to tell me something here:

Show and Tell Friday: Favorite pins

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts the “Show and Tell Friday,” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky.“

I don’t wear a lot of jewelry — I like it, but I just don’t always think to put it on, or the clothes I bought a particular piece for wore out long ago. Plus I guess I am pretty particular in my jewelry selections.

I wear mostly necklaces and pins (brooches — I don’t know why, but I hate that word.) I was just going to show the three cameos, but as I looked around in my jewelry box, I saw other favorites I wanted to share as well.

The two small pins on the right plus the cameo stick pin were given to me by my mom, so that makes them special, besides the fact that I love the way they look. My husband gave me the cameo with the blue background and the 1928 oval one with pink roses in the center. I love both pieces — the 1928 one is probably my favorite of all — but they are also special to me because he gave them to me. He may have given me the gold cameo also — I can’t remember. The one in the upper left with the little flowers I bought at a craft show when we lived in GA. I don’t know what it is made of, but I thought it was cute (the craft shows there are one of the few things I miss about living there! They don’t seem to have many around here). The one on the lower left with the dangling pearl is also one I bought, but I don’t remember where. I liked that it looked antique even though it’s not. I used to have an old-fashioned looking dress with a lace collar that that pin went really well with. Too bad dresses don’t last as long as jewelry does. 🙂

The gold cameo isn’t actually a pin: it’s a scarf clasp. There was a time — oh, maybe about 20 years ago? — when ladies used to wear scarves a lot, and one way to hold them together was with a scarf clasp like so:

I wish scarves would come back in style — I loved the way they looked and the way they added a bit of color or pattern.

I loved this cameo like that, but once I saw a friend wear a scarf clasp clipped over the top of a crew-neck sweater which she wore over a blouse with a collar. I thought it looked very sweet and feminine. I had a couple of dresses with a high rounded neck and a lace collar that this cameo looked nice with — it looked like a brooch pinned at the center of the collar where the two sides curved up toward the center.

As you can tell, I like jewelry that is smallish, feminine, and old-fashioned, even vintage looking. I do have some pieces in different styles, though — I’ll have to save those for another day.

I don’t like expensive jewelry, though, and I don’t think any of this is. A friend asked me once what I would do if someone gave me $2,000. I think I said I’d pay off some bills, give some to the church, get something for the house, etc. She said she’d buy jewelry. One $2,000 piece of jewelry. I’d be a nervous wreck if I ever wore anything like that!!! And — not to criticize her choices, because we’d all have different ideals of what to do if we had money to “blow” — but I just couldn’t stand the thought of sinking a lot of money into jewelry. And thankfully for me, it’s easy enough to find things I love without doing that. I’m sure my husband appreciates that, too. 🙂

Show and Tell Friday: Cross Stitched Gifts

Posted on June 22, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Last week I showed one of the few pieces of needlework I made that I still have. This week I want to show you a few cross-stitched pieces that two of my sisters made and gave to me.

The first two are from my sister Leigh Ann. I love Paula Vaughn prints — in fact, I first knew of her through her cross stitch patterns, and then some time later realized that she was a watercolor artist. This first one I had planned to make for myself “some day” but never got around to it, so Leigh Ann made it for me as a gift.

Here is a close-up:

The calligraphy underneath it in the first picture is from Doorposts.

I can’t imagine how many hours it took her to do that!

This piece is from another sister, Shelly, and has been a fun (and true!) thing to look at in our bathroom for several years:

Show and Tell Friday

Posted on June 15, 2007 by Barbara Harper

Those who come by for the Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt will have seen this back in April, but I wanted to “show” and “tell” about it today, too.

I made this when I was expecting my first son 23 years ago. It was from a kit, and it is one of my favorite things I have ever stitched.

Here is a close-up of the detail I love about this piece. I don’t know if it will show up well, but the little iced cookies are raised and the little cupcakes have french knot icing. I love the stitching for the grass and fringe on the blanket as well.

I like it because it has bears on it; I like it because of their expressions; I like the detail; I like it because it is cute; I like it because I made it for my children; I like it because it is one of the few pieces I’ve stitched that I still have — most things I’ve made were for gifts and were given away.

I don’t know if I will give it to one of my sons when they have children (if they want it) or if I will keep it and use it in a room for grandkids. If they live nearby I’ll probably have a room where they can keep toys and take naps. Until then, it’s tucked away in a closet.