Vintage Crafts

I found this fantastic site with downloadable scans of books and patterns for vintage embroidery, crochet,knitting and more. Check it out.
http://www.antiquepatternlibrary.org/completelist.htm

Here is another site with free printable embroidery patterns:
http://mytransfers.blogspot.com/2007/01/mccalls-930-4-designs-for-towels-or.html

Here is a list of sites:
http://www.needlenthread.com/2006/10/free-embroidery-patterns-around-web.html

Free apron patterns:
http://tipnut.com/56-free-apron-patterns-you-can-make/

Huge amount of free vintage embroidery patterns:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22309813@N02/sets/72157603907273295/


Another with several beautiful crochet edgings:
http://www.mypicot.com/coledg.html

The Snow Hits Again.

  The south was supposed to get hit with a snow storm, but we weren't supposed to get any. Well this morning around 10am, it started. The roads got nasty quick, but we only have a couple of inches so far, and if the weather report is right this time, it is supposed to quit by 4 pm, and not get any more than 2-4 inches.I will be so glad when Spring gets here.

My Daughters Himalayan, Hurley

"I told you It's too early to get up.....
 I had a rough night....Leave me alone!"

A Walk On The Wild Side

  Today, I had to drop my son off at work, and try to find some way to amuse myself for awhile. As my kids know, thats not too difficult for me. I like to rub that fact in whenever I hear those dreadful words..."Mom I'm bored". Anyway, I decided to go for a walk at a park in the area. The local Veteran's hospital has a fantastic park with well kept walk paths, playground, pool, baseball field, miniature golf, and more. I have lived in the area most of my life but have never been to this park. I guess thats typical because we lived in Maryland for a few years during my grade school years and never visited any museums until after we moved to WV, and then went back to visit my grand parents.

    I felt pretty safe at this park since we live in a pretty safe area. Even so, I still walked down the wooded path along the stream with some initial trepidation. It wasnt long before  the local gang began to show me some interest. At first I hesitated, but continued on. I wasnt aware of any gangs in the area, but it wasnt long before they made themselves known to me. As I trudged along in the 40° weather, there were a few  who came closer, watching me with beady eyes. Stepping out in front of me, blocking my path, and then backing off again. I wasnt sure whether to run or try to be brave and continue on. As they quickly did the same, I soon realized they werent sure of me either. Suddenly a wooly character came in a little too close for comfort. I had been warned before not to trust them. He was blocking my path in front of me so I stopped and waited with baited breath to see what he wanted. He came so close, I began to fear that if I didnt move it would be too late.

He was suddenly at my feet, fear took over, and I made a quick movement which startled him and he quickly backed off. As you can see, I think the character from this little gang of thieves would have run up my leg if I let him.

      I cant wait to bring my grand daughters on a walk here.Then I will have reinforcements. The little 3 and 6 year old types (sometimes holy terrors, sometimes angels) that all moms and grandmothers are familiar with. Squirrels.... "Be Afraid...Be Deathly Afraid!"

                                                                      I will be back.

                                              But with nuts in case they attempt to mug me again.

Now that I realize the kinds of characters that patrol this park, I see why they posted this sign. One never knows

                                                           what happens after dark.

Second Heavy snow of 2010

     After 3-4 days of weather in the 40's to 50's, and rain, we had more snow last night. Four inches to be exact. Everything is covered with a heavy new snow. I love how beautiful it looks in the yard with the untouched snow. Below is a pic of my only statue. I would love to have more one of these days. She has had a rough life. Between being knocked around by kids, dogs, and husband, she has had to have a few things glued back on. I would have had the arm back on her, but couldnt get the darn glue bottle open.

Below is a pic of seed pods on my Rose of Sharon. This one is called Red Heart. These start readily from seed, and grow fairly quickly. I have one that I braided the trunk as it grew, now it has branches with white and red blooms of red heart, and some with all white blooms. I wish I would have had my purple one at the time to add to it.This is a fairly simple task to do. Just plant 3 - 4 young plants together,and scrape the bark where you think they will touch, and braid. Tie them together with some flexible plastic garden ties, and watch. As they grow, keep braiding further up as needed. They trunks will soon grow slightly together to form one.

Rosa 'Madame Isaac Pereire'

       Meet Mme Isaac Pereire, a climbing bourbon with arching ,open branches.This non-patented rose was hybridized by Garcon; and introduced in France in 1881. It received  The Royal Horticultural Society  prestigious Award of Garden Merit. This beautiful,old garden rose is vigorous, tough, and hardy, and will tolerate poor soil. It is great for informal cottage gardens. To me, this rose is most notable for its fragrance. I have it growing by the steps to my front porch, and the fragrance surrounds me as soon as I step out on the porch. It has a wonderful, fruity, almost strong raspberry scent.It is possibly the most fragrant of all roses.
      The abundant foliage is large, dark green, and semi-glossy, and almost evergreen. This beauty is vigorous, tough, and hardy, and will tolerate poor soil. Unlike most delicate roses, it is very low maintenance. It has large, double, dark-pink flowers in summer and autumn. It is a repeat bloomer. I have had blooms way up until October and November of this year.It grows to a height of about 6-7 feet. it blooms on old wood, resistant to mildew, and hardy to zone 5.
      I have not tried it, but it would be wonderful to use in potpourri.I plan on trying some cuttings in the spring. I would love to have these growing everywhere. The fragrance is so intoxicating, you will never regret planting it.

Let's Make a Marquee

Welcome to my Journal.
Do you want to make scrolling text for your website? Its very simple and fun to try. I put this text in my post, but you can add it anywhere. If you want it below your header, just click on "add gadget" in the layout tab. Then "add html".
Here is the text you can use to create the marquee above:

It will also work by just using the first line above which states "marquee",then your text you want to scroll, and "/marquee" again with the same arrows around it. It will just be a plain small black font then. I am definitely not an expert in HTML. I just play around with something that interest me until I can get it to work. So the code probably looks crude to a pro, but hey...it works.

Still Winter Sowing

Today, the weather warmed up to about 45 ° so I went outside to sow some more containers. My 3.5 yo granddaughter quickly joined me. Shortly after starting it began misting. But I continued. I just had to frequently wipe off the lids and plant markers so the marker wouldn't run. Anyway I manged to get another 21 containers sowed out. That gave me a total of 150 containers so far. I thought it would be pretty painstaking to get very many done, but by sowing a few at a time, it is going very quickly.

Clarksburg,WV

I spent a few hours today in the town I grew up in. Its not like I traveled a long ways. I make this 25 min drive once a week for shopping, because we live in a very small town. I can remember when there was a Five and Dime, GC Murphy, Mcroys, etc. One store used to have a small soda shop inside. I also remembering riding the elevator in the back of the store as a child. it actually had someone that was paid to just run the elevator their entire shift. You don't  see that anymore. There are some very interesting homes in the area. Old homes have such character. The workmanship seen in some of the places is outstanding. Time and talent that we no longer see  being used. Here are a few shots I took:

I hadnt really noticed this little house before, but it is so cute, I just had to share. it really is as small as it looks.

This next house, I always make sure I look for it when I am on this particular street. it looks just like a castle. I would love to know what year it was built in, and a little history about it.

Winter Sowing Update

I just sowed out another 41 containers this morning. This gives me a total so far of 129 containers sitting out in the snow. Today, I sowed out such things as Poppies, Day lilies, Larkspur,Hollyhock, Bellflower's, Heuchera, Mallow,Butterfly Weed, and Rudbeckia ToTo. I am waiting till Late March to sow out my tender annuals, and tomatoes.

Free Photo Imaging Software

When I decided to start this blog, I needed some software to manipulate my photo's. Such as resizing, adding frames,etc. I had lost all of the programs I had been using before due to computer problems. Anyway, I found Photo Pos Pro 1.76 here:
http://download.cnet.com/Photo-Pos-Pro/3000-2192_4-10264444.html
This software is a breeze to figure out, even for me. It has some interesting effects that can be used as well. There is still a lot more that I need to learn. But the best part...its free. It works with Windows 98/ME/XP/Vista.

Some More Fall Blooms from 2009

Crochet Edging

I love to crochet occasionally. It makes for some nice busy work while watching TV. I did this edging last night, and hope to use it to make a table runner. This pattern was so nice, because it had few steps that were very easy to remember. I forgot to mention, I am also the queen of unfinished projects.

My Birdhouse

I built this birdhouse last summer, and planted Morning Glories to climb up it. The tray is for bird feed. I wanted to add some height in the bed, and loved the bright color. its actually a purple but appears a brilliant blue in this picture. I also built it high enough to deter my cats, who are terrific hunters.

The Neighbor's Horse Barn

Our neighbors have horses, of their own and that they board. The barn is located  in the back towards the left. I love the look of barns, and old buildings in the countryside.

Saving Clematis Seed

For years I have saved seeds from my plants to either grow on to make more, or for trading on Gardenweb for other seeds. Most seeds are very easy to recognize, but others are a little more obscure. One I had particular problems recognizing was the Clematis. For years I thought it was all the little fuzzy things that developed where the flowers died, but couldnt figure out why nothing would germinate. This past Fall i posted a question on Gardenweb to try and figure this out. I posted pics of what I thought were the seeds:

Wrong!! Here is a pic of the actual developing seed. The circled fat seed is the one to watch.When it is ripe and ready to go, it turns a blackish color. Now I understand more than likely they wont grow true to the parent, but it can be a fun experiment to see what new, beautiful variety you will get.

Online Coupon Savings

     Do you order things online very often? Well, if you knew my daughters, you would know that our UPS guy is almost family. The dog still chases him, but she runs after anything that moves. Its nice to save money. We learned a long time ago, that if your planning on placing an order, look for online coupons first. These little codes can save you quite a bit. Sometimes its free shipping, sometimes its for a percentage off, and sometimes for free stuff. Just type in the name of the company and "coupon codes" into your favorite search engine. There will be lots of sites to pop up. Most of the big name companies offer some kind of codes.
    Once you obtain your code, you just  type it into the appropriate box on the site your ordering from.  You may have to try several codes to find one that works. Watch your expiration dates, and sometimes you will often come upon codes that simply don't work. Sometimes you can even get coupons to print off to use in the brick and mortar store. I printed off a coupon that saved 40% at a popular store for tools. We have saved money on gardening supplies, shoes, motorcycle accessories, and more. Its well worth the little effort and time it takes to check it out next time you get an itch to buy something.

See the box on bottom right that says "Apply Coupon"? This type space is what you will look for. When you click here, you will be taken to another box to type in your code which is usually a series of letters and/or numbers. Here is a list of some popular sites to get you started in finding your own codes:
Coupon Mountain    My Coupons     Coupon Cabin    Daily Deals    A to Z Deals

My Grand Daughter

This pic was taken by my talented, personal photographer. My 20 yo old daughter . She took this of Aubrey this past fall. Aubrey is 3 and 1/2 yrs old.

Friendly Hummingbirds

I found this pic I had saved on webshots. I took it a few years ago. During that summer, I would go outside to the feeder every now and then, and just hold my fingers up by the feeder. It didnt take long for them to get up the nerve to sit on my finger for brief, wonderful moments while they sipped.

Knit Dishcloth

I found this simple pattern free a few days ago. I fell in love with the stitch. It was so easy to work up, and has a wonder nubby texture. I forgot to bookmark the site, and I have spent hours going back thru my history etc trying to find it, but had no luck. I am going to post the pattern here, but if anyone recognizes it,please let me know so I can give credit to the original poster.

                                         And here is the final result, taken in much better light.

Knit Dishcloth

Cast on 39 stitches , knit 3 rows for border.

Row 1: Right side, knit across

Row 2: k3, (purl to last 3 stitches), k3

Row 3: K3, (P2,K1) to within last 5 stitches, then P2,K3

Row 4: K4, (K2,P1) to within last 5 stitches, then K5

Repeat these four rows 6 times ( or to desired length)

Knit last 4 rows

Bind off and weave in ends.

Garlic

I got interested in trying to grow some garlic around this past December. I have only used the little boxed garlic from the grocery store before, but after reading posts on the Gardenweb forum, some new varieties really sounded interesting. Several were even proclaiming their love of eating garlic raw. I have to admit I have never tried that. I do love to cook with lots of it though. Anyway, a generous gardener offered me some of his garlic to try. I promised I would try eating some of it raw. Well this garlic arrived in the mail, I think On Friday. I put off trying it over the weekend, opting to wait until my husband was at work. I like to spend as much time with him as I can  (yea, I know, sounds pitiful since we have been married over 32 years,but hey, what can I say). Anyway, I thought I would spare him my garlic breath,lol. So this morning I cut a small sliver off a small clove of rose colored garlic, and popped it in my mouth. As soon as I started chewing, the heat hit me full force. Man was this stuff hot. I quickly swallowed without chewing any further, and proceeded to pop a piece of bread in my mouth. While this worked some, I quickly followed with some peppermint sticks, and a couple pieces of sour candy my grand daughter had in the drawer. Well the heat is gone, but my breath still has a strong garlic smell, even to me. Dont think I will be trying that again anytime soon. Although, I figure this garlic would be excellent to cook with, and probably take a lot less than the mild store bought bulbs. I cant wait to give it a try with the fantastic recipe I have for Greek Lemon Chicken.

Crocheted Scarf

I crocheted this scarf several years ago. This was a pattern I had made up myself. I do that frequently because I am too tight to by patterns. My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was around 8 years old. I have crocheted baby sweaters, booties, blankets,hats and more over the years.For the edge treatment of this scarf, I just crocheted a very long chain, then wove it around the long edge.

Baking Cookies

My 3 1/2 year old grand daughter's first time making cookies for Santa. She had a blast baking, and  wearing the Christmas apron I made her. You should have seen her little face the next morning when she found the plate of cookie crumbs, and left over carrot bits, Santa and his team left behind after their visit Christmas Eve. They sure are messy eaters.

Watermark Protect Your Photos

I found this neat site recently to watermark your photos to protect against theft. In a gardening forum I visit frequently, a lady posted she had a plant photo hijacked by a seed company. They used her photo as their own to sell their seeds. I understand things of this sort is a common occurrence online anymore. This site is extremely easy,and no worries about downloading any software since it works online. You can also upgrade to a very nice version that lets you do photos in batches etc. Here is an example of what I did with a photo of mine:

Pee Gee Hydrangea

Here is the address for the site:

http://www.watermark.ws/

Pepperoni Rolls

My daughter has been wanting some homemade pepperoni rolls for supper for awhile now, but it always seemed I never had enough of the supplies. Well , this time I was prepared. I made a batch of 2 dozen large rolls. The bread recipe is a favorite I have used for a long time. I am not sure where I got it from. It is Amish White Bread. Its makes very nice ,light fluffy bread.
Here is the dough at the end of the first raising:

I am not used to this blogging thing, so almost forgot to take a picture of them before they were all devoured. Here is a picture of two I have left:

They were stuffed with loads of pepperoni, and hot pepper cheese. You can see one stick of pepperoni falling out. Here is the recipe:
                                                  ___________________
                                       Amish White Bread
2 cups of warm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 pks active dry yeast
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil
5 to 6 cups of flour


First proof the yeast by mixing the yeast,warm water, and sugar and let set a few minutes to let mixture foam up. The add the remaining ingredients and mix. Start with 5 cups of flour, then add remaining cup as needed to prevent it from being sticky. I like to use my stand mixer to knead, but it can also be done by hand. If kneading by hand, do so for about 10 minutes, slightly less by mixer. Then oil dough, cover and set in warm place to raise till doubled.Then pan out into desired shape (for loafs or rolls) and let raise again. Then bake at 350° for about 25 minutes.

Recital Dress

This is a recital dress I made for my grand daughter last fall. She is 3 years old, and lives in our home with her mother. I saw a similar dress I liked on another site, but only had a pattern for a simple summer dress. By adapting the waist to an empire style, and making the white silk roses by hand, it came pretty close. The shimmery black gauzy fabric doesnt seem to show well on my camera. But she looked like a little angel walking across the stage for her very first dance recital.

Winter Sowing

This is my first time winter sowing seeds. If you would like more info on how this works, check out www.wintersown.org  I have about 88 containers out so far. Also check out http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/wtrsow/
These are all covered with snow right now, and have been so for a few weeks. Seems the snow no more than starts to melt off, then we get some new. But I guess thats typical for this time of year.
Hopefully I will have loads of new plants to put out in this year. I love trying my hands at new things. I have learned how to take cuttings and propagate my flowers, shrubs, and trees. It is much more satisfying to watch your new plants take root, or grow from seed. Its just not the same buying them in pots in the store.
edit:
I wanted to add that according to other winter sowers, you no longer have the problem of dealing with damp-off. I always have trouble with that in the traditional sowing methods. There is no worry about seeds sprouting before frosts are over. Perennials and hardy annuals are planted out anytime during the winter, and tender annuals are usually put out around March in my zone. To winter sow, you just recycle old containers such as milk jugs, juice containers, and 2 liter pop bottles.Cut in half, punch drainage holes in the bottom, fill with dirt, plant seeds, tape shut, and set out. Oh, and be sure to leave the lids off . Then in the spring and probaby thru summer you will be planting out all your new goodies.

My Favorite Iris

I love the beautiful, rich colors of this Iris. Unfortunately I only have one. The others are in shades of purples and yellow.

Antiques

I have had these antique plates for over 30 years. They once belonged to my husband's grandmother.I only have a few pieces, but they are very special to me. I think things with age have a special beauty about them.

Update on the upper plate: After someone commented on this plate looking for some info on one she has, I found out some things. After checking the back of the plate, I found out it was manufactured by The Sebring Pottery Company, in 1948. It is the Chantilly pattern, IT S284. The back also states "Warranted 22 K Gold". Which I assume is the 2" wide gold filigree trim around the edge. I only have the platter, and 6 dinner plates. Here are a few sites that list this pattern:

http://www.sebringohiohistoricalsociety.org/SebringPotteryCompany.html

http://www.mygrannysatticantiques.com/html/porcelain_pottery_china_marks_.htm

http://www.rubylane.com/shops/lisasvintagetreasures/ilist/,cs=Pottery:Sebring:Colonial+Couple:Chantilly.html

http://replacements.com/webquote/SEBCHA.htm

Snowstorm
During the recent snowstorm to hit the east coast, we got a total of about 8" of snow in our area. The shot below was taken of my front yard from the porch.