robinette

Last week I received this great bunch of Lotta Jansdotter fabric remnants in the mail. All high-quality linen, in lots of different sizes, from 5 x 5 inch squares all the way up to 72 x 13 inches! Lotta has restocked her website with super cute little Lotta drawstring bags, each filled with a mix of her leftover fabrics (a web exclusive). I bought two bags, one with the larger remnants, which had about four or five different fabric pieces in it and a second one with maybe ten or so different kinds of fabrics in a bunch of smaller sizes. She asks that you don’t use them to make items to sell, which is not a problem at all for me, since I can think of approximately 101 things to make for myself.

I’ve started with a new set of summer pillow covers for my living room. I used some neutral color linen to complete each pillow, making an envelope closure on the backside. I think maybe a tote bag is next and possibly some sort of simple linen throw with some bits of these fabrics pieced into a patchwork stripe running the length of it.

I’ve been on a bit of a blogging break these last couple of weeks. We went on a week-long road trip to visit family in Indiana and then up to visit some friends who were vacationing on Lake Michigan. It was quite relaxing, as it always is when we visit my in-laws. My mother-in-law is a wonderful cook and we have the best meals when we’re there. She also volunteered to take care of the kids while my husband and I went out for a day of thrift shopping (yay!). Here are some of my recent finds:

This is perhaps the best thing I found. A hand-stitched quilt, obviously well-loved for many years before making its way to the thrift store. When I walked into the store, I saw it in a heap on top of what looked like the pricing desk. When I casually (trying not to seem too interested) asked the price, the clerk replied “$1.59″. Yes, you read that right. I could not believe it. I picked it up, paid for it, and quickly left the store before she changed her mind.

I found a few pieces of vintage fabric and tea towels, too:

I also found some great dishes, which I absolutely do not need in any way, but could not resist the ORANGE and the general feeling of cheerfulness they evoke. The sunflower plate is a vintage piece of Arabia Finland found at a church rummage sale:

The yard-sale season is off to a good start!

Here is another version of this bag that I made for my sister’s (belated!) birthday. I sort of leaked the details of what I was making her after she saw mine and commented on it. She had only one request: that it be “springy and go with everything”. So, that is what I tried to accomplish. I think I managed to pull in every possible color, right? A very roomy bag with straps that are just the right length for over your arm or over your shoulder. Happy Belated Birthday, sis!

Yesterday was Henry’s last day of school and today was his school picnic. So now begins our summer break. We like to leave our summer days kind of open ended, without filling them up with too many weekly activities. Both boys are signed up for swimming lessons at the local pool, but other than that we are going to play it by ear. We have some fun places to visit around here that we don’t go to often during the school year, such as here and here. There will be lots of time spent at the lake also - fishing, swimming, kayaking and just general lazing about. Then there will also be the list of things tackle around the house - mainly painting, indoors and out. And there will be a few long weekend trips to visit people here and there. Happy days!

I found this great little German (I think) wooden candle holder at the flea market recently and have been looking at it a lot, as it’s been in my living room since bringing it home. I love those red and white mushrooms and have a lot of them stashed around my house, mainly with my Christmas decorations.

I think the correct term for this type of mushroom is Amanita, which I learned in this helpful guide I picked up a while ago:

Anyway, after rummaging through my fabric stash last night, I came up with this skirt for my shop using some linen I had on hand and one of a set of vintage napkins I unburied at the thrift store a while ago. I love the all of the little pictures on the fabric - mushrooms, bugs, snails, nuts, leaves. I still have four of the napkins left and hope to make something for myself sometime. It all reminds me of the walks we took in the woods near our cabin in Northern Michigan when I was growing up. I always came home with a handful of treasures I’d picked up along the way, many of which are right on those napkins.

Henry and I tackled a (relatively) quick project last week after school. After seeing it done in several different places online, we decided to try it ourselves. It was very simple, really: Mod Podge, paper, Mod Podge again. I let Henry go through a couple of falling-apart old books I had with interesting animal plates in them. After choosing a few, I cut them to size. Henry painted the front of each drawer with the Mod Podge, I stuck the paper on, then he put a second coat over the top. I think it maybe took an hour and he was very happy with the result. They hold all of his “homework” supplies, which he has carefully chosen: pens and paper, an old anatomy coloring book of mine from college, Peterson Field Guide to Birds, a penmanship dry-erase notebook, and various trading cards. I’m not sure where he’s come up with the concept of homework (he’s five), but he’s very excited about it.

On Mother’s Day morning, after a delicious breakfast prepared by my husband, the whole lot of us took a short trip to the local flea market. I wasn’t terribly enthusiastic about it at first, until my husband volunteered to commandeer both boys while I shopped. The thought of taking a fast and wreckless three year old and a begging five year old through narrow, glassware-stacked aisles does not appeal to me. Daddy did a great job of visiting all of the non-breakable-type booths with them (they tried out many riding things and helped him sort through records). It was pouring down rain and we didn’t stay long, but here were a few things I picked up:

The woman I bought this from said it is Marimekko fabric that her mother had sewn into a log holder (it had two wooden dowel handles before I disassembled it). While I can always use a good log holder, I thought I could make it into a bag instead. I can’t find another example of this fabric anywhere on line…it looks like Marimekko to me…but if anyone knows for sure, please let me know. I’d love to know of a resource for finding out about out-of-print vintage textiles, especially Scandinavian.

I also bought this cute owl linoleum block print from her. It was in a crazy blue-stained oak frame which I’ve since removed. I’m going to re-frame it and hang it in our bedroom.

Lastly, I picked up this sweet little silhouette of a braided girl to add to my ever growing collection of silhouettes. She was hidden behind another silhouette I bought that was framed, and I ended up liking this one much more than the one on top.

I am a firm believer in first birthday’s being just as much for the parents as the child…it’s also a milestone for the parents, who have just survived the first year. My dear little niece, Avery, and her parents just celebrated her first birthday with a much anticipated trip to Michigan and a big party filled with family and friends and lots of little ones running around. We all enjoyed every little bit of it, from the time my mom, sister, and I spent together getting ready for it, with Avery watching, to the gloppy first fistfuls of chocolate cake, to the grass-stained knees and juice-stained faces at the end of the day, collapsing into car seats for the ride home.  Here are some tidbits from the big day:

Birthday banner made using small paper plates, printed cardstock and string.

Birthday dress made for Avery.

Paper dot garland made with these cute circles from Elfrida, assembled by me and my very patient father. I was inspired by a garland made with self-adhesive dots from an old Martha Stewart Living issue (December/January 1996).

I pulled out some of my vintage stash and went through it this weekend and came up with this little version of a skirt that I secretly wish I could wear. I used one of those vintage map dishtowels for the the front panel - I love the little pictures on it, especially the mermaid. I had just enough of this green linen (used to be a table square, I think) to make the rest of it. I’m pretty happy with the final result! {Available in my shop.}

We had friends over for dinner yesterday. I don’t mean to imply that I cooked the dinner. Actually, most of the cooking was done by my friend, Niki. I chopped and she cooked. We had a wonderful spread - a perfect spring meal: sauteed chicken breast, rubbed with a delicious spice blend (I think it was called Northeast Woods) from Penzeys; cheddar cheese and whole wheat quesadillas; a yummy succotash (no Lima beans!); fresh fruit salad; and a hot and flavorful mango salsa. Niki is an amazing cook and her baked goods are to die for. And aside from the fact that she does all this with food, she’s also a very talented artist - check out these free-hand, machine-embroidered kids’ shirts she’s been designing and making for her recently-opened shop. I’m loving this one.

Niki’s Mango Salsa:

2 (very) ripe mangos, peeled and diced

1/4 red onion, finely chopped

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, ribbed and finely chopped

a handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of one lime

coarse salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and let it sit at room temp for at least 30 minutes prior to meal to blend all the flavors. It makes a great accompaniment to chicken, pork or fish!

Fresh berries for the fruit salad, individually cleaned by Freddy.

Succotash made with summer squash, yellow onion, fresh-shucked corn, jalapeño pepper and Great Northern beans. Mmmm…