Sunshine and Apples

We had some weak rays of light peek through the interminable clouds today and I was able to get some of my photography done. This week's colors: dark apple green and buttery yellow (a custom milk paint mix that I experimented with and may never get the same shade again!). I am really happy with the results, just have to list them. So glad so many people liked the flour and feed sacks. Lucky me, we took a trip to Anamosa and Dyersville this weekend and I found a booth with a nice big stack to do more. Unfortunately, taxes are hanging over my head and I have to do that despicable task before I get to have fun again.

The wonderful burlap carrot is from Gatherings in Anamosa, I really should stitch up some myself, but pretty sure that is a pipe dream, will just have to enjoy this one. Those green gourds I got on ebay, they look just like pears, really cute decorating item.

Flour and Feed Sack Week at Catspaw

It is not often that I get an idea and immediately implement it, sometimes it is years between the "I can turn that into this" stage and the completed product. This week was different, I started seeing flour sacks that I hadn't noticed in antique shops before and saw pillows and rolling pin and breadboard covers and actually turned them into that right away, a crafting miracle. Here are a few of the pillows, they will range in price from $25 for smaller pillows, to $38 for the great big guys like these.

Valentine Schmalentine

I have to admit I am not a big fan of Valentines Day, starting in grade school when romance was just yucky, into the horrors of teenagedom when romance was agonizing, on to real romance and marriage as an adult when it just seems crazy to have one day that your significant other is required to spend too much money on flowers and try to get impossible reservations. I much prefer everyday surprises that don't have to come on a certain day as required by the Hallmark Company, such as having a long day and really not wanting to cook dinner and being whisked off for sizzling rice soup at the Hunan, or being gifted with some wonderful antique just because he thought I'd like it. Every year, my husband asks "Are you sure you don't like Valentines Day or are you just saying that?" As I told my good friend, I remain the girl who will take a dough bowl over a diamond any day.

My valentines day was spent sorting through feed and flour sacks and stitching them up into some lovely surprises that I think my customers will love. I made some great porch pillows, the girls having a great time stuffing them with pine shavings for me (we may never get all the sawdust chips picked up), my favorite project was a breadboard wrapped in a blue checkerboard Purina sack, photos coming soon. In the meantime, this is the little bit I have photographed so far for listing.

Deep Freeze

The weatherman had better not be lying about a warm weekend ahead (in the 30s and 40s, calling that warm!)--it is soooo freaking cold right now. I finished up a first collection in black, more to come, I need to add calicos to rolling pins and little breadboards and tins, some cute whisk brooms too.

We spent Saturday on the banks of the Mississippi, visiting Muscatine and Manley's Antiques, where we got the bad news that they are retiring, the good news that the shop was filled with their usual outstanding prims and I had a great time filling up the car. It really is a blow to lose that store, the owners are nice, the store is gorgeous and always filled with the best of the best. I hope the citizens of Muscatine can revive the downtown, it is so pretty by the riverfront, but businesses are just boarded up right and left. The Cotton Shop, one of the best country fabric stores ever has moved out to the outskirts of town too, makes me sad. The huge steamboat captain houses still line 3rd Street, they are well maintained, the town could be a great tourist place, just needs the cash to get it going, isn't that always the case?

Lots of listing to do, so I'd better get going!

Digging Out of the Igloo

What a storm! For once, the crazy storm hype wasn't too much hype, we haven't had so much snow in one storm since I was a newlywed (too many years ago to count...). It took us all day to clear a path to the cars and out the driveway. To make matters worse, when I got done clearing off the back deck, I saw this huge ice waterfall stuck to the side of my house! The outdoor faucet had frozen itself and somehow the valve opened just enough to do a continuous drip of water for who knows how long. Thank goodness nothing broke and flooded inside.

When I stopped complaining about how much I hurt from shoveling, I finished up some projects, got the dark apple green and robins egg prims painted, gathered up what needs to be painted black, hopefully tomorrow, and wrapped up these prim originals. I really love the sugar sack rolling pin at the top of the page, now have to see what else I can do with old sacks like these!

Good Clutter

I do like the Clean House shows and Designed to Sell, but certainly can't live with their less is more philosophy. It really does work to sell a house, I'm sure, but to live in??? No, thanks. When we moved from our big old house to our new little house, I toyed with the idea of no clutter, which lasted about 24 hours. The former owner had NOTHING on the kitchen counters, shelves had only one item per shelf on it. I thought, how nice to have counter space, then quickly came to the realization that I hated the vacant spaces. I filled up the counters with cookbooks and little shelves and antique smalls, and smiled big, clutter is me. A friend of mine is the exact opposite, he loves sparse, and used to tease me. Once, I went to his house and found a duck decoy on the coffee table "Look, Elaine, I decorated just for you!" We also had the exact opposite idea about antiques, he thought why on earth would you pay that much for an antique when you could have new, me saying why on earth would you pay that for something new when you can have something old? I also admit to having complete decorators ADD, I love so many styles and although primitive is my favorite, I do mix it up, adding my Italian Renaissance paintings and statues right next to the cabins and dough bowls. I think they are happy together. Now, if my clutter were cleaner, I wouldn't complain, but that is another matter altogether!

I have tons of good stuff to list this week, love those cute little cardboard animals that I will be auctioning, starting to think spring with some robins egg blue, with plans for more appley greens to come, plus I have some great prims that just need to be black, busy, busy busy!

I have to mention my lovely food weekend. We went back to the Power Company and got to splurge with ordering steak Oscar, a divine tenderloin topped with crab, asparagus and bernaise, it was heaven. To thank my husband for taking us, I made walnut chicken for us last night, I'll write that recipe down and include it in a future blog, it has a port wine sauce to pour over chicken with walnuts and bacon, not possible to eat without making yummy sounds.

Shopping at Gatherings

If you are in Iowa, or just planning a visit, you have to put a stop at Gatherings in Anamosa on your list of things to do. We drove over yesterday, and I had a heyday finding some wonderful bread boards and mashers, all just a bit unusual, some I'll do a little of my handiwork to, some are so perfect as is. The store is the best primitives place I've ever seen. Most of my favorites on my blog list are great Eastern Iowa shops, every one is unique and wonderful. Gatherings will make the primitives lover need smelling salts, it is just prim heaven! Rug Cottage and Barntiques is just Iowa farmhouse at its best, an eclectic mix of country, primitive and cheery 40s decor, and of course, the rugs are gorgeous and you can't leave without a jar of jam and a teapot. Polly Ann's is another cheerful farmhouse mix of antiques, you just never know what you'll find, but always something to love. Simply Iowa, my girls immediately christened the Alice in Wonderland store, and this was before I knew about the Mad Hatter displays she does so well. The store is a wonderland maze of treasures tucked into corners, the most humble objects elevated to high art by her beautiful displays. Sisters Garden just plain makes me happy, they are also display geniuses, things you'd never think of doing are just magic, from the wine glasses hanging from the trees when you walk in, branches hung from the ceiling draped in fairy lights, chippy old furniture graced with early transfer china, little robins eggs in a teacup, it really is inspiring. In addition to being great stores, all the women who run them are so nice, it makes shopping even more of a treat. If I get some sunshine tomorrow I'll have new photos of the treasures I found and get to work on my little touch ups!