Oh My~ Check out SugarPie Farmhouse!

{click off the music on my playlist so you can hear Ruthie}

Oh my goodness gals you must check out Ruthie's new website. She is just so stinkin' cute and a real encouragement to women! I love how her lipstick needs to match her jars--is that just too darling or what! I am putting her spaghetti pie on my recipe to do list for this weekend, doesn't it look yummy. Go pay Aunt Ruthie a visit and tour her sassy little farmhouse--tell her Blueberry Cottage sent you over for pie, I ran out:-)

Yours in Farmhouse love,

A Full Cookie Jar

Mummy, you know what?

What Lydia?

I am so happy when the cookie jar is full!

Farm Fresh and Gluten Free

The gals are supplying us with loads of eggs and are they good. It really is quite satisfying to get such an abundance not only for us but to share. I have been whipping up all kinds of dishes requiring eggs in large quantities. Next up~ Angel food cake with a mocha creme frosting, yummy!

Sadly, we think several of the chooks got taken last night. We are not sure what got in but we are missing about 7 gals right now and feathers have been found as far as the front pasture. This is one of those things you live with when you hobby farm, but nonetheless it is still upsetting.

On a brighter note, I have new batches made of my gluten free play dough in my Etsy shop. I've been mixing different combinations of the natural food dyes to get some brighter colors. This batch I am very pleased with.

I hope this finds you all enjoying the sun!

A little surprise for you gals!

I have always loved the actress Donna Reed. From elegant to farmgirl she has played all the parts. My favorite TV show growing up..now I am not that old! The Donna Reed show was shown on TV Land for a long time and I used to catch reruns at my Nana's, she loved Donna too. I thought she has just got to be the most perfect mother and homemaker. Of course now that I am a grown up, and know that perfection doesn't exist , I still can't help but love to watch a rerun of that show . Did you know you can watch this show now that it is out on DVD? My children love it--think it is an absolute hoot! Donna is just the cutest little homemaker that ever graced TV I think. Now you may argue that June Cleaver or Harriet Nelson deserve that honor, but I think Donna had a real sweetness about her that makes her come out on top.

So all this to say that I started a blog , a vintage loving blog, 'cause I love all stuff vintage and antique you know! I have skads of books and recipes from this time and will post them over there, so I can keep a better record and to share with you all , of course! Vintage homekeeping advice really is fun and a hoot to read and not too far off the mark these days. Kind of harkens us to an era that is now extinct but one I think alot of ladies would still like to live in.

Pop on over and visit the new blog and let me know what you think about that yummy recipe I have posted there. It is tasty and if you try it do give a holler and let me know.

Colonel Bunn by Tasha Tudor

I have always loved this print by Tasha Tudor, so life like, don't you think? We love bunnies here and we get to see quite a few hopping on by in the pastures and the back acres if we're real still and quiet. Unfortunately, our barn cats George and Gracie like bunnies too. Last Spring a baby bunny was hovering near the bird feeders and when I approached it didn't move an inch. When I picked it up I noticed a large piece of its fur torn from the side. Luckily for this little guy it was a surface issue. Nonetheless, I used a bit of witch hazel to clean the exposed area and put a dab of bacitracin on it, just in case. He stayed in one of our chick cages for a couple of days nibbling on cabbage leaves and carrots and then we let him free. He wouldn't hop away at first. I feared he like his accomodations so I scooped him up and brought him closer to the woods and the creek further from the house and barn. My children 'oft wonder if our bunny is okay. Do you think he survived Mum, they will ask. I of course, tell them certainly he is a papa bunny now like Peter Rabbit, raising his own brood of little rascals.

I love to make these little cut wool bunnies and was taught by Marjorie Tudor how to fashion them. I make a few a year as they are time consuming. They make lovely gifts.

Take Peace is a yahoo group that I founded and still moderate for the discussion of Tasha Tudor and her lifestyle. We started a tradition of exchanges or swaps within the group. The ever organized LaVonne keeps these exchanges running smoothly. We have had Christmas , Valentines, Easter and Mothers Day exchanges. Sometimes we swap with a group but more often we swap with one person . I can't tell you the lovely handmade ornaments and artwork I have received from these talented ladies. This year LaVonne has organized a Colonel Bunn exchange. We send a bunny themed gift for Easter to our swap buddy. It can be handmade or store bought. These exchanges for me, cement one thing I know about 99% of Tasha Tudor fans--they are the loveliest on this earth and I cherish each friendship I have been privledged to make because of this one little yahoo group.

This Easter I hope you can swap a Colonel Bunn with someone special, start a little Tasha Tudor tradition that will most certainly bring a smile to the face of the recipient. If you would like to try your hand at making a cut wool bunny the tutorial is right on my blog under--you guessed it, "tutorials".

Yours in bunny love,

Heirloom Kitchen Linens

I have quite a collection of vintage kitchen linens. I have been collecting them for years and years. Each one special. I use them often, not caring if a new stain or spot graces the material. They were made to be used, admired. A recent trip to the bookstore uncovered this little treasure! By the same darling lady who wrote The Apron Book. Love that book too! I also have a pretty neat collection of vintage aprons too, but you knew that didn't you. Those aprons get worn too, have new stains and new holes and are worn in spots not previously showing wear.
The cover of the book drew me right in. I mean who doesn't think a skipping teacup is art , right?


I am already half way through the book as EllynAnne draws you into the stories of these vintage linens, their histories and backgrounds of how they came about. The pages are total eye candy of embroidered tablecloths, napkins and aprons. Lovely little stitches of forget-me-nots, teacups, chickens, daisies, scottie dogs and kittens gracing the corners of the fabrics in colorful threads.
Did you know that the Scottie dog was so popular during the 1930's on linens because Franklin Roosevelt brought this adorable dog into the White House.



The two above pics are some of my vintage linens. Knowing that I love chickens and roosters my little sister picked these up for me at an antique auction she frequents. I use them for teatimes or lunch as they area bit smaller than my collection of dinner linens.
I enjoy embroidery. Vintage transferes are alot easier to find nowadays and if you visit Vicki at Turkey Feathers you can oooh and ahhh and purchase some lovely ones there. She sent me a stash of them awhile ago when I purchased her book.
The Scottie Dog performing the duties of the week is really one of my favorites. A scottie , dressed in a cute apron hanging the wash or doing the ironing, I ask, is there anything cuter than that!

Now view EllynAnne's youtube vidoe of her new book and do visit her site. Is she just too cute or what! I wish she was my grandma!








Thanks for stoppin' by for some embroidery love!

Waldorf Handwork

I remember how excited I was when "Living Crafts" hit the stands. It has been a year and I am still just as excited to get this in the post! Each issue has never disappointed , not once. There are so many talented artisians in each issue. Shortly, after it had come out I recall a lady saying she had taken a look at it and was unimpressed, not caring for "Waldorf " crafts. Waldorf really isn't about crafts per say, but handwork. Why wouldn't one love working with natural fibers like wool and wood, or spinning and weaving fiber into all kinds of yummy yarns and materials to be used for the various knitting and felting processes that the Waldorf schools teach. Or step into the drawing and watercolor world that they introduce. If your unfamiliar with the types of handwork the Waldorf schools teach please acquaint yourself with them. They are teachers and supporters of working with the elements from the natural world. Getting in tune with nature and using it to create and inspire from within. The natural foods and breads and baking they teach are beyond yummy! The Waldorf Book of Soups is delicious! I have some of their books in my sidebar. I cannot help but think that Beatrix Potter,Thoreau and Tasha Tudor would have been very impressed with a Waldorf school and the type of pedagogy it holds dear. So many old-fashioned endeavors sprinkled throughout the curriculum.

I would encourage you to look at your local book shop for this seasons Living Crafts--you'll get a taste of what the Waldorf and most natural living folks get up to in the "crafts" department. Also, there are many Waldorf handwork blogs but I do like this particular one and if you get a chance do pay a vist to her at Teaching Handwork.

Waldorf play is all about the imagination and the use of as many natural materials to facilitate it as possible. This is a custom order crown I finished for a little boy named Cormac who has a birthday coming up. He likes cars and this cotton twill fit the bill. Now what child doesn't like to take himself on a journey to faraway lands slaying dragons and restoring the kingdom to order and all that I ask! The crown was made from natural felt and hopefully will be worn many times and see numerous successful adventures.

I don't know if I would classify this crown as a Waldorf craft, but I do know my children and those I have gifted with these crowns or a handknit dolly sweater or a little wooden gnome outfitted in plant dyed natural felt have all been very grateful that I know something about Waldorf Handwork.

Teatime with Beatrix Potter

We enjoy tea each afternoon together. Just a pot, no more. I usually set the buffet in the dining rom with our cups and saucers and fixings.

A little sweet always accompanies tea. This day as the snow was blustering away it was Rasberry Jam Thumbprint Cookies from The Tasha Tudor Cookbook. These are not Tasha's receipt (an old fashioned term for recipe) but her friend Linda Allen's. Linda lived with Tasha for 11 years and studied watercolors from her. Tasha's influence can be seen in some of Linda's works, especially her paintings from Old-Fashioned Gifts that she co-authored with Tasha Tudor.

Lydia usually rings the old school bell, considered a very important job when calling the household to tea.

Another treat on the teatime table was this lovely book recommended by my kindred spirit Eli over at Flutterby Patch. Eli is fortunate enough to live where Beatrix Potter did and her and I have corresponded and been able to share our mutual interests. Eli is also a lovely and most talented knitter. Don't you just love her banner! Oh yes, back to the book Eli recommended. It is Toys From The Tales of Beatrix Potter by Margaret Hutchings. All the patterns are in it to make each of Miss Potter's characters come alive. Lydia and Sophia are enjoying browsing the book and picking out which will be sewn and made first. It changes hourly from Jemima Puddleduck to Tom Kitten to Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle. Todays end saw a firm decison on Tabitha Twitchit. We'll see what tomorrow brings as the book is opened again.

Of course I am fond of Appley Dapply myself. Below is one from the book , above is the one Eli made me for a Christmastide present. We named her Tilda. Eli is quite the crafter wouldn't you say!

We really love tea time here and it is a relaxing and refreshing spot in the afternoon. If lessons haven't gone swimmingly in the morning or there has been extra work around the home a pot of tea seems to calm and center everyone a little. When the day is humming along and everyone is ready for this break we will usually read a Scripture or learn a verse to help remember our family values and ways to live by. But, for some reason Beatrix Potter seems to be present alot at our teas-at least in spirit!

Do stop by Eli's as she has shared some wonderful photos of her Beatrix Potter collection.

Moments

Lydia has taken to her hand sewing daily. We have quite a few little tooth fairy pillows and dollhouse cushions finished. Her whip stitch and the spaces in between each day get a litte closer and a little neater. Sitting in the chair together, by the window so we can get the most light, we work together in quiet. I usually have a little embroidery or knitting to keep my hands busy in between rethreading the needle for her. I am reminded that these days go by so quickly and soon this little girl will be a young lady. But for now I will take all this little girl goodness. Whilst stitching the other day Lydia asked me, "Mommy where did you find me"? "Behind one of your Daddy's smiles", I told her. "Oh good, 'cause I thought I may have come from another land", she said.