Thinking inside the box, coloring inside the lines
Posted: May 15, 2014 Filed under: Social Media, This Old Row House | Tags: cathedral quilt, creativity, granny square afghan, hooked rug, Instagram, vintage, vintage plaid scarves 3 CommentsJust this week I put two and three together and realized I really like thinking inside the box. When it comes to design I’m attracted to squares. And things in grids. Especially if they have lots of colors.
You can find boxy grids all through the house, starting just inside the front door. I comb-painted the foyer floor in raspberry and white squares a long time ago.
I’ve got granny square afghans galore in the living room in the winter–one for everyone, and then some. Lots of chenille-dotted pillows, too.
Two of my hooked wool rugs are designed on squares.
Dining room rug (with jadeite green!) on the left, sewing room rug on the right.
Month of Makeovers Day 18: On Halloween Pins & Needles!
Posted: October 18, 2013 Filed under: 31 Days, Craft, Sewing Project | Tags: beginning sewing, buttons, children, Crafts, creativity, Halloween, Sewing, vintage buttons, Wool, Yarn 5 Comments
I started my afterschool sewing classes this week. That means I get to play around with wool, cotton, thread, pins, needles, scissors, and ideas with a bunch of elementary school kids who don’t bring any of my neurotically grown-up “Make It Perfect Or It’s No Good!” vibe to the party.
I’ve learned a lot about creativity from these little people! Read the rest of this entry »
Month of Makeovers Day 16: Veggie makeovers
Posted: October 16, 2013 Filed under: 31 Days | Tags: agricultural fair, children, creativity, Halloween, Jack-o'-lantern, New Englanders, pumpkins, squash, Topsfield Fair, Vegetables Comments Off on Month of Makeovers Day 16: Veggie makeoversJunking isn’t my day job, unfortunately.
Teaching is. I spent part of last week teaching kids about sheep, wool, and wool-spinning at our county fair. It’s the nation’s oldest agricultural fair—almost 200 years old! There’s a rabbit barn, a chicken barn, a flower show, a giant pumpkin weigh-off, baking exhibits, a sheep barn, dozens of food stalls . . . There’s a midway, which I always avoid like the plague, preferring to walk through the cattle barn and look at the cow mamas with their sweet little calves. There is even a rodeo in the arena, an event about which stodgy New Englanders don’t seem to know what to think. Men wearing plaid shirts, chaps, and Stetsons, completely unironically?
Of all the things to see and do at the fair, though, my favorite is the exhibit of vegetables decorated by children.
There are some straight-up jack-o-lanterns in the bunch
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dish sisters vintage home and housewares 