a petite homemaker

All that time I spent collecting and stashing household goodies… it has all led to this! Rich and I are now finally settling into our little apartment. My cupboards are full of green Pyrex and I don’t have to feel guilty about decorating the living room with wool.

While we were on our honeymoon, we stopped at several antique malls. I found some special things including this wonderful linen tablecloth. During some intense browsing, I came across a pile of linens, and just happened to pull this one out without knowing its special hidden secret. A wheel! Of course I couldn’t pass up something with a spinning wheel on it! When we got home I put it on the table immediately. An unexpected bonus: it’s inspiring me keep the table clean.

wedding bells news

It’s happening in just less than two months. I’m glad I’ve had this time to mentally prepare and whatnot. Pennsic was a bit of a road block to a lot of our preparations, but with that out of the way, we’ve moved forward successfully. The day after we returned home from Pennsic, we spent the entire day rearranging the furniture in Rich’s apartment. He takes his couch/futon to camp, so we wanted to take advantage of the living room being mostly empty. We’ve made room for some of my furniture which consists only of one chair, a coffee table, and spinning wheels.

As for planning the wedding itself, we had nearly everything taken care of before Pennsic except for a photographer. It was really difficult to find someone who was available and affordable. I didn’t think we’d get out without spending at least $1,000. However, through the grapevine, we reconnected with someone I knew from high school. She actually remembered me from when she worked there. We’re going to have a video done too, which I hadn’t considered before. And in a week or so we’ll meet with the caterer to discuss menu and cake!

Just a few days ago I finally decided on a head-topper. I really liked the look of the birdcage veils or little hat/veil thing rather than a large fluffy veil. My mom put together a few different things, but I just felt uncomfortable. In the end I decided on a birdcage attached to a headband since I have short hair and combs do NOT stay in! I found it at [Psalm117]

Also, I purchased an overnight carrying case to use as a card box from [Great Lakes Vintage], another Etsy shop. It’s actually a lot bigger than I had anticipated, even though I had a measuring tape in from of me at time of purchase. At the end of the night, I can just close the box and take it home! And then it’s reusable later. I’m not into this single-purpose-chatchka-lying-around-the house business.

turn back the hands of time

Clocks. My dad likes them a lot. He even made one once. But he has one that tocks very loudly and for some reason, it never stays running. My mental powers of dislike stop it, so he just doesn’t wind it up anymore.

I saw a neat clock at a church once and wondered why I never find anything like that at flea markets. This weekend I did. I asked the fellow selling it if it worked. He said he wouldn’t bring it out if it didn’t work. That’s honorable. Unfortunately it is not battery operated, and the plug is on a 3 inch cord. It makes sense for a kitchen from the 1950s when there was an outlet up near the ceiling into which a clock could be plugged. For the 21st century home, it might present a bit of an adventure.

My mom said it looked just like something they’d had when she was growing up. The colors – turquoise and peach – were very popular at the time. That’s one of the things I like about collecting vintage stuff: when my mom tells me what she remembers about it!

home again!

Returned once again from War. Nothing much to report, although, considering our history (broken leg, burned foot, spider bite), that’s probably a good thing. Initially the weather was not good. Rain rain rain. Which turned into mud mud mud. Dark, gooey, and thick. Not to mention stinky. We decided to try out a new block this year and the end we wanted was the “flood” end. It didn’t flood, but we did have to dig a trench for drainage. It was so wet in fact, there were crayfish popping up in the middle of camp!

I didn’t try to attend a lot of classes this year. There were a few that I really wanted to go to, but as with previous years, I made it to about half. For the past three years, I’ve wanted to go to the basket-weaving class. First try, missed it, second try, missed it. This year, I finally got in, not without some drama, and made my first basket! It wasn’t really that difficult. Now I’m going to use the kits I got at Christmas to make more!

Usually I’m not that great at budgeting myself, but this year I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. Luckily, I didn’t find a lot of expensive things I wanted, so I didn’t have a problem. I bought a mini nostepinne, fabric, spinning fiber, books, pottery, a brooch, a sock (yes, just one), and that’s it. I think.

Overall it was a good year.

the dress

As requested by Valerie, I’ll do some sharing in regards to the hitching. Since the man and the dress are the only two things settled at this point, I’ll show the dress. I found it on Vintageous, a website with a great selection of clothes and accessories. She had just added it on Thursday and when I saw it, I knew I couldn’t wait around to think about it. It’s a late 1950s, early 1960s dress (http://vintageous.com/v5623.htm).

Looking for the right garment for this occasion did not concern me. When I was in high school, I loved searching out dresses for dances and accessorizing them. At no other moment in my life was I even remotely stylish, but I could manage a semi-formal event. The boy and the dress had never been a problem. Apparently that remains true for this also. My co-workers weren’t overly excited about it, but they’re all 50+ and likely rather traditional. Plus I don’t care what they think.

golden geometry

Thanks to everyone for your enthusiastic congratulations on my news. So far we haven’t made any specific plans, and frankly I don’t know where to start. But whatever we do, it’ll probably be weird! I’ll keep you posted.

——————————————————————–

Whenever we go visit my friend Laura, we always stop at these two funky junk shops (my dad doesn’t like that I call them “junk” shops) that have not been restocked since 1975. They sell a lot of stuff, but a large majority of it is fabric. One store has mostly quilting stuff and the other has draperies. Since I was there last weekend, and in an appreciative mood for the unique and vintage, I picked up a few yards of this stuff:

The plan is to make into a bag for my Kromski loom. I realize it’s not going to be padded, but then again, I’ve been bumbling around with the loom for a month or two with nothing protecting it. Mostly I need something to keep everything together. I wish it had a date printed on it!

in the end, i bought it.

Visited the flea market this weekend and came across a Corningware piece called the “Casser-ette”. It was $1.00 and in it’s original box.

I stood there and looked at it. Looked at other items, came back, looked at it again. Have you ever seen that episode of MadTV when Lorraine wants to buy that box of tacks but can’t decide even though she needs them and they’re only 50 cents? That’s sort of what this was like. Except that I may not have needed this adorable little covered casserole dish in a basket. But in the end I bought it.

It’s microwaveable and toaster-oven safe. I’m always cooking things in the toaster oven. And now I won’t need a potholder to keep myself or the table from getting scorched. Nothing better!

jumbo flyer ordered!!

wee! I just ordered my Kromski Sonata jumbo flyer from Paradise Fibers! Plus an extra bobbin, that put me over $100 and I got free shipping. The best deal I could find. I’m excited at the prospect of not struggling with fitting yarn onto my bobbins. Hoobah!

back home in ohio

Wow! We had such a great weekend in New York at the Sheep and Wool Festival. We left early Friday morning, although it was an hour + later than we planned. I drove two hours across Pennsylvania and we switched in Snow Shoe. It looked like we had already completed half the trip, but the rest of PA and into New York took five more hours!

We arrived in Hyde Park around 3 pm, and after a brief rest, drove to Rhinebeck to find the fairgrounds. Rhinebeck is a cute place, very tourist friendly and charming. The men wear sweaters and blazers – definitely NOT northeastern Ohio! The next morning we got to the fairgrounds around 8 am as suggested by fellow Ravelers. We stayed in the car and had granola bars until 8:30. Then we started walking. It was awesome and overwhelming and a little annoying. I tend to get frustrated when trying to shop with large crowds of people (especially women). They were so pushy, running into me, standing in the aisles chatting, hording fiber. Seriously, no sock yarn can be that exciting. It took me a while to get adjusted, and the morning was a little rough, but by the afternoon I was doing alright and Sunday was much more tolerable.

These angora goats were huddled amusingly in a corner.

I picked up a great variety of neat things. Warning: photos are mediocre at best.

Tools! For the past few years I’ve been using various cat/dog brushes to do my carding. They work, but aren’t quite the right tool for the job. This weekend I finally picked up a real set of handcarders and a flicker brush; and to go along with those, the Ashford Book of Carding. Also, I got a different style nostepinde; this one is longer and will hold larger balls. I’ve wanted to try Power Scour, so I bought a bottle of that too. And yes, basketweaving is something I’ve been interested in, and with this book at half price, it was a good deal.

To go along with the carding, I bought five different colors of Angelina. I talked to a really nice merchant about natural dyeing, and she encouraged me to keep trying. I bought cochineal bugs and sticklac from her, both will need to have the dye extracted = crushing bugs!

There were a lot of beautifully dyed fibers there, but I just chose a few to take home. The big pile of fluff on the left is a mohair/romney blend. The locks are a Border Leicester/Finn cross and the little ball in front is um wool (really?).

But I cannot resist the natural colored fibers! I love greys and browns and tans, so I got some special breed-specific fibers to enjoy their yummy texture and color. In the brown bag is Icelandic, which I have but they are not nearly as nice as this roving. The three balls in front is Shetland, which I have always been pleased with. And the bag in back is a Cormo/silk blend. I love the way the fibers take up dye differently, so I think I may dye that.

Yes, we had an excellent weekend. The weather was beautiful and cold enough to wear woolies, the leaves were just right. It was great to get away and see another area of the country. Hoobah for Rhinebeck!

Rich wants to make reservations for next year already. Isn’t he cute?

it’s a monday

What’s been going on in my life? I’m still jobless. And it’s annoying. Not because I don’t have plenty to do at home, but because I feel really lame. I’ve got plans that can’t happen yet. I feel like four years of college was a waste (although I knew that 3 years ago). So, I’m sort of just rolling along in limbo. And focusing instead on fun, easy things.

For instance, I got out my dyes today, as it has been a few weeks since I last dyed something. I did two batches of locks, which will go into the shop once they’ve dried. Also, I was give a few ounces of merino top and dyed that too. The woman had *tried* spinning, but it wasn’t working, plus her cat was gnawing on the fiber. And I did an experiment in the crock pot with layering and it ended up very dark (guess which one that is). Some of these things will likely be used in the drumcarder. When I go to Rhinebeck in just TWO WEEKS, I think I’ll look for drumcarder tools and fiber bits.

On Friday I stopped in at a moving sale. It happened to be at the home of an elementary school friend, but she wasn’t there. I almost walked out with nothing, but then he told me there was more downstairs. I bought this neat stand-up project bag. It looks like there is actually embroidery on it – I get fooled each time I look at it, but it’s a print. I like that I can close it to move it and still have stuff inside. I don’t have one of these and I was just thinking I needed something for WIPs. Bingo!