I haven't been able to garden like I would like to but I do have some irises and peonies on the hill in front of my house that bloomed prolifically this year. This is one of the irises that I photographed and then "layered" with my editing program. Isn't it gorgeous?


I've been sorting through printouts and putting them in sleeve protectors and of course, that fires up my imagination and "wanna tat" mode. I tried to limit what I set aside for immediate tackling but there are probably a dozen things I think I should get to right away! This one is a vintage crochet pincushion. I've made the little bolster stuffed with fiberfill since I'm never too sure about vintage patterns until I try them out. What I would really like to do is stuff it with potpourri for a lingerie drawer. For now though, the pilot is a simple stuffed tube as the instructions tell me to make.

The crochet looked like it was really simple - I thought it would go FAST! Ha! That was Thursday night and I'm still not done. I ripped out several rows last night thinking I missed something on an end. I'm not sure if I did or if the late hour just whispered that suggestion to me and I took it to heart, but I'm near the end now. Once it goes around the tube, then I crochet the beading at each end. There are no instructions about attaching the long crocheted edges together but I'm going to somehow. It will gape if I don't.

So...this very simple project has become way more time-consuming than I expected, but I think I will love it when it is done and I think I will come up with some improvements too, but for now, I'm following the instructions, believe it or not!

Well...except it does call for a silk casing over the tube under the crochet...I'm skipping that for now.


I thought I'd show some more of the goodies from my thrift store excursion last weekend. This fan box intrigued me, partly because of shape and design and partly because I can store all my little tatted fans in it. I even have a few "fan" shuttles from Georgia Seitz but I probably won't put them in there. It's an Avon box that I probably admired in their catalog at one time but since I don't use Avon anymore (for decades now!) I don't buy it. It cost me 50 cents.


I LOVE this little plate. This one was 50¢ too. Almost everything was. This one has a label on the back that says Bath & Body Works, Fall 1999. The original price was $6.00. I wonder what went with it?


Here's a few more finds. The umbrella on the left was originally $12.99, according to the sticker still on it. I did pay $1.50 for this one, but the others were 50¢ each. I thought someone might have glazed the egg locally but the tag on the bottom says it is from the Philippines. The blue sachet is actually a bit bigger than I like them but I bought it anyway.


This is the ornament tree that I bought at Goodwill once. At the moment, I've got my ceramic sachets hanging on it. There is a white one not on there because the ribbon is missing and I haven't replaced it yet. I probably have more around the house of these. I pick them up at garage sales and thrift stores. I had most of these in my bedroom, hanging on drawer pulls and the mirror and any other place I could hang them, but I wanted to see how many I had so I brought them all out and hung them on the tree. I'm pretty sure I have some in the basement that I'll get to eventually.

I had planned to tackle the kitchen today but didn't get to sleep last night until 4:00 a.m. so I ended up sleeping in til 10:00 a.m. I just couldn't get to sleep. Then I was SO cold. It was warm outside but the trees around me keep the house cool. That's great when it's 90º outside but it wasn't...so I bundled up. Took a nap around noon. LOL! I think I really just didn't feel well. I'm good now though. So the kitchen gets done tomorrow. Hopefully the sachet will be done tonight. Maybe I'll even put it in the fair! That reminds me, I need to track down the RPL I did last winter so I can enter that too. The more lace we have in there, the more likely they will keep the category going.

I really need ALL summer off. There is so much I want to get done, painting - both utilitarian house painting and recreational personal painting. Rearranging rooms, sprucing up, etc. At any rate, I'm truly enjoying my days off, even if they are at home.