A Peek Inside - Woven Wool Coasters

The weather is changing and I'm beginning to think about hot chocolate! These pretty coasters were a gift from some homeschooling friends for milking their dairy goats for a week. What a wonderful surprise and a perfect addition to Abigail's hopechest. All of the girls in the family spin and weave. These were made by the youngest, Nicole. Lovely, aren't they?

Stenciled Dish Towel

You see a lot of stenciling on the blog because it is so easy and quick to do and I think the results are so fun! I made a set of dishtowels recently to include in a wedding gift and I thought I would show you how I did it. Miss Abigail wrote a more basic tutorial on stenciling for beginners, if you need to see the actual technique.

Start by washing and drying the dishtowel. This removes any sizing or starch from the towel and allows the paint to penetrate into the fibers of the cloth. If you skip this step, the paint will likely fade much faster. Place a piece of cardboard or tin foil beneath the dishtowel, to prevent the paint from soaking through to the table. I use the Tulip soft fabric paint and whatever stencil strikes my fancy.

Use a just barely damp sea sponge and dab it lightly into green fabric paint. Lightly dab the sponge onto the towel to create a foliage background for the flowers that will come on top.

Add just a tiny bit of darker green to give the background some dimension. Use just a tiny bit!

Use the stencil to add flowers and leaves in a design across the foliage background. I blended two tints of the same shade while the paint was still wet to give the flowers a little dimension as well. I also added just a few dabs of a purple color between the flowers. Let this much dry. The directions for the fabric paint will give you the proper length of time.

After the flowers were dry, I stenciled smaller flower "centers" on top of the main flowers. I also used the end of the paintbrush, dipped in the paint and a very tiny brush to add further details and highlights to the flowers. Finally, I used another stencil with two colors to add the word.

Stenciling is really not hard to do and it makes me feel so artistic! So many projects for the hope chest can be stenciled. Dishtowels, of course, and pillowcases -you just need to be creative.

Stenciled Daisy Potholders

These pretty blue hot pads were a prize at a recent bridal shower. Seeing the possibility to add to the daisy kitchen set, Miss Abigail stenciled a large white daisy in the corner of each and then used a black fine-tip Sharpie permanent marker to embellish the flower with squiggly black lines around the edges of the petals. Dots circling the yellow center finished them off. Quick and easy! Stenciling is so handy.

Link - Gingham Embroidery Booklet

I love vintage needlework books! I recently found a link to a small booklet by Coats and Clark on gingham embroidery. The booklet gives directions for four embroidery stitches: cross-stitch, herringbone stitch, lazy-daisy stitch, and the french knot stitch. There are pages of project ideas for each stitch as well. The booklet was written for youth, but everyone can benefit from the simple instructions and fun project ideas. Renee, on her blog at My Vintage Mending, has saved each page of the booklet as a jpg image. I just recreated and printed out the little booklet as a resource for Abigail’s hope chest. Here is a second leaflet by Coats and Clark with patterns for cross-stitch on gingham embroidery.

If you haven’t tried gingham embroidery, I hope you will. It is so fun, especially for beginning stitchers! The woven checked gingham provides a natural guide for working the cross-stitch and many other embroidery stitches. Sometimes I have a hard time making a nice, straight feather stitch, for instance. The herringbone stitch, likewise, is difficult to make even and straight. On gingham, however, these stitches are easy! All the designs and stitches will be larger or smaller depending on the size of the gingham squares. Almost anything that can be made from checked gingham fabric can be embroidered with a suitable cross stitch design. An easy hope chest project might be a set of hot pads or snack napkins, a bread cloth or bun warmer, curtains, an apron, or a pretty band to trim a towel.

A Peek Inside - Tea Set

Last week, Miss Abigail was very happily surprised with a wonderful gift for her hope chest. In honor of many happy days spent together enjoying tea and company, Pat Humme, one of Abigail's special Stanley Ladies, presented her with a full china tea set, including several serving pieces and cups for eight. "Every young lady needs a tea set," Pat said, "especially Abigail." Pat also included a lovely cutwork tablecloth and eight matching embroidered napkins. It is a magnificent gift and much appreciated. Abigail is now cheerfully planning tea parties and will be a most elegant hostess, thanks to Pat.

Of course Pat knows that neither Miss Abigail nor I drink traditional green tea. Our Mormon friends might well blink their eyes. But the ladies have taught us that having tea together is more about enjoying company (and chocolate and biscuits) anyway. Hot cocoa, herbal tea, mulled cider, tart lemonade or memorable root beer floats are usually on the table for us. Pat is moving to Missouri to be close to her family there and we will miss her painfully, especially on Tuesdays and always at tea time.

My Father

This is my father. I just returned from Idaho, where I attended his funeral. This just leaves such a hole in my heart and in my life. But it was a good thing for him. He was 88 years old and he died doing what he loved, tending the water in the irrigation canal. I will miss him in my life more than I can express. But he had a firm belief in the ministry of angels and that many of these angels are family members who have gone ahead of us. To the extent that he is able and allowed, I know he will work to influence my circumstances and bring me comfort. I am thankful to be his daughter. He was proud of me...for many reasons...I'll be back to post, just not immediately.

BTW, I treasure this photo and want to give credit to my daughter-in-law, Kate Mower. She is very talented.

A Peek Inside - Golden Books

Hi all! I wanted to show some of the books that I've saved in Miss Abigail's hopechest. Books are on my mind, I guess. We're ready to start school and I've been sorting and planning and organizing.  I know, I know - I promised to be more regular about posting after the county fair. But, remember - I am an "old momma"! I needed just a bit of a vacation. Abigail is starting high school work this year and the logistics of planning and organizing are more complicated. I've been through it before and I know it will be okay, but for some reason, I'm fussing about it. I will mention that this year marks 21 years of homeschooling for me. Just so you know that I'm a pro at fussing...

Anyway - these are a couple of Abigail's favorite Golden Books. You can tell she loved them!

Abigail's daddy read her the Good Night Little Bear book almost every night for a long time. Every time he got to this page, Abby would be stiff with anticipation over the mouse in the wood box and when Kerry would read "EEEEK!" Abigail would giggle and giggle. Every night. And then the whole family would laugh. Fun memories. I hope she will enjoy sharing these books with her own children.