M is for Marti

"M" is for Marti!  Do you remember Nancy? Well, Marti is a friend of Nancy's. She saw Nancy's dress and was reminded of a bunch of family hankies she had. This wonderful lady decided to give me all of those amazing hankies and all she wanted was a dress to keep for herself. In this bunch of hankies I found a small one monogrammed with an "M" and a lovely green tatted edged hanky. We decided the one with the "M" must have been one of her childhood hankies. I combined the two to create her a one of a kind Hanky Dress. BTW her favorite color is green!

I decided a dress was not enough for this generous lady...so I made her a Hanky Heart too.

Close-up of the front and back of Marti's green and white Hanky Heart

Close-up of Marti's Hanky Dress

Birds and Beans

Good Morning All - Today I want to talk about birds and beans! I have been working for quite some time to catch the two finch photos above. I've discovered that finches are quite flighty feathered friends. These pictures were taken at different times but in the same general area. They are enjoying themselves eating my catnip seeds.

While I am on the subject of birds I thought I would show you a couple of items I currently have available in my online vintage shop. The first is a cross stitched bluebird which I have been able to date back to the 1940's by the flat head screws in the wooden frame. This charming cross stitched bluebird was obviously made with much love. Most likely stitched by Mom and framed by Dad.

And then I have this cheerful yellow pottery pitcher set. It has this wonderful parrot motif on the one side and a pretty flower motif on the other side. It would look so spectacular in a cottage kitchen...and you could use it for a large bouquet of flowers as well.

Now - let's talk about those beans. Aren't they pretty? They caught my eye in the garden early this morning as the sun showcased their speckled rosey color. Oh wow! I just went and found the seed packet and it turns out that they are called Speckled Cranberry - what a coincidence. They are an heirloom variety that I purchased from the Seed Savers Exchange a few years back. Here is what the back of the packet says: Brought to America from England around 1825. Triple purpose bean. Can be used as a snap bean at around 60 days, green shell bean at around 80 days, or as a dry bean if grown to full maturity. Produces heavy crops of stringless 7-9" pods until the first frost. Pole habit, dry, 60-90 days. I mostly use them for winter dry beans.

Pat's Pretties - Hanky Dresses and Hearts

Here is Pat with her newly framed Heirloom Hanky Dresses. The top two dresses were created from vintage family hankies and the bottom two are were created from a new hanky and a very special handmade antique hanky. This display is representative of four generations of women in her family.

These Hanky Hearts were created from bits and pieces of her damaged hankies. Don't you just love the subtle grey of this beautiful shadow box with its gentle gold tones accenting the frame. It's just lovely how the framer floated the ribbons in mid air above the hearts. The grey perfectly accents the detail of the Madeira handkerchief used in the hearts. 

The framing on both was done by the Colorado Frame Company located in downtown old Littleton.

These three very special white hankies were done in my baby baptismal gown style. One of which you will notice was included in the framed grouping above. Each one is adorned with antique mother of pearl buttons and two have silk ribbon bows. I've been making this style for years; however, I think this may be the first time I have published a picture of this style online. Please zoom in on the picture so you can see the beautifully intricate hand work in each of these hankies. The one on the left has a tatted edge, the middle one is pulled thread and needlework, and the one on the right, I believe is punchwork.

Joyful Yellow

I have this huge sunflower in my back yard. It is such a lovely pale color of yellow. The vibrant purple morning glory blooms are nestled among the cucumber vines delicate little yellow flowers. I have a bumper crop of cucumbers this year. I guess I should be thinking about pickles. 

Here are some of my other sunflowers. Do you see my visitor??? Look closely. My little goldfinch is extremely shy and very fast. He does not like me or my camera. I consider myself lucky to have gotten this shot. The birds love eating sunflower seeds and my husband and I enjoy eating lunch on the patio while watching them eat their lunch.