Pantry Love

Last September this was an anniversary gift from dear hubby. Considering I have very little fondness for floral shop bouquets and even less of an interest in adorning myself in silver or gold this was absolutely perfect. However did he know exactly what to get me to make my heart swoon? It was quite simple really considering our long standing tradition of dinner and a shopping spree in which we each select our own gift. Most often we find ourselves in a bookstore on our special day, quite appropriate considering they have been a favorite date night destination throughout the entire twenty-five years we have known each other. This year was no different and so while I purchased a stinky old set of books on Russian history he paid for this little gem!

For months now I have drooled over the pages of The Pantry, wishing ever so much our little house had one of it's own. Catherine Seiberling Pond does an amazing job detailing all the glorious attributes of this architectural element of domestic order. There are numerous photos of butler's pantries, storerooms, larders, farmhouse butt'ries, Hoosiers, and "secret cupboards" where old closets with shelves have been outfitted as makeshift pantries. . . . . hold on one moment there....closets with shelves? Makeshift pantries? After numerous rereadings of the book, inspiration finally hit with my realization that I had a closet. . . . . old. . . with shelves. . . centrally located to the kitchen. I dashed down the hall and swung open the door to reveal. . . . .

. . . . .this. UGH! Luckily my stint with the bathroom redo had my confidence level peaking and so I dug in.

First things first, I removed the door which did a lot to brighten up the cubby and open up a new space for Stormy to explore. Although a bit concerned to discover his dog food had also been removed he didn't linger long since I'd decided the wire shelves had to go and that was not a pretty scene.

Each of the five shelves had five support brackets containing two screw anchors. Now I'm sure there's a tool out there specifically designed to remove unwanted screw anchors but I stubbornly tackled all 50 with pliers, several assorted screw drivers, and a drill. Needless to say a good amount of a wall putty was required to repair the damage but after several coats of paint it looked good as new.

I have to thank my dad for the installation of some "real" shelves and believe me this was no easy feat either!

Since the edges of the shelves had a rough cut to them I decided to finish them off a bit. I found Home Depot had a whole assortment of wooden trims to choose from which were easily cut to size and tacked on with a few finishing nails. A bit more painting followed by several days of drying and it was ready to go. . . . .

Canned goods, dry goods, fruits and vegetables all found a new home.

While crisp, clean, and a huge improvement over its previous state of existence, it's nowhere near as charming or nostalgic as those pictured in Pond's book. I've now set my mind on remedying the situation.

While contemplating what elements could be added Stormy returned to check on the status of his food storage. He was quite relieved to find it located second shelf from the bottom but it seemed another little soul was in distress. A wee whimpering could be heard in the distance and when followed lead me directly to . . . . .

. . . . . Bogg's Cottage. Upon first glance it was quite evident something was awry. My knocks went unnoticed, most likely due to the steady sobbing heard from within. After several calls up to little Lucy's window a faint response to let myself in was finally heard.

At the top of the stairs I found her, engulfed in a sea of fabric. "Oh I've ruined everything," she cried. "I was so excited to make something special for Lily Red that when I returned home from the store I couldn't wait to get started. But it seems once I began, I couldn't stop. I've gone absolutely scissor crazy and cut all the fabric into shreds and now there's not a single piece left big enough to make a bed cover out of. Whatever am I to do now with this mess?"

The poor thing! It truly was a mess, and a big one at that. But it's not as if I haven't tackled a mess or two in my time (remember my pre-pantry photo?) I actually had a glimmer of an idea but needed a bit of time to work out the details and Lucy needed a spell to calm down.

"It's going to be alright," I told her. "I got a plan and I think you'll be quite pleased in the end. For now lets gather up these scraps. I'll take them away while you dry you eyes and when I return we'll sit down with a pot of tea and have a chat."

Spinning Straw

The last straw involved an unfortunate mishap with one of these little babies. For years our downstairs bath/laundry as been a room of much function and very little form (or fun for that matter!) The sink has been nursery to numerous "grow big"sponge creatures, the washer and dryer served together as a wonderful stash and dash catch all cubby, and the floor a great foundation for entire mountain ranges of laundry. As far back as last March I was making plans to reclaim that space, collecting an assortment of bits and bobs as inspiration for the project. For one reason or another, it never seemed quite the right time to actually take action. But then dear daughter discovered the amazing world of nail polish. . . . . .

. . . . . I won't deny the fact that the space was quite dreary and more than a little boring. It really did need a splash of color just not the "Wild Cherry Red" that literally leapt from the nail polish bottle to the wall one afternoon during a hasty clean up maneuver. Try as we might that stuff could not be removed and so we had what appeared to be a CSI crime scene on our hands.

Oh and just in case your wondering. . . . . all toilet paper had to be removed from the holder three years ago when we brought Stormy home to join our family. For some reason nothing delights that dog more than tearing into a spinning TP roll!

Unfortunately I can't say the view from this direction has anything much to offer either.

Considering the situation, it was time for action. The collected assortment of bathroom accoutrements were dug out of hiding, raw materials and equipment were gathered, and my mom came over for the day to join in the fun. The bathroom make do and redo had begun!

A couple coats of smokey blue paint on the walls and in the hutch did wonders to cheer up the room as did a fresh coat of white on all the woodwork.

One of my few purchases for this endeavor was a can of spray paint. I enjoy popping in over at Creative Little Daisy every so often as Autum always has the most amazing household projects going on, many of which involve spray paint. She is a genius with that stuff! So I thought I'd give it a go and change up my nasty brown vent cover. I think perhaps I was a bit heavy handed while spraying as that thing took two days to fully dry.

But the end result truly put a smile on my face. Thank you Autum!

And what you may ask did I do for two whole days while that paint dried? Plenty! What a mess of lost socks, missing mittens, Christmas linens, school art projects and much, much more I had to sort through.

Once cleared out it was quite evident that a fresh coat of paint was required on the laundry shelf as well, which in a past life existed as the door to the previously seen hutch (a long ago make do project that I seem to recall tickled me to no end at the time.)

My greatest feat of those days , however, was perhaps that of diminishing my ironing pile enough to house a small remainder here in a handy basket.

Trial #1 at wall decorating looked like this. Most successful was the 59 cent acquisition of an unfinished candlestick shelf from the Mill Store that was easily altered into a toilet paper holder. Without the spinning action Stormy doesn't give it the time of day. Least successful was my placement of a china bluebird platter above the peg shelf. Delightful to look at it may have been but resistant to the hammering I did the next day while installing a new back splash behind the sink. . . . .

. . . . . not very. And so another trip to the hardware store for some super glue was in order.

The new wall arrangement looks likes this now. The final detail here will arrive when lavender blossoms can be gathered to hang from the tiny pegs.

Broken or not I decided to keep the bluebird platter out as an added protection against water splashes in the sink area.

Perhaps I'm tempting fate in deciding to hang these three matching plates up over the laundry closet but it wasn't done without the added security of bendy wire looped through the plate hook and wall mount. A generous amount of adhesive wax was also applied. Those things don't budge an inch now!

And neither does this peg board. By this time I was out of mounting hardware and not about to make anymore trips to the store so I hung it the good old fashioned way with a hammer and nails. I'm sure I'll come to regret that decision the next time I repaint the walls, but for now I'm pleased.

The hutch stayed put with a slight variation in its position.

I find it great to have my collection of garden, cottage, and Tasha Tudor books here in the laundry if for nothing more than eye candy to feast on while folding clothes. They're great inspiration to keep me on task for if I follow through and tidy away all the clean laundry where it belongs I then treat myself to a spell in the reading chair with a cup of tea or. . . . .

. . . . . with these fair days ahead, some time in the garden planting a new crop of flowers.

Either way, it's nice to have the redo behind me and have the freedom to while away the afternoon. Unfortunately I can't say as much for little Lucy. She's still holed up at Boggs Cottage often burning the midnight oil on what I can only imagine to be her secret project.

A Tisket, A Tasket

The lingering influence of The Forgotten Garden combined with beautiful sixty degree weather and my discovery of a hidden stash of morning glory seeds has had my hands hankering to work in the floral realm. Considering spring has yet to officially arrived and that weather here in New England has a devilish track record of surprising us with March snowstorms, I've promised to refrain myself from from all dirt digging activities until April. So instead I turned my attention to making more of these little flower pins. In order to have something to arrange the bitty blossoms in I then finished up a flower basket quilt square I had lingering around and. . . ta dah. . .

. . . . . the Tisket Tasket Pincushion Basket was created!

Because it was so much fun I'm now in the process of making a batch of them to start listing in the shop. It was while stitching up tiny circles that my little friend Lucy came round. Greetings were followed by a bit of chit chat. . . . .our fine weather, her plans for spring cleaning, and the discovery of a new favorite tea blend. Eventually, however, the true purpose of her visit was revealed. "I've a favor to ask of you," she said quite sheepishly.

"Do you remember the new pillow Lily Red made for herself?" she continued. "She was ever so pleased with the lace trim work and proudly displayed it for me to see. Lovely as it was, I cannot help but be haunted by the image of her bed barren of any other comforts. Even a little wooden doll should have a coverlet to cozy up in. I really want to make one for her and was hoping you would entertain the idea of helping me pick some fabric out for the job."

And so we were off. . . . .

. . . . . to the fabric shop where Lucy had quite a dilemma choosing something just right. There were ever so many prints to pick from and she would have liked them all!

I on the other hand never have a problem making selections. I find you can't go wrong with a bit more gingham added to your stash so I snatched up a yard or so along with this delightful black and periwinkle bluebonnets. I've decided to consider them lupines however in honor of Miss Rumphius, a favorite book by Barbara Cooney. My second red work penny square was also waiting there for me since I missed it's debut during my bout with the sniffles.

In the end Lucy made out just fine and toted home quite a handsome bundle. With a quick, "Tootles to you miss natalie jo," she was away through the door of Boggs Cottage anxious to get to work.

Made Not By Me...

I've been out of commission this past week with a good old fashioned cold. Snuggled down with a box of Kleenex, endless cups of hot tea, and a cozy quilt I spent my days with a book so good the pages literally turned themselves. Picked up on a whim several weeks ago, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton proved for once I was right to judge a book by it's cover. Being full of secret gardens, English cottages, red headed damsels, and someone always at the ready to put the kettle on for a "cuppa," the novel was a delightful escape from my raw throat and drippy nose. 560 pages later, when I finally closed the book and looked around my surroundings it was hardly a surprise to find our home as overgrown with debris as any old forgotten garden ever dreamed of being!

Back now on my feet, I find myself in the process of "weeding" out and reclaiming the household domain. With groceries, laundry, and bills to catch up with as well, I'm sorry to say I've not one stitch to share from the sewing nook. So instead I thought it might be fun to take a peek through my photo stash and find some things to share that were made, but not by me.

Jackson's taste buds were in full swing when he made me this lettuce, cheese, salami, and mustard sandwich to feed my cold.

Dale worked her fingers to the bone making little felties for each and every member of the family.

Paul put his thinking cap to good use and made the grade.

Dear Hubby certainly warmed my heart by giving me this oil pastel of our sun room.

And finally, it seems even Lily Red has been back to her industrious ways creating a wonderful new pillow to rest her wee wooden head upon!

Snow Day

It seems a bit more snow was on the agenda for today. Lucky for us it was the light and lovely snow globe variety rather than the heavy wet stuff we usually get. No back breaking session with the snow shovel required! In fact, other than a brief walk down the road to check our mailbox, we spent a slow cozy day inside.

Being that the kiddies are home on winter break we decided to hunker down with a game of RISK. I'd forgotten how vicious the play could become, especially when the board is taken over by a brutal 8 year old dictator! One by one the participants dropped off to lick their wounds. Left to my own devices I decided if I couldn't conquer the world. . . . .

. . . . . I'd conquer my sewing baskets instead! While I really love tossing handwork into a little handled basket I've discovered the lack of a lid can cause some serious overflow problems, especially when you have a habit of starting more projects than you finish.

Once dumped out onto the ironing board, however, I found it was quite easy to arrange piles of project scraps along with the coordinating threads, flosses, buttons, and baubles needed to complete each piece.

My secret weapon was hidden in the dark recess of a closet, an honest to goodness sewing basket. I snapped it up on clearance at Jo-Ann's ages ago but for some reason resisted putting it to good use until now. Why I don't know. . . . .

. . . . .for look how tidy and portable it is!

And so with basket in hand I headed down to my window seat. It was great to snuggle in there stitching and watching the snow and not once having to run back up to the sewing nook in search of this or that. Instead I was able to put all that saved energy into completing my first Mini Penny Square. Eventually there will be twelve, one small victory a month for the next year ahead.

Technological Advances!

Its seems to have become a January tradition that some such item of technology peter out on me. Last year it was the digital camera. . . . . .this year my computer! While the event proved to be one of great excitement for hubby and eldest son, I found myself stressed beyond belief. The more they went on about bits, processors, ram, and hard drives, the more I wanted to crawl back into bed and pull the covers over my head. Finally, I ditched the two techno geniuses and headed out on my own, determined not to come home without something I felt comfortable with. Six hours, ten stores, and one fantastic salesman later I returned with this little beauty. . . a CQ61-42US Notebook. There was a bit of snickering on the part of the two smarty pants but it didn't stop the biggest one from diving right in to set the thing up. I'm sure he was looking to prove I'd selected nothing more than a glorified typewriter. The anticipated mumbles and grumbles, however, were never uttered. Instead, there were "oohs" and "aahs" followed by a "wow" or two. The next day I even caught him telling one of the kiddies he LOVED mom's new computer!

While those two went about installing programs and creating wireless setups, I spent my time carving out a new nook for my quite portable laptop. A shelf from the consignment shop and a gathering of trinkets seemed to do the job nicely. I was especially thrilled to be able to display this new wee one. Of the same clan as dear Lucy, she was a very welcome gift from my mom at Christmas. It was quite appropriate that she came bearing those two little houses in her basket for I had just been in the midst of a project involving such items. . . . .

. . . . . it all began with a request to create something special for my friends at Candlelite Quilts. Something that would reflect the kind hearts and creative spirits that are housed within its walls. Looking no further than the store's logo I knew the foundation could be none other than a chamber stick holder! A concept that proved to be much easier said than done, for although I've stumbled upon them quite often at flea markets, not a single one could be had when I needed it. And to make it even worse, for this endeavour I needed a matching set! Week after week, every trail lead to a dead end. Just when I was about to give up hope, however, I meet Stacey from Steam Dreams over Etsy way. At first I thought it was luck that lead me to her listing for a matched set of copper chamber stick holders but I was soon to learn it was pure providence. For a wonderful telling of A Tale of Two Candlesticks I highly recommend you pop on over to her blog, Art Snark. I promise you won't be disappointed!

With chamber sticks in hand, I was able to make short work of the project. . . . . or at least it seemed like short work because they were so much fun to create!

I actually had to rein myself in when stitching up the little flower pins. I made them movable in order to allow them to be planted wherever the heart desired. And with that in mind. . . . .

. . . . . I then made the wee dollies with stick pin bodies so they could be made to walk down the cobblestone path, up the brick walk, and. . . . .

. . . . .through the green door. I myself will be headed through that very same door come February 1st and I can't wait! It's always fun to pop in for a visit but his time something extra exciting is about to begin.

Here are a few clues, but if you can't guess or wait to find out you can head on over to Candlelite Quilts yourself by clicking here!