My Antique Ironstone Collection

I love antique white ironstone, and I know I'm not the only one - this simple heavy china flys off of the (virtual) shelves in my etsy shop. But have you noticed that I haven't had much for sale recently? Here's at least one reason why... 

I've been busy filling my own (very real!) shelves at home. The antique farmhouse cupboard in my livingroom was looking a little bare, so I've been loading it up with ironstone pitchers, platters, butter pats, soup bowls, serving bowls, and stacks of small oval dishes.

I like the discolored patina of old ironstone, and this rustic cupboard holds the more humble aged pieces in my collection, all with thick rounded edges and simple silhouettes. But wait, there's more!

The blue china cupboard in my dining room holds my more pristine white pieces with more formal shapes. I don't discriminate against antique ironstone - stained or bright, humble or high end, I love it all!

A Second Quilt

Quilting time again! Here is the second quilt top that I've finished. I've actually had it done for quite a while, as I literally did the entire thing in one weekend right on the heels of finishing my first quilt top. I told you, I can get a little obsessed :) But I found a golden yellow fabric with a simple small-scale print that I loved - it reminds me of the "cheddar" color often found in traditional antique quilts - and I was itching to try another block pattern.

Now, unlike most quilters, who end up with huge fabric stashes and swoon over all the newest prints and designs, I have found that when it actually comes down to making a quilt for myself, I am not motivated by fabric hardly at all. You won't see those eye-candy shots of my latest stack of fat quarters in modern prints and designer colors. I like solids, and I like traditional colors. I get very excited if I ever find a print that I love. And as you can see from this quilt, even the "prints" that I love are for all intents and purposes still solids. Instead, I am motivated by the overall pattern and layout of quilt blocks, most often old patterns from antique quilts. I could happily produce dozens of different quilts with nothing but a bolt of red or blue and a bolt of antique white (my favorite is "Bone" in Kona Cotton). But that's the great thing about making a quilt... you can do it exactly the way you like!

Which brings me to my second point. The actual quilting. I got so many positive and encouraging comments when I shared that I was going to be hand quilting my first quilt... About how glad I would be that I did it, how relaxing and addicting hand quilting was, how much I was going to enjoy it, and that it would be so worth the effort!!

Well, it's not. At least not for me. 

All the fun and sense of accomplishment I had sewing the quilt top went right out the window as I started hand quilting. I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but I just flat-out hated it. I gave myself pep-talks and tried hard to convince myself that I was doing the "right thing". And then it hit me. Everything I liked about making the quilt top - the pattern design, the mathmatical precision, the systematic rotary cutting, the well-ordered almost assembly-line contruction, and the instant gratification of seeing the pieces come together - was missing in the hand quilting process. Rather than a defined step-by-step creative process, I had a big blobby perpetual never-ending project. I like quilt-making for the same reasons I like soapmaking (and baking). They are all precise, almost scientific techniques that combine all of the carefully planned and exactly measured components into one fantastically designed and immediately tangible final product. I guess I like right-brain activities that employ left-brain techniques. (Nothing like a little self-analysis with your crafting...)

So for me, it's machine quilting or nothing at all. And seeing as my new hobby is such a complete expression of the many aspects of my taste and personality, I think machine quilting is a perfect match. I can't wait to show you this one when it's finished! And now it can be sooner rather than later :)

Wedding Day

I have weddings on the brain! Last week I booked my plane ticket to Ohio for my cousin's wedding in October, and just last night our good friend Sarah from Chicago called me and asked me if I would be willing to make 8 centerpieces for her wedding reception in November. My first foray into wedding design... Eek! I've already started pouring over wedding websites such as Once Wed, and I am drooling over all of those gorgeous inspiring photo spreads. I love the way the small details add up to tell the entire story. I can get seriously lost in all of the beautiful wedding details out there. No, seriously... Like "it's-1:00-and-I-haven't-done-a-stitch-of-work-yet-today" kind of lost. So in the spirit of love and obsessive wedding planning, I thought I'd share a photo spread of my own wedding, a little over two years ago. Enjoy!

And we lived happily ever after...

The End Beginning

A New Pig Cutting Board

Growing up, my mom always had a pig cutting board in her Early American style kitchen. There is something charmingly innocent and idyllic to me about a rustic wood pig shaped board. For me, it is an icon of the country kitchen.

This is the newest addition to what is quietly becoming my newest collection. He's so sweet and chubby, just like a good pig should be. 

The dark gray-brown wood tones perfectly matched the antique drop leaf table and french wicker basket that hides my trash can.

There's another pig, hanging at the other end of my little galley kitchen along with my newly completed "Meat Market" sign.

I originally intended to make this sign to hang in my diningroom, but I ended up liking it above the doorway in my kitchen instead.

And last but not least, there is this little piggy propped up behind some yellowware bowls beside my sink. I've heard that 3 or more of something qualifies as a "collection", so I guess it's official!

Wanna Win Something?

Feeling lucky? Toni from the blog "A Bowl Full of Lemons" is hosting a giveaway right now featuring my Handmade Soap Samplers. Two lucky readers will each win one... Go! Go! Go! What are you hanging around here for?! She has all of the details for you...

Soap Sampler Giveaway at A Bowl Full of Lemons.



A big thanks to Toni for hosting this giveaway. She was the creative mind behind the Parade of Homes earlier this summer... Check that out too if you missed it.

Good luck!

One Little Gray Duck

I bought this sweet vintage duck decoy at an antique mall recently, fully intending to sell it in my etsy shop. But when I got home, this one little gray duck ended up inspiring a mini-makeover in the corner of my livingroom, complete with painting, furniture rearranging, and everything.

He has just the nicest weathered patina with so much wonderful texture. And the thing you'd never ever guess about my little gray duck? He looks just like a fine old wooden decoy... but he's made of plastic. What a clever little duck I have.

Above is what the corner of my livingroom looked like before. The dark table and iron chandelier didn't really stand out much, and it was a dark corner of the room to begin with so it needed a little brightness and color. Enter my little gray duck...

I started by swapping the dark stained desk for the white chippy table that was serving as my husbands computer desk on the other side of the room. I added a blue painted box, which was a plain wood box that I painted and antiqued in the same way I did my china cabinet.

I also painted a pair of my wooden lamps. I discovered these turned lamp bases a while ago at Target.com on clearance for under $20 and I ordered 4 of them! A couple coats of gray and off-white paint, dabbed and wiped off in just the right places, and Pottery Barn can eat it's pricey little heart out.

 The result is a lighter and brighter corner with simple antique details and a perfect touch of color. And it all started with one little gray (plastic) duck!

Autumn Details

First, a disclaimer: I have not decorated for fall. I got my first glimpse of this years pumpkin harvest at an antique show in Venice, Nebraska this weekend (a town so small it doesn't show up on the map), but I haven't brought any home yet. The nights, however, are starting to get crisp and fall is definitely in the air, so I sorted through some old pictures that I've never shared, and pulled out some autumn inspired details for you...

With it's warm golden color, antique yellowware is perfect for fall decorating.

I sold this antique bench (actually a seat for a cast iron tub) last fall. I love the curved iron legs and rustic wood top. It looked so charming with my little bright orange pie pumpkins.

I'm a sucker for the tiny little cream colored pumpkins...

A pile of them in a vintage wire basket or bottle carrier is a lovely yet subtle fall touch.

And although there's nothing especially "fall" about this vignette, I think a touch of black iron and dark rustic wood are essential to creating a cozy fall look.

A big old lumpy red-orange pumpkin in my mom's garden last year.

I spotted this life-size cast iron squirrel finial at a huge beautiful townhouse when we lived in the Gold Coast neighborhood of downtown Chicago. My husband and I used to spend sunny Saturday afternoons walking around the neighborhood, gawking at the gorgeous old homes and quasi-mansions with breathtaking architecture before heading back to our tiny high-rise studio apartment. I wasn't a huge fan of city life, but we lived in one of the most gorgeous neighborhoods in Chicago. I wish now that I would have taken more pictures!

Hopefully this whets your appetite for fall decorating... I know it does mine!

Happy Fall!