The Back Porch

John repaired and painted the back porch that is off the kitchen, and he used the same green metal for the roof that is on the house. The old porch on this little house was in pretty bad shape. He didn't have the time to do this project when we were here last year, but was able to get everything finished this visit, just days before the much needed rain began. We missed the garden furniture season this year so we'll need to wait until we come back next summer to outfit the porch with some comfy chairs and side tables. Now I will need to get busy planting some flowers around it, and it will look like it has always been this way. I think the house looks as happy with the 'new' porch as we are.

Fabric Collage Wall Hanging - Mom

The subject of this wall hanging is my mother's senior picture that was taken at Fulda, MN High School in 1945. It measures 12 1/2" x 23 1/2", excluding the hanger. I used mainly vintage fabrics as well as other vintage embellishments to enhance the piece. The background fabric is a remnant of the new fabric I used for the pillows on the antique daybed, and is the only new fabric that I used. I printed the photograph onto cream cotton, and stitched it to an antique undergarment remnant. Just below the photograph is an antique collar from Japan that is decorated with sewn beads. The flower, at the bottom right, is a large Rose of Sharron from our yard that I dried last year and adhered to fabric with matte gel medium, and then stitched it to the collage. There are three mother of pearl buttons along the bottom, and a mother of pearl buckle at the top that encases a rose print silk ribbon. The same rose ribbon is used for tabs at the top that a wooden spool slides through to make the hanger. A pale green ribbon attached to the spool suspends the piece on the wall in the living room.

Antique Daybed

My husband bought this little metal antique bed/cot last year, and I finally got around to making it useful. I found a local children's furniture store where I was able to order a special cut mattress to fit its odd size, and it only cost an additional $10 to make the special cut. That was a pleasant surprise. I dressed it out with a dust ruffle, pillows and a spread made out of a combination of vintage barkcloth and new fabrics. It will be useful not only for extra seating, but also for an extra bed for a guest.

PS - The wood brace in the before pictures was used to straighten the spring frame and has been removed.

Aunt Britt - Small Art Quilt

I completed this small art quilt depicting my Aunt Britt in her Naval Uniform. It measures 8 1/2" x 11". The photo is printed on white linen weave cotton. I chose the fabric because the weave reminds me of an oil painting canvas. The background cotton fabric is printed in pink, grey, green and cream colors. Just under her photo, the fabric is a quilt block tht I acquired already sewn together. There is lace embellishment around the border and I also included four Navy buttons along the right side.

Granda's Chickens - Wall Hanging

Granda's Chickens

The subject of this wall hanging is a picture of my grandmother with her chickens that was taken on the family Minnesota farm in the 1930s. Everyone called her Granda from the time her first grandson called her that when he couldn't say Grandma. The piece measures 14" x 20" not including the hanger, which is a vintage rolling pin fitted with cotton striped tape as the means to hang it on the wall. I chose the rolling pin as a hanger because it reminds me of what a terrific baker she was. The original photo was approximately 1.5" x 1" that I scanned , enlarged and then printed on heavy weight unbleached muslin. The printed photo fabric is first sewn to a piece of floral printed flour sack and then to a vintage kitchen dish towel. A scrap of fabric with a rooster print is added to the lower left corner, four plastic yellow shank buttons along the top and two light blue plastic buttons sewn to the striped tape just above the rolling pin handles. The backing is blue and white ticking and there is a thin piece of batting between the layers.

This piece hangs in the kitchen of our Rineyville, KY cottage.

More Fabric Postcards

I finished 7 fabric postcards today and listed them on my Etsy shop. Although they are a bit labor intensive, I like the end result. I printed the illustrated images from lunagirl.com onto white cotton, and chose simple greetings for the messages. The fabrics and lace are vintage scraps from my 'stash'.

Bike Riding Along the Ohio River in Louisville, KY

Yesterday, 8/11/07, four of us went on a fourteen mile bike ride along the Ohio River in Louisville, KY. There are several bike paths in Louisville, and eventually there will be many miles of interconnecting paths. It was a nice morning for the ride and hadn't gotten too hot when we began the route at about 9am. We rode seven miles to Shawnee Park and then did a turn around and rode the seven miles back to the area near where the Belle of Louisville steamboat is docked. As we rode back, we could hear the calliope of the Belle playing recognizable songs as it awaited passenger embarking for an afternoon outing. We stopped along the way both going and coming back to take pictures. At the end of the ride we ate and visited at Joe's Crab Shack.

Near the beginning along the Ohio River

That is me on the left with Hutch & Jo

Under the tree canopy - Jo, Hutch

& hubby John

Geese

Bridge for train across Ohio & Louiville skyline

The Belle of Louisville


Relaxing at Joe's Crab Shack

Fabric Postcard - Happy Birthday

I created this 4" x 6" fabric postcard today and listed it on my Etsy shop. The beautiful illustrated image from lunagirl.com is printed on white cotton and is stitched to a background of lightweight cotton. There is lace along the left side and a Happy Birthday fabric tag is stitched below the photograph. The back is ready for a written message and then to the post office for mailing.

Biking on the Rail Trails in Ohio - Converted Railroad Tracks

We went biking this past weekend in Ohio on bike trails that are made from old railroad tracks that are not used any longer. The campground we stayed in is just outside of Waynesville, Ohio and convenient to the trails. Our friends have a motor home that we stayed in, and we all had a wonderful time. We rode a total of 16 miles on Saturday on the Little Miami Scenic Trail. We rode half of that to Waynesville, where my friend, Jo, and I spent a while antiquing. Storage space is limited when riding a bike, but I found a few 'treasures' that day and will be making something very soon with them. Since I am the novice of the group, I didn't ride on Sunday. The others went on a bit shorter ride (14 mile). The link to this website has pictures and descriptions about Saturday's ride. It is so nice to be able to ride without sharing the path with vehicles.
http://www.miamivalleytrails.org/Spring%20Valley%20To%20Corwin.htm


The Motor home


The guys in camp


Campground grounds


Campground grounds


Jo ready for antiquing in Waynesville, Ohio

Fabric Post Card - Marian 'Bonnie' Beth 1945

This is my first attempt at making a fabric post card. I thought they were lovely and wanted to give it a try. The subject for this one is my mother when she was 17 in 1945. I printed the picture on white cotton and collaged it, as well as vintage fabric scraps and lace. to a barkcloth background using a machine zig-zag applique technique. The post card back is unbleached muslin and the writing is done with a pigma pen. I mailed the card to my sister in Los Angeles and she received it today with only minor smudging that she was able to remove with a soft eraser.