Some of my favorite things

The red and white pitcher in the background was a wedding present to my mother when she married in 1938. That makes it at least 70 years old this year. It is in perfect condition.

Embroidered pieces from my mother. She made these in the 1940s.

Antique salt and pepper shakers. The turkey on the right hand side is made from a walnut. You could push his tail and his head would go down. My Uncle Furman gave it to me one Thanksgiving when I was a young child.


A collection of plates from my Aunt Pauline and Mama.

Another pincushion

Bottle top pincushion

I saw these cute pincushions on a blog somewhere in blog land and thought it was a cute idea. They are made from a soda bottle top as the base. I suppose you could use any lid that you wish. The possibilities are unlimited and you are recycling at the same time! I made one tonight while watching "Big Business" with Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin. (It's an old movie that Dennis really likes watching.) Back to the pincushion, I think I will make several of these for gifts. They are easy to make and cute! They will make cute Christmas gifts for my stitching/sewing friends.

Blue Ridge Pottery Company

This is a plate that I recently brought home from my mother's. I've always loved this plate because of the flowers. It was manufactured by the Blue Ridge Pottery Company from the mid 1930s to the mid 1950s. I have several pieces and this is one of my favorites.

March is National Crochet Month

March is National Crochet Month! How wonderful to have a whole month dedicated to this wonderful needle art. This is a dishcloth that I have crocheted using cotton yarn. I just love washing dishes with this type of dishcloth! This was a very simple pattern - just single crochet, skip one, single crochet, skip one, etc... all away across.

I find crocheting to be very relaxing. It's also a great craft to do since it's easy carried on short or long trips. I usually crochet on the way to church every Sunday and on vacations.

Fabric Ball Tutorial

I just finished making some fabric balls for Spring/Easter decorations. Here's a picture of the first four that I finished. These are quick and easy to make. I think they look lovely in my grandmother's basket.

STEPS to Making Fabric Balls

1. Gather the supplies you will need: 3 inch styrofoam balls, straight pins, buttons, fabric, and ball point pins. Cut the fabric into 3/4 - 1 inch strips.

2. Using a straight pin secure the first piece of fabric to the styrofoam ball. (If you do not want to use pins, you can simply hot glue the fabric to the styrofoam ball and hot glue the button on to the fabric. This is especially important if you have small children or pets that tend to get into things!)

3. Pull the strip of fabric taunt as you wrap the strip around the styrofoam ball. You want the fabric to conform to the shape of the ball. As you run out of one strip, just pin another strip to that one using a straight pin. When you finish wrapping the ball, secure the strips with a button and ball point pins.

As you can see, these are not hard to make at all. The best part is that when you are finished with them, just unwrap the styrofoam ball and use it in another craft project! It's a good thing!

Button ornament

I finally finished a very simple ornament that has taken me days to complete because I kept redoing it. I think I am finally satisfied. I took vintage buttons (from my mother's button collection) and hot glued them onto a styrofoam ball. Then I "trimmed" it in baby rickrack and white pins. I think it will very pretty on the tree with the light reflecting off of the buttons.