vintage finds: rummage sale

i cannot resist a hand-written sign that says 'rummage sale', 'garage sale' or 'yard sale' when driving by it. i wasn't quite prepared for the one i saw yesterday. i mean, it felt a little early for the sale season, especially when we've had tornadoes and snow in the same week! however, you can have a rummage sale inside a church anytime of year i guess and i was pleasantly surprised and felt absolutely giddy when i saw the sign for one in my neighborhood yesterday! immediately my brain pushed out all other obligations for the day and repeatedly said 'must get to rummage sale now', 'must get to rummage sale now' [which is ridiculous, i know]. so i drove around the block, adrenaline pumping, and entered the church. as i entered, i realized that i made it to the last 15 minutes of the two day sale but there still were some goodies left...

• vintage electric food warmer [price tag said it still works!]
• blue Ball jar w/lid
• homer laughlin plate with brown & black motifs on the rim
• green metal tray [i will probably make this into a chalkboard or magnet board for my market displays]
• 1950's book titled 'Around the World in 1000 Pictures'

• wood potato chip bowl
• two wood display trays [they have cork on the bottom and will also be worked into my market displays]
• a very small set of glass shakers with red lids
• a trivet in a scandinavian language i haven't figured out yet

 and the most beautiful embroidered tablecloth...aren't those lilacs wonderful?!

now i'm off to clean everything up...did you have a good weekend? i would love to hear what got your adrenaline pumping lately!

remembering

i think i've mentioned this before but it's worth mentioning again... i love classic films! and this week, the film industry lost a legend and the world lost a beautiful, caring and passionate woman who was so many things- actress, philanthropist, entrepreneur and AIDS activist, to name just a few. so today i'm remembering Elizabeth Taylor...

source

tutorial @ wild olive

i'm sure a lot of you are familiar with the super-talented Mollie from Wild Olive. but if you have yet to be introduced, click the image below. i'll wait...

she really is a fantastic designer, illustrator, crafter and embroiderer! and as an extension, her blog is equally wonderful! i really love her style- simple, clean, fun and colorful!


last month, one of her posts mentioned sponsorship spots were available on her blog. the beauty of her sponsor program is that only your blog -not your shop- can sponsor her blog,  which really intrigued me. so i shot off an email and she accepted my blog as sponsor-worthy!

as a added bonus, she has fun and interactive posts each month where she asks her sponsors a question and each person provides an answer. this month's "the story of:" was about sneaking away from everyday life for a while- where would you go and what would you do. there was some great answers and it was a good way for me to get to know my fellow bloggers.


today, Mollie is featuring great giveaways [think embroidery patterns, embroidery supplies, a baby blanket, a shop credit and a fawn necklace] and diys [creative packaging and a crocheted Granny Square Tutorial] from her sponsors. can you guess by reading that list which is mine? :) i would be most humbled if you would check out my crocheted Granny Square Tutorial and let me know what you think...

frank lloyd wright & mason city, iowa: part II

so, a couple posts back i showed you the Stockman House designed by Frank Llyod Wright in Mason City. while driving through the area of town where i though the Wright house to be, i realized that i was on a street lined with Prairie School design homes [and my pictures just don't do these houses any justice but you can click on them for a closer view].

 i just love these beauties! and my favorite was this one...

 can you believe those windows!? the red glass really stands out from the dark trim and white exterior. yummmmm...

the Prairie School architecture in mason city has so much historical and artistic significance that a newly built Mason City Architectural Interpretive Center, located next door to Stockman House, will have its grand opening in May. we are definitely taking a weekend trip up north this summer so we can take one of the walking tours they are organizing.

have a great weekend everyone!

featured

check out this beautiful treasury curated by craftedbylindy ...

i love the calming effect this treasury creates!

listed

vintage just put on the virtual shelf...

*update* i added these children's books too...

frank lloyd wright & mason city, iowa: part I

my excuse for my short absence from this space is that my husband spent the better part of the last four weeks working in Mason City, which is about two hours north of Des Moines. a couple of weekends ago, i drove there to visit for a night. while looking through the hotel's local attraction information, i discovered that Frank Lloyd Wright had quite a presence in Mason City. so before i left town, i went on a search for the Stockman House...

built in 1908, this house is in the Prairie Style, has been re-located once and restored to its original simplicity. at one point the church next door to the house's original location wanted to buy the land and demolish the house to build a parking lot. but thankfully, certain members of the community saw the worth in keeping the house and raised money to relocate it and turn it into a museum.

unfortunately i had to leave town before the museum opened day so i couldn't see the inside. however, at StockmanHouse.org there are plenty of pics of the inside as well as the history of the house and Frank Lloyd Wright's presence in Mason City [he also designed the Park Inn Hotel and City National Bank that are currently being restored].

while looking for the Stockman House, i came across other Prairie Style houses in the neighborhood and i will share those pics in part II...

luck

today, i'm wishing you lots o' luck and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow!

happy st patrick's day!!

giveaway

psst...i'm having a giveaway over @ The Vintage Sheet Blog starting today. i made the needle book and pin cushion mostly from a pretty blue, green and white vintage sheet. the giveaway is open until March 23rd, so if you're so inclined, stop over to enter and have a look-see.

my boss made me do it

yep, if it weren't for my boss, i wouldn't have picked up those needles, re-taught myself knitting and abandoned everything else. i taught myself to knit about five years ago and had resisted re-learning because i knew that i just didn't need to have ANOTHER craft in the mix. but noooo, my boss had to ask me if i would help her and her daughter with a knitting kit they had bought- to make sure they were doing it right. so, i 'reluctantly' took it home to make sure i knew what i was doing and that i was teaching them the right way. that was the beginning of the end of all things not knitting for a while. here are a couple of by-products...

Kittyhawk Cowl: Pattern by Katy Osterwald

Sock pattern found here

i really have had a lot of fun making these things but i had forgotten how time consuming knitting can be! this is my first pair of socks i've knitted ever and good golly are they slow going [Courtney, i'm looking for your feedback here!]. but, i'm a sock fanatic and so i am really excited to finish up the second one...besides winter is almost over and i don't think wool socks will be very practical when it gets warmer out.

have you picked up a new or forgotten craft lately?

love

i'm really loving orange and aqua together...here's what i've found on etsy lately

 

1. Modern Stripe Bottle Vase by dahlhaus
2. Instant Collection of Garden Water Faucet Knobs by sushipotparts
3. ALPencil Print by teconlene
4. Beach Day Quilt by sugarcubed

orange

i just love the color orange, don't you? i recently purchased this canister set at a flea market here in town... 

my original intention was to buy them to sell in my Etsy shop, but once they made their way into my kitchen, i could not part with their orange-y goodness!

i'm guessing there is one size missing from the set that would fit in between the largest and the next smallest, but i really don't care :)


and the canisters served as a bit of inspiration for helping me decide my color choices for a little spontaneous crochet/recycling project. 

the can held peanuts and is much like a crescent roll package - paper on the outside, metallic inside and metal bottom. so, i carefully washed out the inside of the can and hooked up a cozy for it. and here is the final result...

it's pretty tall which makes it perfect for holding longer items and looks nice sitting next to the canisters.


what spontaneous projects have you finished lately?