Giveaway Time!

Don't you think it's about time for another giveaway? I do...so to all of you out there who liked yesterdays "Vintage Monday" post where I showed embroidered dishtowels, here's your chance to make a set of your own!
I am giving away;

7 floursack dishtowels
24 DMC floss
A cute needle assortment
Your choice of one of the following 4 "days of the week" iron on transfers
(there just might be a few other surprises in the package)

"Setting the Table"

"Scotty Dogs"

"Animated Kitchenware"

"Sunbonnet Sue"

I will be using the old tried and true method of a drawing. Here's how you can win;

Your name will be entered in the drawing for doing one of the following 3 things. You can do all 3 to have your name entered 3 times, 2 for 2 times or do one of the 3 for one entry.

1. Leave a comment on this post and tell me which post on my blog is your favorite and explain why.

2. Add the "Bee in my Bonnet" button that is on my sidebar on your sidebar & leave a comment to tell me that you did.

3. Post the top picture on this post (the dishtowels) and tell about my giveaway on your blog. You will also need to leave a comment telling me you have done this.

You will have until midnight on Saturday, July 4th. On July 5th, I will do the drawing and post the lucky winner!

Please make sure that I have a way to get in touch with you when you leave your comments so that I can find out which pattern you choose & I am able to send your prize!

Good luck to you all and here's to 'kitchen stitchin'....

Vintage Monday - Embroidered Dishtowels

I think you must know by now how much I LOVE embroidery. I especially love vintage kitchen embroidery. Here are a few of my dishtowels that are in my collection.
I think they add lots of personality to my kitchen. The colors and designs really tug at my heart.
These kind of dishtowels were a must in every kitchen of our Mothers and Grandmothers - and still are.
For those of you who are like me and still use floursack dishtowels you know what I mean...nothing dries dishes better!

My Mom embroidered these "days of the week" cupids and gave them to me last year for my birthday. Isn't she sweet? She knows that I am especially fond of days of the week things.

Mom still uses embroidered dishtowels in her kitchen, and for as long as I can remember, whenever she is in the kitchen, she keeps one over her left shoulder. I'm sure it is a habit for her every time she does the dishes, cooks or sets the table...just like tying on an apron.

I can still see her standing on the backporch in her cotton dress and apron with the dishtowel over her shoulder. She would be there calling for me when I was out in the back pasture climbimg trees and such.

She would call me in for dinner or usually want me to come in and "put on a sweater"...sometimes it's the little things that make us feel loved by our Mothers.

What are your memories of vintage dishtowels? Please share them, I would love to hear from you...

Cottage Garden Tour

Would you like a quick garden tour?
This is what my yard looks like in the early summer - that is minus Sterling and Kassidy along with several neighborhood kids, balls, bats, frisbees, waterballoons, airsoft guns etc, that are a constant at our place.
This is a shot at the front door area. Sorry, but all these pix are not as clear as I thought. Hopefully, you get the idea...

The side front yard...

Through the gate to the backyard...

And in through the gate...

Mr. Honey made me these trellises one year for Mother's Day. I drew them up, and he built them and then the whole family painted them.

There are 6 total and each one is different.

This is our little patio where we relax and enjoy the birds and the butterflies and bumblebees.

(yes, we do take time from the yardwork to enjoy)...

As you can see, we like to plant in all kinds of vintage containers. Mr. Honey has been known to brake for garage sales now and then, when he spies old washtubs for sale.

Here is the vegetable and herb garden in raised beds. Mr. Scarecrow watches over it every year, usually he's sporting a new pair of overalls that I have picked up at a thrift shop. Sometimes I make Mrs. Scarecrow instead by putting a floral dress and an old apron along with garden gloves and hat on her.

Mr. Honey and I built all of the fences in our yard. Again, I drew them up along with all of the plans for the yard - because well, you know by now that I like to draw!

I hope you enjoyed the quick tour of our "Cottage Garden"...I wanted to show you an overall view first, with closeups to come later...I enjoy being out as much as I can.

It is alot of work, and some years it looks better than others, but to me - just having the sunshine on my face and the smell of herbs and flowers and the sound of the birds...makes it all worthwhile.

Sew Night With Kass - Twirly Girly Skirt

It's been a while since I showed you some of what Kassidy and I have been up to on our "Wednesday Sew Night" - so here is just one of the projects that we have made and I promise to show you even more later!
Here is Kassidy stitching away happily...

and pinning away happily...

And then it's time for me to add the trim...

The cutest little pink pom-pom trim we found at JoAnns. Just in case you want to know- the trim came first, and then we picked fabric to go with the trim from Material Girls. It's kinda like finding a dress to go with the earrings, don't ya think?

And the final project - the cutest little twirly skirt to go with the trim, both in the perfect pink.

Here is the pattern that we used. It was really simple, fast and cute - those are the three requirements that we have for any project to be on our list of things to do for our Sew Night together.

For sure we will be making more of these and I will show them to you then.

I wanted to show you the pins that Kassidy uses. They are extra long with a bigger head which makes them easier for her to handle, and besides they're adorable and come in cute pearly-bright colors.

My friend Linda no blog gave me a few of them in a pincushion that she gave me a while back, and when Kass saw them she made me call Linda right away to see where she got them.

They came from JoAnns so of course we had to go get several packages. They really are cute and useful and look very happy in the pincushions that are in my studio!

And here's my curly girly (thats what her Dad calls her) in her twirly skirt...do you like it?

New Blocks

Here are a few more blocks that go in my Family Reunion quilt. Applique club is tomorrow at Quilts Etc., and we will be working on these three additions. Above is a photo of some of the blocks we have already finished and how they are joined together. This section represents about 1/8 of the quilt.

Grandpa uses a cane now and likes to reminisce about old times. "Those were the good old days"... he says at the end of every story.

All of the Aunts and Great Aunts along with Grandma always bring their "tried & true" best baked goods for the dessert table at the reunion.

The saying in this stitchery sums up the whole purpose of a "Family Reunion". I hope you have one planned for this summer...

Vintage Monday - Bling!

Because I love all things vintage and because I'm a girl who likes sparkly shiny things... I happen to also love vintage bling.
I especially love pins because they remind me of my grandmas and their pins. Both of them wear pins but my Grandma Crane, has always worn them. For her, that is just part of getting ready to go out.
Because she has always worn them, she has quite a collection.


I keep my pins on two vintage "ladies shoe" pincushions. I have run into several of these throughout my treasure hunting. This pincushion pattern was very popular it seems. I have seen them in a wide variety of fabrics and trim. They hang on my bedroom wall next to my dressing table and I like the way my pins look on them.

I bought the two that I have because they seemed a little extra special and looked dressy enough to hold some vintage sparkles! They are both made of satin fabric and trimmed with lace and pearl buttons. I appreciate the care that went into the making of these pincushions.

I bought them in two different places so obviously they have different makers.

I have several pins but only a few that are vintage. Here are a few close up shots. I am not a serious vintage jewelry collector, (that is the BIG bucks) I have only picked these up at garage sales for very little money but only because I liked them. Believe me, there is alot of jewelry out there and I am not educated on what is good or bad, or worth more. It simply doesn't matter to me. I collect vintage things that speak to me in some way or another, not for resale value.

These earrings were my Mothers that she gave me to wear on the night of my wedding dinner. She thought they went well with the color of my dress which was lilac. I remember that I felt special when she got into her jewelry box and got them out - her jewelry box was always forbidden for us girls, if not- I'm sure she wouldn't have had any nice jewelry to wear as teenage girls tend to be a bit careless!

Look how cute these dragonfly clip earrings are! I'm not sure what kind of a stone the wings are, they have a slightly aqua tint to them.

This pin has two of the stones missing but I couldn't pass it up because of the swirly "H". I just think it is darling and I really need to take it in and get it fixed.

I wear my pins to church alot and occasionally other places...I think they're fun and to me that's what collecting vintage is all about!