Lots of Things are Simmering...

There's lots going on these days at Chez Goodneedle, you might have wondered since I have been so quiet. This movie clip stars a piece of vintage (1940's) Pyrex Flameware doing what it's designed to do. The clean out of my dear MIL's home continues. I used to watch her use these small stove-top dishes (this is one of a set of three) all the time and I always loved them. I have brought them home with me and will keep them in frequent use. Years ago there was a handle that clipped on for moving these off the burner, I have no idea what ever happened to that, but it is long gone now.

This is us doing the happy dance. After only three and a half weeks her home is now under contract. The afore-mentioned clean out has now ratcheted up into a faster, more accelerated pace, it's all good.

If you remember an earlier post about the Big Hex Flimsy I am determined to make a play mat/quilt with a pom pom edge as I found pictured. I ordered this trim, but it only came in natural. Since this quilt is to offer visual stimulation for a little one there simply has to be color added. I looked up many websites for 'how to's' on dyeing pom pom trim.  To be honest, they weren't encouraging. And still, undaunted, this idea of mine was still simmering on the back burner of my brain. Suspecting that my trim was all cotton, I cut off one of the pom poms and dropped it into my cup of tea. It grabbed the color! YES!! (A word of caution: as long as the trim is cotton (or natural fibers) the dyeing will work just fine; acrylics, polyesters and blends won't pick up the dye or yield satisfactory results.)

A quick stop at Joann's with this purchase and I was on my way home. 

I followed the directions on the dye packet to. the. letter. Simmer, simmer... stir, stir. Wash. Rinse.

And dry! Perfection!!

The quilting was fast and easy, few starts and stops, one arc led to the next and then the next; continuous line quilting makes for a happy quilter. No simmering here... this was done at the speed of a rapid boil!

Life is Good!

Up next: "On The Edge"

Bless This House

Welcome to our home. This is what you see when you enter in through the front door: stairs leading up to our converted attic space/now theater room, a chair holding a pillow proclaiming that "a spoiled rotten dachshund lives here" and a Singer treadle base with a glass top serving as an entrance hall table. Oh, yes, and on the wall directly in front of you is a wool applique wallhanging  beside a framed, embroidered sampler. The sampler was added today, I stitched it in 1975 and presented it to my then brand-new mother and father-in-law that year for Christmas.  They were building their home at that time and this sampler was proudly placed in their foyer a few months later when they moved in; there it hung, proudly, until a few weeks ago. With a heavy heart I took it down from the nail that supported it, dusted it off and carried it here. Yesterday their house went on the market for sale. I pray that special home will find a family soon, it needs one. This hand embroidered house blessing will hang in our home from now on. Every day when I walk past it I will remember, and my heart will smile. I pray that our own front door will "prove ever open to joy and love" as theirs did, for four-plus decades.

This cross stitch sampler was ordered, if memory serves, from an advertisement in the back of Good Housekeeping magazine. It was a kit, the linen was stamped and the floss was included. This blessing was inspired by a plaque that hung in the White House during the Eisenhower administration; the sentiment, however, is timeless.

Life is Good!

Discovered Treasures Providing Smiles

We've been dining by candlelight the last few days, from the glow cast by candles standing in vintage silver candlesticks no less. These, and other treasures, have recently come to live here as we continue the monumental task of cleaning out my dear mother-in-law's home. These candlesticks represent the blending of two families when my husband's parents wed; these belonged, at one time, to both sets of his grandparents and were passed down decades ago. Now they reside here. Their shine and patina are thanks to a generous amount of elbow grease and silver polish. They make me smile.  

While cleaning out drawers in the kitchen I ran across this gem. Mom had a terrific sense of humor and this made me smile too, I can just hear her chuckling when she bought this tea towel. I had never seen it before, it was brand-new; of course it was, she was probably "saving it" as she did items "too nice" to use! 

This grand-prize of all treasures is not brand-new, but it is in brand-new condition! According to my husband's sister, Mom used to sew a good bit; that statement, and the contents of the cabinet's drawers, prove that may have been the case at one time. However, in the past 42 years that I had been her daughter-in-law, I never once saw this cabinet opened out and had absolutely no knowledge of what model machine was contained therein! I was beyond thrilled to discover a pristine Singer 301 nestled inside. The 301 has long been prized for its stitch quality and dependability. According to some tracking that I have done using the serial number, it appears that this machine was manufactured in Anderson, SC in October of 1952. It has followed me to our house, Mom can rest assured that I will give it a loving home; I do believe that fact is providing an approving smile, from her, in Heaven.💗

Life is Good! 

Hooked!

This past summer my mother gave me this beautiful, engraved, crochet hook; it was the only possession she had that belonged to her own mother. I never knew my grandmother. I was reluctant to take this gift realizing the significance of it, but Mom insisted that I should have it. Once I held it in my hand I just knew that it was mine now~ to keep and to care for, until that time comes when it will pass along once again! I don't know anything at all about it other than it is over 100 years old and it's among the most treasured of all gifts that I've ever received. I don't crochet, but I do use it! The hook portion is TINY,  just perfect for slipping between the weave on a quilt top and coaxing an errant shadow-through thread to the surface for removal. I feel a strong connection to the women in my life whenever I hold this slim and graceful sliver of a hook in the palm of my hand, I imagine those hands that held it before me. 

 ...and I am grateful...

Life is Good!