MyLuckyChicken

A Luxury Vacation

It seems like I run hot and cold with this blog of mine. I am either in a creating and posting frenzy or, well, not. 

So since I can't reasonable catch you all up with everything I've been up to, I thought I'd just jump right in where I'm at...

Ireland. We just got home. A huge 6 week vacation that included 4 weeks in what the Irish call a 'holiday cottage' but what could be more aptly be described as a time warp. 

This is it. (taken with the hipstamatic app, for the time travel effect)

It was beautiful. It was remote. It was mind numbingly boring. But in a good way. There was not television, no internet access, no phone, and one radio station.

But there was space, lots and lots of space. You know the kind of space where you have time to think? Nothing buzzing, nothing beeping. Nothing to update, no up-to-the-minute news that I couldn't miss. Just space. The kind of emptiness where your mind could wander and drift. Thoughts could come and go with out distraction or inundation. Remember that? 

It was a very simple place, 2 bedrooms, a stone floor, and a peat burning fireplace. A huge open landscape lead to views of the ocean out the back.

 

Cows came up to the stone wall and there were brand new calfs. We fed them the grass clippings when the lawn was mowed.

The wind there is constant and although it was fairly cold you could open the windows and let in fresh sea air. And there was time. Time to stand at the window and breathe. Time to let your eyes wander across the landscape and be inspired. Time to wonder what you would like to do next. 

And the boys played. real play. With sticks and rocks and imagination. And they were bored. Really bored. But the kind of bored that leads to making forts in the trees and imaging flying to far off places. Where you decide to draw the view out of your bedroom window because there is nothing else to do. 

It was rough for sure and remote. But all that space, all that calm quite time, is my idea of a luxury vacation.

Thrifty Finds

I've been on vacation this week, and although much of it has been spent trying to entertain one boy while the other is still in school, I did manage to sneak out yesterday and go to my local Goodwill. I don't usually have much luck there and I was actually going to find sweaters to make these, but the sweaters were a little too expensive to tear apart, and I have some ratty ones here I can unravel for free.

So on to the back of the store and the house wears.

My finds...

one sweet little coffee cup. We have several of this set and I think it was one that must have been missed on a pervious visit. The little vintage cups fit perfectly under the Nespresso machine. They are also cute and portable so we bring them to coffee hour after church. My neighbor Claire and I are trying to inspire people to bring their own mugs and stop using styrofoam (so gross). 

 

The plate with the rose is just sweet, and who can't use another serving plate? The set of 5 desert plates below match some serving plates I have from my grandmother. I've never seen the desert plates before so I was quite pleased when I found these...

But now for the pièce de résistance, my holy grail of thrifting...

 

yes, I can hear your ohhh's and ahhh's from here. A flawless (except for a few stains on the fold which will easily soak out) 1940ish, table cloth. The colors are perfect. I think it may have been used once or twice, but no more than that. No holes, no tears, no fading, perfect. 

It was just laying there on a bin of old sheets waiting just for me. 

Finally.

So my photo card wouldn't let me upload pictures to my mac. Being a new mac convert I wasn't quite sure what was wrong or how to fix it. This, ridiculously, has stopped me from posting here or from listing to etsy. So finally a new card was purchased and volia! a post. 

 

Last fall I made what felt like a million of these little clothespin bags to sell at a craft fair to benefit the local animal shelter. They were well received and I even sold a few. Since spring is coming and my afore mentioned photo card is cooperating, I thought I'd list some to my little etsy site. 

I probably should have ironed before taking the photos, but honestly I just wanted to get them up. Maybe I'll reshoot if they don't fly off the virtual shelves. 

They are all made using some kind of vintage materials. The blue is a vintage cotton/poly blend that I had from my grandmother. I made iron ons for the hands because that made them a lot easier to then applique. 

 

This is one of my favorites:

the hands are a 1920s ish quilt top that I snagged. It was completely beyond repair but some pieces were useable. I love that a little bit of the quilt has a new life. 

The Making of Things Shall Recommence!

Oh yeah, this blog is supposed to be about making things...

   

This is my new design for my clothespin bags. It has been suggested to me that my other bags were a little monster-esque, so I decided to go with it.  They could also be used for plastic bag holders or just-about-anything holders. 

The reason for this sudden burst of inspiration: a deadline. 

I was thinking of applying for a big craft fair and needed a fun picture of my Monster Clothespin Bags. But I needed to make one first, so I did. He's been in my head for a while this guy, and I'm pretty happy with how he came out. I need to figure out a faster way to do the appliqué but other than that he's pretty simple and fun. For directions, you can check out my tutorial (minus the hands, they're new). 

So then I actually read through the application for above craft fair and saw the entry fee. I thought, maybe start smaller? There is a local craft fair to benefit the animal shelter, I applied and was accepted and so volià, another deadline. 

The idea here is to use as much vintage and repurposed materials as possible and to inspire people towards a greener lifestyle. 

Stay tuned for more fun!
 

Use a Clothesline

It's summer here. As you know the minute I can I head out and hang my clothes on my umbrella style clothes line. 

 

I wish I could say that I am in the majority, that people all around are hanging out their laundry. Sadly, I am not. 

People all over are still cramming clothes into the dryer despite the fact that it is 90 degrees out and those same clothes would dry just as well outside. 

So I say to you all, try it. It's fun, all the cool kids are doing it, see? 

Plus you can say you are being green, which is cool now. And it's retro, also cool. 

 

As if all this wasn't reason enough, for actual stats and $ amounts look here. Project Laundry List is a treasure trove of information and resources. 
 

And if those pictures from the Gulf make you feel sad and helpless, do something. Do something small to cut your energy consumption. Do something simple to show your children how to take care of the Earth. Yes, your towels will be a little stiff, but that's such a tiny sacrifice, and it's worth it, don't you think?

More Linens and Frost?

The house is about 85% back to normal. That's not to say neat and tidy, more 'this is what it looks like when you squeeze 4 busy people who don't put stuff away and who have way too much stuff, into 1400 square feet' - normal. But we are working on it.  

Here are today's vintage linens...

 

You may have noticed I'm fond of flowers. This one is in great condition with a few stains that get lighter each time I soak it. 
 

Technically a departure from flowers, although just barely.  The pictures are a little dark because I was taking them at dusk. Why at dusk? Because I was bringing in my plants. Because we are getting a frost tonight. Yes, you read correctly, frost. In May. 

I love New England. 

Today's Vintage Linens

 who can resist blue lilacs?

or sunflowers?

(I guess I need to work on my 'lawn') 

 

Flooding Stinks

I am lucky enough to live in the North East. Normally I love it here. We get 4 seasons, so once you get really sick of one kind of weather it changes and you get a fresh start. Perfect for me because I am, as you know, more of a project starter than a project finisher. 

Well, lately the weather here has ummm.... sucked. 

It rained. 

a lot. 

There was water in the basement and ducks swimming in my back yard. 

 
 See, that's a duck. in. my. yard. 

So here is the silver lining. 

My vintage linens are kept in my semi finished basement. They didn't get wet, but since the basement was so damp for so long (2 weeks) they smell a little musty. I need to wash and air dry them all.

This is the plan. I am using a different one each day, soaking it in Biz, and hanging it in the sun to dry. I think it will be fun to revisit my little collection like this. 

 

These are 2 that did get wet drying on the soccer net. 
 

Because of the turmoil caused when you take a house and put everything that was on one floor, on another floor and then decide that that is WAY too much stuff for 4 people to own, try to sort through it, toss, give away, etc. I anticipate a slight lull in the crafting department. I figured I could appease you, my dear readers, with some pictures of my linens, which I hope you will enjoy.

Also followed by gratuitous Spring loveliness...

 

I love how vibrant the colors on this one still are. Since it's selvedge on one side and finished edges on the other I am going to guess 1950ish maybe as late as the 60s. 

 

I bought this one on ebay as a cutter. The only thing that is wrong with it is the little black marks you can see at the top right which look like a sharpie that bled through. It's fine for everyday use. Grey with the red, I'll go with 1940ish. 

 more 1940s, loooovve the yellow in this one. 

 and today's entry, the blue of the flowers is faded but still so pretty, 1940s, again (maybe 50s?)

and finally a few garden shots...

 
 nothing says Spring like tulips!

the grape hyacinth is spreading nicely.

my favorite tulip in the garden, there are only 3 of these. 

forsythia with creeping phlox.  

false pear tree in bloom, here you can see the forsythia we planted 5 years ago on the right and the plants we put in last year on the left. I just put more phlox in underneath the new plants this week so next Spring there should be a lovely purple carpet along the drive. 

and if you can handle one more picture...

I thought these sweet little things were weeds. Turns out they are woodland poppies, so I guess they can stay.  Does that make me a garden snob?

Flooding Stinks

I am lucky enough to live in the North East. Normally I love it here. We get 4 seasons, so once you get really sick of one kind of weather it changes and you get a fresh start. Perfect for me because I am, as you know, more of a project starter than a project finisher. 

Well, lately the weather here has ummm.... sucked. 

It rained. 

a lot. 

There was water in the basement and ducks swimming in my back yard. 

 
 See, that's a duck. in. my. yard. 

So here is the silver lining. 

My vintage linens are kept in my semi finished basement. They didn't get wet, but since the basement was so damp for so long (2 weeks) they smell a little musty. I need to wash and air dry them all.

This is the plan. I am using a different one each day, soaking it in Biz, and hanging it in the sun to dry. I think it will be fun to revisit my little collection like this. 

 

These are 2 that did get wet drying on the soccer net. 
 

Because of the turmoil caused when you take a house and put everything that was on one floor, on another floor and then decide that that is WAY too much stuff for 4 people to own, try to sort through it, toss, give away, etc. I anticipate a slight lull in the crafting department. I figured I could appease you, my dear readers, with some pictures of my linens, which I hope you will enjoy.

Also followed by gratuitous Spring loveliness...

 

I love how vibrant the colors on this one still are. Since it's selvedge on one side and finished edges on the other I am going to guess 1950ish maybe as late as the 60s. 

 

I bought this one on ebay as a cutter. The only thing that is wrong with it is the little black marks you can see at the top right which look like a sharpie that bled through. It's fine for everyday use. Grey with the red, I'll go with 1940ish. 

 more 1940s, loooovve the yellow in this one. 

 and today's entry, the blue of the flowers is faded but still so pretty, 1940s, again (maybe 50s?)

and finally a few garden shots...

 
 nothing says Spring like tulips!

the grape hyacinth is spreading nicely.

my favorite tulip in the garden, there are only 3 of these. 

forsythia with creeping phlox.  

false pear tree in bloom, here you can see the forsythia we planted 5 years ago on the right and the plants we put in last year on the left. I just put more phlox in underneath the new plants this week so next Spring there should be a lovely purple carpet along the drive. 

and if you can handle one more picture...

I thought these sweet little things were weeds. Turns out they are woodland poppies, so I guess they can stay.  Does that make me a garden snob?

A Fun Time

Just for fun...

I was looking through blogs tonight and found this fun app for a Mac or PC. It's a clock with a different picture for each minute of the day. 

 

You can download it here at Blu Dot.  Thanks to Jenny at AllSorts for showing me where to find it. 

 

clever, isn't it?