Welcome December

May this Holiday Season bring Joy and Happiness into Your home!

 

 

To VIEW....Click HERE...Then on SLIDE SHOW ARROW (top right)

 

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

December 2016...Sharing Christmas Blog Posts Past

May this Holiday Season bring Joy and Happiness into Your home!

 

 

To VIEW....Click HERE...Then on SLIDE SHOW ARROW (top right)

 

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Still Stitchin', Pitchin' and Switchin'

I am so owning all the 'itchins' in the title of this post.  It is because of them I have been Missin' here on CollectInTexas Gal.  Even though I pop in often to see what's up with everyone on my Blog Rolls, I haven't stayed logged in long enough to post, visit or comment.  Forgive me!  I can't say I will do better, as the rest of November and into December will most likely be more Stitchin'~Pitchin' and Switchin'.

 

October's Stitchin' ran way over in to November's Stitchin'.  So much so that my studio was 'Yarn Bombed'.  Being one that can work only so long in a disaster area, I finally had to start Pitchin' and Switchin'.

The Pitchin' amounted to lots of yarn winding, yarn color organization and pitchin' balls and skeins in hampers. Poncho WIP's were pitched into bags and baskets...shawls, scarfs, etc. etc. etc, too.

And finally...The Switchin'.

Which also entailed a lot of Pitchin'.

After digging through boxes of collectibles...I pitched more stuff into the Goodwill box than I thought I'd be able to part with.  Now my Junktique Booth is less cluttered and hopefully has just what shoppers can't live without....these 'Pitched Treasures'...

Now back to 'Stitchin'!

I'll be Pitchin' the Pink Tent

and

Switchin' to Selling all the Stitchin'

at...of all places...a

Farm of Arty Chickens!

Facebook Page

Acorn Dining Room...Traditional November Set

Here in Texas we say SET! 

Is it China Cabinet or China Hutch?

For me it's a Cabinet.

A Hutch is for Rabbits!

I don't Collect Rabbits!

I Collect China...and other Dishes!

So, before getting deeper into the Shelves, Drawers and Behind the Doors of the Acorn China Cabinet

I thought it best to show you the

Acorn Dining Room Set!

Table Trivia...

• The word Table is derived from the Latin word Tabula which means a board, a plank or a flat piece.
• In the Middle Ages, upper class Britons and other European nobility in castles dined in the Great Hall. This was a large multi-function room capable of seating the bulk of the population of the house. The family would sit at the head table on a raised dais, with the rest of the population arrayed in order of diminishing rank away from them. Tables in the great hall would tend to be long trestle tables with benches. The sheer number of people in a Great Hall meant it would probably have had a busy, bustling atmosphere.
•  
• The Plague...Black Death caused the dining room table to become smaller.  It is true that the owners of such properties began to develop a taste for more intimate gatherings in smaller 'parlers' or privee parlers' off the main hall but this is thought to be due as much to political and social changes as to the greater comfort afforded by such rooms. In the first instance, the Black Death that ravaged Europe in the 14th Century caused a shortage of labour and this had led to a breakdown in the feudal system. Also the religious persecutions following the dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII made it unwise to talk freely in front of large numbers of people.
• Why dining tables took on a more masculine look...
  Toward the beginning of the 18th Century, a pattern emerged where the ladies of the house would withdraw after dinner from the dining room to the drawing room. The gentlemen would remain in the dining room having drinks. The dining room tended to take on a more masculine tenor as a result.
• Table legs were considered sexy....in Victorian times.
  Did you know that in Victorian times, people were so repressed, that not only was the sight of a female ankle considered scandalous, even the sight of table legs was considered unseemly and indecorous! So it was that table legs were also required to be kept covered and out of sight; they were legs after all!

A typical North American dining room will contain a table with chairs arranged along the sides and ends of the table, as well as other pieces of furniture, (often used for storing formal china), as space permits. Often tables in modern dining rooms will have a removable leaf to allow for the larger number of people present on those special occasions without taking up extra space when not in use.

 

In modern American and Canadian homes, the dining room is typically adjacent to the living room, being increasingly used only for formal dining with guests or on special occasions.
This was traditionally the case in England, where the dining room would for many families be used only on Sundays, other meals being eaten in the kitchen.

PS...I think my Acorn Dining Room Set is pretty much a Typical North American Dining Room.  However, on some Thanksgiving Holidays it seems more like the Great Hall of the Middle Ages...The Population Part.

October Pumpkin Review

October 2016 has been somewhat 'Blogless'.  It happens that way some years and some months.  When it does, I go to my 'Pumpkin Patch Archives".  Here are some of my favorite Pumpkin Pics and Posts from the Past.

October 2010

One day I found two pumpkin seeds.
I planted one and pulled the weeds.
It sprouted roots and a big long vine.
A pumpkin grew; I called it mine.
The pumpkin was quite round and fat.
(I am really quite proud of that)
But there is something, I'll admit
That has me worried just a bit.
I ate the other seed you see.
Now will it grow inside of me?

 

Last year my single sister and I baked pumpkin pies for the holidays, and as we were preparing the pumpkins she said,

 "You know Men are like pumpkins." 

 "Oh yeah, how's that", I asked. 

 "Well, it seems the good ones are either taken or

they've had everything scraped out of their heads with a spoon."

 

October 2011

Plaid Pumpkins???? Sure...why not!!!! Flowery Pumpkins??? 

 Of course...doesn't every garden grow them this time of year?

 

October 2012

Pumpkin Coasters....who'd thought!!!!

Not me...I usually just fold a paper towel and hope it catches my drips and spills!

PUMPKIN COASTERS PATTERN

 

Thanks Pumpkin Patch Archives!

Mother Natures Autum Color Palette

One of my favorite colors is GREEN.  I particularly like Green Glass.  You may have already guessed it from the Green Glass Header for this month of October.  Aren't the 'Greens' of Fall something spectacular?   Without them, the Reds, Oranges, Yellows, and Browns would blend together, and the reason being Green provides the contrast.  In other words...green makes all those shades of Red ...'POP'.  What about that brown?  It is a mixture of Green and Red.  Mother Nature sure knows her color chart!

I say I am particularly fond of green glass, but I can say the same for green yarn and green fabric.  I realized this as I have been color organizing said yarn and fabric.  It seems my Green Yarn fills twice as many Pop-up Laundry Baskets as any other color.  I won't even go there with the number of shelves, baskets, and tubs of Green Fabric. 

 

My collection of Green Glass is scattered throughout the house.  This corner in the living room gets light from sunrise to sunset and gives my green glass collection a glow that defies color theory's statement that green is primarily a cool color.

Speaking of cool....our Texas weather is beginning to cool off and the greens of summer are changing to the greens of autumn.  I'm glad! 

It has inspired me to pull out those yarn skeins of autumn greens with names like Fern, Pinon, Spruce, Wintergreen, Malachite and my favorite, Sage.  Wow, how they make those shades of red and orange sing.  Amazing how they can give brown and gold tones a richness also found in Mother Nature.

The Autumn Yarn Poncho's and Shrugs made...and in progress...may change my favorite seasons of Spring and Summer to Fall and Autumn. 

I'm so glad Mother Nature made an Autumn Color Palette!

Booth Aftermath and KnitWitWeaving!

I know what you are thinking...and Yeeeesssss...my studio does look like a it has been 'Yarn Bombed'!  That's because it had and did...right up until I walked out with a box full of 'Neck Warmers and Fingerless Gloves' at 8 am Saturday morning.  Guess what?  The 'Yarn Fairy' did not come and rewind or restore order while I was out peddling my YarnWares.  Nope, apparently she figured even her wand was not up to the challenge. 

All in all, I'm almost glad the Yarn Fairy's wand was not up to the task.  Otherwise I might not have found the shrug pattern I used as a basis for the ones I made for the October First Saturday Show.

I'm going to need it!  The Shrugs were a big HIT...sold all but one!  The Autum Poncho I made just to see how it would be received flew off of Modela in the first hour.  I could have sold it three or four times over. 

Guess what's next on my needles?  Right...Shrugs and Ponchos!

Also sold some Cowls and Neck Warmers.  Might have sold more if I had thought to take ice pack liners.  I did think to take my camera, but was so busy peddling my 'Warm Wear Wares' I didn't get a chance to take not one picture.  Wow, it was my best day ever at The Chicken Farm Art Centers First Saturday Sale.

Once again, I have just as much, if not more fun playing with scraps and mixing fibers!

I'm going to call this 'KnitWitWeaving'!

The Joys of Autum

It's past time for the Monarch Migration through Texas, but this Prince of Butterfly's must have gotten a late start on the Annual Monarch Migration Trip to Mexico.

The Monarch Butterfly heads South for the Winter on what is an amazing journey from Canada to Mexico. 

With Texas being right in the middle of the route to Mexico, Texans gear up every year by creating Habitats for the Monarchs.

Butterfly gardens are easy to plant, and you can design one that gives monarchs a habitat throughout their breeding cycle. As with all butterflies, you should grow plants that will host the eggs and feed the larvae ("caterpillar plants") and/or Provide nectar to adult butterflies ("nectar plants").

Usually Monarchs feast on their favorite blooms of Autum Joy.  The bees like it too. 

Milkweed is the monarch's larval plant. It is the host for egg-laying and the food for the larvae. Here are a few milkweed species you may be able to plant in your region:

• Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
• Showy Milkweed (Asclepias speciosa)
• Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
• Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Photographing Butterflies is one of the 'Joys of Autum', and I look forward to the Monarchs visit to Texas on their way to Mexico.



I'm not sure that these photos are actual Monarchs or another variety.  No matter, if they are still enough and allow me to get this close for a zoom shot...they are Royal enough!

Wordless Wed....Promoting Autum Collection

Wordless Wed...Cool Knit & Crochet for Cooler Weather

My National Sewing Month...Not Sewn Stitching

September and National Sewing Month is more than half over and I have not touched my SEWING MACHINE...not once!   I have, however, made good use of one of my SEWING BOXES and the contents including needles, thread, thread heaven, clips and scissors.

Does that count?

It should, in my way of thinking.  After all, yarn is thread and stitching seams with a blunt tapestry needle is sewing.  Right?  Then there are the clips I always use instead of pins.  Yeah, it counts as sewing.

Since I made a big deal out of September being National Sewing Month with a Sewing Header and the National Sewing Month Tag and Link on the top of my Side Bar, I thought I'd better write at least one post in acknowledgement. 

So, what have I been Not Sewing that counts as Sewing? 

What can I say...at least all this Not-Sewing was Not Sewn in my Sewing Room!

Wait...the buttons and beads were hand sewn with sharp needles and skinny thread!

Yay...It All Counts...and...adds up for Handmade items for

October's First Saturday Chicken Farm Art Center's BOOTH!

Softer Side of Selling Sue's Stuff

Truth be known, there is no softer side in selling one's collected treasures.  It is HARD!  Especially when some of the stuff is sentimental and or things you made.  For instance the quilted pillow shams in the lower left picture.  My sweet three year old granddaughter laid her blonde curly head on them when she came to visit.  She's now 23, the curls have been straightened and are often various shades of ...well...other colors.  No more over night visits as she has her own apartment that reflects her style of pillow shams...not her Nana's softer quilted country style.

Both of these quotes kind of say it all for me, and although letting them go is HARD...

the SOFTER side of me hopes that someone will find my once

Simple Treasures as their Life's Pleasures! 

Wordless Wed...Buttons Beads and Bits of Lace

Not your grandmothers blouse buttons...anymore!

Oh My Moon and Stars...It's Back to ABA...To Stay!

"Just remember this 'OverDoSue'...NONE of this stuff comes back to the house...ever!"

"Got it, HiHoney!  Thanks for helping me move back in to my NEW Space at ABA!"

 

You might remember my OLD Space...back in 2011.

Wow, how time flies and collecting stuff keeps piling up and overflowing from house to someplace else!  My 2016 space is half the size of the 2011 space...for now!  No, really, I'm going to keep it small and not so packed...cluttered...yadayadayada!

 

NEW Space featuring 'Fall Ya'll' Stuff!

So here I go again...Back to American-British Antiques
 and another downsizing of collections.

Wish me luck...I'll need it to sell Amber Moon and Stars!

As much as I Love it to the Moon...it can't come Back...to my House!

(wink, wink)

Neck Jewels With A View

I'm not one to miss a Photo Opportunity and a 'TwoFer' marketing display!  Yes, it was one of those 'Eureka Moments' as well as a shortage of display space that had me combing 'Around Your Neck' stuff.  And the bonus...the surprise view!  I do love digital developing!

Neck Jewels with a View...Who Knew?

BAGS and BOHO...BOOTH Hot SEPT Sellers

As predicted...It was TOO HOT for Knitted Neck Warmers, Crocheted Shawls and Sweaters!  Afterall, we are in the 3rd Season of the year here in Texas...that'd be 'STILL SUMMER'.  As much as I'd like to say it is FALL...it's not!!! 

 

No worries...I will be way ahead for our 4th Season of the year...CHRISTMAS! 

That's how we roll here in Texas! 

Starting September w/ 'Made In Texas' Stuff

Of course this stuff is made in Texas!  Who else but a Texan spends the August Dog Days of Summer covered up in YARN?  What sane person knits at the speed of light to make 'Neck Warmers' edged in FUR with the AC on Hi-Freeze?  Yeah...it's ME...OverDoneSue! 

Then there is this.....taking time to market these HOT Items to folks who will still be wearing flip flops, tank tops, and cutoffs while walking around with their personal fans.  Really???  Neck Warmers, Sue!!!!  Here's the thing....it's FOOTBALL SEASON in Texas.  I think these will be Really HOT Sellers!!!

GO!!! FIGHT!!! WIN!!!....w/ Made In Texas Stuff!!!

Wordless Wed...Quilted Clams and Knitted Cloths

Keeping Calm by Quilting Clams and Knitting Dish Cloths!

Winding Down August

Some years here on CollectInTexas Gal...there were so few posts posted that Winding Down August was more like Never Mind August.  And, although this August is not a post record setting August, it ranks right up there with enough to merit a winding down...or maybe it's just me that needs some winding down time.  After all, I have been winding, unwinding and rewinding lots of yarn for this months projects...which I am now ready to reveal....

Cowl Collars

 

Okay...now I am 'Gearing Up' for September!!!!