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Friday, September 12, 2008

Hanging Around Quiltville....


Why is it so hard to get out a hammer and nails and actually get stuff ON the walls?

Maybe it's because I'm waiting for the painter. I've got a name for someone who does good work, and I'm calling today to schedule a painting appointment for my inside walls. That means, stuff needs to come OFF the walls, or never goes up ON the walls. But I couldn't stand it so today, with an apron pocket full of nails and a trusty hammer, I hung some stuff just to get an idea of where it's going to go even if I have to take it down when it is painting time.

BTW....any ideas for colors on these overly white walls? I'm thinking kind of a mocha tan on the upper part of the wall above the chair rail (which goes around the whole lower level of the house, except for the kitchen) and maybe a browny brick/barn red for the lower part to warm it up. That tan stripe on the wall? That is where I removed the hideous 1990's floral wall paper border. I can't believe we EVER thought that kind of treatment was great!

I found this really cool quilt hanger at the Kirtland home store in the mall. Marked down to $19.99, it is adjustable somewhat, so you can put different sizes of quilts on it. However, the one I wanted to hang didn't fit, so I just folded it over the rod. Works for me! This is a "hidden spools" quilt top that one of my wonderful blog readers sent me as a house warming. (Thank You, Angela, Daisymum7!) I love the colors in it! I added the borders myself and quilted it, and finished the binding while in Shallotte. Last night I washed it and dried it and I love it's crinkly-old-looking-ness!

See this little stitchery? This is what I'm talking about...I hate to see handwork things go for cheap in thrift shops.
The price? $3.00 I kid you not. I couldn't BUY the aida cloth to make the thing for $3.00. Not to mention the floss. I snatch these up wherever I can. This one says:




A Successful Woman
Who loves life and lives it to the fullest
Who has discovered and shared
The strengths and talents
That are uniquely her own;
Who puts her best into each task
And leaves each situation
Better than she found it;
Who seeks and finds
That which is beautiful
In all people...and all things;
Who's heart is full of love
And warm with compassion;
Who has found joy in living
And peace within herself.


I am just so inspired by this stitchery, and I wonder about the woman who so carefully stitched it. Was it a healing project for her during a hard time in her life? Was it a gift for someone else? What came about that this ended up in the Goodwill bin in Kernersville, NC?! Whatever the cause, it came to me at a time in my life where I really need this. So thank you, whoever you are, for stitching this!



I also finally got my "Laundry Hall Wall" hung semi the way I want it. When you enter the front door of my "cottage"....you can see straight down the hall to the right of the stairwell (and yes, still see the ugly wall paper below the chair rail that hasn't been removed yet)and out the back door to the upper deck.

Don't pay attention to the one lone sock on the stairwell, and yes, that is Oscar's tail at the bottom of the pic, he is curious as to why I'm trying to get the dogs up and out of the way (I failed miserably, as you can tell! *LOL*)I am standing just inside the front door at this point. Nothing like a door that opens up to your stairwell!



I don't have a laundry "ROOM" anymore..I have a laundry "CLOSET" off of this long hall. It's a boring straight shot of a hall. So I wanted to decorate the long boring wall with fun things like old washboards and advertising signs, and some hooks to hang my vintage aprons. I figured before the paint job was a good time to experiment, and if I got holes wrong...no problem! *LOL* I found these hangers at Hobby Lobby for 1/2 off. The washboards have been collected here and there. I love the glass one!

Many of the aprons are made from feedsacks. My mom has told me stories of her grandmother's aprons (my great grandma) and how she collected the best feedsacks and made aprons from them.

This was in Brewster, MN in the 1940s and 50s. I feel a connection to this great grandmother. I remember her very vaguely from when I was small. She was a tiny woman with long gray hair very primly twisted up in a bun. She had tiny spectacles in front of sparkling eyes and a warm smile. I understand her heart was as big as all of Minnesota. I like to think that she and I would have gotten along famously! My mom is who she is today because of the time she spent with her Grandma Manuel over the long hot Minnesota summers. This was when my mom's folks would send her out of the city for the summer because of the threat of polio. Less chance of catching it out on the farm! My mom's father suffered polio as a child, so it is understandable that they would want to keep their own children from that risk.

Most of my aprons came from thrift shops for a song, though they are getting harder to find now. :c) I actually DO wear them when I am cooking or cleaning. I also wear one when I am machine quilting because the aluminum rails on the quilting machine leave marks when I "Belly Up To The Bar". This has left many a gray streak across my clothing in the past, and it does NOT wash out, so an apron becomes quilting attire. Not to mention the pockets are great for scissors, seam rippers, extra bobbins, and whatever else I need to keep on my person.

It's raining today. Which means I didn't get out for my walk. It's okay. I can quilt this morning, maybe catch a walk after lunch if it dries up a bit. I love September in Wallburg! I'm also excited that I am home for the rest of the month. I don't go anywhere until October! But watch out, October is going to be nuts, as is November. But I won't think of that now. I'm just going to be enjoying HOME for a few weeks.

12 comments:

  1. Bonnie, When I moved into my house just East of you in NC, I also had to peel off some yucky borders in kitchen and baths and an overall flower print above the chair rail and a dark maroon below in the kitchen. The counter tops and back splash were light blue Formica. Not pretty! Took all that off as soon as I got my kitchen in working order; even before setting up my sewing room; that's how ugly and depressing it was. We painted the dining room and below the chair rail in the hall and up the stairs a beautiful color called Hot Apple Spice from Benjamin Moore (almost the same from Sherwin Williams is the color Bold Brick - SW 6327). This sounds like what you might be aiming for. I really like it. It's a rich, warm color. A mocha tan type color may go nicely with this. We still haven't decided what exactly to put above it but that sounds like what I am leaning towards. Check it out and good luck. I am still painting rooms to get rid of the rest of the white which was in a lot of other rooms. Wish we had just had painters come in an do it all instead of me doing it piece meal. Oh well, there are certainly a lot worse things in life.

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  2. Ohhh I love those aprons. My mother wore a handmade apron everyday in the '50s. She made them with a terrycloth piece hanging on the other side from the pocket to dry her hands. I have two of her aprons and some of the fabrics from others. I made yo-yos from alot of that fabric too.
    Thanks for the inspiration, Bonnie

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  3. Oh Bonnie, that quilt hanger is wonderful! And your hall decorations are perfect! Your house is really coming together!

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  4. I think the picture is better with the dogs in it. They add character and life to the hallway. I love the way you decorated it. The washboards and aprons are cute!

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  5. If you can get the painter to call you back within a week, you are lucky! We've been doing house stuff for a couple of years and evidently it's a Thing, painters, plumbers, repair people just do not return phone calls. Here's hoping it's just my part of the world and not yours! But if you don't hear back right away, don't worry, it's not just you. Good luck, new paint is FUN and really uplifting. :)

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  6. Anonymous7:30 PM EDT

    Hey Bon....go to Lowes, Home Depot or Sherwin Williams and get the paint color cards that have several different colors that all coordinate with each other. Take those home and not only look at them the one day but take another look the next (a fresh look). ALSO....paint colors look different in cloudy dark days vs. sunny bright. (Bet you knew that!)I had to do this with my color choices and I couldn't be more pleased....and you've seen mine. Also....don't let your paint color dictate too much! By this I mean, keep it so that all those gorgeous quilts are seen more than over powering color on your walls. A previous post mentioned a Hot Apple Spice....that color sounds warm and inviting for the lower wall with a lovely warm neutral above the rail. I'm so excited about your painting and able to get your home feeling like your own little nest!

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  7. OH, Bonnie!!! Love the info on Great-grandma Manuel... Seeing the washboards on your wall reminds me of the one in the laundry room/toy room growing up!--remember--it was the one Dad gave Mom when she asked for a new washing machine. *giggle!* She hung it right above the new washing machine once she got it. :o) Thanks for sharing the memories! Love, Joy

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  8. Ooh--just a thought on your painting situation. If your wallpaper is well-adhered to your wall & it has a raised design that you don't mind, you could always paint over it. A friend of mine in Denver painted one of her wall-papered walls with a nice brick red. The paper had a raised print on it--made the wall look like someone had spent hours with mud, working in a beautiful design...gorgeous! It all depends on what you've got & what you want to do though...good luck! BTW--I finally bought the paint for my own bedroom...a warm mocha brown (almost a milk chocolate), and a nice beige for below the chair rail. (We've got the barn red going into the decor--funny, we've got the same colors!) :o) Joy

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  9. Bonnie

    I love the aprons and the washboards this house is weird all windows and doors almost no wall space. Have been revamping our kitchen this week and have chosen a pale lemon called "cockatoo"
    for the cupboard doors. I would love to have a job naming paint colours I think there are some seriously cool names that evoke so many memories and visions.

    I am truly humbled that my little offering has made it to your walls.

    Thank you
    Angela in Australia

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  10. Bonnie I love your hall idea! I too have a laundry closet but mine is in the kitchen and I hate it. Oh well, at least I have one and I know some folks don't. I also pick up stitcheries I find. I bought a wonderful counted cross stitch one of a house, brought it home and put borders around it and it now hangs above my mantel. I paid $1 for the stitchery. I'm sure it was in some estate sale bought by an antique dealer. Thank goodness my girls love my work so they will not let anything go when I go on up to Heaven to start my stitching there! blessings, marlene

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  11. This is actually the first time I saw the hidden spools in the hidden spools quilt, and I've been trying to see them in there for years. Verey cool! Love the laundry hallway. I, too, have to come up with paint colors sometime soon. So many choices!

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  12. A real blast from the past: We had a ridged glass washboard like the one in the bottom picture when I was growing up!

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