A Holiday Gift Quilt – Pin Cozy

IMG_1551We are on a very tight budget in my house, so Christmas was going to be a challenge for me. I wanted to get my dad a gift, but he’s the “really hard to shop for/has everything” type. Recently, we had discussed his collection of pins from various NASCAR racing events and Harley Davidson clubs that he’s a member of, and I thought “why not a Pin Cozy”?

What’s a Pin Cozy? Well, it’s my fancy name for a wall hanging quilt that you can pin all of your pins into and hang to display!
IMG_1649Here’s dad opening his gift on Christmas, with a pin stuck in it so he knows what it is.

IMG_1727A few days after Christmas, he came over and we pinned many of his pins to the quilt. I think it looks awesome! He had fun telling me about each of the pins and it was a challenge to get them to look so evenly spaced. He even thought he might hunt down a few pins he’s missing on eBay.

If you like this Pin Cozy idea, check back later in the month, as I’m going to post it as a free tutorial!

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Nostalgia and The Avon Good Fairy

My studio is the previous owner’s daughter’s room.  It was painted purple and green, and since I like those colors I decided to leave it painted that way. When I was little I BEGGED my father to paint my room purple like a friend of mine had.  After a weekend away I came back to my room painted a light lavender.  That is the color in the studio, and I love it.  It brings back those childhood memories, and of something my dad did for me.
I decided to put whimsy things in my studio.  I have lots of fairies in there, all mostly from when I was a kid and could not get enough of fairies, unicorns, and the like.  I was a child of the 80’s after all.

I had this Avon perfume decanter as a kid.  I think it was second hand, because I only had the wand, and not the wings.  It was long since tossed out. I think only to top half of her survived, and my brother liked the wand because it glowed in the dark.  The other day I just happened to Google it, and came across some eBay auctions for them, and next thing you know I had one.  I opened the perfume and it smelled just like I remember.  The smell of childhood, and nostalgia, and it made me miss that old house.  It made me call my dad. 🙂
Do you have anything that brings back memories like that?
More weekly quilts and stuff coming up this week!  Yay!

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Vintage Lace

I recently bought a few bins to sort out my vintage textile collection and realized I had WAY more than I thought, and actually needed more bins. So I now have one bin just for lace. 

Oh my,  I can’t even tell you how much I love vintage lace.  I especially love any guipere needle lace, but even simple crocheted trim will do.  Love, love, love.
I think part of the reason I love it so much is that when I run my fingers over it, I think of the person who sat there and made it.  Some of this lace is achingly detailed. 
Some of it is adorably simple.  Possibly made by someone who didn’t have many luxuries, but could have this simple thing.
And then, sometimes, you find something that takes your breath away.  
I buy it cheap in bulk if it’s abandoned in garage or yard sales, or select pieces from a dusty antique shop, or plunk down some good $ from a specialty dealer, if it’s astonishing.  

I love old linens, hankies, and doilies too.  Do you? 

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