February brings...

"Chill February brings the day,

When hearts and flowers we give away."

~Tasha Tudor

February also brings...

Several TDIPT artists are using one of their monthly offerings as a small fundraiser for the extreme need in Haiti. It may not be much, but every penny counts.

My Hearts for Haiti offering is:

Please stop by TDIPT Mercantile to see all the offerings this month.

I had also hoped to update my Etsy shop this weekend, but just ran out of time.

Here are some glimpses of the items that I'll be putting up on Etsy as soon as I have some free time. If you see anything that you may be interested in, please feel free to email me at pgagliard9@hotmail.com for more information.



Once I started making pinkeeps, I just couldn't stop :) These three were all made of vintage ticking.

I also made a few with vintage quilt tops.

I told you I couldn't stop :)

These are also vintage quilt tops and if you look closely at the one on the right you can see teeny red hearts in the fabric .

This darling needlepunch by my sister-in-law will also be listed.

And one last little key fob...

Now to just find a little more time :)

God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us;
Selah.
That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health
among all nations.
Let the people praise thee, O God; let all the
people praise thee.
~Psalm 67:1-3

Blessings, Patti

Still Winter

I finished my Holly Vine table runner designed by Maggie Bonanomi.

I told myself that as soon as I finished this I would devote all of my crafting time to Valentine's Day and then move on to Spring projects.

That was my intention until this arrived in the mail box...



O my goodness gracious! This pattern spoke to my heart immediately! My favorite song this winter has been Frank Sinatra's version of this song.

And the blackwork inspired bands ~Wow~!

I love how Beth Twist includes information on her inspiration in her patterns. You can find her Heartstring Samplery patterns here and her sweet blog and freebie patterns here.

(photo included with permission from Beth Twist.)

Here is a better photo so you can see what inspired me so...
I'll work on Valentine creations for a TDIPT update and an Etsy update this weekend. But then I'll be going back to winter and stitching on this lovely piece.

I'm thinking of setting up a playlist of all my favorite wintery songs to keep me company as I stitch...

Thanks Beth for inspiring me so!

Blessings, Patti

p.s. I've started my *Snow Day* playlist of wintery (not Christmas) songs:

1. I've Got my Love to Keep Me Warm
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Let It Snow
4. Sleigh Ride
5. Baby It's Cold Outside

Can you think of any others that I'm missing??

Believe it or not, I found that I have 33 versions of these 5 songs! Oh my!

**Snowflake Bentley**

When my oldest son was in kindergarten, he came home so excited one winter afternoon. He asked me if I had ever heard of Snowflake Bentley. He said that they had read a book about him in school that was really cool. So, off we went to the library to find the book on Snowflake Bentley.

It was really cool! So cool that we had to buy a copy for our own library. Wilson A. Bentley, 1865 - 1931, lived in Jericho, Vermont where the average annual snowfall is around 120 inches. He was a curious child, whose parents supported his inquisitiveness.

He discovered a way to photograph snowflakes under a microscope ~ sharing their beauty with the world. He also found beauty in frost and morning dew. Where some may find 120 inches of snow to be a nuisance, Wilson A. Bentley found beauty.

I was so intrigued that I added his biography and his major work "Snow Crystals" to our library as well. "Snow Crystals" features 2,453 of Wilson A. Bentley's photos. A wonderfully inspiring book.

Every January, after the holiday decorations are put away, these three books are brought out to help remind us to enjoy the beauty of the season.

A few years ago, my sister-in-law Joy gifted me with these wonderful prints. These three snowflakes are hand printed from Mr. Bentley's original lantern slides. They grace my wall all year long...

If you would like to be inspired and have a few moments, be sure to stop by the Snowflake Bentley website. There is a lovely gift shop there, too.

All this talk about "Snowflake" Bentley inspired me to finish my Stacy Nash club kit. And just in time, too. I think the new one will be in the mail shortly...

"I found that snowflakes were masterpieces of design. No one design was
ever repeated. When a snowflake melted... just that much beauty was gone,
without leaving any record behind."
-Wilson A. Bentley

Blessings, Patti

Shaker Box Treasures

I've loved shaker boxes for as long as I can remember. There is something about the shape and form of the boxes. The variety of woods and grains. The workmanship in bending such thin wood to create a strong box that withstands the test of time and use. I wasn't fortunate enough to acquire antique shaker boxes, but gradually collected new boxes from a variety of artists. The stack to the right above were my first purchase - I think I was still in high school.

Can you believe that the two on the right were purchased several years and many miles apart?!

I love all the unusual shapes, proportions and wood grains. And it is a wonderful place to store my stitching supplies and treasures.

Between Christmas and New Year's I stopped in an antique store that was having an end of year sale to take peek. My heart leaped when I saw an antique prim shaker box - well used and loved.

Once I held it, I didn't let it go! Wahoo - a wonderful find! When I spoke with the sweet dealer that owned the box, I found that she had purchased a small collection of boxes from the estate sale of an elderly woman. Well I couldn't let the collection be split up could I?

So I also bought this wonderful box - more of a pantry box than a traditional shaker box. This box is signed C. Talbot - burnt into the wood. I'm not sure how old/new the decoration is on the top of the box - this is also signed - Lois Lamson of Randolph Vermont. Isn't it beautiful? Perfect for this time of year. I must do a little research when I find some time.

And finally, my biggest purchase of the day:

This matched set of four antique shaker boxes!

I wasn't planning on spending my Christmas money so quickly, but when treasures like this present themselves you just can't pass them up. :) I wish these boxes could talk and tell me their tales...

Praise the LORD, all you nations;
extol him, all you peoples.
For great is his love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.
Praise the LORD.
-Psalm 117

Blessings, Patti

January

The Christmas & New Year's decorations have been gently wrapped and tucked away for another year. I scattered a few snowmen and wintery vignettes throughout the house. And I even managed a few wintery finishes this weekend...


"1839 Winter Pinkeep" by Jenny Hoffman of Country Rustic Primitives. I decided the leave the year off and instead added more snowflakes ~ once I started I couldn't stop :) I love the button border that Brenda Gervais uses in her With Thy Needle & Thread designs and decided to try it here.

And this design that Stacy Nash created for the Stacy Nash groupies Christmas party last year.

I have two more winter projects that I hope to finish soon (a holly wool applique table runner by Maggie Bonanomi and the last Stacy Nash club kit) and then I will move on to Valentine Day creations.

I love how clean and open the house looks when the Christmas decorations come down. But the living room looked a little dark & dreary without the twinkling lights. So I decided to put a few little white lights on the mantel with my small snow globe collection of wintery non-Christmasy scenes.

I think this will help me with my twinkle light withdrawals :)

I'm always composing blog posts in my head, but just haven't seemed to find the time lately. Hopefully I'll be able to find a few moments to post again soon. I'd love to share my recent antique found treasures!

Blessings, Patti

A New Year Update

I hope that each of you had a safe and enjoyable New Year's Eve! We went out to dinner with friends then came back to our house for an evening of board games and "American Idol" on Wii. We had lots of fun and spent most of New Year's Day quietly catching up on sleep and relaxing after the hectic holidays. I did sneak away from our guests for a moment to update my TDIPT Mercantile page.

I wanted to share with you an offering by my sister-in-law Joy, of Joyfully Yours. A wonderful doll-size quilt in the Courthouse Steps pattern. It features reproduction cotton prints in wedgewood blue, burgandy, taupe and black. This 16 x 16 inch quilt is edged and backed in a solid black cotton. It makes a perfect table topper.

This quilt is being offered at $35. I will be listing it on etsy later tonight. Feel free to email me at pgagliardi9@hotmail.com if you are interested.

On my TDIPT Mercantile page, I still have two mitten pinkeeps available made from vintage quilt tops.

I love how prim & aged this one turned out. I may need to make a few more for myself... one to use and a few for my largest old wood bowl.

I finished a few items for myself recently. After I sold the "O Christmas Tree" pillow on TDIPT last month, I decided I really wanted one for myself so I stitched another. (design by Country Rustic Primitives)

This verse from the song kept running through my mind, so I wrote it on some vintage ticking and added it to the back.

I also finished this design by Pineberry Lane. Don't look to closely - I had several mistakes in my counting. Then I wanted to finish it up Christmas Eve and didn't have time to stitch the Santa & reindeer so I just added a few snowflakes instead.

I finished the edges with tongues from an old army blanket. An idea that I saw Beth Twist use in her Heartstrings Primitives patterns.

Tomorrow is our stitch club Christmas party. I just can't wait!

Wishing you a New Year of hope, heart & health!

Blessings, Patti