Welcome Spring : Dancing Tulips

Hi! I wish you could see the grey clouds today, flying by overhead---tone on tone, grey on grey. Black gnarled branches  of the ugly locust tree in silhouette. It's a dark day as the spring equinox approaches. Often spring is more desolate than winter here at the beach.

I wrote the above Saturday as the last days of winter crept quietly by. I love winter and am sad that this winter has gone by so fast. I love winter, so energetic, so hopeful, so crisp and clear. But today [Sunday] dawned brilliantly blue and warmer, the true last day of winter. White foam churning on the big waves, and wetsuited surfers lining up for a ride.

I've been saving these wonderful 1950-60 Windblown Tulips or Dancing Tulips blocks, to show you when spring finally came.

The hand appliqued blocks are a gift from my friend Lisa [Alfonsina, to some of you]. Her grandmother was an accomplished quilter and Lisa's family has many wonderful quilts made y "Neena" as she was called. In fact there is a finished Dancing Tulips quilt in the family collection, under the Dogwood quilt,

but recently Lisa found these extra blocks and passed them on to me.

I tried to insist the blocks stay with the quilt but she said no.

Even the long border strips were still with the extra blocks. Very mid-century green.
.

I love the tiny calico.

This would actually make a darling crib quilt for a spring baby whose parents enjoy retro style and sweet baby colors.

 Neena did very fine work. The backs are so pretty! Tiny stitches, with an oh so tidy reverse.

Neena used a very small whipstitch as did my aunts and grandmas who excelled at applique. The hidden stitch we use today was not used. The whipstitch is, I think , sturdier, and makes it easier to get nice inner curves and points.

Lisa even sent me a pair of Neena's trademark earrings. Clip-ons of course, nice ladies didn't have pierced ears back then.

Neena was a nickname, like Nana or Granny: her real name was Sarah Birdena, known as Birdena. [an unusual name!]. She grew up and lived in Indiana, in the early to mid-20th century and was both a school teacher and a librarian. Birdena lived into her nineties, her life spanned the entire 20th century and in her ninety three years she made many beautiful quilts and other needlework.
She is the little girl on the left, in the old front porch photo on my side bar.



 One of my all time favorite photos and one I treasure, that Lisa has allowed me to use it on my blog all these years.
Lisa has shared a more detailed bio with me, and maybe, someday, she and I will write a longer article about the quilts, handwork, and life of  of Birdena. I feel honored to own a few of her quilt
 blocks and to have read her story.

For now I will enjoy the Dancing Tulips and wait for spring.

.............
Sunday was Mo's 3rd birthday! We took him to the park for a treat.

As usual he liked the car ride more than he liked the big open dog park.

And he got a fancy doggy cooky, a bag of hypoallergenic chews, and a new raincoat.

Happy birthday, little man!

I hope your first days of spring are warm and delightful!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach...

I Kept my Promise

Hi guys! As February fades into the mud and wind of March, does anyone look back at those New Years Resolutions that were made in January?
Of course not.
I mentioned that I don't make resolutions but I do try to keep my promises. And so this weekend when the snow melted and the temps rose above single digits, I took Mo to the doggy park. You may recall that I had promised him we'd go as often as possible. Even though I find it scary and nerve wracking.

Mo ran with the big boys! There were about eight very large boisterous, though friendly, dogs that day, and a couple of littles---a dachshund and a scottie. My son insisted I let Mo be, let him make friends. Mo has zero interest in the dainty small dogs, he wants to be part of the Big Guys clique.

At times, to me, Mo looked scared. Here he seems proud and confident, though, doesn't he?

He is maybe 1/8th the size of the big dogs, but he is bold and very fast and kept up easily.

We practiced on the agility equipment too. Can't get him to do the tube thing, but he did very well on the ramp/ climber. Pugs will do anything for a treat.

The bad news is he likes to jump off the top level, down into the sand. It's at least 4 feet down and I am afraid the impact will hurt his little legs. By my math it's like jumping off a 3 or 4 storey building for a human.

I think he had fun and oh was he tired.

His reward was a new bed, since he ate the previous two I had under my computer desk. He doesn't like this one though. He falls out. It;s called a Cuddle Cup.

Mostly Mo likes to ride in the car. We drove through both marinas on the way home, so empty and deserted on a winter day.

Talk to you soon, have a good week.

love

lizzy
gone to the beach...

Wind and rain today, full moon high tide.

See the white line of waves behind the pine tree, directly out my window. That's a new sandbar, maybe 20 yards offshore. Where a lot of my beach's sand went the other week.

Flea-ing...Flea market Finds

 

Hi everyone! This was just such a great day! Last night the first cold front of Fall blew in around two A M. Don't you love that first truly chilly night, when the curtains billow and snap in the wind and you snuggle deep under your down comforter, thinking maybe this week it's time to put the flannel sheets on...then you sink into a deep dark no-dreams sleep. Mmmmm.
I was up and out early [for me] and bundled up in layers, off to the flea market. (Good thing I did layers because it was pretty hot at the market, many people still in shorts and flipflops and I was wishing I was too, dressed in a cashmere sweater and jeans.)Beautiful drive northeast--- the leaves are quite colorful away from the ocean. Lots of brilliant reds and golds on this scenic parkway.

The market this week and last week were excellent, less granny's garage sale rejects, more fun antiques. I found things *I* like, though you may think I'm in a bit of a rut, because just now as I edited the photos, it all looked a bit same-old. Then again, I am buying mostly materials for my etsy and eBay shops.

A bag of pretty linens. There's a lot of linen here just to be reused as solid.

An interesting damask ''guest'' towel or show towel, with hand knotted fringe.

Cross-stitched Italian souvenir bridge or tea cloth. I can cut out the flower sections for linen hearts, for spring. So dainty and sweet.

Same with the little napkins. Cute motifs here, a bit different, a moth, a dragonfly?

Tablecloth with embroidered baskets. They'll make cute springtime hearts or little aprons for prim Easter Bunnies, maybe? large pinkeep?

The unusual find in this baggie [I bought it for a few dollars, unopened] was the papers tucked inside. A baby photo, some mass cards, a bill for a sewing machine, and this beautifully inscribed envelope with an Italian stamp, postmarked "Messina Italy". Remnants of previous owner's life and loves?

Then a bag of buttons.

Yes I have tons of buttons, but I 'm always looking for more. Bakelite, retro plastic, paste and white metal [rhinestone] ; black metal hearts with rhinestones. No stars , too bad, I am searching for antique stars for the Flags quilt.

Thimbles..

for my little thimble collection.

These are brass, one is a tailor's thumb thimble, I think. It's very large.

A small yelloware mixing bowl.

I love the rather crude glaze and esecially love the robin's egg blue band which I have never seen before. Had to have it!

And then this cutie: Mrs. Tiggywinkle!

She is a Beatrix Potter character. Royal Doulton has made these figurines for many years. When I was a tiny girl and adored my little grey-green Beatrix Potter books, I had just a few of these rather costly animals. I had Mrs. Tittlemouse and The Fierce Bad Rabbits in their wicker crib. The Kitten one, I forget his name. [Tom Kitten?]
But my all time fave was Mrs. Tiggywinkle and I never had her figurine. Til now. The others were lost through time and moves and growing up. (She is a hedgehog.)

A favorite writer/ illustrator of mine, Susan Branch, collects these figures and sells them in her shop. here I believe the ones she sells are vintage and the figures are no longer made.  Perhaps an eBay item, if I can bear to part with her.

I was surprised upon studying Mrs. TW that she is holding a cup of tea---I thought her figure held an iron, as she is the woodlands's little laundress.

Today's finds...blue transferware platters.

One is big and the other is HUGE.

This pattern is marked Byzantium.

 

The name and designs were used throughout the 1800s. I am guessing this one dates from about 1840, since the later ones were printed in dark navy blue with hints of grey, not in this pale baby blue.

And this is marked Medina. It is enormous, turkey sized 18" x 14" which is bigger than it sounds.

Maker's mark. Online search shows it as dating from about 1845.

 

The border almost looks sponge painted. Unusual design. Like an early calico, isn't it?

 

 

 

I finished so early I decided I'd stop in the thrift shop while I was out east on the mainland. I found a great tweed jacket! Marked 14.00 but 6.oo off because of...? [no clue but why argue, lol.]

It's a beautiful tweed wool, rather long, almost a short coat and just what I've been looking for, especially for eight bucks. Usually in the fall I wear a sweater and an ancient denim jacket but that looks wrong with jeans, hence the idea of wearing vintage thrifted tweed instead.

When I got home I got a text from my friend saying he could go with me to the doggy park with Mo. I hadn't wanted to go alone, unsure of who might be there---it's in  nearby park but quite isolated out in the dunes. And I wasn't sure how Mo would behave.

Turns out, the doggy folks are nice, their big dogs beautifully gentle and trained.

 

Mo was good, for a puppy and his first time. One nice guy brought his big gentle Weimeraner mix into the small dog area to give Mo an introduction to big dogs, then the other folks said Mo should come out and play in the huge yard.

We had so much fun! I wish I could tell you Mo was tuckered out. But no.... Here he is later, helpimg unpack the flea market finds.

Have a great week. Be sure to check out my Around the World featured blogs' posts this week, when they'll write their stories and tag the next bunch of new friends for us to meet.

Dorothy

Tammy

Kit

love

 lizzy

gone to the beach......