Talismans

Warm hearts sounds lovely and cozy as we brace ourselves here at the beach for a "dry storm" (no precip!) of 65 MPH winds. Brrrr.

I learned about knitted felted hearts from my blog friend Peggy....

The little hearts are featured in this fun book of small projects: Gifted , by Mags Kandis. (It's available on Amazon and Borders etc if your library doesn't have it.)

The little hearts knit up fast, my first took less than an hour and I am a slow knitter.

The pattern is fun and soothingly rhythmic ...and the felting process is interesting.

Be sure to use 100% wools that are recommended for felting; yarn that is machine washable, of any fiber, won't felt easily. I washed my heart at least 5 times, just threw it in with the white/ hot wash. Dry in dryer.

So adorable and chubby!

By this time next year I hope to have a whole bowlful...

Then, while looking at internet bookstores I discovered this book by Josie Iselin, called Heart Stones. I have her other books and so I ordered this right away. Her eye for "treasure" is exceptional and her photographs are beautiful.

This is a quote from the editorial blurb on Amazon (perhaps from the book, it doesn't say?):

A heart stone is one of nature's gifts. Heart stones are not rare or precious in the typical sense--a good scour of a beach with any stones at all will usually turn up one or two heart-shaped stones. But heart stones, lifted from their obscurity, with all of their cracks and blemishes, lopsided and imperfect, are simply the best find on any beach.

Beachcombers collect them, keep them as talismans, and give them to friends and lovers.

The bold type highlites are from me. My beach has really no stones or rocks at all, just the occasional white beach pebble, few and far between. (My beach is just acres of empty white sand, really...) But my family's Cape Cod beach has wonderful, if painful, stony edges and there I collected a number of heart stones over the years. We kept them in a basket in the blue bedroom....

And sadly our collection was discarded when my parents' home was sold. Maybe the hearts were tossed out on the bluestone driveway? And over the next few millenia they will wash down Stony Brook Road to Paine's Creek, back to their home beach?  I hope so...

I did bring a few home over the years, cherished talismans of sunny summer beach days, happy days, and sunset walks at the Cape Cod beach.

A blog note: Welcome, new friends! Please remember that I can't respond to comments unless you send me your email in a separate comment or email to me. Some stupid bloggy glitch! Please know how I treasure each response...from everyone!


love


           lizzy 


                  gone to the beach!

sanderlings are returning!



Collecting Hearts

Hello! Hope everyone had a lovely Valentine's Day.....Since we're all about hearts this week, I thought I'd show you some of my collected hearts.

I've been collecting hearts as long as I can remember, since I was a little girl....My collection is very random, as you'll see. I don't actually collect hearts, I collect various "genres" and if I should be so lucky as to find those things with hearts, well! Wow....
So....
Here's a sewing whimsy or "make-do" bird with a heart in his beak....He is here with my gorgeous traditional Nantucket baskets that my sister makes.

Here he is on a folk art / tramp art shelf carved with hearts; with other sewing make-dos. Above is a cherished family sampler....

Turquoise hearts, of course!
These are pins that I wear on my denim jacket.

Big tin folk art heart, hung with beach fence wire...so far I haven't had the "heart" [sorry] to punch holes, I just hot glued  the wires to the back.

I hang it on this Pennsylvania jelly cabinet, c. 1860? , another heirloom piece I treasure.

And this is a very old Sandwich, Cape Cod,  MA candy jar, c.1800. Hand blown glass, shown with a later c. 1820 pressed glass decanter, also Sandwich.

The candy jar holds my collection of primitive tin handmade heart-shaped cooky cutters and molds....

Teeniest tiny vintage buttons from a cigar box of buttons, bought at the January flea market....are these the tiniest ever! i love them....

I think the red heart may be Bakelite, it has that look. These will become dolls' hearts (remember Raggedy Ann's heart on her tummy?) Or doll necklaces....

And this is a Valentine I made this year for someone special. I made them for my friends...just color copied the old Valentines, added some stickers , a doily, and a ribbon rosette...remembering my mom's tradition...

more hearts...but different! on Friday!

love

lizzy

gone to the beach.........

Vintage Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day! I adore old Valentines of all kinds---don't you?

Most of these are from the January flea market---I found come cuties! These are classic kiddie Valentines. All three have "action" or honeycomb, so fun. On the puppy, note his little pink paws at the top, he is supposed to be doing a handstand. I have NO idea when these date from---pre-WW2? 

 

Then there were some early 20th century postcards.

Sweetest kittens and violets:

And  swallows dressed up as love birds! See the tiny golden hearts in their beaks [below]? And more violets (sigh...)...

I love the aquas and purples used at this time, c.1905-1910...with the dash of Valentine red.

The next two are special finds---I especially treasure Valentines that are handmade with doilies and old scrap or photos.

This pretty girl did not sign her name!

But this cute embellished heart, a real "find", is signed "Auntie"....

If you look closely I believe the children are on a carousel! Very unusual...And Auntie's name is written over something else, a little re-gifting c. 1920?

My mother generally abhorred doing crafts...but every year she made handmade Valentine's for her children and friends.

These are two of hers that I have saved.

But this flea market card may be my all time favorite!

 

                    

Yes, the tiny girl and her army of dolls is adorable (though perhaps a little creepy and surreal?)....But what I love is the message, dated 1912, NYC:

Here's a close-up:

"Am having a nice time and now and then some chocolate. [signed] Frances.

Darling  Frances! I so agree! Forget the red roses, just send me chocolate!

So...tell me, dear friends: do you prefer a romantic card from a sweetheart? A crayon-scribbled and glittered doily heart from your child? Red roses? Or like Frances, would you secretly just prefer a box of yummy truffles to call your own?

Have a sweet day, whatever your preference may be!

                               

love

                lizzy 

          

    gone to the beach....