THE FIRST IN A LONG TIME ANNUAL CHRISTMAS BOUTIQUE SALE

This is how rednecks announce a "boutique" sale!

Some outdoor décor that helped set the "shabby chic" boutique mood.

 

Using picture frames for double duty at the front door.

Re-used English garden décor--made useful in the front landscaping right before it heads to the barn for the winter.

 

Some items I had for sale! I love this basket made entirely of beads! I am not all that sorry it didn't sell. In it are some nice pine cones and "novelty" yarn balls I created from scraps of leftover fancy yarns. I tied pieces together randomly and it will make a nice border or insert stripe in a plainer scarf or other knitted item.

Using the old spinning wheel for display. I put all the handspun on this wheel. This area had a more rustic feel with the items featured. The scarves with lavender in them are all or partly made with handspun. The gray one, I call it the "Chain Mail Peacock," is original design, knitted and bordered with crocheted flowers. The main yarn is a gray Icelandic, locally raised, that I spun. The turquoise and deep rose are a bling yarn I spun and the pink is a hand dyed I purchased from a friend. The chevron scarf is cotton blends of turquoise and rose and some of my handspun alpaca with more of the handspun bling makes up the lace chevron edge. This too reminded me of a peacock! Striped scarf on the right is self-striping sock yarn that I embroidered with cream colored flowers and edged with crochet border.

Got these gorgeous, brand new, soft scarves last year and added the lace to create the signature "Fields and Fences" look of plaid and lace or Victorian combined with country!

Tried to sell dried baby's breath and lavender from my garden and these beautiful dried roses. Still have those for next week.

These were popular. I had two pictures like this and both are sold. Notice the "dyed" Queen Anne's lace florets in the mix and how they pick up the jewel colors of the frame.

Another pressed flower picture complete with butterfly. I find butterflies and moths that have already died--I do not sacrifice them for pictures.

One of my favorite items. This is a handknit tea cozy complete with teapot. This sold. The teapot was gorgeous. It had pink flowers and a yellow hummingbird. I used one of the leftover flowers from making the "Chain Mail Peacock" scarf and attached it below the spout as a "drip catcher."

Here is a view of the main table. Here I featured jewelry, vintage pillbox hats, glassware, tatting and more!

Finally the great little 4ft. tree I got at Goodwill for about

$5.50 or so. I added the pearl string and some plastic snowflakes. The other ornaments came from the second hand store as well. If you look close you can see the little "framed" ornaments. I purchased these ornaments and added Currier and Ives or scenic vignettes from Christmas cards to make little ornament pictures. They are popular too.

 As well as the items featured, we had spinning and bobbin lace demonstrations on hand for interested customers to view and we served complimentary hot tea.

Hope you enjoyed my sale! I surely did! Blessings, LORI

GUESS WHERE I WENT

I AM POSTING A SERIES OF PICTURES TO GIVE YOU SOME CLUES AS TO WHERE I WENT LAST WEEK ON VACATION.

TAKE A LOOK AT EACH PICTURE AND ITS NUMBER. NOTE WHICH NUMBERED PICTURE GAVE YOU THE CLUE FOR YOUR GUESS.

LEAVE ME A COMMENT and MAKE YOUR GUESS AND TELL ME WHICH NUMBER "CLUED YOU IN."

ON THE NEXT BLOG I'LL REVEAL THE ANSWER TO MY "MYSTERY TRIP!"

No. 1-A country road

No. 2--A recognizable skyline

No. 3--Gotham City?No. 4--A famous building

No. 5--Gotham City close up?

No. 6--Where do they locate these?

No. 7--Anybody's guess

No.8--The other side of anybody's guess.

No. 9--This is a big clue!

No. 10--The other side of picture no. 4

No.11--Another big clue

No.12--You don't find these just anywhere.No. 13--A landscape clue

 

No. 14--If you don't get it on this one, just give up!!

 

POKEBERRY DYE EXPERIMENT, ANDEAN PLYING, CABBAGES AND WALNUTS!

I've had so many projects going lately and so much to post on, that I've actually failed to get things posted in a timely fashion! I decided to learn Andean plying to save thread bits at the end of spools/bobbins. It worked until I took it off my hand and ended up with a mess. I finally got it straightened out and it worked beautifully. I think this yarn was Icelandic. Maybe Blue-Faced Leicester--can't remember since both looked so similar in color and were spun within a short time of each other!

Took this picture of a cabbage farm while out with my daughter as she worked one of her last days during harvest. I thought their color was gorgeous and seemed to match the colors of the rest of these photos. Reminds me of what some variegated roving ought to look like with colors of blue-green and pink magenta.

 

 

Here is the beginning of my pokeberry dyeing experiment. I "mordanted" the wool roving prior to dyeing by bringing close to a simmer in vinegar and water and leaving at that temp for a while. I have heard that pokeberries are poisonous. Always handle dyestuffs with care and make sure you have good instructions before attempting.

 I picked them from our fencerow with rubber gloves on. Then I crushed them in the bottom of the pail and I think I added some white vinegar--can't remember for sure. When I got ready to add the roving, I strained the dyestuffs out. That is the bag you see beside the pail.

The concentrated juice of the pokeberries. 

Romney roving dyed with pokeberry.

 

Romney roving in the pokeberry dye bath.
 

What a deep color the pokeberry made. Remember to follow reputable instructions when handling natural dyes or any dyes for that matter. This was my first attempt at dyeing, except with Kool-Aid. I am pretty proud of the results. I'll let you see more of the results when I spin them up.

 

I'm enjoying the many wonderful gifts God has given us through the earth around us this time of year. Picked up walnuts along the road yesterday. This year they are more plentiful than ever and I've seen more people picking them up than ever. I'm also enjoying the color of the woods and fencerows. I hope you are too! Blessings, LORI