Friday, May 05, 2006

Friday's Favorite Corner

Today's fav corner is the hub's side of the bedroom. Pretty barren--now that I look at it in print form. Now, if I had left all the books and little pieces of paper that he always has stacked up on his chair there, maybe it would have looked less bare! haha. If I moved the camera back one inch, you would have seen books stacked 10 high on both sides of his chair. And not just one stack, I'd say at least five or six piles. He is an avid reader, to say the least. He's recently been on a history kick, reading everything he can get his hands on. We have books everywhere! Who ever said I didn't "stage" my photo shoots! hehe.

On the chair is an old quilt my grandma Rosie (Rosa) made. I remember as a child using it at the beach! At the beach!! I finally confiscated it from the old linen closet at my mom's house many years ago and have not treated it much better myself, obviously. I used to throw it in the washing machine! How naive! Bad, bad girl! So, it has definitely seen its years of abuse. But it is soooo soft and comfy for being used so much. I can't tell you how many times I have snuggled with it.

My grandma used so many different fabrics on this one. Most are in the art deco period and look to be upholstery or drapery fabrics. Mostly cottons and barkcloth were used. The barkcloth has worn to a beautifully supple hand. Mmmmm. She even used heavy fabrics for the batting! The inside fabrics are as pretty as the out. Oh what I would do to have something done in this soft blue fabric (which is the actual batting for this section!). Gorgeous!



Now to the thing on my wall. Several years ago, I was at a craft show and saw these wonderful old windows that had quilts tacked to the back. They were so different. What a marvelous idea. (I bought two which are downstairs in the back hall.) So now, if I ever see any old windows at a yard sale or elsewhere and they're cheap, I buy them for later use. Also, if I ever run up against an old piece of a quilting top, I get that too. I've only found this one that I actually used for this kind of project. I fell in love with the crazy quilt style. The hand stitching is so quaint. Even the initials, FAR (actually it's RAF, but who's looking) was my first boss' initials. He was a dear, dear friend. One of my favorite stitches though, of course, is the little lamb. Isn't that sweet? This window doesn't look as neat as the ones I purchased; but the crazy quilt pattern made it a little bit of a challenge. Since it went every-which-way, I just framed the lamb and let nature take its course. I still love it though. The primitive hand work is so lovely.

And this little cherub piece, I've had since I was pregnant with my second. I knew it was going to be a boy, so when I cast my eyes on this, it had to be mine. Poor little bottom boy has lost his hand in one of our moves, but he still looks quite content! I think it was made in Italy.

Things to do, people to see. Have to run to the post office and get a box off to my niece that I have been sitting on for a month! Does anyone else procrastinate like me? I don't know why I do that. I bought my grand nephew the cutest little outfit and then made my niece a box (you know the kind) and it's just been sitting there, collecting dust. I hope Harry can still fit into it--the outfit, not the box. Geesh!

4 comments:

Lena said...

I grew up in a family of quilters, so this post is especially interesting to me. I have a few very special quilts and collect quilt tops when I see them for reasonable prices. So much work, I'm always so surprised when I see one in a thrift store...which is becoming rare these days. Your grandma's quilt is very pretty and her fabric choices are unusual for quilting. That makes it even more special I think. Interesting way to use windows too...I'm going to keep that idea in mind. Your husband would fit right in around our house. We all read a lot. My husband reads constantly and we always have stacks of books in practically every room. Love your sweet cherub. I can see why you fell in love with him. Great post Rosa...I could go on and on. Thanks for all the ideas for my guest room. Of course, you can test it out... but yours is much fancier than mine!

Rosa said...

Connie: His chair is always so full of his books, there's no where to sit, he moves to another chair!ha
Mrs. Staggs: I believe my aunt (grandma's daughter) would send her all scraps. My aunt was an interior designer (schooling only--not in practice), so I have no idea if these were from projects or if she purchased them. At any rate, they are very pretty, and it is a really heavy quilt. As far as my guest room, it has progressed over the years. Being away from family, we always have guests, so I have spruced it up even more each time we move. (Plus, I put all the "nice" stuff in here to keep away from the kids and animals!) If you have a bed and nice linens, that is all that is needed. But, I'm sure your new space will be quite comfy and awe-inspiring!! Most of all, have fun decorating it. That's the most important task at hand!! Enjoy!

paris parfait said...

How precious - all your cherished quilts, books and beautiful things. Thank you for sharing these wonderful bits of your life.

Linda said...

I love quilts but have to buy them new. My family saved nothing. All I have are a few photos.

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