Pretty Pink Primrose

While shopping for groceries this afternoon...
this pretty pink primrose called out to me...



So sweet, so cheerful...



"Please take me home", she begged...
..."let me help you through these gloomy gray days"...



I said, "OK, fine...hop in the cart".

My husband shook his head...
rolled his eyes...
...and smiled.

She must have called to him too! :)

Look for the Silver Lining!

I spent the day shredding old documents and throwing out an amazing accumulation of stuff....
...geez...I'm such a saver...even at the office!



These silvery photos are from my "archives"...
...actually from earlier posts.



My life is in transition! One door is closing...
...I just know that other doors and windows are waiting to be opened!



...that's the silver lining!...

Look for the silver lining
When e'er a cloud appears in the blue.
Remember some where the sun is shining,
And so the right thing to do,
Is make it shine for you.

A heart, full of joy and gladness,
Will always banish sadness and strife.
So always look for the silver lining,
And try to find the sunny side of life.

Saying goodbye to so many coworkers and friends was difficult yesterday but we all made it through! Thank you for your kind words and support. My heart is filled with gratitude for my many blessings!
...and for all of my blogging friends too!

For more participants in Silver Sunday visit Beth at Gypsy Fish Journal

Hoping to have some fresh pictures for you tomorrow!

:) Laura

Violets and Valentines

The weekend is almost here...
...do you have plans?

If you are in the area....Earth Angels will be having their Heart of Winter event in Warwick, NY.
This year it will be held at the Warwick Antique Barn...
....antiques and art....what could be better? :)

I had hoped to be there but will have to be at the office instead.. :(

If you get there, I am sure you will not be disappointed....take pictures to share!

Good night friends!
Laura

A Little Help From My Friends

To start I would like to express my gratitude for your kind and encouraging comments on my last post...
...for thinking of me and my coworkers and keeping us in your thoughts and prayers.
...Your support is deeply appreciated.

As we have all said before...change is good but not always easy.

Because things have been so busy this week there hasn't been much time for picture taking.
No fears!
Fortunately, with a little help from my friends and digging in my photo archives...
I have a few pretty images to share!

The photo above was taken at dear Evi's home on New Year's Day. The little antique French basket pictured on the library stairs was to hold a drinking glass for Vichy water. I saw these little turn of the century baskets at the brocante when in Paris years ago but passed up my chance to buy one...I have regretted it since and coveted Evi's little basket carrier. I was delighted when Corey put several up for sale in her online shop, Tongue in Cheek Antiques and am happy to say one of these dear little basket holders is on its way to me from France!



Evi and I both love our bunnies...
...this one sits on a dresser in a corner of her living room...



Evi's husband sometimes calls her by the pet name Bee...
...(I forget why)...but one can find the bee motif frequently in her home...
Evi...tell us that story again please!



More bunnies on the kitchen wall...



...and birds....
...these wonderful burlap birds she got from Ballard Designs...
...don't they look charming flying about the chandelier in her dining room?



So there you have it...
...the birds and the bees...some bunnies...
...and a little photo inspiration and help from my friend Evi tonight!
She is a never ending source of inspiration to me!

I hope you all have a good night's sleep and wake up refreshed and ready for a new day tomorrow! :)

Bitter Pills for Sweethearts

There are just a few days left before the company that I have worked for...
...for over 27 years... will be laying off most of its employees.
Some people will keep their jobs...some will be moving on to other companies...some will be forced to collect unemployment until they can secure a new position.



We have been together... a family of sorts...for a very long time.

My coworkers have known my children since birth and I have known theirs. We have attended and rejoiced at each others weddings or childrens weddings, cried at family funerals together, celebrated birthdays, baptisms, christenings and retirements together. We have had hilarious times at holiday parties, dressed up for Halloween, had Oktoberfests, barbecues, participated in triathlons together, raised money for charities together and played countless jokes on each other.



We care about each other and will miss one another.



We have been exchanging emails, addresses and phone numbers...
... and pledging to stay in touch.



It has been a tough week. It will be hard to say goodbye on Friday.

I will continue working for a few more weeks to help with everyone's transition, tie up loose ends and process the mountain of paperwork that is inevitable during this time of change.

Lots of mixed emotions!
They are all my sweethearts.

An Elegant Lunch in a Beautiful Home

As promised...here are a few pictures of the lovely home where Charlotte Lyons arranged for us to have lunch on Saturday.
It is the spectacular home of her brilliant friend Suzanne, who is a caterer and clearly a talented decorator....



The home sits high on the hill overlooking the Hudson River...
I wished that I had asked more questions about its history...Charlotte did tell us that Suzanne and her husband put a lot of work into restoring this grand old home to its former glory.



It boasts beautiful spacious porches...
(love the pale blue ceiling...)



Walking through the front door we found ourselves in a huge foyer...with a staircase at the far end. (Please forgive these less that perfect pictures!)



Looking back to the massive double door we just entered and the window seat where our purses were piled...



The beautiful mobile was made by Suzanne's husband with found driftwood...



There was a lovely organic and natural feel to Suzanne's decorating...



This fireplace is in the huge foyer as well. Originally the paneled walls were dark wood but I think it all looks beautiful painted white...Notice the detail in the ceiling...there is fabulous detail in the woodwork and moldings throughout...



This is one of the beautiful parlors off the foyer...
... It is decorated in creamy whites with a touch of lavender...



The window seat in this parlor looks out over the porch and the grounds...
... with the Hudson River down below...



A beautiful collection of amethyst colored glass bottles and coral...
...the river is reflected in the glass protecting the framed map...






The parlor on the opposite side of the foyer was also filled with objects from nature...seashells and an artful arrangement of fungi and driftwood on the mantel...
...beautiful paintings...







This elegant and gracious home is welcoming and comfortable...



The dining room was bright and sunny ....with another lovely tiled fireplace....
(I counted 6 fireplaces on the main floor!)
The two tables were beautifully set with fresh flowers...





Suzanne made one of her signature dishes for us...Coronation Chicken! It had the most delicious sauce...and I hate to admit it but I had a second serving! She served it with a salad composed of hydroponic watercress, frisee, organic radishes and Persian cucumbers in buttermilk chive dressing. Delicious! A side dish of couscous mixed with saffron, toasted almonds and golden raisins completed the menu along with fresh warm rolls...



An eye for details and a love of nature....
...notice the butterfly on the crisp linen napkins tied with brown and cream grosgrain ribbon...



Dessert was a scrumptious red velvet cupcake with a cream cheese and butter frosting.

So, you can clearly see that we were treated royally and that not only did we have a wonderful time crafting and enjoying each other's company but we were able to do so in two beautiful and gracious old homes.

Thank you Charlotte, Jane and Suzanne for your gracious hospitality!

Sweater Craft Session

My Sweater Craft Session was nothing less than fabulous! I was up early yesterday morning and finished up the "goody bags" that I was bringing along to share with the other participants. Since we all know about my limited crafting abilities...I decided to photocopy some vintage Valentines Day postcards to share so that these creative folks could use them in their artwork.

Are you ready? This is a very long post!



Irvington is not far from me...just across the Hudson River...a charming little river town...



The day long session was held in the beautiful home of Jane...Charlotte's close friend.
Sweet Charlotte greeted me at the door with a warm and welcoming smile and a big hug...
I was immediately comfortable, happy and excited!



Three tables were set with vintage pie plates full of goodness and these wonderful sweater covered paper coffee cups...
(click any photograph to enlarge for details!)



I found my spot!



Look at all the little bits of trim inside my cup...



I LOVE these vintage French red and white number tapes supplied by Papier Valise , one of the sponsors ...
...in fact, on Friday I had just received three in the mail that I purchased from Corey Amaro's online shop, Tongue In Cheek Antiques.

Charlotte gave me number 55....pretty close to 52! :)

Tinsel Trading trims and treasures to use in our creating...





...and baskets of beautiful felted sweaters were set about the room waiting for us to create!





Samples of things to make were displayed on tables and benches...





And then there was a large table full of "door prizes"...

















...Be still my heart! Many of the above items were made by Charlotte and others were made by Rebecca Sower, Denise Sharp and other talented artist friends of Charlotte...
...of course the book was one of Charlotte's!

Next....the creative artists and crafters who were taking the class with me distributed the most amazing little handmade treats and gifts...









These little tin cones were dated 1949 and were given to us by Melissa McCobb Hubbell of thegardenofpinkshadows.typepad.com
She got them on Ebay....I LOVE them! Perfect to hold posies or upside down as a tiny party hat!





...and that was just some of the goodness that was shared!

These lovely women were not only enormously talented but so willing to share their talents and skills...



This is the start of the embellishment process of the sweater tote being worked on by the talented Amy Powers of Inspire Company who, along with her two sisters and mother were seated at my table.



We started off the morning with coffee, tea and hot scones....
...delicious!





Charlotte gave us a run down of all the wonderful projects we could choose...
...she had lots of no sew projects for those of us who, as Stacy put it...were "virgin crafters"...
...(I think I was the only one of those...)



This is a wonderful Valentine mobile....perfect for me...no sewing required and besides I have about a zillion of those embroidery hoops which I can't resist picking up for a dime or quarter every time I come across one at the thrift store.
... They have been siting all together in a huge basket looking so cool ...
...I just knew I would find something to do with those things one day!



Now these are two finished projects that I MUST try....I took the pattern with me....
The necklace above was made by Meleen...



This one was made by Danielle Muller of The Vintage Dragonfly.
Aren't they both stunning!?!



Amy taught us how to make little rosettes....
I believe that this necklace was made by Loretta Marvel of Pomegranates and Paper...



Jessica was sitting next to me....lovely manicure... and she is working here on a bracelet put together with wire and sweater rounds...pretty greens!...
Jessica also prevented me twice from cutting into my sweater tote as I was cutting out small wool rounds with Amy's fabulous scalloped pinking sheers...Thank you Jessica and Amy!



This was Charlotte's charming sample bracelet...



Here is one of the pretty sample sweater totes that some of us chose to try our hand at...



and this is the finished project of one of the other talented ladies...



...and another... this one was crafted by Marlene Haveron of Bee Serendiptous ...

I hope I have everyone's names and projects correct...please let me know, ladies if you are reading this and I have mixed things up!! I want to give credit where due!



...and another in progress...Debbie Jones' work!



Another of Charlotte's beautiful sample sweater totes...



Amy and her finished sweater tote...
...Beautiful!... both of them...



...and a closeup of it under construction...



OK, this is mine.



...a little lopsided...the stitching on the left is a different stitch than the stitching on the right...
...Oh, and thanks to Jennifer for threading my big old needle... I'm not kidding...with my funky old thread...
...And I apologize about that vintage 1962 tacky glue...



I'm not done with it yet. I did discover this wonderful product though...it's called fabric glue.
Who knew?
... I guess you all did.



But this spectacular creation is done!
Now, this was the easiest of all. A simple round of sweater wool, batting and a simple running stitch around the edge .... and Voila!...a charming pincushion!
... Charlotte provided the little vintage cups and saucers...
...I made my cushion in class and decorated it at home with odds and ends around home here.
...I love it!





Oh yea....I was good at the pin cushions!





...And this was my door prize....a beautiful creation by Denise Sharp!
Gorgeous!

So....I have not told you yet about the delicious lunch prepared by Suzanne and the beautiful Victorian home she so graciously opened up to us....I will save that for tomorrow!

As you can see, the day was full of fun, companionship and beautiful things! Many thanks to Charlotte Lyons and to all those gracious ladies who had so much patience with me!
We had tons of fun at our table...

I am so glad that I decided to try something new! Felted sweater crafting is fun!

Have a great night!
:) Laura