It's on its way!

SPRING! But I haven't seen the first Robin yet.  Soon, I hope!  

I love old things!

Nothing beats their patina.

What stories they could tell!

Hubby's been busy in his workshop 

refinishing this antique stool.  It was a grubby mess, picked up at an antiques store and I

just knew that wood was going

to look gorgeous once all the yuck was

sanded off.  The old cheese box has

been with us for years, like the old

trunk in the background.  But the

cheese box never had a lid, so hubby

made that for me too.  

I love old wood.  It's so homey and

has so many stories to tell.

 Two new punch needle patterns

are in my Etsy shop today:

www.etsy.com/shop/DianeKnottLLC

Ah, spring!  It will be here soon!

In the meantime, today we have

glorious sunshine.  It's a

wonderful day to be creative.

More patterns are on the

drawing board in my studio.

 

In case you just

need a hug...

It's almost Valentine's Day

I've been sewing hearts

for a few days.  <3

It's comforting...

Who could use a bit

of sunshine today?

Here's a little free embroidery

pattern for you!

Designed by moi!  :-) 

 

Good Morning!

Fog and rain are in the forecast

for today.

I don't know about you,

but a cup of coffee sounds like

a nice thing to curl up with

and stitch the day away

in front of the fireplace.

Happy Monday!

I hope you have something

creative to do too. 

 

  Two of my very favorite things

I love blue and white china

Good Morning!

I wonder what kind of stories this old door could tell? Who went in and out of it?  What's on the other side?  Maybe a pantry filled with jars and jars of canned goods?  Or linens?  Or maybe it's a doorway to a back shed where wood is stored for the fireplace?  What do you think might be behind it?

I just listed a new pattern in my Etsy shop this morning - "Fashionista 1 and 2".  Both designs are included in the downloads.  How cute for your own little fashionista's bedroom decor! It's an EASY to-do pattern and is suitable for both cotton and wool applique methods.

 www.etsy.com/shop/DianeKnottLLC 

What do you like to collect?  I love vintage laces and linens.  When I think of the hours of delicate work that was put into them, I'm in awe.  Such skill! These are treasures I know I'd never have the patience to learn how to do.  I can crochet, but this delicate work seems to have been done by tiny fairy fingers, don't you think?  I know I could manage the embroidered ones, but definitely not the teensy, tiny, delicately crocheted edging with those fine threads.  They're treasures to be carefully tended....

 

Now THIS is what I call a real copper kettle!  I wonder what kind of goodies were cooked up in this?  I just love touring these old restoration villages.  Stepping back into the past for a few hours is a calming respite from this racing world we live in today. This photo is one I took in Hancock Village a few years ago.  There's just something so homey and comforting about an old fireplace filled with pots and kettles.  They speak of meals cooked long ago that welcomed a family home from the fields after a long day of farming, don't they. I can imagine the scent of stew wafting through the windows as they trudged towards home...  

 

Did you ever hear that song, "My Bucket's Got A Hole in It"?  Well, my BASKET had a hole in it.  ;-)  I scored this one at an antique store for only $6.  The color was perfectly matched to the colors in our living room, so I put it on the hearth, covered the hole in the basket with a little wooden star and some raffia.

Well, it had a sad ending.  The hole got a lot bigger when someone tripped and fell on it!  The poor thing bit the dust.  I'm going to just have to hunt up another bargain in my travels, don't you think?

 

Some of my favorite things....Old strawberry basket, lace doily, vintage ticking pincushion, masher, rusty old iron...treasures from the flea market....

 

It's amazing, when you go through your Pictures file, what you can find that you have painted and forgotten all about, only to wonder, "Where the heck did I put that?"  Well, if I looked above my head, to the shelf at the end of our hall, I'd have noticed the scale!  Funny, how I just don't look UP at some of my collected treasures on those shelves we installed up there.  Maybe I don't look because there is plenty of "antique" dust that hasn't been noticed either! ;-)  If I remember correctly, that's WHY I asked Hubby to build the shelves up so high - can't see the dust!  ;-)

Here are just two of the goodies I painted in the photos below.  I do remember that the little dustpan went to Bearly Enough, our local gift and fabric shop in Mansfield where I sell my handmades and patterns locally.  I haven't picked up a paintbrush in quite awhile to paint on vintage and antique items, and have even taken a break from painting my calendars.  I've been focusing on my needlework patterns and enjoying it so much that not only my time, but my space has been taken over by all my supplies and goodies for needlearts.  Enjoy the photos!  I'm glad I kept the scale.  Must get my stepladder out and dust this treasure off and tuck it someplace where I can actually notice it.  ;-)  

Have a warm and comfy day!  We have sunshine glistening on the snow and we saw fox tracks this morning.  :-)  Always  a treat when Mother Nature's critters visit us.

 

It's almost Valentine's Day!  Sometimes I have a hard time with the fact that it's already 2018, and now we're halfway through January.  

This morning I listed a little Valentine project in my Etsy shop called "Hearts and Flowers".  It would be a perfect gift for a bridal shower too, not just Valentine's Day.  Or what about on a pillow in a little girl's room.  I'm going to hang mine on our front door to welcome spring guests.

Here's the link to the pattern in my shop - it's an instant download and uses only a minimum of materials, so you may have fabrics in your stash and not even have to purchase anything:  www.etsy.com/shop/DianeKnottLLC 

Just listed today in my Etsy shop - a little mug rug/hot bowl mat pattern.  Instant download, easy take-along project you can make with just wool scraps from your stash!  They make great table top protectors and look really cute - nice conversation starters too when you have company. 

Etsy shop link:  www.etsy.com/shop/DianeKnottLLC

We just finished a huge 3-day pot of chili.  Tomorrow it's chicken stew with carrots and 'taters.  It's perfect comfort food for this cold weather we've been having.  And we'll be using these little mug rugs, of course.  ;-) 

Have a nice evening!

 

Since I last blogged, I have opened an Etsy shop where I sell instant download punch needle and wool/cotton applique patterns that I design.  I've always wanted to do this because I've enjoyed needlework, used to own a needlework and picture framing shop, and just plain LOVE to work with fibers, fabric and threads.  My shop's address is:  www.etsy.com/shop/DianeKnottLLC I hope you'll visit and that you'll find lots of needlework project to keep you busy and contented, especially on these long, snowy, wintry, frigid days until spring!  Here is a little sampling of my most recently listed patterns: 

I list patterns regularly, so I hope you'll keep in touch to see what I've created.  I couldn't be happier than when I have needlework in my hands - which is what I'm going to do after I post this!  Back into the studio I go to put more of my creative thoughts into action and on to fabric! 

Well, hello again!  It's been a few years since I have actively blogged.  I'm happy to be back!  I hope you'll bear with me while I get used to Blogger all over again.  It may be awhile before some of my favorite people and their blogs appear in my sidebar because I'm still relearning how to use all of Blogger's functions.  

We're having a snowy day again here in the Endless Mountains of Pennsylvania.  All is calm and peaceful though - no wind - just gently falling white fluffy flakes.

But we've had lots of visitors outside!  Here's a Warm Winter Welcome to YOU and to these little woodland creatures!  Hope to see some of my former blogging friends and lots of new ones in the coming days.