I came across a new book and site that looks very promising for stitching with/for the kids. The New Crewel has projects that are relatively quick to do up and bright contemporary color schemes. They are drawn up for crewel embroidery which is done with wool.  I am thinking you could get the same effect with three (at least) strands of DMC floss. 

I am excited about this! Crewel embroidery patterns are HARD to track down on the net. If you have given it any effort you know this. They are split between historic tapestry and 70s gold and avocado jobs.  This really is something new.

I am on a mission to review some new wave stitching books in the coming weeks.  If you have any suggestions please send them my way! 

Now there’s a snappy title.  It belongs to this stylish blogger who has lots to share.

there may be a quiz later ; ) 
Dh is not feelin’ the retro love as much as I am.  He says he likes my ‘layers’ of farmgirl chic.  He is all aout warmth. So with that in mind let me introduce you to Homestead in TX.  This was my first exposure to shabby chic- the western edition.  These images are not from the original store in the Hill Country but fun nevertheless. 

I am finishing the crochet wrap I started when Brendan was a baby.  (I got a little bored, what can I say) I think this is my next project.  Love the colors and pattern.  Actually I need to get working on the slipcovers too.

from here  you get this:

the whole site is eye candy

Had a weird thing happen the other night.  I was wandering through Target waiting to get the kids from piano. I came across a tub of Christmas ornaments which could have walked right off my Gram’s tree.  They were styrofoam balls wrapped in satin thread of jewel toned colors – aqua, pink, gold, lime. I nearly cried.

Maybe it is a midlife decorating crisis but I find that certain images from my childhood are especially meaningful to me as I grow older. It was the end of a golden age of homemaking. Days were spent in a a whirl of cooking and learning and household chores. Entertainment was what happened when relatives and friends dropped by, not when Survivor came on the screen. I miss that. I miss her.  I miss the pared down decor that she was able to manage so expertly while I wallow in layers of ‘texture’. The shabby chic I was drawn to in magazines is more shabby than chic with a full house.

I find myself more and more often browsing through pages of Atomic Ranch and Ranchredo and Shimandsons. As one reader shared in her blog there is a plethora of mass produced items passing for handmade these days.(Please if you read this resend me your blog link!)  It leaves me cold. I want to fill my spaces with things my children and I really have made. And I don’t want to copy a Victorian or Colonial or anything scheme.  I want our home to tell OUR story in a simple graphic visually appealing way. Washable surfaces would be a major plus.

Long and short: I am getting very particular about what I am willing to share my home with and lug around. I want to pare down to that which is personally meaningful.  There is an awful lot around me that doesn’t fit into that category. With that in mind I bought the ornaments with no idea what I will do with them yet. Somehow holding
that tub of colored spheres I was right back in front of that 60s era
tree and it really didnt matter. It took all the Dave Ramsey coaching I
could muster not to charge that retro white tree in the
Target display to hang them on. ; )

I know I am going somewhere with all this but not sure where we will end up yet.  For now we will continue to purge and be selective and create and see where it takes us. And when I miss Gram I will look at those ornaments and smile.