Vintage Pillow Cases

I am beginning to love estate sales and such. I love vintage linens!!  So, there is one little concern, though, with me and resale items.  Cats.  I am horribly allergic to them, crazy allergic, like, my airway is closing off kind of crazy allergic.  It didn’t use to be that bad, into my early thirties, I could at least be around them for a short amount of time, without respiratory distress.  The good news is that if things like pillow cases had been in a house with a cat.....my eyes would start itching immediately, my eyes are a pretty good indicator if there is residual cat dander.

With that all said, I found these beauties today while out doing an errand.  Oh, aren’t they special?

So, there is one other little detail. I am a bit of a germaphobe.  I get a little skittish thinking that someone else’s drooling mouth might have been on these lovelies.  I came home and soaked them in half strength vinegar, leaving the embroidered part out of the bucket.....no one drools on embroidery, do they? Then, I washed them by hand, hung them out to dry, washed them AGAIN when I noticed that they got all black on the back of them from blowing in the wind and hitting the blackened cords of my outside clothesline. You can tell I use it.....often.  After washing them twice, and trying to get a barely perceptible perfumey smell out them.....I dried them for a little bit, and ironed the heck out of them.  I bet most cooties die under the heat of a steam iron, that’s what I keep telling myself.    

What I love the most is the crochet edging.  LOVE IT!!! Does anyone know of a good tutorial site for such edging?  I would love to add that to quilts and such.....

I still haven’t decided if I am going to use these for stuffing my pillows into....or will I disassemble them and add that wonderful edging to a sewing project.  I have seen some really neat things done with this, like, along the bottom of a skirt, or on a jacket or purse.  

I’m exhausted.....too much pillowcase buying for one day.  

Craft Fearlessly, 

--Ma

kelly rae: the kitchen: before and after

Oh, check out this kitchen re-do.....it is so, so sweet!!  Kelly Rae has terrific taste, this is my dream kitchen, the light is amazing!!


kelly rae: the kitchen: before and after: "this is a serious transformation. i'm so excited to share it with you guys! we can hardly believe this is our kitchen."

New Book!

Hey, Friends!!  You have to check out Amy Barickman’s new book.....Vintage Notions  When you go to this link, click on the right side bar that says “The Vintage Notions Book”.   She has all sorts of lovely samples from the book.  Wouldn’t it be fun to do a book club with mothers and daughters with this book???

I can’t wait to get a copy!!!  I think it will be available in a few weeks.  I’ll keep you posted.

--Ma

Where Women Create

 I had to pass along this link to a wonderful site.

http://www.wherewomencreate.com/

You will be inspired.....check out the blog along the top, the magazine is awesome....I just find it all very inspiring in a crafty creative sort of way.

I’m trying to get my craft on,  I have started knitting a baby girl sweater for one of my husband’s nieces, who is due in November, but I have had to rip it out twice...double ugh....but I think now that I am only on plain Tylenol, maybe I’ll be able to focus better.  I’ll post some pictures later!!

Thanks for your kind words and prayers.....I am improving every day......and learning to slow waaaay down.  I am not sure my body has been at this speed.....at least not since I started having kids 17 years ago...but I am a slow learner, and God usually has to hit me with something big to make me sit still.....and listen....

What do you think of my newest blog face?  I really like the Shabby Blog girls.....very, very cute stuff over there!

Carry on!
--Ma

Things I have Learned This Past Week

It has been a bumpy ride the last week.....here it is, presented in bullet format, because that is how I am thinking right now......on pain meds....

--Hysterectomies are serious business.  Even if your hotshot surgeon is touting his new and improved one incision in your belly button, “you’ll be a new girl by the end of the week everyone tolerates this so well” kind of stuff.....well, let say, I am certainly a new girl, but not necessarily where I wanted to be after all of this!!

--Ureters, those tiny tubes that carry urine from your kidney to your bladder......they are finicky.  They do NOT like having a stitch around them, blocking all urine flow for any length of time.  ANY time.  In fact, they are so demanding of their proper flow that they will tell you about it, several times a minute, until you end up in an emergency three hour surgery two days after the original hysterectomy.  You got to admire that kind of tenacity.  So, now I have a stent in my precious ureter, and I can tell you that my right kidney is so much happier, and behaving, and hardly needing pain meds now.  Urology follow ups will be in the future.....

--Three hospital stays in five days is not fun.  I mean it.  After I went home from the stent placement, I thought I was done, and NOW I could start recovering.  Instead, by Friday afternoon, I was in big trouble.  Like, I was septic kind of trouble with a kidney and bladder infection that about did me in.  After many IV’s, IV antibiotics, antibiotic reactions, lots of pain meds, and my arms looking like I had been in the losing end of a fight.....I am home after my last four day, three night stay at the hospital.  I hope to stay home for a while, the bathrooms are easier to get in and out, the food is better, and well, I recognize the help around here, too!

--Sisters who come from out of town, driving for hours to get here Sunday, they rock.  I couldn’t have made it through without her help. (and Grandma)  My boys, my husband, and sweet Lily are in good hands.....and they have managed well under so much stress the last week.  Praise God for good kids and a great husband.

--There is a Lily story in here, you knew there would be .......she had her own infection along her pin sites, which Jim took her to the ER as soon as I was out of the emergency surgery...and took care of business, getting her antibiotics and stuff.  Good man.

--My husband is a saint.

The End.