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Archive for the ‘Home and Garden’ Category

 

 

tulips 5

I’ve blogged about these beauties before, but I love these tulips.

The deep magenta and the soft pink tones speak to my heart and make me smile.

tulip center

The original bulbs came from Captain Cavedwellers great-grandmother. We got our starts from CC’s grandma. Where we have them planted they are always the last tulips to bloom, usually after the threat of frost has gone and spring has truly arrived.

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I can see them from my kitchen window and all it takes is a glance at their vibrant blooms to make me smile.

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The other day the sun was shining just right to take a few fun shots of the tulips (and the bugs hiding on the petals).

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The blooms were absolutely gorgeous.

tulips 4Rich and colorful.

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And the sky was a fantastic shade of blue.

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That made me really glad I took a few minutes to stop and enjoy my tulips.

She Who Loves Spring Flowers

 

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Uncle John, my dad’s only (and younger) brother,  was in the service stationed in Japan in the early 1950s.

When he came home, he brought all his sisters (including his lone sister-in-law) a lovely tea set.

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The pattern is Noritake Morning Glory and from what little information I’ve been able to find, it was only manufactured from 1950-1953.

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I can remember my mom using her tea set for  extra special occasions.

snake plate

She would carefully take the cups and the little snack plates down from the high shelf of a cupboard and serve special little sweets to the ladies gathered in our home.

Long admiring the set, I was thrilled beyond words when my Dad gave it to me the last time we were at their house. Trying to downsize since their move from the farm into town, I was more than happy to give the tea set a new home.

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And I need to plan a little party so I can use these beautiful china pieces.

Thanks, Uncle John, for being so sweet and bringing them back to your sisters in the first place!

If any of you know more history about the dishes, I’d love to hear it. Please leave a comment or send me a message at shanna@shannahatfield.com

She Who Loves Old Dishes

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wedding ring

When I was working on the back cover art for a recent romance novel I published, I wanted to use a quilt because one of the main characters owned a quilt shop. Quilts were also mentioned throughout the story.

I didn’t have to look far to find quilts to photograph. I am the happy owner of several.

The one I used on the book cover is pictured above. It was a wedding gift from friends of my most wonderful mother-in-law. In a traditional wedding ring pattern, the colors are bright and cheery.

quilts

While I was trying to decide which quilt to use for the book, I dug out several.

quilt grandma nell roses

This beauty Captain Cavedweller’s Grandma Nell made for us one year for Christmas. She knows how I love roses so.

quilt roses grandma nell one block

Especially pink roses. The stitching on this is incredible.

quilt rose of sharon full

This is the quilt my Grandma Ila made for our wedding. She let me pick the pattern and the colors then she and my mom pieced and quilted it.

quilt rose of sharon

There was a lot of piecing and a lot of quilting and a lot of love that went into this Rose of Sharon variation quilt.

quilt sunbonnet sue

My Grandma Ila also made this quilt for me when I was a little girl. It graced my little twin-sized bed in my very pink bedroom for years and years. The pattern is Parasol Lady.

quilt grandma jackson

My Grandma Elsie started this Tulip Basket quilt for my mom back when she was a teen. Mom told Grandma she didn’t like the colors, so Grandma never finished the quilt. One day we were at Grandma’s helping her clean and found a bag with the quilt blocks. Grandma gave them to me, so Mom put the top together and quilted it. When she get all done, she couldn’t remember why she thought it was ugly in the first place.

quilt grandma nell's mom

The blocks for this quilt came from CC’s Grandma Nell. Her mother made the squares and no one ever finished the quilt. She gave them to me and when we needed one more block to make the quilt work, Mom did the one with the pink rose (pictured top left of the above photo). Mom sewed the top, then did all the quilting.  I should mention that Mom and Grandma did their quilting by hand. No fancy machines for them. I remember seeing a quilt frame stretched across our entire living room on many occasions. In later years, Mom would quilt using a big hoop instead of the frame.

Unfortunately, with all the talented quilters I’ve known, the gene and talent completely escaped me. I can sew – but quilting is beyond my patience and skill. That doesn’t, however, keep me from having one (or three) storage tubs full of fabric I hope to someday make into quilts. I’ll just have to hire someone to do the quilting.

quilt mrs henry purple

This is a quilt my beloved Aunt Robbie gave me that her mother-in-law made. Love the vintage fabrics and colors in this one.

quilt wedding ring mrs henry

Aunt Robbie also gave me this one her mother-in-law made. Classic Wedding Ring, it again has great vintage fabrics and blends of bright colors.

quilts glynda turley

I bought this quilt. It’s called Rose Rhapsody by Glynda Turley. I loved the colors, the flowers, the pattern and it is right now on the bed in our guestroom.

quilts pile

I love to look at the quilts and think of all the love, detail and skill that went into making them.

She Who Is a Very Lucky Girl

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If you’re looking for some creative ideas to decorate your front door, here are a few that I liked:

 

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Liked the mix of burlap with flowers from twelveOeight.

spring wreath nest

 

The nest with burlap bow from The Charm of Home is so sweet.

spring wreath etsy

This one really speaks to me. I love the tulips, the shades of pink – beautiful! You can purchase this one from Etsy.com

spring wreath greens

This one from Fabulously Organized Home starts with a grapevine wreath and builds on it from there. Like the colors, choice of flowers and flow of this wreath.

spring wreath bare feet

And this one from Believe & Inspire is so sweet and fun! Love it!

She Who Wants a New Wreath

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