WELCOME! I am so glad that you are here! On this page, you will find information about sewing, quilting, gluten-free cooking, gardening, and finding beauty in the simple things.
Do you struggle to come up with great gift ideas? I certainly do. I always want to make sure that the gift is exactly what the recipient will enjoy and appreciate—which can be hard sometimes! Over the past few weeks, I have been thinking about gifts that I would like to give or receive. Pretty much anything practical, which adds beauty or knowledge or utility, but not clutter, to my life is a win-win.
Read MoreIn this blog post, I will teach you how to make a braided tree skirt using old sheets. Note: this tree skirt will fit over the base of an artificial tree BEFORE the tree is assembled! If you need to put a skirt around a tree on which you cannot slide this small circle opening, then please reach out to me for guidance on adapting the pattern.
Read MoreWhen I started making a batch of stewed apples this week, I had no idea that this creative inspiration was about to strike. And, yes, I know that influencers and bloggers are already sharing Christmas ideas, but I tend to share life here in real time, so here you go…a fall decorating idea in the first week of November.
Read MoreYesterday, I was listening to a podcast that I recently discovered called Haptic and Hue. The topic of this episode was “Whole Cloth Quilts in the North Country” of England. While the entire episode was fascinating, a couple of minutes specifically grabbed my attention. (And, ladies, please forgive me if I made an error in transcribing your words.)
“…This very human trait of seeking something beautiful even though you might be surrounded by poverty and industry, these North Country quilts have the ability to help make houses into homes, give comfort, and provide pleasure for the eyes and solace for the hands.” -Jo Andrews
Read MoreHave you ever wanted to knit a sweater, but you have felt intimidated to try? I learned to knit over ten years ago. For the first couple of years, I knitted dishcloths, blankets, and scarves, but I felt nervous about trying anything else. Then I took a class at a local yarn shop in Winchester, which gave me the confidence to read patterns and try new stitches; however, anything that required knitting a specific size seemed beyond my skill level. I never knitted swatches to test my gauge, and accepted the fact that my projects might be different than the written pattern.
Read MoreBack in June, Folkling announced the offering of vintage t-shirts printed with the slogan: “The Future is Vintage.” In thinking about those words as I went about my own tasks, the thought struck me that if we as a society do not stop living the disposable, consumer mindset, there will be no vintage goods to pass down to future generations.
Read MoreToday, I embraced the thought of fall with open arms, ready to hug it tightly. The summer temperatures make me feel like a dizzy, exhausted, limp towel. I am longing for the cooler days of fall. The rainy weather today combined with the fact that we are officially in the month in which fall arrives made me do all sorts of fall-like activities.
Read MoreWow! It’s hard to believe that so much time has gone by without a blog post. I planned to take a week or so off, but that small break turned into a very long one! I will share a little bit of life that happened since I last wrote in this space. And if there are any topics in this post which you would like more details about in a future blog post, just email me and let me know!
Read MoreI realize that I haven’t shared a recipe with you in quite some time, but today, I want to share with you the strawberry scone recipe that I made for my family yesterday. If you do not need them to be gluten-free, just replace the flours with 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour and omit the egg (and use a bit more cream). As you can see in the photo, I was in a hurry, and I made mine too sticky with too much cream so I didn’t cut them into triangles for baking. I find that if I make them too sticky, scooping them onto the baking sheet with an ice cream scoop or large cookie scoop works well. I think that these would be delicious served with clotted cream!
Read MoreIn this post, I will show you how I made an original, completely unique linen tote bag—even I will never make another one exactly the same!
When I was originally planning this post, I was going to teach you how to design your own tote bag; however, I decided to wait to share that process with you until I have designed and made a few more sizes of bags to give you those instructions. For those of you who have no interest in designing a pattern, ByAnnie.com offers MANY patterns for purses and bags, as well as a variety of other products…
Read MoreMy Grandmother has crocheted a beautiful bedspread for each of her children. I don’t have a picture of one of her completed crocheted bedspreads, but when I take a photo, I will add it to this post. She started the first crocheted bedspread when her oldest son was a baby, and then set it aside until he was in his 40s, if I remember correctly. Over the course of 40 years, her tension had changed so much that she couldn’t make squares of the same size. Instead of discarding the squares she had made, she pulled each of them out and reused the yarn to make the bedspread again. And then she made three more…
Read MoreIt all started because I have had most of our beautiful, antique books in a box for two years. This box has floated around the house, occasionally hiding behind furniture; sometimes hiding under a vintage table cloth and serving as a base for Christmas decor, but most recently, the box has just been an eyesore in our hallway, waiting for me…
Read MoreAbout two years ago, I came across a YouTube video showing how to make braided baskets with fabric strips. It’s been a project that I have wanted to do since then, and last fall, I used the technique to make a braided tree skirt and coasters. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, I made several baskets. The first one was small and you saw a sneak picture of it in my last blog post…
Read MoreThis blog post is long overdue. You will certainly notice the change in seasons in the photos. But I had never gotten a final photo of the finished playhouse because every time we visited my family, the sun was bright and cast harsh shadows on the playhouse. On Saturday we stopped by to say hello and visit for a few minutes. Getting out of the car, I noticed immediately that because of the overcast sky, I could finally get a photo!
It all began when my then 5-year old daughter and her 6-year old cousin started building a playhouse last fall. They gathered and carried firewood and sticks and bricks…basically, anything they could find to build the outline of a house and a stove. It was hard work! But they had so much fun.
Read MoreIn this blog post, I share pictures of a poncho and two little aprons that I made for an infant friend.
When I was a little girl, my Grandmother made me lots of beautiful clothing. She made the dresses that I wore every day, and she also made cute pinafores and sunbonnets. My mother kept some of the dresses that I didn’t wear out and the pinafores and bonnets. My girls play dress-up with these items constantly, and I am so glad that my Mom saved them. I am also putting some of the items back into my cedar chest so that if my girls ever have daughters, my granddaughters might be able to appreciate them also…
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