Parsley Success

YES! It is true. I, Bernadine, former indoor house plant killer have had great success with my parsley plant since bringing it indoors in October! It is still alive and despite a few small wilting incidences when I forgot to water it, things have been going just great although it is getting a little leggy!

I love having this plant inside for cooking and who would have ever thought there would be enough light.

I learned by trial and error not to put a parsley plant in full sun. Amazing. I could have probably learned that on You Tube.

In any case I strongly urge everyone who is intereseted to grow a parsley plant outside in a pot, keep it in part shade/part sun and bring it in over winter. You can have fresh parsley all the time! Now I know to you farm girls like my friend Sherryl, who is a contributing blogger on this blog, is probably thinking, uhhh yah, but for me and other citygirl/farm girl wannabes this is a BIG deal!

And what a cute planter! Can't wait to plant cherry tomatoes in Spring. I have had great success with those for two years in a row!

How Fun to be Invited!

I am so excited that my friend Bernadine invited me to share my thoughts on domesticity! I like one meaning from Webster's Dictionary that uses the word "tame", as in domesticating or taming animals. Whether you are taming your husband, your wild, beastie children or the house itself, it takes creativity and hard work. But, some days, we get to relax and spend time enjoying some of the more luxurious aspects of domesticity - like going to a fiber shop and touching every single skein or ball of yarn in the place!! We did that today when we took a ride down to Esther's Place in Big Rock, IL where you can buy roving for spinning/felting or yarn made from locally produced fibers. You can go to website by the same name to check it out! I think Bernadine took pix so stay tuned for those!

Pincushions

Aren't pincushions wonderful.  They come in such a variety. 

This one is my favorite.  She goes wherever I go.  I find her simply delightful and a comfort to have around, seriously!

I started a pincusion collection (only the finest, not just anything) several years ago.  Because I'm so picky about it I don't have very many of them but I love each one.  I will be posting them in the future!

This one was purchased from a catalog and I have not seen it again since unfortunately but if you see another one let me know!  I hope I get to work on some of my sewing projects before winter ends but it's not looking good.  I did just start back up on my "grandmothers garden" quilt using 1" hexagons.  It was about 1/3 of the way done two years, yes two years ago when I got bored with it.  I'm anxious to finish it this time!  I'll be posting that as well.

Mohair & Linen

I love combining different textures. Like wearing a silk shirt with jeans or combining mohair and linen in a knitted scarf. I knitted this lace scarf for my Mom out of pink kid mohair and trimmed it with a crocheted linen edging.

Without a lot of experience in knitting lace I could have probably made five of these with the time I spent knitting and taking apart and re-knitting and taking apart this one. Lace requires a lot of focus - something I need more of!

I'm glad she loved it and I love seeing it on her!

Thanks for being such a great mom, Mom! Your constant encouragement to try new things has lead me to a very fulfilling life. Your unconditional love has made me who I am today!

First Ever Spinning/Knitting Project - For me that is!

We have an old looking hutch in our kitchen. The top doors have windows and I love opening up the doors because I have some really nice smelling candles and potpourri in there. Every time you open the door you want to bake something! Or have some Tea!

I have a few pieces of this "Old Country Rose" pattern by Royal Albert. It is so dainty and fun to use on special occasions. On the right is a tea cozy I knitted. I used the wool I spun for the first time, Angora on the top from my spinning friend and designed my own pattern. Lots of firsts here. I just love it when it all works out! Take a chance and just do it.

Here you can see the flower I crocheted a little better with two green leaves. And why not have a button in the middle with beads falling down from the center? What fun. Looks homespun and that is exactly what I was shooting for! The wool was a merino/alpa mix. And it really keeps the tea hot for a long time!

Gentle Arts Movies

My beautiful daughter Becca
She loves movies!

What got me excited about the possiblity of other people being interested in the same things I am came from a book I recently purchased "The Gentle Art of Domesticity" by Jane Brocket. She also has a wonderful website and blog. I wad instantly drawn into her world and wanting to share my passion as she was in her book.

Fabulous book loaded with inspiration. In one chapter she refers readers to movies that have a domestic theme or interest. One she recommends is "I Capture the Castle". I love the scene where the step-mother is dyeing everything in sight green. A unique movie about love and family. I recommend it highly.

Another movie I'd like to recommend is "Dancing at Lughnasa". Merle Streep is in it and I never heard of it before. It's an old world story of five sisters growing up in Ireland, 1936. Gentle loving movie with a lot of domestic interest.

Take a baith, put on your comfy pajamas, pop some popcorn, put your slippered feet up and hit "play"! How about an old fashioned slumber party with friends? Why not!

Kalona Iowa

In September my husband and I visited Kalona Iowa interested in learning more about the Amish community there. We were also hoping to hear the clip clop of horse carriages passing by.








As it turns out there happened to be a funeral on the day we visited so we saw a lot of carriages moving along. I planned on taking pictures but not wanting to disturb their peace I decided not to.

We went to the Kalona museum and saw this fascinating antique weaving loom. There were a lot of spinning wheels on display and I found a lovely antique pair of socks that were hand knitted. The Amish are known for their quilts and there is a lovely quilt store in Kalona and many quilts on display at the museum. Well worth taking the time so travel and see. However, there were no yarn stores or supplies. I was quite surprised seeing all the spinning wheels and weaving looms in the museum. Never figured that one out. Now that I think of it none of the Amish books I've read ever talk about them knitting. It's always quilting, embroidery work, cleaning, farming, etc.
I purchased a couple of Amish cookbooks. Couldn't wait to get down to the grass roots of this deal. However, one of the books I purchased had recipes in it that called for store bought items like premade pie shells. WHAT? I wanted to start from scratch. Oh well...I guess our society is creeping up on them. No harm intended. I love this gentle, lovely, quiet culture.

More on Kalona in the next Blog!

Variegated Yarn

Variegated Yarn

I have used variegated yarn in the past but never with such surprising results. I suppose I need to work with them more An experienced variegated yarn knitter/crocheter would probably have seen this. Isn't it a beautiful pattern. And I love the soft colors. I'm making a coat for my Grandaughter out of this yarn. Can't wait to finish. That being said, it will be a while.

I always have several projects going on at once time. One that needs a lot of focus and quiet time, one take along (maybe 2), something exciting, something you can watch TV with and not mess up. And that's just knitting. I always have a spinning project waiting my attention, bobbin lace pattern setting to the side and something to embroider.

Sometimes I wish I was a master of one and not a jack of all trades but after I think about it, I just assume be this way. It's more exciting to me!

One year I tried to focus just on quilting. It went well but it is highly unlikely to happen again!

Felt Ornaments with Mega Stitching

By "Mega Stitching" I mean "A Lot" of stitch work. I had a kit for 4 Santa ornaments sitting in my "to do one day" pile for...years. At least a couple of years.

When Mom comes to visit I just love giving her a project to work on. she took on the challenege and they turned out so beautiful I wish I had more. This kit was a Buscilla Ornament Kit. I've searched everywhere for more similar items because I like the look but it appears it is not made anymore. Any ideas? Share please!

Here is another ornament from our Christmas Tree. We found a set of six of these Colonial Doll Ornaments at an antique store. They have a porcelain head, hands and feet and a cloth body. Very charming. About 4 1/2" tall each, all dressed the same. Wouldn't be Christmas without them on the tree. Such treasures! Send me a picture of your favorite ornament.

Surrounded by Love

049, originally uploaded by bernadinedave.

Happy 2nd day of 2011! Nothing can calm me down more than seeing my grandaughter surrounded by soft cozy pillows and bears I've been working on. They all have similar eyes!

The small bear was knit with store bought alpaca. The big bear is "Great Grandpa Paul Bear" named after Cara's great grandpa because this bear wears a bow tie like Grandpa used to. It's knitted from handspun cotton. Clothes are knitted from store bought wool. He has suspenders, a hankie and a pocket watch.

In The Beginning - 1/1/11

Live in Galena - Wear period costumes!

Here we go! This is the very first Blog for "The Lost Art of Domesticity".

I don't remember a time that I didn't have a project I was knitting, crocheting, tatting, sewing, painting, rug hooking, beading, and so on. Growing up, my Mom and I always kept our hands busy especially during TV time at night. She loved learning new things and always encouraged me to explore. She was a member of the "Craft of the Month" club for a period of time and I couldn't wait to see what the next box would contain.

I loved watching her work on things like that. I loved that she was home for us. I love how she kept the house clean and our sheets smelling fresh and our clothes clean and neatly tucked away. I loved it when she put an apron on (with our handprints appliqued onto it of course) and made apple struddel. I love how she always made family important as we took time to visit relatives regularly. I love how special she made our Christmas Holidays with all the decorations, painted cookies, singing of the Twelve Days of Christmas and Keeklees. I love how she cared for and used table cloths.


I loved watching her iron and then eat a little salad for lunch. I loved her job. We were all first to her (4 children and a husband), we knew it, we counted on it, and learned much from her unconditional love and strength of character than we will ever realize. It was more than enough for her to be a great wife and mother. And I love that!




Me and My Mom! We made Figgy Pudding first time ever this Christmas!

 So, here I am now, indulging myself in what I love most, Domestic Arts, and sharing it with anyone out there who feels the same way. There is great value in who we are and what we choose to do. And we can share in that!