"Breathless, we flung us on a windy hill, laughed in the sun, and kissed the lovely grass." -- Rupert Brooke

"I received a camel saddle foot stool purchased in Afghanistan during the 1950's. I was wondering if you knew of anyone or links I could find sending me to someone or a group who may be interested in something like this. I enjoyed your post on bluebirdgardens. Thank you for your time."

Hi David,

Oh, my, those camel foot stools were quite the rage in the
1970s!

Since you have an original one, as opposed to a reproduction,
I'm guessing an interior designer in your area might be very 
interested in that piece since the 70s are part of the retro 
movement in home decor these days. Check your yellow pages and
offer to send them this photo with your asking price.

You might also consider Ebay or one of the other auction sites,
if nothing else to see if someone else has one listed and how
much they're asking for camel saddle foot stools.

I don't think it's a high value item, more of an interesting piece that could be a 
focal point in a room.

Thanks for sharing and good luck!

Do you have birdhouses with broken roofs or sides you can't part with?

Re-purpose them into a flower vase holder for a table decoration.

This little birdhouse was a gift so it had special memories.

Last year part of the roof rotted, so I removed the piece, sanded down the edges and treated the cleaned birdhouse with a couple coats of polyurethane.

A friend of mine recently asked who was the designer of one of my favorite sweaters and pointed at flowers I had embroidered on it.

Not that I don't appreciate good sweaters, but I had to chuckle - the reason I had the flowers on the sweater was to cover a stain!

So if you do any kind of embroidery, don't throw that favorite shirt or sweater out. Add embroidered flowers over the stain, then scatter a few more so that it looks like a deliberate pattern.

My favorite flower is the daisy. It's also one of the easiest embroidery stitches.

You can embroider daisies plain, in the same color as the shirt, or make it more fancy by using different embroidery floss colors, adding french knot centers and green leaves out of the same simple daisy embroidery stitch.

As far as the "designer" sweater, I took a tip from a rose pin at the top of the sweater and added three small rosettes over the stain in a Brazilian embroidery style called "rococo."

To make the rosette, pull needle half way around the center spot; wrap floss around the needle like a french knot 10-15 times, then pull gently so the thread is not too tight but is forming one of the rose edges.

Secure with a stitch over the center of the long french knot.

Keep adding rose edges until you have the stain covered.

You can add a little green leaf, or group several rosettes in the same area.

Not only practical but apparently quite the fashion, too!

Do you salvage something creatively with your embroidery?

Charlotte

Bluebird Gardens: custom quilts, gifts, gardening
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Gardening to Distraction on a MO Hill

 

 

Summer is, among other things, blackberry time and I couldn't resist not baking something with freshly-picked wild blackberries.

Now in Missouri, you can easily start a feud - a serious, long-lasting, family wrenching feud - asking someone for the location of their  favorite blackberry patch.

You're on your own finding your blackberry supply but ensure they're fresh.

Taste test them on site, just to make sure.

After picking about a cup of wild blackberries, I washed them, sprinkled a tsp of sugar and let them sit in the refrigerator overnight.

When you're ready to make, put enough cold water in a glass so you can press the dough together.

Taking 4 pieces of pre-made, reduced fat crescent dough -  had to save calories somewhere - wet  fingers and press each of two dough pieces back together at the seam.

Spoon a tablespoon of blackberries in their sugar bath into each of the corners of the crescent dough.

There's no such thing as over-filling; the blackberries will reduce in size as they cook.

Check the back in case you do -  crescent dough will  leave holes on the back side of the turnover if you stretch it too much.

Fold the dough corner to the center into a triangle; cut at the fold line, then use a wet fork to crimp around the triangle turnover edges.

You can crimp the dough without water but after a few pats, the fork will stick to the dough.

Once each of the turnovers is sealed around the edges, you can brush with a beaten egg wash to give it a golden yellow look after it's baked.

Since I had every intention of eating these immediately after they were cooked, I skipped this step.

No point wasting a  perfectly good egg wash.

Sprinkle with water.

Then sprinkle a little layer of sugar over the whole turnover.

Cook at 400F in a pre-heated oven for 8-10 minutes.

No need to coat the baking pan; the turnovers won't stick.

An average crescent roll makes one blackberry turnover.

I'll bet biscuit dough would work, too, either pre-mixed or made from pre-packaged biscuit dough, rolled out so that it's not too thick.

Other fillings would work, too, not just apple but peaches, raspberries, blueberries.

That's my grandmother's Blue Willow plate, she also used them as her every day dishes. 

She used to shake her head when I told her they had become collectible.

Let cool for 10 minutes before biting in to them.

Even though the dough may seem cool, the blackberry filing will take longer to cool.
I didn't wait so I can attest to how hot the filing is only minutes out of the oven.

Would you like a bite?

Charlotte

Bluebird Gardens: custom quilts, gifts, gardening
Bluebird Gardens Quilts and Gifts Blog
Bluebird Gardens Quilts and Gifts on Facebook
Bluebird Gardens Etsy Shop
Bluebird Gardens Chirps!
Gardening to Distraction on a MO Hill

The site visitor was charming on the phone, calling before 6 am to ask if she paid us a "rush" fee, could we get a custom quilt started and finished for her in a week.

It wasn't that we didn't want to help but making a double wedding ring quilt, one of the hardest patchwork quilt designs, in a week is just not possible. It takes an average of 3 specialists to make one quilt, and at that we get them made in as little as 3 months - less if the quilt is simpler.

"So how come I read some people can make a quilt in a week" she persisted.

If the quilt is a simple enough pattern - large fabric blocks, for example, it's conceivable a quilt can be started and finished in a week but this was not the kind of quilt the caller was interested in.

Bluebird Gardens custom quilts, as most quilts do, go through at least 8 steps in the process of getting made:

1. Finalizing details including quilt size, design, fabric colors, getting photos to be used on photo memory quilts, and final price, including a deposit.

2. Quilt materials get laid out and photographed for a final look prior to starting.

3. Quilt pieces are cut and sewn together to make the quilt top.

4. Pieced quilt top gets embroidered.

5. Quilt top is quilted.

6. Quilt top is "bound" to finish edges.

7. Quilt label and any other embellishments are added.

8. Quilt is photographed and wrapped for shipping.

9. Finished quilt is shipped usually two-day priority mail with quilt care guide.

If you're planning on getting a custom quilt made, regardless of who's making it, plan on at least 3 months; in some cases, there's a year waiting list, sometimes longer, especially if you want the quilt hand quilted.

A good, detailed custom handmade quilt takes a little time to make, and from the comments we get, is well worth the wait.


 

"...was visiting your website...My Dad loves beer, he even says he wants  to make his own beer. I was thinking about something with beer...What  can I make Dad for Father's Day?"

Hi Karen,

I've noticed that people who love beer also like peanuts. Does your Dad like peanuts? How about giving your Dad his own pot of growing peanuts to go with his beer?

Start with a handful  of un-roasted, unsalted peanuts.

You don't need a lot; 4 to 6 peanuts will do nicely.

Prepare a clean, garden pot by putting about an inch of packing peanuts in the bottom to help keep the pot light enough to move around.

Add a couple of inches of compost, then fill the pot up with good potting soil to about 2 inches from the top.

Don't use garden soil, it'll dry out after a couple of weeks and make it hard for the peanuts to grow. You need good potting soil, available at any garden center.

Now DON'T do what I did and plant peanuts in the shell.

It may work, but it will take a long time for the shells to break down and release peanut seeds. Those outer shells are hard and designed to protect delicious peanuts inside!

Not to mention peanuts attracting wildlife including Blue Jays, raccoons and possums, all who love peanuts. Have you watched a Blue Jay pecking a peanut shell? They look like woodpeckers!

Even covered up in soil, wildlife WILL find the pot of planted peanuts and throw their own party, as I found out the next day...(photo)

Remove peanuts from shells. Place shelled peanuts on soil a few inches apart; then cover with about an inch of soil.

Water. Place in full sun.

Unroasted, unsalted shelled peanuts will quickly sprout and, 3-4 months later, you'll be able to turn the pot over and harvest your very own peanuts, not to mention the weeks you'll spend talking to your Dad about how peanut plants are doing.

Add or make a Father's Day card that says "Dad, a little something to go with your favorite beer, from one of your very own peanuts" and "Happy Father's Day!"

 

"I  need to know how I can get up streaks on a coffee table caused by
sliding a 3 legged container on a coffee table. It looks like you 
took a candle and drew streaks. It is waxy looking."

Hi Eugenia,

Hard to say what it is and how to fix it without seeing it first. Can you 

send a photo?

Is the coffee table wood, and what kind of wood finish does it have?

What was the 3-legged container, does it have a wax base?

If there's a waxy build-up on the wood coffee table and it hasn't 
penetrated the wood finish, a good wood cleaner like Howard Wood Cleaner 
should work.

If there's damage to the coffee table finish, you'll need to first
determine what kind of finish the table has before deciding how to fix it.

If you have any other questions, please let me know!