The hyacinths I started forcing indoors back in November (early November, to bloom for the holidays--ha!) are just now making their appearance. If they had waited one more week they would be tied with the outdoor hyacinths! I wonder what happened.
Still, they smell heavenly. And if you count St. Patrick's Day as the holidays . . . .
Thank you, Winter Olympics, for providing the perfect opportunity to embroider this quilt for a half-hour every evening. That's all I needed to get this thing finally finished. Yeah, it doesn't fit in my purse or in the car so I wasn't getting those little sessions in while waiting for a music lesson to finish.
The front side is painfully bright linen (all upcycled from the thrift store) in diagonal stripes, machine-pieced. No batting, and a canvas back. Then I "quilted" it by embroidering a bright running stitch around each square.
It fits a twin bed and weighs a ton.
Have you succeeded or failed when the back looks better than the front? No matter, I like it!
The mental list of things in my house that needed to be actually *scrubbed* had gotten serious. I left my workout clothes on this morning because I was going to get dirty.
First Frederick's cage came apart in about seventeen gigantic metal panels. A chore that's best tackled outside in the sunshine with a big bottle of soap and a garden hose, but I wasn't waiting any longer for that kind of weather. I know, disgusting to do it in the house but everything was thoroughly vinegarised afterwards. Whew. Much better.
The floor behind the woodstove where the mysterious black liquid by-product of a wood fire drips onto the floor when I'm not looking. Whatever. It's clean now.
Then. The kitchen floor, by hand, with a brush. These floors are very soft pine, with most of the finish gone. The thing about scrubbing them is there's really no end to what you can scrub off with a stiff brush--it's actual wood coming up. So you take up as much as you think the floor can spare, balanced by how far down the stains go. The floor's a little thinner now, but that description you always read about tables in the flagstoned kitchens of rural England, and how they're scrubbed white? That's what I did, but only where things were really bad.
And now they're really good.
I was thinking how nice it would be if I could find cheap, cute hatstands for Daisy's collection of knitted, crocheted, and wool hats and caps. Like, what if they were in every thrift store for a quarter a piece--wouldn't that be nice?
Especially if they were already a flaky creamy color? In just the right size for her dresser?
They were right there in front of me all the time: candle stands. Use as is, or use this simple tutorial for a stuffed pincushion (sew it on upside down with strong thread) for a nice stuffed top.
When Clara uncovered Albert's cage this morning he was not well. Then, as birds do, he failed quickly and died in the middle of the morning, in the shoebox set up for his comfort, with a spray of millet and his beloved mirror.
Clara kept vigil beside him until he was gone, then turned immediately to her music.
Just last night at dinner the Composer had remarked on how much Albert had to say. That was always true. And always such beautiful feathers.
It was one of those moments when I actually couldn't believe what I was seeing in the thrift store bin. A beautiful, large, ancient crazy quilt for Two. Dollars.
This has the most elaborate embroidery I have ever seen on a crazy quilt. And all the fabrics are genuine--very fine wools and heavy textured cottons. A moth-hole here and there, nothing I'm going to fix.
The back looks like thirties cotton print. It does have a few rips I may mend. But since I intend to let the quilt sit out on the couch looking drop-dead gorgeous, I may not bother.
Thrifter's high for sure.
Because the woven cotton rug was starting to really spit out strips of fabric. And the colors weren't pink and green, they were murk.
Then thinking about rugs, and how much they cost, led me to decide: I could make one myself. Surely the pioneer women did it.
I had a beautiful piece of upholstery-weight fabric in my stash, a pass-along from a friend whose father creates drapes for the wealthy in Montreal. All I had to do was face it with canvas. I sewed three sides together while it was inside out, turned it right side out and then slip-stitched one side closed. It really does seem like a rug now. Huh.
Now I'm thinking that I have made the living room over in red and yellow for the rest of the winter. My $10 gold armchair, my thrifted poppies, my forsythia forcings, and my new rug. Ignore the gray. Lucy spends most of her time in my newly-styled area looking appealing.
Because she thinks that bird is real.
This has got to be the most exciting winter of all time, at least since the seventies. So much snow we actually need to shovel it (well, the Composer was out there with the digging spade because that's what we have).
We feel like people in a book! A book set up North!
They're whole wheat. And walnuts are good for you.
Just overlook the massive quantities of butter and brown sugar . . .
Use any light sweet dough recipe, and melt together in a saucepan 2 sticks of butter, 3 cups of brown sugar, and 1/2 c. corn syrup. Pour most in the bottom of your pans (with 1 cup of walnuts per pan), reserving some to spread in rolls as the filling. Makes enough to handle a two-loaf (about 7 cups of flour) quantity of dough.
A few new things in the shop tonight. And then I always want to quote the fabulous line from B. Potter's Ginger and Pickles: Come try! Come buy!
I never thought I would say this: I love going to the gym. I always thought I would hate strength-training. Cause it hurts, you know?
But I kept reading articles in the Composer's running magazines touting core strength as the way to avoid running injuries. And then I realized that there was a little no-frills gym •right beside• the girls' gymnastics place. So, I thought, I'll go once a week for an hour I was already spending right there.
Then I realized I love it, though I don't know why. And I started running over during Clara's cello lesson (I can just barely squeeze my routine in if I work around the snooty group of ladies from the bank who come in at the same time and use ALL the equipment at once, in their work clothes).
I can't really justify a third trip every week, but I'd like it if I could.
I never know what I am going to start loving in my life. Surprises!
The first one was made from a thrifted dish towel (and photographed upside down, oops!). I used violet cotton for the back and added my new thing--
a bright zipper as part of the design. How else am I going to get rid of a giant kelly green-and-metal monstrosity?
This little chica started with an offbeat embroidery I snagged. It's nicely stitched, but the buds? I'm going to go ahead and call them ungainly. No matter!
Some hot rickrack, a little lime green, and a lot of stripes on the back and it's a statement.
These will go in the shop later this week--I'll announce.
I brought a shirt home from the thrift store without realizing the shoulders were faded. It had been a mango color; now it's going to be more tiger lily.
In case you're needing more chocolate.
Use any recipe for light, rich, white bread (preferably with lots of butter and eggs). Let it rise as usual, but before shaping it into loaves, chop a lot of semi-sweet chocolate (I used 6 ounces for two loaves) into rough chunks and fold into the dough before the second rise in the pans. Bake normally. It's like an easy chocolate croissant knock-off. It's so good.
Why have we abandoned the rolled-up cake? I gather that they used to be common fare and now you never see them.
This one is made from a chocolate souffle-like layer, baked in a jelly-roll pan. Without even cooling, it's sprinkled with cocoa, then spread with chocolate cream (whip a cup of cream with 3 T. cocoa, 1 t. vanilla, and 1/3 c. powdered sugar). Tightly rolled, wrapped in foil, then refrigerated: oh my.
Bella made lunch for friends. Romaine salad with Cara Cara oranges.
A cheapie from my florist friend who calls me Lily.
Daisy's bright coat.
New linen Folkwear blouse made from a thrifted tablecloth.
Messing around with the living room. Can you throw harvest gold in with pink?
Ivory sweater, pale wool skirt . . . 
A frosting of ice on the rusty hydrangeas, and snow to follow . . . 
Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust . . . 
Ivory silk dress cut out for Bella . . . 
A soft corner to sit and watch the weather . . . .
Partners leads, of course. Dale is barely making it through the winter in the dreary poverty of her boarding-house when she finds a baby abandoned in the snow. Baby baths over a tiny oil heater! Little wool clothes! And finally, the world's cosiest and tiniest apartment.
The Prodigal Girl is actually a brilliant case study of adolescent peer-attachment issues. Fortunately Dad knows just what to do to bring his family back from the brink: winter in Vermont. Luscious hotel dinners, snow-shoveling, and ice-skating.
The Substitute Guest starts at Christmas, but the guest stays for days, snowed in. Cozy suppers, puzzles in front of the fire, and some seriously bad weather.
The Obsession of Victoria Gracen answers the question "What do older women wear to go sledding?"
Homing, finally, is good for cold weather because it's so darn hot.
And if you don't hear from me tomorrow, it's because our power went out in the ice storm!
Who could resist these illustrations? I've been strangely fascinated by the diaper bag ever since I bought the pattern a couple of years ago.
It wasn't complicated, but it wasn't usual either. Long vertical pockets on opposite outsides of the bag, I guess for baby bottles. Similar pockets inside the bag, on the unused sides. The buttons crack me up. I don't think they're to keep things from falling out, I think the flap buttons up over the bottle to keep the nipple clean.
And really, no carrying strap. The drawstrings only cinch out a few inches. But it's darling! I want to put art supplies in it.
I made it up in some thrifted decorating-weight fabric that seemed old. The selvages were printed with the words "Happily Married." I love that!
A common breakfast sight since Bella got a popover pan for Christmas. The only drawback is that they take a while to bake. But worth it! And you can just use regular muffin pans if you want.
*Popovers*
Whisk 1 c. flour with 1/2 t. salt in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk 2 eggs, 1 1/4 c. milk, and 1 T. melted butter. Then fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring very lightly until mostly blended. Bake for 15 minutes at 450, then 20 minutes at 350. Serve at once! With jam!
(recipe: Joy of Cooking)
Thoughts on the shirtwaist:
• Yes, I am obsessed at the moment.
• If you choose the correct shoulder size, the bust can make do with extra ease, the waist can be taken in with the sash, and the hips are free anyway. So it's not too hard to fit.
• A little piping goes a long way.
• I finally understand lapel collars on a truly profound level. I'll share a tutorial when I get to Clara's dress.
Thoughts on the fabric:
• No matter how cute the dots are, Hobby Lobby cottons just aren't worth messing with. Sleaze! Flaws!
• Boy, those dots are cute. Love the orange, Bella's signature color.
McCall's 4769, again.
Okay, I'm going to say I got really lucky this time. This three-piece ensemble is in perfect condition, in just my size, and it cost nothing. Really. Two dollars for all three pieces.
A medium-weight silk twill, and check out the bound pleats and covered buttons. Cuffs on the bias! Little bias binding bows! 
I have to pass a gigantic thrift store on the way to Felix's school. Of course, I have to stop, and it's always right at closing time. So the routine goes like this: I race around the store with my cart while the checker closes out the Visa machine for the day. I rush up to the counter with my pile of unpriced goodies. The checker compliments my outfit, then eyes the pile and says, "Two dollars for everything but you'll have to pay cash." I love this lady.
Not much is green at this time of year, but the variegated ivy clinging to the rock work still displays its watercolor washes of sea-green and slate blue.
First I was going to cut it out of the frame and turn it into a pillow. Now I'm thinking it's a perfect tray. For a while, at least.
I'm only sorry I forgot to show the ruffle on the sleeves. Because everything about this stripey pattern is so cute. Especially on Clara. 
The stripes make such a statement turned on the bias, pieced together, and used to make chevrons in the skirt. You have to wear it like you mean it!
Not visible, but we used a very wide vintage grosgrain ribbon in black to construct a belt using a set of D-rings. So simple.
