Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Chevron Afghans

Long before Chevron was 'the thing' - I was making Chevron afghans - but back then we just called them 'zig-zag'!  Isn't it funny how things circle back around, but we call it something else to make it seem new and different?!  Hip-huggers (which I also lived through) came back as 'low-rise' pants, bell-bottoms are now flare and so on!  So enjoy some of my personal Chevron blankets (formerly known as afghans!). 

This was the first afghan I ever made.  It was in the early 70's and I was so happy with the colors!  Seriously?!  But really, the orange, yellow and brown were all the rage.  How many of you remember that orangeish-brownish kitchen carpet that was all the rage?  We used to call it 'pizza carpet' because we figured you could drop a pizza on it and never find it!

In the mid-70's my mother made this one.  It is big enough for a queen-size bed.  She had a tight stitch, so it's thick and heavy.  Perfect for a cold night and hot chocolate!

And this is one I made just a few years ago.

I never knew I was so stylish!  I've always considered myself 'behind the curve' when new fashions or styles come about - but maybe this time I was way ahead of the curve!
I'm sure the Chevron Company is enjoying all of the extra advertising!

What other 'old' things can you think of that have come back into style with a different name?

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

New Furniture

Do you know when the last time it was that we purchased a bedroom set?  Um.  Never!  When we got married we were given the bedroom set that had been his grandparents.  It was made back in the day when they stitched your name in the mattress.  Like this!  Amazing isn't it?  But it's old enough that it truly was like grandma's feather bed.  Very soft.  And low.  And old!

So......we bit the bullet.  After looking at this bedroom set for a couple of years, we did it.  We. Purchased. It.  It's Amish made.  We ordered it from our local furniture store, who then put the order in to the company in Ohio that makes them.  From scratch.  They grow their own trees!  It is beautiful furniture.  And Homestyle Furniture inspected it with a fine tooth comb when it came in after 10 very LONG weeks of waiting.  There were a couple of small imperfections, which to them were unacceptable.  A small varnish run, and small places where the wood had been chipped during assembly.  The bed was put together for us today, but a new headboard and footboard have been ordered and will be here the end of May.

It smells wonderfully new.  It's beautiful.  And we have room for everything.  No more stuff sitting on the floor because there's no place to put it.  This is something I never thought I would have, and I think how much my own mother would have loved this furniture set.

Happy Mother's Day to me!





Thursday, May 2, 2013

May snowstorms bring......?

 Seriously Mother Nature?  I am NOT impressed!  Some of these snowflakes have been golf ball sized.  They are HUGE!  My lilacs are just ready to pop.  I'm thinking instead that they will stay inside of their protective bud and die.  Instead of beautiful purple blooms, I anticipate dead, brown bud pods.  It makes me so sad.  They are predicting 3-5" by tomorrow morning.  Wouldn't it be crazy if we had a snow day in MAY!   I'll keep you updated.  Someone needs to send Mother Nature chocolate!