Organization Overhaul Completed

Tags

house projects, organization, remodel

Four portions of my kitchen have been reorganized for the new year of ’14!! I originally had only planned 3 – the shelves, closet under the stairs, and the pantry area; however, I realized with the new space in the closet, I could move boxes of dishes out of my upstairs closet and unpack them or restore them, which inspired me to clean and organize my dutch hutch. 

First here are the before and after pictures of the first three areas newly organized. 

 

The closet is very narrow and oddly shaped: 27 inches at the widest part and then it narrows to 25 near the floor. Yeah old houses are fun. 

Before Area 1: closet under the stairs

 

There was about two feet of space in the very back that was not even being used! As I struggled to move the shelf, I prayed that there were not mouse turds/nests back there, but it was clear! 

Semi-after: completely cleared out

 

In the far back area, I have the larger electric cooking materials (i.e. frying pan and griddle). There are a few more boxes back there now that contain dishes that are still in the boxes. Our cupboard space is limited in the kitchen and we like our Correll dishes. 

After Area 1

 

Small stacking bins are great for holding smaller items

 

Only items that fit on this shelf are allowed to be in the closet (kleenex, rags, swiffer wet pads, and paper towels)

 

These are very visible areas as the kitchen/dining area is all one room. I think I’ve done a good job keeping the food neat/tidy, but I just get tired of looking at it. The smaller shelves in the background contain cookbooks and vintage tins (flour, tea, etc), and the three shelves beneath are all frequently used office supplies. 

Before Area 2: the shelves

 

You can still see a few things inside the baskets, but overall they conceal all of that stuff quite well!! I was slightly disappointed in Target’s lack of variety in baskets. Are they going out of style? They had two choices. And I wasn’t willing to drive all the way across town to Michael’s. Grrrrr.

After

 

The pantry area received a new concealing curtain. I wanted a simple, geometric pattern that had vertical lines to draw the eye upward. It’s kind of a dusty grey, blue color. My husband hates it. Well maybe not hate, but is not very keen on it. (For one who hates clutter, the open pantry did not bother him). I still have my receipt, and I’m debating about taking it back and getting something a tad brighter. We both love the new rug though. It strangely matches our counters quite well and adds a new pop of color at the bottom of the stairs. And of course, Twiggy photo-bombed the shot (as cats are wont to do).  

After

 

This is my Busia’s dutch hutch that I think she had in her first home when she and my Jadja moved in. It had a cute little niche in the wall where it sat. It contained all the Pfaltzgraff china and on Christmas, she set up the Nativity scene on it. I remember when I was six or seven, I got my first camera with the cool flash bulb you stuck in the top and one of the first things I took a picture of was the Nativity set. 

After Area 4

 

In the winter, our kitchen area is really bright and cheerful around 10 a.m. and then again on really sunny afternoons as the sun sets.

After Areas 3 and 4

 

I’m really please with how everything has turned out!!!! Who knows what project I will tackle next. 

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Organization Overhaul

Tags

cleaning, kitchen, Organizing, storage solutions

My new BHG and WD magazine’s were in the mail when we got back to house. In every issue, they have a “instantly organize the insanity of X” spot in your house. Let’s be honest, most of my things have a place, but is it a beautifully decorated, streamlined, bhg worthy picture? Not even close. Ha. During the school year, I need all the living spaces to be super functional so I can go through them in a whirlwind getting ready for school, being gone for 12 hours 6 days a week, and coming home after those 12 hours to hastily throw something together for dinner. The extent of my organization includes a fun vintage looking basket midway up the back staircase to toss used kitchen towels into when I don’t feel like walking them upstairs to the laundry area. Functional obviously is the key word. My mother was never really one for “decorating.” When my sister and I were young, everything had it’s place but there was not a lot of vignettes or decorative storage areas. We had fun antique pieces of furniture (buffet that held dishes/linens, a chest for greeting cards, an old victrola for alcohol) and that was it. So I have always dreamed about a super organized home, that is very functional with beautifully designed storage areas. My mother is the queen of getting tons of crap into small spaces and luckily that trait has been passed down to my sister and I. Our cottage closets were designed with her trait in mind. So right now I have three areas (ok maybe 4, but I’m choosing 3) in my kitchen, that are packed full of frequently used items near the top/outer edge and who knows what in the way back. 

After reading/looking at all the pictures in the two magazines, I thought, what am I waiting around for? I know I don’t want to grade papers or do anything else today…..so what’s the problem? There are probably tons of good deals at Target too! Therefore, I am headed to the stores to purchase fun, functional, and pretty looking storage whatnots so I can get things under control in the kitchen!!!! I fully intend to go through the closet and shelf area and toss out anything that is not being used. I must keep the inspiration/motivation levels high!!! I can’t take the Scarlett O’Hara route and say, “after all tomorrow is another day.” 

Before and after pics to follow eventually. 

Museums

Tags

Christmas vacation travels, Czech and Slovak museum, historic homes, Iowa, traveling

My mother-in-law is awesome; she knows how much I love history and site seeing. Having grown up in Cedar Rapids, IA, her son has “been there done that” and see most everything where as I have not. So every time I visit, we see some place new and we really enjoy our time together. Earlier this week we went to the antique shops in the town nearby and gushed over all things old. Then, today we, along with my sister-in-law, went to the historic mansion – The Brucemore. I LOVE historic houses and big, huge historic houses at that. I was very privileged to have gone into some of the historic homes in the Detroit area when we lived there and now when ever I have an opportunity to go into more, I take it. The mansion was all decorated for Christmas which was a fabulous sight to see because all the rooms had a huge Christmas tree decorated in a different style. We go to go through all four floors (main, basement, second, and third) and got to see both the family side and servants’ side of the house. When we started the tour, the guide asked who watched Downton Abbey. My hand shot into the air as I’m not afraid to admit that. Haha. And true to his word, the home is very similar to the way the home is decorated for the DA set. It made me happy. Now I want to host a 1910ish style tea in the mansion for all my reenactor/living history friends and anyone else who would be able to join us!!!

After the mansion tour, we went to the Czech area of town to the National Czech and Slovak museum. The museum had to be moved after the flood in ’08 and  it was fascinating to see the video of the building being moved to higher ground. The main exhibit traces the history of both the Czech and Slovak people coming to America as well as the build up to the events of WWII and the Velvet Revolution. As a lover of all things historical clothing, it was fun to see the traditional folk costumes. It makes me want to figure out what my traditional Polish folk costume would look like and then make it. Mwa-hahahaha. 

I’m excited to have visited these two important sites in IA and I’m looking forward to seeing more parts of the city/state in the future.

Downton Abbey style Edwardian Wool Dress

Tags

antique finds, Downton Abby, Edwardian, green wool dress

I could not wait to post this…..I’m sooooo flipping excited! I regularly go to antique shops with either my mom or my mother-in-law. When you go to enough shops, you kind of see the same things over and over. I try to limit my goals to just a few things so I don’t go hog wild. Well, I’m always on the look out for really excellent antique/historic clothing. A few years ago I found a shirt waist circa 1900, but today I hit the jackpot. As anyone who watches Downton Abby knows, every girl needs a Downton Abby dress. I found mine. I’m in love.

It’s a lovely, super soft hunter green wool with black details and accents.

Here it is!

The dress is actually two separate pieces. The inside (under) bodice is white muslin that has very clearly been worn because it is stained and has some holes and someone who was a little larger than me split it to half way down the back. The sleeves and skirt are wool and sewn to the bodice. Then the separate over dress has a beautiful curved shawl collar and a black satin (?) insert with tiny fabric covered buttons. The buttons are all decoration though because everything snaps shut and the snaps are new so someone updated it recently. Also, the under skirt is quite narrow. There is some “swoosh” to it, but not a lot. The over dress skirt is a bit fuller with the pleats. Also, I do not have proper shoes on and my socks are awesomely 21st century so I cropped the picture, but the skirt hem falls mid calf. Because of these details, I think the dress is around 1918. I looked at various pictures online and 1910 dresses are long, almost to the floor with narrow skirts. But by 1918, the hems had risen, they were not full, and the waist was at the natural height before it dropped in the 20s.

Over dress open to reveal the under bodice made of muslin

Beautiful simple pleating

I love how the waist sits at my natural waist too. It’s a graceful, elegant style. The waist band closes just under the left breast. It’s a near perfect closure and you can barely see it.

I’m amazed that this dress fits me perfectly. Absolutely amazed. Now my new conundrum: do I replace the muslin inner bodice? do I try to replicate the dress completely (because I have nothing better to do with my time – clearly).

Here are some pictures that are similar in shape, but these examples are quite dressy where my dress is more simple in its overall design.

http://dressmakingresearch.com/1918.htm

This is the closest picture I’ve been able to find. I think the pattern says “Aug 13, 1915” which is not far off. The only difference between this dress and the one I purchased is that mine is not “flowy” fabric where as the one in the picture in the link looks like the fabric is more drapey/flowy. The other difference is that mine very clearly has pleats and the one in the link is gathered.

Hand made Christmas ornaments

Tags

Christmas ornaments, embroidery, hand made gifts, winter crafts

I had fabric and embroidery thread to spare. I could not help myself! 

 

Not the best photo, and it is unfinished at this point and of course I forgot to take a photo of the finished product, but the green wool is from Royal Blue Traders. 

 

 

 

In this photo, it is also unfinished, but the idea is clear. 

 

Clash of the cats

Tags

cats, snow, Twiggy, winter, yard

Besides seeing family, lazing about, embroidering, antiquing, eating tasty treats, and playing games, the best part about Christmas has been watching the cats interact. There are four cats here: two orange, one black, and one grey/white (mine). My cat is 8, and the black kitty is about 6 months. Needless to say, the little baby wants to chase my cat around and it is absolutely hilarious. Here they are finally taking a break from running/hissing/growling. 

 

 

Before we left for the in-laws house, we got a lot of snow in WI! Twiggy decided she needed to go for a ride in her box sled! 

 

 

Just more photos of the snow! 

 

 

 

 

18th century fingerless mitts (upcycle)

Tags

18th century mitts, embroidery, upcycle sweater

I wrote about this yesterday, but finally took pictures today. Here is the general process I used. 

1. Cut arms/sleeves off of a wool sweater. Position sleeve on arm and if the sweater sleeve is too large, pin to a comfortable size. It is great if someone can help you pin, but my husband was off snow blowing the driveway or something so I did it with my left hand (and I’m right handed). 

Pins indicate new size so it fits snugly around my arm

2. After it was pinned, I back stitched the new seam. I cut off the extra so I had only about a half inch to a quarter inch edge. Then, because I did not have enough sweater fabric to add a thumb piece, I left an opening so my thumb could go through. This took several measuring/eyeballing so I did not make it too big or small because I did not want to have to remake the thumb hole a million times. I’m glad I measured several times because it fits snugly without being too tight. 

3. Next, I cut off the band from the wrist part. I whipped stitched all the raw edges down and did a double whip stitch (is that the proper term) so it gave a cross stitch X along the edge. 

 

Whip stitch edge and you can see the thumb hole opening and new side seam

4. Finally, the best part arrived – embroidering! I realize technically, it should have been embroidered on flat fabric before anything was assembled; however, given the pre-made sweater sleeve, I struggled to embroider the design, but I think it turned out quite well!! I chose a bright berry pink color made from cochineal bugs in hand dyed silk. These are my “fancy to church mitts” so I figured a simple, yet eye catching color would be appropriate. I looked at several extant examples and the herringbone pattern seemed to be a common theme. 

Pink embroidered design

The pin is marking the edge of the design area. I wanted it to be centered on the top of my hand when I wear them. So I put two pins on the edge of the design area. I have one more row to embroider and I have to add the leaf/flower bit at the end also.

Nearly finished!

 

Then I get to complete the process again to make the left mitt!! Hurray. 

Christmas

Tags

18th century fingerless mitts, Christmas, vacation

Just a quick little Christmas-y post here. No pictures though. We are in Iowa with the husband’s family and all the pets are here too. The fur has flown and hisses have sounded up and down the halls, but no one got hurt. We did not break with tradition and went to church at 11 p.m. The temperature in Iowa has been in the negatives for two days, but today finally broke into the teens. Christmas day I did not go outside at all because I did not have to. Instead I took a nap on the couch by the fireplace. I seem to do that a lot lately. We went antiquing and found great items!!! Pics to follow eventually. Construction on one upcycled mitt is complete and I’m nearly finished with the embroidery bit on the top. These will be very dainty, fancy mitts and I can’t wait to wear them! 

Easy garland

Tags

garland, ribbon and paper crafts, winter crafts

I don’t know why I love garland so much, but I do. I want garland for every season and every day in between. After looking at way too many photos on pinterest, I decided to make my own. I have a leftover stash of scrapbooking paper so I chose reds, creams, and blacks for a “Christmas/festive season” color, but also to match our decor. 

 

I grabbed my paper puncher flower shape and punched away. I cut more than I needed, but that’s alright. I’ll use them for something else. Then, I took linen thread and just did four running stitches per cut out. I didn’t care how neat/perfect it was because it’s supposed to be a little random/rustic looking. 

 

 

 

 

I can’t wait to make more. I’m going to experiment with different colored ribbon of different widths too! 

Fulfilling the bucket list

Tags

living history, Regency

A while back I mentioned to some of my living history friends that one of the items on my bucket list (even though I don’t really actually have one, but only sort of) was to live at a historic house, in period clothing, and do everything there is to do but with historical accuracy. They were kind enough to actually remember that I wanted to achieve this and so invited me to attend an event at Boonesfield Village in St. Louis, MO. I had never been there before, but these friends of mine frequented the site often and seemed to be good friends with the staff. 

The house we stayed in is called the Engledew. It’s circa 1800s and has a center hall with two rooms on either side of the hall; to the right the kitchen, and to the left the parlor. Each of those rooms had a huge hearth for cooking/heating. Upstairs were two bedrooms above each of the downstairs rooms. A new, full basement had been added to the house as well. I was spoiled because there were two bathrooms there which was soooo nice to have. I like washing my face with hot running water. Hehe. 

Front/center hall

 

Parlor to left of hall

Double bed in parlor

“Mother” instructing the children

Engledew

Saturday morning was bright and clear so we had an outing around the grounds. While it was cold, the sun felt very refreshing and even though I spent the majority of the night waking up to put logs on the fire to keep us warm, the outdoors renewed my energy for the day.

“Aunt Janet” joined me on the walk

Down the path

Looking back toward home

Daniel Boone home

Blacksmith pony

Sheep!

In the tavern

Me!

For this event, because it was to be very cold, I whipped together a new Regency petticoat. I only have the blue cotton dress (the one in the pic) and a chemise for my Regency wardrobe – not exactly winter clothing. I did not have enough time to make an entirely new dress (though now making a wool one is on “the list”), so I opted to make a new petticoat. I have a brown wool one that I wear with my other 18th century items, so I wore that, plus a white cotton one, and my new one created from pale lemon yellow flannel!!!! 

I based mine on this picture (scroll down once you open new link). Because my underbust is 29 inches and my waist about 27ish, anything tied around my underbust eventually slides down until it rests on my hips. Therefore, I put straps of twill tape on this petticoat, and measured the waist to be 29 inches when gathered. It’s super comfy. I also added a button and hand sewed a button hole. It’s a tad difficult to button if it’s in the back, so I put it on backwards, button it, then turn it around and pull the straps over my shoulders. I was really proud of this project because I did not have a pattern, only the picture, and I pulled it off in about a week. But best of all, the petticoat kept me very warm!!!!! I plan to make two more petticoats like this – one for me and one for my sister – for Waterloo. You can see just a wee bit of my yellow petticoat in the above pic peeking out from just below the blue hem. I now plan to add one growth pleat so it does not show. 

Overall, it was a fabulous weekend, even if it was super cold. The house stayed toasty warm and I learned how to make sweet meat pies!!! We made seven pies total in two days and we ate almost all of them. It was lovely to have everyone crammed in the kitchen talking and eating around a toasty fire. I can’t wait for the next event with all the wonderful people I met.