I Love Green

I love green. Green paint, green doors, green velvet. I love green depression glass, green Carltonware and green jadeite.

I have a collection of green transferware.

Lately, I have been thinking about painting. Everything, other than the laundry room needs a good re-do and sprucing up.

My bedroom is a lovely shade of green right now. Very tranquil and serene. And is a colour that seems to go well with so many other colours.

So I am not quite sure where to go from here. I love turquoise too. These are wonderful colours for a bedroom as they evoke such calmness and serenity.

So I am not quite sure whether to stick with another shade of green, the same shade or go with something closer to the blues.

Sometimes too much choice is more of a problem than not enough choice. Do you have these dilemmas with paint colours as well? I am always so undecided til it is actually up on the walls. Although, I must say I have never re-painted a room because I hated the colour so much. That would be dreadful.

Still pondering...

Just What America Seems to Need Right Now...Beautiful

a little love

Cath Came Calling

And I answered the door! Actually, my best and lovely friend, Clara, found this shortly before Christmas and snapped it up for me. How lovely is it for Cath Kidston to be here, in Canada! Even if it is just bubbly goodness, it is beautiful.

Well this picture is rubbish. So sorry but you know my camera woes. The Cabbages and Roses book I got myself back on my birthday and there are a few others there Santa was sweet enough to bring me, I will try and get a better picture of them again for you. Oh, and the charming Johnson Brothers teacup and saucer from DN3 picked up at a bazaar for me for Christmas. Love.

And said daughter asked as I was taking the pictures if I ever took a picture of her room. Yes, I have, many moons ago but here is another. The cutest sleeping bag and pillowslip with the most adorable rosebud pattern. Santa was sweet to her as well.

Another tea and biscuit dvd. All Creatures Great and Small. The first series with the original Helen. There was something about her I just loved...

On the "something's gotta give" subject: note to self, do NOT purchase one more pillowslip. Ever. (There are a total of 15 pillows on all our beds right now? Get the picture?) Did you say addiction?

And finally, a wee bit of knitting for the wee bairn soon to grace this lovely world. The bib pattern from the Mason-Dixon Knitting book.

Lisa xo

Have You Ever Wondered???

What the flamin' heck I look like?

Perhaps a full body shot???

I remember that costume so well. That was a truly gorgeous Adrienne Vittadini cardigan in its time. The lovely blue gloves were my grandmother's and I think I still have that paisley silk scarf from Talbots.














Okay, so you want to see me without a costume? Well, okay, here it goes...














Okay so technically it is not all me but me with a Reese Witherspoon hair style.

And me with Heidi's cleavage.

It's the best you are going to get, I'm afraid. I really am not photogenic. Truly.

(Hoping for a camera soon, I still haven't shown you my Christmas goodies!)

I Will Miss the Hallmark "Made in England"

If you have been a fairly regular reader of this blog you will know I am a lover of fabric and pottery. When I am out on my thrifting jaunts the first tables I look for are the ones with the old teacups and lovely rosy textiles. This is why it breaks my heart to know that the world's most renown potteries are in so much difficulty. It truly saddens me to the core to know that my favourite companies are in demise. The news is quite dire.

I know that Royal Worcester/Spode has moved all their production to China. At first I thought it was just certain items but now I have been told that all manufacturing is now in Asia. The latest news comes from Waterford Wedgwood.

I have many Spode pieces and I love them. I have collected blue and white pottery since I got married over 20 years ago. There is nothing more classic and beautiful. How sad it is for these companies that have been in business for over 200 years. To see them moving to the far east is distressful enough but to close down completely would be pitiful. This is why it is more important than ever to cherish the lovely pieces that I know many of you have. I have a love of crockery. Period. All types, patterns and companies. Johnson Brothers, Minton, Royal Albert (vintage), Meakin, Mason, Crown Derby, Limoges, the list goes on. I will continue to look for all my best loved pieces and cherish them that teensiest bit more. Will you?

~A Beautiful Vintage Year in Review~

January

my first foray into patchwork

February

discovery of a shop that sells Cath Kidston, only to be heartbroken that they would no longer stock her items

March

what else, baking Pasta al Forno for warmth and carbs

April

Martha and I were busy creating

May

thrifting at its best

June

the season of the peony

July

lobelia in the back garden

August

rippling away the hours

September

planning my dream potting bench

October

vintage fabric browsing with my girlfriend

November

kitchen planning

December

learning to crochet hangers and placing them in Christmas stockings




A special thank you to all my readers especially those that take the time to leave a comment and say a few words. Wishing you all the very best for the new year for you and your loved ones.



~Lisa~

Wishing for Peace, Happiness and Prosperity

To all my readers, that take the time out of their busy days to read my little ramblings.

I know so many of you have been busy, shopping, cleaning, wrapping, decorating and all the other duties that still need to be performed, holiday or not. I know it is left up to you, my readers, to provide the spirit and warmth that is Christmas. So much responsibility for us at this time of year! But please take the time to appreciate the season and remember it doesn't all have to be done. It does NOT have to be perfect and, as my list states, will it really matter five years from now?

All the very best to each and every one of you.

"My father worked in profanity the way other artists might work in oils or clay. It was his true medium, a master"

The title of my post is a quote that some of you may recognize. It is from my all time favourite (I cannot express this enough to you) Christmas movie. It is A Christmas Story. If you are one of the unfortunate people that has never seen this movie I strongly urge you to rent or buy it. We all watch it every single year. Traditions die hard in the Knitty, Vintage and Rosy house.

So this is what I have been doing with my precious time. I know it doesn't look like much but this is as good as it will get for the livingroom. Do you like the light on or off? I wasn't sure so I posted both. This view is from the diningroom. I only discovered this wonderful view when I was hiding behind the draperies in there, playing hide and seek with the dog. Am I the only one that does this?

Notice the drinks tray? I was thinking about nipping into the sherry a few minutes ago but put the kettle on instead. It is mightily cold in these parts tonight. And, we are suppose to get 5cm of snow tonight, possibly 15-20 on Friday and perhaps more on Sunday. Yayyyy!

This is a handmade card I received from my husband's aunt about 15 years ago. I love it to bits. Isn't it lovely?

Mercury glass ball. New. Couldn't resist. (We needed more decorations like I need a hole in my head.)

Handpainted ball from a local artist.

That is the livingroom.

If I am as organized as Anthea Turner, and we all know I am (writer lets out shrill laugh and guffaws) I shall return with more dribble and orange like pictures.

Green Knitting

I spent the better part of Sunday trying to find a quick pattern, that I liked, for a dog sweater/coat. I came across many but I needed a quick knit and something that would be compatible with "in stock" yarn. The house is full (not kidding here) with yarn. I have it artfully displayed in baskets, shoved into dresser drawers (so full, in fact, I may need to butter the sides to get the drawers open), and some, get this, still in their original bags packed in the back of cupboards. Sometimes, while tidying, I see a bag and say what is this? Wow, that's nice yarn, when the heck did I buy this? That would have been perfect for _____.

Eventually, I decided to make my own pattern and go with some Briggs and Little. But I did come across some fantastic patterns for dogs. Here are just a few in case you have been looking:

Basket of Daisies (adorable, just not for my male pug)

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A whole list of Knit and Crochet Patterns

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For a small dog or pup

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Cable Knit

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The plan here is to knit two rectangles, one slightly smaller than the other. The larger will be the top and the smaller will be the bottom (room for, you know, the business area). I will sew the two together, leaving openings at the front for the paws. Then I will pick up stitches around the neck and make a turtleneck. I will also pick up the stitches around the holes to make wee sleeves. Is this making any sense to you? I have loosely based it on a pattern I have in the Stitch n Bitch book. I am just expanding on it a bit to suit what I like. And while you anxiously wait for the results, you may be interested to know I won an award.

The lovely Therese has sent me this award. Of course, I am now to pick other worthy recipients. How do you do that when you read and enjoy almost 200 blogs? More dilemmas...

Chilly

It is -12 here tonight.

These are really the only two things on my mind.

Hot cup of tea.

Lovely books to browse through.

Ahh, the comforts of home.

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I was given an award today! I will post about that shortly.

Nothing to do with kitchens...

Yesterday was spent cooking and crocheting. We had a big full breakfast late then an afternoon of crocheting. In between single and double crochets I roasted a lovely joint of beef for dinner with all the necessary bits. I have decided to take a page out of the Dottie Angel's book and crochet some coat hangers. What a smart cookie she is. And a fantastic way to use up those bits of yarn from the ripple blanket. The wee pink one was just white wood so it needed a pretty sweater. The blue one (done in double crochet, not as nice as single) was a slightly torn satin one so it needed a new look. The other one will be done this afternoon when ironing is complete (little joke there, is it ever complete?).

In between cooking, baking and crochet, I finished this new book from Susan Hill. I wept. Did you? Are there any Simon Serrailler followers out there? I am now reading Agatha's Spider Web. I must say I am not sure where this ironing thing is suppose to be squeezed in.