Amazing CQ story

Years ago (I believe in 1999) I traveled to Australia and spoke at a International Heritage Rose Conference in Australia and made a CQ jacket to wear on the trip.  Recently Mary Corbett mentioned my buttons in her newsletter.. A lady in Australia read Mary's newsletter and remembered my name AND the CQ jacket I wore and  she took the time to write to me yesterday... I can't begin to tell her how it lifted my spirits and warmed my heart. I wore the jacket  at all garden shows at which I spoke or had a booth.  Over the years it has been hand washed several times and a little worse for wear and the images have faded...

I made this in about 3 weeks and I had just gotten a new sewing machine which did lettering.. So the jacket is covered with witty garden sayings...including "I consider everything hardy until I kill it myself."  






































And I had to include a picture of the famous gardening maven, Penelope Hobhouse and myself when we were on the same speaking agenda in Texas. Because of the time element there was very little handwork and is entirely vintage linens.


The conference was over several days and I spoke several times.  There were dinners, luncheons and speakers from all over the world. They were the most gracious audience and, much to my relief, laughed at all my corny  jokes.  In fact I made the jacket so in case my talks bombed, the jacket would distract them.  We had a grand time...  Afterwards we celebrated our anniversary at a restaurant in Melbourne recommended by someone at the conference. The waiter brought us a lovely bottle of wine to our table as a gift from friends at the conference.  My husband order kangaroo steak.  We talk about this trip often.   Many wonderful memories.

Some years ago I gathered together tips and techniques for assembling vintage linens into a CQ project and I listed it again on my Etsy site.  This is a vest I made for my husband to wear when working in the booth.  The sayings are all "guy-related"  including "I am a fungi"


As a foot note:  I knew I was going to be speaking in NZ two years hence and I asked an Aussie if she thought they would laugh at my jokes  (my presentations depended heavily on laughter at the appropriate moments)  and after some thought, she had some reservations as she thought the New Zealanders were a sober lot.  But she was wrong....they were wonderful.

Valentine Pincushion

Oops..it's gone! I only have ONE of this special   pincushion kit.. Perfect for Valentine's Day... This kit includes a cushion of pink velvet covered with pink lace and the beaded fringes and gimp are already added.... AND the beaded fringe are little frosted hearts.   .

You may use the Victorian-inspired brooch included or as an alternative make your own ribbon roses toppers with vintage buttons.. ALSO included in this special kit are beads and a hummingbird charm to make your dangles... Either way once on a tall candlestick it will be a elegant treasure for a keepsake for yourself or as a gift. .. 

Once assembled with any extra embellishments you may add and a candle stick, it becomes a one-of-a-kind  elegant gift for  a friend or loved one. Consider adding a pink scissor holder along with it.   I will be adding two equally lovely blue ones tomorrow...

Scissor holders, Kerry's frog and mystery person on couch....

Remember the nifty little retractable scissor holder I have on my chatelaine??? Well I have another like it I just clip to my shirt while I am at the sewing machine.. It is so handy not to have to look for scissors to clip bobbin threads. AND it would look equally nice attached to a needle book so I made some to sell at the Adventure boutique and I finally got around to making some for Etsy



Aren't they all just gorgeous on the tray..
Just $4.00 ladies... These are the very best secret sister gift....

And I finally finished the renovation of Kerry Leslie's dragonfly block and it's on Block Talk with Gerry
Stop by and see all the different options for making dragonflies plus the frog on felt...

And finally this tousled head of blond hair sleeping on my couch is my granddaughter Madi who is visiting... You can see Molly is guarding her with great zeal... Madi has been globe trotting solo with just her backpack since college graduation and is now looking to settle down and get a real job.  But visiting grandma for the holidays first... She has been taking some photographs for me and I introduced her to Bananagrams which I learned to play at the CO retreat... plus a whole lot of hugging is going on.

Button Button....Check out the buttons!

I've been busy painting this spring and trying to add new designs to my button offerings on Esty! They are all hand painted by me and about  the size of a quarter - 1".. .All buttons are signed and dated on the back The buttons themselves are vintage mother-of-pearl 70-80 years old. There is a metal shank on the back of the button.


 I’d love to see one of my buttons find their way to your project They are lovely on needlework and made into jewelry......

Birds and Bees and Ladybugs......

and a cottage or two... I got some loaded on my Etsy shop last night and will do more today... With the exception of the cottages, these buttons are all about the size of a quarter.

I'm hoping people are thinking Valentine's Day and secret sisters.....

I am finally getting a system for the repetitive part of the Esty posting.. But still I absolutely don't know how Pam Kellogg keeps putting up not only her stuff but her mother's also...

And hooray!!!! some one bought the little red barn so I get to paint another barn...

I'm the kind of person who just keeps banging her head against a wall and when it doesn't work I find another wall... But I have met my match with photographing these buttons... I started the day with great hopes but was never satisfied with the results.... It wasn't that much better than just plopping them on the scanner and in the end that is just what I did.. and will do until I can take a macro photography course.

I'm hoping it shows great strength of character to know when to throw in the towel so stand back... I'm throwing it... %$###%$*$#

Weather here going from 40 degrees to 3 degrees in 24 hours.... I love winter....almost as much as spring... In fact rather than going south for the winter, I would love to go north for the cooler summer..

My Esty Makeover Quest

If you are an Etsy novice or thinking about Etsy this post might be of interest... I plunged right into Etsy when I didn't have the time to think things through and have been struggling ever since... At the beginning of January Etsy offered a Makeover Workshop and I followed along AND started researching similar Etsy sites.

1.Of course they emphasized the importance of good photographs but also the "number" of photographs.. I had one picture of the button front and one with the back beside a quarter. But as I looked at sites with lots of photographs I decided it does make a difference.. so to add interest I'm adding a photo of me painting buttons, a photo of the tiny brush and a photo what the button would look like beaded...or on a CQ.

2. Then they discussed "tags" (the way people find you) so again I start researching tags on similar sites. I discovered a lot better tags than I had been using. I wasn't nearly expansive enough. It pays to research.

3. I had been just grabbing images for backdrops for my buttons and NEVER happy with any of them... I spent a couple hours one day working up backdrops and trying buttons on them to compare. Anything too busy overwhelmed the buttons. I wanted real CQ and something elegant so in the end I opted for an off-white beaded CQ. Everything looks good on it but the chickens and they're not selling anyway...

4.They had a whole section on improving the narrative but I haven't got to that part yet...next week

My biggest challenge all along has been photographing the buttons... Some problems are inherent such as their highly reflective surface.. and also since they're round, unless you are directly over them they look oval.

Some time back I adapted this section of a photo enlarger and it works great EXCEPT the only way to check the reflections in the view finder was to stand on a ladder or set it all on the floor which is hard on my back and knees crawling around it.. So on my list for some time has been searching thrift stores for a small, stable, low cart on wheels and I found just the thing the other day.

This computer printer cart is the right height and not only has wheels, it has drawers... A girl can never have too many drawers... And weather permitting I can roll it out on the porch...which will make Susan happy! So I plan to use it this weekend to photograph all the buttons I've painted over the last week...
Last but not least I found a solution for another little but irritating problem... All my buttons have metal shanks on the back so they do not lie flat. I'd been using terrycloth but found something even better.... heavy rubber shelf matting with BIG holes is perfect for supporting the buttons for photographing and spraying with sealer... None of the above efforts are all that exciting but finding that many solutions to problems has really been gratifying...

To Sell or Not to Sell on Etsy

This morning I received an email from a reader which included this question. "Over the years I have collected older household linens, primarily table linens... .I wonder if an Esty shop might be the way to go and if it is what to do and how to do it."

I sent the following answer and am including it here in case it would be of interest to others... especially the part about the "Shop Info" :

Well this is not just a quick and easy answer... The first step is to go to Esty and research what you have and see how it is selling and what for.. I just typed in table linens and picked a seller http://www.etsy.com/shop/TablesGoneWild?ref=seller_info If you go to the main page of any shop it has a column on the left hand side and one part is "shop info". There it will tell you when the shop was started, how many items it has for sale and how many sales... This shop was established in Sept 2008 and had only 23 sales but I thought her prices pretty high.

Another site came up with linens and other things http://www.etsy.com/shop/ZinniaSnipSnap?ref=seller_info
and it has been in business much less time...since Sept 2009.... and had 498 sales and I thought her prices were reasonable. But they may not seem reasonable to you... How dear are these linens to you?

But tables linens is a broad subject so you can define it more if they are printed linens, embroidered linens, fine linens, etc... I looked at a few sites because I have LOTS of embroidered doilies etc in the barn and am thinking of bringing them in... It seemed when I looked at those sites they were moving at about $8-10. Probably worth my time to sell them...

If you decide to do this, Esty is pretty good about helping you get through the steps of setting up of a shop... Just don't expect to do it in an afternoon as there are lots of steps... I had a glitch with the shipping which I finally figured out... I find the photographing and listing steps VERY tedious but I have been selling right along. I know I could do better if I set up a database to let customers know when I add new buttons and by getting more new things painted and presenting them better. That is what I'm working on this coming weeks.

I set it up when I was rushed for time and now I need to go through and make some changes and reevaluate... I'm still pretty new myself so not the best resource but I think doing the research is the most important first step...
I ALWAYS check how long a shop has been in business and how many sales... When you find one having a high rate of sales within the area of what you are selling ....look at their items, photographs, prices, and the shipping prices and use them as a guide...

Etsy Work Week

My life is settling finally for the first time since August and I feel like I can catch up on things now... I didn't think the headaches after the concussion would EVER stop but now 5 months later they are rare. My Mom is moved for the last time and her man friend passed away. It's all adjustment now.


High on the list this week is paying attention to the Etsy thing. They suggest a photo of oneself creating so here I am painting on my buttons with my vintage magnifier...


With Photoshop magic I was able to make my sagging chin disappear and thought about smoothing out the wrinkles but even Photoshop has its limits...



Here is a photo of the size of my brush.... a 20/0 liner.

I've used "panic" backgrounds for the buttons... none of which I was happy with.. But this week I'll take time and try several things to come up with something I really like. I keep thinking lace but when I've tried it was too busy for a background... so will play around with it a bit...



2010 was a very trying year but the shining star of the year was Morris... He has brought me endless joy and without him I would never find my way... When he is one year old this spring I am putting all his blog posts into a book for him.


2011 is starting out great.. I'm so excited about the suffragette quilt, the trip to Connecticut, my buttons in Pat Winter's new magazine, the AAQ entry and an upcoming visit from my stitching confrere, Cathy K. Better get out there and ring that bell...

Country Cottage Buttons

I did get eight cottages loaded on Esty tonight... They are all hand painted and each is one-of-a-kind.. The bird buttons are 1" and the cottages are 1 1/2". I like doing the cottages and will play around with different styles when I have time... I was having a devil of a time with the reflection and followed Janet's suggestion and just scanned these.. I think they'd be cute on garden blocks... Have a look... http://www.etsy.com/shop/olderrose?view_type=gallery It's always a shock to see them enlarged... like looking at your pores under a microscope.

Now a question... is anyone into making cigar box purses or collecting wooden cigar boxes...? I have a couple nice ones that my son sent down from the lodge.. Wealthy customers bring their own expensive cigars... If anyone is interested I will send pictures... I am going to photograph the interesting graphics on the boxes for future use...

Barn Stuff & Thanks for even more Edmar help

I've decided to add a whole new category to my esty shop -- barn stuff... I have a couple bins of old needlework like this... I had planned to used this as a centerpiece for a wall hanging and border it with CQ.... but I just have to let go of some of my inspirations as I can't live long enough to do them all... I have all but abandoned esty since I'm gone all the time for the next few weeks... I did get some cottage buttons painted but struggling with the photography... As much as I love the mother-of-pearl, it is a reflective nightmare... I need to take several hours and experiment with lights and settings... hours not available right now....

And on to Edmar........

Both Pat Winter and Melisa B suggested doing the steam thing which I will do when I start another skein..... "Take the tag off a skein of Edmar thread and hold the two ends around your fingers then hold over a steaming teapot while gently tugging them and moving from end to end. The threads will be as straight as a poker and you can put them in a bag and pull one thread at a time with no tangles."

Bobbi Pohl was right on with her suggestion: "Your trouble with the French knots may be because the Edmar threads are Z twist instead of the the standard S twist. It means you should work the knots in reverse of your usual practice, so they don't try to untwist in the process. I bet that's hard to do." She was right as all the unraveling disappeared when I reversed direction working the french knot... And right again when she suggested hard to do... It took me about an hour before I was comfortable with it.... like eating with my left hand...

And Margaret sent the greatest news: "I have one of those plastic EdMar storage things, and it came with a custom "hook-a-ma-jig" to pull the threads into place. If you want it -- and the threads -- I will be HAPPY to mail it to you! I love the colors of EdMar, but haven't ever enjoyed trying to use it. Not my cuppa tea. Let me know if you want the whole thing." And I am jumping at the offer and will soon have my very own "hook-a-ma-jig".... (and I bet that sends spell check into orbit...)

Thanks everyone...blog friends are great!

Here's the latest from barn!

Okay I'm on the floor laughing... Recent comments have used the terms "wander" and "stroll" through the barn and THAT is funny... My barn is definitely a hard-hat-required area and you need to tie a life line to your waist and to the door to find your way out... If you don't emerge after 24 hours there is no guarantee you'll ever be found... I need to get it cleaned out before I die because DH would have a heart attack dealing with it....

Saying that here's the latest from barn! I am really trying to keep mailing costs down on my Etsy buttons and thought I could use tissue paper and regular envelopes to mail them but right off I could see that wasn't going to work. Buying 5x7 padded envelopes just adds more costs...

In my search for an alternative I remembered the "frost blankets" from the days of my big greenhouses when I had thousands of plants to get through cold spells. They had a heavy plastic outer layer and then 2 layers of foam. It was all perforated with tiny holes to help prevent condensation and mold...but might work for envelopes.

With a little white duck tape and labels (because sharpie pens wouldn't write on the plastic..) they work perfectly and are FREE!!! I am so glad I thought of using them (upcycling) and I can use them for mailing envelopes for RRs also...

I had built a special loft shelf near the ceiling of the barn to store them during the summer so they were really "out of sight - out of mind."

Each of the rolls you see is approximately 8'x20' and this is about a third of them... I figure I easily have enough to make about 10,000 envelopes.... AGAIN ROFLOL..... I will have to get on Craigslist to see if I can find a home for most of them....

Everything is a learning curve!

Well nothing worth doing is ever easy and getting buttons on Etsy was no exception. The 1" size and luminosity of the buttons put up several challenges.. ...I couldn't just attach them to the wall and shoot them straight on..I tried standing over them on the floor, on a stool and on a stand... I'm just not steady enough to stand over them and hold the camera...

Then there was the background because that affects the color and reflections. I tried black backgrounds, green backgrounds, and blue backgrounds ...blue seems to work the best... I finally got the best pictures on blue background with button on a slant but of course then the round buttons were slightly oval but the color and clarity are good... Later I discovered I can correct the oval shape in photoshop... I HAVE to have a horizontal tripod....

Etsy takes any image you put in( no matter what size or shape) and makes it about 800 pixels square for the main page .. With a really small one-inch buttons, the magnification (100 pixels) was gross... I kept trying to make the button pic smaller and Etsy kept making it 800 pixels and gross. I finally discovered if I took the small image and put in on a 800 pixel background...it worked.... I used a fabric sample for the background and I like it...

There are a lot of steps to the actually loading the items but with a little practice I developed a rhythm....I will go back through now and catch errors and typos...

In "gallery view" (the little button with 4 squares upper right) the buttons are about actual size on my screen... I have about 40 more to load but at least I feel like I know what I'm doing...

Please take a look and tell me what you think... http://www.etsy.com/shop/olderrose?view_type=gallery

My pincushion hangups... post # 694

Well I read through all the comments and decided on doing two prizes for my 700th post.. I'll post the sign-up day as soon as I photograph the prizes... One will be a pincushion and the second will be a selection of bird buttons.... I will do the rose giveaway in the spring for those interested... These are pincushions that were sold so I will have to see what I have...I'm trying to put some on Etsy also...

I did sell them on a website for a while but I hated the packing and shipping... Once I took them to an art fair and arranged them all on lace tableclothes... They were gorgeous... Even though the table was littered with signs saying "DO NOT TOUCH!!!!" ...guess what...? After all that work I wanted to check everyone's hands to see if they were clean... Then there are cushions I get attached to because it's a special jewel or fabric... Then if some bitchy person wanted to buy it I would snatch it back and say it was spoken for... I wanted only nice people to have my pincushions...

Occasionally I get to do one for a bride with her dress fabric and that is extra special fun. I've used veil fabric, dress fabric and even did one that had the bride's garter as trim..... All have a vintage locket attached as well as layers and layers of trims..

The inspiration for my pincushions that "rise above it all" came from this ad years and years ago in the old Victoria magazine before it went defunct and came back to life... My pincushions were constantly lost amid sewing clutter and I thought this was a great idea and set to work making just like I wanted it. I ended up having the wooden inner core especially cut and all the fabric is lined... I did intend to sell them but more and more I just wanted a whole wall of them.... I will try the Esty venture but people will have to promise to wash their hands before handling their cushion and also to be a very kind person indeed......