Month: April 2018

Another example of practical beauty – the quilt

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Have you ever stopped to ponder the incredible world we live in? I’ve always been an avid Little House on the Prairie fan. I still have the set of books I received for Christmas my 7th year.

My second grade school picture features me in a bonnet. Yes, I know it was odd. By the mid 1970’s, bonnets had long fallen out of fashion, but I didn’t care. I loved all things Little House on the Prairie.

To this day I still read Farmer Boy every fall. I used to read it to the kids. But the kids grew, as they are prone. Other activities vied for their time and attention. No matter. When the green fades from the leaves and the air become crisp with fall, I pull the book from my shelf and read it once again.

I love the stories about farming and family, and someday I will visit Almonzo’s boyhood home in Malone, New York.

Quilts made by my mom.

Sometimes I stop and contemplate Laura Ingalls Wilder and her life. It spanned 90 years, from 1867 to 1957. We know her stories. Traveling across the country in a covered wagon. Toiling with her family to create a life on the untamed frontier. Encountering fires, floods, sickness and all other manner of danger.

Yet, by the time she died, she’s witnessed the invention of the automobile and the availability of indoor plumbing, electricity and central heating. She could turn on a television, pick up a telephone or travel by airplane. Within a few short years of her death, we would put a man on the moon. The changes in her lifetime are simply staggering.

Another of my mom’s creations.

Available from Amazon.

Our world is still changing with unfathomable speed. I love the technologies that make life better. The ease in communication. Advances in medicine. The inventions that wash my clothes, clean my dishes and vacuum my floors.

But sometimes, in spite of (or maybe because of) all the advances and developments, I find myself gravitating to the traditional, the timeless.

A quilt made by my great-grandmother

One such timeless tradition is that of the quilt. Quilts have graced American beds for over two centuries and were an integral part of early American life. They have not grown obsolete nor, unlike my beloved bonnet, fallen out of fashion.

They are practical, beautiful, and versatile. They can work in a variety of decors, from farmhouse, to cottage, to cabin or even modern.  Some are frilly and feminine, and others bold and masculine. They can possess a variety of colors and patterns or the top can be constructed from a single piece of fabric.

A masculine cabin quilt from Cabela’s.

A whole cloth quilt. One of my favorite types of quilts. (Image from apqs.com)

Because quilts could be pieced from small scraps of fabric, they were tremendously practical and provided a way to utilize items that otherwise had lost their usefulness. I love that! Taking something that would otherwise need to be discarded and using it to create something worthwhile, practical and beautiful!

I think about those women, our ancestors. I think about their strength, determination and resourcefulness, those traits that formed the foundation for our modern lives. Most of ancestors could never have begun to fathom the relative ease and prosperity that we have come to expect.

A quilt/duvet combo. I technique I created in order to combine my two favorite bed coverings … quilts and down comforters.

While most early quilts were utilitarian in nature, quilting also provided much needed social connections. Gathered around a quilting frame, women would sew, chat, and share life’s joys and struggles, knowing that their friendships were essential to their very survival.

We are not so different today. We might not know it, the way our great-grandmother’s knew it. We may not admit it. But we need each other still.

A photo quilt I created for my mother-in-law.

What was once a practical means of survival eventually became an art form it’s own right.

Today, quilts are available in wide variety of styles of colors and styles. Rachel Ashwell’s, Shabby Chic line at Target includes several soft, pastel, feminine quilts such as the blue and white shown below.

 

Overstock carries a nice selection of more modern and masculine quilts. One example is shown above.

Soon, a quilt will replace the down comforter that covers my bed through the winter months.  I’ll wash it to remove the inevitable and unexplainable closet smells. I’ll hang it out on the clothesline, allowing the mountain air to permeate every fiber.

As I smooth it over my bed, I will again remember those women. I’ll remember their work, their creativity, their drive to survive and thrive in a hard land. I will imagine them, gathered around the quilting frame, sharing work and sharing life. I will be reminded to nurture and cherish friendship as if my survival depends on it.

Then, I’ll step back and smile at the practical beauty that is the quilt.

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Transferware – a convergence of function and beauty

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Twenty some odd years ago I was sitting with my good friend, Barbie, at her dining room table. I don’t remember for sure, but knowing Barb, it’s highly likely we were enjoying a cup of Tetleys tea and eating something amazing from her kitchen. Barb doesn’t just cook, like an artist, she creates. Beautiful, delicious dishes that draw people together and invite them to linger over good food and good conversation.

As we visited to the muffled voices and laughter of the kids playing in another part of the house, our conversation turned to the dishes displayed on her china hutch. These were the start of a new collection.

Quintessential Game and Majestic Beauty, Queens

I was excited. I have a thing for dishes. I can’t explain it. I know there are those who couldn’t care less if they are eating on fine china or paper plates. I’ve never been that girl. I’ve been a dish collector for almost as long as I can remember.

Hall teapot that belonged to my grandmother.

It started with an old Hall teapot that had been my grandmother’s. I was still just a young girl and she was still alive and well. As I look back, I’m not sure how or why I ended up with it, but I did. And I loved it. Though today the faded golden butterflies look old and frumpy, as a girl, I felt very grown up and elegant when using it.

Coaching Taverns, Royal Tudor Ware. Some pieces have colored accents. Others don’t. I mix and match them.

Coaching Scenes, Johnson Bros. Similar to Coaching Taverns. I mix the patterns.

When I was twelve, our small,  local grocery store started offering Haviland Blue Garland china as a promotion. Stamps, earned with the purchase of groceries allowed the dishes to be purchased at a discount. I loved the silver trim and the soft blue of the little flowers. As a avid reader of historical fiction, I was enthralled with the concept of a hope chest. It was old fashioned and romantic, and I decided I must have one. I would start by collecting Blue Garland china.

Blue Garland

My mom saved stamps and I saved my money until I could purchase a piece of china for my collection. Eventually I ended up with service for twelve, a coffee server, and several serving pieces.

Blue Garland

That afternoon, sitting at Barbie’s table, I was introduced to a category of dishes that was new to me. Her dishes were brown and white with quaint scenes of the English country. It was a pattern called Country Days by Ridgeway.  I would learn that this type of pattern is called Transferware and it’s available in hundreds of different patterns, with different scenes and different colors.

Friendly Village, Johnson Bros.

It reminded me of toile fabric, only on dishes; two of my favorite things in one! My infatuation was instant and complete. Twenty years later I still collect Transferware.

Tulip Time, Johnson Bros. The latest addition to my collection and purchased for Abigail, my Dutch baby.

Prior to the mid eighteenth century, decorative dinnerware was hand-painted. This laborious process made it expensive and as such, it was available only to the upper classes. In order to meet the demand of an emerging British middle class for more affordable decorative dinnerware, a transfer process was created.

Flow Blue. One of the most collectable forms of Transferware. Both pieces belonged to my great-grandmother.

Images were hand carved into copper plates. Ink was applied to the plates then transferred first to thin paper, then to the pottery. The resulting product came to be known as Transferware. In addition to antique and vintage patterns, modern reproductions are also readily available. In fact, while I do own some vintages pieces, much of my collection is modern.

‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Noble Excellence

My favorite Transferware patterns are those whose scenes tell a story. A village. A farm. A castle. A courtship. I even have a Christmas set with The Night Before Christmas poem.

One of my favorite scenes.

While vignettes form the bulk of my collection, I also have a fondness for Chintz. This Transfereware is characterized by floral patterns that cover the entire piece. It’s beautiful and decidedly feminine.

When not gracing my table, my Transferware collection serves double duty. Because it’s beautiful in it’s own right, I might display it on a mantel, or put flowers in a teapot. To me, this is the best kind of collection; one that can serve a practical function and also be used to enhance a space with it’s beauty.

 

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Gezelling … what it means and why we need more of it in our lives.

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It was an impromptu dinner. I’d been working on installing kitchen cabinets at my current project and didn’t realize it was getting close to dinner time. I thought I’d better at least check-in with my girls.

The house I’m working on is located in the mountains. With 20 acres of pasture, pine trees, a canyon and a creek, it’s breathtaking and serene. And the cell service is terrible.

It’s not at all unusual to miss calls or for texts to go undetected. Today was no exception. My mom had texted to say the girls could eat with them and she’d send dinner home for me. She knew I would probably be working late and could use some food.

As it turned out, I needed a plumbing fitting and the hardware store was closed. So I unplugged all of the tools, made sure everything was ready for the carpet installers first thing the next morning and went to join my family for dinner.

My parents live in a quaint little cabin, surrounded by pine trees. Though the towering trees obscure much of their view of the mountain, the air is heavy with the scent of pine. It’s the clean, crisp, piney smell that makes you want to pause, breathe deeply and give thanks that you are alive.

This night, however, I did not take time to stop and breathe. I hurried into the house, drawn by the thought of my mom’s enchiladas and the indistinct voices of my family. They’d started without me. Dark would not descend for another two hours and it never occurred to anyone that I might call it a day before then. They know me, know how I get when pushing to complete a project.

My sweet mom fixed me a plate while I washed up, then I joined my parents and three of my daughters at the table.

I intended to eat, clean up the dishes and then head home. I was tired and a long list of neglected tasked awaited me. But I didn’t do this.

Instead, we laughed that night. Deep, belly laughs that made us double over as tears filled our eyes. We took turns in the massage chair. We ate ice cream. The girls played Xbox with Grandpa. We inspected Grandma’s latest quilt.

We played Tripoli, a card game, meant to be played with chips. But in keeping with our family tradition, we played with pennies. I used to wonder if I was teaching my kids to gamble, but I’ve learned to lighten up. As a child, sitting next to my Gramps and serving as his banker, I learned to play the game. Gathered around a table, talking, laughing, teasing. Always teasing.

These are the threads, woven together that form the fabric of our family, creating something that is at once strong and yet soft and warm, something we can wrap around us, for protection, for comfort. It’s both cozy and fun.

The Dutch have a word for this. Gezillig. (Pronouned He-zell-ick) It’s widely considered to be untranslatable. In English, we simply do not have an equivalent word. Even descriptions somehow fall short. Perhaps the closest word in our language would be “cozy”. But even that can’t capture the essence.

The evening spent with my family was certainly “gezellig”. It was cozy, comforting, homey and imparted a general sense of well being. Gezellig can also mean “fun”. In that sense too, our evening was gezellig. It can mean quaint, friendly, or nice. It connotes togetherness. People, places and situations can all be described as gezellig.

It’s an inviting fire in the fireplace, good food and good conversation around a table. It’s lying in the bed of a pick-up truck looking at the vast array of stars, or holding a new born baby. It’s an inviting living room or restaurant. It can be a party, with laughter and dancing. A wedding. The most ordinary of places, even cold, stark places can be made gezellig by the people who share it. It’s another form of beauty.

I am certainly not a linguist, and my Dutch friends might think I’ve got it all wrong, but it seems to me that gezellig describes the feelings evoked by a person, place or situation more than it describes the actual things. It’s feelings of contentment, comfort, home, safety, fun, joy, and belonging.

Maybe defining “gezellig” isn’t really the important thing. Maybe finding it, making room for it, creating it is; silencing the tyranny of the urgent, both externally in our schedules, and internally in our souls.

For some, this may come easy. But for others, like me, it requires intention. It takes discipline. Gezellig isn’t found in the busy and driven nor in our “to-do” lists or the tasks that demand our attention.

I hear your protests. They roll off of my own lips too. I know the dishes need done, laundry needs folded, bills need paid. I see the dust on the buffet. And these things would define my life if I let them.

But life is fleeting. One day, my parents will no longer be with us. The girls, those still at home, may choose to make their lives elsewhere. Impromptu dinners and game nights at Grandma’s house will be but a distant memory and times together might be reduced to a few vacation days once or twice a year.

In those days, when I recall the distant days of my life, I am confident that I won’t remember the laundry that should have been done, or the door knob that needed fixed. No, the memories that last will be gezellig. Time spent with family or friends, eating, laughing, sharing, playing. I will see those faces and hear those voices once again. I will be thankful that I made time and space for these gezellig moments.

Hardwood floors: 3 reasons you should ditch polyurethane finish, and what to use instead 

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Two weeks from today is April 21st. Normally, it would be a day just like any other day. But this year, April 21st is the day my clients will be moving into their newly renovated home. For over two months, I’ve been knee deep renovating their old house. I’m excited to share that project with you, but because we are in the final push right now, we’ll have to settle for just a sneak peak.

Client’s floor – rustic white oak finished with WOCA hard-wax oil and no stain

When we started, the living room, like many old-house living rooms, had wall-to-wall carpet. The carpet was old and dated, but because it was high quality and still in good condition, the clients considered waiting to replace it.

Then, we had to cut into a section of floor in order to access a concrete footer. The carpet was rolled back to reveal solid, white oak floors. To home renovators, this is akin to winning the scratch off lottery! It’s not enough to completely change your life, but it will put a bounce in your step for a couple of weeks. I don’t play the lottery, so I’m really just imagining here, but you get the point.

Sometimes, old wooden floors are damaged or stained, but these were perfect in spite of worn and peeling finish. We eagerly peeled back the carpet in the breakfast nook and found the same flooring!

Client’s rustic floor

Solid white oak with 2 3/8” planks are such a classic floor. For years, this was standard flooring. As an added bonus, it’s still available today, even in the more rustic grade that matched the existing floors. My flooring contractor installed new, matching flooring in the kitchen, then sanded and finished all of the floors creating one uniform, stunning floor.

After locating the material, we had to decide on a finish. Most hardwood floors today are purchase pre-finished with a slight bevel at the edge. The bevel is necessary with pre-finished floors because it creates a transition between boards.

Unfinished flooring is sanded, stained, and then three coats of oil-based polyurethane are applied. Oil-based poly is generally considered to be slightly more durable than water-based but because it can yellow over time, most flooring contractors offer a water-based option as well.

Client’s floor

This is the most common way floors are finished today. But, it’s not the only option and in my opinion, it’s not even close to the best.

Three reasons to ditch polyurethane:

1. Plastic. Polyurethane is essentially plastic that sits on the surface of your beautiful, natural wood, creating a barrier between it and you. This barrier does protect the wood, but it looks and feels like the plastic that it is.

2. Polyurethane scratches. With the addition of aluminum oxide, modern polyurethanes are more dent and scratch resistant than their predecessors, but the fact remains, they will scratch and dent. You’ve probably seen those hazy, white spots on the hardwood floors under chair legs, or milky tracks at the desk where the chair has been pushed in and out too many times to count.

Those are thousands of tiny scratches in the polyurethane.  Felt applied to the bottom of legs can help, but it does not prevent scratching because dirt can still find it’s way under the felt pads and it’s the dirt that creates the scratches. It acts like sandpaper.

Admittedly this floor has multiple issues, but you can see the tiny scratches in the poly finish. They are a result of pushing a desk chair in and out.

You’ve seen the dents too. Maybe a kid dropped a heavy glass. Or, if your house is like mine, an over-zealous dog ran across the floor then tried to stop only to slide into the opposite wall leaving a nice, deep gouge in the floor.

These things are just life and my life is too full and too busy to worry about damaging my floors.

3. Difficult to repair. When poly finishes do get worn or damaged, and they will, they are difficult to repair. You can not simply repair the damaged area. The entire room must be emptied of furniture. Before the new finish can be applied the existing finish must be scuffed, if the damage is minor, or sanded off in more extreme cases. It’s time consuming, messy, invasive and costly.

So, if you don’t want to use polyurethane on your floors, do you have other options? Yes!!

Client’s rustic floor

Three alternatives to Polyurethane floor finishes.

1. Wax. Our grandmothers used to wax their floors. Wax floors are warm and inviting. Their soft, buttery finish gives the wood a beautiful depth that simply glows. They are, however,  difficult and time consuming to maintain.

2. Penetrating oils. Penetrating oils are oils that harden when exposed to air. I’m most experienced with tung oil, a penetrating oil pressed from the nuts of a tung tree.

As the name implies, it will penetrate into wood then polymerize into a solid. This strengthens the wood and provides protection against water. It’s most often combined with other ingredients and labeled “Tung oil finish“, but can be used in it’s pure form.

Pure tung oil used to be difficult to find, but thanks to Amazon, you can order it here. It’s an exceptional product for sealing floors and because it’s food safe when dried, it’s also great for countertops.  When using it in it’s pure form, I mix it with a little citrus solvent, (also available here, at Amazon) to help it penetrate a little deeper. I’ve used tung oil on both countertops and floors and for many years it was my favorite finish.

 

Mahogany countertops sealed with pure tung oil

Birch countertops, lightly stained and sealed with Pallman Magic oil, hard-wax oil

Tung oil, tends to result in a fairly matte finish. However, with multiple coats and buffing, you can achieve a nice, soft sheen.

One of the best attributes of penetrating oils is the ease with which repairs can be made. Unlike polyurethane, oil can be reapplied to worn areas whenever needed. It is not necessary to strip the entire floor. If the floor should be dented, scratched or otherwise damaged, the area can be lightly sanded and re-oiled.

My floor: engineered, wide plank, european oak with stain and hard-wax oil

3. Hard-wax oil. A couple of years ago, when installing floors in my house I stumbled upon a product that was new to me.  Hard-wax oil has been widely used in Europe for many years but is just starting to gain traction in the US market. It combines penetrating oils with waxes to create a superior finish. The oils penetrate and strengthen and the wax provides extra surface protection.

As American consumers learn about this product, it’s becoming easier to find. Some premium flooring stores are starting to carry flooring that has been pre-finished with hard-wax oil. It is now my favorite floor finish, hands down.

4 benefits of hardwax oil finishes

1. The finish. Hard-wax oils tend to create a matte finish, similar to that of tung oil, however, several brands will create a nice, soft sheen with proper buffing. This is that soft, rich, buttery finish that will remind you of grandma’s floors. They are silky smooth, without the plastic feel, tempting one to ditch the slippers and run around in bare feet.

2. Ease of Repairs. Repairs are performed in the same manner as penetrating oil. Simply lightly sand the damaged area and apply more oil. This is perhaps the best feature of this product. I love, love, love this!

My floors take a lot of abuse. I have kids, dogs, dirt, mud and snow. Oh, and ducklings. Yep, yesterday Anna bought two ducklings. Eventually they will find their home in the coop with the chickens, but today, they are running around the kitchen, on the wood floors, while Anna watches over them.

Ducklings on my stained, hard-wax finished floor.

Did I mention my floors take a lot of abuse? I wasn’t exaggerating! If the finish gets worn or damaged, I just apply oil before I go to bed at night and in the morning it’s as good as new.

3. Hard-wax oil dries and cures quickly. Most hard-wax oil products call for two coats of finish. My favorite product, Pallman Magic Oil dries enough to receive the second coat in 4 hours and light foot traffic is allowed after only 12. Oil-based polyurethane and many penetrating oils require extensive dry times between coats, and the oils require numerous coats to achieve good protection.

4. It’s environmentally friendly. Hard-wax oils have little to no VOCs. Regardless of where you stand on the environmental, political debate (I tend to be fairly conservative) I think we can all agree that fewer harsh chemicals are probably a good thing.

There are, however, some downsides to hard-wax oils. If you like shiny floors, you would not be happy with hard-wax oil. It simply will not product a high-shine finish. I actually prefer a satin/matte finish. I like the look better and I find shiny floors harder to keep clean as they show dust. Still, this is a matter of personal preference, and those wanting shine should stick with polyurethane.

Hard-wax oils also require periodic maintenance. It must be reapplied from time to time. The frequency depends primarily on how hard you use the floors. Floors with lots of dirt and traffic will need to be re-oiled more often. I tend to re-oil my floors about every year and half. I do not move the furniture, I simply apply oil to the worn areas. Hard-wax needs refreshed more frequently than polyurethane, but the process is much more affordable and less invasive. Still, if you are not willing to perform occasional maintenance, you will be frustrated with this finish.

Hard-wax oils certainly aren’t for everyone. There is still a place for polyurethane, but when it comes time to do your floors, at least consider the benefits of a hard-wax oil finish.

How to buy the perfect set of sheets

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It’s nearly that time of year again.  The days are getting longer. Easter is tomorrow. I am eagerly watching for the first appearance of bulbs while each day more green is appearing in the yard and in the field. Before long I will turn the horses out to pasture.

For me, all of these springtime events bring about thoughts of spring cleaning. It won’t be long before the down comforter that fills my duvet will be removed and replaced with something lighter and cooler. I’ll throw open all of the windows and let fresh air fill the house. I’ll clean and scrub and organize. It makes me happy just thinking about all that freshness!

Ok, if I’m honest, I will want to do all of these things. When my children were younger and so was I, I would have. But now, I will make a valiant effort. I will do some of them, but some of  the things on my spring cleaning to-do list will still be there when the leaves turn to autumn gold.

When my children were little and underfoot and needing help with even the simplest of tasks I knew it would only get easier as they grew. I was so wrong.

Now I am home less. I’m driving them from one event to another. I’m attending their activities. Their problems can no longer be fixed with a quick kiss and a band-aid, if they can be fixed at all.  This all takes time and energy. As I am more often away from home, I accomplish less at home. And that’s ok. It might challenge some of my borderline OCD tendencies, but those things don’t always serve me well anyway.

But, one task will be completed. It happens every Spring, without fail. The cozy, flannel sheets that provide comfort and warmth through the winter will be replaced with crisp, cotton percale.

Did you know that just a few years ago, the percale sheet was almost extinct?  When my sheets had worn thin and it was time to replace them, I naively thought I’d run to the store and return with new, crisp sheets. I love new sheets. I eagerly headed to the store and scoured the shelves. Microfiber sheets, cotton sateen, jersey. Thread counts claiming to be in excess of 1000, but no percale.

Hmmmm. Not to be deterred I took myself off to Tuesday Morning. They always have a lovely selection of high quality sheets at amazing prices. Again, sheets of various fibers, weaves and thread counts, but no percale.

By then I was completely baffled. Percale sheets are the classic, quintessential sheet. They were the kind your grandma had, the sheets that snapped in the breeze when drying on the clothesline. They were smooth, crisp and cool when you slid between them on a warm summer evening and their pillowcase were cool against your face.

Panic started to set in. I could not believe they were no longer available. It was simply inconceivable. I had to be mistaken, confused somehow. An internet search revealed that sadly, there was no mistake. The sheets were simply not available. I found entire websites dedicated to righting this travesty. It was the theme of more than one blog. I was not the only one missing “grandma’s sheets.”.

I reluctantly decided my existing sheets must made to last a little bit longer. Then, I did the only thing I could. Before I tell you, please promise not to mock. I know it sounds extreme. You may think I surely had more important things demanding my attention. But sometimes the little things, little comforts make all the difference. So I did it.

I wrote to two major sheet manufactures and asked them to bring back the percale. To my surprise, one of them responded with two sets of percale sheets, a cotton/poly blend and a 100% cotton. They asked me to review them as they were currently being tested for production.

Glory Hallelujah! I was happier than I’m comfortable admitting. For a minute there I thought I was going to have to figure out how to manufacture my own! That was several years ago. Today, I’m happy to report, percale sheets are once again widely available.

But what are percale sheets and why should you care? In today’s world most sheets are not inexpensive and you spend 1/3 of your life in bed. Sheets represent an investment of both money and time. But, the choices in sheets are wide and often confusing. In order to help clear the air, I’ve created a sheet buying guide. You can find it here, as well as my recommendation for percale sheets that are beautiful, durable, the perfect blend of soft and crisp and best of all, they are affordable.

And if you couldn’t care less what makes a good sheet, but still want the recommendation, feel free to just scroll to the bottom of the guide!