I found this really sweet fabric on Etsy with Texas Longhorns and Cowboys. I always have a hard time finding fabric suitable to make those special things for little boys and here was a great opportunity. It consists of a crib size blanket, burpee, large bib,m small bib, toy tether and pacifier lead. The blanket, burpee and bibs are topped with the funky fabric, lined with warm and natural and backed with cozy flannel. Come visit my shop for more pics www.oncottageway.etsy.com or go direct to the item at http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=32170528
Yesterday, our town held it's annual Veteran's Day Parade. My Dad is always in this parade. At 86 he is the oldest surviving Veteran from the RCAF in our area. My I present Pilot Officer Kenneth H. Linklater.
I've spent the past couple of days designing and creating this great little baby gift set. It is a nine piece set with crib sized blanket, change pad, burpee, large bib, small bib, toy tether, pacifier lead and two snack sacks.
I ordered this fabric and was thrilled when it arrived. The colour were even more vivid than I had expected and I could hardly wait to get into it.
This is a one of a kind set, never to be repeated.
You will find it in my Etsy shop www.oncottageway.etsy.com
Early this morning – around 5 – Dale gets up to go to his part time retirement job at the local golf course.Nevada and I hunker down for some more snoozing. Dale commences his usual routine, which includes opening the door for the dog, which has a large curtain hanging on the frame that serves as our version of a doggie door.A few minutes later, after much stretching and moaning about the early hour, Nevada slithers off the bed and yawning and grumbling, heads outside for her early morning constitutional.
Seconds later she comes torpedoing back through the curtain like the hounds of hell were on her heels. With this dramatic entrance she brings with her the stench of skunk and the doggie door curtain. Dale is racing around trying to catch her. Anyone that knows Dale knows that his only speed is “very slow and relaxed”. When he speeds up it means something drastic has blasted him out of his usual aplomb. Hearing Dale moving frantically about the house, hollering for Nevada ( he never hollers either ) brings my eyes wide open and all senses on full alert. I catch a whiff, discover Nevada hurtling for the bed, door curtain still in place, making her resemble something out of a Halloween Horror Show, and I leap out of her way, tripping and stumbling over the bed clothes. After rather rapidly assessing the situation, I take off after Nevada and she now has two of us chasing her down – me in my nighty and Dale is his – uh, well, skivvies – we finally manage to corner her and toss her out on the deck.
A few seconds later I hear her panicking, screaming and scrabbling, at the door and head out to give her a piece of my mind. Before I could open my mouth, I am face to face with little Mr. Stinky. I am not quite sure who was more surprised – Nevada, Mr. Stinky or Me. I make a quick snatch for the door and Nevada and I take a nose dive to safety pulling the door shut behind us. Before I could grab Nevada she races to the living room and rolls on the chesterfield, then evading my desperately grasping hands, gives the area rug the same treatment. Tripping and stumbling, I chase her through the house, with Dale hot on my heels. She beats us to the bed and has another good roll there before Dale gets his hands on her. She is carried in a very undignified manner to the bathroom and the door is slammed securely in her face. Dale and I look at each other and the air turns blue with our cussing. Dale heads off to get his breakfast. I head off to mix the de-skunking solution, only to find that I am flat out of peroxide. I make do with dish detergent, baking soda and water. I fight my way into the bathroom which now is absolutely unbearable with eau de skunk. I quickly turn on the fans and open the window. Nevada gets tossed unceremoniously into the tub, doused with my concoction and told very firmly to “stay put or else”. Nevada, for those that don’t know her, is a terrible weeny and she hates baths – particularly when it happens so abruptly. She has her legs spread and braced in every which direction. One foreleg is between and behind her hind legs.One hind leg shoved forward to the front of the tub and between her forelegs, to keep herself from sliding forward. The other two legs are anywhere she can find a bit of traction for them. She shivers and shakes, pulls her limp noodle routine, and basically acts like she is being murdered. I get her bathed, dried, the bathroom cleaned up and stripped of anything that may carry the rancid odour. I do the same to the bedroom. And head to the laundry room.Dale happily leaves me to it and deserts me for the golf course.After a bit the smell outside dies down so I begin opening windows. Soon the smell begins to dissipate. And I think “ah – not so bad after all”. Not a direct hit but a spray in Nevada’s general vicinity.
I think things are finally getting better and my son and Grandson walk in. The immediate look of horror on their faces and the grabs for the nose tell me that “no” the smell is still there, I have just become accustomed to it. The two of them do an about face and march straight back out the door, out the gate to the truck and drive away. Halfway home they call me. The hoodie that Caleb had left here the day before and which I had tossed to them on their march to the truck had assumed the vile odour and my son was driving home with it hanging out the window.
So currently, 5 hours later, Nevada is relegated to the floor – no soft surfaces for her till her smell improves. My washing machine is chugging away trying to dislodge the odour from my bedding and towels. Dale has not yet dared come home. I can guarantee he is taking his time with the greens this morning.
I cannot be sure that Mr. Stinky has vacated the yard.It is very securely fenced with only one place where he can get in or out. I left the gate open till daylight hoping to give him another means of escape. My yard is a cottage garden full of shrubs, masses of perennials, deep glades of towering trees and tall decorative grasses everywhere. He has a million hiding places if he hasn’t left the yard.
Nevada will be under very close surveillance for the next few days till we know we have the yard to ourselves again.
Now if I could just find a pleasant smelling spot to have a snooze I’d be all set.
I was given this piece of old vintage/antique fabric and I would like to know what type of fabric it is. It feels a bit like cotton but is shiny, almost slippery on the pattern side. It almost crinkles when it is bunched up.
Help - I need opinions on which provides the best background for photos of my bonnets. My single worst feature of my Etsy shop is directly related to my skill as a photographer. Please take a look and leave your opinion.
Fence Rail
Picket Fence
Primitive Brick Wall
Wall
Tree
Floor
Primitive Ladder
Shelf
I look forward to hearing your opinions. So hearing opinions from others will be a great help. Thanks.
Perhaps for today we should focus on something a tad cozier for our little ones. How about one of my crocheted hats. Gotta love them. Simple, stylish for they tiny tot crowd and can be made in a variety of colours and sizes. I can also do custom orders in the event that someone would prefer one in another colour or size! And isn't this Floppy Brim crocheted hat just adorable on this gorgeous wee girl. And just a tad warmer and cozier than my cotton bonnets - perfect for a day like today. Brrr. I love sitting in the evenings with my crochet hook or knitting needles, and yarn and just creating.
Isn't this little girl absolutely priceless? She is wearing one my hand crocheted bucket hats. I make these, beanies, toques, etc in both knit and crochet. I use all colours and textures of yarn. Some hats are adorned like this one with a hand crocheted flower, others are left as they are. Some hats are patterned, some striped, some plain, and I make them in all sizes. Check them out in my Etsy shop, along with my spring and summer bonnets. http://www.oncottageway.etsy.com
Monday, November 24, 2008
ON Cottage Way is having a Pre-Christmas Sale Here is my shop announcement
Hello and Welcome to my shop! ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ ♥ SALE ♥ SALE ♥ SALE ♥ ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ 20% Off & FREE Shipping From Mon. Nov. 24th to Sun. Nov. 30 ON Cottage Way is having a sale. ♥Everything in the shop is 20% off ♥even the already reduced items in my "SALE" section ♥AND Free Shipping. So please - come on in and browse for a bit.
In order to receive your discount - Your Choice ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Option 1: you could purchase the item as is and I will then refund your discount and shipping.
Option 2: email me in advance of your purchase and I will reserve that listing for you and adjust the price and shipping before notifying you that it is ready for payment.
Happy Shopping!
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
ON Cottage Way was created many years ago from my love of sewing and crafting. I spend most of my time on children's items, with the occasional deviation into other venues. Custom orders and special requests are welcome. For information on shipping, returns, environment, and more on myself and my items, please visit my Profile or contact me via Conv with questions, ccncerns or comments. Thanks so much for dropping by and I hope you come by to browse often.
Every once in a while I venture into vintage, if not antique items. I especially have a fascination with vintage textiles and linens. This one in particular caught my eye. Tis the season and all. It is a plain red cotton cloth with 8 replicas of the the candles/balls/ribbons and snowflakes all hand stitched or embroidered. Wow - what a ton of work was involved in the making of this. Having done my share of needlework I truly appreciate such items. However, finances intrude and I found myself wistfully listing this in my Etsy shop under Vintage.
I found this little gem in the same place as the Christmas one above - in almost pristine condition - it brings so many memories of my Grandparents - I remember my Grandmother having a tablecloth almost identical to this one.
And this last one - my Mom had the identical table cloth but in orange, browns and yellows rather than the green. Almost a Thanksgiving theme to this one but is suitable year round - at least my Mom used hers year round! You can find these tablecloths in my Etsy shop at http://www.oncottageway.etsy.com
I am a true vintage junkie, haunting rummage sales, thrift shops, yard sales, bazaars and auction sales. Often coming home empty handed but often enough I find some treasure I can't do without. Sometimes vintage fabrics and textiles, if not in great condition, find themselves recycled into some of my creations. I use cutter quilts for teddy bears, tote bags, coasters - you name it. Old chenille is a special favourite - and cutter pieces I use as linings in my totes, lining in baby bonnets, backing on baby blankets, again - teddy bears - whatever I can find to put it to a new and good use. In the picture below you can see one of my old quilt teddies. old quilt squares and bits of fabric, made into a baby size quilt, a rag doll made of scrips and scraps and if you look closely at the right hand side you'll see a primitive bunny made of recycled fuzzy fabric.
Friday October 24th and Saturday October 25th be a part of a massive Etsy Street Team event. An EtsyKidsBOGO sale of monstrous proportions!! With over 175 EtsyKids’ shops participating you’ll be sure to find huge deals on what you need this holiday season for children big and small.
Get your shopping list ready today and beat the crowd by previewing the entire list of EtsyKids shops taking part in this colossal sale:
Finally - I am getting caught up. I have new things listed on Etsy - a ton of things. Many, many new bonnets, some crocheted hats I have been experimenting with and I've re-taken many photos so that the items are easier to see. This first pic is of a child wearing one of my bonnets and one of my chenille dresses. I love this pic.
This is one of the styles of new crocheted baby hats I've been experimenting with - a bucket hat - not a very attractive name for it - but there you go. I really did like the results. *S*
And one of my bonnets - I have a whole raft of new ones and tons of new fabric to play with!
CH. Styrlingsanz Chanting the Dawn CD. CGC. TDI June 13, 1997 to September 3, 2008
On Wednesday September 3, 2008 we lost our sweet Sophie.
When we got up that morning, we found she did not have have the use of any of her legs. The diagnosis was a problem with a disc in her neck. We and our vet worked with her throughout the day but nothing was going to get our sweet girl back on her feet. We made the decision to help her on her way to the Bridge late that afternoon.
For those that do not know our Sophie, she was diagnosed with terminal cancer in June of 2002. At that time she had a baseball sized tumour removed from the outside wall of her tummy AND 2/3rds of her stomach removed as well. So after months of diagnostic tests, 2 major invasive surgeries, we finally received a diagnosis of "We're sorry, but the best we can offer you is 10 to 12 months with Sophie - her diagnosis is terminal Gastric Scirrhous Adeno Carcinoma." There were no treatment options.
My vet and I researched cancer diets and converted one that we thought would work for Sophie. With this home cooked diet and supplements, we gained not just the 10 months with her, but 6 more years.
She had other problems over the years, surviving cancer one more time when a mast cell took off and hepatitis, among miriad other doggie ailments.
This last about did us in. Waking and finding her so helpless, seeing her so upset and anxious and confused, trying so hard to get on her feet and being unable to, with the help of our vet - a lifelong friend of Sopie's and a dear friend to us as well, we made that final decision.
In one three day show in Owen Sound, when Sophie was just 2 years old, she earned 9 points toward her Canadian Championship and her 3 legs to give her the CD ( Companion Dog Obedience Title). This is hard on a dog, to change venues mid-stride and change focus and concentration. Sophie just did what needed to be done, with her usual grace, determination and desire to please. What a grand girl. She earned that final point to give her the CH. title a few months later in London - the very next show she attended. A couple of years later, she also earned - on her first try, her CGC - Canine Good Citizen and her TDI - Therapy Dog International Titles. Sophie raised 2 wonderful litters of pups and was a superb Mother. The dog on the right hand side of the blog - Hoss - is one of her sons. Sophie had more strength and determination, more heart and soul than anyone or anydog I have ever known. It was such a pleasure having her in our lives. Gentle journey Sweet Sophia. You will live on in our hearts.
Well - a week ago today, Wyatt took possession of his first home, great little Victorian on almost 2 acres. halfway between Kincardine and Port Elgin. A short shot down to work for Wyatt and for Tina less than 15 minutes to Port Elgin to work. They've had their hands full in the past week, moving, grass cutting, weed whacking, unpacking and of course figuring out the idiocyncrasies of old farmhouses - of which there are many. I should know - I've lived in enough of them! I'll add one inside picture - just to show what a sweet little gem this house really is. All open concept - unusual in a home of this age, original hardwood floors and lots of windows to let in that bright natural light. Welcome home Wyatt and Tina!
I finally - after 4 years - got my flagstone walkway finished. My boys were both home last weekend and since I had recently acquired a pile of flagstone, decided to finish my walkway for me. I am absolutely thrilled!
The beginning!!! This first pic is of Wade and Wyatt trying to find the easiest way to adjoin the old sidewalk to the new one - there was a bit of a dip and caused a wee bit of consternation! Here is Wyatt fitting the pieces together like a jigsaw puzzle. Good job. Wyatt is my "heat seeker" and can work through any sort of heat and humidity. Here is Wade - my "Non Heat Seeker" trying to find a tiny patch of shade and fitting in one of the final filler pieces. I think the heat and humidity was getting to him! And here is Tina - Wyatt's significant other - she apears to be acting in a supervisory capacity! Me - I was relaxing on the deck with a cold drink, occasionally tossing in tidbits of what I thought the sidewalk should look like - although I mostly just left them to it - I was so happy just to be getting it done. Thanks guys - great job. Love you both.
I've had a very busy couple of weeks and have not had time to update my blog ........So here we go. At the end of May a friend and I travelled to the U.S. Weimaraner Nationals in Warwick, Rhode Island. We arrived a day early and did the "tourist" thing, driving to Providence for the day. Our GPS was NOT in a great mood that day and took us on several journeys that turned out to be very interesting. I am sure we saw parts of that town that otherwise we would never have seen! *S* This is a view of the harbour at Fort Adams.
We spent the week watching the dog show, obedience and agility In this picture is Cooper - our Nevada's sire being shown in Veterans where he placed 2nd. He is such a great dog and very accomplished. I know this is not up to date but his registered name, including titles is:
Cooper is 8 years young now and still strutting his stuff like a youngster.
Here we have Cooper in an Agility run with owner/handler Mary Beth Hall. During this week long show, Cooper took High in Trial in the Weimaraner only trial and the very next day took High Weimaraner in trial in an All Breed Trial. For a veteran that guy can really move!
We had a great week, a great holiday, met up with old friends and acquaintances, met new friends and generally had a wonderful time.
ON Cottage Way has developed over many years of my love of designing and creating. It has, in recent years, come full circle to children's items, with the arrival of Grandchildren and Great Nieces. Please feel free to browse and also to visit my online shop at www.oncottageway.etsy.com
This is my 2nd attempt at a Blog - this time I intend to keep it up. I have included a couple of "doggie" posts from my last blog. Primarily this blog will be used in conjunction with my Etsy site www.oncottageway.etsy.com
to promote my handmade items. These handmade items are primarily for babies and toddlers, made with new cotton and flannel fabrics, occasionally with some vintage fabrics and chenilles and once in a while with antiques fabrics &/or quilt pieces. Also included will be tidbits of my day to day life with hubby, sons, grandkids and of course my dogs, Weimaraners Sophie and Nevada.
Sit back, read and enjoy.
This is Hoss, AKA CH. Styrlingsanz Megalith, a one in a million dog. What a boy he is. Because I have "girls" in the house, our Hoss lives with wonderful friends, in a home on the shores of Georgian Bay. He is a champion in all regards. He has a wonderful sound, solid temperament, amazing health, intelligent as they come, ability to burn and he is Canadian Champion, one time beating out the number one male Weim in Canada for Best of Breed, he has thrown pups with the same temperament, great health, and gorgeous good looks. A few years ago, in a terrible accident he was severely injured. Against all odds, he survived, by sheer grit, determination and heart. And this boy has a heart as big as all outdoors. This photo was taken since his recuperation from this accident - which took many months, but from the look on his face you can tell the months of struggle and rehab was worth it. Our special thanks to Liz and Derek for going above and beyond for our boy Hoss.
My Older Son
Wade with Daughter Saige
My Older Son
This is my son Wade with the light of his life. his daughter Saige.
My Younger Son
Wyatt with Son Caleb
My Younger Son
My younger son Wyatt with his son Caleb. They are such good buddies.
Dale's Story - Kidney Transplant
This is a Long Story Short!
Dale is my partner of over 20 years. Several years ago, Dale was diagnosed with CRI, Chronic Renal Insufficiency. After a few years of treatment for CRI, he began Dialysis. March 2007 he was put on the kidney transplant list. On June 10th I received a call on my cell phone. They had a kidney for Dale. We had a very fast trip to London ON. Surgery was very successrul. 5 days later he was home. Tomorrow, Feb. 10 will be his 9 month anniversary with his new kidney. Dale is a totally new man. He has his energy back, he is feeling great and looking wonderful. I have no end of admiration for Dale for the way he handled his illness, surgery and recuperation. He is an inspiration to us all. This picture of Dale was taken just a few weeks after his transplant. He is with our Granddaughter Saige, who was up visiting for a week. You can see by the pic how great he looks and how well he recuperated.
I thought maybe it was time that I introduced my Grandkids, Caleb and Saige. Both are 4 years old. Caleb started school last year but Saige missed out on JK by less than a month. These two are the lights of my life and the very reason I began sewing for kids again after all these years. So any inspiration I had for my Etsy shop I can grant to my sweet little Grandkids.
