The Gathering Antique and Garden Show

My friend, Patty, and I spent last Thursday and Friday in Nashville selling our wares at The Gathering Show.  Patty is shown with her herbal potpourri and wreaths.  We combined our booths putting primitives, cottage and garden together.

 Our booth display front was created with old porch posts and railing which worked well with the items we had.  Little did we know, on opening day a customer wanted to buy our entire display setup.

 Patty's husband builds these awesome birdhouses which he mounts on these create old chippy porch posts.  They were a hit.

 I sold several primitives including the early pine meal bin on the right. 

 To our surprise, we arrived Friday morning to find we had won best of show for our display! 

Love, love, love the dried herbal and lavendar wreaths.

The potpourri had the entire area smelling so fresh and aromatic. 

Another great bench built by Patty's husband.

 I built four old beadboard display racks that worked nicely to hang things on.  My lavendar designed quilt looked nice with the lavendar arrangements.

 Several of these items were gone by the end of the first day.

 I love this primitive jelly cupboard.  I have used it in my studio for years to store art supplies, but it is time to let it go.  Really like the cut-out detail at the bottom skirt and the wide one-board doors.  Great early piece.

 I brought home my child's mission painted desk and bench.  This is such a unique piece with drop front desk and cubbys with a tiny drawer.  On each side of the desk is a built on sconce which is wire for tiny electric bulbs.  Great old green paint too!!

This vintage quilt worked well with my jewelry display.

 One of my first oil paintings in several years, these little lambs sold on Friday. 

 Sold several pieces of white ironstone, always a hit.

Jackie on the left, is the show manager and a very nice lady.  Enjoyed getting to know her a little, and also Elise, a fellow Country Living Show participant from Smiths Grove, KY.  She had a wonderful display with antiques and plants.  Their business has a full fledge nursery, and a spectacular barn, shop, and classes.  She is a very pleasant and interesting lady, and a pleasure to be with.

Elise's business, The Garden Patch, is a booth you want to take the entire thing home. 

 This old rocker would look great on my log cabin porch.

 Really enjoyed this screen door displaywith garden items and a door wreath. 

Some more great herbs and plants mixed with antiques and concrete items.

 This nice lady's husband prepared a home cooked dinner for all of the exhibitors.  He does this every year!  What a wonderful gesture of kindness appreciated by all!  They have very nice primitive furniture and glassware.

It was such a pleasure to meet this lovely lady, Holli Givens with Rain Dove Primitives and Folk Art.  Holli is such a delightful person, and her displays with primitives and yummy candles was so pleasant.  I went home with one of her candles, and it has my sunroom smelling yummy too.

Holli's decor around her great sign post, using live blooming bushes and flower was so apprealing, and drew your eye into her booth. 

She also made very nice vintage style jewelry,

 handmade folk art dolls,

 and this robins blue painted chair and milk can. 

This dress form with jewelry was from my booth.  I added these photos out of order, and I don't know how to insert photos once they are out of order.  (Maybe some of you can tell me how that is done!)

These last three photos of vintage style necklaces I made from old prisms, stones, sterling, coins and pins. 

I was happy to return home Saturday to my wisteria in full bloom on the arbor.  Love this stuff!  It was a great weekend.  The Gathering is held twice a year, the next show being their Christmas Show in November. 

All New Living Room



Old sofa with slipcover  in new living room



2011 brought new changes to our 1847 Carpenter Gothic southern home.  Often the layout of old houses entitles the modern owners to use the rooms in ways they were never intended.   I believe the only room in our home that is used as it originated is the master bedroom. 
Some of those changes took place before we aquired the house twelve years ago, but our greatest internal change was swapping the livingroom and diningroom in 2011.  During that swap we added hardwood floors to a portion of the house that had carpet, and put new hardwood in the kitchen after ripping up the original to reinforce the old bouncey joists.  The orignial floors were wormey chestnut, and i just loved them, but there was no subfloor.  Besides the bounce, winter drafts could be felt up to your knees.  Something had to be done, and the splintering boards were not usable for finished flooring after the joist project.  It is just part of old-house delimmas.


In an older post, I presented an album of the new diningroom, which also viewed the hallways to the bedrooms and the kitchen, all of which got the new hardwood.  By putting the diningroom in it's new location, it allowed for the arrangement of furniture so that we could pass through that room to our bedroom hall.  When we had the livingroom there, you would have to walk through the LR furniture and often in front of someone watching television.  No more.  Even though my husband and I do most of our TV watching on our sunporch, the visiting grands and family liked to use the LR for video games and DVDs.  I will try to show you how we found the remedy for this. 




New ceiling light replaced dining room light which I refurbished and moved into the new dining room.




Veiw of the wall oposite the sofa where I was finally able to display my Red Wing Pottery.  I've stacked a few more inside each other since this photo.




I brought two wingback chairs out of the bedrooms with intentions of slipcovering both, but still have not done it.




The former diningroom was painted peach with peach woodtrim including the fireplace, from the former owner.  All the years  we have been here I have longed to repaint this room.  White trim and white walls set off the hardwood floors and hardwood ceiling, and gave the room the vintage country  look I was seeking.




1800's handwrought copper pots make a simple statement on the mantel.




A primitive walnut table got a new home in the LR too.  This table was painted brown years ago, so I decided to strip it and found original old blue milk paint underneath.  I did my best to preserve what was left of the blue.




The walnut cupchair actually has a 3 foot walkway for access.  This cupboard was a TN estate find, with wavey glass door and plain crown molding.  I put  collection of blue swirl graniteware in the top.board behind the chair actually has a 3 foot walkway for access.  This cupboard was a TN estate find, with wavey glass door and plain crown molding.  I put  collection of blue swirl graniteware in the top.




A 12-tin pie safe that was formerly in the entry hall, now houses the stereo and cds and dvds.  On top is a vignette of old hunting items including antlers, old shot gun shells and box, Hopes gun cleaner and a taxidermy hawk.




My hubby's elk mount also found a new home here above a collection of antique black powder rifles.




An oil painting I did of my husband hunting with his Brittiany birddogs hangs below a 15pt buck.  I love the way the white crown molding looks against the natural beadboard ceiling.




The sofa also has a 3ft walkway behind it.  An old captains chair, a primitive sugar chest and a buggy seat line the wall and give plenty of room for the walkway from the kitchen to the front entry hall.  A stool that I had covered to match the wing chair from the masterbedroom, now makes a table in front of the sofa.




Love old ironstone and transfer.  This little ensemble makes a wall grouping.




Another favorite cupboard is this very old TN pine cornercupboard with wavey glass doors.




Tabletop includes an antique brass candlestick from my mother and hand needlepoint redbird coasters from my grandmother. 





My mother's sleeping kitten figure rests under the table.

 


I've added more redwing sizes to this grouping, but still love having a place to display them now.




One of my last oil paintings.  Need to get back into it, but making jewelry is some much easier to start and stop in our busy schedules.




The large platter is one of my favorites.




The top of the cornercupboard has a collection of blue transferware and ironstone.




The buggy seat has a vintage wool punch rug folded on the seat, which I have now put on the floor in front.




Love the one door top on the cornercupboard. 




A few transfer pitchers line the shelf with the graniteware





I was glad the ceilings
 had never been seen paint in here.  All of the interior doors have transomes.  A hint of the hall chandolier is seen behind the transome.




View from the kitchen door.




TV sits on an old wood shipping trunk.




Little kitchen entry hall between kitchen and livingroom.




Old beveled leaded glass kitchen door.

 Come back for a tour of the new entry hall and kitchen coming soon!! Thanks for visiting!!

Christmas Stockings and Hats!

Well, I haven't been blogging all summer, but what can I say? Traveling every weekend and some weekdays to horse shows, working on Jewelry, and working to get ready for the Country Living Fair just kept me hopping.

I decided to pull out the stockings I started on last winter and finish them up. Now that they are completed, I cannot figure out how to make the pictures upright. I turn them in my picture folder, and they still come out sideways.  There must be a way!

I made my stocking using slightly waffled natural felt with a little flecking in it. Two of them have crows feet edge stitching with vintage silk thread and multitoned cord.

This stocking had vintage lace trim and old embroidery appliqued to the top, toe,and heel.

I used parts of a vintage sweater on two stockings. This one has a patch of angora covered with shiney barrel beads and seed pearls.  I added the pearl buttons from the sweater as another accent,  Vintage fringe tops the sock.

 The sweater hem became a button top for this stocking.

 Although I enjoyed making each one, this piece turned out to be my favorite with large brass  buttons at the top, vintage lace and doiley, and multicord edging.

And thats not all; I've been crocheting hats too.  This youth hat will fit a young girl to preteen.  It's very soft and colors great for accessorizing.  You can find this hat and my stockings on my Etsy Shop at http://www.etsy.com/shop/countrycharisma .  Now I have a season of catching up to do!  Can't wait to see what wonderful crafting and decor you have all been up to.  This weekend I decorate the house, so will update you with that.  And if anyone know how to turn your pictures upright, please tell me. I am using a canon rebel XT.