tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-119917632009-12-05T07:24:17.320-05:00Musings on art, the hunt for vintage treasures, crafting with those treasures, business in general, and life in the country with garden pics and recipes, too. Welcome to my life!janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.comBlogger492125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-37936332440449130932009-12-03T09:26:00.002-05:002009-12-03T09:29:51.276-05:00

When some of the shop owners where I sell asked for holiday ornaments for their stores, my first reaction was "I don't have time for this." I'd been doing so much sewing and the thought of making one more item wasn't very appealing. But, I hate to disappoint, so I asked myself what else I could do that would fit in with the Primrose Design look. Here's what I came up with—and what I've been

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-15827575228008703392009-11-30T07:07:00.001-05:002009-11-30T14:08:40.220-05:00

Happy Cyber Monday!

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-31853400507996473872009-11-27T12:46:00.005-05:002009-11-27T14:55:01.624-05:00

I've never been one to enjoy shopping on Black Friday. I hate crowds, dislike traffic, and I don't think there are any bargains that you won't find better deals on closer to Christmas. I really hate that the holidays have become so commercial. So, I stay home. Today I'm trying to decide if I should make the trip to Joann Fabrics because they have flannel on sale for $1.49/yard. That's what I use

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-53507198720055802112009-11-25T09:53:00.000-05:002009-11-25T09:53:14.123-05:00

That's a quote from "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House", one of my favorite movies ever. Myrna Loy plays wife to ad man Cary Grant and when they finally move into that dream house, their daughter accidentally discovers her mother's diary from college in one of the boxes. She reads it and declares it "slightly torrid." The movie is full of funny lines in the style of dry humor that I

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-1264543293976951592009-11-17T10:00:00.001-05:002009-11-17T10:02:53.125-05:00

People sometimes email me to ask about buttons—if I know who manufactured them or how old they are? I hate to disappoint but I usually can't tell, especially if the buttons are loose (i.e. not on their original cards). Carded buttons sometimes provide clues, although even they can be vague. Some don't have the manufacturer, some don't have a price. One sure identifier is when the card is labeled

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-29205120566391396512009-11-13T07:30:00.009-05:002009-11-13T07:51:32.716-05:00

...Christmas. In my studio, that is! Tissue cozies waiting for buttons. I don't usually make things especially for Christmas, or any holiday for that matter. I tried it with pillows my first year but only sold a few and was stuck with them until the following year. They didn't sell then either and I said "never again." But, this year I had a few requests from shop owners for holiday-themed

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-50459297548332949622009-11-12T09:48:00.000-05:002009-11-12T09:48:18.246-05:00

I spent a nice afternoon yesterday in West Reading. Delivered a bunch of stuff to Hello Bluebird, including eight of the fabric-covered notebooks, more pillows, wallets, and sachets. Had a nice sushi lunch at Go Fish and followed up with a yummy cup of hot chocolate at Haute Chocolate Cafe. Thanks, Alex, for the recommendations - we loved them! I'll have those notebooks up on my website soon. I

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-27316070452935896002009-11-10T09:18:00.000-05:002009-11-10T09:18:39.635-05:00

Thanks for all your kind words in comments to yesterday's post. I ended up going to bed really early Saturday night because I was so tired after the show, but I woke up to three orders, got two more on Sunday, and shipped three more packages this morning. So, I know it isn't a matter of people not liking my things. They just seem to live in places like California and Texas! The area where I live

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-68354047011316285112009-11-09T17:30:00.000-05:002009-11-09T17:30:23.678-05:00

I know you're all dying to know how it went and I have good and bad news. The good news is that my booth went together with only a minor hitch or two. The vintage folding table that I had under the window in my studio—the one that supports both of my cats who love to sleep there in the sun every morning—broke as soon as I tried to open it up. So, I hauled it home and borrowed a table from my

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-35249980549100143202009-11-05T12:36:00.000-05:002009-11-05T12:36:14.491-05:00

I've mentioned before that I'm vending at the AHEA Harvest Craft Show on Saturday, and I've been so busy getting ready. Every morning I make a new list of things to do and then check off as I go down the list. Since I haven't done this show before, there's a lot I don't know — like whether I'll be against a wall and not need risers after all. Whether I'll be able to use my flower banner or not.

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-60101901680230290182009-11-02T10:45:00.001-05:002009-11-02T10:54:21.260-05:00

Speaking of birds, I recently listed a new embroidery pattern on my website. Called Gossip Girls, it's a design taken from a vintage stamped-for-embroidery clothespin apron, and it features two hens—one in a polka dot bonnet, the other in an apron—gossiping over a fence. Such a cute design and one I hadn't seen before. Eventually I'll get to embroidering the original apron (found on Ebay) but I

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-404284043512057752009-10-29T10:32:00.000-04:002009-10-29T10:32:58.567-04:00

Wow! I always thought this was something my mother invented herself. Whenever I've mentioned to anyone in conversation that I used to eat pancakes layered with grape jelly they've looked at me like I was crazy. Now I have proof that such a thing existed and was called a jelly stack! I found this ad while going through a pile of 1960s women's magazines that I've had hanging around for a couple of

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-31093116979774925042009-10-27T08:00:00.007-04:002009-10-27T08:40:54.031-04:00

Please welcome Sharon Stark from Sharon's Antiques: Vintage Fabrics and The Rickrack Rag who’s agreed to do an interview about feedsacks. Sharon lives in southeastern Pennsylvania and has been collecting and selling feedsacks for more than 11 years. Let’s start at the beginning. How did you get started collecting and selling feedsacks? The feedsack business resulted from a number of

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-19445533641045569442009-10-23T14:30:00.004-04:002009-10-23T14:56:04.387-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. And I was doing so well lately, too. On top of getting ready for the craft show, one of the shop owners where I consign emailed and said she needed more stuff so I quickly diverted some of my show products to her. And cut out more tissue cozies and wallets to make up the difference.And I'm in the last stages of refinancing our mortgage, so fielding lots of

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-46343555588799624002009-10-19T10:00:00.001-04:002009-10-19T10:00:45.610-04:00

Congratulations to Cristin Powers for being chosen a winner of Country Living's Women Entrepreneurs Pitch Your Product event last May. More than 100 products were reviewed by a panel of magazine editors, and just eight were chosen. Cristin is owner of Green Being in Scranton, Pennsylvania (a shop where I sell some of my products on consignment) and she also makes her own products from recycled

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-48039435086028382592009-10-15T09:30:00.003-04:002009-10-15T10:00:37.172-04:00

Treasure hunting with others in tow can be fun, but you probably shouldn't go with people who are looking for the same things you are - that could get ugly. My hunting partner is often my husband and he goes with his own mental "list". I do have him trained to spot feedsacks and buttons though. If he wanders ahead, he comes back frequently to alert me about booths of interest ahead. And I keep an

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-43605197681315645112009-10-13T09:30:00.000-04:002009-10-13T09:35:27.788-04:00

We arrived at Roller Mills, a three-story antique mall in a restored 1880s flour mill, about 10:30 am to find that, contrary to what it states on their website and signage, they don't open until 11:00. We ran into a lady in the parking lot who told us this and it would have been nice to know so we could better plan our 2-hour drive. But, she told us to drive down the street to check out the flea

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-88230388166359368092009-10-12T09:40:00.001-04:002009-10-12T09:53:33.692-04:00

If it didn't feel like the summer was over before, it does now. Thirty degrees this morning and our first hard frost.Everything in the garden looked so pretty—like it was edged with white lace. So sad that it will all be dead by tonight.Even though it's a work holiday for most, and my birthday(!) I'll still be working today. I spent yesterday antiquing in Lewisburg, PA, and have some cool things

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-12638467511925938232009-10-09T11:30:00.000-04:002009-10-09T11:41:27.743-04:00

Not much happening here today. It's cool and rainy and trying to work while battling a sinus headache is proving more difficult than I thought. I can't seem to stay focused on anything for more than a few minutes (kinda cloudy in there), so I'm straightening up my studio and generally puttering around. The sewing for my upcoming craft show is going very well, so I can afford to take a break for a

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-88406446369656069432009-10-05T17:00:00.005-04:002009-10-05T17:47:58.372-04:00

Have any of you seen Timeless Treasures' new fabric collection named 'Lena'? And the pattern within named Daisies & Disks? Doesn't it look familiar? It should if you've been reading my blog over the past month. Remember that gorgeous feedsack I showed you from my trip to Kutztown a few weeks ago? This one—Well, I was over at eQuilter.com this morning checking out some of their new arrivals and

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-28283026864882003242009-10-03T10:11:00.007-04:002009-10-03T10:48:11.324-04:00

I usually make my fruit and veggie towels as custom orders, but I thought I'd make up a few for the craft show I'm doing next month (more about that later). I have a cool, old, wooden towel rack with feet that's the perfect size to sit on a tabletop. I'll hang the embroidered towels, like the one shown here, on the rungs and pile the simpler towels (the ones with fabric and rickrack) on the table

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-80968343252268130152009-09-24T14:44:00.003-04:002009-09-24T15:07:24.083-04:00

Finding nice vintage fabrics is a challenge. Finding two of the same pattern in different colorways is a miracle!Gray, green, red, black and whiteRed, yellow, blue, navy and whiteAnd, no, I didn't find them together. One was an Ebay purchase and I can't remember where I found the other. I thought at first it might be feedsack but the fabric is much too light in weight—definitely not sturdy enough

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-91760159076688156072009-09-22T12:44:00.003-04:002009-09-22T13:00:56.196-04:00

I believe autumn (which I think sounds much better than "fall") officially starts around 5 pm today. I'm posting my greetings slightly early today because I've decided to have a special autumn sale for my blog readers. From now until Friday, take 20% off your order on my website by entering discount code "AUTUMN" when you check out. Treat yourself to something you've had your eye on, do some

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-61066479967065487782009-09-21T09:39:00.007-04:002009-09-21T12:02:07.588-04:00

Can anyone help me out with identifying this plant?I found lots of them growing on the edges of my yard. The plant is a single very thin vine with corkscrew tendrils that wrap around anything near it—trees, blackberry bushes, tall weeds. And the seed pods look like something from a science fiction movie. They're quite heavy for the size of the plant's stem and hang straight down. And they look

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11991763.post-15963336841055451772009-09-18T10:00:00.002-04:002009-09-19T08:04:57.004-04:00

This is the last of my finds from last weekend's trip to Kutztown.The seller who I bought this from had two and the first was traditional chicken scratch made into a pillow top (another idea for using this style of embroidery) with a ruffled edge. Nice but nothing you hadn't seen before. The one I bought had that little something extra. More like a lot extra!The small crosses have a twisted

janethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13373382919479493215janet@primrosedesign.com13