Welcome to Friendship Crossing!

Where strangers cross paths to become friends, sharing their love of PRIMITIVE/SEASONAL decorating, CROSS STITCH/ WOOL/SEWING/QUILTING/CRAFTING, recipes and home life.

**I have an Etsy shop filled w/the newest PATTERNS/SUPPLIES/KITS that are mostly PRIMITIVE, SEASONAL or WHIMSICAL in style. To take a peek, just click the button below on the sidebar .

***I LOVE reading your comments and thanks to all who take the time to write them. If you ever need to contact me, the best way is to just leave a comment on the most recent post and it will go directly to my email inbox first, w/out being published.

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you enjoy your visit!!

Tanya (pronounced like the color TAN) : ))


Monday, May 31, 2010

Americana Living Room Tour ~ Part Four

Happy Memorial Day everyone! Hope you're enjoying your holiday weekend! We've had some extremely HOT weather and a huge storm blew through our area last night, but otherwise we've enjoyed it so far.
Many, many thanks to all those who served and/or are serving our country for the precious gift of our freedom! Thank God for all of them!
I want to thank my Dad and my brother for serving in the Armed Forces. My Dad who is almost 90, served in not one, not two, but THREE wars for our wonderful country, a total of 24 yrs. in the service. My brother was in the Coast Guard for over 5 yrs. So just wanted to say a special thanks to them!!!


Now onto the rest of the living room tour. Here is the newest quilt I've aquired. My MIL made the quilt TOP a few yrs. ago and gave it to me for Christmas that yr. She had given me the backing and the batting to go with it, but I never did anything with it until recently. I always had plans to hand-tie it myself, since she no longer hand quilts, but finally decided to have it machine quilted w/a star design.

Click on for a closer view of the star design. Click on any pic for a larger view.

Here's how it looks draped on the loveseat. Please excuse the workboot in the background and the spot on the hallway wall. We haven't finished the repainting the hallway yet. LOL


Here's how the furniture is placed like an L shape. The room off to the right (in the background) w/the dining room chair showing is the kitchen.
This view is exactly opposite of the big couch. You've already seen pics of the rocking chair from an earlier tour, but here is where it sits in front of the big picture window, which is 8 ft. long. I got the curtains from JC Penney and the shears were from Wally World. I wanted to do a little different window treatment in this room this time around. We used to have just a valance up above, then Americana shutters that sat on the window sill all the way across, but it didn't give us much privacy.



Here's a tall prim chair that I found at a craft shop up in Ohio. It seems to fit perfectly on the other side of the sofa table to give some balance. The pillow is a stitchery I made from a Buttermilk Basin pattern. I grubbied it up w/cinnamon.

Here's a close-up of the cross stitch picture that sits below the prim chair. I think it's a Blackbird Design pattern from several yrs. ago, but I left the border off. I painted the frame to match and framed it myself. It is stitched on Vintage linen using overdyed floss, my fave, tee hee.

Here's a closer view of the sofa table with the penny rug I made a few yrs. ago out of wool and wool felt. I actually first made it to fit on a smaller prim bench that I used for a coffee table before we re-did this room recently.

I actually changed the pattern just a little bit from a Backyard Friends pattern.

I cross stitched this from a Glory Bee pattern on vintage overdyed fabric, then had it framed last summer.
Oops! Sorry about that crazy cord. I need to hide it better! LOLI added a few resin sheep around the penny rug for a little fun. Hey, they needed somewhere to graze! LOL

I love using overdyed wool. Gives a more mottled, realistic look.And of course I had to have a flag somewhere on it!
I mostly used a buttonhole stitch on all of it, but a chain stitch on the flagpole.

Well, I think that's everything in my living room that I can think of!. Phew! I hope you've enjoyed the tour. I've sure enjoyed showing it to you!
Many of you left the sweetest comments about this room and I sure appreciate each and every word! You are a great bunch of blogging buddies! Be sure to stop by anytime just to say hi. Wish we could all get together in person, but this is the next best thing. Thanks so much for your visit and please come back again soon!
In a future post I will show you my front porch, which is also decorated in an Americana theme as we get ready for summer. Still lots more to come!
Don't forget if you haven't signed up for my Americana Give~away, you still have until this Wed. night, June 2nd at 10pm. Eastern time. Just scroll down to the previous post before this one and sign up.
Have a great week everyone!
Tanya

Monday, May 24, 2010

Americana Living Room Tour - Part Three and My First Give~Away

Hi everybody! The first half of this post will give details all about the give~away. The second half will continue w/the Americana Living Room tour. I hope nobody minds that I'm combining the two together. Hope it's not too confusing. If you are NOT interested in the give~away, then just scroll down to the other part, which includes Marty's Table Top Tues. (I'm new at this, so please bare w/me).

First off I want to show what all will be given away. Here's a group pic. Keep scrolling to see each item up close. I tried to include items for everyone.
I will explain what each item is separately, then I will explain the rules, so here goes:
This is a Warren Kimble folk artist box that contains smaller boxes inside.

Here's what they look like 'out of the box'. Each one fits inside the next size bigger.

The tops are decorated too.
A towel I made using real wool and overdyed wool, all hand-stitched.

A Pine Mountain pillow kit I just finished cross stitching the other day. The fabric is really a bit darker IRL.


Sorry this next pic is a bit blurry, but these are tiny rusty stars w/hooks.

They come in a little box and there are several of them.

A cute little notepad that says, God Bless Ewe. It has a magnetic strip on the back.
75 cupcake liners.

One yard of ribbon. It's actually a little more deeper burgandy than what shows here.

A little wooden heart w/rusty wire hanger.

A little lamp shade that fits on electric candle lamps.
A stitchery pillow I made.

Close up view.
That is everything shown here, but I plan to add a 'mystery' piece to the box as well. It will be something hand-made. So there you have it folks. Good in the USA, UK, and Canada only please. You have until Wed. June 2nd at 10pm. EST.
Here's how you can enter the give~away. There are 5 ways to enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post. You do not have to have a blog to participate, but make sure I have your email addie.
2. Post about the give~away on your blog, just state that in your comment.
3. You must be a follower of my blog, if not, it's very easy to do, so please hop aboard.
4. & 5. You will get 2 extra entries if I'm on your sidebar list of favorite blogs to visit. If I'm already listed ~ OR if you would like to add me, please just state so in your comment. I will be checking.
That's all there is to it. The winner will be notified right away and I will post about it on my blog as well. I will try my best to get ahold of you, but please make sure I have a way of notifying you! If not, I will have to pick another winner.

Now onto the third tour of my Americana living room. If you missed the other two tours, just scroll down to the recent posts.
This cabinet once belonged to my grandmother. We think she got it back in the 1930's or 40's. It was passed down to my mother and she had it refinished yrs. ago. Now I am so pleased to have such a wonderful treasure. One of the few things I have from my side of the family.
This stands along the short wall to your left as you enter the front door. A close up view of what's inside.

One of my favorite Bible verses. I love ones w/a promise attached! How 'bout you??

Now I'll give you a better view of all 4 shelves. I have a set of Warren Kimble dishes, which make a nice 'background' display.
One of my very favorite Americana cr. stitched pieces. It came as a kit. I love the way he looks so chubby, LOL.

This is the second shelf from the top. Some star candles used as bowl fillers and a few flicker lights inside the paper mache candle holders, along w/a few resin figurines.

Third shelf down. Can you tell I like to cross stitch??

Friendships are sewn one stitch at a time. How true!

And the bottom shelf display. Another bear? How'd he sneak in there?? :))
Oops! there's another one in the other corner. tee hee!

This stitchery is hanging on the knob to the glass door.
That's the end of this tour, but please stop back again soon as I will finish the Americana Living Room tour next time I post. Yes, people, I still have a little more to show you! LOL
You won't want to miss my newest quilt or the pennyrug that sits on my sofa table.
Thanks to all who endured this LONG post, and to Marty for letting me join in the fun over at her blog for Table Top Tues.
Don't forget to leave a comment if you want to enter the give~away. Thanks to all those who stopped by! Have a great week everyone!
Tanya