Brooklyn Wrap Up

 

I didn't take many photos of the things we accomplished, but here are the baskets that Grandpa put together...


 

Here is the woodland lamp that matched the print on the rocker...quite accidently...
and a rabbit from the shower decorations and a duck my friend Marci made for Kristen the year she was born...


 

Kristen's collection of vintage milk bottles and other cool old stuff.  The view from her kitchen is about to change as they tear down that building and put up a seven story giant.


 

The guys taking a much deserved rest...
I made Kristen the quilt on the wall several years ago. 

 

and my dear daughter... taking the rocker for a test drive!  (you can see the new coffee table in the backround)  Thanks for coming along on our little trip.  Have a great weekend my friends.  Enjoy this beautiful day!

A Little Brooklyn Shopping...

 

There were "vintage stores" and yarn stores in the neighborhood.  I bought 3 buttons for $6. 


 

This tree was made completely from knitted items.

Kristen comes home to Chicago to get yarn, it's pretty pricey in NY,
 but they seemed to know her in this shop!

 

Sure looked cool!

Speaking of cool, I saw a dog!  A Great Pyrenees, at of all places IKEA!  The weirdest location of any IKEA, until they put one on the moon! This Ikea has it's own dock and is right on the waterfront.  There are giant cranes right in front of the store.  Doug told us that all of their stuff is delivered by boat or barge.   I'll show you what I bought later.  Shopping is no occasion for photography, at least here.  Things do move  faster in NY, and the yellow ones really don't stop.  (All I know about NY is from the movie Elf
and from Kristen;-)

We all went to a great grocery store, again,  near a dock, by the harbor. It is called Fairway.  I could have easily spent another hour just looking at all the stuff.  Nothing is big and open like our grocery stores.  They all have funny gigs and jags, narrow aisles, impatient shoppers.  The harbor is where Lady Liberty stands, and is easily visible from the dock.  I loved seeing her in person,
though I should have sung my patriotic medley...maybe next time.
My hubby is in so much trouble for always making a crazy face in my photos.  Kristen looks great and Doug, well he's been in NY about ten years, he wants to shop!

Boy, we look like Grandma and Grandpa don't we!

 This is what I bought at Ikea. The bird tray for my sweet SIL Elizabeth, you can't find them at our Ikea.  A few matching bird napkins, a liberty of london type print tablecloth, a rose print runner, and a wind up clock that also never seems to be in stock here.

Since we had another 13 hour drive home the next day, I didn't buy groceries, but cool waxed lunch bags and paper sandwich bags and kraft type muffin liners.  I also found vanilla beans for under 3 dollars.

It just might be the world's greatest food store.

At Ikea the kids found a new coffee table that Doug later built, and we found a great rocking chair for Kris with a woodland themed chair pad that Grandpa built...that will take us to tomorrow's final post of our Brooklyn whirlwind trip.  Have a great day my friends. 

Our Visit to Brooklyn

We were on a mission, to deliver all the baby things to Kristen and Doug in Brooklyn, NY.  It is a long way from our home in the Chicago burbs to Brooklyn, and though I am a city girl, nothing prepares you for NY.
The last hour of our 13 hour drive took years off of our lives.  I have never seen my hubby so nervous driving.  The twists and turns, bridges and tunnels...the strangest right turns I've ever seen, all added up to a thrill ride that after all those hours of driving, we were not prepared for.  When our daughter Kristen met us on her street, I laughed so hard...with relief and at seeing our baby so PREGNANT!  I kissed her about a hundred times...

They live UP UP UP so many stairs! My honey with a bad hip, Doug with a bad back and me, the picture of health,(LOL) carried all the stuff upstairs.  We worked on all kinds of projects to help welcome this baby home, when the time comes.  We emptied a big bookcase, moved it and refilled it with books that seemed to multiply in the short time it took to move it.  Grandpa built a stand for some baskets for all the baby's clothes, blankets, socks and onsies  We cleaned,  and ate NY bagels, took a break to walk around the neighborhood, and had two kinds of NY pizza for dinner.

 This is where Doug's DooWop group sings songs on summer evenings...;-)...only joking. 

 A cool library...

 Churches that are now apartments!

The bakery that was in the movie Moonstruck... Remember when Ronnie Cammareri says, "Chrissy, over on the wall, bring me the big knife.  I want to cut my throat..." 

 It was in the basement of this building.  I thought it was cool to see it, I love that movie.

 Looks like a movie set, these rows of beautiful old homes. 

 I just loved this shrine in memory of someone named Tuddy Balsamo...

 It was in front of a home on a busy street corner.  Someone really loved Tuddy.

 I stopped Kristen so many times to take another photo of something cool.

 Like this chalk flower drawn on the sidewalk.

And this chalk memorial, in front of the home of Clothilde Terrnova who lived there in 1911.  She was just 22 when she died in the horrible Triangle Shirtwaist Fire in NY.  One hundred and forty six immigrant women died that day.  When the fire broke out,  many of the workers could not escape the burning building because the doors had been locked by the managers.  The fire brought about changes requiring factory safety, and helped make conditions better for sweatshop workers.  It  moved me to think that she is still remembered  101 years later.

Since we just had a couple of days, and so many things that needed to be done, we didn't do much exploring.  On Sunday we went out shopping for a coffee table and a rocker, and to a grocery store I need to explore on another visit.  I also finally got to see Lady Liberty and waved to her just like Yentl did from the ship.  Well, we don't get to see Yentl wave, but I bet she did!!!

More about our Sunday outing next time.  I saw this wall and thought...Wrigley Field!!  Yes, I was homesick.   There's no place like home!  (Three movie references in one post, a new record!)
Enjoy this beautiful day my friends.

Burlap Flowers, Old School

I was recently searching on the web and stumbled on this oh so cool burlap flower.  It is OLD SCHOOL because it came from Aleene, the glue lady, and was originally published in the sixties.  There is a YouTube video here. This is how I made mine...  I cut washed burlap, about a foot long by about 4 inches wide.
(I had the washed burlap, but unwashed burlap would work as well.)
 

 

Run a bead of glue, (I did use Aleene's) along the length of the burlap close to the edges on both sides and let dry completely.  In the video they show you to work the glue into the fibers with a piece of cardboard, and this worked great.

 

Start taking out the parallel threads one at a time until all the threads are removed.


 

Run a bead of glue along the edge and fold the opposite edge to it.


 

Making this shape.  Let dry.

 I used buttons for the center of my flowers, and attached them to floral wire and then twisted the wire to secure the button.

 Like so...

 Then starting with a small dab of glue start rolling the burlap onto the wire right under the button.

 It starts to take shape right away.  I used regular glue, you could use hot glue for this step.

 Turning and gluing while you go.

Isn't it pretty?  I did mine with my 3 year old little bird "helping out."  I added glue to the bottom of the button, and pulled the wire down tight.

I have to find more cool old buttons for the centers.  On the video they finished the flowers off with floral tape.  I just twisted the wire round the back of the flower since I will use my flowers as decorations on pillows or bags.  Of all the burlap flowers I've seen on the web, this is the first time I've seen something completely new...but really completely old!  You should make these!!!  Everyone has burlap...think of all the colors and combinations...using the glimmer sprays, or walnut ink...fancy brooches in the center...
Hope you enjoy these, and send me a photo if you make some, I'd love to see what you make!  Have a great day my friends.