A Visit to the Albright-Knox Museum

On Friday, last, my comares, ***  and I had another GIRLZ DAY event. We got up early, got all gussied up, tuned in the GPS and trekked from Rochester to Buffalo, NY. A trip of about 80 miles.

We had a beautiful, sunny day to travel. Our admission tickets were purchased beforehand. The venue was the Albright-Knox Art Gallery 

rear of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery building-parking lot entrance


Our reason for visiting the museum was that there was a "Monet and the Impressionists Revolution 1860-1910" exhibit showing. It was a rare opportunity to see these great works so close to home. We made a day of it. We arrived about noon and dallied in the museum gift shop before our scheduled 1 PM visit to the exhibit. Museum gift shops are one of my favorite places to shop. Purchased myself a reusable silk, fold up inside a small pouch, shopping bag for my trip to Sicily. Then, after viewing the spectacular art work, we had lunch in the Gallery Cafe' . A very relaxed, and charming meal of soup and quiche with iced tea for me, then a shared molten chocolate lava cake for dessert.

The art patrons were permitted to take photos of all the paintings except the Monet' paintings. I took a few shots of the other impressionists that I favor particularly. I'm not certain that I will remember exactly whose work is who's.

This is one of Degas' little ballerinas

Renoir

Gustave Caillebotte

can't remember - sorry

There were many more, including some of the work of Toulouse Lautrec, Manet, Gauguin, VanGough, Matisse, Seurat, etc. Not to mention the museum's regular collections which were also spectacular. This museum is definitely worth a trip. To do it justice, a weekend visit would be a good thing.

In the guarded Monet exhibit, where no photos were permitted, the evolution of his style development throughout his career was so interesting to see how he followed the light and did canvas after canvas of the same subject in varying light and seasons. It is said that he particularly liked to paint in winter because he so appreciated the light that the effect of snow gave to a scene. It was a very memorable day and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity.

these are my comares Patty and Joanie

*** "comare" is Italian for godmother or sponsor. Often in Italian culture, very close friends are also called comare . In all the different and varied Italian dialects, the word morfs to goo-mah'-dee because the "r" is rolled. or goo-mah. Funny, huh?


I love GIRLZ DAYS. They are very special to me.


 

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

I knitted this cute little Easter Bunny just for the heck of it. Not to sell or even give away. Mainly just to see what it would look like. I really just love him. I knitted him from a soft, fuzzy yarn. He's filled with fiber fill.

Any little leftover ball of fuzzy, bunny colored yarn will do. You don't need much. And you can whip him up in an evening or two.

This is basically a "wing it" type of project. I bumped into him on Pinterest. The instructions are in Chinese. Even though I hit the "translate" button, I did not receive specific instructions. So, I "winged it".

I knitted up a square approximately 6 1/2", all in garter stitch (knit every row). Then looked at the Pinterest pictures and did the stitching. Filled him up with kisses, hugs and fiber fill. Made him a little cottontail. And, voila!  Easter Bunny ♥

Here's the Pinterest link:  Easter Bunny

Happy knitting.  Show me your Easter Bunny pictures

And Now For Something Completely Different

Maybe not so extremely different. Still a "RE-MAKE", still using vintage with a modern touch, still love the two together, still like them to "marry" each other (old and new).

These are new additions to my etsy shop. I'm employing vintage kitchen tinware (like candy molds and spice containers) with the new rage, succulents. They look so sassy. Like the little piece of tin is saying "you thought I was "passé", now have a peek my New Look.

succulent "planted" in a heart shaped candy mold

vintage allspice tin "planted" with faux succulent

Jell-O mold with faux succulent

Yellow Colman's Mustard tin wearing faux succulent

These are special succulents. They never need watering or to sit in the sunshine. They are "faux". They bloom anywhere. On your desk at work, or your powder room vanity, on your kitchen counter, on a bookcase. If you're one of the blessed ones who has a "planning desk" for menu planning and shopping lists, right in your kitchen, how fetching one of these would look, smiling up at you.

Now, the hunting safari, to find the tinware.

Grapevine Tabletop Christmas Tree

My tabletop grapevine tree


I made my tabletop grapevine Christmas tree many, many years ago. I store it, completely decorated, in a closet until it's time for it to come out again and make my house all Christmassy once more. It has very minimal decorations. Just a string of white mini lights and a garland of pink berries. It's armature is a tomato cage. I display it on a sofa table that I cover with crushed up vintage doilies which (in my mind) resemble a snowy forest floor.

I usually harvest grapevines in the early Fall while they're soft and supple and easy to wrap round and round the armature. That did not happen this year.

My brother and sister-in-law came for a weekend visit on the weekend before Thanksgiving. They wanted a grapevine Christmas tree for their house, too. We, all three, dressed up warmly and went into the woods to harvest grapevines, which were by this time, a bit dried out and resistant to being wrapped around an armature. But, with much struggle, bleeding fingers and cold noses, we got the job done.

We brought the gardening shears into the woods with us, harvested a whole trunk load of grapevines, set up shop in my garage and began to assemble the tree.

Work in progress

 

Voila!!! Success

 

My sister-in-law had already purchased sparkely garland for her tree the day before when we made a foray over to Hobby Lobby. They do not have a Hobby Lobby in their neck of the woods so it's always one of the places they like to visit when they come for a weekend visit to the "big sister's" house.

 

 

This is the new grapevine tree - now living in the mountains of Pennsylvania in the log house of F&B

It is sitting upon an antique hall tree hat rack in their foyer. All gussied up with sparkles.


EPILOGUE
Both my sister-in-law and myself contracted poison ivy in the woods and had to be on a 10 day regimen of prednisone for the rash. My advice to you is: be perfectly sure that all the grapevines you harvest are grapevines and not some other plant.

Christmas Tree Festival

As promised in my last post, which was a visit to Christkindl at Granger Homestead in Canandaigua, NY, part two of that illustrious day was the Christmas Tree Festival. This takes place inside the Granger Mansion and is an annual event. Insight I gathered from my research is: that this a holiday decorating contest. The entries are judged. Honors given. Entries may include artificial trees (only) from 2.5 feet to 7 feet, mantle decorations, tabletop decorations, and wreathes. The entries are auctioned off or sold outright.

Every room in the entire first floor of the mansion is decorated with contest entries.  It's opulent. If you don't walk out of there in the mood for Christmas, you may be suffering from grinchitis.

Granger Homestead - Canandaigua, NY

 

 

decorated with handknit elf clothing

 

tree of books - tabletop tree 3rd place prizewinner

created by Ontario County Literacy Volunteers

 

mantelpiece décor

 

 mantelpiece décor - 2nd prize winner for mantelpiece dec

 

you know who from Whoville

 

 

Impressive snowman wreath - DIY-ers take note

He won 3rd prize - created by Girl Scout Troop 

 

 

And finally, on my way home, I had to get out of the car on one of the blocked off streets near the Granger Homestead, to take a picture of this house. I was so impressed with it's symmetry, it's color combination, it's age, it's charm. I would move right in. All in all, a totally lovely Fall outing.

 

 

I Went To A Christkindl

This a  local annual event which I've known about for a very long time but have never attended. I made up my mind that I would attend this year. I didn't really know what a Christkindl was, except that it was of European origin. That entranced me.  History of Christkindl

The weather was cold that day. 40 degrees F (5 C) brrrrrrr. It was also a bit windy. As usual I wore sandals, no socks. Big mistake.

When I arrived at the Christkindl, it looked like the entire town was parked up and down the Main Street. There were traffic directors who informed me that I could park at the local school and take a shuttle bus which would deposit me at the venue entrance. I took their advice. It was that or parking on a side street (where all spots were occupied) and walking a distance in the cold wind, with sandals on my feet, to the venue.

This event was held in a small historic town situated on one of the finger lakes and about 20 miles from my house. The exact location was on the grounds of the Granger Homestead (circa 1816) in Canandaigua, NY. The Granger Homestead is currently a house and carriage museum. Each Yuletide they stage a Christmas Tree Festival in the house and the Christkindl on the grounds. There were actually two events taking place on the same site simultaneously. Today, I'll tell you about Christkindl and in the next blog post, I'll tell you all about the Christmas Tree Festival. 

I didn't know that Christkindl was an outdoor event!!! If I did know that, I probably wouldn't have gone or I would have dressed more appropriately. As it turns out, on my way home, I stopped at DSW and purchased a pair of warm boots !!!

The Granger Homestead is situated on 12 acres of land. The house itself sits far back from the road. The lawns are vast and it was there that a series of interconnecting tents were set up. The Christkindl took place inside the tents. It was warm-ish inside. I could feel heat blowing in. There were approximately 150 vendor booths. The atmosphere was festive, filled with music and happy people.
It was a 3 day craft show. I was there on day 2.

Being a crafter myself and having experience participating in shows, I would not do a show like this. #1 - too cold, #2- too damp #3 too messy (even though in a tent, you still walked on damp grass and set up shop on grass), #4 too many days (for me). However, I loved being a shopper. I could come and go as I liked, I didn't have to lug a stage set to create my shop, into a tent and I didn't have to stay there 3 days and hope people would like what I made. I will definitely go again and dress appropriately when I do. Would you like to come with me next time?

This is what I saw upon entering the grounds of the Granger Homestead..............

wall to wall people

I loved this booth - her esthetic and mine are similar - she creates new jewelry from old

My Esthetic - Old Lace

I love old lace. I think it is so romantic. My love affaire started many years ago when I was furnishing my first home. I wanted to set an elegant table with real linen napkins. I didn't want plain damask napkins. I wanted linen napkins edged in handmade crocheted lace. I found these at estate sales. Now I have a linen cupboard full of them. Also lace table cloths. My paternal grandmother made me a whole set for a wedding present which includes not only the tablecloth but many various, smaller sizes. All in the same pattern. To cover dressers, chests, lamp tables, etc.

Grandmom's wedding gift

I've discovered that this heirloom lace is very, very sturdy. Far outliving the linen it is sewn onto. Our Victorian ancestors, followed by the new immigrants to this country, then the WWII wives would all remove the lace from the hems of  their worn out sheets, pillow cases, towels, napkins, etc. They would save it to apply to new linens or just stash it in a box for me to discover many years later in someone's attic when I go digging at estate sales. No plain, unembellished linens for them. Everything that could be trimmed in lace - was.

Of course, those frugal housewives would not toss the worn out linen when only the middle of sheets wore out, they'd use the edges to make pillow cases, or small nightgowns, or hand towels and finally they were transformed to dustrags and window washers, even diapers.

Miraculously, the removed lace doesn't show any signs of wear. Amazingly, most of it was crocheted by young girls, learning the art, who crocheted yards and yards of it, in strips to be used for edging. They became expert at it, making many embellished linens to fill their own hope chests to bring with them when they left their childhood homes at their own marriage.............bringing all that beautifully embellished linen with them.

freshly laundered estate sale find

In my etsy shop sammysgrammy there are many items I've created re-using vintage lace. I make wedding garters, wedding purses, wedding banners and bunting, all from repurposed vintage lace. I make non-wedding items from the lace as well. It seems to have grabbed  a hold of my heart.

wedding garter

bride's clutch

vintage doily garland

The collection of lace doily filled embroidery hoops on my dining room wall is my most recent foray in vintage lace land.

doilies in hoops

Christmas table top tree in my shop

               Do you have a compelling diversion that keeps you on the "hunt" for more and more?