Precious Hand Made Things in Our Home

Welcome to our cozy home where many things are handmade and are precious to us.

This is a wall hanging I wove on my loom entitled Rhythms of the Sea. It is quite large, and it’s one of my favorites. I used white and teal braids on with many different types of weaving, such as Leno, fringing, wrapping, looping, and the end fringe is not in a straight line. That was something new with which I was experimenting.

The stained glass window was made by our friend, Robert Ayers (there are actually two identical windows). They were made for me in return for a woven wall hanging and a woven pillow cover, which I wove on my floor loom, many years ago. When we built this house, Bob made them bigger for us. I think I got the better end of that deal!

I do love the blue glass Costa Bada bowl on a table my husband designed and made out of light maple.

This jewelry box, made of Butternut and Curly Maple, was designed and made by husband. He sold jewelry boxes and charcuterie boards in a nearby high end gift shop. I also sold my wall hangings in the same shop.

This corner cabinet is my favorite piece that my husband designed and made. It is a unusual design with wooden hinges, out of oak to match the dining room table and chairs which he made at an adult wood working class at the high school where he taught. The cabinet doors have an asymmetrical design and glass window pains are inset made of bubble glass and a a blue glass deign running through it, reminiscent of tree branches, which I designed, and our friend Joseph Quesada made for us.

My husband made everything in our house that is wood, including the mantle and wood framing the brick wall behind our stove, the frames around the stained glass windows that open and have lights behind them, the ceiling trim, trim around the windows and doors, inside doors, wooden outside door, and all of the end tables and coffee tables in the room. The first thing he made was our sofa, in which I covered bolsters for the cushions. The second thing he made was a dining room table and then the chairs. He is certainly very talented.

I always have some part of my Angel collection on the mantle over the brick area behind our wood stove. Also there is a Lladro’ doll in a blue dress that I inherited from Tim’s cousin on top of the mantle left of center. And Tim’s mother bought us the pale pink vase with the darker pink roses on it. It is so beautiful and it is a lovely reminder of her kindness. The turquoise hobnail vase and bowl were given to me by my nieces Dawyn, in memory of her mother, my dear sister Nancy who passed away about 3 years ago. The English lady in a full period long dress reminds me of my counseling supervisor who passed away over a year ago. She had a collection of porcelain English ladies on a high shelf min her house. Until just this moment, I didn’t realize that many of my selections for the mantle were in honor of someone I loved or cared for very much who has passed away. I thought I was picking everything for color. Amazing. The Angel second to left is from Lewes DE where my sister Patrice lives. The Angel to the right of that one is my favorite Angel of all. It is dressed in long warm winter robes, standing in snow holding up a Cardinal in its right hand and a doe is standing near the Angel, who appears to be either male or female.

The cat collection is ,of course, mine which I have been accruing for many years!

The print below is of Lynmouth, County Devon, UK which we love! We’ve been to England four times, at least two weeks each, and we have always gone to Lynton and Lynmouth! They are right on the Bay of Cardith across from Wales. Lynton is a Victorian town on the top of a rounded hill, and Lynton is a fisherman type village at the bottom of the hill. There is a zigzag path from the North Walk off of the coastline path down to Lynmouth. Make sure your knees are in good shape to walk down! There is also a cliff railway from Lynton to Lynmouth that closes by 7:00 pm every night.

There is a photo of me tucked inside the frame that Tim made. I am standing in the exact place this print shows with the path coming down from Lynton lined with thatched roof houses with roses growing on the front of them, and houses lining the harbor. Those houses are so beautiful! I remember feeling so sad when this picture was taken, as this was our 4th and last day here and I didn’t want to leave. I thought I would be leaving part of me behind in this beautiful little paradise next to the sea.