Is It Spring Yet?

.....well, it's back to school for us. We had a schedule-free week at home... cleaned up the yard, cut back branches, and my son even planted flower seeds in hopes of warmer weather, (hopefully those decide to come up despite the cold!). Most of the week was cold and rainy, and one day we had a light dusting of snow. So....it was a great week to paint. (Somehow the cleaning of the garage never got done....just too cold...at least that was the excuse!).

Some of my week was spent trying something new! In the past, I've painted some large portraits for commission work....but, I've never offered one for sale. This new one is painted on a board, not canvas and measures 20 by 24 without the frame. I have a black distressed frame for her. She will be offered on TEA (The Eclectic Artisan's) Webshow on April 7th. Here is a little peek.....

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On April 1st TDIPT Mercantile will be updated, so please be sure to visit.
Here are my offerings for the 1st..... a miniature portrait and a couple in silhouette.I'm off to see what everyone has been up to all week....I missed blogging!

(Edited: "The Mourning Dove" miniature oval painting measures 5 1/4 by 6 1/2, and is in a black frame with a gold painted rim.).

*Spring Break Week*

Woo-hoo! We are having our Spring Break this week!! And we're half-way through already....... How does that happen?

I've been tagged by Sharon of Mustard Seed Originals to tell how my business name came about. There really wasn't a rhyme or reason for the name, "Pear Tree Primitives"...wish I could say that we had a beautiful pear tree growing off the North side of our 1880's farm house. And every time we sat out on our wrap-around porch and drank our lemonade we admired that pear tree.
Of course ALL of that would be a Big Fib! But, a nice Dream!

My husband came up with it one day, thought it had a nice ring to it, and I agreed! He also came up with my faux biz name, "Fancy Paints", when I was working in homes and painting walls.

As for my "sub" name, "Painter of the Past"... that doesn't have a story behind it either. I was just trying to come up with a blog name and thought of that one on my own!

Ok, now I'm suppose to tag a few more people to tell how they came up with their business names:


Sarah~ The Paisley Studio

Cathy~ Hazelruthe's

Kathy~ Kattz*Cottage

Off to finish some paintings.....one for The Eclectic Artisan's Webshow on April 7th!! (see my sidebar for a link.)

~Have a Happy and Blessed Easter~

~May you and your family have a Blessed Easter~

Thoughts and Thank Yous

Miss Lorraine of PieCake Primitives tagged me for a six-word memoir this week, and it was one I had to think about!

Here's mine:

~Life's Unexpected Challenges Bring Unexpected Gifts~

Both of my boys have Autism and are on the higher end of the Autism spectrum.

I don't believe I've written about this since I started blogging last April...... April being Autism Awareness Month, (and yes, I'm VERY aware of autism, Lol!), and April is also my one year blogaversary, I'll have to have some sort of give away, Hmmmmmmm?

Anyway, back to the tag.... My six-word meme describes our family. What some may label as "challenges", (and on those "not- so- great- days", I describe them as "frustrations"!), these are really gifts that are unique to my boys.
And, as an added bonus, life in our home is never boring! Case and point....my younger son was playing around with my camera (without my knowledge) and when I downloaded my photos, I found his decorated toe....Really glad that was the only body part I found!
(enlarge to see the smiley face!)

Here are the instructions for the Memoir:

Post six words that sum up your life.
Ernest Hemingway was bet $10.00 that he couldn't sum up his life in six words. He won that bet when he wrote, "For sale, baby shoes, never worn."

The Rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible, so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. Remember to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!


If these ladies would like to play, I'm tagging:

Lana~~Honeysuckle Lane's Simple Joys~

Patty~Tails from the Dogpatch

Cookie~ Curds-and-Whey

Doreen~Vermont Harvest Primitives

Tink~ The Blackberry Briar

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And I'd like to thank Cookie and Nina Mason for giving me the "You Make My Day" Award. Cookie~Curds and Whey is a sweetheart and has a fun blog. Nina~Nina Mason Dolls is a new blogging friend and makes gorgeous dolls. Thank you both, what an honor!

I will pass it along next week during our Spring Break!! And speaking of Spring....

Happy Spring!

~Irish Blessings to You~

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
May the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.

(Traditional Irish Blessing)

My Mom had this blessing hanging in our home when I was growing up. And being a "wee bit" Irish, (well...a few generations back, both of my parent's grandfathers came over to America ....or so the story goes), we usually make a boiled dinner of corn beef, cabbage and potatoes to celebrate the day. Do you have any Irish celebrations/traditions?

Announcements and other Ramblings

It's been another one of those weeks! Thanks to everyone who stopped by...I'm on my way to catch up on my blogging and see what everyone has been up to!

This week I joined an online market called Primitive Peddlers. It is a new website that was just started by Cathy Jackson of Hazelruthe's , who is not only a sweet person, but a computer whiz! She has put together a great directory of artisans who sell online....so it's like one stop shopping!

Here is a link to the page she set up for me under "Early American":
Me on Primitive Peddlers

And here is a link to the sites home page:

Primitive Peddlers

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Saturday, March 15th, The Primitive Gathering will be updated. I've painted a few more Hares in the ancestral lineage. Grandpa Hare and Penelope are the latest painted bunny portraits.
I've also painted a few more silhouettes. A husband and wife on oval plaques and a little girl holding up her dolly. She is at the top left of the blog.

I'm also trying to paint like a crazy person and update My Etsy Shop so please check back soon. I have a few boards base coated, and I'll paint a collection of birds on them for Spring.

......and speaking of Spring, here is an update on those "Pear Sticks"!! They are blooming!! I'm so happy I didn't have report on their demise...they are actually surviving in my house!
(we've had some rainy days, so it was a little dark when I took the photo, and I used a flash)

Swaps and Such

Hope your weekend was a good one. We had rain, which was actually refreshing, but I'm so ready to get outside and clean up the yard after the winter's snows. I'm sure I won't be saying that after a few hot days in summer!

One of the selling groups that I'm in, TDIPT, had a group Spring Basket Swap and I joined in the fun. (and its not too late to sign up for TDIPT's Birthday give away!....just follow the link above.)

It is such a treat to not only see what your swap partner sends to you, but its a lot of fun making and putting together the swap for your partner....and a little nerve wracking!! What will I make for her? Will she like it? Am I making enough? Where is that list she filled out with all her favorite things? (yes, I lost her list part way through the swap!).

But Patty was such a sweet swap partner and was very patient with me! And she spoiled my with all of the gifts she sent....here are some photos of all of the goodies! Please click the photos to enlarge .Thanks so much Patty! I love it all!!

"Passed"...and Current Art Form of the Day

I was tagged a few weeks ago to tell 5 weird things about myself, and haven't done that yet.... (still can't believe she thinks I'd have 5 weird things to tell!)
But as I was thinking about writing this post, one weird thing did occur to me! I like to stare at textile patterns. Coverlets, quilts, dishtowels, fabric of any kind. Hmmm, she IS weird you say?!
Let me explain....Studying these patterns on fabric is like working a puzzle in my head, I look at the pattern and see how I can take it apart or cut it up (not literally) into a stencil.

I've made a few stencils this way...plaids are easy, just straight lines that overlap. But, circles are a little trickier. The coverlet pattern of the Lover's Knot is one example. I've created "my interpretation" of that design with a 4-overlay stencil. The result is seen in my banner up at the top of the page. And I've made a 3-overlay stencil design using the Overshot Weave coverlet pattern. (The top photo shows that design). And once....when I had more time to experiment with patterns, I made a floorcloth quilt:

I have a whole file of coverlets to stare at! And someday, when I'm rich!, I'd love to own this book: The Coverlet Book . These treasures of history were woven at home by women in the early part of the 19th century for bedding. By the 1820's, professionally made coverlets were becoming popular. And interestingly enough, British-trained carpet makers were immigrating to America and setting up shop to produce carpets that resembled coverlet patterns in their designs....so I guess I'm not the only one that stares at, or thinks about pattern designs in coverlets!

References: American Folk Art, William C. Ketchum © 1995
"American Quilts and Coverlets", article by Amelia Peck © 2007

~*~*~*~*~*~Update on my Pear Sticks!~*~*~*~*~*~

They are starting to bloom!! I do believe I've found an indoor plant I can keep alive! Oh wait, if they've been clipped from the tree, then technically they are already dead...right? Oh well!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Signs of Spring...or "Forcing the Issue"

This weekend we enjoyed snow-less days, in fact the snow has just about melted away!! (See the mountains still have a little snow.)
It rained some on Saturday, but Sunday was bright and pretty! And even though the temps were in the low 40's, it looked and felt like spring was on its way!

I dared to get out and walk around the yard and found green peeking out here and there......

.....a sweetpea was breaking through the ground. (yes, I know they are annuals, but they just keep coming back each year!)
......a strawberry plant survived the winter. (I really need to get out in the garden and rake when it warms up!)

And in the latest issue of Country Home (March 2008) there is a short article about forcing flowering shrubs indoors. So, since our pear tree needed a little trim....my husband clipped some branches and brought in a few so we could try to "force" a little spring into our home.

Now, I love my outdoor garden of flowers and herbs, but I've never been able to keep an indoor plant alive! I've tried the pretty English Ivy, it became infested with little flies and died. Once I was given amaryllis and it didn't even bloom. This February 14th I was given a miniature rose plant by a dear lady, and so far I've managed not to kill it. I'm hoping it survives until it can be planted outside....where it has a better chance!

So, we'll see how these "sticks" (as my sons called them) look in about 4 weeks!

Happy Hopes of Spring to You!!