A Piece of Primitive, Early Oregon

Yesterday Greg and I went for a country drive, and discovered but minutes from our home, this amazingly well preserved log cabin.

I love this primitive number of a little bench. I could make one of these!

This house was the Stauffer log house that was built in 1867. I realize that is not a genuinely "early" time for our country, but this is the West! And, it is amazingly well preserved by the Aurora Colony preservationists.

I love this view of the out buildings.

Just a nice shot at those fabulous logs. (I much prefer this style of log to the rounded ones.)

Enter the front door.

This is the smoke house.

Here is a shot of the window in the smoke house.

This is the hog house. See the two doors.

The closed hog door.

The opened hog door.

And finally, right in the front door, the pet door!

To learn more about the Stauffer log house, visit this link:

Kind Hearts and a Pinkeep

Worthy Hands

Be worthy, love thy neighbor

Kind hearts are the gardens

Kind thoughts are the seeds

Kind words are blossoms

The fruits are kind deeds.

by

Kindred Spirits

I made this little bag with their beautiful design that of Alice and Sally long ago, and now Alice is the sole proprietor of our beloved Kindred Spirits. I treasure their kind simplicity.

This little necessary of a box with a drawer latches onto a table. The primitive linen pinkeep is so very endearing with it's wee mended spot just for a favorite needle. Thimbles in the drawer, and everything is ready for a quiet sewing session in the front parlor.

I procured this little wonder from Curry's Antiques in beautiful Lancaster, Ohio.

My New Floor Cloth

Last night Gregory and I were privileged to have been invited to a showing of the beautiful, floor-cloths by Gracewood Design at the exquisite Architectural Heritage Center of Portland. And look what I came home with! Oh I love this beautiful design from the Edward Durant house of Newton Center, MA which was built in the year 1780. The exhibit will continue through February 28th, and it is opened Wed. through Sat. from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm.

We in the Portland area are honored to have Gracewood Designs right here with us, always, for Kenneth and Gwenith moved here from the Bay area, a few years ago, and are here to stay. They originated in New England where Ken's famous mother, Polly Forcier, of MB Historic Decor still lives in beautiful Quechee, Vermont.

Their work is the finest I've seen in floor cloths, for I have seen many and have even made several myself. Pictured in the above photo is my reproduction Voit doll, Abigail, who resides in this our guest bedroom, and atop the old trunk (which is filled with fabrics) is Abigail Adams, a lovely doll made by the incredible historical doll maker, Nina Mason. Hence this room is indeed the Abigail room, and is all the more wonderful for me with my beautiful, historic floor cloth.

To read more about floor cloths, please visit the following link and enjoy a wonderful story written by my husband, Gregory LeFever. ~ Floor Cloths

Introducing My Queen Anne Penny Poppets

Penny woodens were the inspiration behind my newest addition to my line of dolls. Of course, my little 13 inch Queen Anne Penny Poppets are certainly not all wood, for they have cloth head and torso. The little Penny Woodens were very popular during the mid Victorian era, and were called penny wooden because of their low price. Queen Victoria herself enjoyed best of all her toys, her penny woodens. My little Penny Poppets certainly represent a little mix of those Victorian dolls as well as the Georgian era dolls know as Queen Anne's. Hybridization seems always to be my modus operandi, as I love both "early" (pre-1850) and Victorian which literally ended in 1901.

I will be sending out my newsletter once all the dolls are ready and waiting to be viewed. Meanwhile, it's back to dressing the girls...

My Burl Treen Sugar Bowl by Michael Coombs

Isn't it wonderful? This is my special Christmas gift for 2009. I have to share it with you. This is a little sugar bowl, hand carved by the incredibly talented Michael Coombs of the great state of Indiana.

To read about Michael and his work, do go to the Early American Life website and find where you may purchase a copy of the current issue. My husband, Gregory LeFever, wrote this article.

Handleless Cups

It wasn't until the late 1700's that cups with handles were even thought of. I love these dear, little, handleless cups that take me way back to the 1700's, or so I suspect. Of course, handless cups are still being made. Nonetheless, the ones pictured here lift my spirits for their exquisite beauty and age.

I do realize that one tiny pink lusterware cup with a handle did sneak into a picture.

My Best Christmas Gift as a Child

Robin is my doll sitting there with her blonde braids. I received her from Santa when I was seven years old. We lived in Yakima, Washington back then. The year was 1954. I am the third born of 8 children. At that juncture there were only six of us. My grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins visited us. They were all from Spokane. My Robin was the very last gift under the tree and no one knew the box was there, because it wasn't wrapped in gift wrap. It was simply in a pale green shoe box of some sort. But ever vigilant I, saw that box, took it to Mother and asked about it. She was most amazed and said it was something for me from Santa, and evidently he failed to wrap it! Well, I have played and played with that doll.

When I was a teenager my father was transferred to Battle Creek, Michigan, home of Kellogg's cereals for whom he worked. By now we lived in Portland, Oregon, and there were now the full 8 of us. The eldest was 20 and the youngest, 1 and a half. My eldest sister was already married and on her own. She was so devastated when we all left Portland. I am sad when I think of it.

Daddy was elated that now he was moving to "headquarters", so one day while Mother was at work, as an RN at St. Vincent's Hospital, he took loads of stuff to the dump. Yep, that was what it was called then. And guess what he took? ALL of the toys any of us kids ever had managed to save down through the years, except for my Robin, because I always kept her in her pale green shoe box in a dresser drawer.

The old toys had been stored in the garage and so he assumed none of this stuff was worth keeping. My Teddy bear was thrown out that day. My bride doll was too. The high chair that all 8 children had used was thrown out. Mother was beyond livid.

And yet, Daddy was a sweet person. He just did not want to take so very much stuff to headquarters. Tee hee.

It was in beautiful, Marshall, Michigan where we settled and where I eventually met and married my true love, Gregory LeFever. The Teddy bear sitting next to my Robin is his Cuddles and was his from the time he was six weeks old.

So there you have it!

Jill Peterson's New Magazine A Simple Life

Recently I inadvertently fell upon the book The Settlement by Jill Peterson. Then I discovered her book Homestead, and finally, she is coming out with a wonderful new magazine called A Simple Life. Click above on Jill's name to get to that link.

I have totally become immersed in the look that she celebrates, and am in the process of taking a high Victorian, 1888, Italianate house with tall ceilings upstairs and downstairs, into a hybrid of its natural look and the earlier, beloved one of the earliest days of America. It is such a joyful journey for me to mix the earlier, totally primitive look in with a house that tends more toward high Victorian. But, in defense of my journey, this house seems mansion like whereas it is merely a cottage. The tall ceilings make it seem grander than it is. And believe me, it all fits so sweetly. I will share with you some before and afters, all-in-due-course, but in the meantime, I hope you will visit Jill's websites and savor what she is offering for us to escape into via the homes of some pretty fabulous antiques lovers.

Stencil House, Shelburne Museum

Heavenly perfection this beautiful 1804 house that can be seen in person at the wonderful Shelburne Museum just south of Burlington, Vermont. The house originated in NY and was moved to the museum in 1953. Little tears in the wallpaper revealed the exquisite stenciling.