Could a princess live here? Not a chance! Maybe the furthest thing from a princess. When I went to hang this dress on the clothesline yesterday, Poppy said, "you are not hanging that thing on the line, are you? Why don't you sell that dress on eBay"?
Sell this dress! I can't sell this dress! Andee bought this dress to hang in my little shop. The little shop that never happened!
Actually, I was giving the sewing room a good cleaning yesterday. This dress had been hanging on the closet door for years! Years! It was dusty and needed airing out, with a bunch of other things.
Several years back when I was into making bonnets, aprons, and dolls big time, the idea of having a little shop popped into my head. As luck would have it, just two miles up the road, on the main highway, sat the perfect little building...it had been empty and unused for years. I checked around and found out who owned the building and gave him a call, asking if he would rent the building to me. He said, look, if you want to make some repairs and fix up the building, you are welcome to use it, free of charge. Well, I was ecstatic! When I told Poppy my good news, he said, "Mel, we can't afford to fix up that building. The first thing it needs is a new roof. Do you know how much it costs to put a new roof on a building"? My idea got shot down pretty quick, which was probably a blessing in disguise. Not to be outdone, I went to work in our only extra little bedroom, turning it into the teeny tiny sewing room and my little shop.
It has really been fun! Once word got around, especially to the churches in the area, that I make and sell old fashioned bonnets and aprons, well, there were plenty of customers. The churches around celebrate old fashioned day. They have dinner on the grounds and all the ladies dress old fashioned.
You folks probably know by now how I can be...remember my craziness over getting our property fenced in and then buying two donkeys? By cracky, our five acre property would be fenced in, if it meant doing it all by myself! Yep, with every spare dollar, I bought a metal t-post and put it in the ground. But good gosh, no way could I fence in this five acres alone, up and down hills and through woods and water! So, this idea, like many others went by the wayside. But I still want two donkeys.
now a little wildlife from Poppy...
worms on a stick. Looks like some new food that might be offered at the state fair this year. These worms were in the wild blueberry bush yesterday.
here's how the worms look today. ??
and, Poppy was standing in my spot at the kitchen window and caught this butterfly at the hummingbird feeder.
and a little hummer hovering at the feeder.
Guess that will about do it for today. Thank you for stopping by.
Love,
Henny
By the way, I am still working on adding a page, hopefully to be Henny's Bonnet Shop. It has at least sparked my interest in sewing again.
Running a shop online is easier than a real shop and cheaper. Love your bonnets. Can't imagine fencing 5 acres, maybe do an acre and put your donkeys there. We had a miniature Sicilian burro for a couple of years, he was so cute.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Not getting a shop was a blessing, I'm sure.
DeleteI love your bonnets and if you do decide to open an on-line shop . . . I want to be one of your first customers. Fencing is such a chore and should be done by two, especially in a area like yours where you have snakes.
ReplyDeleteThank you Connie. You are right about the fencing.
DeleteI would love a bonnet, too. Glad you are enjoying sewing. You have a great room to display your items and the sewing machine by the window. I do love fresh curtains and shiny windows! That was one of the first things I did at our "new to us" house - wash windows! lol Love seeing the butterfly and hummer. Have a lovely afternoon.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mildred. My Mother was the same way about "clean windows"!
DeleteI think Henny's Bonnet Shop is a great idea! I love your bonnets. I want to buy one!
ReplyDeleteIsn't it interesting how our ideas surface, take flight, meet reality, but they DON'T die. They don't! You are a product of your beautiful ideas. Your home is gorgeous and cozy and I'm so glad you share it with us. You're a good egg, Mel.
Oh Pom Pom thank you so much! It's our dreams and ideas the keep us going, don't you think.
DeleteWhat happened with selling in the store in town? Do you still do that? Selling on-line and in the local store will surely keep you busy! Your fluffy white curtains really cheer up the room. Ever thought of painting the rooms a little color? Not that you don't already have more than enough to do!
ReplyDeleteI don't have anything in the store in town right now. I'm sure he would let me again. Most of the walls in the house are "logs", and the interior walls were paneling...awful! I hated the paneling and a few years back painted it white. What a relief!! I would love your suggestion for color in the sewing room. Thank you Sharon.
DeleteMeant lighter color, not little. Henny, have you thought about shipping? The post office has mailers that ship in 3 days for a flat rate. They will pick up at your door step if they are picking up priority mailers. Thinking you might get some of their mailers and put a bonnet in one to see how small a mailer a bonnet will fit in. The flat rate mailers are free, you can just pick them up at the post office. The reason I bring this up is that it is the easiest way to add postage to your pricing as it's the same cost anywhere in the USA. Check with the post office. I'm sure if you took a bonnet in and discussed with them they could help you pick the right mailer for the least amount of money. And the priority mailers included $50 insurance and free tracking.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate this info about the post office. I did not know any of this. I have mailed a few bonnets using cake boxes from Walmart.
DeleteI think an on-line shop is just the thing. No shelves to dust and it's open all the time!
ReplyDeleteAnd you can hang that dress on a virtual door on the site!
Thank you Marty! That's so true!
DeleteThat little shop sounds lovely. Kind of like the little bakery for me in town except you actually have customers. : )
ReplyDeleteI'm not a fan of curtains because they block out too much light, but I DO like nice clean windows. I'll be getting to them one of these days.
I'd like to put a fence around HT. It will take me YEARS to make my natural fence of dead fall to fence it all in.
Thank you! It is like your dream of a little bakery. I love your idea for the fence and wish I had started one when we first began clearing many years ago.
DeleteYour curtains look so pretty and fresh. We have very nice blinds in the new house and I can't decide if I want to cover them by adding curtains or not. We will live with the windows this way for awhile and see, I guess. Worms on a stick -- LOL! 😄
ReplyDeleteThank you Cynthia! I guess I especially like the white ruffly curtains in the sewing room because all the other rooms look like a man cave! Blinds are nice and make it easy to let in lots of light or close off the outside.
DeleteI enjoyed your story. We all of dreams and goals that we are working on. I will be praying for yours.
ReplyDeletexx oo
Carla
Carla, thank you! We just have to dream and plan.
DeleteI think it would have been wonderful for you to have a shop but God is using your talent just with your teeny tiny sewing room. I have one of your aprons and I adore it!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melanie. I'm sure it was not meant for me to have that shop. God was looking after me.
DeleteHenny you are such a talented lady, your bonnets and aprons are a testament to that. I would think an online store would be perfect, maybe an ETSY store ?
ReplyDeleteAre those Bag Worms ? They will eat a try or bush alive.
Sweet little Swallowtail and hummingbird, great captures, they are fast little buggers.
~Jo
I don't know about being talented, but thank you, Jo. I'll have to look up Bag Worms. We've never seen them before. They have eaten a lot of the leaves.
DeleteThe picture that you posted of your sewing machine in front of the window brought back memories of my mom's treadle machine ( which I still have) under a window to capture the most light. She'd sew or embroider when she had time. Which happened mostly in the winter. She sewed all my clothes until I was about twelve or so. And the picture of the bed with the blue (chenille?)spread is so calm and serene.
ReplyDeleteThank you! My Mother sewed too and made most of my dresses...all with puffed sleeves and wide sashes that tied in the back. I loved watching her sew. I'm glad you got your mom's sewing machine. I would love to have mama's.
DeleteI wouldn't be a bit surprised to hear about flash fried worms on a stick at various county fairs----maybe cover them with chocolate just for the heck of it. You've surely seen all the weird stuff that they come up with every year. Vegans might really go for them since insects and such supposedly contain a lot of protein and they are very "sustainable".
ReplyDeleteNeither would I be surprised about fried worms at the fair! That is so funny. Every year it something different on a stick, deep fried. Thank you Vic!
DeleteYes yes yes to a page of your bonnets and aprons. Wish you made quilts too!
ReplyDeleteThank you Janet! I'm sure going to try.
DeleteWhile I am sure it is not always easy, there is such a great beauty to your life.
ReplyDeleteI felt a little sad reading about your little shop that didn't happen. The donkey fence not so much! What were you thinking!
Thank you, Linda. Yes, I felt sad too about the shop, but it's probably good that it didn't work out. You made me laugh about the donkey fence. Guess I wasn't thinking! :)
DeleteHenny, I think this post wound up reflecting so many sympathetic responses from your readers, really showing how dear you are to all of us. And the worms on the stick? Wow!
ReplyDeletePam, thank you. Don't know what I would do without all you blogging friends. Really, I don't! Worms on a stick! I know, it sounds awful!
DeleteYour sewing room is so beautiful... I love your windows and that dress too♥Hugs♥
ReplyDeletesummerdaisy.cottage.blogspot.com
Thank you Summer. Your blog is beautiful.
DeleteHa ha. Mama. Food for the fair. It does! I remember your shop idea. I thought it was grand. Wish we could have one together. But your sewing room is magical. Love you!! Your girl
ReplyDeleteGood luck on Henny's bonnet shop! In Michigan the church at an old fashioned day when we lived there. Yucky looking worms! Nancy
ReplyDeleteGood luck on Henny's bonnet shop! In Michigan the church at an old fashioned day when we lived there. Yucky looking worms! Nancy
ReplyDeleteI have never had a shop on-line but it seems like the way to go these days. I think with your products they would show very well in an etsy-shop. My dog biscuit business was run from my large kitchen in our older home with one other baker working in her kitchen. Then we ran the roads putting them in stores. Fun... but too much work. You have a pretty view from the windows. I'm not even going to mention the worms.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of the little shop but I know how it goes when you have an idea and it gets shut-down. I love your little sewing room. I wish I had a little building that I could put stuff in and work do crafts and workout. But then I think would I ever go out in it and do anything. It would probably be better just to build on a room to the house just for me. Oh well. Love you!
ReplyDelete