~An Exciting Event at The Olde Homestead~

If you have followed my blog for very long, you have heard me talk about one of my favorite primitive stores, The Olde Homestead, which is located in Mt. Vernon, Illinois.  If you have ever been there, you know why I love it so much.  It is a wonderful place full of some of the best primitive/Colonial items around.  The shopkeeper, Kathy Lemay, is one of the sweetest people I have met.  Jeff and I always enjoy our visits to the shop.

Well, The Olde Homestead has some very exciting news.  They are moving to a much, much, much bigger location.  I am sure you know what that means...more room for primitive/Colonial decor.  To celebrate their new home, The Olde Homestead is having a Spring Thyme Gathering on Friday, March 30th through Sunday, April 1st.  It promises to be three fun-filled days!

On Saturday, March 31st from 1:00-3:00, I will be at The Olde Homestead signing issues of A Primitive Place & Country Journal magazine.  I will be joined by Jan Yaeger who is the author of the great children's book Matilda's Upside Down Smile.  I hope that if you live in the area, you can make it to The Olde Homestead to see me and Jan.  If you cannot make it on Saturday, I urge you to try to come some other time.  I promise that you will not be sorry that you made the trip.

Spring Thyme Gathering

The Olde Homestead

618 S. 42nd Street

Mt. Vernon, Illinois 62864

618-246-1055

www.theoldehomestead.net

Friday, March 30th   5-9pm

Saturday, March 31st   10-5pm

Sunday, April 1st   12-5pm 

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"I have been very happy with my homes, but homes really are no more than the people who live in them."

~Nancy Reagan~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Three Samplers & a Wooden Bowl~

I have been working on several samplers for the last couple of months.  I really wish that I would get faster...LOL!  Anyway, they all seemed to come together at the same time so I thought I would share them with you.

This first sampler is called "School Days".  I made it for my friend, Jerrah, to give to the former superintendent of our school district.

The second one is called "The Blake Homestead".  I made it for a friend of mine to give to his mother for her 70th birthday.

The third one is called "100 Years of Faith & Learning".  I made it for my niece, Katie's, school to auction off in April.  The are having an auction to raise money for their school.  The school is celebrating its 100th anniversary.  My sister-in-law, Amy, asked me to come up with a sampler that they could auction off.  This is what I came up with.

Last weekend, Jeff and I went to one of my favorite antique stores, American Harvest.  It is located in Paducah, Kentucky and they have the best selection of early antiques and primitives that I have ever seen.  I found this wonderful wooden bowl.  I absolutely love it!

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking here.

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work."

~Colin Powell~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Folk Artist Spotlight...Kathy Parker~

I am going to let you in on a little secret.  I would love to be a folk artist.  It may sound silly, but that is the new goal I have for myself.  I do not know if I will achieve this goal or not, but it sure is fun trying.  I admire folk artists so much.  I love seeing all of the creative items that they create.  There are so many wonderful folk artists out there today.  They work many long hours creating their projects.  They are always planning in their heads and trying to come up with their newest original ideas.

I have been fortunate enough to come in contact with several wonderful folk artist through my blog, facebook, and through A Primitive Place & Country Journal magazine.  These folk artists are not only creative, but they are kind and considerate people who have a true love and passion for the items that they create. 

I decided that it would be fun to start highlighting a folk artist through my blog occasionally.  Today is the first installment of what I hope will be a series of very popular posts.  I will be calling these posts Folk Artist Spotlight. 

The first folk artist that I decided to highlight is a very sweet and talented lady, Kathy Parker.  Some of you may know Kathy from her home being featured in Country Sampler magazine.  It has been featured three times!!!  I got to know Kathy when we were painting our house for the second time.  I saw Kathy's house in Country Sampler and loved it.  I knew I wanted to paint my house like she had painted hers.  I contacted Kathy through email with my questions and she emailed me back.  She also called me to talk me through the process.  Through all of this, Kathy and I have become very good friends.  We continue to email each other almost daily and talk on the phone occasionally.  We have never met in person, but Kathy is a very dear friend and a very important person in my life.

Kathy has been a folk artist for many years.  She has a real passion for primitive decorating and early antiques.  In fact, Kathy was the person who inspired me to start stitching.  Her creations are beautiful and I have been fortunate enough to find some of her work at primitive stores in my area and Kathy has also graciously sent me some of her work as gifts.  I cherish all of them.  Here is a small sampling of Kathy's work.

"Believe" Santa pillow

"Joy" Christmas tree pillow

"Spooky" pumpkin pillow

"Live Simply" daisy pillow

Chick with sunflower make-do

More of Kathy's creations are for sale through Primitives by Kathy.  You can click ~here~ to visit Kathy Parker's artist page. 

I hope to feature many other talented folk artists in the future.  I have a list of some of my favorites that I am hoping to feature.  If you are a folk artist or know of a folk artist that you would like me to feature, you can email me at dc11272@hotmail.com.

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking ~here~.

"Every artist was first an amateur."

~Ralph Waldo Emerson~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~A Special Gift & More Yellow Ware~

Last weekend, my friend Jerrah brought me a very special gift.  She made a collage of the home tour feature of our house that appeared in the 2011 Holiday issue of A Primitive Place & Country Journal magazine.  I love it and I think she did a wonderful job.  I hung it in the office next to the collage she made of our house when it appeared in Country Sampler magazine.  I can see both collages when I am in the office writing for APP or doing some stitching.  I cannot thank her enough for taking the time to make me such a thoughtful gift.

This past week, Jeff and I were able to do a little antique shopping.  I got quite a few little goodies.  One of my favorite items that I found was this wonderful yellow ware pitcher.  You know how I feel about yellow ware! = )

I placed it on an early wooden circle I had.  I am not sure if it is a lid or what...LOL!  I also added an early wooden spoon to the display.  I really like how the three items look together.

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking ~here~.

"A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future and accepts you just the way you are."

~Anonymous~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Spring is in the Air Once More~

 Well, spring is certainly in the air here!  We have had a very mild winter and with the warm days that we have been having, the trees are already starting to bloom!

All of this warm weather has put me in the mood to add some spring touches to our house.  I filled my door box with some yellow flowers yesterday.  I also added some twigs from the yard to give it a more natural look.  I really like how it turned out!

I also decorated the box on the dining room table.  I added some artificial clover, placed two rabbits made from old quilts and carrots made from material and chenille.  I also added a sign that says."Carrots 4 Sale". 

All of these spring accents have really put me in the mood for spring.  It will be here soon!

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest by clicking ~here~.  I would love to see you!

"Spring is nature's way of saying, 'Let's Party!'"

~Robin Williams~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Why Yesterday Once More?~

I thought I would drop in this evening for a quick post.  This is just for fun.  I hope you enjoy it!

Have you ever wondered why the name of my blog is Yesterday Once More? 

If you have, click ~here~ to find out! c:

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow me on pinterest by clicking ~here~.

"Never regret yesterday.  Life is in you today, and you make your tomorrow."

~L. Ron Hubbard~

All My Best,

~Dan~

~Primitives a Plenty~

 Yesterday Jeff and I went to two wonderful antique shows.  The first one was the Country Spirit Antique Show in Arcola, Illinois.  The second was the Homesteaders on the Prairie Antique Show in Arthur, Illinois.  They were both wonderful shows and I do not believe that I have seen that many primitives all rounded up in one place before.  I could have bought a thousand different things, but I restrained myself. = )  These are the items that I found.

I got this cheese board at the show in Arcola.  I had never seen one before.  For now, I have it on the island in the basement kitchen.

I found three breadboards to add to my growing collection at the show in Arthur.  The three in the front are the ones I bought yesterday.

Benita, me, and Cheryl



I also had a very nice surprise yesterday at the show in Arthur.  I was looking around and all of a sudden, I heard someone call my name.  I looked up to see who was speaking to me.  It was a friend that I have gotten to know through my blog and facebook, Benita!  I guess I have known Benita since I started blogging, but we had never met in person.  Benita has always been such a sweet friend to me and she was just as sweet in person.  I also met Cheryl who I have gotten to know through facebook and who shared some wonderful cross stitch patterns with me.  Both ladies were so nice and it was wonderful to meet them.  I was so glad that Benita recognized me.

Thank you for visiting Yesterday Once More.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you will continue to come back as often as you can.  Don't forget to look for Yesterday Once More on facebook.  I would love to see you there too.  You can also follow Yesterday Once More on pinterest, by clicking ~here~.

"A true friend never gets in your way unless you happen to be going down."

~Arnold Glascow~

All My Best,

~Dan~