Happy 6th Birthday American Homestead Blog!

Today marks the 6th birthday of the American Homestead

blog and it is also my birthday but I'm older than 6!

I have been a bad blogger this year, in fact, I have only

posted 12 times in the whole year.  It seemed like blogging

was falling by the wayside but lately I am happy to see many

bloggers returning from long breaks.  So hopefully with the

New Year I will try to blog more often.  I do have so many

stories I would love to tell, things about my travels, the 

things I make, the things I eat, the things I collect, etc.

I do post everyday on Instagram:  @americanhomestead1

There are rumors that there may be some new technology

coming my way for my birthday so hopefully that will make

blogging a bit easier.  I take so many photos with my phone

these days, there are so many pieces of equipment it can be

hard to get them to work together in an easy way.

This blog started just as I was about to go on a big adventure

and that is still going on.  I travel a lot!  And I love it.  I have

traveled to 7 foreign countries this year, 6 of them are new

to me.  I leave next week to set sail to South America and I

will visit five new countries on my world list.

What is my World List you may ask?  Well, there are a few

milestones that travelers like to meet.  One is to

circumnavigate the globe, I've done that twice.  Another

milestone is to visit 100 countries ~ I'm working on that!

I am almost halfway to my goal.

So please stay tuned to see what the New Year brings.

I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming holidays no

matter what holiday you may celebrate.  Just be happy!

All the best,

~ Ellen

Before and After Silver Haul

I had a meeting in a town about an hour and a

quarter away from my house earlier this week

and on the way home I stopped at a thrift shop

for a look around and found a pile of old silver.

I imagine a family emptied out someone's home

and sent it all to the thrift shop.  Probably many

of these pieces were wedding gifts back when

people got silver for their weddings.  There were

so many cool pieces, a huge circular tray that

must have been 2' across, coffee pots, creamers,

footed water pitchers...  and I didn't buy anything.

NOT ONE THING!  I thought, oh, you have so

much already, where will you put it?

And then I regretted it.  I thought about it all

week.  I really wanted the huge tray.

This was our wedding anniversary weekend and we

were out of state all day on Saturday so I made a deal

with Mr. Wonderful.  I said if we got up early on Sunday

 and got all of our outdoor chores done, could we head

back down south and see if any silver was left?  He was

up for it and off we went.  Of course many of the good

pieces were gone, including the huge tray.  But I did

pick up 10 pieces.  And I got it all for $20 which is the

weekend limit I usually set for myself.  So it was a score!

I polished it all as I was watching the final Lewis on

Masterpiece and now it is all packed away in the china

closet.  I think we will have a silver themed Thanksgiving

and Christmas this year!

American Homestead Pincushion/Ornament Class

This post gives information on my Ornament/Pincushion

Class that I teach to guilds, stitching groups and retreats.

There are many ways to use the projects that you create.

Here are the various ways you can use the ornaments.

You could also embroider a name and date on the back

to make it a special keepsake ornament.  I know people

who make them for their kids or grandkids so when they

grow up and have their own homes, they have a collection

of ornaments from someone they love.

You can also add a little pocket to the back to hold

a gift certificate.

If you decide to make a pincushion you can place them

on a metal candlestand which looks lovely.

You can also frame them, they look great grouped 

in three or four on the wall.

You can also put them on dowel sticks and

add them to a floral arrangement.

You have two choices to make:

1. What pattern do I want to make?  There are 13 to

choose from.  They are shown below.

2. What colorway would you like to work in?  There is 

a brighter group of fabrics called the European Folk

Art Collection and a deeper group of fabrics called the

Pennyrug Collection.  Here they are:

Patterns created in The European Folk Art Collection

Patterns created in The Pennyrug Collection

This is what you need to bring to class: (it's so 

simple, you can bring it in a little basket!)

Scissors: sharp scissors to cut the wool felt and thread

Small pincushion with a few pins

Needles: appropriate to your choice of thread or whatever

feels good for you.

For ornament: 2 - 6'' x 6'' squares of cotton batting (scraps

from your quit projects are great)

For pincushion: a sandwich size ziploc of fiberfill

Floss/Thread:  There are as many opinions on what is the

best thread as there are brands of thread so I let my students

choose their favorite.  I generally use DMC embroidery floss 

and the correct color numbers are shown below.  If you prefer 

another thread or floss then just search for a comparison chart

for the brand you choose.

For European Folk Art Colorway:  Ecru - 806 - 3347 - 742 - 816

For Pennyrug Colorway: 677 - 920 - 826 - 816 - 732 - 742 - 310

Now choose one of the 13 patterns.  The photos show a

European Folk Art colorway example on the left and a 

Pennyrug colorway example on the right.

Here is a video about the class:

I hope to see you sometime very soon!!  ~ Ellen

Grand Isle

This is my Grand Isle tabletopper pattern.  I love how 

changing colors can really change the look of a pattern.

You could make a different one for each season or holiday.

The one with the pumpkin is made from felted wool and 

the ones with the brighter colors are made with wool felt.

There is a funny story about this pattern.  Our relatives

Pat and Jim had purchased a summer home in Michigan 

in a town that started with the word Grand at the time I

was designing this pattern.  I looked on a map and found

Grand Isle and named the pattern for Pat and Jim's new 

town.  It wasn't until later that I found out they moved to

Grand Haven ~  ooops!  I think I should design another

pattern to honor Grand Haven.

www.americanhomesteaddesign.com

Sint Maarten

Sint Maarten is a popular port for cruises.  Sint Maarten

is a constituent country of the Netherlands and shares this

small Caribbean island with the French Saint-Martin. The

capital, Philipsburg is where the big cruise ships dock.  It is

a very quick and affordable water taxi ride from the dock to

the town.  We were told to be sure to have the taxi drop us at

the Police Station but we didn't have a choice, we were just 

told to get on the taxi and were dropped off at another dock.

It is not terribly far away from the shops and restaurants

though.

This is what you see when you leave the taxi dock,

it is a very clean, shaded area and you can see why 

the locals would want visitors to see this area first

as it is very inviting.  

The palm shaded area is flanked by these colorful buildings

 that house many shops.  Unfortunately these shops were not

open on a Sunday morning.  We considered taking a taxi to

the French side of the islands but were told most places are

closed there on Sundays.

We strolled along the cobblestone streets toward the more 

populated area of the town.  We passed by local homes

near the quieter end of town.

Many of the locals were in church since it was a Sunday

morning when we first arrived.

The capital's courthouse is a beautiful old building.

There are many colorfully painted building selling

jewelry, alcohol, souvenirs and quite a few selling

Delft since this is a Dutch holding.  We purchased

some sea salt since this island was once named the

Land of Salt, we also purchased some local spice

mix and vanilla extract.  We love to buy local food

products and then cook with them back home, it is

a way to bring your vacation home with you.

After a nice walk and some shopping we walked to the

beach and rented a few chairs and an umbrella for the

day.  The prices can vary from one vendor to another

but all the prices were quite reasonable.  The people 

working on the beach will bring you drinks if you wish 

or you can just walk up to one of the bars on the street

that runs alongside the beach.

When you have had enough surf and sand, just walk

over to the police station and hop a water taxi for the 

short ride back to the ship.

We had a nice relaxing day in Sint Maarten.  It was easy

and affordable to get to a beach, bars and shopping.  The

locals were friendly and nice though a few people in the 

shops seemed very bored and they did not get any of our

money.  The guy who rented us our chairs and umbrella

was very friendly and he had a deal for chairs, umbrella

and 6 beers for a decent price. When I told him I don't

drink beer, he reduced the price and said he would get

me anything I would want to drink from a local bar, it 

was all very simple, relaxing and easy.

24 Hours in Old San Juan

For Lavender Linda and Captain von Trapp

A few weeks ago we were taking a cruise that 

departed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.  We

decided to arrive a day before the cruise so we

could spend some time in Old San Juan.

We stayed at the boutique hotel in Old San Juan

called the Casablanca Hotel.  When I was on the

cruise a few days later I had breakfast with a chef

from the Ritz Carlton in San Juan, when I told her

where I had stayed while in town she looked at me

and exclaimed, "that's where you stayed?  That's a 

great hotel, it's a boutique hotel, it's a really cool

place!"  Yep, my travel street cred went up a few

notches...

You've got to love a hotel that plays Casablanca 

in the lobby 24 hours a day.

By this time we were very hungry since we hadn't

eaten since we arrived at the airport in the wee

hours of the morning.  Walking along a street a

woman walked across the street to give me a 

postcard and tell me that the cafe she worked at

was having happy hour.  I asked her how long

happy hour was and she said until 7pm.  I said,

"That's more like Happy Day!"  I looked at Mr.

Wonderful and said, "Well, we are on vacation, 

let's go to happy hour!"  The place was called the 

Blessed Cafe and it was owned by a Jamaican

Rastafarian who wanted all his guests to have

a wonderful experience.  It was a small place

with a bar and another room with a few tables

and all the decor was related to Bob Marley

and the Wailers.  We ordered  a few drinks and

settled back in vacation mode.

Our taxi driver who drove us in from the airport

told us not to miss trying mofongo while in town.

It was on the menu so of course we had to try it.

It is mashed plantains with a pork mixture on top.

It was delicious!

After the Blessed Cafe we walked off our

lunch and popped into antique stores and 

small artisan boutiques.

We headed back to our hotel for a siesta.

The room was small since the building is old

but everything was very nice.  We had upgraded 

to a room with a balcony thinking we would have

one overlooking a quaint street but the balcony is

really just the walkway to your room, don't bother

getting this upgrade because...

...upstairs is a lovely rooftop terrace with large

soaking tubs.  Bring your favorite beverage and

enjoy stargazing while soaking in your tub.

When we awoke from our siesta, we were hungry 

again and it was time to hit the streets.  I wanted to see

the big church and hiked up the hill but the church was

locked up but just across the square I spotted a little tapas

place called Rosa de Triana.  Our plan was to stop into a

few places for a small dish and a drink.

We sat in the cozy courtyard filled with plants 

and fairy lights.  The cafe is known for it's 

Sangria so we had to sample it.  Since there

were no cruise ships in port, the town was quiet 

and we dined with all locals.  It was the type of

place where you nod and say buenas noches to

your fellow diners.

We ordered two tapas plates and the servings 

were so large we knew our plan for visiting a few

places that evening was going to have to become 

Plan B.  So we lingered over our food and drinks

and fell into slow down vacation mode.  At the end

of the meal the waitress served us complimentary

glasses of a local apple liqueur that was delicious.

I wish I had brought a bottle home with us.

Leaving the restaurant we walked down the street 

and through San Juan gate and walked along the

Paseo de la Princesa, the old city walls are on one 

side of the walkway and San Juan Bay is on the other.

It was an enjoyable stroll and we came upon an area 

filled with food vendors and artists selling jewelry.

The food and drinks looked great but we were far too

full to sample anything but we did pick up some cookies 

to eat in bed once we got back to our room.

We watched a bit of Casablanca in the lobby back at

the hotel and then headed up to bed.  I would suggest

to anyone who will be staying at the Casablanca to

bring along a DVD of the movie or download it to one

of your devices and bring along an HDMI cord so you 

can watch the movie in bed.

Mr. Wonderful was up at the crack of dawn

and ready to find a cafe for a coffee.  For myself,

I prefer to laze around in bed when I get the chance

and since all we had to do that day was eat something

and head to the ship, I opted for waking up slowly.

Opening the wooden shutters and looking out these

windows I felt like I could be meeting Papa Hemingway

for lunch.

When I finally got myself moving we hunted around 

for a new restaurant called Melt.  I saw a photo of

their food on instagram and wanted to go there.  When

we finally found it there was no Hemingway but we did 

sit next to the owner of the hotel in which it is located

and got a lesson in Puerto Rican history and politics.

Then it was time to head to the ship to set sail

for parts unknown.

A great 24 hours!