Monday, May 29, 2017

Cliff Notes: Enjoying the Hunt

Cliff Notes: Enjoying the Hunt

Enjoying the Hunt

I have enjoyed a hiatus of several years, guess about 15 years.  I am still growing and designing perennial flower gardens but not with the gusto as I once had.


I have a new hobby.  I am constantly searching for vintage sewing machines and my blog today deals with my latest find.  It is a Pfaff, model 1471, manufactured in February 1986.  I am a Singer sewing machine fan and usually am searching for a vintage Singer Sewing Machine.  However, for Mothers' Day, my sweet hubby told me he would take me on a pre-established route of local Goodwill stores searching for vintage machines.

We stopped at a GW store in South Portland and I hit pay dirt, well as least I thought so.  I passed over the first 3 machines for $20 each and then my sweet hubby found this Pfaff machine.  I must tell you the only thing I know about a Pfaff is that it competes with a Bernina sewing machine, of which I own 2.  Beyond that nothing!  We plugged it in and it appeared to work, needle went up and down, foot pedal worked and the Myriad row of buttons also seemed to work.  I scoffed it up for $10.00.



See picture.  Once home I researched the 1471.  In 1986 it was Pfaff's top of the line machine and I found 2 for sale on EBay for $700 and $725.  My excitement faded pretty fast when I threaded it up and the presser foot lifter would not work.  Everything was afloat and I was not going to get the needle to down so I could sew. Bummed.  Stay tuned for part 2 of this saga.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Life in Limington, Maine.

Well it is 3 days after Thanksgiving and my company has left.  Here at Cliffwood, life goes on but winter is right around the corner and so is Christmas.  I plan to hunker down and do some Christmas sewing.

Because I haven't blogged for several years, I'll bring my friends up to date.  I retired in March of 2011 and enjoy retirement by gardening in the warm month and sewing, quilting in the winter months.  My newest passion is learning to sew on a treadle sewing machine which is a 1929 Singer treader.  So far I have made my granddaughter an oversized dolly blanket.  In addition, my husband has purchased a second treadle machine for me.  It is a 1914/15 Redeye Singer treadle machine and he picked up a fancy wooden cabinet for it.  I am so happy about my treading experiences!

So, please stay tuned for more as I blog about my days in the rest of 2012!

Yours fondly,
Grammie Donna

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Experiencing Some Difficulties


I'm a gardener first and not a computer nut. In fact, I am so bad, my daughter has fixed my BLOG Page so I can once again post what I am doing in the gardens at CliffWood.

I will post this little note. If it posts successfully, I will update you once a week.

As you can see, I am posting a picture of my little cottage that houses my garden tools and pots during the winter months here in Maine. During the summer, it wears garden clothes in the form of anything "garden" that I decorate it with. Hope you enjoy this picture and hopefully this will post.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Summer Sale At CliffWood on June 30th


Warm weather is here and Cliff and I have been busy cleaning up our gardens. Two weeks ago Cliff got all of our water features working and we can sit in the yard and listen to the sound of trickling water. Oh how soothing it is. I've enjoyed the last 2 days. Warm sun and a beautiful breeze to cool me while I am working in the gardens.


I have decided that the gardens need to be thinned out again this summer. Many of you know about the huge plant sale I had in the yard a year ago. Well, I'm getting ready for another one. It will be held on June 30th from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. or until the plants are all gone.


So far I've dug Astilbe, beautiful red ones with red leaves. Foxglove are dug and in full bud ready to bloom. Lots of daylilies and many colors. Some colors unknown--just lost track of them so it will be a surprise when they bloom. Have some Blue Lobelia ready to go also. I will be having lots of different Hosta for sale. The prices start at $2.00 and go up. Everything will be priced to sell at yard sale prices.


Please tell your friends and come and see what I have for sale on Saturday, June 30th. If you have questions, email me at donna@cliffwoodgardens.com or call me at home at 637-2675. I will probably be outside working, but leave me a message on the answering machine.
Did you notice the picture of me with the toilet? That picture was taken of me in the Bedpan Garden. Someone left that toilet in our yard and I just incorporated it into the landscape in that garden. It was taken during the garden tour of my 20 gardens in July of 2005. I will post often, so please come back to see what I'm doing. Until then, happy gardening!

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Just Practicing. . .


Hi everyone,
I'm practicing by typing a "new post" and going solo. I have a sheet of directions and I will try to be careful and conquer this frightful step alone. My daugher, Lisa, who makes her living in the hi tec industry, has set this page up for me. I hope to bog often. That's it for now.

I think I have mastered uploading a picture into a blog. Thank God that my daughter is so smart. Oh yes, look at the picture at the top of this blog. . . I'm the old lady in the lavendar and my sweet daughter is in the blue sweater. As you can see we visited the Fryeburg Fair this fall. We have gone to the fair together the last 2 years. We love looking at the handwork, i.e., knitting which she is an expert at and the quilting that I am starting to become good. We also enjoyed the tractor pull, the horse barns and the fiber arts building. I will blog more later. . . now if only I knew how to post this? ? ?

Welcome to Cliff Notes!

Cliff Notes is the blog that accompanies the CliffWoodGardens.com website. Cliffwood Gardens is a private home with beautiful gardens and yearly hosts a garden tour, with a different theme. Check here often for helpful notes about gardening and upcoming events at Cliffwood.

Read an excerpt from the story of Cliffwood Gardens below:

The story behind CliffWood

The story of CliffWood Gardens goes back to 1969 when Donna Wood married Clifford Sawyer. Living in a small apartment, there was no place to plant flowers, but unbeknown to both Cliff and Donna a great hunger for growing flowers was beginning to ignite. The spark that set the fire burning was a wooden shipping box that Cliff brought home from work for his young wife. Donna planted her first flowers in that make-do wooden box and the flame has been burning brightly ever since.

By the time the couple moved to their new home in Limington, Maine, in 1971, Cliff had promised his wife she could have all the flower gardens she wanted. Today 20 gardens dot the grounds at CliffWood's 2.3 acre site and this husband and wife team compliment each other's talents when it comes to the gardens. Cliff builds all of the wooden and metal structures used in and around the yard and Donna designs and plants the gardens. Many antique plants used in the gardens are from Donna's late mother. An antique rose bush named "My Grammie Thayer's Rose" flourishes throughout many of the gardens. This rose is special because it came from the property purchased by Donna's grandmother (Minnie Thayer) in 1905.

Each of the 20 gardens has a name and Donna's whimsical personality is evident throughout the gardens. Country-type ornaments are scattered about and numerous containers explode with color each season.