New -Old Dresser!

I needed somewhere to store some fabric in my sewing room and remembered this old dresser that had been retired to the attic. I painted it and it looks so much better! I also changed the hardware to give it a more up to date look and it’s ready to store fabric!

Oktoberfest

This weekend was our town's 25th Oktoberfest. My sister came home from Conneticut, my neice Megan came home for the weekend and Molly is on fall break so she was home too. Saturday morning Molly and I got up early and hit the streets. Mostly we were interested in getting pumpkin rolls. One for lunch, one for Molly to take back to school with her and one to freeze for Christmas. I found a cup and saucer to add to my collection, and a couple other things I thought I needed at the time.

I had lunch for everyone and then Molly's boyfriend came over and they carved a pumpkin. So now I have a pumpkin for the front porch. I want to get the impatience out of the urn out front and plant a chrysanthum this week also, my porch is still looking more "summery" than "fallish"!!!

Redecorated Sunroom

My summer project was redecorating the sunroom. Here are the before and after photos. I didn't really start with a redecorating project in mind. I only wanted to get rid of the awful carpet that the dog kept chewing and pulling out so I decided to remove the carpet completely and just paint the floor until my husband got home from 6 months in Alaska. He mentioned getting new carpet in this room when he got home anyway.


So, I thought I'd try something whimsical and fun in here and decided on creamy and plum colored squares because believe it or not the purple went with the pillows and accessories I previously had in the room. After the carpet was gone and the plywood floor was sanded and I putting the paint on the floor I kept looking at the green walls and decided that now was the time to change the walls also... I keep looking at everyone's pretty rooms in the shabby cottage group that I belong to and decided that if I ever wanted to do "pink" the time to try it would be when my husband was hundreds of miles away working in Alaska.


So, I painted the walls pink and brought in a large book shelf from my sewing room, a quilt rack and some new pictures for the walls as well as new pillows for the sofa, painted a washstand that was also in the sewing room and I'm just about done. I haven't gotten curtains up yet because I am out of money currently, but I have curtains on the list and hope to get them before Molly and Meg come home for Thanksgiving vacation.


So that's my summer project!

Crafting

I've been playing this weekend and this is what I made. Molly is a big Audrey Hepburn fan and when I saw this photo on the internet I decided it would make a great wall hanging. So, finished it is an 8X8" square. The quote by Audrey says "Your heart just breaks, that's all. You can't judge, or point fingers. You just have to be lucky enough to find someone who appreciates you. " I printed it out on my computer and I like the results....I'm going to do some more experimenting with this technique.

I have also been working on another block. My biggest problem though seems to be getting background fabric arranged in an attractive way. I am taking the "encrusted Crazy Quilting" class the beginning of November and I hope to get some tips on doing the actual design and placing the fabric on a block. This wallhanging was a no brainer, I used an old cutter quilt for a background!

New Threads

Yesterday I had a dentist appointment....does anyone like going to the dentist? The good news is I had no cavities and then after the dentist I decided to take the long way home and treat myself to some threads at the yarn shop.

I need some orangish threads for the block I am working on and so I looked around and picked some pretty silk threads. Here is the stash I brought home to the tune of $40.38. Geesh, this has turned out to be quite an expensive hobby. On the surface using fabric scraps and some thread seems innocent enough but once the fun begins it doesn't take long to figure out that silk threads are so much more fun to work with and beads and charms and fibers are necessities!

Book Marks

Ok, so I got a great idea a couple weeks ago to make book marks for Christmas presents. I like to have something little that I can give to people that I don't want to feel obligated to give me a gift but I want to remember them with something nice....so this year it was going to be book marks.





I completed a book mark but decided that it is to thick to be a nice bookmark. So, now back to the drawing board.... I'll need to think of something else. Anyone have any suggestions?

I guess I'll give this to my mom for Christmas. Mom's are supposed to appreciate anything, mine does....

Shabby Wash Stand

While Al was in Alaska for 6 months I did some decorating....I always paint something and rearrange things while he is gone. One of my projects was this washstand. I wish I had the "before" photo of this piece. Picture an oak wash stand with peeling varnish or whatever they used on it add some big ugly hardware and that's the before.

I bought new hardware on ebay and painted it white. I looked for a glass knob at Lowes for the door but wasn't successful, all they had was a very modern looking glass knob and I don't want that. I will have to check ebay. In the meantime I just painted what was there and it's ok for now.

I will be posting the before and after photos of the room that the wash stand is in. I need to put up a quilt rack before it's ready for photos and I'll need my husband's help. He has been in Alaska for the past 6 months and his plane comes in tonight at 11:30. I'm pretty sure that putting up my quilt rack will not be on the top of his list of things to do when he gets home, but soon....

Progress, sort of...

Here is a photo of a block I just finished. It seems that the way most of the crazy quilters operate is by making a series of blocks and then either sewing them together or using them in some other way. I decided that it would be cute to make an 8" block and add a flap to one end and fold it into a little clutch bag....So, I embellished the seams....well most of them. This is my first block and I was anxious to complete it so I really didn't do as much stitching as I should have. This is the end result and I have already got another project in the works. More about that later.

Shabby Swap

One of the gals on my shabby cottage list knew I was interested in learning silk ribbon embroidery and suggested that we do a swap. It turns out that we are both crazy quilters and she wanted some fibers for her stash of stuff so we sent each other an envelope of goodies and I am so excited to have gotten lots of ribbons to play with and cute little buttons and yo yo's that she had made and well just a crazy quilter's delight. Here is a photo of the stuff she sent me. Thanks so much Melissa of the Cottage Rose.

Now I have to get busy and use some of the goodies she sent. I just ordered a beginners guide to silk ribbon embroidery from Amazon along with a book on left handed embroidery. I am getting a lot of money invested in this lastest hobby of mine but I don't really have a lot to show for my investment yet! Oh did I mention that I spent another $50 at joggles this week on silk threads and stuff I'm sure I'll need and I plan to enroll in the encrusted embroidery class that starts in October. I have a birthday coming up in September so I'll use some birthday money for that indulgence.

Favorite Things

Well Molly has been gone for a week, last year at this time she was checking in daily with a report. This year she has a boyfriend with whom she checks in with daily, I get no report. So, I have eaten everything in site during the past week as I adjust again to the empty nest. I really need to get a new plan for next week! I have been keeping myself busy up until tonight and now I am just really restless and bored. So I am entertaining myself reading blogs and thinking about stuff….

So how about a list of some of my favorite stuff: I love quilts, here is a stack of some of my favorite vintage quilts. Dishes…..I like to eat off pretty dishes and I have a few sets of them as well as some odd ones that make me feel good. I like my front porch. I like to sit on my front porch and enjoy watching people go by, I enjoy watching the kids practice soccer or baseball on the athletic fields across the street and I enjoy my gardens in the summer although as I am getting older they are becoming harder to take care of. My gardens may not make my “favorites” list in a few more years.

What are your favorite “things” that bring you enjoyment?