Funny Magic

Five Words: January

::Yummy::

::Yarny::

  
::Reflective::

::Busy::

::Cold::
 
I was inspired by the ever-inspirational Jessica to end this month with five words/five photos.  How was this first month of 2010 for you?

Dressing the Windows

So last Friday night, the hubby and I had "date night" while the kids spent an overnight with my dad. And what did we do with ourselves, you ask? Well, we hung out in the computer/play/sewing room, hubby entertaining me (and himself) with funny stuff on YouTube, while I busied myself at the sewing machine. Honestly, we just didn't feel like leaving the solitude of a quiet house, and I'm happy to report that I made some new curtains. Hooray!

Here's a detail of that vintage coverlet before I turned it into a curtain:

With my trusty seam ripper I took apart the edges with the piping and reattached it to the top of each curtain panel to make them look fancy:

Here's one of the finished panels:

I rather like how they turned out, but more than anything, I'm pleased to have repurposed that sweet coverlet - now it's not hiding-out in my cupboard anymore, and I get to look at it everyday.

While I was at it, I decided to re-dress some more windows:

In the last Vintage Swap I received a lovely old table runner that I wanted to make use of somehow, so I decided to cut the thing in half and use the embroidered details on each end of the runner as window decor. For the panels I pulled out some antique fabric and had just enough to cover each window. Here's a detail of the fabric:

 

It really is very pretty, and I love that the floral details are reminiscent of being hand painted. This is fabric that I found at the antique store, too...initially it was pretty dirty, but after a good washing it brightened-up quite a bit.

And that's all for now, folks; time to take The Puppers out for a potty break, aka "the story of my life" these days!

Woof!

Look What I Found!

This past weekend I vistited my "Happy Place" and found some beauties that I just need to share with y'all:

Words can't even begin to describe how happy I was when I happened upon this pink velvet chair. I'm pretty sure I smiled a goofy smile to myself and did a little "happy shopper" jig. It's just perfect in Juliet's room, and I think my Smoochie loves it. Here's a close up of that scrumptious pink velvet:

Aside from a bit of fading in some spots, it's nearly perfect. I can't help but envision her curled up in this chair reading good books as the years go by...but that's not all I found....

I was able to get rid of the (rather ugly) little plastic red chair at her drawing table and replace it with a cute little wooden one for only $7.99:

We're also really loving this little pink mushroom nightlight that I found for her room, too:

A Target find, nonetheless, but still very cute - she loves to have it on while she sleeps, and it casts a nice soft light throughout the room. Not too bright to disturb the darkness, but enough to keep "the creepies" away, and that's what matters most, right??

And finally, I couldn't resist one more "Happy Place" find:

I'm liking it a lot better than the old digital glow of numbers, although the dial doesn't light up any longer.  Perhaps it can be fixed, but I don't see any clear way of opening the clock and taking a look at the innerds. Hmmm.

Anyhoo, my weekend's looking to be a busy and very fun one - date night with hubby on Friday, hockey and skating with the kids on Saturday, and Vikings football on Sunday...I'm not a football fanatic, but I do love that Brett Favre!

Have a good one!

Finished!

A festive bunch of placemats for Christmas 2010:

I followed the instructions in The Sewing Bible (love that book!), and FREE-MOTION QUILTED over the tops for the first time ever. I love free-motion quilting, I really do. Now I'm thinking that I need to make some more everyday-type placemats for the table, because, well, I'd like to do some more free-motion quilting. (!) 
I also made a bunch of cloth napkins to accompany the festive table-toppers:

Best of all, the fabric came from my stash - I'm really looking forward to using-up what I've got, rather than adding to it. Like here's what's on the ironing board for my next sewing project:

Fabric for curtains in the dining room; the dark purple fabric is actually a coverlet that I found at an antique store some time ago. Fortunately, it's in pretty good shape, aside from the binding that's coming off. And also, it's big! Hopefully there's enough there to cover the windows. I've had some sheer white ones up for a few years now...I believe it's high time for something new.

Last, but definitely not least, I'm nearing the finish line on this:

It's the Owlet sweater for Juliet, using Cascade 128 superwash, body and one sleeve done. I've been freaking over that pattern forever, and Juliet is eagerly awaiting "her owls." Soon, very soon.

Oh, and one last thing: don't you think you should sit down and crochet a Granny a Day this year? C'mon, it'll be fun..just think of the possibilities...!

Wishing you the best of weekends - happy knitting, crocheting, sewing, reading, working, etc.

Ta-ta for now!

2010 Stashdown

Tacked to my inspiration board(s) above my sewing workspace are a few resolutions and aspirations for this new year.

They concern fabric, yards and yards of fabric.

And yarn. Skein upon skein of wonderful wooly goodness. 

My hope (and intention) is to draw only from the stash and not to purchase any new fabric or yarn this year. Can I do it?? Time will tell...

I found the free calendar here - I had to tinker with it quite a lot to get it to print correctly, but even so, I love it.

The Vintage Swap for 2010 is open for sign-ups - check it out here. This is a great swap, lotsa fun, and and an excellent excuse to do a little vintage shopping.

Happy Tuesday to you! I'm awaiting a new dryer, to be delivered today...it'll be nice to dry our laundry without having it all get munched on and abused by the Great White Westinghouse Terror!

I may have made a resolution...

...or two or three. I just couldn't help but get inspired by blogland; I'm finding myself looking forward to the new year and to fresh aspirations, starting with breakfast:

In my heart of hearts, I am not a morning person, nor am I a breakfast person. I''m the type who prefers to start her day with a cup of coffee and move into it from there. This year, though? It's time to resolve to eat a yummy, uber-healthy breakfast every morning while sitting down at the table. (Yes, I am that bad! You'll likely find me washing dishes and drinking coffee while simultaneously planning the day and picking up the house, etc. etc. etc.) 

So far this week I've done really well - grapefruit juice, steelcut oats with dried cranberries, walnuts, brown sugar and milk, plus my requisite cup of coffee...I have to say that I'm feeling the breakfast love, and it feels darn good. And to keep myself from running out of ideas on what to make and thus getting bored with breakfast, there's a whole lotta recipes at Smitten Kitchen to be had, like this one, and this one. Yummy, no?

Anyhoo, this month I'll be scattering a few more of my resolutions/aspirations for 2010 about the blog - it feels good to get them down in pictures and words; perhaps I'll actually make them happen!

Turn the Page...Tuesday

It's been awhile since I've posted about what I've been reading, so here goes.  

Way back in November I read two books by Ruth Reichl that were loaned to me by a friend at work:

I really loved these books, and would rank them high on my personal recommendation list. She writes fantastically and is completely personable, humorous, and engaging as a writer; I stayed up way too late at night reading them and found myself not wanting either book to end. Here's a review from the School Library Journal:

This gastronomic delight is best taken slowly so that readers can savor each word. Motivated by fear of her mother's bizarre cooking escapades ("She liked to brag about 'Everything Stew,' a dish invented while she was concocting a casserole out of a two-week-old turkey carcass"), Reichl learned to cook early and her entertaining descriptions of kitchen disasters are sure to cause howls of laughter time and again. There were also some requisite difficulties, too, and readers will wince while reading of the author's weight battles and self-image problems while growing up; her college roommate's estrangement; and her mother's mental imbalances. Every job she took, from social work to commune cook, gave her one more piece of experience that eventually led to her current career, that of restaurant reviewer and writer extraordinaire. As an added bonus, this thoroughly enjoyable memoir also includes a handful of recipes that will make readers' mouths water.
Susan R. Farber, Ardsley Public Library, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.  

I also read Garlic and Sapphires, which was equally as good. Seriously, if you haven't read Ruth Reichl's books, you should add them to your list of must-reads this year. 

More TTPT here...

Still Sewing...

...for the holidays; it was determined (by me) that come December 2010 I shall have some festive napkins and placemats with which to adorn our humble table.

It was also determined (by me) that since I was a pretty good girl in '09 I deserved to buy this book:

Oooo, it is fantastic. Not only is it filled with pictures to accompany the myriad of instructions on the myriad of sewing techniques, but there are many cute projects, too, like quilted placemats:

I'm hoping to have some time this week to work on the placemats - school is back in session starting tomorrow for both kiddos, so I'll once again have a bit of alone time in the a.m. hours. Well, kindof...

Flossie will undoubtedly have other plans for me and my "alone" time, though; it's amazing how very, very busy she is!  Happy Monday to you, from the two of us.