Before and After: Living Room Drapes

I finished a work in progress this week- yea!! When we bought this house, the main level was painted beige and we had these lovely (also beige) linen-look drapes in the living room. Here's what the house looked like when we moved in.




Then we had that AWESOME water leak that basically destroyed our house a few months ago. And thanks to that water leak, we got all new wood floors and a new coat of paint through the whole main floor. We chose a grey color, Olympic Grey Ghost. But the beige drapes had to go. And they are LONG drapes, almost 100 inches each. Do you know how hard it is to find long drapes in a color you like for a price you can afford? And do you know how expensive drapery fabric is? So I went unconventional on this project and dyed the drapes myself in the washing machine. [Don't worry- I have experience. The first washing machine dye job I did was on part of my wedding dress. Way to start safe, huh?] So as of a few weeks ago we had grey walls and grey drapes.




Except now I had another problem- shrinkage. Major drape shrinkage. Look at how terrible that is! Dying them in hot water in the washing machine caused them to shrink to different lengths. High-water drapes are so not in our design scheme. So while at Ikea this weekend I purchased a dark grey curtain panel, cut it into sections, hemmed the sections, and then attached to the current drapes. Voila!




Not only do they look like fancy custom made drapes (because they are!), but this project was completed for a tiny price- many hours of work, some RIT dye, and one Ikea curtain panel. Even Husband (who is normally not so gung-ho about my 'happy hands at home' crafty projects) has said again and again how great these turned out.

I am on a drapery roll- next up 'custom' drapes for Baby Biscuit's room. Anyone have other ways to dress up, redesign, or repurpose old curtains?

Christmas Crafting

Decorating for Christmas is a big deal at our house. Not because we go all out, or because we buy tons of new things every year, but because Husband and I both enjoy it and we especially love building on what we've done in years previous.

This week I found a great little tutorial for Crochet Chain Christmas Trees at Seams of Life. I whipped up a few of these before a Christmas party we had yesterday, and I think they add a nice pop of color to our dining room table. Last week Husband crafted (can you believe it?) this card tree. A simple branch from the back yard, a vase we already had, and some binder clips and tape and voila! A beautifully simple way to display our Christmas cards [except... we had 1 inch of snow last week. No one can drive in the snow here. Someone took out our GIANT bank of neighborhood mailboxes and now we can't get any mail until it returns. Hrmphf!]



So, those are our little addition to the decorations this year. Do you have any last minute projects to add to your holiday displays?

Welcome Back

Long time no see, blog world. It's been basically 9 months since I have touched this blog. Don't worry, I have thought about you many, many times. But life got in the way, and the blog was pushed to the bottom of the list.

So, what has happened in the past 9 months? Oh man, a LOT. We bought our first house, and moved in April. That was an ordeal, a happy ordeal, which included buying new furniture, painting, more painting, and spending a nice amount of time decorating our new home.

Another first at our house... first baby is on the way! This has been the biggest change in the past nine months, and probably the biggest reason why the blog has fallen aside. Mama's got work to do! I have been planning, researching, sewing, crafting, and sleeping (oh, there is a lot of sleeping), in order to prepare for Baby Girl's March arrival. Husband and I are over the moon. Can't wait to show you all that we have done for her so far. Also can't wait for the blog to take on a new aspect... my little soapbox about natural birth and attachment/gentle parenting.

What else? Oh, little things like changes at work, a huge water leak at the aforementioned new house, trips around the country for weddings of friends and family. But things seem to be calming down and I am excited to share my life with all of you again.

Pillows

It has been a hectic, frenzied time at our house... Husband and I are making the leap into home ownership and when I say leap, I mean LEAP. One day of house hunting set the ball rolling for a super quick chain of events. We're still in the middle of it, but if everything works out, we'll be in our new house in early April! As stressful as it can be at times (especially because I tend to be the level-headed one around our house...), I just keep telling myself, "sewing room. sewing room. sewing room." I can't wait!

We have had a few nice additions to the current living room recently. First up is this gorgeous pillow (and it's mate) made by Amanda for the BTRS swap.

I don't know how she managed to cross an ocean, sneak into our house, record the exact Pantone numbers of our other couch pillows, and then create these beauties... but she did. And I am totally impressed and we LOVE THEM.

We saw some more great pillows at a wonderful little store called White Bench in Middleburg, VA. Although, I didn't necessarily love the price. I said what I always say, 'I could make that!', and this time, I actually did. The store version had a bit more going on, visually. I feel like this needs something on the right side. Any suggestions?

The pillow is unbleached cotton fabric, freezer paper stenciled bird, and sewn on branch (Amy Butler Midwest Modern 2, Ripple Stripe in Rust). I added the blue trim; it was purchased as part of a grab bag from a church garage sale two years ago and is 50 year old bias binding. (I am really getting my $1 worth for that purchase!) Yes, the insert needs to be stuffed a bit more, but I really like it and it emerged from the sewing machine just as I had pictured in my head.

Next up... angeling pillows for Becca from the BTRS Swap.

Waste Not, Want Not

'WNWN' is a total cliche; but it has definite weight when I hear it. This plate is from the collection of the St. Louis Art Museum, and it is 300-400 years old (can't remember dates), so we know that the phrase has been around for awhile. Do I think that 400 year old wisdom has helped us? Ehh... maybe not.

I am lucky enough to live in a place and have the means to go out and get a lot. I say 'a lot' meaning both many different things and great quantities of things. And in obtaining so much, I think things really loose their value. We live in such a disposable culture (get stuff, get tired of it, get more) and I want to really fight that mentality. I want to treasure what I have, utilize items to their fullest, and think before getting more. Not only is this a more centered or thoughtful way to live, it is also a 'greener' practice.

At our house, the area that plagues me the most is food. Too bad I don't have a set of WNWN dishes to keep this thought in the forefront! I have a pantry full of food. I have a fridge full of food. I have a freezer full of food. Yet we eat out a lot and let a lot go to waste. This is not what I want for my family.

What do I want for us? Healthy, local meals that taste good and nurture our bodies. My wasteful consumption definitely gets in the way of that goal! What can we do to get what we want? Plan meals, be willing to work (i.e. skip fast food, go to the farmer's market instead of the local big box grocery) for our meals, and use the left-overs afterwards. I look forward to being a better steward of what I have, and in turn, being able to provide my family with healthier and better meals.

What do you want? How is waste getting in the way of getting what you want?

Matthew's Baptism Quilt

Yesterday I finished this quilt for a new little friend of ours. Matthew was born in December and baptized yesterday. I started this quilt before he was born and both finished and gifted it to the family yesterday. It is a stacked coin pattern of Moda Oddysea fabric. The back is blue snuggle flannel finished with an embroidered image of yesterday's date and the baptismal shell. The polka-dot-esque fabric is actually a print of little seashells.

With every quilt I complete, I learn more and more and the process gets easier. I ironed open EVERY SINGLE SEAM on this puppy. Each and every one. And guess what, the quilt came together much neater and "stitching in the ditch" to quilt it was very simple. This one also has the best binding yet... all those hours of hand stitching that beautiful blue edge really paid off.

The embroidery was done and then attached to the backing before it was all quilted. Backstitch for the numbers and the lines of the shell, stem stitch for around the outside of the shell, and satin stitch for the water droplets (which signify God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit). I really need to do more embroidery; I love the process and with just a bit of work you can create something beautiful.

Pizza Delivery?

Note to self: if you are hungry, do not browse your Flickr photostream, as there are photos of Imo's Pizza.

I made sure to photograph our delicious lunch when we went during our St. Louis trip in December. Mmmmm..... Provel-y, saucy, square-y goodness. I am literally salivating at the thought of this pizza. I'll just let Wikipedia explain what all this is about. In the meantime, I might give Imo's a call to see how big their delivery radius is.

Tomorrow... the quilt I finished today. Yea!

Mad Hungry

For Christmas this year, Husband and I bought gifts that fell under the umbrella of 'something you want, something you need, something to wear, something to read'. All nice, important things in life, without going overboard. For my 'something to read' I asked for Mark Bittman's 'How to Cook Everything'. I didn't get it. Instead, while at the bookstore, Husband spied 'Mad Hungry'. He's a bit of a typography/design junky; here are the two covers, you be the judge...

No contest, huh. Mad Hungry sells itself as a cookbook with men's meals; the subtitle reads, "Mad hungry, feeding men and boys; recipes, strategies, & survival techniques; bringing back the family meal". To me this would be steak, potatoes, and more steak. However, the book is filled with wonderful recipes for all types of meals; breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides, even desserts! The author is Lucinda Scala Quinn, Food Director for Martha Stewart. She has created a wonderful assortment of recipes, photographs, personal content from her family and sons, and guiding words not just about technique, but also about true love of food and family. I've made quite a few things and we have loved them all. My new favorite all time cookie recipe (Oatmeal Chocolate Chip) comes from this book. Seems like these are made at least once a

week around here. Overall a great book, both to browse/read and from which to cook.

Welcome Back

It's been a long time, Internet. I haven't blogged in almost 4 months to the day. Do I know why? Ehhh.... life got very busy in November/December and creativity seems to dry up in the winter. I've been keeping busy recently with different projects, I've been inspired by things I'm seeing others do online, my sewing table is actually clean enough to work. So, all these things have converged and here I am. Lots of posts in the near future, I hope.

Here's a little glance into what was happening while I was away for so long. I made this quilt back in December as a Christmas gift for Husband's mother. The pattern is from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing (I have made 3 of these quilts. Love the pattern. Made another quilt this month that is actually NOT this pattern! Gasp!). I love the colors of this quilt and it came together beautifully.

And as far as future posts are concerned, I, like everyone else in the blogosphere, have fallen in love with Wendy Mullin's new book, Built By Wendy Dresses. Hopefully I'll be back next week to share my own 'dirndl sloper' [read 'dress pattern']. (And don't google dirndl if you don't know what it is. You'll just get lady lederhosen. Dirndl is a dress shape that I suppose is popular at Oktoberfest. My dirndl will NOT be that sort of dirndl. Sorry.)

Shenandoah

Ran away to the mountains this weekend. Spent some nice time with Husband and our friends Tyler and Gentri. We camped in Shenandoah National Park; the colors and the smell of fall in the air were amazing and I am wishing we could go back right this minute.

New Fall BTR Swap!

To all interested swappers... I've posted on the Bend the Rules Sewing Swap blog to begin a new swap. Please visit and weigh in!

http://btrsswap.blogspot.com

Corsage Shirt

What can you create with two knit shirts and half an hour?

This really is an easy cheater project; start with a shirt you like, buy another (the bigger the better... more fabric to work with), cut circles, and sew. See how easy that was?

I used two different sizes of circles, 2.5 in. and 3 in. I cut about 15 of each. Stack a small and a large circle, crimp/fold to give it a bit of texture (see below), and sew about 1/2 inch across the center (don't forget to reverse at the beginning and end!). Placement is totally up to you. Before I began attaching flowers I put on my keeper shirt and marked a nice start and end location with pins (you can see one below, too). Continue stacking circles, folding, and sewing until the corsage has reached your desired size and fullness.

I love the way this turned out and am thinking about other takes on this idea... how great would a grey shirt with a multi-hued grey corsage look for fall? Gah! Another project!

Accidental Mixed Berry Apple Butter

Canning has become my new obsession. The happiest moment of my day yesterday was when Husband found pint canning jars on the clearance rack of Target and picked them up without even batting an eye. What a man!

A few weeks ago I set out to make apple butter; gathered necessary supplies, purchased Gala apples from the farmers market, de-cluttered the kitchen to make room for all my canning stuff. Ehh... did I mention I did this all one morning before work? So, there I was, in all my canning glory, counting minutes until I had to be at work. All was going well; the apples were simmering, the sugar and spices were mixed, the jars were steaming in the dishwasher.

It was going to be easy peasy... until I realized that I was short on apples and definitely not short on sugar. Lesson learned... measure your fruit BEFORE mixing it with the sugar. Since I didn't set out to make apple flavored candy that morning, I did what I could to spare my mixture. First I spooned out the excess sugar. Then I remembered the berries that had taken up residence in my freezer. I quickly got them defrosted and pureed, mixed them in with my apple/sugar/spice mixture and had the most incredible 'Accidental Mixed Berry Apple Butter'. YUM! I will definitely try to recreate this one in the future.

How do you serve your apple butter? So far we've had it on toast, graham crackers, and waffles. Mom has suggested on ham. Any other suggestions??

Hamburger Dills

You might remember Stephanie, the friend for whom I made this quilt. Steph is a fabulous gift giver and I cannot wait to blog and blog and blog about this one. A few weeks ago an entire home canning set found its way to my house. What a fabulous bday gift! CANNING! and PRESERVING! Seriously. Husband might have shaken his head a few times at me, but when the word 'pickles' was uttered he was on board.

Here it all is; canning salt, vinegar, dill, cucumbers, lids, bands, peppercorns, jars.

Cucumbers (from the Farmer's Market) sliced and ready to go.

The canning set-up; left front is brine, left back is lids simmering, right side is the canner (big, isn't it??).

The finished product. Give me 4-6 weeks and then I'll let you know how they turned out. Recipe is from the Ball Blue Book.

Felt iPod Touch Case

Last weekend I became the owner of a brand new iPod Touch. Husband bought a MacBook Pro, I received the iPod as part of the deal. Immediately I knew it would need a case. The metal back attracts fingerprints and the iPod slips right out of my hands; I am a klutz and would be needing some protection from myself! I spent a whooping $0.29 on some blue felt, pulled out my embroidery box, and went to work.


I love the way the 'free motion embroidery' on the medallion turned out. The case is held closed by a strip of elastic sewn onto the front panel. Headphones go in one side and iPod goes in the other. Simple enough. Did I mention the felt is reincarnated plastic soda bottles? Goodbye Diet Pepsi, hello Pedro the Lion.

Unrelated note... do you see my lack of album art? It was all lost when transferring music from one computer to another long ago. Makes Cover Flow pretty sad. One of the downfalls of not having internet at home, I suppose.

Richmond VA

Husband and I spent 4th of July weekend in Richmond, VA. Nice little town and an overall nice getaway. The fireworks display claimed to be the only show in the country to have fireworks, live music, and cannons to perform the 1812 Overture (which is Russian, by the way. Go figure...).

We had a great time and every moment of that weekend made me so happy to be married to this man. I don't think that there is anyone else with whom I would want to spend the good times and bad times. We got word that his 'Oma' (grandmother) had died during our vacation. It was upsetting news, but she's off to see Jesus now; no longer dealing with cancer and old age. We worry about Opa; how her death will affect him. Many times we remarked to each other, 'You are not allowed to die'.

So, today, on our 3rd anniversary I just thought I'd tell you all (and him) how much Andy means to me and how greatful I am for such a wonderful partner. Below are some of my favorite photos from the weekend in Richmond.

During the car-ride there. Horrendous traffic with a smile on his face.

Winking at yours truly before the fireworks started.

My happy husband. He's got a very happy wife. Happy anniversary, babe!

Bringing the Outside In

Our rental townhouse is severly lacking in green space. As in... we have a small dirt patch about 9 inches by 2 feet and that is our 'yard'. Basically it's enough space for our gutter downspout to train into. The view is not pretty, folks. Concrete and vinal siding as far as the eye can see.

I've been saying for months that I wanted to find small succulant planters and have a small collection of plants in our living room. Succulants are great because they're hard to kill; both for me and our cat. While shopping at Ikea a few weekends ago we came upon these planters AND the succulants to go in them.

They take hardly any work and they look fabulous. The cat has stopped trying to eat them, even! A great way to bring the outside in.

Merry Belated Christmas

Way back in the fall I decided to make my friend, Stephanie, a quilt for Christmas. When we lived in Chicago Stephanie would come over every week to watch LOST with us. Because the Husband is a polar bear, our house was always freezing and and TV viewing required a throw blanket (still does, even now in June because of the high speed usage of the ceiling fan). Steph and I would hunt out whatever blanket or quilt we could find, settle in, and try and decided whether or not Charlie was dead [!!!].

So back to this quilt; it didn't get done by Christmas. Not at all. Steph came out here to visit us in May; the quilt was done then, but wasn't bound. Steph's birthday was last week. The quilt was finally finished and shipped away to it's new home. Procrastination at it's finest, folks!

Brown to match Steph's couch and yellow to match her living room walls. The patterned fabric is Amy Butler, the brown and green are cotton solids, the bright yellow/orange is gingham fat quarters. I freezer paper stenciled the tag with her initials and mine... the paint bled a bit more than I'm comfortable with, but after 6 months I didn't have time to be picky.

So, what's the longest you've ever had a work-in progress? Can you beat my 6-8 month quilting endeavor?

Happiness is...

It has been almost two months since my last posting. During a recent conversation a friend asked, "when am I going to open your blog and see more than an apron?". Well, friend, the time is now.

Creativity seems to have dried up at my house; the only sewing I've done recently was projects for other people [basket liners for a friend's nursery and two lap quilts made from Sunday School quilt blocks]. Sewing out of necessity and not because of inspiration is a total buzz kill. Plus, I think I've adjusted to the Eastern time zone [Conan isn't on until 11:30!!!] and Husband and I have been sleeping in more, thus negating all free time I used to have between 5:30 and 8am way back in our CST days.

I think I'm coming out of the slump, though, as the past few days have been INCREDIBLY busy from 7-9am [in two mornings time I've done five loads of laundry, cleaned and vacuumed the first floor of our house, changed the engine air filters in both cars, and started practicing my yoga again. PHEW!]. I've even got my eye on a few projects, namely, the Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing, something or other out of some Amy Butler I bought on a whim [perhaps the summer blouse!], and a skirt or two.

Now... to get to the post I originally set out to write.

I have the great joy [and sometimes frustration] of working with kids on a daily basis. Today one particularly ornery 5 year old said to me, "Miss Adrienne, I really like my life", and then continued to list all the reasons why his life is so grand. Got me thinking about the good things that have been happening in my life recently and so, this list is born.

Happiness is...

• having an incredible Husband who is just an all around great guy.
• talking to friends from far away, sharing life via the phone even though the miles keep us apart.
• patiently waiting YEARS to find a watch that I had pictured in my head and randomly coming across it at Sundance.
• having a 6 year old tell me 'I like your shirt!'
• the new Iron and Wine collection. Some old stuff, some remastered stuff, and some new stuff, too.
• getting away from life for a bit; Husband and I will be traveling to Richmond VA soon. Any must see things?

So what do you have in your life to be happy about this week?

Flirty Apron Swap- Sent

Another recent creation...

...sent to Frieda for the Flirty Apron Swap. The two parts are connected at the waist band and seperate down the sides. The overlay is a vintage table cloth. The underskirt is new fabric from JoAnns. I thought the curves on the new fabric mimicked the scallop and curves on the table cloth. The edge is done in bias tape. I have a new found LOVE for bias tape after this project. SO EASY!

Originally blogged about it here.