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Deacon's Seersucker Jumper

Here's the jumper I made the other day.  It really looks adorable on my little boy, doesn't it?  This one is size 4T.

FYI- I purchased the pattern HERE.  It's a great pattern ranging from size 0 to 4T with lots of great instructions and pictures.

Handmade Seersucker Bowtie

I know my northern readers won't understand at all, but as the wife of a Presbyterian Minister, church clothes get lots of use at our house.  I bought a couple of yards of seersucker fabric to make a couple of rompers like these for the boys.  I know this is the last summer I'll be able to get away with dressing Deacon like this, so I have to seize the moment right?

I'll post pictures of the romper later on today hopefully once Deacon wakes up.

HOWEVER, Andy who is usually never the benefactor of my sewing projects got a very special southern style bowtie. Isn't it fun?

I'm seriously considering making a few of these to sell.  What do you think?

Project number 2- Fabric Cabinet liner.

So every time I to go a thrift store, I scour the wallpaper stash for some beautiful vintage wallpaper, but most of them are just ugly.  I knew I wanted to line this cabinet ever since I took the doors off, but just hadn't found the right liner.  Till now.  

When I was scouring the red tag fabrics, I came accross this lovely fabric and I thought...this is perfect.  It was so easy to install.  I just cut the fabric 1 inch longer than it needed to be (height wise) and folded it over and placed it in with thumbtacks.  It makes me happy every time I look at it.  I still have quite a bit of fabric left.  I'm thinking of lining another cabinet and maybe making placemats?  Or even a string of yo-yo's to hang in the window.

This project got me so excited, I decided to hang some things on our bare wall in the kitchen.  I also moved the tables around in the house too.  This small table used to be our main table for dining.  When we moved here, the family left a patio table in the kitchen.  We used that for a while, but when the weather started getting nice I pulled the table outside leaving a vacant spot in our kitchen.  It will be a while before we can afford a proper kitchen table, so these two small ones will have to do for now.  We can eat family dinners in the dining room and casual dinners in here.  The kids think the little table is fun.  Andy painted the kids table with chalkboard spray paint.

It's starting to feel like home.  We really want to redo our kitchen floors and countertops though.  Anyone know anything about cork floors?  I'm starting to think it may be the way to go.

The Chair is Recovered

It took a lot of strength.  My back is actually sore today from all the tugging and pulling it takes to recover a chair.  But it is done and was very much worth it.  The fabric I bought was from Hancock Fabrics and it really wasn't cheap- even though it was 50% off.  I bought two yards and that was just about perfect.  I have enough leftover to use to make a small accent pillow for the couch but that's it.  

Photo credit- Hancock Fabrics.

The fabric is called Zanzibar Odessa Mist Decorator Fabric and I just loved the softness of both the look and feel of it.  It has a lovely design but it isn't overpowering and coordinates well with other things we have.  

Total money invested was $10 for the chair and $25 for the fabric.  If you're more savvy, you can easily find much cheaper fabric, I just fell in love with this one and couldn't be swayed.  Now I'm thinking of asking the lady with the peacock farm from our church to share her feathers with me so I can use them to accent this chair.  

I have another home decor project involving fabric planned for today.  I'm excited about it.  Stay tuned.

Four days, four projects

OK, I've got only 4 days to create a giant mess and clean it all up before my husband gets home.  I have a couple of bigger projects in mind and a couple of little projects in mind as well.  We'll see how productive I can be while caring for the little ones by myself this week.  

First order of business: Recover this chair.  I purchased it at goodwill for $10 yesterday.  Today I hope to cover it with beautiful fabric.  Bring out the staple gun!

Windowboxes

Here is the latest thing that gets me extra-super-giddy.  My new windowboxes!  I found these planters underneath some big ugly bushes on the side of our house last week.  They were filled with roots and dirt and the roots were actually digging through the holes in the boxes into the ground.  They were so discolored they had green and brown splotches all over them.

So I pulled them out, cleaned them up, primed and painted then filled with beautiful wave petunias.  What do you think?  I think they are perfectly romantic.  

The hardest part was figuring out how to install them.  I'm super cheap, so I didn't want to spend money.  I basically tied a rope around the box and tied the rope around nails I hammered inside the window.  The windowsill is supporting the weight of the boxes, the rope just keeps it from tipping over onto my lovely children.

Weeeeeeee!  (I told you I was giddy)

I'm learning to knit

Sometimes I like to think of myself as being more like the Proverbs 31 model of a noble character by keeping my hands busy on sewing and knitting.  But let's be honest, I don't think that the Proverbs 31 woman was knitting cable knit clutch for herself while she was sitting on the couch watching DVDs of 24.  No, I am a far cry from the Proverbs 31 woman.  My house will testify.  I've been making myself so tired by playing outside in the dirt that I come in and want to sit.  Knitting is a great sitting craft.

But don't expect me to make a blanket or scarf.  I don't have enough patience to make something like that.  I hope this will be done within a week.  Otherwise it will go into a bag to be forgotten about like many other yarned things I've begun but never finished.

If you're thinking of sitting...I mean knitting, I recommend these videos that helped me lots:

Long Tail Cast On 

Basic Knit Stitch 

Purl Stitch 

Cable Knit Stitch 

Once I've completed my clutch, I'll share the pattern with you.  

Lucky Me

I received these earrings in the mail thanks to a fabulous giveaway from Snug-N-Luv Handmade.  These Earrings were made by Daisy's Petals.  Please check out all of her handmade Jewelry which is very reasonably priced.  I think every decent man should have a relationship to some degree with someone who makes jewelry so he can surprise and impress his loved one or mother or sister while also supporting an independent artist.  It was the best surprise to find out that I had won such a lovely item.  Owen REALLY loves them too.  I have to make sure his grabby hands are not too close when I wear them.  

I understand, little Owen.  When I see a lady wearing earrings this beautiful, I want to rip them out of her ears and take them for myself too.

Great Success at the Thrift Store Today

We walked in wanting to purchase some giant mirrors to hang in our house but they had already been sold.  We didn't leave emptyhanded though.  Check out all this cool stuff we got.

5 yards waverly canvas fabric ($1)

Stack of books- Less than $2

Vintage Leather Suitcase- $3

Seemingly Unworn Striderite Sandals in Owen's size - $1

MY FAVORITE ITEM:

Vintage Stencil Kit- Unused- including 20 stencils, unused paint and brushes.  Wondering what I should stencil first... Maybe the suitcase?  Or maybe this little key dock we got?

 Key and Letter Dock $2

Stay tuned this week for all sorts of stenciled goodness in Low-Fi Pictures as my camera is off to the hospital and PhotoBooth is all I have left.

Cheers!

Join me for Lilyfest

This Sunday afternoon, I'll be playing music for the 2009 Lilyfest at Lansford Canal State Park in Catawba, SC.  Lilyfest celebrates the peak bloom of the rare Rocky Shoals Spider Lily.  Live music will be along the waterside from 12:00 until 5:00, but I will be playing from 1:15 until 2:00.  A fun event for the whole family.