Moose

My husband, who I love dearly, thinks he needs a "wilderness" theme in his new "man cave." Yes, I said it, we have a man cave. Our new house literally has too much space for us right now so there is a separate "family room" downstairs that my husband has turned into his sanctuary (in addition to the room next to it which is his "gun room") and it has the big screen TV, soon it will have surround sound; all the necessities he needs to enjoy his 200 channels of cable. It is even fully furnished with the option of a poker table. The walls are mint green, as is the rest of this house, and we are attempting to "decorate" without painting. I went on a hunt for fabric for "curtains." I put this in quotations because it is a basement window- very tiny- and almost doesn't need any window coverings, but I am trying to support the wildnerness theme becuase I won't allow it anywhere else in the house. I went to the fabric store and searched for some sort of wildlife fabric and ta da! I found a moose print! What could be better! It is a neutral backgroud, has the browns that match our furniture...it's perfect! The best part of all, I don't hate it. So here it is!

Sophia's Birthday Doll

I made this back in June for my niece, but its such a neat project I wanted to point it out. It is entirely hand sewn which makes it great for car trips, sitting in front of the tv, waiting for appointments, etc. The pattern is from The Purl Bee. It's made completely from felt, which is really nice to work with-no raveling or seam allowances to worry about.

Now, I did not buy the felt from Purl.com. They have 100% wool felt that would have been about $80 to buy all I needed for this doll. Instead I looked around and found 70/30 wool/polyester blend at Fabric Depot. I bought 1/2 yard of the color for the body and dress and 1/4 yard of the other colors. I'm pretty sure I can get a second doll out of those materials as well. I bought the materials (felt, stuffing, upholstery thread, and dmc floss) during a 30% off sale so in total I spent around $10.

The one negative comment I have about the pattern is that they tell you to use a doll making needle for sewing it together. Don't. The only time you will need it is when you attach the legs to the body. Otherwise the needle is so thick it shreds the edges of the felt and your seams will not want to stay together. I ended up satin stitching several areas where this occurred. After I switched to a regular needle I was fine.

There's a whole group of the dolls here.

Bread and Butter

HERE

Pretty please!

If you'd be a doll and click on this picture for me....



I REALLY would love to win this bike.

The chair

Have you seen my latest upload to facebook? The recovered 1920's chair that now is the prize piece in my house and it better be because it cost me as much as our whole living room set! Manntiques & Upholstery took care of the wood refinishing and recovering, I chose the fabric. My hope is that when we do new drapes they will follow this color scheme. I am so in love with this chair!

I appreciate privacy too

Remember this? My project? Here they are...



Kitchen curtains in all their glory! there are two windows in the kitchen, each with these pointless 1/2 shutters. Why pointless you ask? Because our neighbors all live above us. See...




As I told the husband, I don't think the neighbors need to know what color your boxers are each day. This is a quilting weight cotton I found in the local quilt shop. I used some muslin I had on hand and sewed, basically, a pillow case. I ironed all the seams to make them crisp and ironed over each of the side edges towards the back and sewed a seam to make them appear professional from the outside. I like them. And....if I change my mind about adding trim the top hem where the cafe clips are is unfinished and it can be added in a snap.

side note: brushed nickel cafe clips are HARD to find! I finally found some stainless clips at at Bed Bath and Beyond for about $4 a package. This was after visiting 4-5 different stores with no luck.

**blah**

As far as i'm concerned today is done. i'm over it and all the crap that's come with it. i have stuff to share but at this moment the couch, an afghan, a cat in my lap, and a dog on my feet is all i can muster.

Boring window treatments

So we had this window in the craft room that had no covering and boy did it need it. I have had this fabric for a while...found it on clearance. It has a nice texture...looks heavy but isn't. So I just made some simple boring curtains with an extra poufy ruffle at the top. I know...so boring, yet I have found since putting them up they really have grown on me! Now, the mini blinds were pure matching necessity. The window on the right that you can sort of see had blinds, but nothing on the other two. The best part about my mini blinds? I put them up all by myself. Who needs a husband!?!
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Sewing Group

I don't know if you follow a lot of blogs. I use Google Reader and let's just say I keep the service busy :). I've started to find sewing blogs and have been subscribing as I go. There is so much good stuff out there! I found one I thought you'd really like, if you haven't come across it already.

They work on a pattern a month and blog about it with tips, problems, etc...This month they're running a contest giving away next month's pattern and supplies. I thought you'd be interested and like to join the fun!

VOGUE

So I did it. I sewed some clothes. It wasn't too hard. I found this "easy" vogue pattern a couple of months ago while on sale and stashed it away. It reminded me of my favorite jcrew shirt that is falling apart and I thought,"Hey why don't I make one?"

I used an orange and white quilting weight cotton that I had bought to make a dress with but I had JUST ENOUGH to cut the shirt out. Seriously, this pattern eats up some material. Mostly because the top yoke pieces, you get to cut two of each out and use one on the inside of the shirt sort of like a lining.

Enough words. Here it is.

(This is the only mirror in our house. Can you believe that? I have to get on finding a full length mirror so you don't have to look at the bad lighting not helped by the yellow/gold hideous wallpaper dungeon that is our bathroom)

I spared you the side view. Basically its big. REALLY big. I feel like I should be six months pregnant wearing this shirt--but I'm not. I should have known. That jcrew shirt I've worn to death is an extra small. I usually wear a medium. I followed the pattern's measurements and this is the size I need, but as you can see I could fit another person in that torso area. I even made the pattern corrections to make it a petite while I was sewing.

What to do? I could tear apart the bottom from the yoke and hack three inches off each side but I'm afraid that will mess with the shape too much. Heaven knows I'm not skilled enough to add my own darts or other fancy schmancy sewing tricks yet. But then I had an idea...

Belt it.

I don't own a cute wide belt but I think you can get the picture. I have the entire length of fabric left on each edge after cutting the top out that I can use to make one. Real belt buckle kits are hard to find--not those ribbon belt loops. I think I'll invest in some heavy duty snaps and make a custom belt to match, maybe some belt loops? What do you think? Tear it apart or belt? Or, you know, put it away and if I'm ever six months pregnant pull it out then :)

The new house

Here it is...photos of the new house, half decorated with our style. Of course, seeing it in pictures is definately not the same as in person, but you get the idea. I am so in love with this house! I find new things every day that make me love it more! And the storage! Ah...there is a place for everything and everything has it's place. Now, I am finally unpacked and ready to start crafting again!

hmmm...

Oh do I have things to share! But apparently the trip to WA proved more tiring than I thought and I can barely lift my head off the pillow to type this. Which, to two very lonely and dying for attention orange cats is a good thing, to me, makes for a difficult time getting things done. Let's see...I owe you a demonstration on how the new bag works, a story about rivets and hardware, and pictures of my very first venture into sewing clothes. Maybe tomorrow. I have to drive to SC to get the dog but then I should be good to go. Later.

Decorating

I have made new purchases in attempt to fill our new home. I LOVE the ladder that is leaning against the wall...it is a perfect fit for the room it is in. I got a screaming good deal at pier 1 on the vase and bamboo sticks. That corner still needs some work but I am getting there!
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My new best friend

Here it is! This is the tote bag form of the bag. The straps also
morph into a handy backpack. I lined it in black and white ticking and
it has a zipper pocket and a partitioned pocket in the lining. I used
fabric i had on hand for this not knowing how it would turn out. I'm
thinking I need a madras plaid one to finish off the summer.

Different Furniture

So...we bought some bedroom furniture and it isn't what I posted a while back. We ended up picking something different, sight unseen (in person anyway) and ordering it from costco.com. It should be here in 4-6 weeks!

I think this will match our new bed and bedding quite nicely!

New kitchen

The Kitchen is complete. It is set up, decorated and ready to be fully functional. I have even tested out the new smooth top range and its pretty nifty! You can't see it, but I put some wall words up on the soffet above the sink. I also still need to put up our clock, but it is in who knows what box! I will post more pictures as I complete rooms. I didn't realize the picture was so fuzzy - sorry about that. I will take a better one later.

Upgrade

We are on our way! Yesterday when I went to check in airtran offered
an upgrade for $100 each. Since we got our initial tickets so cheap I
said yes, yes, yes! Extra leg and arm room and apparently free drinks
for 5 hours... I could get used to this. This is the husbands first
choice. White wine? Sometimes I don't know about him. I think I'll
stick with the little bottles of vodka after my water :).

So this may be one reason why it took me four hours to cut out all the pattern pieces for my new bag, A Day in the Park Backpack Tote

Meet my sewing assistant, Hercules. 

I love laying on fabric. Thanks so much for getting it out for me. But why all the sharp pokey things?

I told you no more sharp pokey things!

Or perhaps it has something to do with this GIGANTIC INSANE CUTTING LIST just for ONE BAG!! I didn't even have to do all the interfacing pieces. Finished pictures to come. Its all done and ready to make its debut in Washington!