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Thursday, January 28, 2010

Baby Sling...

After putting this off all morning,(I'm feeling miserable), I finally went in my sewing room and made a new baby sling. My old one was 16 yrs old and was given to me as a gift with my first baby. It was showing its age and the fabric was a bit dated. So I took the rings from it, used a piece of decorators fabric that I picked up awhile ago for $8 at a local shop and made a new one. Had I known how quick and easy this project would turn out to be, I would have done it long ago. The ironing took longer than the actual sewing.
I would model it for you, but it doesn't quite look right with the giant belly. I'll save the body shot for when I can actually show you the baby in it :)
Anyway, I'm happy with how it turned out and it is one more thing checked off my list.

Have a splendid day,
Tiff

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Little Squirrely...

I thought I would share another one of my collections with you. These little critters reside in my upstairs hallway in a clock that my dad made. It's my squirrel and nut collection....

The large acorn birdhouse came from the local prison store that is filled with wonderful handmade wood products. The fabric acorn came from Ebay many years ago. The two squirrels on the tree are actually salt and pepper shakers and were a goodwill find. And the little tiny squirrel was from my miniature collection as a little girl.
This huge ceramic acorn was another goodwill find. I'm sure it was some homemade ceramic 70's project, but I just couldn't pass it up, even though the colors are a bit harsh. And the little grass squirrel is from a Fair Trade party.
This ceramic squirrel is from target or walmart(don't remember which one). Two more fabric acorns and another set of salt and pepper shakers from goodwill. The little acorns in all the pics are from pottery barn.

So there you have another one of my quirky collections.

Have a terrific day,
Tiff

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Shower Gift...

The neighborhood baby shower was today. I got several cute outfits, diapers, gift cards, toys, and such for baby Mason. It was very nice and very thoughtful of my neighbors.


Here is the gift I made for my neighbor who is due with a baby girl the end of March.

I showed you the hat earlier, but I also made a pair of mary jane booties to match.
Here is the finished quilt. I put a super soft minky(I think that is the name of it) fabric on the back. Machine quilted it and handstitched the binding.
It came out cute and ended up being bigger than I expected, which is a good thing.
I still need to finish up, ok start, the bedding for the little crib in the family room, that will be this week's project.

Have a wonderful day,
Tiff

Thursday, January 21, 2010

This will be easy...

Hmmm, I guess I'm not too interesting that there aren't too many curious questions about me. But that makes this post easy.

Question 1. The quilt hanging in my family room was made by a good friend several years ago and is called Village Quilt Block, here is a link... http://www.citystitcher.com/bom.php scroll down about half way and they have the whole kit or individual blocks.


Question 2. How do I get so much done. Honestly I don't. I don't get near as much done as I would like too. I tend to work in spurts, somedays I don't get anything accomplished other than household chores, then other days, I get on a roll and get a ton of stuff done. Basically, if I get going, I keep going, if I sit, I tend to keep sitting ;) Also, if I'm going to do something, I do it all the way, I hate half a$$ workmanship, whether it is with projects or chores, if you are going to do it, do it right. And I guess, I'm a bit of a perfectionist, I like things a certain way and so I make it that way.


And thank you for asking, my stomach is feeling much better, it is still sore, but no where near the horrible pain it was. Of course now I'm suffering from day 4 of an earache, but I'm holding off on going to Dr, I just am too frugal to pay an extra bill when I have an OB appointment tomorrow.


Well, I need to clean the house good today, the floors are screaming for a mopping and a ton of laundry to put away, so I'm off to work.


Have a lovely day,

Tiff

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Q + A.....

I've seen quite a few blogs do this and I thought it was kind of neat. You get to ask questions about the blogger, stuff you have always wondered about or things that never quite get answered through the blog. So feel free to ask me anything!!! I'll post the answers to the questions in the comments in 2 days.

Right now, I will answer a few questions that I remember from email or comments, forgive me if I don't remember them all, just ask again....

1. About the brick on my fireplace, it was from home depot, don't remember the brand, but it came in a white box and was the only kind they had. It looks like real brick because it is real brick, only it is about 1/4 the thickness.

2. The wreath like Christmas tree that was on my counter came from a local little shop about 6 years ago, the store has since closed. There are no markings on it, so I have no idea who made it, but I would love to find another one. The whole thing comes apart for storage too.

3. Hubby no longer is in the Navy, got out back in 98.

4. The vinyl floorcloths are super easy to make, just take a piece of inexpensive vinyl flooring(make sure there are no indentation patterns on the back, you want it to be smooth), pain the back side of it with a base color(several coats), paint your design on it, and then seal it with a polyurethane (I prefer a water based one) and several coats work best, letting them thoroughly dry in between.

Ok, I'm drawing a blank to any more right now. But like I said, ask all you want in this post and they WILL get an answer in 2 days :)


Oh, and I'm working on a giveaway, so stay tuned. I want to get it done before this baby comes.

Have a splendid day,

Tiff

Monday, January 18, 2010

Crocheting on "chair rest"...

Thank you all for the sweet comments. We had a nice dinner out. Unfortunately, sometime on Saturday, I pulled or tore a muscle in the upper right portion of my stomach. And every time I cough(which is often from the acid reflux) it feels like a knife is stabbing me, the pain is horrible. So yesterday, I decided to take it easy and rest the day in my recliner. But I couldn't just sit there, so I crocheted and crocheted, and crocheted....

I made this gown and matching hat for Mason. Though, I think it would look better if I could find a green or tan onesie to put underneath it.

I also made a hat for the baby shower on Sunday(the pink one) and a "sweet pea" hat for Mason.
Also, another pair of leg warmers and a matching hat.
And a pair of fingerless mittens for myself (modeled by my 12yr old with her green nail polish). I still want to add some buttons to these to spice them up a bit.
My stomach is still extremely painful today, so I'm going to try and rest the remainder of the day, which is hard, because I still have a ton to do. I think tomorrow will be a Q+A post.

Until then,
Have a lovely day(it's a snowy one here),
Tiff

Saturday, January 16, 2010

17 Years ago...

It's hard to believe that it's been 17 years since we got married, it feels like only yesterday that hubby was trying to get that first kiss from me(took him a whole month). We don't have any wedding pictures because we eloped, but this one is from hubby's graduation from power school in the Navy, about 5 months before we got married.

We are going out to dinner tonight, just the two of us, which is very rare and hubby bought me season 2 of Avonlea. Which by the way, I highly recommend this old tv series, it's fun to see the old houses and costuming and you can actually watch it with the kids without worrying about bad stuff.


Happy Anniversary Darling, I wouldn't change a thing!!


Love,
Tiff

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Projects....


Wow, I didn't realize how little I have been on the computer this week until I saw how many blogs I haven't been keeping up with. Skip a few days and it feels like you miss a lot! I'll have to do some catching up this weekend :)


Anyway, I thought I would share what I have been up to this week.


I washed and put away all the baby clothes and blankets, so that is one major thing off my checklist. Scrubbed the carseat and bouncy seat and they are ready. Managed to get two meals made and in the freezer for the family when I'm in the hospital(still need to make a few more) and the house is relatively organized.


I finished up my Valentines on Sunday. I redid these so many times because I just kept being not happy with them. I first made the polymer clay heart pins that are attached to the side, then I made the fabric cones(the color is a real pink in person, not the coral color the pic is showing). I stuffed them with so many different things, but nothing looked right, so in the end I just went with chocolate, who doesn't like chocolate? Now just need to get them in the mail.


I finally made a knit gown for the baby. But my sewing machine was acting up with the knit fabric, so I gave up and just hand sewed the whole thing. Which really only took an evening, baby clothes are small luckily. I think in came out pretty cute.
Then I crocheted some baby leg warmers for under the gown. That way during diaper changes, his little legs will still be warm. I want to make a few more pairs, yet another evening project.
I also made this bag for the baby. I fell in love with this bear fabric at goodwill a few months ago. It was originally a pair of curtains, but I knew they could be turned into something else. The fabric is a heavy canvas, perfect for a tote bag. I added the trim and a pocket on the inside, but I still need to get a thin piece of plastic to make a bottom for it so it has some stability.
And I'm working on a baby quilt for a baby shower that I'm going to on the 24th. My neighbors are throwing it for me and another neighbor. She is due the end of March and is having a girl, so I'm making her a girly patchwork quilt and maybe a matching tote(time depending).
That's it for now. Sorry I haven't been around. I have a ton of mail I still need to answer, which I'm getting too, but with running the kids to all their activities and trying to get so much done, computer time is limited lately.


Have a wonderful day,

Tiff

Thursday, January 7, 2010

Valentines..

I started to put out my Valentine's Day decorations today, and to be honest, I have very little. But, here are a few pics of around the house, I do have a few more things hanging on doors and such, but blogger was taking forever to download pics and I did not feel like waiting.


I filled my wood bowl on the kitchen table with fabric hearts and berries and it sits on a runner that I bought years ago(like 10) at tj maxx and I tea stained it.



This is the display by my mudroom door.



And I made these paper mittens a couple of years ago.

I've also been working on 14 Valentine's for Sarah's swap. It's been tough as my creative juices are not flowing right now, but I think I finally figured something halfway decent out.


I think my next few posts will share another collection, will be a Q+A, and possibly my first giveaway on my new blog, so stay tuned. 


Have a lovely day,
Tiff

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

First Project....



My youngest daughter sewed her first project on her new sewing machine the other night. A sewing machine cover. She chose the fabrics from my stash, cut them out herself(with her new lefty scissors) and sewed it up. The machine worked pretty well, but she does have to get used to the speed of it, as it doesn't have a speed control.


I had my 34week Dr. appt. today, for the curious minds out there, you can go to my baby blog to see a pic of the enormous me :)


Have a splendid day,
Tiff

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Sewing Room...

I "think" I'm done with the sewing room for now, at least I need to be or I won't get anything else done!  This poor room has had so many transformations since we moved here is the summer of 2006. It started as the original dining(there was no beadboard wall at the time, my dad built that for me, nor was there a screen door on the small opening). As a dining room, it barely got used, since we have a table in our kitchen. So it was just more of a show place for my stuff, which is fine, but I really do hate wasted space. While it was a dining room, I tried many different looks, from Americana, to shabby chic white, to a light blue(which only last a few days).  The end of the dining room came when I wanted a sewing room. The wall went up and the sewing room came. How I struggled with this room. It changed looks many times as a sewing/sitting room. Then, I decided to let it go and it actually became my oldest son's room for about 9 months and his room(the bonus room over the garage became the big kids playroom). Well, that didn't work and wasn't being used except by my oldest son and his friends. So, I finally said, I want my sewing room back and you can have your giant room back. We switched again, bought big shelving(remember the wool post). And I tried to make it a functional sewing room, but again, I wasn't pleased with it, I wanted it a bit prettier. So that leads us to where we are today, phew! Did you make it? LOL!


If you want to see some pics of the room as a dining room, I linked to my old blog that shows a post of a bunch of different looks that have been in the room.

And here is a link to what the original sewing room looked like when I first did it. It was nice, but yellow isn't my color and I still wasn't happy with it. My parents gave me that wicker set, which really needs to be in a nice 3 season porch, for now it is being stored in my basement because I just don't have the space for it, but I love it and hope to use it someday.

Finally, the pics for today.  I painted the white beadboard wall, Heritage blue by Old Village paints, and eventually all the white trim in the room will go blue. I then hung my first floor cloth that I made in a class from adult ed(the edges had gotten ruined, the woman who taught the class had no idea what she was doing) on the wall and framed it out with some molding I had in the basement. And I stenciled the whole room on Thursday.


Here is the view from the screen door kitchen area. I moved in the treddle sewing machine so that my youngest daughter had a place to sew with the new machine she got for Christmas.


I may change out the curtains(which I made a few years ago) after I paint the trim around the windows.  I hung all my embroidery hoops in the corner from an iron basket hanger. 


In this corner I put the goodwill dresser(remember it was green, painted it old village mustard), it holds all my patterns, and beside it is the wool rack. I then finally hung the goose picture that I picked up last summer at the lions club yardsale for a quarter. Funny thing is I actually debated on this pic, and my friends didn't really think it was me, but I liked the goose and the fact that on the back it said made in the USA.  I have since seen it on several blogs, but I bet nobody else got it for a quarter!

Here is the view of my sewing area. I did leave one shelving unit in the room(I needed the storage) but it's covered, so it doesn't bother me too much, however one day it will be replaced with a big wood prim cupboard.  My machine sits on a huge roll top desk that we bought years ago for our computer. We almost got rid of it several times, but now I'm glad I kept it, at least for now it works.  On top of it sits half of my old dining room hutch(the bottom half is in my family room with our TV on top of it). I had hubby and oldest son bring this up from the basement because I hated that it wasn't being used. Unfortunately, it was 1/4" too tall to fit! So we had to take the very top piece up wood off the top and then it fit, luckily you can't tell and the molding was able to stay on.



Here is my work table for now, I picked up this table within the last year at goodwill and gave it a paint makeover. Hubby brought this braided rug up from the basement for me because the room felt cold without a rug(I told you I have a ton of stuff stored in the basement!).  The couch used to be in our family room until we got the big brown monster. This couch is very comfy and the golden mustard color now goes well with my sewing room.

Just a close up of the stenciling around the room. I stuck with the 3 colors of the room, blue, red, and mustard. Super easy to do, but I forgot how time consuming stenciling is, especially when you are 8.5 months pregnant and are up and down on a step ladder!

I rearranged the hutch in the corner a bit and filled the berry basket with rolled wool. And just another view of the room, I need to take the curtain off the door now that the room is done, I was trying to hide the mess.

And the sign that hangs on the kitchen side of my sewing room door.


That's it for now. Just have to clean up the family room and kitchen and I can move on to more projects... like the huge old spinning wheel that is currently sitting in my garage waiting to be cleaned and find a place to reside in my home.


Have a great weekend,


Tiff

Friday, January 1, 2010

Happy 2010!!

Wishing all of you a Very Happy, Healthy, and Prosperous New Year!!








Love,


Tiff