thimbly things

I love seeing what Jhoanna has on her desk each week, and I know there are many other bloggers who do this too.  It must have come from kootoyoo, because that’s the link Jhoanna shares.  Anyway, I’m in.

On my desk today you’ll find:

• an apron that needs mending (I made this for a friend 1 1/2 years ago when I was just starting to sew.  I used fusible webbing to put on the pocket, and it has just started to fall off after several washings!  Now that’s a testament to fusible webbing if ever there was one.  What’s really funny is looking at just how awkward my sewing was.  It warms my heart to know that she really does wear the thing!)
• a quilt that needs mending (And I need advice on this one!  Please, if you know anything about fixing quilts, tell me!)
• a sheet that wants to be something
• the “home sweet home” embroidery I’ve been putting off
• cute teacup stickers

Also, I finally started painting the charging station I mentioned here.

It was a wonderful and tiring weekend in which I squeezed in as many naps as possible!  But I must say that I have some of the best friends anyone could ask for.  All the fanciness of my baby shower was entirely their doing, and it was just lovely.

To top it all off, Mindy, Zuri, and Jaime went in together to get me what I believe is the coolest rocking chair I have ever seen.  Really, it couldn’t be a smidge more perfect!

I made a couple of hostess gifts before the shower and humbly thanked them.

Lately that’s what I’ve been doing: making piles of stuff.  Piles of laundry, piles of hand-me-downs, piles for Goodwill, piles of toys to clean, piles of baby supplies, and piles of these:

And more of these:

Of course, the cookies and brooches are for Saturday, but I’ve also spent time making stuff for No Particular Reason.  Thus this:

And this:

Honestly.  How kitsch is that?  And not even in a truly hip way.  It’s kitsch in a late-1980s-blue-and-mauve-country way.  But I still might hang it in the kitchen window.  At least for a spell.

Really though, what’s the harm?  I found this little guy in my $4 Quality Thrift goody bag.  The paint was nearly dried up (one color was), and the plastic paint wells were so brittle that–you might notice–the latches on most of them broke when I tried to open them.

This is such a funny “hobby” to me.  There’s not much to it.  It’s easier than paint-by-number since you can’t accidentally bleed into the wrong area with the paint.  There are walls separating each section, and the “paint” is really supposed to be a thin stain that more or less spreads itself out.  And then, when you’re all done, that satisfied feeling of accomplishment is rather diminished by the pitiful look of the project.  No matter how hard you try, it will never look like real stained glass.

I say all this, and yet I spent at least an hour filling in those little spaces with the cruddy old paint and cheap, limp paintbrush.  It’s a compulsion, I tell ya.

I got my package from Sew, Mama, Sew!  Though I requested two half-yard increments of different fabrics, I’m not at all disappointed to have received just the Awesome Octagons I talked about last week.  I have many-a-vision for it, and it’s good that I have a full yard.

I think it does match the bathroom nicely and fits with the retro styling.  Now, if I could find (and afford) some octagonal mirrors to replace what we have, that would be so stinkin’ great.  And maybe I can just paint the light fixtures white.  They’re rust-colored.  Rust + Pink + Burgundy + Taupe = You do the math.

But this fabric…

As soon as the photo shoot ended, I gathered all the laundry in the house, adding my new yardage to the pile.  As soon as it’s dried and pressed, I might make a curtain for the vanity and steal the tension rod out of the kitchen window.  There will be plenty left over for other projects as well.

By the way, I watched Steel Magnolias last night (for about the 86th time), and Shelby’s bathroom (where she talks to Jackson before their wedding) has the exact same pink and burgundy tile scheme as ours.  I don’t know if that’s a good or bad sign, since the movie is so quintessentially 1980s.  Big hair, ugly bridesmaids’ gowns, unflattering pants, etc.  But it’s also one of the most endearing and enduring films I can think of.  I am a girl from the South, but still…

Making the mail even more special today was an unexpected card and gift we received from Evan’s parents.  Thanks guys!  That was so encouraging!

We’re having quite the overcast (and now rainy) St. Paddy’s Day here in Tulsa, and I’m hard-pressed to find any green worth photographing. Except the neighbor’s yard. Just across the street, our very nice neighbor has a green lawn while everyone else’s is still blah blah brown. There is a flowering tree across the street as well, and I keep wondering if the neighbors (who all appear to be home for Spring Break) will think me insane if I hobble over there with my camera and toddler.

Yellow has been more of an inspiration as of late. I realized this when I read SouleMama’s post on bringing the sun into her house (via painting a room yellow). This may be surprising to friends who know that when we moved into our house, I painted over our yellow walls immediately. Green, in fact. Our living room was the color of a Granny Smith apple for almost a year. Until I convinced Evan that I would indeed lose my mind if I didn’t repaint it. He said, “Fine. But it’s your project.” He was gone for 2 weeks in January and came home to an almost-half-painted-living-room. Thankfully, he helped me finish. Thankfully.

Here’s a picture that shows just how vivid and overwhelming the walls could be (in certain light):

Insanely bright. Neon. And very little looked good on the walls. So there’s some green for the holiday!

I tried to do a round-up of green craftiness to share, but it was quickly disassembled by Em.

Thank you Brobee for being the awesome Little Green One today. As for my hang-up on yellow, it’s mostly centered around this hand-me-down dress someone gave us:

It’s very pretty–on a hanger. But the collar is too much pretty, I think. Too much frill. I cut it off this weekend and sewed on some fresh binding. What to do next? Hmm…

And for all my readers who don’t know, WIP stands for “Work in Progress.”  I got your back.

Around these parts, I’ve been focused on swelling, hormonal changes, an upcoming baby shower, and…

Easter!   It’s so much fun to have a little person to make cute little things for.  Emily might not even care all that much about getting a new toy, but one day she’ll be able to ask me to make something for her and give me all the specifics.  And it feels good knowing that I might help her carry out her very important vision.  I remember having those dreams as a kid.  I would draw out elaborate dollhouses or design clothing collections for my dolls.  The imagination of a child is such a fabulous thing.  The only problem is seeing those imaginative designs through to completion.  Well, this mama will be happy to step in and help out.

Here’s a peak at Emily’s Easter Bunny (pattern by Wee Wonderfuls, embellishments by me):

And here’s the start of a friend for Bunny:

I know, it doesn’t look like much yet, but just wait.

This past weekend, I opened my JoAnn circular to realize that I had several coupons that were on the brink of expiration. I thought quick. What do I need? What do I really need? With a tiny allowance (and not wanting to spend it all) I headed over and purchased only needles and thread. That was it. No fabric. No yarn. No buttons. Just the basics, which made coming home and emptying my bag of goodies a rather dull experience. But! But then came the inspiration for the evening.

Pincushions=gratification. They’re quick, easy, require very little material, very few tools, and are so small and pretty. And my new sewing instruments became beautiful to me. Shiny, sharp, glistening pins. Ready to take on all manner of crafting.

This little pincushion is based on the pattern in Sew Pretty Homestyle (Thanks, Mom D, for the Christmas present!). This is the first thing I’ve made from it, but believe me, there is more to come. I love how the cushion came out looking very much akin to a mushroom.

(Oh, and remember my thrifting trip from a couple weekends ago? In my grab-bag, I found a little wooden ring which is now the base for this pincushion. How I do love thee, Quality Thrift Store? Let me count the ways…)

I was also inspired by the needlebook pattern in Sew Pretty, but I modified the design and materials and ended up with my own pattern. The one in the book doesn’t use felt or buttons, and it seems larger. I was determined to use my scraps of fabric because I have quite a pile-up in my craft room. So now my pincushion has a matching friend to organize all my fresh, new, beloved needles.

I entered a contest at Sew, Mama, Sew, and I actually really really won!!!  And the prize is a yard of fabric (my choice) from one of 4 new lines.  I especially love the Ginger Blossom Collection, but I’m torn between a few different prints.   They’re all so lovely.

The octagon tiles are killin’ me here, but Evan’s not really into them.  Ultimately, he won’t care what I choose.  He just laughs at me for stressing out about it.  It is free.

I started thinking about where I would use the prints (not something I often do when buying fabric), and I remembered our very oddly colored and slightly neglected bathroom that needs, um, something…

OK, so it seems kind of pleasant in this picture.  But there is A Lot of pink and burgundy tile.  And taupe walls.  Here’s a little more perspective:

Loads of awkward empty wall space and light fixtures that don’t match anything.  But maybe there’s a fabric out there that will help pull it together and inspire me to do something with what I’ve got.  I used to hate the bathroom.  I hated it so much.  I wanted to paint over the tile.  Or, better yet, rip it all out and start over.  I taped paint samples to the walls on more than one occasion.  But after a year of living here, the bathroom has finally begun to grow on me.  I want to take ownership here–give it a little TLC.  Fall in love with the 1950s charm.  That’s all.

So back to the point of all this: I’m leaning towards that first fabric because I think the colors would be cheery in the bathroom.  A trim on the curtains?  Or the shower curtain?  A wall-hanging?  A cushioned bench or chair?  One free yard of fabric, and suddenly my bathroom gets the attention for which it has so long yearned.

We cherish the quietude of our Sunday afternoons.  My pins and needles also take a little rest with a cushion all their own.

Thanks to Bella Dia for her pattern in Softies.