Folded Gingham

Rug, part 2

I actually finished the braiding a few days ago, but the sewing is taking awhile and it's a killer on your fingers!

Here is the back side of the rug so far, this is the side I'm sewing from.  I started off wanted to make a squared corner rug, but boy is that hard to do, so it will be semi oval in shape with just a tad bit of rectangularity to it :)

And here is the top so far.  I'm sure a good rug maker would gasp at my work, but hey, I never claimed to be an expert, most everything I do is by trial and error and I teach myself along the way.

Two more pics, these of our Sally, our mini schnauzer... what a life she leads, basking in the sun all day...

Have a terrific day,

   

Making of a rug, part one...

I decided that painting and rearranging are out for awhile, but laying on the couch too much doesn't make me feel any better, so I found something that I can sit and do.  I'm making a wool braided rug for my front door. I'm trying to be good about not spending money, and since almost all the new braided rugs are made of yarn instead of actual wool fabric, I decided to make myself an authentic one.  First I hand stripped some large pieces of wool from my stash(all is recycled clothing)...

Now I am in the processes of braiding the strips, which will take several days...

I found this rug braiding tool at a church yard sale a few years ago. You press and hold the lever with your foot and the top part holds the braid, so you have both hands to braid with.

I need to paint it or stain it still, but it works great.

Have a nice day,

Ps, I'm close to my 200th post and I'm planning a giveaway, so keep your eyes open for it.

Who wants to come clean??

I need floors mopped, laundry folded, windows washed, and toys put away...any one up for it?? Please!!

Yes, I know, you all have your own chores to do :P  Just send me some energy and non sick vibes my way, OK?

You know, I think I drive myself crazy, I'm so indecisive when it comes to color and my sewing room is already eating at my last nerve.  Oh, be quiet!! I know you all were thinking that it wouldn't be long before I changed it. Well, I haven't yet! But I so want too.  I'm just not a yellow person, and I knew that when I painted it, but I really did like it that day. How insane am I?!?! Don't answer that!   I got the new Home Companion today and I so love the colors of Heather Bailey's fabric and also the new Darlene Zimmerman "Clothesline Club" collection.  But those colors totally do not go in my house. However, with the sewing room now blocked off, why can't I put them in there. The room now is just not inspiring me. I thought maybe robin's egg blue, red, pea green, and a bit of pinks, all very vintage in look(like and old baby quilt) might be a nicer room to create in. So who is up for a painting party?

I have done absolutely nothing in the house as far as making things or redecorating. I spent 5 hours at my daughter's school on Saturday sewing costumes for her play, I thought my back was going to break!  Then on Sunday we took a beautiful walk in the woods behind our house. It felt like a whole other world as we walked along the wooded trail that ran by a tiny creek.  I'm not an outdoor person at all, but this was really nice and I look forward to doing it again next weekend.

Oh, and give me any and all suggestions for morning sickness please... it seems like one thing works for a bit and then the effectiveness wears off and I feel like crap, especially towards the evening(which doesn't help because that is when everyone is home and dinner has to be made).

The only pic I have to share today is one I took last week. I put all my flags together in the kitchen. I'm getting over the dolls that i have collected and I'm thinking about selling them. Maybe next week I will have a cyber tag sale and you all are invited!

Have a lovely day,

Just some pics...

Just a quick post of some pics I took the other day.  I have actually done absolutely nothing for the past 2 days, can you believe it?!? I'm so darn tired and queasy that I figure if I don't have to anything then why should I.

First pic shows how I moved the pie safe into the sewing room, was the right color red and now I don't have to repaint it to match the family room...

I moved this piece because I needed to find a place for the $10 hutch, I put the hutch in the mudroom, which meant the dog kennel bench had to be moved. So the dog kennel bench went to the front foyer, which meant I had to move the dry sink that was there. So the dry sink went to the spot next to the fireplace where the above pie safe used to be. Oh, and the black cubby hole piece that was in my sewing machine ended up back behind the couch in family room, which meant that I had to move the antique table that I had there.  The table ended up on the other side of the fire place as a little writing desk...

 

I had to clean out the pie safe of all my linens so that I could pull my wool in it. In the process I found a pair of old table runners that were just too neat to shove in a drawer somewhere, so I pinned them up in my mudroom as valances...

They look better in person, real farmhousey. Sorry, didn't take a pic of the other window, but the valance looks the same.

Ok, I'm off to try and make dinner.  Thank you all again for the kind words, I keep telling myself that I will sit down and respond to each comment, but I never seem to get around to it, so forgive me for that.

Have a splendid night,

Thank you!

Thank you all for the kinds words and well wishes :) They mean so much to me and I love that I have a place to share exciting news.

The all day sickness is slowing me down but not kicking my butt yet, and I'm actually welcoming it, it's that added little security that things are progressing well.

I'm still tweaking the house, had to find a place for the $10 hutch, and in finding a place for that, about 4 other things had to be moved too,lol! It's always the way, one things creates a snowball effect. I really am going to try to stop rearranging for awhile because I want to concentrate on making some crafts. So I need to get into a better routine around the house, something like...setting time for daily chores, making one or two things daily, and then maybe once a week doing  a house project.

A quick pic of the spring/summer curtains I'm doing for the family room...(they are a red and cream ticking, I need to line them still)

 

And I can't believe that Easter is right around the corner, I haven't put any decorations out yet!!! Of course it feels no where like spring with the snow out there and an ice storm coming tonight, but I really do need to make time tomorrow and get my bunnies out.

Oh, and in my spare time, I'm working on costumes for a play that my oldest daughter is in. Here is the current one I'm working on, a 50's poodle skirt outfit(I still need to sew the poodle on and put the leash), the skirt was refabbed from a vintage 50's dress I found at goodwill.

Ok, I'm off to drink another glass of golden gingerale, the only thing that seems to settle my stomache a bit.

Have a great day.

 

Happily feeling ill...

So you probably guessed what my surprise was already, right?  I was going to keep the secret a bit longer, but the morning sickness(all day sickness) has already kicked in and I'm generally feeling crappy, but that's a good thing. It means that this pregnancy is going well and combined with the good numbers that my Dr called me with yesterday, I'm feeling good about this baby sticking. I know there is still a possibility of things going bad but I'm praying that all goes well.  So now you know what's going on if you don't see a post everyday, it's most likely because I'm stuck on the couch feeling yucky.

And for the curious, I'm still very early, just 6 weeks 1day so we still have a long ways to go until our little pumpkin arrives in October.

Have beautiful day.

Last minute presents...

My oldest son likes to wait until the last minute to do things, and birthday presents are no exception. After days of me asking what he wanted to get his best friend(who is a girl) for her 15th birthday he finally decides the day before the party.  She is a sweet girl who is bit wacky, in a "doesn't care what others think" kind of way. My son asked her for a list of what she wanted and she gave him a list of 25 things. It was quite funny to read, just of few of the things were...the wicked witch of the west's broom, all the marshmallows from a box of lucky charms, two left feet, and a palm tree. Although, the sweetest thing on the list, which gave me warm fuzzies, were the words "your mom". 

I spent all day yesterday(in between normal daily stuff) making her an all wool monster softie(a scary monster was on her list) and a tote bag. Then my son and I created a journal with all 25 of her requests coll-aged on the front and back cover. It came out pretty cool.

I personalized the bag for her and for once my sewing machine wasn't tempermental about doing it!

We also included a box of chalk(the monster had a chalkboard vinyl belly) a box of crayons(also on her list) and a big bag of M+Ms.

Have terrific weekend.

 

(secret revealed tomorrow!)