sprung

yesterday i got the bug.  normally i would rearrange all the furniture, but it’s to the point now where the furniture only fits one way.  so i played with the couch instead.  hello spring.

i pulled out a dozen pillow covers and afghans but couldn’t find a combination that cheered my soul.  then i remembered some old embroidery pieces i found for pennies at yard sales.  jael and i stayed up late late sewing them into pillow covers.

i’m not entirely happy with the fabric combo on this, but that’s all i could find in the bucket.

the 70’s one i backed with a fun green print.  all in all it’s quite jolly.  if you don’t like it, just give me a couple months and i might sober up.

i also did this one for the basement a some time ago.  it was a fun painted piece of fabric i found at a yard sale for a quarter.  it took me a while to figure out what to do with it, but now i know.

someday i’ll even refinish the chair.

the abode

is starting to look a bit like a turkish hot house.  and i’m not really keen on it.  but i’m not really worried either.  i know the living room slowly moves through a series of metamorphoses and it’s nothing to have hot flashes over.

but that wasn’t why i was posting pictures, to show you the dissatisfied state of my living room.  i just wanted to share my new arm covers, a.k.a. “couch armor.”  …embellished with my private reserve of beaded, tangerine ball fringe.  which i like to keep handy.

but while we’re in my decidedly garish living room i thought i would show you around anyways, and then you could tell me what to do about it.

for instance, i was just granted this handy piano.  which means i am going to slap some wood scroll-work on the front and paint it.  so far i’m leaning towards white, but i am more than willing to up the ante if anyone has a better idea.

also, just had to show your our budding puffin classic collection.  six more to go and it will be the prettiest row of books you ever saw.  that is, until i round up the jane austen collection to go with.

i also have my eye to switching out the lamp, painting the piano (like i said), and hanging another print.  you can see the frame lurking along the floor, still empty thanks to the fine upstanding folks at staples who frown on copyright infringement.  that and i’m just waiting for pottery barn to send me my “coupons of temptation,” so i can change out my throw pillow covers.  and who knows, maybe i will find another cool throw for the couch before yard sale season is over.  that thing is like a chameleon.  you never know what it’s going to do next.

the ladies of the house

me and my young apprentice.  we made matching aprons last night out of an old dress my mother had found.  it sounded like a good idea at the start.  who could resist that cute vintage santa print anyways?  but then the sewing machine went all psycho.  i think i may have said a few bad words.  “look boys, mommy’s cursing in british.”  and at the end of the night my husband eyed me and said, “well that was a nice mother daughter project.”

well we got aprons, we’re wearing them arent’ we?  right.

p.s.  if you miss me, i’m on facebook.  i can’t take a decent photo in this grim december lighting, so i throw them up on facebook with everyone else’s grainy cell phone photos and you can’t even tell the difference.  now that’s slacking.  see ya.

i am still known to sew, if i have to.

we’re going to a birthday.  and as you know, sewing is the proven alternative to shopping.  a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do.

it’s even marked with my blood.

the unfortunate thing about making things for other people is that you never want to make them again, even if it devastates your greedy two year old.  no one really feels sorry for the pirate anyways.  except strangers.  they seem to be highly susceptible.

others know better.  like the cat.  today jael came up to me crying, “the kitty bit me!  the kitty bit me!”  naturally, the tufts of black hair poking up between her sticky fingers was a dead give away.

and if that’s not enough for you

here’s is jael hanging out next to the new nursing cover i made for a friend.  my computer was down that day so i didn’t have my “recipe”.  anyways, i ended up making the thing too short.  after being considerably miffed i settled down and added a ruffle on the bottom.  i kind of like it.

so there, hooray for mucking things up every once in a while.

oh fine

i’ll blog something.

it’s a ninja minky.  jael is indiscriminate when it comes to minkys and cried bloody murder when she found out we gave it to “that boy.”  all minkys are jael’s minkys as far as she is concerned.  but he was cute and it couldn’t be helped.  welcome to the world joshua ryan!

jael and her new “bawbo”

yes, did you know you could make new ones?  and they don’t even know the difference?  i wish i would have thought of this sooner.

although i did have to sew it while she stood screaming at my feet because i  had already taken the old one away.  bad move.