Christmas All Over Again!

I've neglected my blog. How horrible.

I have done a bit of "post-worthy" stuff, but I thought today I would show off our Christmas cards. We held a photo shoot of Jaxon (OK, I tacked a white sheet on the wall), and here is the outcome:



And this was the second choice:



And I made stickers for the backs of the envelopes:



Not nearly as cool as Heidi's cards, but pretty cute just the same!!

Babies take time?? Who knew??

And why did I think I would have time to continue to refurbish furniture AND keep a blog about it??

The eBay furniture is still in the garage untouched -- but there is a chance I'll finish the rocker we got BEFORE Jax was born this week. I'll have pictures soon.



In the meantime, Jax has finally discovered he has hands and can grasp things, which hasn't been great for my jewelry. He loves to grab onto necklaces and bracelets while nursing (and the collar of my shirt). So I bought some really cheap wood craft beads and made some "nursing necklaces." Jax can tug and pull and play and I don't have to worry about him breaking something important. He's kind of obsessive about bright and contrasting colors, so that helps, too. And I can wipe them down with a wet cloth, perfect for the obsessive-compulsive mother!

New Project: eBay Furniture

I went a little crazy last week when I came across a woman in Cleveland selling a bunch of mid century modern furniture on eBay. It was all "pick up only" which means everything tends to go much cheaper because it restricts who can bid due to geography.

I picked up a Heywood Wakefield dinette set that has seen better days for a great price, and a bid on a great couch but was outbid at the last minute. Lucky for me the high bidder backed out and the seller offered it to me.

We picked up the furniture Saturday, and it's piled into the garage. The couch seems to be the world's heaviest, so getting it into the house will be a chore (any volunteers??) but I'm excited to find some great upholstery fabric!

My addiction: Surplus Auctions

When I started at the University I had to go to Surplus to get some furniture for my office. While there I noticed a beautiful antique piano. The surplus guy told me to come back for the auction. Apparently someone decides when something is no longer worthy of university use, and they auction it off to the highest bidder. So Charlie and I went back for the piano and ended up with a desk and a few other miscellaneous items -- and we've been attending the quarterly auctions since.

I've furnished the living room in auction finds:


The chair was $2. Probably because it was upholstered in orange pleather and had copper-colored legs. The couches were $7 and $1. They're sleeper sofas so they weren't fun to move, but easy to reupholster. Here is a before:

Obviously it's during my progress, but you can see the previous fabric. Samantha was afraid of a thunderstorm so she hopped right in!

This is the piano that started it all. Moving it and tuning it cost more than the piano itself, and we had to cut part of a wall down to get it in the house. Well worth it, the piano turned 100 this year. The chairs to the left are also auction finds, $2 for both.

Posting, The First

I've been inspired by my friend Heidi to start a blog. Heidi is an incredibly talented, prolific, and speedy (!!!) crafts-person. She puts my sewing to shame.

I figure this is a good place to display projects I'm working on, and blogging is something I can do while I'm feeding Jaxon, which is the majority of my day.

I'll be posting some of my latest upholstery projects, as well as the results of my newest hobby -- quilting. I'm also about to tackle a first: refinishing an antique dresser.

In thanks for stopping by, here is something to make you smile:

Charming Cuckoo

Thanks for all your kind words about my Caravan fabric. I'm not completely giving up hope on it, just putting it away for a couple of weeks. I've got a couple of projects to start and finish in the next two weeks, so I had to get my sneak peak from last post done.

So without further ado:

Charming Cuckoo

When I saw the contest announcement for the March Moda Bake Shop Challenge, I knew it was kismet. I had just fallen head-over-heels in love with Hideaway. I quickly found a pattern on the Bake Shop called Charming Stars that seemed perfect.




The original pattern called for yardage to make the stars. I wanted to play up the gingham in the Hideaway line and I already had two charm packs. I was trying not to buy too much yardage, so I bought another charm pack. That meant getting really creative on how I sewed the stars to minimize waste, but it all worked out.




I knew I wanted to include embroidery in the quilt and was thinking I would have to design a cuckoo clock pattern. About a day later Aimee Ray released her cuckoo clock pattern. Kismet! I really drug out the stitching, which is why I ultimately missed the deadline for the contest (and somehow the linen I stitched on --originally the same white as the sashing-- became discolored), but I wouldn't love this as much without the embroidery so I am A-OK with it.




I happened to have a yard of the cute village print from the day I was introduced to the fabric, but I thought it needed a little something extra. These mini stars were just the ticket.




And I couldn't just meander around the embroidery, so I did a bit of stippling in each star and then quilted a series of chained circles in the sashing. I was thinking clocks but they look more like eggs. I'm A-OK with that, too.




Particularly because I think the quilted back is pretty cool. I talked myself into doing a solid piece of kona for the backing -- this is meant to be a wall quilt, so the back won't be seen; kona is cheaper than a good quality print, and little piecing means a fast backing! Now I'm really glad I did, and I'm thinking maybe someday I'll tackle a whole cloth quilt.




So Charming Cuckoo has me thinking April won't be se bad. I even got to take photos outside!

-- Post From My iPad