Skirting the Issue

Fun, bright, and modern print for the skirt

We've all seen this issue, ugly school bathroom! Paint the walls, add cute modern artwork, and cover the utilitarian sink (with all of it's plumbing glory showing) with a fun, bright fabric skirt. I sewed velcro to the skirt and used double-sided mounting tape to attach the other side of the velcro to the sink.    

Complete the Look

Re-covered dining room chairs

This is the same dining room I posted about a couple of weeks (I think!) ago. I made the curtains with self-border made from the reverse side of the fabric. We considered some sort of trim but when I swathe back of the fabric, it was just as pretty and finished-looking as the front! I just folded, pressed, and top-stitched along the lengthwise fold. These curtain panels were double-width so they were still really full even when I used about 5 inches of fabric on the inside edge for the border.  

Pinterest Is Making Us Fat!

Close-up of the finished crescent cinnamon rolls. I had to put this one first! It looked the yummiest!

Ok, I confess, you CAN get healthy recipes from Pinterest but what's the fun in that? I like to try new things, change it up a bit. My husband would be satisfied with the same 4 or 5 things every week for dinner I think (the man orders the EXACT same thing in every Mexican restaurant we go to without ever looking at a menu). I love all sorts of food. I love cooking all sorts of food. That's probably why I have several boards dedicated to recipes with a huge variety of recipes. I do eat healthy for the most part but sometimes I hear the siren call of something sweet. I also love to make breakfast.

Canned cinnamon rolls cooked in a waffle iron (they don't look too bad)

They were hard like hockey pucks but if I make them again maybe I'll take them out of the waffle iron sooner. 

I've tried some real bombs too. The mac-n-cheese in the crock pot  (lumpy, dry), making waffles out of canned cinnamon rolls (like hockey pucks), man-pleasing chicken (way too much mustard didn't please anyone!) just to name a few.
So lately I have found some I really liked (and tweaked the recipe just a touch). The crescent cinnamon rolls from howto-simplify.com were easy enough but had too much cinnamon. I made mine bigger. Also, when you slice them it helps immensely to chill the rolled dough then slice with a serrated knife. They kind-of mush together and lose their shape if you don't.

On the left, the dough un-rolled, spread with butter, sugar, and cinnamon. On the right, rolled and sliced.

This plate didn't last long!

Simple but Elegant

Dining room curtains have a 4 inch self-border in the inner edge.  That's where the fabric is turned "inside out" to make a contrasting border.

This is a close-up of the dining room curtains. I should've taken a better close-up to show the border better. The fabric is a textured matte gold and the border (or wrong side of the fabric) is a shiny gold.

Bathroom curtains with ruffle top (with our spokes-model, Tina!).

Close-up of bathroom curtains, black shantung silk with fleur-de-lis embroidered on fabric .

Bedroom curtains: I added gold bands to the blue curtains to make them longer. The rod is mounted higher than the window to make the window seem taller. This was an alteration. She had the blue curtains already but didn't like how short they looked. 

Throw pillows I made to match.

Up to My Eyeballs in Quilts!

This is a college quilt. The squares on the left edge are 4 smaller squares comprised of the four directly to the right of those. I used the backs for the larger squares and the left square is what was on the front of the shirt. 

Pillow Talk

I like making throw pillows. There are so many options for shape, trims, colors. I always make my own piping and I have been known to make 50 (yes, fifty!) yards of piping at a time. Most of the time when I make that much piping, though, it's for cushions. But it's not that difficult to make and adds another dimension or accent to the pillows. Take a look at these!

My latest project: down-filled throw pillows!

Bright coral linen fabric, almost a burlap woven texture

Close-up of the fringe I used. Most of the top "tape" portion was sewn inside with just the fringe and tassels showing 

Floral throw pillow;  the striped and dot fabrics behind it were for the window valances.  

The paisley pillows have a cord edging on them

Reversible cushions with coordinating reversible pillows

More pillows with cord edging

The blue pillows are a silk shantung and the gold are a velour with a cheetah design cut in the fabric.

Orange linen pillows

Brown/cream check pillows in back; blue tapestry/scroll design fabric pillows with piping made from brown/cream check fabric

Wrapped Up in Memories

This is my busy season, more-so than Christmas. Graduation! I guess that's my excuse for not posting much lately. I'm good at multitasking but working and writing at the same time...well, it gets complicated. As if my life isn't complicated enough!
So, to explain my title. It has a double meaning. You can get wrapped up thinking about fun times, hard times, friendships and family, and accomplishments. I've always loved scrapbooking, digging out photos and remembering the occasion. I confess I'm photo-crazy. I love taking photos, looking at them, giving them away, and keeping them for my scrapbooks. I've always been that sentimental, collecting ticket stubs, napkins, souvenirs. I started doing scrapbooks while I was still in school, before the huge craze it is now! When a good friend of mine showed me a photo of a t-shirt quilt and asked me to make one for her son I said "why not!". I've never been afraid to sew something I've never made before. I can look at a photo of something and copy it easily.

High school football theme t-shirt quilt

Quilt close-up showing the grey fleece back

High school, vacation, sports memories

College fraternity quilt

So, back to the t-shirt quilt. They're squares of memories you can snuggle under. I make mine with a micro-fleece backing instead of muslin. It's super-soft and warm, comes in tons of colors, and eliminates the need for that bulky batting. This time of year I get a lot of orders for graduation gifts. I just love to see what they pick as favorite t-shirts to put on the quilts. It's something different every quilt and each shirt has a special story, a special meaning. This is something they will always treasure. That's why I love making them.