Take Two and Call Me in the Morning

Dr's office waiting room

Waiting room valance



Close-up of the exam room valance fabric and trim







Exam room valance



I would fake a cough to spend the morning in this doctor's waiting room! Not your typical sterile-looking doctor's office! I designed and made the valances for the waiting room and exam rooms. The waiting room valances are a linen-like coral/umber material with a woven lattice-effect in khaki. The exam room valances were done in a chenille, embossed to look like burlap, in the same coral/umber. I trimmed those with a cute ball fringe in cream and chocolate. I made 2 ultra-suede pillows in coral for her office chairs in a custom size, 12"x18". 

I install zippers in an un-conventional way I suppose. I sew each half to the edge of the material face-down (see below left photo) then flip the piece of material and make the top-stitch (see below right photo). It was definitely a challenge sewing with ultra-suede. It's very sticky! I need to break down and get a walking foot for my machine. I hate to spend the money! They're not very cheap!  



The finished products!



All in a Day's Work

So... I wondered about a lemon yellow window treatment in a formal dining room. The walls are a rich golden yellow. The drapery panels are simple rod pocket panels. They have a swirly floral design with shades of turquoise, a Carribean blue (or Tiffany blue), cobalt, chartreuse, and the same golden yellow as the walls.  They turned out pretty! Here's a close-up of the fabric.

The Wow Factor

Here is the fabric for the pillows, drapes, and piano bench. The stripe is the drapery material. I wasn't sure how it would all look together and, to be honest, I thought it was going in a bedroom. This is a great color palette for a bedroom! Chocolate brown, ice blue, and a muted gold, very relaxing but sophisticated colors. I went to help install the drapes and everything looked very sophisticated! What do you think? 



The finished room showing the throw pillows and drapes.  



Tis the Season

Ha! I know what you're thinking...get your mind out of the "let's get a head start on the Christmas shopping and advertising and skip right over Halloween and Thanksgiving" gutter. What I MEANT  was... it's getting chilly out there, autumn is here, bonfire weather. My favorite season is autumn. I love the smell of pumpkins, apples (well, apples don't smell much but apple pie sure does!), bonfires (and roasting marshmallows). I love all the colors, deep crimson, golden yellow, rich browns and dark oranges. The trees are beautiful!


So you're asking, what's your point, Jackie, on a sewing (mostly) blog? My t-shirt quilts are very snuggly and toasty warm! That's the point! I have a couple of time slots still open before Christmas if you or one of your lucky loved ones would like to find one under the tree this year. Not that it has to be a Christmas gift! I wouldn't want you to freeze this winter! ;) Here are a couple I've made. There are more pics and info on my t-shirt quilt page. There are lots on my facebook page: "T-shirt quilts by Jackie". Original name, huh?   

Holey Window Treatments Batman! They've Got Grommets!

Grommet-top curtains are the trend right now whether you're looking for indoor window treatments, outdoor window treatments, or shower curtains. The grommets work with casual as well as formal fabrics. They come in a variety of finishes and, even though they're plastic, the metallic finishes really do look like metal. These are weather-resistant which makes for great outdoor application. There are black, silver, nickel, bronze, gold, etc (I could go on) metal finishes. They also come in lots of bright colors such as red, white, purple, turquiose. Those would be perfect for a teen's room! Below are some I've made for indoor and outdoor rooms.     



Dining room grommet-top curtain panels, Ikat fabric, brushed nickel grommets



Close-up of brushed nickel grommets





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Outdoor curtains, Sunbrella fabric with matte black grommets  



Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

"Waste not, want not", isn't that the saying? Well, my scraps keep accumulating. Denim, t-shirts, fleece, old jeans. I decided to make some bags from scraps. Hobo bags, messenger bags, tote bags. You name it, I'll try to make it. Orders are now being taken if you want one. Email me. I have different colored t-shirts to "upcycle" into bags. Let me know if you want a certain school or team. I also have some numbers (from team jerseys) if you have a favorite number you want to request!   

Sew What!

Maybe it's kind of random, maybe it's the chilly mornings. I've been saving scraps from my t-shirt quilts and trying to think of ways to use them. I look on Martha Stewart.com and Pinterest and kind of spin off from there. As I may or may not have stated (apologies, I'm still learning. I didn't link correctly but my heart was in the right place!), I'm not tech savvy. I didn't think to make note of the link where I got the instructions for the knotted scarf. It's on Martha Stewart.com. I had to bribe my daughter, Cassidy, to model the scarves last night for me. She already has a fleece boa but now she wants a knotted scarf.