Spring is Near! Update for February 22, 2014. Hill Country House

My Ethan Allen sectional was delivered this weekend to our hill country house! I plan on painting the walls a version of this taupe color. 
 Our weekend was cut short by this:

The black truck is ours. The little black car came into our lane around the curve. Our wheel was broken off and pushed up under the cab, so the truck was not driveable. The other driver was bruised from her air bag and had a bad seat belt rash, but we were unhurt. We did meet several of our neighbors, though, including the driver of the car. They are all very friendly and helpful! We had to have family drive the hour and 45 minutes to come get us and take us home because the rental car company was closed! 
 Because of that, we didn't really get much done. Here is the beginning of the stone removal:

You can see we didn't get far! This is going to be HARD!!! I also need to remove the wallpaper, but that will come later. This stone is beautiful, but very uncomfortable to walk on. Those grooves you see between the stones are about 1 1/2" deep. We also want a more cohesive look on this floor, and will replace the stone and carpet with hardwood.
I also tried to make a pattern for slipcovers. I used a cotton duck and pinned it wrong side out. I will try sewing one together in muslin before investing in 24 yards of whatever I use!

While waiting on our ride home, I took a walk around the yard to see what  plants were coming out for spring. I'll be set for Rosemary! This is deer resistant, so it's a nice plant for this area.

I have a fig tree! It hasn't leafed out yet, but I recognize the shape. It is in a small fenced area, so we might actually get some figs!

This tree is also blooming around the property. I have no idea what it is. It appears to be some type of fruit tree. There are small pits around the base of the one in the fenced area. They look a little like cherry pits but could be some kind of plum. (It gets cold here in the hill country, but probably too hot in the summer for cherries!)  Any ideas? (After some internet searching, I think the tree must be plum. Plums bloom in February and cherries in April. Cherry blossoms are on long stems and plum are closer to the branch. This is all assuming it is a fruit tree, but the pits definitely look like they came from fruit and match either plum or cherry.)

I found lavender and irises coming up! I can't wait to have time to work on the gardens, but that is not a high priority now. We are not there during the week to take care of any new plantings. Besides, I need to learn what to plant.  

That's my update for now! We have someone coming Wednesday to give an estimate for the flooring! Hopefully, we can start seeing some real changes around here soon!

           

Thrift Shop and Craigslist Furniture for the Hill Country House

While at the new  house this weekend, I talked my husband into stopping at the local thrift shop. I found two great buys!  First was a lamp. There is no shade yet, and I plan on replacing the wiring (don't want a fire, you know!!!). It is made of heavy cast aluminum, I think. (Some type of cast metal, anyway.)

Then I found an old oak desk that I think will look great in my husband's office.

I haven't found a suitable chair for him yet! The top has been modified some with a couple of holes. I think I can take care of that! Besides, he will probably have a couple of stacks of papers that will cover that up! 

                                    Here it is from the front.
                   We also bought some things off of Craigslist.

This is the table and three of the 8 upholstered chairs. This is very much like the set we lost. There are leaves that clip around the perimeter of the table to bring it to 90" across. Although the upholstery is in pristine condition, I will probably make slipcovers so the color will work better with what I have planned.

This is the buffet that goes with it. It is pretty big and extremely heavy. (Unfortunately, I had to take these pictures with my phone and the sun was not cooperating!) I bought a few more things, but I'll show those later.
 So far, the only new piece I've bought is the leather sectional. It will be delivered next Saturday. 
I am anxious to start painting so I can tell a little better how everything will look, but we're not quite ready for that. (I love painting! Instant gratification!) We've started trying to remove the existing flooring to prepare the floor for hardwood. That is going to be a "bear" of a job, but the estimate to have it done was $2,100. We are going to try to do it ourselves before having it done.
Well, that's my update.  I'll have more to share later!

                                                   

Trick or Treat! My Day on the Wicked Blog Hop!

Hello there, everyone! I can't believe it's almost Halloween! Welcome to the Wicked Blog Hop! (No, not wicked as in "evil", but the more contemporary meaning - awesome, great, WOW!) I hope you finish the hop feeling inspired! (By the way, that is NOT me above! I am not that tired yet!)
My little block turned out to be a bigger project than I first planned. 
I started out with just four half-square triangle blocks, each 12 1/2" square. I made each in orange and gray.

    I sewed the four blocks together......

 and then the fun began! I drew off a witch face and feet and made an applique of them. I placed the face "peeking" over the center of one square, and the feet poking out from the center of the opposite square. (I think I might make a quilt of squares of Halloween fabrics with the little witch at the top right hand corner, peeking over the edge. I think that would be funny! Maybe by next Halloween I'll have it to show you!)

Before embroidering features....

...or sewing down.

After embroidery. (and a little acrylic paint on her nails!)

 I ended up adding the appliqued Trick or Treat words and adding borders to the four squares. I then quilted and bound it. It's big enough for cuddling a child in or for draping over the Halloween party table (or how about the Breakfast table?).

(By popular demand, I am putting together kits for this little lap quilt/tablecloth. It is 43" x 43". The kit will have very similar, but different fabrics and will include fabrics for the top only. $49.Hair and pattern  IS included. If you want to pre-order one, please contact me HERE )

Would you like a little giveaway? Just comment below for one chance to win and follow on my sidebar for another (or let me know you already follow). I'll choose a winner this week and announce it on Monday, October 29. What will you win? I'll send you a free PDF pattern of your choice from my Craftsy store.

Thank you to Mdm. Samm and Wendy for hosting and cheering us on! You can go to Wendy's blog for a master list of blogs on the hop. Be sure and visit these other blogs today to see what they have to offer. You won't be disappointed!

 Terrifying Tuesday,

23rd of October

Sew Mollie Sue, Quilt Much?

Sew Incredibly Crazy

Hill Valley Quilter

Fignie - A Geekie Crafty Life

Hot Pink Peonies

Jane's Quilting

Sew Me Something Good

You're here!  Buzzing And Bumbling

Polkadot Classic

Piece Peace

Selina Quilts

Pigtales And Quilts

Pillow Slipcover 101, Tutorial

from this.....

...to this.

 Do you have an old throw pillow that doesn't fit your decor anymore? How about one that is just worn out? You can VERY easily make a slipcover for it. You can even make a slipcover for every holiday or season and change it out when you want! This means you can have one for autumn, one for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.


 This tutorial is for my daughter in law, who is just learning to sew.  If you know of someone who wants to learn and to save LOTS of money on home decor, send them here! This is a basic project that is so simple many of us never think to do it! 
You can use ANY size pillow. Even a bed pillow will work. 
This is how it's done:

1. Measure your pillow in both directions. A stiff ruler will not wrap around the rounded pillow, so you need something that will. If you have a cloth tape measure, use that, but many of you will not have one. Simply use a piece of ribbon or even string, put one end at the seam at one side and pull across to the seam on the other side. Put a pin on the string or ribbon or hold it with your thumbnail.

 2. Take it over to a ruler and stretch it out to see how long it is. That is your measurement. Mine was 12". Now you need to measure it the other direction, instead of the width, you need the length. Mine was 13". So my pillow is 12" x 13".

 3. Because my seam will be 1/4", I need to account for that when I cut my fabric. I will have a seam on all sides, so I add 1/2" to the length and 1/2" to the width. My fabric will be cut 12 1/2" x 13 1/2". Only cut one piece that size because our back will be in two pieces.

4. Cut two pieces for the back, each piece 1/2 the width plus about 3" for each piece. You only need to "half" one of the measurements. Since my piece is 13" long, half of that is 6 1/2 plus 3" is 9 1/2". So I cut two pieces each 12" x 9 1/2". The 3" is not critical. You just need the two pieces to overlap. You can make that overlap as much as you want as long as you can stuff the pillow in. The bigger the pillow, the deeper the overlap you should have. With a bed pillow, I might overlap the two back pieces as much as 8".
You notice the glue stick I have there? You need to turn your raw edges under. It is much easier to turn them with a glue stick before sewing. First turn it under about 1/4" with the glue stick. Press with an iron.

5. Turn it under one more time and press again.

6. Now sew this down on both pieces.

7. Lay both pieces down and overlap them so that they measure 13 1/2". Pin them together at the overlap so that they stay together.

 8. Lay the pinned back and the front together with the right sides together on the inside.

9. Sew it together all the way around. You don't need to leave a space for turning right side out.

10. Turn it right sides out through the overlapped space. Use a chopstick or the closed points of your scissors to push the corners out.

11. Open up the overlapped area so you can put the pillow in.

12. Put one end of the pillow in.......

13. ....and then the other. You're finished! Wasn't that easy? Now when you see a thrift store throw pillow or you have one you don't like, you know how to change it! I used plain cotton, but you can use drapery fabric or anything you can sew. Give it a try! You'll be so proud of yourself!

Until next time....