Taking Mistakes in Stride

When I finished the second sewing machine cover today with this lovely design from The Embroidery Library

and set it on the machine next to the first one, something was definitely wrong:

Yup, that first bird, on the right, was heading in the wrong direction.  The good thing about my easy cover design is that I could just flip it to the other side and redo the embroidery design there.  I did own up to being on the lazy side yesterday, so I'm sure you knew I was NOT gonna start over from the beginning.

Much better this way, and no one but my blog readers and me will know about the little mistake on the back.

Another plus about the easy cover design is that it sits nicely on the back of my chair when I'm using the machine.

 Two covers down and two more to go.

This is how lazy I am

First, despite having had sewing machines for over 30 years, I'm just making my first machine cover.  I've thought about it FOREVER, but always found excuses.  I finally decided that something simple was better than nothing.  This is the result.

Yup.  It's just a rectangle of fabric--not even little ties on the sides.  It's made of duck cloth which is pretty stiff, but I added the two lines of top stitching to make the sides stand out. It hangs more evenly with the extra stitching.

I found the embroidery design at the Embroidery Library.

 See--here's the little Project Runway underneath.

I'm feeling a bit guilty about copping out with such a simple piece.  The embroidery machine did the hardest part with very little help from me.  Frankly, though, I finally realized that it was going to have to be simple or I'd never get around to making covers for the machines.  I have a saying that I use all the time that definitely applies here--it's so much better than nothing.

One down.  Three more to go!

The Finished Window!

Thanks for the advice on the window, ladies.  I went with the cornice and panels.  Here's the before:

And the after:

I love it!

Another Window Cornice in the Almost Finished Room

I'm finally finishing this little room.  It was once my sewing room, then a study for the kids.  Now it's my meditation room! 

The last part needing to be finished is the window.  I thought I might leave it but, it was just too bare for me.

I decided on a wood cornice like the one my husband made for our living room.

This one was a massive beast!

Turns out that men buying molding are much like a woman buying clothes.  What do you think of this?  How about this combination?  Is this too short?  Does this make my ass look fat?  Okay not the last one, but Brian was driving me nuts with the many kinds of and possible positionings for molding.  Here is what he decided on.  Brian is the woodworker and I'm the painter.

He's getting fancy here with 3 pieces of molding at the top!

The finished product!

And here is where I'm was open to opinions.  Originally I was thinking of doing curtain panels, too.  I made them from this fabric.  After holding them up to the window, though, I thought they might be too much.

 What do you think?  Just the cornice or the panels under the cornice? UPDATE:  Finished product!

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Look What I Made!

A sewer!  My daughter, Keegan, is finally REALLY sewing.  I waited for a few projects just be be sure it would stick.  She sewed curtains for her living room with assistance and her bedroom all herself.  This time she designed a valance complete with company logos embroidered across the top for her employer.  I helped with the embroidery.

Keegan is fortunate to have a job at a great company, and she wanted to show her appreciation by making a window valance for the new office.  She took it in to test out the width before finishing up the sides.  I'll post a pic once the valance is up.

UPDATE!  Here's the valance.  Keegan works in the regional Orkin office--hence, the diamond Orkin logo. 

Keegan has to come to my house to sew because she doesn't have a machine.  I'm torn on the idea of gifting her with a machine of her own.  I like having her come here for hours on end of sewing, coffee drinking, and a bit of gossip.  I think I'll wait until she asks for a machine;-}

Turning the Day Around in the Kitchen

This was the start of my day yesterday.

 Only bloggers and paparazzi would grab a camera fast enough to catch the action still in progress.

 As part of my effort to find the good in situations this year, I pondered what gift this situation was presenting me.  Did I need to wash the floor anyway?  Nope, did that the day before.   Did I need to wash a load of towel?  No, put a load in the washer just prior to making coffee.  It was, in fact, in the washer spinning.

 

 Was it that my lack of paid employment meant I didn't feel rushed in cleaning this up?  Eh,  that was okay but not THAT good really.  Those thoughts took all of a half minute, while the clean up went on and on.  Thoughts wandered off to dinner.  I don't like to cook and hate coming up with menus.  More often than not, I start thinking about dinner fifteen minutes before it should be on the table.  What to do that the three of us all might like crossed my mind while cleaning, and I came up with this:

There are black beans, corn, romaine, spinach, ribbons of carrots, scallions, and a few other treasures under that chicken.  Fairly quick and easy to make--huge hit with the three of us.  Now I don't want to spill coffee everyday, but this spill did have a silver lining.

I Made Fish But Not For Dinner

These lovely batik fish are from a pattern Shaz of Odd Sox sent me along with a Christmas order after I told her I loved, loved, loved, her fish stuffies but couldn't afford them because I had so very many ideas for using the finished products.  You can see here what I mean.   (Sadly for rest of you, she's not selling the pattern in her Folksy shop.  Maybe with some encouragement...)

Red Fish

Purple Fish

Schools of Fish!

 And I'm just getting started here.  The red ones are in a basket for my dining room.

 The purple set below will be hanging from a picture frame by fishing line that will have this quote printed on a lovely piece of card stock:

Give a man a fish

and he has food for a day;

teach him how to fish

and you can get rid of him

for the entire weekend.

                                                                                                 from Zenna Shaffer

Can't you just picture these hanging from the frame with the quote above?

 I also want to make a mobile for my sun room from some bright multicolor prints--polka dots and stripes.  Those are going to be flat--using thin batting in the center so that they will float in the breeze.  Then there is the baby mobile in black and white prints.

New idea:  Forgot to mention the idea of using these for one of those magnetic fishing games for kids. Yet another use for those large long-handled paint brushes that I used to make the sewing room button and needle plaque.    My husband will be thrilled to find that he now needs to drill holes into small magnets so I can attach them to the "fishing poles" with a line AND holes in the small end of the wood handle.  I think a set of these would be a great gift idea. 

Can you see why I really needed a pattern?  If you don't have my obsession  need for an excessive amount  many of these amazing little creatures, you can contact Shaz to get some.  If you are lucky enough to live in her area of Britain, her blog will let you know where her craft booth will be set up next.  Lucky you.  Should I ever get a chance to visit Britain, I'll be working that trip around those craft shows.

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