Photo of the month

Over the weekend I looked up and saw this perfect photo.
A "baby" lying on a carousel horse and having a great time.

I just looked over, she is still there.

Small change , big impact!

A while ago on one of my many wonders around the isles of Savers I came across this amazing piece of patchwork/fabric history! 

Someone went to great trouble to cut up outdated clothing form the 60's and 70's and sew them together!

I could hardly believe my luck and grabbed it at once! 

But after I washed it and looked at it I was unsure of its future. I first thought of cutting it in two and making two "matching" throws for the kids rooms.

The way this was pieced together though was row by row across so just cutting in two was not an option. And then there is was one day! I was going to hang it on the wall!

BEFORE

AFTER!

I can't tell you how much pleasure I get from this big color change! Every time I come up the stairs and see it I just love it! It has made the room so warm and cozy!

The kids also love lying on the bed and choosing their favorite block.

Do you remember wearing suits from this non-destructive fabric?

Placemats and napkins

January only has one thing going for it. My son's school has a silent auction fundraiser.
This is a big event for the school and everyone is very excited!

For the event I am donating six placemats and matching napkins with a carry bag.

These look so very summery to me with the red and white oil cloth . The placemats have cotton fabric as a backing. I finished them with a double fold wide bias binding.

This is how I sew the napkins:

I  fold the napkin seams over twice in stead of using the Serger and then sewing the seam. When I get to the end of a seam I stop the machine in the needle down position, lift the foot and roll the seam under the machine foot. Now lower the foot onto the seam.

Then I sew forward one stitch , stop again with the needle in the down position , lift the foot of the machine, turn the fabric, lower the foot and sew backwards to secure the corner. Now you are ready to sew another side.

A little decorating for the new year.

Every new year bring new looks and a lot of re-decorating in my house. 

Nothing, nothing gets me through this time of the year like moving furniture and a little decorating, oh and washing the curtains and scrubbing those spots I never get around  to!

I started with the kids room.  Having a boy and girl share a room keeps it pretty neutral.  I did want to room to look more unified  and found these great duvet covers from Ikea. They have similar prints but different colors. It really pulls the room together.

I have lately been hanging a lot of fabric on the walls and the kids got this great wall piece I have had for maybe the last 10 years and I have never found the right spot for it. It works really well with the covers because of the similar, bright colors.

.

I changed the curtains to plain white ones I found in my box of curtains to use later  and they make things light and bright. I also made a garland from vintage handkerchiefs. I used a double fold bias binding easy and quick and I like the way it came out!

We have needed a book space for a while in there and I found this great piece also from Ikea. I have two wicker baskets that has been around for a while .The one we use for library books and the other for the Tin Tin and Asterix books.

I finally took out the rocking chair from the room. It was such a nice chair and I spent so much time in that chair, but it is very big and bulky. This green chair works really well in the corner and I bought this one from Savers for $35 years ago.

 I will show you  more later in the week!

Brown

So this is the last day of the colour week over on Poppytalk and today's colour is brown.

I am able to show you one of my favorite pieces in my house. A carousel horse found two years ago at Brimfield.

Red

 If you have been following along with the photos on Poppytalk I am sure you know that today's colour is RED.

 Today there was no rain when we woke up so I took my camera outside to look for red. This is what I found on my patio. While there I did feel drops......uh really!

Hope you like these red images.

Finding yellow on a very dull day.

As I mentioned in yesterday's post I am following Poppytalk's Autumn colours week.

Today's colour is yellow. Boy was that hard to find on this dull, wet and potentially depressing day!

Nothing to see outside but wet cars!

So I took a wander around the house and this is what I found. 

Yellow

                  A drawing of his sister            Modern art                           Their bedroom

And finally the big surprise in my bedroom. This lady never lets me down me!