Some September stuff

I am so thankful when I get to have some one-on-one time with a child.

Hannah and I had a fun, girly date.  

Haircuts at a salon.  

I'd say so. (All hers!)

It's an inverted bob.  So cute on her.

Fall is making its arrival known in beautiful ways.  

The mornings are so crisp now.  The wood stove is fired up, and it's time for wearing soft flannel plaids.  So cozy.

One morning I was earnestly praying about some things weighing heavy on my heart.  When I finished I glanced out my bedroom window and saw the sky so pink.  It brought such comfort - almost like God saying I am here, I am in control of all things, and I hear your heart's cry. 

Look what I saw at Costco.  Isn't it perfect? Of course it is, it's teal blue!  
I was actually tempted to buy it,  (I didn't.)
not that I am the jet-setting mama, but hey, a girl can dream, can't she? 

Was Pinteresting lately and found this recipe for Gluten-free, Vegan, Paleo 

pumpkin cheesecake.

It's pretty amazing!  If you need to be a "free" person, this is a very good substitute for real pumpkin cheesecake.  

(A note on that... instead of the 6" spring form pan it calls for, we used our 9" because it's what we have - so our white layer is much thinner, but still yummy.)

 Ellie has recently taken a liking to embroidery.  I had some kitchen towels with chicken scenes already transferred onto them.  

It's the perfect afternoon quiet activity for her to do.

And there was a sweet gathering/send off.  Both Caleb and his close friend, Buddy are heading off for college to Portland...

except Buddy is heading to Portland, Maine, and Caleb to Portland, Oregon.   
You can see their adventures on Instagram.
(@edwardgreentheiii and @thedaftscotsman)

That cake though!

And here we are at the end of September already.  Caleb has a couple of loose ends to tie up, then he'll be heading off.   

The winds of change are upon us.

All for now.

The sink skirt

Ta da

 

I can't decide if I like it or not.  It is lined just like the valences, but I'm thinking because of the thickness of the fabric (2 layers) it doesn't slide easily on the tension rod - so while it may look cute, it doesn't function quite like I expected.   :-/

I have two options, I suppose:  1.) buy a trash can with a lid, and place it elsewhere and not under the sink.  Also expect to wash the curtain often, as it will get quite dirty.

OR

put the doors back on and touch up the paint every now and again.

I'd love to hear what you think.  Do you like doors or the skirt?  

Before (with doors)

 

 

After (with sink skirt)

 

Finally, a decision

 I think I am the most indecisive person I know and I definitely over-think things.

 

I love farm houses, and I love beach cottages.  We have a very small family farm (if you can call a few dairy goats and a garden a farm), and we no longer live at the beach in a cottage (but oh, how we'd love to.)

 

Dilemma #1:  what is my style?

clean and uncluttered... this I know.

 

 

Our house has a few querks (as all houses do), but the one that is the most challenging is that the great room is flanked by bedrooms.  Because of that, there are few windows that provide natural light in this area. 

 

Dilemma #2:  How should I add color to the kitchen?

What to do with a boring white wall?

(Actually, I am thrilled with this white wall.  Eric recently painted it white for me.  Fresh and clean.  It was a golden yellow, which was fine, but it was time to brighten things up, and I am happy with this white.)

 

Dilemma #3:  If not paint, then what style window treatment would work best?

a.  We don't need them for privacy.  We look out onto acres and acres of forest.

b.  It is cloudy and rainy here a lot, and sometimes, just down-right dreary so I don't want to cover over what little light we do get from our limited windows.

c.  I want low maintenance.  (No dusting of mini blinds, thank you very much. And long panels on the slider will only get messy from little sticky hands that pass by.)

d.  I want (need?) a change.  Previously I had made some black and white toile valences.  I really liked them, and they went well in the space, but now that the wall is white - it was a little stark in spite of the bucolic scenes.

 

My dad (who is a retired interior designer) thought Roman shades might be a good option.

 

 photo credit

If we had French doors instead of a slider, then maybe.  But again, we don't need privacy, but we do need light.  In the end it wasn't quite right.

He also suggested a valence sort of like this style.  It's made by attaching it to a covered board, and then hung by L brackets.  (I do really like this look.)

photo credit

 

It's a nice clean look, but because of the way it is put together, it can only be cleaned my vacuuming the dust off.

 

Dilemma #4:  There are what seems like endless possibilities and so much to consider!

 

We did decide that a valence would work best.

I found myself with an opportunity to make a trip to the fabric store with my "seamstress" daughter (and no Littles).  I really just wanted to go to get ideas and see if I could get some inspiration... anything!

Looking through the pattern books, I found this pattern by Butterick.  Our light fixture and the knobs and pulls on the drawers and cupboards are brushed nickel so a curtain rod in that finish would blend well.

 

The curtain is held on by rings that have clips on them.  I really liked that instead of a cutesy, gathered, style.  Still casual and very fun... and easy to clean.

 

Dilemma #5:  I have no coupons, and I am NOT paying full price for this pattern!

So with the a little figuring and my phone calculator, we purchased 3 yards of fabric, and 3 yards of a lightweight lining, and no pattern.  (by the way, it is the saddest day ever, when you discover all the coupons you have - have expired by one day. )

Hannah scored this sheet from Goodwill with me in mind.  She knows me so well.   We planned to use this.

 

But I didn't want to just use aqua and white. (I know, shocker!) but come January and the cold of winter, and very gray days, I need warm colors to help cheer me.  (me - overthinking again, except for it's true.) So we would use the aqua and white for the contrast.

 

I love this cheerful, whimsical, multi colored fabric.  It reminds me of these Anthropologie dishes.

I was afraid the two patterns might be a little busy and fight for attention.

 

I decided to sew a bit of 5/8" ribbon down the seam where the two fabrics meet.

 

Here's how it looks.

 

I think the ribbon made a huge difference and a finished look.

As it turns out, I have enough fabric left over that I am going to make a kitchen sink curtain. (a sink skirt instead of doors.)
I'll be working on that as soon as I buy another spool of ribbon. 
We'll give it a try and see how we like that instead of cupboard doors.  Hoping it will look both farm-housy, and beach-cottagy.   Instead of the clip rings, I will use a tension rod.  It will save space and money.  Best part is I already have the tension rod from the toile valences we took down.

And remember Hannah's jewelry board from this post?  Well, it wasn't working quite as she hoped so she gave it to me. (far right in the photo.) Chicken wire removed, frame painted aqua, and the back sprayed with chalk board paint.  Ready for a sweet sentiment.   Now, if I could only decide on one!

Oh, wow!

My aunt was going through some things and came upon something of a treasure.

And she sent the treasure to me!

 

 

 

A box filled with vintage {circa 1940's} fabric cut into squares,  

along with various stages of a cathedral window quilt that her mother

{my grandmother} had been working on.

 

 

 

 

This is what a Cathedral Window quilt looks like.  This portion is nearly complete.

 

She made a quilt just like this for Eric and me for our wedding gift.

 

Her handwork is a testimony to her generation and the attention they paid to mastering homemaking skills.

Her stitches are tiny and perfectly, evenly spaced.

 

Even her simple basting stitches are meticulous.

 

 

 

It is intriguing to see the various stages of this quilt.  It's a bit of a puzzle to me since I have no idea how it goes together.

 

I love that parts even still have the pins in them... a work in progress.  Almost like she is showing me the steps.   

It also shows me that this is by no means a quick project.  No instant gratification here.  I imagine her working a little at a time, as time allowed.  I wonder if she was making this as a gift?  Did she have a certain person in mind? 

I'd like to pick up where she left off.  I have always wanted to learn how to quilt.  This is not quilted on top, so I suppose it is more accurate to call it patchwork.  It is a daunting project,  ~ being quite intricate ~ but perhaps I can become best friends with YouTube?  How I wish she was here to teach me.

I am so thankful that the fabric remains in excellent condition and didn't rust from the pins.   I have no idea from the amount of supplies how big this will be when it is completed, but I figure I'll just take it to the end and see what we get. 

Maybe it will make a large bedspread? 
Perhaps it will be a wedding gift for our youngest?  It just might take me that long!  ;-) 

If you are a reader who knows any good links with information about the Cathedral Window quilt... please let me know, by leaving me a comment.

. . . . .

We have finished school for the year, and are looking forward to the lighter schedule of summer.  Sun-shiny days filled with sprinkler fun, trips to the park, and dinners on the BBQ.
We have a couple of small adventures planned, maybe a house project or two, and Eric, Matthew and I are even going to a Need to Breathe/Switchfoot concert.   {I love Switchfoot's surfy sound.} 

Hope you are enjoying your summer days.

:-)

 

. . . . .

Linking with Tuesdays with a Twist

Kitchen stuffs

 

Free time + fabric = apron love.

 

I had the chance to make my new aqua-blue apron.

:-)

 

 

I'm tickled to have another so that I can have one to wear when the other is in the wash.

I'm a messy cook, what can I say?

This is my favorite apron pattern.  It is simple to make, but has cute details. 

I especially like it for the pockets.

A place to stash the odds and ends that I pick up around the house.

 

. . . . .

 

I also wanted to show you a little bridal shower gift I made for a friend at church.

I found the idea on Pinterest and thought it was just so cute.

 

{Pinterest inspiration}

 

 

{Mine}

 

They were a cinch to make.  You can find her super simple instructions here.

I purchased a good quality set of spatulas with flat wooden handles. 

 

The 1/4" steel letter stamping set is available at Harbor Freight Tools. 

Here's a 20% off coupon too.   {only through May 2015}

 

While mine are not perfect, I still think they turned out well. 

 

 

All you need to do is place the utensil on a flat hard surface, such as the concrete floor in the garage, place the punch where you want to impress, then bang with a hammer. 

 

I suggest you use an old utensil for trial so that you get the hang of how hard and how many times you need to tap/bang the hammer. 

THANKFUL was the first one I did, and I needed a lighter touch. As you can see, I also impressed part of the metal stamp.    :-/

 

I still love them and I am so making more of these -

bridal showers, birthdays, Christmas, house warming, stocking stuffers...

Yep!  Making more.

 

This was a set of four spatulas, but you could always divide them up and give one with a collection of hand-written recipes or with seasonal cookie cutters.

 

If you have an older{ish} daughter, she could make them for sweet birthday gifts

for her friends who enjoy baking.

Seems the sky is the limit with this one. 

I've had lots of Pinterest fails, but this one is a Pinterest win!

 

 

 

Upcycling and sweet sisters

Remember the duvet I mentioned in my last post?

Here it is ~ upcycled into three darling dresses.

 

 

The girls are so excited about having a new dress to wear. 

Sunday can't come soon enough for them.

I do need some updated pictures of them so I thought this might be the perfect opportunity to take a few. 

 

 

 I especially like the candid shots.  You can see a little more of their personalities. 

I sure had fun with them.  They bring me such joy.

 

 

{On a side note ~ I think the $20 was well-spent.  I love how the dresses turned out.}