Kitties and Curtains

Busy times lately -  sewing curtains, tutoring and watching the kitties playing and growing!

For my sewing room, I decided to go for a cozy look,

with rose patterned fabric and sheer inset panels close to the windows.

(The sun is so bright you can't even see the sheer curtains in this photo!)

I wanted the room to be a welcoming place to go to when I'm feeling creative.

The needlepoint pillow on the chair was made by my mom.

Our house has a lot of big windows, so of course the cats love sitting in the sun on the 

window sills. Here Angus is pretending to be King Kong as he sits next to

some little houses and makes friends with the china cat!

Rosie keeps guard on the front window sill, where she can see and react 

to every bird, cat, squirrel and insect that passes by!!

After a demanding morning of guarding the yard from their window perches,

the two kitties crash in side by side beds and spend the afternoon snoozing away!

Isn't it just the little, everyday things in life that bring the most joy?

What everyday events warm your heart the most?

Things like

flowery curtains

completing a project

enjoying your pets

a sunny window!

Thanks for reading, and have a wonderful weekend!!

Everything is Peachy!

We had a quiet Memorial Day weekend, since Bill is still recovering from his appendectomy.

But I used the time to do some sewing, and that was very rewarding.

I found some great fabric at Joann's and used it to brighten up my porch.

First, I brought my grandfather's rocking chair up from the garage, scrubbed it and polished it,

and made cushion covers with the new fabric.

I can still see my grandpa sitting on this chair, puffing away on a cigar and watching a baseball game on TV. Now it will be a great place to sit and read or work on my computer as I'm doing right now!

Next I made a new tablecloth for the table we use for meals in the summer.

I really love this little porch and it was fun to dress it up a bit.

Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Little Dresses for Haiti

The other day, I was feeling a bit down and thinking,  'I have absolutely no ideas and cannot do anything well!'. These little moments of insecurity catch up with me once in a while. I usually allow myself a bit of self indulgence, then move on to a new project, but right then my stuckedness was driving me crazy!
To yank myself out of my funk, I started making some pillowcase dresses for children in an orphanage in Haiti. I had seen this post on Cat's blog, looked up directions on the internet and started pulling out old pillowcases, fabric and trims. Now I was inspired and cutting, pinning and sewing ensued!! Here are the first two dresses I completed.

I have a few more to finish and they are fairly easy to make! The thought of a Haitian child wearing one of these little frocks gives me hope. It's a tiny contribution to an enormous need, but it feels good to do something - anything - to help!

If you feel like making some cute little dresses (or diapers, aprons or totes) to help out, go over to Cat's blog and read her Feb.18 post. And while you're there, enjoy her brilliant quilts with words, phrases and sunshine written all over them!

Recent Projects

Last week I sent off some handmade gifts for my two great nephews. For the baby, Shane, I had a biscuit quilt which I had completed a year or two ago. Nice and puffy!

For Shane and his big brother, Kyle, I made pillows, using some fabric I've had for many years - teddy bears playing baseball! I cut windows in the fabric and inserted white fabric with their names appliqued in red! Hopefully they are just the right size for little boys!!!

Refreshing a Footstool

Sometimes I feel that doing the simplest, least creative project with fabric is very comforting and rewarding. I bought this little footstool a few years ago. It was inexpensive, covered with rattan, and had cheap wheels on the bottom. But it opens for storage and is just the perfect small size for in front of my chair. One by one the wheels fell off, and my husband replaced them with better ones. Then recently the rattan started peeling away (perhaps with the help of kitty claws?) and I was just about to ditch it when I decided to try recovering it. The fabric was a half price remnant and I had some batting left over from another project. Not as difficult as I thought, more comfortable than before, and a feeling of accomplishment for recycling something that would have ended up in the trash!!

The best part of the photo is the beautiful needlepoint pillow on the chair. This was made by my mother and I have always loved it. To the left of the chair is a stack of mostly craft and quilting magazines just waiting to be devoured!