What Do You Think I Should Do?

The 54" width of the fabric.

I've had this fabric, "Brunei" by Lee Behren, for over seven years as drapery rolls wrapped in plastic in my closet. I have at least six yards. In fact, I went back later and bought more so I'm not really sure how much I have now. I really loved this fabric and did make two pillows out of it; however, the motivation to make this into a coverlet/quilt like the one below passed years ago.


Detail of fabric middle.

A photo shoot in Living Room* magazine of an Anthropologie comforter.

You see how the Anthropologie coverlet has a distinct color change down the middle just the same as my fabric? I remember feeling that it was a sign and "meant to be". And it was at the time, too bad I took too long to stitch it up. Now I'm not so much into a lot of pink in my bedroom. So I'm trying to think up some way to make this fabric work by combining it with more orange and green fabrics. Perhaps a big border of another patterned fabric? Intersperse strips within the design or create a patchwork like the examples below?

Comforters from The Company Store.

However, that would mean buying more fabric and I already have enough for two coverlets! Can somebody help me with this?! Suggestions are welcome!

It's lovely though, isn't it?

*A great magazines that was canceled after only three issues.

Squint!

From my 2Modern Design Talk post:

The Selkirk chair

Squint furniture company founder Lisa Whatmough is a former artist. Her mix of period furniture like Victorian chaise lounges and comfy stuffed sofas and chairs with contemporary and vintage fabrics is eye-opening and has a cozy feeling. She started out making these as custom pieces, but now they are available made-to-order. Interestingly, "Each design is priced individually depending on the final mix of fabrics used." Therefore, they are made-to-order with a custom pricing structure.


The Simpson - front & back


The Chicago - front & back

Squint is available internationally through Squint, Liberty , Designers Guild, Lane Crawford, J Roaman , Barneys New York, and AADesign Museum in Seoul.


The Canterbury, Highgate, and Victorian Chaise styles.

If you want to make a quilt...

After writing about quilts so much lately I decided to share the research I've had saved for the last two years. I have already done the groundwork in trying to find the easiest ones for a beginner (like me!) to undertake. Here are some options:

Instructions for a simple (but colorful) strip quilt at the Film In The Fridge site. Her quilts are so lovely!

One of the "crazy" quilt squares

All Sorts' great visual tutorial for the Crazy Nine Patch quilt - I suggest you buy a rotary cutter and mat for this one or cutting your pieces accurately without those could drive you bonkers.

There are instructions for a crib-size version of a Flock of Triangles quilt in Denyse Schmidt's first quilt book. Altering this to make an adult-size quilt will require some math. I'm just warning you. Here's an inspirational post from blogger Marirob who made this one as her very first quilt, yes, first!

Lady Harvatine's doll-size Confetti quilt tutorial. So cute.

2012 Addition: I'm adding another great tutorial, for a Double Diamond 4-Patch quilt courtesy of Crooked Seams.

So, go out there and make a quilt for your home!

C'est tres chic!

I have a great kitchen cabinet makeover for you this time.

What do you say about upholstered kitchen cabinet doors?

Sound like something out of your budget? Something too luxurious to imagine?

Well, what if I say no. It is just a very do-able DIY project from the sweet Veronique of Tres Chic Veronique. I discovered her blog after seeing an adorable dress she had just made on her Flickr stream.

Once the beautiful yellow and black Honeybee fabric from Etsuko Furuya's caught my eye and I got over the surprise that the fabric really was on the doors of her cabinets I knew I had to share this greatness with others. Her cool tutorial is here.

My rug arrived...

and I'm still getting used to it. It's beautiful, no doubt about that. It just isn't as bright* as I thought it would be.



But it does coordinate with all of the fabrics that will be used in the room.



After I get the slipcover in shape and add the pillows, I'll check it out again.

*The color in the first photo is the most accurate.

Things to get done during or after the Cure

Goals:

• Test Glacial Tint and Himalayan Mist! pale blue samples from Behr and paint bedroom with the chosen color (Done 4/07)
• Assemble white IKEA Vika Amon/Vika Artur desk (Done 5/07)
• Mount empty brightly colored picture frames from to emulate this image from Wary Meyers (Done 7/07)
• Hang Inside a Black Apples' Mysterious Genevieve print (Done 7/07)
• Paint and patinate (yes, I looked it up) my gold mirror using pale yellow and blue paint (Done 3/07)
• Paint dining/craft table a very pale blue to contrast with the red chairs (probably use the leftover samples from Behr or extra Benjamin Moore sample pots) (Done 10/07)
• Special order a quart of the American Accents Leafy Green paint from Lowe's or Home Depot for the armoire (**I found out that Rust-Oleum no longer makes this color available in a brush-on latex paint, I would have to use the oil-based spray, which I don't want to use. Hmmm...)
• Take another try at tailoring the loveseat slip cover (still too loose) (Done 6/07)
• Make the bolster pillows (came up with new idea for the shape) (Done 5/07)
• Mount artwork on the walls, including my heavy Swingers poster and my Leia Bell prints (Done 5/07 & 10/07)
• Hang curtain dividing the kitchen from the living/dining area. The fabric I wanted was discontinued so I had to start again and I am now thinking about one of these below. They are from the same collection as the one I originally wanted.

Update: I bought over four yards of the green, yellow, and blue print.*
Bolded = Done
* = In progress

Merry Belated Christmas!

I finished some Christmas/Holiday gifts and they are finally ready to be shipped out.



Here are the pincushions made from this and this.



Here are the headbands made from the Heather Bailey headband pattern.

Better late than never, right?

Remember in November when I bought this stash of fabric for holiday gifts. Well, the gifts will now have to be surprise! gifts because the holidays have come and gone.

But I am finally doing something with them. They are all going to be headbands for my female friends and family from this great pattern by Heather Bailey. Right now all I have to do is attach the elastic and make the final stitches and they'll be done.



I am also making a few pincushions for my crafty and sewing friends, much like the one I made for myself from Craftapalooza's instructions as seen on whipup.net. For theirs I will be using some beautiful green wool felt to make them more hardy.

Fabric for the home

I found out that the Hancock Fabric's on Midlothian Turnpike had more of the now discontinued Laurie Smith Collection on sale. (Thank you Helen!) So of course, I had to buy the missing pieces. I bought enough of these two on the left to make the bolster(s) for the sofa. I'm not so sure about the Denyse Schmidt now because it is such a small-scale print. I didn't realize until I got the dark green print home that it was the outdoor weight and not the upholstery weight. So, I think I will use it for the door draft stoppers instead, which is what Not Martha did with the orange print. Yesterday, I also bought some aquarium stones to weigh them down. So the choice is now between the chartreuse and the print for the bolsters on the purple couch. For some reason in this picture, the couch is true-to-life color but not the fabrics. See pic at top for real color representation of the bolster fabrics. Of course, there is also the possibility of using them back to back for versatility. I also picked up 1 1/2 yards of this great tablecloth vinyl to make my sewing machine cover. I just became impatient waiting to find just the right print in oilcloth. Okay, so no more fabric for a while. But the sale was so good that I bought all of this, a Vintage Vogue dress pattern on sale, and enough fabric for quite a few holiday gifts for under $25 dollars!

Did I tell you that I love fabric

Well, I do and I especially LOVE these:







* All are available from Hancock Fabrics (located in 42 states and online)
The fabrics are all cotton and are $10 to $20 per yard.