KItchen Towel Decor for Fall

 Greetings Blog Friends,

Here is a decorative kitchen towel project for display in my dining room. 

This is the original (first towel).  It hangs from a drawer pull mounted on a block of wood, fashioned by my handy hubby, Denis.  

Here is the Halloween installment:

And the Thanksgiving installment:

The original towel was made from a kit I purchased from Shabby Fabrics.com.   It includes the fabrics and instructions and pre-printed batting from June Tailor, Inc.  I took a copy of the original batting pattern, and am now making towels from my own fabric stash.  I plan to make towels for all seasons/holidays.  This was a fun, easy-to-make seasonal item that adds some whimsy to my kitchen/dining room decor.  

A hand sewing project is underway.  More on that next time...

Quick Finishes

 Greetings Blog Friends,

As I was moving back into my craft room, I also did some sorting of fabrics and projects that have, of course, been waiting to see the light of day.  I'm happy to report that I have finished a couple of quick projects last week:

First up is this pillowcase.  It is an interesting print, very busy, from the Quantum Collection by Andover.  I added a black striped fabric as the contrast.  All fabrics are from the stash and I think it turned out great.  It is going to be a gift for my oldest grandson, who is planning to go into Engineering after high school.  Maybe it will help him with that...all I know is that it makes my eyes hurt!  

I also found this cute little candle mat.  It was a kit from Antoinette's Quilt Shop in Stevens Point, Wisconsin.  The wedges were precut and came complete with backing and center leaf motif.  A quick sew and a new fall decoration for the house!

Here is a quick autumn-themed needlepoint tissue box cover.  It was a kit from Mary Maxim.  Fits well with the autumn decor.

A pair of autumn theme decorative towels to show you next time.  Until then...

Scrapping Retreat Success!

Greetings Blog Friends!

Another successful scrapping weekend is in the books!  A group of 11 of us thumbed our noses at COVID and spent 4+ very enjoyable days together (Wed - Sun), doing what we love best...scrapbooking, drinking wine and talking smart.  Because there were so few of us, we were able to spread out in the large scrapping hall, we each had our own bed, and meals were kept simple and made by only a small committee (my daughter, her BFF and Me!).  

I took three distinct projects with me this time.  The first was a replica of the Colorado Trip travel book I made for my girls last fall.  See that post here.  I loved that book so much, that I copied it so I could have one too.  There are a few slight and minor changes here and there, but it is basically the same book.  I printed all photos and cut all photo mats ahead of time, so assembly was easy.  I did all of the stamping at the retreat.  This book took me Wed. afternoon, evening and all day Thursday to complete.  

My next project was  another small scale book, a memory book of Denis retirement party at work and with family and friends.  This wooden book cover is from Close to My Heart, size 6" x 7".  There was no prep for this one, I designed the pages while at retreat.  The pages are all cut from cardstock, using the Cricut machine.  I embellished with more cutouts and some stamping.  I also added as many of the cards he received as would fit this small size.  Two inch binder rings hold the book together.  I made this project in one day...Friday of the retreat.

My next project was in the larger 12" x 12" size...pages from our time in Florida earlier this year.  We stopped in Memphis on our way down in late January and in Nashville on our way back in early March.  I chose to scrap the visits to both these cities in the same paper...You Rock from Close to My Heart.  It is perfect paper for music themed pages from these two cities.  I designed the pages myself to fit the photographs.  I used a lot of Cricut cutouts, some very large scale.  I think all elements work well.  I love the pages!  I finished this project with the last two pages on Sunday morning, just before packing up to come home.

It was a great weekend!  Good times, good food, and I achieved all goals.  I even won three door prizes, kept two and gave one away.  And, best of all, no COVID!  A WIN-WIN-WIN weekend all around.  

More sewing news next time.  'Til then....

Sewing Room Makeover

 Greetings Blog Friends,

Yes! the makeover of my Craft Room/Office is complete, and I have moved back in!  So far, I like the change from carpet to the smooth vinyl plank flooring.  It is easy to clean (5 minutes with the Swiffer) and my chair rolls really well, too!  

As we moved the furniture out of the room to prep for this project, we noticed a few things that needed some TLC and repair.  First, the sewing cabinet has some breakage where one of the front wheels is located.  We think that happened during the move two years ago.  But, lucky for me, the maker of the piece (hubby Denis) was readily available to repair it!  We didn't notice the damage before since it was too difficult to move it (wheels on carpet).  Now that it has been repaired and can easily pull out from the wall, I can utilize the large back piece when I'm quilting larger items.

There was some wall repair needed...some nicks and gouges which happened also from the move, I suspect.  So, out came the spackle and paint, and Voilá, like new again!

Several of my upright cabinets needed a little TLC also.  How lucky I am to have Denis to help with those small fixes.  

I've been on scrapping retreat again.  More on that next time...