Stitches in Play

painted house

I painted the rooms in my house white. 

Ralph Lauren's Pocket Watch White (#WW01) to be exact.  It's a clear, warm white that doesn't feel yellow and it looks great with all the wood molding.  The Home Depot no longer carries Ralph Lauren paint but they have all the colors in their computer and can color match any RL color in Behr paint.

I've wanted to paint every surface in my house white for a while now and then I found this vase at TJMaxx for nine dollars. Its sense of laid back sophistication spoke to me and I was immediately inspired to bring this same feeling to my home.

 

We've been savoring ever bit of summer around here so I've only had a chance to declutter the house and paint and there's not much to look at.  Plus it's nearly impossible to photograph a white wall - there's nothing for the camera to focus on.  But the fact that I took a bunch of boring, poorly lit photos of my walls is not going to stop me from writing a post - because I am a blogger and I will "make it work." (Project Runway reference and I'm loving this new season - but I digress.)  So here goes:

Kitchen table area painted white...

Family room painted white...  (no artwork on the walls yet)
 

Dining room (love how the color compliments the not-so-attractive molding)...
 

Entryway...
 

And while I was painting the walls I decided that we needed shelving by the kitchen table to help us stay organized and to keep clutter off the table so I painted an old black bookcase.  I used Ralph Lauren Basalt (VM121) which is a white color with just the slightest hint of blue. 
 

Then I stocked the shelves with items that we use everyday - those items that constantly end up on the kitchen table and have to be cleaned up before we can sit down to eat. 
 

Thus far, the shelves hold:
 

A basket for extra napkins,
 

votive candles for dinner, 

Chai tea bags and turbinado sugar for mom,

More candles and canning jars that we use for just about everything - from vases to candle holders to drinking cups to pencil holders. 

 

silverware for setting the table,
 

some plates and bowls,
 

notebooks and pencils (these never had a home and had to cleared off the table before nearly every meal),
 

must-read magazines,

 
And this vintage glass hen dish that I thrifted several weeks ago.  Because all these useful, practical, functional items were getting a bit too serious and this hen adds just the right amount of whimsy.

So there you have it - the "painted house in progress" tour.  I'll post more as I add pieces, paint anything else that holds still long enough, and otherwise decorate.  In the meantime, hope you find a way to add some whimsy to your days.

had I not

This week sped by way too quickly. 

I met a friend for lunch and then tagged along to a nearby antiques/thrift store as she searched for a farmhouse table.  We saw some great pieces and I took lots of pictures.  But the prices were quite high and neither of us got anything.

 
    
 

Then on my way home I stopped by a local thrift store and spotted this 14 piece glass dish set for $15 and I had to get it.  It was so cheery and sparkly and well priced.  And absolutely perfect for summer ice cream sundae parties.   I don't think I would have wanted it so had I not spent time in the pricey antiques store, but things happen for a reason and I am so glad that these dishes came home with me.

 

I played around with a pattern for the hundred-or-so triangle blocks that I pieced.  And I would have been happy with this zigzag pattern had I not come across this fun configuration on flickr.  Which would you choose?
   
 

And had I not entered Imene's hand dyed wool giveaway I wouldn't have won this awesome skein of yarn and these lovely hand crafted stitch markers.   Thanks so much Imene - I love them!

 
And now for the most round about had-I-not of all...  The other day I met a real estate agent to view a house that, judging from online photos, seemed perfect for our family but was put off by the long and muddy dirt road that led to the property.  I came home a bit disappointed and began perusing decorating blogs for some inspiration on how to make our kitchen function better. (Reading blogs always makes me feel better)  I clicked on some links and ended up on this great blog.  Then I read this post on their family's awesome portable chicken coop.  I followed the link, showed my husband, and we immediately agreed that building the Catawba coop would be the perfect way to keep chickens on our property.   We cannot wait for the instructions to arrive so that we can begin building our coop - and order our chicks! 

If you are still reading this had I not gone to view the house I may never have found the home and harmony blog.  Had I not found the blog I might not have come across these portable coop instructions and had we not found the portable coop we would not have gotten chickens because we don't want to clean out a traditional coop and we have too many animals out here in the country to allow chickens to free range.  Bottom line is that my kiddos are so very excited.

Oh yeah, and had I not met my friend for lunch in the city I would not have been by Trader Joe's and we wouldn't have this big bowl of yummy organic fruits to munch on.  I also got organic frozen berries for smoothies, naan bread, strawberry kefir, and chocolate orange sticks and spicy dried mango.  Yum.

 
 

Have a wonderful weekend full of adventure...you never know where your path will lead!

pi + day

Today is 3.14 or Pi Day, as well as Albert Einstein's birthday, and so we celebrate with pie.

Greg and I have baked pies on Pi day for the past eighteen years.

Yes, we are geeky that way.  And we have been married that long.

This weekend began with rain.

But then the sun came out and off we went exploring.

Then Abigail and I went on a little shopping adventure while the boys were busy preparing for the big taekwondo tournament. 

 

First, we got these at the thrift store.  Love.

 

Then we filled them with these from Trader Joe's. 
 

And finally we got these because they made us smile. 

All in all, it was a very good Pi day! 

finding

Yesterday I drove the kiddos to school at 11:00 am.  Another delay due to all the snow on our windy dirt roads.   I have to say I'm starting to enjoy these delays. We hung out in our pajamas and I made pancakes and then we folded laundry.  No, your eyes are not deceiving you - i brought warm out-of-the-dryer laundry into the family room and my children began rummaging through it searching for a warm article of clothing to wear.  Soon they had all the laundry sorted and were folding their own clothes.  An unprecedented event around here - but one I wouldn't mind seeing repeated. 

On my way home from the school I went to the thrift store to drop off some donations.  I usually stop by the thrift store once or twice a month but i rarely find anything.   Well yesterday I hit the jackpot:

 

I found this butter dish.

And this pyrex bowl with lid.

 

And six embroidered handkerchiefs/napkins.  They are 18 inch squares so we'll use them for napkins.

Plus this tablecloth.  

Today I was so excited I set the table with all my new finds - at noon - even though my kiddos don't get home until 3 pm.  On Tuesdays we only have time for a quick snack before we head out to taekwondo and today leftover soup and cornbread were on the menu. 

 

Proving, yet again, that happiness is in the little things...

the start of holiday making - and shopping

It's December 2nd and the holidays are fast approaching.  Hanukkah is only ten days away and there's lots to do and make.  I've come to the realization that I will not be able to complete all the holiday projects on my list because I would rather spend more of this special time with my family.  So I'm taking it slow, focusing mainly on quick, simple and useful gifts which I will be sharing my here. 

Today I made this pillow out of a thrifted wool sweater.  The sweater was already felted so I just ran it through the washer and dryer with my regular laundry. 

 

Felted sweaters are very easy to cut and sew using the sewing machine.  Two things that I leaned along the way:

1.  It's much easier to cut the wool using a rotary cutter (rather than scissors). AND

2.  The seams will lay straighter if you use a large seam allowance (1/2 inch seemed to work best) and then press all the seam allowances open.

Envelope closure on the back.

The best part is that I used only the front and sleeves so I can still make another gift out of the sweater back!

I'm knitting a simple seed stitch scarf using some yummy Malabrigo chunky wool.

Cast on 15 sts.

knit in seed stitch:  row 1:  K1 (P1, K1).  Repeat row 1 until scarf measures 55 inches. 

Over the Thanksgiving weekend I knit this very simple garter/stockinette stitch scarf out of Wool-ease chunky.

And because we all could use a little help over the holidays, I purchased these absolutely gorgeous gifts from Tonya at Natural Earth Farm.  Visit her family's etsy shop here.  I cannot say enough about the impeccable craftsmanship of these items.  The memory matching game comes in the coolest crocheted bag and the coasters are so beautiful my husband asked if we could keep them for ourselves.  We purchased our first branch pencil holder several months ago and we love it so much that I bought one for each of the kiddos' rooms. 

  

Happy making everyone!  And remember to practice moderation during this time of year - we're trying to keep decorations and gifts simple so that we can spend more time playing.