So obviously you’ve noticed by now that the majority of our year of projects have been painting. We have literally painted every surface in this house except for the floors. All the time we were renting apartments, painting was what I looked forward to the most in home ownership. Now I dread the thought of picking up another brush.
I’ve tried to work on a few sewing projects throughout the year, just to change up the pace, but most of what I’ve wanted to sew had to wait until the paint was done. It doesn’t make a ton of sense to sew curtains while you’re still choosing paint colors.
For today I thought I’d focus on a few of those other projects that didn’t require a whole new wardrobe of paint clothes. This picture offers a two for one shot.
The tulip chair in the background came with this tiny little fraction of a pillow that did nothing to disguise the screws and metal base that were jabbing you in the behind. I made that upholstered cushion, and now I can spend hours on the internet without my butt falling asleep.
The blue rocking chair in the foreground used to be my red rocking chair that the kitties disfigured. It was my first full upholstery project, and it actually was a lot easier than I thought it would be. I took pictures as I took off the old fabric to remind me how it all went back on, and then I was just liberal with the staples. Now that it’s done I love it, but the fabric frays really easily so it wasn’t the best choice with three cats running around. I’ve had to spray the whole thing down with anti-kitty spray and still threaten them all within an inch of their fuzzy little lives.
This project I’m particularly proud of.
In the dining room we have track lighting, and no attic clearance to do anything else. We had two pendant lights hanging over the table that were marigold yellow glass and totally boring. I looked everywhere for track lighting pendants and I couldn’t find anything decent for love or money. I finally got the idea to thread a regular shade over the wire and let the bulb hold it up, but it proved more difficult than I thought. The track lighting is all wired together as one piece, so I couldn’t do anything as simple as removing a bulb. I ended up having to take the lights down entirely, completely dismantling the whole thing, taking the wires apart, threading the shade onto it, and then rewiring the whole thing. They look Worlds better, and I felt like a real tough chick rewiring all the lighting.
Here’s a closeup view of the Rookie’s quilt:
This was actually my first quilt start to finish, and I’m pleased as punch. It was also my first time experimenting with machine appliqué, and after a few false starts, I figured it out and had a great time with it.
In this picture you can also see that cream tone on tone alphabet fabric. Bear found that fabric for me too and it brought the whole room together.
Whew. So, that’s what I’ve managed to accomplish this year. That and making a baby and not dying and escaping fires and losing jobs and gaining jobs and all the other craziness that’s marked this year. I would really like a break now.