frankenquilt

i finally "fixed" a quilt that i started in 2008. it was beautiful and i loved it, but then i put it in the wash. i wanted to cry (actually i might have) when i took it out of the wash. about 5 seams ripped open.

so here it is, with all it's satin stitches to try to cover the mess. i started out with appliqueing flowers from the print fabric over the stitches, but i thought that looked weird, so i just tried to sort of camouflage it. i'm not sure what i'm going to do with it since it's definitely not good enough to even give away. i might as well share it with you, the frankenquilt.




it stinks, because i really like this quilt.
oh and i almost forgot to tell you the funny part. i was setting everything up to take the pictures, camera on the tripod, timer on, click the button, run over and hold the quilt to get a pic, when i realized i had no pants on.... click. thank goodness for the delete button.

score at the thrift store

i spent my lunch break at a few thrift stores by my work. my favorite store had 3 great things for the shop and one for me.

i got this super gorgeous blue floral dish. it would look great on your dresser to catch your change and keys.

and this ice bucket for your next party.

and this awesome glass-leaf tree.

spring

although it's not officially spring until tomorrow, this week has 100% felt like spring. our first flowers of the year have bloomed.

the hydrangea had buds, and hopefully it blooms this year.

and moz got a new collar. he took off really hard while dave was holding the leash and he totally busted his collar and broke it.

'twas a perfect day for a castle visit

sunday was a dreary day, which was perfect weather to visit a castle. so we took a drive up to the fonthill castle, which is a castle built by henry mercer, who was a tile maker, among other things. it was built from 1908-1912 by a crew of 10 men and one horse. it's all made of concrete and was hand mixed and poured, amazing! they built the molds for the columns from wood and filled them with concrete. when it dried it left the impression of the wood grain and mercer kept it that way because he liked it. he was very resourceful and re-used wood from covered bridges that were being torn down and repurposed doors as paneling in one of the rooms. the castle has 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces, 32 stairwells and more than 200 windows. one of the stairwells even has his dog rollo's paw prints in it and is named after the dog, rollo's stairs. the place is like a maze and seriously is one of the coolest man made things i've ever seen.


they wouldn't let you take pictures inside (sad), so here are some links which includes pictures of the interior. the place is magical and completely filled with tiles, prints, books and art from around the world. mercer was a leader in the arts and crafts movement and the place oozes hand-crafted character. if you live anywhere near the area, you need to visit this place!

prints
textiles
pottery
needlework

on the property there was a cool camouflage tree.

and a smaller tiny building, but i'm not sure what it is.


and another building on the property, not sure what this was either.

bag lady

i love handbags. but not "trendy" ones like louis vuitton, coach, etc... i love handmade bags!
first up is madebyhank, who makes the most gorgeous bags. i have not one, but three of her bags, although one of them doesn't count, because moz ate it. she doesn't have any in her shop right now, but this was my favorite of her more recent bags.

and as you can see it inspired this mustard doily pillow i made.

her bags (the big ones) are incredibly hard to get, because they sell out pretty much as soon as she lists them. the only reason i got my big one (which i must take a pic of, as soon as i figure out how to clean it), is because i have an iphone and an internet addiction.
this next bag i love and it's from niesz vintage fabric and you can find it here. i really love the vintage fabric!

and this one is made (in my favorite city amsterdam) from leather scraps from spectacle ala maison, find it here.

who are your favorite bag makers?

cha-ching!

we spent a night in AC with two other couples and had a BLAST. we had dinner at buddakan (which was delicious), followed by gambling (where i won $300 on penny slots), and then a little more gambling and hanging out watching very trashed weirdos dance at the trop, then second late night dinner at tony's baltimore grill, which was awesome by the way. my meal consisted of roast beef, surrounded by french fries, and wasn't great, but everyone else had good meals and the place was rad. very old school.

the next day we did a little more gambling and i won $200 more bucks! then we went shopping at the outlets to spend our winnings on clothes. excellent trip. it's amazing how different a trip to AC is depending on whether you win or loose.

vintage doily pillows and more

friday on my lunch break i went to a thrift store by my work and picked up some vintage doilies, a vintage afghan and a metal recipe box. i took pictures to sell the box, but i've decided that i'm keeping it. isn't it cute?

two of the doilys have already become pillows. HERE and HERE in the shop.

and the afghan will become pillows, eventually.

i hope everyone is enjoying their weekend. ours is wonderful so far, i've already accomplished a lot today and it's only 2:30. plus the weather is amazing, hopefully it'll melt the last of the snow.

Vintage Silverwear Set Rogers Bros Flair Pattern

just the box is amazing.

but what's inside is even better! i contemplated keeping it, but dave's grandma gave us her set of silver, so that has way more sentimental value than this one to me. you can see all the details of it in my etsy shop.

two hundred

it's amazing i've had that much to say, but this is my 200th post. how exciting. also exciting is that my friend melissa from melilssa hassey photography took some photos of me for something that i have yet to tell you about. it's not 100% set yet, so you will just have to wait to find out. in the meantime here's a pic she took. you can also find more on her blog. i'm only posting one, because, well it's just weird to post a bunch of pics of yourself. it reminds me of someone i used to work with that had a picture of herself on her desk, just herself, no one else was in the picture.

next time i get my picture taken professionally i'm hiring someone to do my make-up and hair, because as you can see they are two things that i could use some serious help with!

she also took lots of awesome shots of things around my craft room.

diy quilted coasters

i have been trying to think of some smaller things i could make for the shop that are faster to make than say... a quilt. i got the i love patchwork book for christmas and found a perfect thing, coasters. the instructions are for a specific pattern in the book, but here is my summary of how to make them:

DIY quilted coasters

supplies
-batting or felt
-fabric for the top (i used the leftovers from this quilt)
-8" square piece of fabric for the backs
-sewing machine
-needle and thread
-scissors and/or rotary cutter
-pins

directions

1) cut out four squares of batting or felt into 4" squares, so the coasters were about 3 1/2" when finished. (cut everything larger if you would like larger coasters)
2) piece together enough strips of fabric to make one large piece that is 8" square. I used strips of fabric, but you can make it into any design you'd like, squares, strips, etc... iron your seams flat and cut edges so that it is 8" square.

3) cut the 8" top piece into four 4" squares. and cut the backing fabric into four 4" squares.

4) layer the three pieces in this order: batting, top piece right side up, backing fabric right side down. pin together.

5) using a small seam allowance (1/4" or less), sew along the edges of the coasters, leaving a 2" opening to turn the inside out.

6) clip the corners just to before the sew line to reduce the bulk and turn the coasters inside out.
7) iron the gaps closed then sew shut with a needle and thread, using a slip stitch.
8) add quilting as desired. i was just messing around so i made them all different.

wallpaper

i have a love for wallpaper. it can look so cool, in doses of course. i've been wanting to wallpaper the risers on the basement stairs, but can't decide what wallpaper to use. so i'm calling on you to help me decide. here are some that i'm thinking of:
vintage shiny copper penny from repurposing

vintage forest by sleepy owl vintage

1970's by by grevalia vintage

what do you think?? our basement has a vintage 60's orange velvet couch with dark brown walls and a grey tile floor. i just realized i don't really have good pics of our basement, so i'll work on that!

terrarium

i bought a cute little terrarium when we went to terrain, we'll see how long it lasts, since i usually kill everything. unfortunately my grandma and mom's green thumbs were not passed into my genes!

it's a nice little ball of plant life during this long and very snowy winter.

craft time

it was time to get out the paints and stamper and new envelopes, well actually they are not new, they were my grandpa's. i stamped them with my brandeye stamp and will send them along with all orders, until they run out!