Moments--crafting

I've declared my love for magazines before. I especially love shelter magazines because they show me homes that are completely different than my own. However, that brings on a whole range of emotions: manic perfectionism in some areas of the house and a complete shut down in others. A Commonplace Life is hosting a blog ring to show those Moments in our home lives that can show this range. Whatever is in the "moment". And because I can't seem to be capturing moments lately, I shall make more of an effort to do so.

I've shown this type of picture many times. A long dining room table filled with WIP. There is a bounty of WIP in this house: the baby's quilt, The memory quilt, The one square a day quilt, another thrifted quilt--not yet shared, a doll quilt, Moose's new quilt--not yet shared. And not one is near completion.

This sets off anxiety and I shut down. Last night, I set out to organize as best as I could. I sewed and pressed 8 more squares for the one a day. I need 19 more to start assembling with the sashing. But that means cutting more 2.5 squares. I seem to be losing steam with the combinations, and I don't want too many fabric repeats. Inevitable.

I did finish the binding on this quilt. I just finished pinning the binding over to the "wrong" side so that I can start sewing it by hand tonight while I watch a movie. I love those little projects that can be done while multitasking another.

One Year Old.

Time flies, too fast, to soon!

Repurpose and Reuse . . .

I am having a love affair with thrifting. It is something I never thought I would do. I am still pretty conservative about what I get. It has to be just right. But there are things you can't pass up sometimes. Especially when you can envision great things. Such has been the case recently. Specifically, today.

This chair was for sale at my local thrift store for $4.99. It is a huge store and there are a lot of things that I pick over, but I instantly wanted this. Old and smelly, but I have a great vision of reupholstering this chair for my sewing chair.

I decided that if I am to commit to my crafts, I must have a corner that won't be disturbed by my OCD husband and touchy-feeling kids. I will create my little studio with a desk, shelving system for organization, and this chair. This will go downstairs in the basement after I remove old upholstery, sand, paint, shine, and upholster.

I already undertook the removal of the fabric. It was gross and smelly. The tacks were old, rusty, and hard to take off. I started writing a plan in a notebook. I will go to Hancock Fabric and Joann's to get the necessary items. I've never done this before, so I am very nervous and excited.

I am not quite sure if I want to go the tacking route with this, but I don't think I am adept at piping and upholstering, so the tacks would hide a multitude of sins.

I know that I will paint the wood white, however, I am at a loss as to the color of the fabric. I have decorator fabric that I can use, but I want it to be something neutral and just create color with a cloth cover or extra seat cushion. This may be upholstered in a neutral color, and color will be added through a chair cover. I don't know for sure. I shall figure it out soon, though.

I am going to tackle this job on the weekends because it is a garage activity. The spray painting and sanding can't be done indoors or even in the basement, so the garage will have to do.

This flat sheet was thrifted for $1.99. It is 100% cotton. It has the roses that are in the motif that I am creating for baby's crib/toddler bed quilt. It will be the backing. I was in heaven the day I found this. No stains. No tears. Simply, lovely!

I found 4 more vintage pillowcases for the vintage quilt that I plan on making. It will be larger than a baby quilt. I decided this when I found another polka dot sheet in the primary colors of the pillowcases.

I am starting to feel like the Queen of Thrifted Polka Dot Flat Sheets.

Race . . .

Sorry that I've been gone for so long. But I hope if you let me explain, you will understand. In June, I decided that I wanted to train for a 5K. Out of the blue. I wanted to start the process of losing weight, and I wanted to challenge myself to accomplish and finish something. Even with crafting, I find myself taking forever to finish a project, and often not completing them. It is a type of adult ADHD. It often leaves me depressed and disappointed. But I digress. I signed up for a 5K in June, and chugged away for 4 months training. The race was held this morning at 8:30 a.m. Dh is away with the Football team, and I had to get a babysitter. But I went and I did it.

I was very nervous. Like, go to the bathroom several times, nervous. My only goal was to finish. I hadn't been training outside like I should. I only really had the time to train in the morning, at 5 a.m. about 3-4 times a week, on the treadmill because of husband's travel schedule and my fear of the outdoors at that time of the morning. So this run was challenging. Very challenging. But I made it. I completed it. I have crossed off a completed goal from my long list of goals.

I came in 120th. My time was 40:37 minutes. My pace was 13:07 minutes per mile. All this is an amazing feat. Why? Because at 212 pounds (219 lbs when I started in June), I never thought I would be able to complete a race. I never thought that my legs or body could carry me for 1/10th of mile, much less 3.10 miles. I never touched pavement during my training. My lungs never felt the cold Wisconsin air in the morning. I never did hills. It was tough. But I did it. And I am happy and proud, and gosh darn it, I want to shout it from the roof tops.

However, there were rookie mistakes which I won't duplicate:

• Never go out without training in actual conditions
• Must have gloves (my hands were freezing).
  
• Take a hat even if I take it off later.

The things I will duplicate next time:

• Take Ipod
• Take jacket
• have a light breakfast
  
• drink lots of water before hand
• push myself when I don't think I can go anymore.

Now. I want to announce the contest winner. The random.org generator selected 13, which is poetic because I ran a 13 minute mile. I am happy to announce #13, and that is you Angie Arthur, email me your details, and the $50 Gift card will be sent your way.

In other news, another of my pics was selected for the one word project for shutter sisters. The word of the month was play. And this pic of my soccer star was selected.

I am really proud, but didn't want to blab about it.

On the crafty front, I thrifted some more fabric and sheets. I took a break from everything because I am typically beat by 8:00 p.m. when everyone goes to bed. I usually go to bed for my 5 a.m. workout. However, I have some strong desires to finish some unfinished knitting and spinning. I also have a bit of unfinished quilting to get to. I shall be back soon to post. Yes, I will try to be back to post. It won't take me 2 months to come back and show you what I'm up to.

Thrilled . . .

Why am I posting this picture again? Well, I submitted it to Shutter Sister's One Word Project for the month of August, which is "Home". And it was selected today. This makes me jump with joy and happiness. I've been trying to get my pic chosen for the Daily Click for over a year, with no luck. And today is my lucky day.

You see, I had almost quit this photography notion. I effectively had quit my black and white blog because of time and self criticism. I was becoming highly critical of every shot that I made. I felt like I couldn't take a good shot. And while I am still critical of this shot, I am happy that someone else thought it was worthy of others seeing it, and interpreting it to the theme of "Home". Today, I am profoundly happy. I don't think my feet will touch the ground today.

I will come back tonight with the Contest winner. Thanks for being in my corner--always.

Dots light up my life . . .

I finished the thrifted quilt, and it is a lovely, lap sized quilt that the kids love to sit and play on. It measures about 53" x 55".

My favorite part is the backing. I wish I would have saved it for a twin sized quilt, but I will use the remnant for another quilt. I will make it last as much as I can.

This quilt is so cheerful with the colors and the white all over. I am now constantly on the hunt for thrifted fabric, sheets, and quilt tops. In fact, I am thrifting tomorrow. Wish me luck.

Anniversary . . .

There are a couple anniversaries that I am celebrating this summer. I will be celebrating my 10th wedding anniversary next week. I can't believe that I've been married 10 years. I can't believe I've been with him for 15 years. We were on vacation last week. We went back to Massachusetts for a mini-vacation on Cape Cod. We attended a wedding of a friend whose wife is expecting a boy in a couple of months.


We drove to Long Island, NY to visit with the in-laws. And as we drove from checking into the hotel toward the in-laws, we drove by the Reception Hall where we married and celebrated. The place is closed down. From the pictures you can't tell who beautiful this place once was. It was full of windows and chandeliers. It was lovely!



And now it is a bunch of boarded up windows, broken windows, overgrown shrubbery, and rotted roofing. I was heartbroken. I hate waste. I hate that something could be allowed to decay. I've always told my dh that he and I should go into the Event Planning business. He planned our entire wedding. It is no wonder that he is in charge of Events at his job. While driving through the Hamptons of Long Island, I again told Dh that we should buy a vineyard on the island, make a resort, and event plan and hold weddings--Destination Weddings. It is a dream. One that I hope we can do in a future career.

I am also celebrating my 4th blog-iversary. I can't believe I have been blogging for 4 years. Things have changed with me since I started blogging. I've considered ending this blog, but I don't have the heart. I've also considered creating a new blog, but I don't think that is necessary either. I may just revamp it all with pictures and template. I am also thinking of changing my blog name, but not the blog address. Bear with me while I make the changes.

In the meantime, I want an Anniversary Contest. The prize? A $50 Gift Card to the person randomly selected. To enter, please leave a comment in this post and you will be automatically entered. I will select a winner on August 1. I am excited to start another blogging year with a new attitude and excitement. I hope you will continue to join me.