Blah, Blah, Ginger

Long time no post.  Ok, so it's only been a week.  I've been working on projects and  practicing my sewing....


First, I recovered some pillows.   The striped pillows were for the couch and the truck pillow was for L.  He tends to use them all anyway.  I didn't really have a pattern for these.  I just sewed two fat quarters together then fastened them with velcro.  The day  after I finished, I found tutorials for envelope pillows.  Wish I had found that before!

Then I got to work on first birthday presents for a friend's baby.  I covered a stretched canvas with this fabric.  I made one for L while I had the glue gun out, but haven't taken a picture of that one yet.

 I was going to buy a little toy to go with it, until I saw a tutorial for a felt and fabric colors book and decided to make that too.   This was the most time consuming project of the week.  It took 3 evenings and part of a Saturday.  There's lots of prep to it, but it's super cute.

 Saturday afternoon I got a Mommy reprieve as J took L to the beach for a few hours.  So I decided to try making the One Yard Tote.

 I think I was a little to anxious to get it done because I made a few mistakes.  It was good practice.  I even added a pocket.

Finally, since I can't stand the little tomato pin cushion (it's too hard to get the pins in and out) I decided to try my hand at the no sew pin cushion.  I didn't glue it down, but it's much easier.  I couldn't resist using this mug with the coordinating dog fabric.

So that was last week in a nutshell!  We're on vacation this week.  Daycare is closed so we're mostly hanging around here and going to the beach.   I have a lot of projects lined up for this week as well as working up some posts since I've been to busy sewing to write.

Sew what have I been doing?

Sewing.  For the first time since probably junior high.  We won't discuss how many years that it's actually been.  No, I'm not using the 42 year old machine.

My friend, co-worker, and occasional therapist Alison, offered to lend me a machine she wasn't using anymore and I took her up on it.  After all, she's the one who got me hooked on fabric.  She was looking at fabric online for a specific project, and was showing them to me.  I started seeing things in the "other people bought/looked at this" section that I liked.  I ended up with a few yards of fabric.

A week or so later, I was in Big Lots and found they had some fat quarters and fabric bundles.  So I ended up buying more.  Then I was in Wal Mart and saw more there and realized I had a problem.  A fabric problem.

So I have spent each evening crafting with fabric.  After purchasing a glue gun, I made a memo board on Monday.  I also have some stretched canvases that will become fabric art for L's walls.

Another co-worker who volunteers at a shelter mentioned that they could use some cat beds if we had any fabric scraps.  Since it was agreed all around that this would be fantastic practice for me, Tuesday and Wednesday, I made cat beds.

I also have a list of household sewing projects that I'd like to do (recovering the couch pillows, curtains, camera strap cover, etc.), but cats don't care if your straight stitch is crooked "whimsical".  So I continue to practice.  Those cats are going to have some cool beds!

SUYL - Dining Room

This is the room that I consider to be closest to finished.  It needs a few paint touch ups, but little else.

This is the view from the living room/entry way.

The lava in this piece is what inspired the colors for the walls...

The china cabinet was my mother in law's.

The photo wall.  There was a third photo where the sign is, but L grabbed it off the wall one day when we were walking by and broke it.  I haven't replaced the frame yet.

We painted the ceiling in this room too, but it doesn't really show in this photo.

If I had a $1,000

Much like last week's Monday Listicles, this prompt is leaving a song stuck in my head.  Yeah, I know the song is a million dollars, but the lead up is the same.  At least it's a better song this time.

1. I would fix my car.  That's right, it's fixed!  Sorry, after almost two years of the check engine light being on and multiple repairs that didn't fix the problem, I'm shouting this from the rooftops!
2.  I would drive to every Big Lots until I found this.  I've been to three so far and still no dice storage cart.

3.  I would buy tickets to the Barenaked Ladies show in August and lots of macaroni and cheese.
4.  I would get satellite radio for the car.  Hair Nation, I miss you!
5.  I would fix the 42 year old sewing machine and learn how to use it.  Besides, it's a great conversation piece.
6.  I'd take my grandmother to NYC to visit my sister.
7.  I'd hire a maid service for the housework so I could get the attic cleaned out.
8.  I would buy my husband a new laptop, because his is misbehaving.
9.  I would re-do L's room into a big boy room the right way, instead of using one of the four beds in the attic.
10.  I would take the dog to daycare more often because she loves to play.

For some reason, I'm now craving macaroni and cheese.

A tisket a tasket a leaky fuel pump gasket.

So I lost satellite radio returned the loaner car today and picked up my car.  And you know what?  The lights aren't flashing.  It seems to be fixed!  That sound you just heard?  That was me, knocking on wood.  I can't be too careful about proclaiming this car as fixed.

I have to say it.  These guys were awesome!  They knew I was coming(because Subaru called them), they knew Subaru was paying for the diagnostic,  and once they found the problem, they coordinated with Subaru to fix it and not charge me.  They provided a loaner car, with working satellite radio (sorry, did I say that already?), and kept me updated with what was going on.

The problem, you ask?  Why no, it was not the filler pipe that I had been told needed to be replaced at XYZ.  In fact, when I asked about that part when they called to tell me what was wrong, they confirmed that there was nothing wrong with the filler pipe!  The actual problem was leaky fuel pump gasket.  That's right, a FIVE DOLLAR GASKET.  Not $600, not $500, a whopping $5.  The labor charges brought it up to $160, but still a far cry from $500/$600.  Guess where I'm going from now on?  Guess who's getting a not so nice phone call from me on Monday?

Floral

This week's The Paper Mama's photo challenge is Floral.

SUYL - Master Bedroom

Linking up with week 3 of Kelly's Korner's Show Us Your Life series.  This week is Master Bedrooms and Guest Rooms.  We don't have a guest room anymore, so for it's just the Master Bedroom for us.

This was the first room in our house to be painted.  I liked the idea of a pale yellow room with green trim.  Our closet is the opposite of the same colors (green walls, yellow trim).  This room is also the cat sanctuary where they can go and not be bothered by the toddler.  Because we're pretty much the only people who see it, this room is last on the list for updates.

This was my husband's before we got together, but I really like how well it goes with the room.

These photos are above the bed.  These are photos I took of flowers in our garden.

I'd like to add this to the room, but I need to fix the peeling corner first.