Feeling Productive!

Thanks to seven straight days off earlier this month, I was able to spend time working on some projects I've wanted/needed to do since my move in early October. I painted some furniture, restored a piece of furniture that I inherited and made a Roman shade for my kitchen window.

I inherited an antique "bookshelf" from my grandparents over five years ago. It was falling apart because it's actually a modular shelf made of six different pieces (base, case #1, door #1, case #2, door #2 and top) and therefore had gotten a lot of abuse over the years. My dad and I spent a while working to restore the integrity of it (gluing, nailing, adding supports) and then I cleaned it up with some wood cleaner, added a touch of stain to scarred areas and then added a little polish to it. Part of the design is that doors slide up and into the case. The doors originally had glass in them, but as you can see, I put in plaid covered inserts (thin paneling). Now I have a nice little storage case. It's been done for about two weeks and I've yet to decide what to put inside. The doors are still a bit fragile because the grooved tracks have worn out. So whatever I put inside will be stuff I don't need on a regular basis. But I LOVE the plaid fabric- it really "crisped" up the design of this piece. I wasn't exactly sure where it was going to end up, but it fits PERFECTLY on this wall!

And here's the picture of the Roman Shade. Yes, it's plaid too! (I'm a bit of a plaid freak!) I was originally planning to use "ring tape" but the ring tape my mom had was irregular, so I ended up having to hand sew the rings on the shade. It was a LOT of work, but I'm so thrilled with how it turned out! I still need to hang a lift-cord anchor on the wall. Right now I'm simply using a clip attached to an adjacent flower pot. I keep forgetting to go by Lowe's.




...and tonight, in less than two hours, I turned a beloved sweater into a Christmas stocking! This is a thick, wool petite (hits just below the waist) sweater that simply was too hot to wear with a shirt under it and too itchy to wear alone. I've owned it for a number of years and dutifully pull it out with my winter clothes every year, but I'm hard pressed to remember the last time I wore it. So today, it's now part of my knit Christmas stocking collection. I think this makes either #4 or #5!!

The point is to use the hem of the sweater as the top finished edge of the stocking, so while I'm a tiny bit disappointed at the position of the colored areas (wish it was higher), it was VERY easy to do and I'm pleased with my first attempt to re-purpose a favorite sweater! Thanks Pinterest!

It's been years since I've done any pleasure sewing. It feels really good to use my creative side, and even better to produce something I end up loving!! I have some left over plaid fabric from the above projects, so I'm contemplating how I might use the leftovers along with a bunch of other plaid fabric I have collected over the years. Maybe my first quilt? or a quilted wall hanging? or a braided rug like this, or a fabric seat belt cover (I'm short, these are a life saver!) or perhaps one of these? Hmm?