JJ Has Wings

Well Wing back Chairs. JJ's aunt found these chairs at a yard sale. For some reason she did not want to keep this fabric.

The tear down seems to take the most time. There were a lot of staples in the two of the chairs. A lot of staples….. It was as if someone left their finger on the trigger gun. After I removed the wine colored lightning bolts I discovered that it needed some reinforcements. I can’t promise that the back support is not a plastic black tarp.

I also discovered that someone use to live in one of the chairs. The little mice has moved out and I did clean up after it.

JJ went all the way to Gastonia to find the fabric that she liked. With everything going on lately I took me a while to get them out of the garage. I was able to recycle the zippers, but only half of the piping.

All done..... Now off to the land of pinch pleat curtains...

What do you have in your bedroom

This fabric is Fiori Damask by Alessandra Marchesini. Robin saw it and fell in love. She was supposed to be looking for chair fabric and found her self side tracked. She was thinking about her bed room and I was thinking that I really didn't want to match up a printed fabric. As you can see below I had to do it any way

So apparently there is a Fiori Stripe Fabric that complements the scroll fabric. Apparently a reversible duvet became a new good idea.

This is my first duvet set. We did not factor in the 2 pillow shams. They are made from the leftover fabric scraps. You cant tell as much from the front as you can from the back. And that's why I left that picture unseen. I'm glad that I was able to squeeze them in.

This is my guest room not the new home for the set. Robin has a more traditional/formal style than I do. (had to test that it would actually fit a queen bed) I think it looks nice with the grey walls not so much with my second had decor.....

But it is giving me ideas for new plans as soon as I finish the next 2 jobs in the Que!

Robin's Side Chair

The good news is that my friend Robin inherited her grandmothers side chair.
The bad news is that it was sitting in not so great storage for 10 years. It fared OK, on the inside but not so much on the outside. It has some moisture damage around the bottom skirt but as you can see I tore that part away along with the rest of it. The skirt is a little dated so it was not replaced.

I always take a dozen pictures just in case I cant remember how it is to go back together. Here is my first dig in.

She decided not to keep the buttons either. OK I may have given her a nudge to loose them. ( I think it looks cleaner this way)

I think it went back together pretty well. Now she has something to make her smile and think of her granny when she goes into her living room.

Now all I have to do is 1 Duvet, 2 Pillow Shams, 4 Curtain Panels 2 Wing Back Chairs, Then maybe I can get to work on my personal projects..... Its good to b busy again :-)

It seems like forever

I know its been a while and I wont even try and make excuses. I'll just say Happy New year and I'm glad to see it.
One of the things that I managed to get done lately is lay out and sew together this blanket for The Grandparents. I don't want to call it a quilt because there wasn't a lot of quilting with it but it still came out pretty cute. The story that goes with it is almost just as cute.
Its hard to think about what to get for people that have been around for 9 decades. But one day Lynne (Kits mom) was on the phone talking about how Eleanor and Raymond (the Grandparents) were talking about how cold it was.(It's a Northern Minnesota Winter) and that she had a blanket that she just loved an wished they had another.
Lynn asked where she got it from because maybe she could get one for Christmas. Eleanor said that it was a wedding gift......They have been married for 69 years. I'm pretty sure that its out of production.

So I produced this one. This is where I question my layout, on the bed.
Eleanor loves bright colors. Do you think I covered that that part?

I added the brown,green & tan so that Raymond wouldn't have pink and fuchsia dreams as they approach their 70th Wedding Anniversary. Its the gift that would keep on giving and its the least I could do since she gave me the machine to make it with.

Sewing Clothing

I'm not the greatest at making clothing. I can usually get thru an item for myself because my body is right there to make any needed adjustments.

The one person that does a really good job at sewing clothes is my mother. Funny thing is that most of the time she does not like to do it.

These are some dresses that she made to sell. They are really cute. I told her that I would list them on my Etsy for her.

I have no idea what the price should be. I guess I have to do some research first....

I need to practice more. Then maybe I would have a better chance to get out of this jobless rut.

Cowl Neck Infinity Scarf

I Love Cowls. I learned today that they are also called snoods in the UK. I believe that they are also referred to as infinity scarves. I like them on shirts or just the cowl by it's self. I really want a chunky orange one for this winter but I cant knit. I have tried to learn but so far no luck.

I made this ivory one but luckily I found knit fabric for a reasonable price. I am going to list it on etsy.com yo see if anyone else likes it.

it can be worn in different ways and I have shown a few different ways.

I love that it is a loop that wont fall off.

If only I could find some orange knit fabric....

My Epic Fail.....

I have not been posting lately.
A few people have brought it to my attention by asking "Whatca working on?" My answer is always the same. "Nothing"
Truth be told that's a Big Fat Lie!
Since before I was laid off , almost a year ago I have been working on a project that means more to me than any of ones in the past.
Kit and I have been trying to add to our little family. I know that it doesn't seem like that would take up much time, considering we pretty much have the act down and we are good at it. Actually we are pretty good a making babies also....Just not so good at keeping them alive past the 1st trimester. Since the first miscarriage last year we have loss 3 pregnancies.
That last statement usually starts with "I" and I have to keep reminding myself that the loss was not mine alone. Kit has been really supportive. Especially considering that I haven't been working and hospitals and insurance companies bill you about the same cost, baby or not.
I have to keep reminding myself to stop blaming me, because its really easy to beat yourself up, thinking that I could have done something about it. I know that medically it was out of my hands. Its hard to stop the Why me?, and the It's not fair!, and the crazy jealousy of others. My internal dialog has been terrible towards myself because hate to fail. And this feels like an Epic failure. I have this incredible need to go all in and hands on and fix things and I cant fix this.
That's the part that has taken up so much of my energy, desire to work on anything creative, or even get out as much as I should.

After the 3rd loss we were referred to an Infertility specialist who assured us that 3 losses to them were no big deal. I think they should try being on the other side of the desk. The amount of testing that you have to do is insane. We both came out with a clean bill of health, but I have been given the label "Advanced Maternal Age". After 2 rounds of Injection cycles and now the discovery of Uterine fibroids that may need to be removed. When I stop and consider the losses, cost and the potential damage to my health and relationship, I think I have come to terms with the idea that this may not happen.

I am coming back around to being me. I have managed to dump 10 of the 18 pounds that I picked up this year being depressed (self medicated with food). If I could find work, that would be great but with this economy I'm not holding my breath.
At first I was glad that I was not working. I felt like I needed to be alone but now I know, I need to get out. I have gotten out more to workout dates with friends and picked up on the frequency of my yoga practice. It really does help put things in prospective.
Kit and I have talked about me going back to school. I have to give it more thought because I never really thought of a serious career. I've always considered work as just work. It was just something you did to provide the necessities so you could enjoy your life and family. I'll have to focus on it more now since I may not get hired the one career field that I really wanted.....

I want to a great big thank you to the people that have let me bend their ears back with all my chatter. This is my equivalent for crying on shoulders since I'm not one for crying in front of others, I am eternally great full for you checking in on me every week. And thank you the one who have helped me dodge questions that I could not answer at the time (You know who you are). If by chance I have pushed away from you in the past year please know that it had nothing to do with you, it was not personal.

One thing that I have learned is not to take things and people for granted. The other is that when someone is dealing with a medical condition like infertility I will never tell them to relax and not stress, because then and it will happen. Maybe its me but that just grates on my nerves. You would never tell some one to relax away any other diagnosis. (except maybe stress)
I will get back to projects & posting soon. I still have a chair that needs to be recovered. I have the fabric. The chair and fabric have been sitting in the corner looking at me looking at it......I'm gonna tackle it......