I'm a sewing machine

...or maybe a sewing robot. I had another three day weekend and stayed attached to my sewing machine to finish some old projects and whip up a skirt.

The seersucker skirt (pattern: Simplicity 4236) was a new project made with some stash fabric I picked up at Walmart years ago (I think it was $3 a yard). I cut the fabric on Friday and I was done sewing the hem on Saturday morning.

I started the dress (pattern: McCall's M5313) about 2 summers ago. It wasn't difficult to make but it was very time consuming since the whole dress is lined and required a lot of hand sewing. It was my first dress, so I'm really siked about it. Hopefully it doesn't fall apart.

I'm glad the skirt and dress are finished so I can wear them during the last few days of summer.

There was also a pajama pants project that finally got finished too. About 2 Christmas' ago, I promised my mom a pair of wide-legged pajama pants from Amy Butler's In Stitches book. They are sort of done. I just need to pick up some binding tape for the waist ties.

Yay for ikat, seersucker and procrastination!

Inner Adler

On the Jonathan Adler website you can find your inner Adler and customize your own pillows, tote bags and rugs. I've been having fun making my own creations. Fancy schmancy!

DVF: Nomad Collection Fall 2009

All from Diane von Furstenberg's Fall 2009 Nomad collection. I'm hoping to figure out how to make the wacky knit hats that were featured in the show. Currently, they have two versions available for pre-order on the DVF website.

Spider webs without the creepy feeling

via Whirledwideweb.com works by Emil Fiore

How cool are these plates? Mr. Fiore finds a spider web, spray paints it and then "captures" the web onto glass. Read more here.

I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black

Over the weekend I finally painted the front door. The door took about 3 coats of primer and 6 coats of glossy black (Royal High-Gloss from Ace Hardware). Ideally I would change the hardware to a brushed nickel, but I'm cheap and kept the old hardware. We also added a kick plate and a new door knocker. The only thing left is to clean up the paint on door window.

The many stages of making the door pretty

I picked up the squirrel door knocker in North Carolina for $8. I think he needs a name. Any suggestions? For now he'll just go by Squirrel (yeah, I'm really original).

I feel like a lucky girl

Last week I went to an awesome cocktail party hosted by Elizabeth of Peacock Feathers for the launch of the new Gap's 1969 Premium Jeans. Not only was there yummy food and good friends, but free jeans too! I picked out a pair of the Always Skinny jean. Love it! I have a lot of trouble finding jeans that fit since my hips size is an issue. They fit great and are super comfy.

Check out Elizabeth's post about the party and enter a comment on her blog for a chance to win a pair of Gap 1969 Premium jeans or $50 Gap gift card! She'll be selecting 6 names at random on Monday, August 24.

me in my new jeans

Not only did the free jeans make me feel like a lucky girl, but I just won an issue of the Canadian House and Home Makeovers on Rambling Renovators. Yippie skippy!!

Dream Kitchen

via House Beautiful

I've had this picture on my fridge for a couple of months. It's great inspiration of what my kitchen could look like after we remodel and distracts the eye from all of the faux wood that is currently in the kitchen.

non Design and not a Star?

I finally got around to watching the most recent HGTV's Design Star episode (designing for a military family). I have mixed feelings about the show. All of the corporate sponsorship and mediocre design drives me crazy but in the end I love reality shows.

But....a chevron wall took me by surprise! Now I'm looking around the house trying to figure out where we can paint chevron.

via HGTV

Plates

Over the break, I was able to check off another project on my imaginary "to-do" list that lives in my head. I've been collecting plates for the past two years to hang on the dining room wall and just needed to get some plate hangers. I made a template out of construction paper and the dude used some crazy hooks that are just for plaster walls.

Now I have to find the perfect fabric to cover the two dining room chairs that have arms! Nice to finally have this project done.

{the last picture represents the wall color in the dining room. the other pictures look too orange/beige}

Fall looks at Kate Spade

via Kate Spade

I'm so over summer and am getting Fall fever. I can't wait to break out my tights!

Sewing Lemonade

Here's one of the projects that was started on my summer vacation and I finished up last night. My goal was to make a cute summer skirt for running errands. I used Simplicity pattern 7229 and some seersucker fabric I found at Walmart a few years back. I was an idiot and did not look at the hip measurements on the package and ended up making a skirt 4 sizes too small. I was in luck though- one of my friends was turning the big 1-0 in a few days and I knew she would dig this skirt. Thank goodness that I know a tween to make this lemon into lemonade!

Update

Yay! I'm back. Our laptop had to go to the Best Buy hospital last week so I was not on the world wide web.

So, here's the status of the projects that I wanted to get done last week:

• Paint front door (Nope, didn't get done. We were also dog sitting last week and I was afraid that a freshly painted door would be covered in fluffy white dog hair. Might attempt to paint the door on Friday.)
• Paint salvaged record cabinet (It's almost done! Yes, almost does count. Just needs some more spray paint and I need to make the inside of the cabinet look pretty.)
• Sew cushions for parents' Adirondack chairs (Got a few done. I hate sewing cushions with welting. The cushions are beginning to look like snowflakes. Each is unique in its own special way.)
• Sew cushion for the dude's knock-off pottery barn bench (Nope, didn't touch it.)
• Organize office and go through crap (Nope, I'm lazy.)
• Dig up and move a bunch of plants (Yes! Got most of it done and the garden still looks the same. Also ripped out crab grass that was creeping onto our lawn from the neighbor's weed lawn.)

I did get some other projects done that were not on the "to do" list. I'll share those projects in the next few days!

Below is a pic of the record cabinet as found on the side of the street. I'll have the awesome after shots as soon as it's done.

Staycation

Today was the first day of my very exciting staycation. I got some serious gardening done before I practically died from the heat and got sucked into a Mad Men marathon. Not too bad!

I have some big plans this week to get some projects done:

• Paint front door (I'm painting it black!!)
• Paint salvaged record cabinet
• Sew cushions for parents' Adirondack chairs
• Sew cushion for the dude's knock-off pottery barn bench
• Organize office and go through crap
• Dig up and move a bunch of plants

Eek! Hope I can get it all done.

Amy Ruppel

I heart Amy Ruppel's work. Last year, I was able to get one of her prints and some bonus pins from Tiny Showcase. Now I'm eying her State Animals Series. So crazy good! I think the NJ and NY animal prints will have to find their way to my house.

{New York} {New Jersey}

{Utah} {Alabama}

{Connecticut} {North Carolina}

Off the needles

I feel like I've been making gifts everyday for the past year. Last weekend, this baby sweater jumped off the needles and managed to get finished just hours before it was to be wrapped and make it's debut at a baby shower. This is the second time I've used this pattern from Lion Brand. I can't get enough of it! I also think it's funny to dress babies up like old men.

Pattern: Heirloom Cables Baby Sweater, Lion Brand

Wallpaper: Aimée Wilder

How cool is this wallpaper from Aimée Wilder?! I'd love to do a wall in our office in the SnowScene (first one) or Analog Nights (third one down).