A cheerful pillow!

I don’t know why it took me so long to complete this pillow project that’s supposed to be simple and quick!!!

I finally hunkered down and made the pillow form myself instead of buying one at the store. And, voila – the pillow is completely completed – ready to be given to a friend for her belated birthday gift!

I really like the cheerful colors. Plus, being able to finish a “Work-in-Progress” project always makes me feel CHEERFUL for the weekend. Therefore, I also want to wish you lots of cheer this weekend! I will see you next week.

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A Thanksgiving Corner

I love using what I already have to come up with something different. This year, I am using this grape tray to display some corn and chocolates (those ears of corn are at least five years old, but they still look pretty good to me to throw away):

I got this idea that I could display my Portuguese Majolica Grape Plates in stacked-pancake-style on this cake stand that just normally sits on my counter top empty:

Thank you for visiting my little Thanksgiving Corner. Stay warm (for the Northern Hemispher-ers), and enjoy a lovely spring day (for the Southern Hemispher-ers)! :) Oh, and don’t forget to grab some chocolate before you go — if you like chocolates, that is! :)

Bernina’s THROUGH THE NEEDLE (Issue 28)

I received my complimentary copies of “Through the Needle” over the weekend. Bernina didn’t just send me one or two copies – I received SIX copies (I smell a giveaway once things settle down for me)!!! And kudos to the editorial staff for a job well done. The magazine turned out to be very eye-catching!

I had seen the draft sent to me for final review, but it is NOTHING like seeing the real thing:

Here are more pillow shots:

Back of pillow – the fabric was one of those that I just couldn’t pass up at the quilt shop:

Click here if you happened to miss the previous post.

[Through the Needle will feature another article on me sometime next year. Stay tuned! I think it’s going to be really fun working on that project. This project will be done with the help of Rogers Sewing Center. You may contact Rogers Sewing Center for more information. You may also contact me should you be interested in a custom-made pillow like the one shown.]

Fruit Picks and Window Treatment

Fruit picks — you know, those you pick up at craft or discount stores for fifty cents or less when they go on sale during the holiday season?! They are used to decorate a wreath or anything you want to do some perking up. I had used these picks to…

… perk up my patriot swag. I had bought these years ago thinking that I would used them for decorating wrapped gifts. I think I did use some of them, but I still have some left. So, I tied them to my swag instead of using tassels:

Well, in case you are wondering why there are no picks in the center two panels… it’s because I only have 5 picks for the 6 panels I have to perk up. The store from which I bought these picks doesn’t carry them anymore. So, to maintain the sense of symmetry, I did the rest except for the center two. I suppose I could just go to the craft store and pick up any picks and spray paint them gold, but first, I have to overcome my stickler for all things having to be uniform… ;) Meanwhile, I keep hoping I would find that lonely and forgotten pick somewhere in the house. Pathetic, you say – and you are absolutely RIGHT! :)

Moral of the post – women can be the most innovative creatures – we often find uses for things other than they are intended in the home, don’t you think?! :) I would love to hear from you if you have used these fruit picks for innovative and interesting purposes.

Thank you for visiting – I hope you have a safe and wonderful day, till next time!

p.s. From experience, do allow way more time than stated on the pattern package to make the swag. I think the pattern said it would take two hours to make the swag. I think just the cutting took me almost two hours. It’s no fun having to deal with a length of seven yards when one doesn’t have that long of a cutting surface. It took me more like seven hours to complete the project from start to finish. But it only cost me around $35 for the material (Waverly at that!) as opposed to the range of $150-$300 to have it made.

Of weather, quilting notions and progress on quilt…

I am a tropical girl at heart. When it has been raining gently throughout the day like today, and if I have nothing better to do, I would love nothing better than to just….

…..snuggle in a comfortable chair, or even in bed, and read my book, or just daydream:

But instead, I had to travel 45 minutes one way to pick up something that is less than $10, but it’s something I absolutely have to have to complete my “Family Tree” quilt:

I also picked this up to mark on my quilt for quilting later. It is a special fabric marker for dark fabrics:

And now, another sneak peek of the progress. I did finish ALL 25 of the skeletal blocks. I have NEVER made that many quilt blocks in my life for one block pattern – talk about being repetitive! I have a lot of respect for people that make bed-sized quilts with countless blocks of the same block pattern. I am now adding the accentual pieces to complete the quilt top (some accentual pieces are shown):

Even though I was not able to waste away on this wet and rainy day with the past-time activity of my choice, I did receive my Aynsley Cottage Garden Vase to go with the plate serving as a decorative detail in one of the bathrooms. So that was a pretty good highlight of my rainy and wet day:

(Click here if you are interested to know more about my Pampered Puppies figurine.)

Have a wonderful day, everyone! Till next time! :)

Decorative Details: Part 1

Happy Monday, Everyone!

I thought you might like to see my neatly folded Peacock Quilt draped over my other wing back chair.  Looks like it belongs with the chair, doesn’t it?

While we are on the subject of home decor… they said details tell a lot.  Here are some common decorative details that I have used to add some flavor to my own home-decorating:

1.  Wine buckets – I don’t use them as they are intended.  I use them as display pieces by themselves (as in the first picture) or for floral arrangments.  I especially like the first wine bucket – it is an antique Sheffield Silverplate piece that actually bears an “S” monogram:

2.  Throw Pillows – one can NEVER go wrong with throw pillows.  These are what I have in my living room, but I am thinking it’s time to do some updating:

3.  Easels – These are from Italy made of pewter.  I have not quite decided exactly what to do with them.  I used to display my Spode Italian dishes.  But I am wanting to do something different with them – still thinking! :)

That’s all for now about decorative details – stay tuned for part 2 in the coming weeks.

Eye Candies

These are my favorite home decorating books to look at:

I also love Henrietta Spencer-Churchill’s books because she always inserts very interesting historical anecdotes to the different pieces featured in her books. Did you know she is the niece of Sir Winston Churchill?

Won’t you join me for a cup of tea or coffee while we browse through these books? I have look through these books countless times, but I find something new and interesting each time I look of them again:

Have a great Monday, everyone! Till next time.