Ready for Fall

We've been having such lovely, warm weather here in Oakland (did I mention we moved to Oakland?? More on that later...), that I haven't felt right about decorating for Fall.  Nevermind that these decorations have been up since early September :)  But now that it's cooling off and the leaves on the sycamore out front are changing colors and dropping to the ground, I feel justified. 

Bring on the Trick-or-Treaters!! 

How are you decorating for Fall?

Get Me Some Honey, I Have a Pot

We bought this. We had to. We had no choice.

You can see why. Now we need some honey.

Yo Quiero

In a perfect world, this is what my "fancy" dinner party table looks like. Found on this blog, originally (and photo) by Emersonmade. I want the "EAT" linens and I want all those flowers and maybe I'll wear a flower on my shirt too while I'm serving dinner. I like the wine glasses, that aren't wine glasses at all. And I love the kraft paper table runner.

You know what? This table doesn't even need dinner. I would just leave it set like this to admire and take photos of. Oh, but I would probably drink all the wine and just refill the glasses with my cool carafe.

This is totally me. I want.

p.s. This is my 300th post! Sonofagun...

Nicey Bicycles!

Ok, I have to explain this phrase. "Nicey bicycles," is something that my friend's foreign exchange student used when he really liked something. It sort of stuck, and oh, how I love this prhase (clearly, since I went as far as to embroider it on a pillow).

Remember that bicycle I free-hand "drew" with my sewing machine? Well, with the purchase of our new sofa, I was inspired to turn it into a pillow.

I made the seat red to match this guy:

Are you a little bit sick of the white cross? Well, this white cross was the original prototype for the quilt. But, as you see, it's much bigger than the one I end up using. And so it hung on my inspiration board until this week...when I decided it would be the perfect "pimiento" on our new "olive" sofa.

So the pairing of the bicycle and the cross were unplanned, but I think they are a perfect little pair adding the pop we needed.

I even put zippers in them! I conquered the zipper again!!

My New Favorite Thing

I went to the Goodwill to drop some stuff off, you know, because we're trying to downsize? Well, I accidentally spotted (pun!) this, and couldn't leave without it! Do you just love it?!

I don't really even drink coffee, much less tote around a giant carafe of it. But say one day I do, won't I look great doing it??

Pillow Revision

These pillows are much better than my original attempt/vision. Well, these don't even really look like my 2nd vision either. I start out with one idea and the end product is usually quite a bit different. I banned rulers (a challenge for me) and pinning (not so much) from the initial piecing process.



I think I got the reddish/rust color right this time. I found it in some napkins I intended on embellishing from Crate & Barrel 100 years ago (they were never actually embellished).

I love how they turned out! I feel so Gee's Bend about the whole thing - using a mix of already-have (red, chocolate, linen, and teal corduroy) and new (white linen/cotton). I hope she likes them too!

Cinnamony-ish

This was intended to be a gift, but I got the color wrong - too much brown, not enough red. I'll make another with the right color. But since I don't know where this is going, I can't decide on a backing. Hmmm...I'll probably just let it sit in my UFO pile for a few months.

My favorite part is the two different whites - kona cotton and some linen from, you guessed it, the Anthro bedskirt. What?! I just keep finding pieces of it!

Moving Right Along

This was a fun and rewarding quilt to make - but if you're a picky presser, getting the row seams to press to one side was a beast, so I boycotted and didn't do it. Not sure I'll tackle triangles again any time soon (because I've got circles on the mind anyhow), but eventually. And maybe using this method instead.

Pre-wash:

Post-wash (I much prefer this wrinkly look):

The back - surprise! It's orange!
(you saw it coming)

This one is going to stay right here with me. I'm trying to see how many quilts can fit on one bed before it begins to look completely ridiculous.

Nest and Measure

Check these out - are they not the greatest?

(yes, they nest)

They're measuring cups!!

How I love functional art...

p.s. They're from Anthropologie.

Repurpose

I made these stockings from a Goodwill sweater. The sweater had holes in the elbows, so I didn't feel so badly about cutting it up.



I lined them with some fabric I already had in my stash.



I love 'em.

Wild Woman

Look at my cutest new plant. $1.77 for all that happiness.

My New Favorite Magazine

Among my "Top 10 Favorite Things EVER" list is receiving a new magazine in the mail (pedicures & buying food from bulk bins is up there too). The Easter Bunny bought me a subscription to Blueprint Magazine, my new favorite magazine (Easter Bunny, you never disappoint). It's a Martha Stewart Omnimedia publication, so you know it's full of good stuff. I bought an issue while I was on vacation, and I think I read every single sentence/caption/credit.

I love it, I love it, I love it *insert high kick*!

"Corner Boutique"

Really, they're garage sales. My mom calls them "corner boutiques" to avoid the stigma. Mom used to drag us out garage saleing on Saturdays. We would hide under the dashboard hoping nobody would see or recognize us. We played it cool, but were always stoked if Mom bought us something, and disappointed if she didn't.

I suppose I could write a whole entry on garage sale culture (and maybe I will), but for now I want to show you my latest finds!! I was out on a walk with Kat, and we spotted these little treasures. They're now happily hanging in my room and living room.





I couldn't have even made them for the price. I love it!!

See Sara Run...Again

Here is the table runner I brought to our Twitty Holiday Party gift exchange. I almost didn't give it up, I loved it so much.

I made it with Amy Butler fabrics and linen from PeaPod Fabrics.

My mom and sister got similar runners for Christmas, but with technical difficulties and a new house, respectively, I have not managed to coax them into sending me photos of their runners. I got wise and snapped the shot before letting it go this time.

I just love that fabric!!!


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Update: Monica sent me a photo of her runner. Slightly different, see?