I Was Knit Together In My Mother's Womb

Weekend? What weekend?

  I started to sew when I was eleven years old. For years and years, I made my own clothes, then for years and years I made dolls, and their clothes. And now, it's hard for me to see a fabric treatment for home decorating without thinking, "I can do that...I know I can." I'll read books, ask questions, and before you know it, I'm attempting cushion covers or a new pillow technique. It may not be perfect, but hey, I'm learning!  Oh, was I ever in the sewing mood this weekend!

    This is my attempt at slipcovers for the dining room chairs.

The fabric is some that came from Cindy, in Michigan.  And, wouldn't you know, it works perfectly with the colors in the rug and the wall. They are a work in progress, but I do think they will give the dining room a bit of softness that  is much needed with all of that woodwork and the hard lines of our Craftsman house. The fabric touches will work with the Craftsman style without too much feminization (which, my dear husband was actually concerned about)

We found the perfect fixture for the dining room, on clearance (my favorite words!), so we replaced the 1965 space ship pull-down fixture. Remember those?

Goodbye Magenta and Black!  A sneak preview of the guest room....

I had lots of white chenille bedspreads. One for the bed, And the other got cut up to make pillow covers and

a cover for the ottoman.  My next attempt will be to slipcover the armchair. I've always wanted to learn, and you know, I'm going to! I may use some of the chenille, and some old white matlesse' coverlets that I have hanging around.

  It's becoming a cozy, and bright room. Window treatments, some wall decor, and we'll be ready for our first overnight guests in a few weeks!

Knitting was accomplished, as well, and the only thing that kept me from showing you the Finished Red Jacket was lack of four buttons! I have tens of thousands of buttons. And I need to go buy four. Four buttons. GO figure.

I did cast on for a secret something...

 

...And I have lined up the yarn (Paton's Grace) and needles to do a baby kimono ( from Mason Dixon) for a sweet little newborn.

JR and I spent much of the weekend working around the house, and reflecting on how blessed we are. My brother and sister-in-law visited on Saturday, and before they left, Laurie said, " You know, this house feels happy. It's a good place to be." I don't say this to boast, since there have been times when no doubt, my home was not a pleasant place to be. I'm so thankful that no matter what our surroundings, and what the paint or fabric, we have the opportunity to make a happy home. Our desire is that it will be "a peaceful dwelling place, a secure home, an undisturbed place of rest" and that should you ever visit, you will feel that as well.

Picnic

The Special Swap theme this time around is Picnic.  Of course, it has me thinking of all things picnic these days. In fact, just this morning, Katie called to tell me that she and Ray had gone to Hamlin Beach yesterday for a picnic. Funny how minds can think alike, because a few days ago, in an e-mail exchange with swapper Meg I was sharing this beach picnic memory:

Living in Western New York, we can always look forward to a good number of very hot days in the summer, and when the kids were younger, I'd often plan for a beach picnic for us  when I'd hear the weather report forcasting 90 degrees for the next day. Hamlin Beach State Park, in Rochester, was just a 40 minute drive along the lake from where we lived.

The day would go something like this:

I would prepare as much as I could ahead of time, while the kids were still in bed, and then, as they'd waken for the day, already with the words "I'm bored" forming on their precious lips, I'd tell them we were going to the Beach.  Of course, great excitement would ensue, as they would, in a mad scramble, run around, searching for bathing suits, beach towels, and their favorite beach things. They would always beg for a friend to come along.

The cooler would be packed with sandwiches, cookies, and veggies, drink boxes and a thermos of lemonade. Required protocol determined we would stop at the corner store for a bag of Doritos and at a farm stand along the way for some cherries.

They were the best days...sunburned, even though I slathered sunscreen as long as the kids would sit still. Katie remembered how, at the end of a day of swimming, playing Marco Polo, finding the best rocks, and burying one another in sand, we would  lug everything back to the van, lay the towels out on the seats and go home with our wet bottoms, still sand between our toes and stuck to the places where the lake water didn't wash it away.

 

At the end of a beach picnic day like that,  bedtime would be met by exhausted little brown bodies, falling quickly into slumber on sheets that had been hanging on the clothesline to dry all day.

Do you have a favorite picnic memory?