My Slipcover: from "What were we thinking?" to "I love that chair!"

Hello!  It's time to show off my chair today!

I finished it right before this past Thanksgiving, because we hosted this year and I wanted my house to look great.  I had but one problem:

Exhibit A: The "What Were We Thinking?" chair

~ The Issues ~
1. Humongous roses.
2. Sad, sad cushion, beaten down by life.  And my Cadbury-Mini-Eggs-loving tookus. 
3. Torn seams and exposed foam at the corners of the cushion (not pictured) as a result of reckless abuse by my children.
4. Lumpy, misshapen cushion on the back of the chair.
5. I mentioned the roses, right?

(I wish I'd known back then that I was going to put this out there for all to see.  I would have taken more pics of the process!) 

Anyway, I searched high and low for suitable slipcover fabric.  It would have taken me about an hour to find, if not for my ever-present budget.  What a buzzkill.  I wanted to spend no more than $60 on the whole project.  I know that's ambitious, considering that, according to my calculations, I'd need about 12 yards of fabric.  Not to mention the cording!  I forget how many yards I needed of that, but I do remember not wanting to make bias tape and/or cording for quite a long time afterward. 

I checked every online option, frequented Jo-Ann Fabrics, even made a special trip to some warehouse in a neighboring town.  Nothing.  FINALLY, I found the perfect fabric, on clearance, at Jo-Ann's.  The problem?  8 yards and no more.

But time was a-wastin'.  I snatched up those 8 yards for a mere $30....a clothesline for my cording (clever, right?) and went to work.  With some very carefully planned-out cutting, plus a little "frankensteining", I made those 8 yards cover the whole thing. 

I love making slipcovers because it's like doing a huge puzzle.  And I love puzzles.  :)

My strategy for reviving the cushions was to make their covers just a little too small.  Stuffing them in was no fun, but well worth it. 

At the end, I hand-sewed the chair into the slipcover - the parts that I was afraid would tear in the process of putting in over the chair.  Just like on Project Runway!  Sort of.

Sewing for my girl

I am positively giddy right now!  I took a little trip to Jo-Ann's yesterday, when McCall's patterns were on sale for $.99.  I restrained myself and bought 3.  Actually, truth be told, I wasn't overwhelmed by the patterns.  There weren't that many "must-haves" for me, yesterday. 

My main mission was to find Abby's Easter dress pattern & fabric for this year.  I am so excited with what I found and I can't wait to get started!  When, I have no idea.  This week is nuts.  Maybe tonight. 

How stinkin' cute is that?  I'll be doing the longer dress on the right.  I'm so excited because it's not the typical "Easter Dress" style that at this point I can almost do in my sleep.  Almost.  ;)

So anyway, stay tuned...

I sew better than I keep plants alive, so I guess this is my Craft Apron

It's been a week already?  Huh.  Time flies when you're busy.  Yesterday I babysat a friend's 4 (out of 7!) children, ages 1, 2, 4, and 5.  They are great kids, and lots of fun, but it just about cured me of my ever-present "baby fever."

that was after about...oh...30 seconds

the lunchtime mess that sat there for a few hours

what the...????  I have no idea.

I think one more day of toddler-rama ought to knock it right out of me, so I'll do it again next week! 

Anyway, for the One Yard Wonders sewalong, this week I (again) only did one project.  Well that's not true...I did two, but one of them is later on in the book...I did it as a gift.  I wasn't really feeling the "Smock of all Ages" anyway.  I'm more of an apron kind of gal.

So, here is my finished Craft/Garden apron!

Yes I'm sucking it in.  The 30 Day Shred isn't over yet.

Cute, right?  I made my own bias tape out of this green paisley fabric that I have a ton of.  It was pretty easy to put together; I'm not the greatest at bias binding, but this was good practice and I think I did OK.  The first time I finished it, it looked like this:

Boooo-ring!  The green paisley couldn't quite rescue the un-cool periwinkle like I thought maybe it would.

I considered doing an applique, but...I don't know.  That seemed kind of boring too.  Maybe I was just in a "bored" kind of mood that day.  I looked around my craft/computer/cat/sewing/junk room and spied some yarn.  Hmmm.

love that swivel cutter thingy!

perhaps purple marker on purple fabric isn't the best way to reduce eye strain.

"liquid stitch?"  are they saying that this glue is as strong as a machine stitch?  I seriously doubt it.  But it's supposed to dry clear, so that's good enough for me.

let's hope it dries clear.

channeling my inner kindergartner!  somehow the combo of glue & yarn felt vaguely familiar, from a time long ago...

It reminds me of the big cursive "L" on Laverne's shirts.

before...

after!

Sewing in 2011

Now that I look at it, it's actually kinda messy.  But check out my table!  Greg & I scored it for $5 at an auction. 

I was wondering if I'd ever feel like sewing again...and thank goodness, I do!  Honestly, except for a handful of times, my sewing machine sat idle for most of last year.  I blame it on the knitting.  I learned how to knit (you can read about it here and here, if you wish) last year, and it seriously took over my life.  But in a good way.  Well, except that my husband now considers his life "a lonely existence" (his words)...but I think he finally believes me that I can talk to him and knit at the same time.

Well anyway...my machine got totally neglected for a REALLY long time.  I sat down the other day to make some bags, and mess around with some other patterns, and guess what I found out?  My skills are really, really rusty!  I kept making such dumb mistakes; it was frustrating!  I realized the other day that I have been sewing for about 15 years.  That is astounding to me.  That I have been doing anything for that long.  But I think the quality of my finished projects could be a lot better. 

So here's what I'm doing about that - and I think it'll be lots of fun, too (of course!) - I'm going to join a sew-along.  Pink Chalk Studio is going through the book One Yard Wonders and I'm going to jump in this week!

They do two projects each week, and post on Friday.  Being Thursday evening (last night) when I stumbled upon this little sewalong, I opted for one project this week.  ;)  The "Artist Brushes Case." 

Pretty simple and straightforward, it took about 1 1/2 hours (including "putting kids to bed" time).  I wanted to be finished in time for The Office, which turned out to be a re-run.  Grr. But I digress.

I didn't have any ribbon that I liked, so I did the ol' hairband-and-button thing.  I actually like it a lot...maybe not as cute as a ribbon, but my other needle roll (oh yeah, this for me, is a knitting needle roll. Imagine that.) has a ribbon, and it's kind of a pain to tie & untie it all the time. 

 The only change I would make if I do it again would be...I'd make it about 2 inches wider, and not make the "flap" so big.  It doesn't need to come down that far.  But overall, I'm happy!  Love that fabric!

Venturing into Etsy

Yay, my Etsy shop is up and running!  I even figured out how to put a linky thing on the side of my blog.  I am sooooo not great at this whole "make your blog fancy and efficient" thing yet.  But I made a little progress today.  :)

Last night I finally listed some of my bags - I call them my "go-to" bags because they are really versatile.  I use mine a lot, and not just for knitting projects. 

that would be the cowl I've been working on for....forever, it seems

 I put together some really pretty color combos and am very excited about them!  It was fun to take pictures too.  Pics on Etsy are no joke.  If your picture stinks, there are like 10 million other listings for the same thing that people would rather look at.  I hope mine are OK, I did my best!

I just want to EAT this one, so fresh and citrusy

Pretty! 

love that lining

the contents of my (other) (one of many others) (too many) purses.  Usually there's more litter than useful items, but I cleaned it up just for you people.  Look at my cute new wallet!  I totally copied off of my friend Allena.  She has an aqua one and told me where she got it. 

So anyway, there you have it!  I have these bags, and some (knitting) stitch markers up right now.  Making stitch markers is so addictive!  I am having a hard time deciding on what to make.  I make so many things, it's hard to focus.

Knitted items are out...too time-consuming for me.  And personal.  I like to knit for my family & close friends, and myself of course.

Jewelry...in theory, I enjoy making jewelry.  In reality, I seriously have no eye for jewelry design.  So I think that's gonna be out, too. 

Sewn items, that's where I'm leaning.  Just not sure where I want to focus yet.  Suggestions?  (Yes, this is a thinly veiled plea for comments!)  Come on you lurkers, give me some feedback!  :)

Dear Diary

Just a simple little crafty thing today, so cute!  Abby has started keeping a diary.  :)  How adorable is that?  She asked me to find her one "at the store."  I have no earthly idea where to find an actual diary.  Do they make those anymore?  But as I was scavenging the clearance racks at Michaels earlier this week, I found these super-cute little journals for .50 each.  I restrained myself and didn't buy up every one they had.  I only got three.

yes, I know there are only two here. 

I also couldn't resist these pencils

look at the black ones - they have little blingies on the tops!  .50 a pack.  How could I not?

So I surprised Abby with her own diary (and blingy pencils).  On the front, I wrote "My Diary" in glue and glittered it, because I knew she would just love that.  But the lack of privacy was really getting to her!  So she asked me to put something on it "to keep it from flying open."  (Abby's words)  My first (lazy) thought was, "where are those rubber bands?"    But rubber bands are for flinging. 

Soo....here's the super-secret diary in its unprotected state:

And here's the security system I installed, complete with pencil holder.  At first I tried to glue the ribbon on with little success.  Then I thought, "doofus!  You have a sewing machine." 

Cute, huh?  I think Abby will be pleased.  :)

ETA: not being one to leave well enough alone, I made another little change...

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Helloooo....?  Hellooooooooo?  Is anyone still there?  Mom, are YOU even there??? 

Well anyway, I'm back.  Back to blogging.  I don't even know where to start!  A few changes...

Change #1: Blogging hiatus is over.  But Pleased as Punch will now be my only blog.  It is hard to give up "Mother of the Year" - mainly because that name still makes me chuckle.  But it's too much undue pressure for me to keep up two blogs!  That may have something to do with why they both fizzled out last summer in the first place.  I think I'm going to make this one more all-inclusive; I think I can combine my family stuff with my crafty stuff.  I do it in real life; I can do it in a blog, right?  Puh-lease.  Of course I can. 

Change #2: look at my cool logo!  That's all. 

Change #3: I don't really have another one. 

*****

So, in a nutshell...hmm, what is going on right now...

After bragging to one of my friends about how healthy my family generally is, and how we never get sick, my kids have been sick, in turn, for back-to-back weeks.  Abby had a two-day vomit fest to start off her week of misery last week.  Noaln is my current "patient;" if all goes well, he'll be going back to preschool on Wednesday.  He complains today of his throat feeling "hot."  Not scratchy, just "hot."  I have no idea what this means. 

Never brag about your health or how long it's been since you've gotten a speeding ticket.  Lesson learned. 

We're approaching summer, which means that I have 5 precious months left before BOTH of my kids are in school full-time.  I try not to think about it too much, I can't believe the time has flown that quickly!  Wasn't Nolan just....BORN?  Wasn't he just a chubby little toddler...last week?  And Abby is so tall and grown up already.  She devours chapter books every few days as if her life depends on it.  Wasn't it just the other day that I was reading little board books to her as she sat on my lap?  I remember showing her pictures and letters and colors; now she teaches herself how to write in cursive, and makes her own "to-do" lists for the day. 

I'm looking to next year and thinking about what I'm going to do when the kids are in school.  I'm not sure yet but I have some ideas. I'm letting God lead me, instead of plowing ahead with whatever seems best to me...for once!  So more on that to come, I'm sure. 

Our family is going through changes.  God is working.  He is so good!  I was telling Greg what a weight off my shoulders it is to just trust God and let Him lead us, without feeling like I have to control/orchestrate everything that happens. 

I am reading through the Bible this year - a New Year's resolution.  Each day there are three passages to read: one from the OT, NT, and the "middle" - like Psalms or Proverbs or something like that.  I love the format.  But I'm actually about 5 days behind right now, ack!  My friend Vicki is doing this with me...I love going through this with her! Right now we are in Numbers, Ecclesiastes, and Matthew.  My goal is to get caught up today before I have my girls' night out. 

No pics today, sorry.  I have a "hot" throat to attend to right now.  And I guess I should get dressed.