New Year, New Hobby, New Toys

2013 brings a lot of newness at our house. I got a new job (whohoo!) in a fabric store. I took up jogging with our dog Max. You can see pictures from those runs here. That's all good and well but the fun news this year, so far, has been the new antique sewing machine I picked up right before Christmas. I realize this means I bought her before 2013 but I had to have her serviced and didn't get it back until after the first of the year. I love her.

She is a post-WWII dressmaker that sweetheart found in a thrift store for $15! Sweetie called me over to meet her and at first I wasn't very impressed. An old machine that was a brand I'd never heard of didn't sound very appealing. Then I started riffling through the cabinet drawers and found the accessories box with 8 feet in it, including a darning foot, 2 rolled hem feet, a binding foot, several zipper feet and others! The bonus was the original manual since I had no clue how I was supposed to work the machine. Needless to say, we loaded it up and took it home and I had high hopes. Then I came to find out that she was so gummy with 60 years worth of oil that she'd need some major attention by someone with expertise. From there I found Mike at Antique Sewing Machines who got her retooled and purring like a kitten. I need to name her and I'm thinking Midge. I'm also thinking of having her powder-coated orange to contrast off the green walls of the sewing room, just for kicks. Did I mention she has 17 different stitches? I'm swooning now just thinking about it.

So I got a new machine and I'm in love. Also, I started a job in a fabric store. What's a girl to do? Why learn to quilt! I've never been especially great at sewing garments but I figured I could sew straight lines. There was more to it than I realized so I did what any novice would do. I asked the internet, made a pinterest board and joined a forum. The forum does a block of the month, which I thought could be a great way to start and ask questions all at the same time. So far, I've done two blocks, January and February. I'm hoping to do a rainbow color scheme and put it all together for the first of next year. Here are the blocks I've done so far.

January- Whirling Star 2

This one was interesting because it involved "Y" seams for the triangles and I spent some time with the seam ripper but it came out okay, I think.

I'm calling this "Blue Valentine"

This was my first paper pieced block and I had a heck of a time but it's done and I like the effect. It also gave me a chance to try out all Midge's decorative stitches. Did I mention I love her? What are you doing that's new in 2013?

Entry Table from a Stereo Cabinet

Holy cow! It's been a month and projects are getting finished. We've recently created a cabinet for the cat litter box (which you can see here), Sweetheart made patio chairs out of cedar fence lumber and I created an entry table of sorts. We needed something after we rearranged the living room and this old stereo cabinet from the basement fit the bill nicely. I was going to use it originally for a litter box cabinet but that didn't pan out.

The deconstruction kept me well acquainted with a my Phillips screwdriver (holy cow it had a lot of screws!) to get all the extra parts out including the front panel and I added thin plywood for a new bottom and behind the tiled center piece. Otherwise I just shined it up, slapped on some stain where the wood was exposed and off we went! This works well to catch stuff, hold our board games and keep Max's toys up off the floor, plus sweetheart likes the retro.

Parties, Projects and Plants 2- Funky, Cheap Curtain Tie-Backs

I am a cheapskate at heart, in case you haven't gleaned that little pearl of wisdom by now. I'm also always looking for ways to spruce up the ranch. We have a double window in the dining room and some basic curtains. Since the window is so wide we needed 4 panels to cover it completely without looking cheap. A few weeks ago I shortened the curtains but at that length I couldn't knot them anymore to hold them back. As I'm staring into the silverware drawer for the millionth time I spy the meat fork. Don't ask me what utensil I was actively looking for, that issue was gone in my flash of brilliance and new project idea. I decided I could bend a serving spoon and fork and use those for curtain tie backs!

Sweetheart wasn't keen on this idea until I told her I would not be using the serving pieces out of the silverware set she bought me for Christmas a few years ago. If this sounds crazy, stick with me.

Sunday Stylebook-Sewing Room Ideas

We have a perfectly good bedroom devoted to a litter box and cat food. It's sad really and I've been on a kick to use the space and things we have. I'd really like a sewing room where I could iron without fear of marring the kitchen table and have space to really spread out. I've decided I can use the cat's room for this so I've been thinking of color schemes and ways to organize/decorate it. I think I've decided on a color scheme.

I acquired this fabric from a friend of a friend and I love the lime and orange but I don't have  enough of it to do curtains and I think I want something a little more formal. Here's my inspiration plan.