Needles and Pens

Previous Posts on March's Project: Before Pictures Week One Progress Week Two Progress Week Three Progress Making the Window Valance Finishing Touches Our little bathroom is finished -- what a difference a month makes! Of course, there are a few things that could still be done (which have been added to my "future" list), but it is SO much better than it was a month ago. It's so clean and bright now... ... and clutter-free! The final splurge was for a new rug from Bed, Bath & Beyond. (We also got one of those cushy memory foam bath mats to put in front of the shower.) I originally bought the vanity accessories to match the rug, but when I got them home, they just sort of faded into the background on our vanity. So I returned those and bought this set from Walmart, to match the hand towel I bought earlier in the month. My youngest daughter (the one who helped with the painting) told me she was looking forward to my reveal post, ...

At last my March home project is nearing the end. And to think I expected to breeze through our main floor bathroom in a week or two! It's been a bigger challenge than I expected, to say the least, and after getting through the painting/color crisis , and the sewing of the window valance , I still didn't have a "theme" in mind for decorating. But surfing the web last week, I came across this set of Leaf Impressions wall decals at JC Penney . The colors appear to be perfect. I love the leaves. I just hope the photo is accurate and I won't be disappointed when they finally arrive at my doorstep. For the remaining empty wall space, I made this 10" x 15" mini quilt, inspired by the still-unseen decals, and adapted from a pattern in a back-issue of The Quiltmaker magazine. I used the valance fabrics plus a few more aquas, browns and greens thrown in. The leaves are machine-appliqued (before cutting and mix-matching the prints), and quilted with ...

I've said it many times. I am not good at sewing without a pattern. I greatly admire those who are, and also those who can alter a pattern to suit their own purposes. I am not one of those people, and normally I don't even attempt it. However , I wanted a bathroom valance like this: And my experience with curtains has been limited to straight, rectangular panels, so I was forced to wing it this time. It turned out like this: Not too bad! It's not exactly how I had pictured it, but it'll do. I'm actually pretty proud of myself, though the process of getting there was slightly comical (not to mention slow and tedious). I took a leap of faith, and photographed each step along the way -- just in case it wasn't a complete disaster in the end. The process went something like this: I determined that the width of a roll of waxed paper would be about right for the height of the valance (so scientific!), and cut a piece double the width of the window (72...

Ready for a break from the bathroom-fixing-up posts? Yeah, me too. So I took some time out today and finished my March "Floral Breeze" block-of-the-month to share for Sew & Tell Friday . It's called "Sweet Pea." A little closeup of the handwork: These are the three blocks finished so far. They're 12-1/2" x 18-1/2" each. Looking really pretty! Next project: A window valance for -- you guessed it -- the bathroom. Almost done in there, and that's a very good thing!

The painting saga continues... First off, I have to thank those of you who commented on my post last week and talked me down off the ledge after my bathroom painting fail. The overwhelming opinion was to NOT sponge paint or attempt to "fix" the problem, but to try living with the color first, and if all else failed, repaint. Well I lived with it for about three days -- then headed back to the paint store. Out with the "Aqua Fiesta" and in with the undeniably toned-down "Misty Aqua." I'm having a terrible time getting accurate color in my pictures of this room, but I definitely got that softer look I was going for. I'm still not 100% sold, but I think it'll just take some getting used to. It looks so much better than it did when I started, and that's what really counts. We got a tax refund this week (great timing!) and my hubby is home on vacation, so we were able to buy a new medicine cabinet and get it installed, too. :o) ...

I've had some issues with paint this week, BUT I'm getting there. Went shopping on Thursday and bought my supplies... The last time I painted this room, I used ordinary latex interior paint, which clearly did not resist mildew from condensation above the shower and window. Ick. This time around I'm doing it right, and hopefully the mildew battle will be over. First I scrubbed the whole area, then spackled all cracks and holes and finished with two coats of stain-blocking, mildew-resistant primer. Before and after: So far, so good. We were ready to paint (using mildew-resistant paint, made specifically for bathrooms and kitchens). These were the two colors I debated on at the hardware store, with fabric samples in hand. Don't they look soft and soothing? Well, I decided on "Aqua Fiesta," the darker of the two (my usual tendency). My mistake was not taking the paint sample home to see how it would look in the room . My daughter and I started pai...

I finally got around to one of the many works-in-progress I listed here awhile back. For the past week or so, I've been making one or two of these 8" airplane blocks each night: I plan to make four more, for a 16-block square baby quilt. Sashing and border decisions yet to be made, but it should be finished well before my deadline. Sweet! (Linking up with Judy's Design Wall Monday at the Patchwork Times.)

A group of my online quilting friends held a virtual sew-in last weekend. Amazing how motivating that can be! With the regular check-ins, chatting, and sharing of progress pictures all weekend long, it almost felt like we were all together on a quilting retreat. We often talk about organizing a real retreat someday. Now that would be a blast! This was my sew-in project, a birthday gift for a six-year-old little girl. A very spontaneous project, yet every bit of it was hiding in my stash, just waiting to be pulled together into this little quilt. Love when that happens! I used the Warm Wishes pattern, a free download from Quiltmaker.com, and I was super impressed with how fast the top came together. Every smidgen of the Little Mermaid print was used. The aqua/white polka dot filled in for the last round of blocks, "growing" the quilt from baby-size to kid-size. The borders finished off the teal print, and it took the very last bits of both purples to make the bind...