The Ugly and The Pretty

Edited to join up with Kimba's DIY day -

First the pretty:

I took this -

and created this with just a little Kilz primer, some leftover paint, and Loctite.

And I finally took the pinecone lights down and put up this spring rag garland - I'm thinking spring here.

Then there was the Ugly:

This would be the bathroom caulking.

And the very sad little vanity.

This would be the Catman removing said nasty caulk (our bathroom is the size of a postage stamp, hence his draping over the edge of the tub. )

We got the caulk up, the trim down, and the vanity primed.

Stay tuned for the reveal next weekend.

I got 'er done

Part of the fun over at Kimba's DIY day!

The red cropped cardi was finished by Valentine's Day. I didn't wear it yet, but it's done. I'm not overjoyed by the sleeves, but after blocking they seemed to settle down a bit.

Project specs: pattern of my own devising using just under 10 skeins of Berroco Pure Merino on #7 needles. The buttons were salvaged off a jacket.

The other FO is the sock yarn scarf. This project made a reasonable dent in the sock yarn remnants, and I definitely think I'll do something like this again.

Project specs: the pattern is knit in the round on #4 double point needles, alternating strands of remnant sock yarn (2 colors -switching out to a new color when one runs out). The ends of the scarf are knit using 2 x 2 ribbing in solid black (mimicking a Gap scarf from last winter). The best part? All the ends are concealed in the tube so no weaving in! Particularly nice when you've got close to a bazillion little pieces.

Hopefully next week, I'll have a finished quilted headboard and a little DIY cake stand to show off...

A table's tile tale

Join the party over at A Soft Place to Land's DIY Day!

We've had this table for 25 years - it was our first 'new furniture' purchase a few days after we got married. It has served us as a dining table and a desk. It's been in storage and has moved with us 7 times. It has been a great little work horse, but unfortunately the white laminate top was showing its age. I thought about painting the top, upholstering it with oilcloth, or covering it with cork. Recognizing this table is always going to be a work horse and not a fine thoroughbred, I decided on the cheap and easy.

A few .88 cent peel-and-stick tiles from Lowes and I think our little table's ready for the Kentucky Derby (or at least a mint julep!)

Maybe by Valentine's Day?

Maybe by Valentine's Day, I'll be done with the Red Cardi. Or maybe not. I did rework the shoulders on the front and back panels and now just have to stitch them together to make sure they work. Sleeve #1 has been started, but I'm wavering on whether to make them 3/4-length or full-length. Like I said, maybe by V-day.

But at least my Christmas trip project has been completed and blocked. Citron was a great knit: fun and fast. The only problem I encountered was trying to find a cat-free place to block it out. Those cats are lucky I love 'em.

Reuse, recycle, and some lemonade

Linked to Kimba's DIY day

One of the first projects I made with my new sewing machine was a duvet cover. Here in Vermit, the nights get chilly early and last well into the spring. I sewed two flannel flat sheets (the fitted sheets had long worn out - why IS that?) together on 3 sides.

Since one sheet was a bit longer than the other, I folded it over, envelope-style. I created buttonholes on the top of both sheets, and sewed buttons to the duvet itself. By buttoning through both sheets, the duvet stays in place and is easy to shake out when I make the bed.

My lemonade comes from another project I'm working on: an aquarium. I was a bit impatient and purchased some plants before reading up on what I actually needed. 2 of the 3 plants I bought are not suitable for full submersion. So I put on my thinking cap and came up with this:

I'm 'lucky' to have an antiques mall within walking distance of my office and during my lunch hour this week, I went exploring.The terrarium itself is a heavy glass canister with a ground glass stopper. Hopefully, this little habitat will survive the cold weeks that are still ahead of us!

Learning my lessons

Over the past year, I've been disciplining myself on frogging a project at the point when I realize it's going south. This has been extremely difficult in some cases, but well worth the added hassle when I finally finish.

Two projects right now are at the frogging stage. #1 is the red sweater set: I realized the shoulder decreases were not going to meet up properly, so I've frogged all the panels back to the pre-decrease point. *sigh* The other project is my quilted headboard. I didn't properly baste/pin down the quilted lining and now, even though the lining will be concealed, I'm ripping out stitches to fix it.

The main problem with do-overs is the momentum isn't there. So I've imposed a "no new projects" rule until I finish these two. Yeah, we'll see how that goes!

Vacation finds

Today is the first DIY of 2010 - yippee!

I found this ironstone soap dish during our PA trip - $2.00 for almost pristine condition! The fabric is another find during the same trip. I've been brainstorming an idea for a larger pincushion...

And this is what I came up with! I made a cardstock template for the base, used leftover fiberfill and then handstitched a little pillow. I applied two little Velcro dots to the bottom of the cushion and the bowl of the dish to keep the pillow stationary as I add/remove the pins.

During the same trip, I found this fabric. Again a little fiberfill to puff up the top slightly, some Elmers glue, and a piece of scrapbook paper on the underside of the lid to cover up the edges of the fabric and I'm done. Total time for both projects? 30 minutes tops! Total cost? Less than $5.00!

Let the resolutions begin!

Here's resolving that 2010 will be a better blog year for me! To get this party started, some FOs and WIPs. First, the finished stuff:

Two neckwarmers! The multicolor one uses Opal's Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince sock yarn in the "Lupin" colorway. The pattern is a lace rib done on #2 circs. The solid warmer is Elsebeth Lavold's Eucool (75% wool, 25% eucalyptus) in a broken lace rib on #6 circs.

On our annual holiday trip to PA, I worked on Citron.

I'm a few rows away from the ruffled edging and very excited to see how it will turn out after blocking. The yarn is a $2.00 cone of mohair that I picked up from the Essex Community Yarn Sale this past summer. As with most coned yarn, it looks like I've hardly made a dent in it!

I realized I'm hurting on the sock front, so I snagged a few balls of Deborah Norville's Serenity Sock yarn (superwash wool/bamboo/nylon) at Joanns for $2.50/skein. This is Tanzanite. I hope it knits up as nicely as it feels/looks.

After reading about mirasolperu.com's Miski Peruvian baby llama on Ravelry, I had to make a stop at Stitch Your Art Out in Pine Grove Mills, PA (right outside State College).

The yarn did not disappoint. In addition to picking up the celadon and the chocolate (with purpley bits) yarn, I also scored 2 skeins of the 100% merino wool in this gorgeous hand dyed colorway. Must be the post-holiday onset that makes me gravitate to these colors!

I'm back to work tomorrow, so I'm off now to see if I can finish Citron today! Happy New Year!

Some kitchen projects

The undersink area in my kitchen was kinda scary. At one point there had been a leak which caused water damage as well as some black moldy stuff. My landlord fixed the leak, but we hadn't done anything with the stained wood. The area had become a place for the trash can and a spider safari for our cat, Jack. Here it is with one coat of primer (I couldn't bring myself to photograph it in its naked state.)

And here it is after 1) two coats of primer, 2) 6 self-adhesive tiles from Lowes, and 3) quarter round molding. For $12.00 and a few hours of work, I'm in love. I just want to open the cupboard doors and gaze into the space. The CatMan thinks I've really lost it this time. He might be right.
Here's another little project with big impact.The veneer on the edge of my cabinet shelves needed some work. I wanted to do something quick and easy. All you DIYers inspired me! Before -

I purchased a thin decorative strip from my boys at Lowes and the CatMan cut it. I then used some leftover stain from the hutch and the craft desk projects: I applied one coat of Dark Walnut, let it dry then applied one coat of Gunstock. It turned out to be a perfect match! I glued down the strips with wood glue and used Frog Tape to hold them there until the glue dried. Total cost of the project - $8.00 for the piece of trim.

Long list done!

First the knitting:
Christmas wristers

Clockwise from top left: Blue Mohair - King Cole Luxury Mohair in 'Roma', 2 x 2 rib on #6 DPNs. Teal - Berroco Comfort in color 9837, 2 x 2 rib on #7 DPNs. Green - Panda Cotton in 'Fern', twisted rib with picot edging knit on #2 DPNs. Grey - Berroco Lustra in black with Tilli Tomas Flurries in 'Atmosphere' for the cuffs (sorry, don't remember the needle size). And finally, the orange pair is Panda Cotton in 'Red Cinnamon', lace rib pattern on #2 DPNs.

Christmas mittens

Brown mittens: Opal's Harry Potter yarn in 'Hedwig' knit together with Berroco's Ultra Alpaca Fine in color #801 on #2 DPNs. Blue mittens: King Cole Luxury Mohair in 'Roma' knit on #7 DPNs.
Bella Bracelets (pattern link to Ravelry)

Project specs: Berroco NaturLin knit on #1 DPNS (just need two needles - it's knit back and forth.) Buttons are from Kyarns and my stash.

And some projects around the house.
Under the kitchen sink: one coat of primer. Still to come - tiles, trim and another coat of primer.

Gone but not forgotten

I've been gone from the blog, but it has not been forgotten. During my hiatus, I've knitted 4 pairs of Christmas wristers, two Fun Fur scarves for a co-worker, and a baby hat. I've sewn an apron. I've converted a bookcase into a coat cubby ala Pottery Barn, and I've hung the curtain dividers in my craft room. I'm also 2/3rds of the way through my Christmas shopping, have made reservations for our holiday travel, and have helped a friend explore the wonderful world of iTunes.

I also took a bunch of pictures which I think the CatMan downloaded somewhere other than on my computer.

I've been busy. You're just going to have to take my word for it.

China hutch reveal

Edited to participate in ASPtL's DIY day -

Since I had moved the pie safe to the craft room, I needed replacement storage in our kitchen. A new store opened near my home, which is where I found this girl in need of some lovin'.

The inside shelves were waterstained and dried out, the outside had some kind of shellac that had dripped and then dried. I had a vision of her rich and deep on the outside and Tiffany blue on the inside.

After several attempts at stripping (3M Safe Stripper didn't cut it, so I had to pull out the big stinky guns)and the first coat of Miniwax Dark Walnut, I had to put her makeover on hold. Seems humid mid-July weather was not conducive to drying. At. All. Over Labor Day weekend, I applied the second coat of stain and primed the inside with BIN. For the Tiffany blue, I mixed 1) Slate Blue, 1) Fairfax Green, and 1/3rd)Feather Blue Paint Pod from Ace Hardware. It was the perfect amount without a ton of paint left over.
Total cost of the project:
Hutch: $101.00 (95.00 and tax)
Stain and paint: $20.00
Stripper: $7.00
Primer and tools: already had.
The inside of the hutch is an accumulation of things from all different times and locations of my life. It's a mish-mash - but hey, isn't that a reflection of real life? Quirky, fun, and sometimes not making a whole lotta sense!

Give a girl a sewing machine

Edited to participate in ASPtL's DIY day -

And look at all the trouble she can get into! I've wanted a sewing machine for a while, and this past birthday was the time to fulfill my wish (thanks Mom!) I got a Singer Simple - nothing too fancy, but it does a few creative stitches and ...wait for it...buttonholes! The CatMan didn't quite achieve the level of awe I felt necessary when I finished my first one.

Here are a couple of 'getting to know Martha' projects. Yes, I named my machine Martha - appropriate on several levels.

Project 1: A kitty mattress. Simply a flannel baby blankie ($1.50 at Goodwill) sandwiched around a layer of cotton batting. I tried out a couple of zig-zag stitches (it doesn't look nearly as pucker-y in person). The kittehs love it.

Project 2: A 'dress' for Martha. The material is the same stuff I used on my thrifted bulletin board. I love the blowsy floral print, but must use it in moderation or the CatMan's head will explode. Cost? About $2.00 of material.

I have a few other sewing projects underway - reveals will be forthcoming. And yes, there will be buttonholes!

Speaking of birthday gifts: the CatMan surprised me with an orange iPod Nano. Which totally makes up for his lack of buttonhole adoration. Woot! It's all 80's all the time now! I love it so much and knew it needed it's own special home. Presenting the curiously strong mod-podge tin.

I mod-podged some scrapbook paper to the top and lined it with some remnant felt. Perfectly protected and easily found in my purse. Cost? Nuttin' honey.

Finally, here's a sneak peek of a big project which I'm hoping to wrap up this weekend.

Can't beat free...

Today's post is part of ASPtL's DIY day.

This is the free stool I picked up along a street near my office. Mmmm...vinyl impersonating leather. One of the legs was cracked where it joined to the base of the stool, but other than that, it was in great condition.

Here she is after a little wood glue, muslin, and grosgrain ribbon. So much happier!

Cost- Stool: free, Muslin: $3.00, Green and brown striped grosgrain ribbon: $1.29.

And here's a glimpse of a Christmas wrister (just in case you thought this had turned into a DIY blog) -

And then, sometimes it's not

edited to participate in - A few weeks ago, I experienced the Essex Junction Community Yard Sale held at the Champlain Fairgrounds. Wow, what fun (of course, I went alone. Had I dragged him with me, the CatMan may have tried to put his eyes out with my knitting needles.) I picked up a sizable bag of goodies all for the grand total of $6.00. For example, this bulletin board was $0.50.

Ayep, that would be a solid wood back and frame! I needed a bulletin board for my craft room, so after some craft paint, a $2.00 JoAnn's remnant, and $0.10 velvet ribbon remnants, I now have this queen of lovely.

Stay tuned: the little flower brads in the corners of the board came from this upcoming redo...