More decorative pillows: Waverly, Tommy Bahama

I'm sewing up a storm of pillows while visiting daughter Aubern Michelle and her hubby Ian. Each of them are pillow covers with removable pillows inside.

These are for Chelle and Ian. They are a perfect match for this antique leather side chair. I'm hoping to find a large wooden button for the front of the envelope pillow. The edge features the Tommy Bahama fabric casing canvas cord as trim.

Here's the mountain of pillows. I still have a few left to make!

Ian chose this black background tropical indoor / outdoor Waverly as the feature fabric. The photo doesn't do justice to the vibrant colors.

The back is a soft upholstery-weight fabric. And of course, covered buttons!

Back to sewing and a teeny bit of vacation. I'm never really "off" work due to deadlines, but I travel with laptop AND sewing machine so everything gets done!

Tommy Bahama pillows and the Traveling Sewing Corner

I'm traveling right now and took a small folding table to my daughter's house along with my sewing machine, necessary notions and fabrics so I could make my sofa pillows while Ninja Man helps our son in law with some barn work on their farm.

Here's what my Traveling Sewing Corner looks like! Yes, it is crowded but most of this stuff isn't on it when I'm actually sewing.

So I found this Tommy Bahama fabric at JoAnn's and having a friend who was generous enough to share a coupon with me, I was able to get it at half price. It is the one with the print on it and is indoor / outdoor fabric and very, very nice to sew. The striped is Waverly, also in/outdoor, while the blue is a microfiber and the ribbed cream (you can barely see it at bottom, tiny triangle by the blue) is an inexpensive upholstery remnant.I made the pillows with the beige cotton fabric and polyfil stuffing. I do prefer pillow forms but the ones on clearance were $8 each, which is more than I was budgeting for. Once you make the pillow form yourself and cover it with the actual pillow cover, you can barely tell it isn't a form, so I often use stuffing instead.

So here's my first finished sofa pillow. It is about 2' X 2' and I'll make a second one just like this. The others will be various styles and sizes and will incorporate the other fabrics.
Here's the back with, well, you know me....covered buttons!


Ninja Man likes this button the best. If it didn't waste so much to fussy cut, I'd do them all like this one.

Stay tuned to see the rest of the story of Tommy and the Traveling Sewing Corner!

Blog Tour: The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn

I recently received word of something called a "blog tour" and signed up to review a few books. The first one I received was an autographed advance copy of The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn, a Christian romance / suspense novel where the characters rely on God's direction.This is author Liz Johnson's first book and I look forward to her growth as a romance writer. Johnson's story line is great but there were some unbelievable situations and I personally prefer a bit more intensity in a story. I also would have liked to have been surprised that hero Myles Parsons was falling for Kenzie, but it was revealed in the first few pages.

Still, Johnson's story has a great plot and would be a terrific quick read. It is filled with adventure as Parsons, who is sent to prison as an inmate, has a mission to protect prison G.E.D. teacher / granddaughter-to-the-governor Kenzie Thorn. Twists and turns keep the reader intrigued, revealing a surprise villain and ultimate love.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Liz Johnson grew up reading Christian fiction, and always dreamed of being part of the publishing industry. After graduating from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff with a degree in public relations, she set out to fulfill her dream. In 2006 she got her wish when she accepted a publicity position at a major trade book publisher. While working as a publicist in the industry, she decided to pursue her other dream-becoming an author. Along the way to having her novel published, she completed the Christian Writers Guild apprentice course and wrote articles for several magazines.

Liz lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where she enjoys theater, ice skating, volunteering in her church's bookstore and making frequent trips to Arizona to dote on her nephew and three nieces. She loves stories of true love with happy endings. The Kidnapping of Kenzie Thorn is her first novel. Keep up with Liz's adventures in writing at www.lizjohnsonbooks.com.

Savannah Candy Kitchen!

Join us on our SWEET visit to the Savannah Candy Kitchen!What a sweet welcome to the candy store!
We dropped by the Savannah Candy Kitchen when my nephew Chris and his family were visiting a couple of weeks ago. There are two locations; City Market and River Street. We went to the one in City Market.

Here's Chris, wife Stacy, Jimmy and Samantha.

They are best known for their pralines. Some people say PRAH-Leens. We say PRAY-leens. Either way, they are very rich and quite a treat. I always think of my cousin Sally since these are her favorite things. We are pretty sure that pralines are made with magic and this guy is just making sure all the magic has been blended just right.

Praline guy chopped up a bunch and gave little samples. I love the praline guy.
If the pralines were too sweet you could chase them down with these. Yeah, these are real bugs, available in sour cream and onion or salt and vinegar.

The kids loved the wrapped candies and filled tins with their favorites.

The old buildings in Savannah are awesome. Thankfully we live in a time where store owners don't try to cover the old walls with paint or sheetrock and you can see the passages of time on the surface of the bricks (below). Here Ninja Man is telling Jimmy how salt water taffy is made. He knows how it is made because he is Ninja and can do anything, including make taffy, I'm sure. (Ninja just stood over my shoulder reading the blog entry and said he has actually made taffy. No surprise, Ninja Man!)

Taffy guy adds flavoring. At some point the taffy will go on the long wooden rollers and get pulled and pulled and pulled, then pulled some more. It is pretty fascinating but it didn't get to that point while we were there.

Candy apples. Oh, to be a kid again without tons of dental work!

Ever seen a grown woman cry? These were so scrumptious looking I just had to wipe a tear. I think they have some of everything in that store stuck to them.

Nutty, caramel apples.

I could have climbed in here and not felt guilty at all.
Climbing out? Well, that's another thing entirely.

They even have treats for the Kerbster and HooMan. We bought them a bone cookie. The chocolate they use must be yogurt because it was safe for them to eat.
Ninja Man and I bought a little piece of fudge and a peanut butter cup. Yep, only two pieces. We cut them up into teeny bites and munched on them for a week. There was a time we would have eaten that and more on the way home!

It was a sweet visit!

Thrift Store Furniture redo!

I am drawn to wicker like Paula Deen is to butter.

If I didn't have Ninja Man to consider when decorating the house, everything would be wicker, rosy, fluffy, girlie, pink, vintage and... well, you get the idea. But I do have Ninja Man, which is better than all the pink girlie stuff in the world, and Ninja Man hates wicker. Therefore, I cherish the few pieces I have managed to sneak into the house.

I saw this wicker entertainment center at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Bluffton, South Carolina. It is very heavy wood with wicker on the outside. It is strong enough that a heavy television can sit inside.

Ninja Man and driven me and a friend to Bluffton and Hilton Head for thrift store shopping, and we were actually looking for storage for her house. I helped her with organizing some rooms in her home and our last task was to find shelving and cabinetry. I love my friend dearly but might have tackled her over this, but thankfully her hubby doesn't like wicker. Um, that sounds familiar...

Judging by the "artwork" I'm pretty sure a clown must have been the previous owner.

A clown with a penchant for paper flowers and a jar of decoupage glue. Egad.

Ninja Man may hate wicker but he loves a challenging project. Either that, or he can't bear wicker to look worse than it already does and it was going to give him nightmares to think about it. He didn't even come into the house upon arriving home with my "treasure" but began working immediately on removing the horrid "improvements" made by the previous owner. He fired up his hot steam cleaner. I didn't watch. Steam was rising from either him or the tool... not sure... but either way, he got the flowers / paper / ick off and was ready to go to step 2, which was painting over the, um, artwork.

It took Ninja Man about several cans of spray paint to apply five layers over what must have been an oil based paint. Every afternoon he would come in from work, roll the piece out to the yard and spray. This isn't just ANY spraying of paint, let me tell you... no, Ninja Man has a specific method he uses to prevent running paint and he does a great job.

And finally, about a week or so later, Ninja delivered my wicker entertainment center to its home inside the house. He did have to cut out the back so the TV would fit, but other than that it is just perfect.

And by the way, the piece was only $49. Add about $12 worth of paint and this is a huge bargain!

Jeep window bag

I asked a neighbor of mine if he might be able to help me with my computer. It has a few bugs and needed someone who is knowledgeable to fix it. Of course, Ninja Man can do ANYthing but it is rather stressful for him and I was hoping to save him the grief he would get from me when he began to utter stressful noises while at my beloved keyboard.

My neighbor Jeremy said he would be happy to work on it and he actually had something I could help him with in exchange. We bartered (LOVE IT!) my sewing for his computer skills! I love, love, love bartering!

Jeremy needed portable storage for his vinyl Jeep windows. The storage included a bag that would house layers of felt that protect the windows when not in use. Jeremy outlined the project, gave dimensions and provided online references for the storage bag and felt linings.

We shopped for materials and here's the final product:

The bag is resting on the top of the convertible roof.

One end of the bag is sewn closed in a circle while the other has a casing with a drawstring that closes with a cord stop.

Jeremy found straps with buckles at Bass Pro Shop and I used them on the ends so he could attach the bag to the base of the Jeep's rollbar. I sewed the straps over and over again, reinforcing with an X within a square so they would be as secure as possible.

Below is the felt and windows. I loved working with it! I sewed ties on it so he could roll it up and keep it closed while he puts it in the bag.

Four layers of felt keep the windows from getting scratched. You'll see in the following pix that they are all tucked inside here!

Under each layer is another window... there are three windows, one larger than the other two.

And now he has a sweet window bag for his Jeep! There is plenty of vinyl left for additional things if he decides he needs or wants more storage.

Purchasing a bag like this could cost nearly $100 after taxes and shipping. We were able to do it for just over $30 in materials.

I'm all about bargains, and bartering is great in these tough economic times! Can't get much better than free!

Sweet Peas knitted baby hat

I saw this pattern by Susan B. Anderson and just HAD to make this baby hat. It is called Sweet Peas and can be found as a download for $5.50 here.

The idea was to make it for grandson Asher, but seeing as I didn't pay close enough attention to the size, I messed up and made it in a 2T. The AshMan should be wearing a 12 month hat this winter so this one is up for sale.

Anyway, the pattern calls for two skeins of Tahki Cotton Classic, but I used "what I had" in yarn... the green I used is Vanna's Choice Dusty Green acrylic 3.5 oz yarn. The blue has a chenille effect and is TLC Amore. The color is Seagrass and the yarn is 80% acrylic and 20% nylon worsted weight.

So I was knitting the hat when in walks a baby. Oh yeah. She is only 16 months but I figured a little baby head is better than no baby head, so I put the tips on my size 7, 16" circulars and plopped the hat upon said baby. It just so happens she is the cutest 16 month old on the planet, so she made my little hat look soooo cute!

Here's the adorable result!

This was shortly after a scrumptious spaghetti dinner...

Anyway, I finished the "peas" yesterday and since my little model had to go home, I photographed it with a towel stuffed inside, hence the lumpiness!

So there it is in a nutshell... or pea pod... I enjoyed making this so much that I will be making a few more in the next days. This one whipped up in no time at all and besides, the AshMan needs one and there is something in the water here as several friend's babies are due soon. I think there will be a whole GARDEN OF PEA PODS on my knitting needles!

I forgot to mention that I took the hat to church and tried it on a baby head and it fits a 2-3 toddler just fine!

Thanks to Susan B. Anderson for her delightful designs! And by the way, check out Susan's new Spud and Chloe line of yarn here!

Under $50 Patio furniture remake!

So Ninja Man and I talked about what to do with the dingy patio furniture. Replace it or paint and recover?

I started shopping. Patio furniture during a recession is at a prime... and not a savings prime! To get the tilty, swivel, rocking chairs and the glider would have run several hundred dollars, so that was all I needed to know, and the project was underway.

We decided to redo our patio furniture, which meant removing rust (Ninja Man) painting (Ninja Man) and sewing cushions (yours truly). I had a roll of fabric in the garage I'd been saving for something like this, since I never really liked the fabric it came with to begin with. I had forgotten what I paid for it, but Ninja reminded me that I didn't pay full price... I got it for 75% off the regular price... that made it about $3 a yard.

Here's what the original set looked like after baking in the sun for just 3 years:

Ninja went out and got some supplies. Meanwhile, I measured, cut and sewed, and voila! A brand spankin' new set, just ready for summer! By the way, I covered the existing cushions since the fillings were still in good shape. Just another way to save big $$ on a project such as this!

I'm looking forward to the lazy porch days in our future. We hope to screen in this porch someday, but for now, I'm just delighted with the outcome!

I love the Barrel Monster!!

This photo is property of the NCSU alumni student newspaper. 21 year-old Joseph Carnevale created this Barrel Monster out of, you guessed it, highway department road hazard barrels. I happen to love the creativity of the Barrel Monster, though Carnevale was not within the law and has a few legal issues due to his artistic expression at the expense of the DOT.

This was in North Carolina, by the way...

What a hoot!

Something New!

You guys might notice that now I have Google ads on my blog! Yep, I'm giving it a whirl.