Simple Stool Makeover

Good Morning Everyone!

It feels wonderful to be back to blogging.  After only one short week of being away I feel so out of the loop and I've been missing you all so much.

Thank you all for the heartwarming get well wishes for my sister.  She is recovering very nicely from her surgery and is hoping to return to work tomorrow.  I will still need to help her out in the evenings until her hubby gets home from work since she is not able to lift the little ones yet, but hopefully I'll be able to work on a few projects this week to share with you.

Somehow or another I did find some time last week for a very quick project.

I had found this little stool at the thrift store a few weeks ago and knew it just had to come home with me.  

Of course I wasn't crazy about the dark wood stain, but it is very sturdy and the size was smaller than the other stools I currently have which I thought was fun.

With hopes of an early spring on the brain, I picked a pretty blue color from my paint stash, and slapped some fresh new paint on it.

I had to distress it a little bit too, I'd be crazy not to right?

Right now, I'm not sure where this little beauty will end up in my house but I'm sure it will add a wonderful pop of springtime color to whichever room I decided to place it in.

Oh, almost forgot to mention the lantern.  

Pretty right.  

It's another thrift store find I couldn't pass up, one can never have too many lanterns . . . or stools!!

Talk to you soon,

Robin

Mini Blogging Break

Good Morning!

I don't know about you but this week is FLYING by so fast I can't seem to catch my breath.

Last Friday my sister had surgery on her back to correct a herniated disk so I've been helping out over at her house most days.  We are both so thankful that we live so close to each other.  It makes times like this much less stressful to deal with.

As you can image, my blogging time has been moved to the back burner so to speak.  Instead of stressing out over not posting anything new for my wonderful followers, I've decided to take the week off and concentrate on getting my sister back on her feet.

Hopefully next week will find me elbows deep into a few projects to share.

And since blogging without a photo is a big no-no, here's a pretty flower photo I took of the lovely geraniums on the porch last summer.

**Sigh**

Pretty flowers are once again just around the corner.

Can hardly wait.

Until next week,

Robin

Saturday Spotlight Over At Must Love Junk

I hope you'll join me over at Susan's blog, Must Love Junk,  this morning!

Susan was kind enough to invite me over to chat about myself a little.

See you there!

Robin

Fun Finds Friday

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Hope you have a wonderful day with the ones you love.

It's also Friday, which means it's time to show off some fun finds.

The first items I have to show today is a collection of vintage sheets I've been adding to for the past few months or so.  I plan to make some patchwork quilts using the fabric.  Here's a stack of what I've collected so far.

These sheets are all so soft and cozy feeling.  And I just love that the colors are slightly fading.

I think they will make wonderful quilts.

Their cheerful colors make me smile and wish for more sunshine!

This next item I found last week and thought it was a big score!

Red and white is my favorite and the pretty floral is a plus.

Perfect for my red and white bedroom.

I found a matching set and I'm loving the added detail the ties along the opening add.

And finally, last week I also found two more bedding items that I fell for instantly.

I am obsessed with white matelasse coverlets.  I use them all year round on my bed and on the girls beds whenever they will allow it.  Adding another one to the collection will not go wasted.

I also found a charming faded yellow chenille coverlet.  It's super soft and has an all over faded look to it that I love.  I debated about this one for a long time in the store because of the color. Yellow is not one of my go to colors, but in the end I just couldn't pass it up.  I'm sure I'll find a use for it.

Don't you just love the texture of these two items?

How about you, any fun finds this week?

Robin

Easy Pinch Pleats

Good Morning!

My newly sewn tablecloth for the dinning room has been a wonderful, and colorful addition to our home.

You may remember the original post here.

So many of you commented about how much you liked the pleats that I figured a quick tutorial might be in order.

The pinch pleats were very easy to make . . . here is the method I used.

I started with a five inch strip of fabric.  

I then finished one side of the fabric with a rolled hem, you can see below.

Next I started "pinching" the fabric, taking anywhere between an inch and a half and two inches at a time . . .

Folding it flat.

Placing a pin through the fold to hold it and I had my first pleat.

To start the second pleat, I eyeballed down the length of my fabric an inch and a half, then repeated the process from above.

I continued on until I ran out of pins.

Taking my strip of fabric to the sewing machine, I simply ran a basting stitch along the raw edge of the fabric, removing pins as I came to them.

I then repeated the process until I had a length of pleats long enough to go around my tablecloth.

The pleats looked like this when I was finished.

The final step is to simply sew the pleats along the bottom edge of the tablecloth.  Making sure to pin the two pieces of fabric right sides together.

In the past when I've sewn pinch pleats for a project, I tediously measured every pleat and gap between the pleats and it took a long, long time.  

With this method, the project went much more quickly and the finished look is just as pretty.  I for one will be using the quick and easy method with any future pinch pleat sewing that I do.

Thanks for stopping by,

bye now,

Robin

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A Hankering For . . . Fresh Baked Bread

Good Morning!

Warm, soft bread fresh from the oven . . . slathered with butter and honey is a treat I remember from my childhood days.  A truly blissful experience.

I don't know about the rest of you but I can't remember the last time I've baked bread from scratch.

Sometimes I try to cheat a little and purchase frozen loaves of bread to bake.

It's good, but somehow lacks the perfection of bread made from scratch.

Seeing as I'm sorely out of practice in the bread making department, yet still hankering for it all the same.  I've been pinning away on Pinterest recipes to try my hand at.

Thought I'd share what I've come across just in case there are a few of you out there hankering for some freshly baked bread also.

Source

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They all look so tasty don't they.

Which one would you try first?

Robin

Simple Pillow Cover

A few nights ago I had an itch to break out the sewing machine.

Tried to ignore it . . . But it didn't go away.

So instead of going to bed like a good little girl I started scrounging around in my bin of scrap fabric to see what I could come up with.

Here's the newest addition to my collection of pillow slipcovers.

The case itself is just a simple envelope style which are a snap to put together.  I have a tutorial, here, if your interested.

I am obsessed with hand crocheted trim of late.  

Recently I found a length of red trim at the thrift store and was so excited to finally use it on something.

I thought the buttons would be a nice touch too!

I think perhaps if I copy this pattern in the future I'll make the center section smaller.  But all in all I like the way it looks.

Late night sewing sessions are so much fun!

Now I'm itch'in to try a white on white version of this pillow with pretty mother of pearl buttons.  Wouldn't that be pretty?


Have a great day everyone,

Robin