10.17.2011

baby quilt for my favorite baby!


{let me first say that i made this quilt summer 2010, but never wrote about it or showed it off! completely disappointed that i waited so long, i am now forcing myself to post.} one of my best friends had a gorgeous baby girl & i decided she needed a one of a kind quilt to bundle up in!

so, this was the first quilt that i sewed by myself. no help {other than "ok mom, what's next?} i've made others with my mom, but yes i can proudly say i made this quilt.


i enjoy quilting and following patterns, sometimes. but with this one, i chose to just piece and go. don't plan too much. quilting like this was so much fun because there was no pattern so there really weren't any mistakes {best part}. i also got to use a lot of random pieces of fabric. it didn't matter what size they were. just sew them together! it just works.



the back has a stripe of leftover scraps. thought this was nice for the back to be different that the front, which is so busy. & the quilting creates a diamond pattern with 3 lines.



i loved making this quilt, but it was so hard to give it away! at least i have these pictures to look back on. i think handmade gifts really do say more to the ones you love. i love you baby nia!

7.22.2011

nana's chairs: re-done!

Alright, I know it's been a while.... no actually a really long time! we almost went a whole YEAR without posting! I'm going to blame it on being in school and having no extra time! I am happy to finally post again, though. I've been working on some random projects at the same time, and you know what that means. Nothing ever gets finished! {Note to self: probably shouldn't do that.} But, that's me and how I work. I have to keep it interesting! Staying on one task for too long is not my style. Eventually, I finish things! Yay me! And then I get to write about it and show you guys- the fun part!

Moving into my house last fall, I had NOTHING! My living room was so bare! I took advantage of my mother's kindness and basically robbed her. I took her sofa, coffee table, rug, end tables and an assortment of little goodies. Now she was left with nothing! As you know, my nana passed away almost 2 years ago. In that horrible time, we inherited a ton of furniture and adorable, vintage knick-knacks! Perfect for making my house a home.

My mother gave me 4 wooden chairs, all different, but roughly the same size. Great for the kitchen table. I began by spraypainting them gray. {I love spraypainting my furniture. The instant gratification is amazing!}

yucky old chair, spraypainted gray









In a small, small, small amount of time, all 4 chairs were gray! Two of the chairs had upholstered seats and two had wicker seats. Now comes the time to cover those awful cushions! Mom had 8 12x12 log cabin quilt squares. She was going to use them in a quilt, but moved in a different direction, lucky for me! So, of course, I scooped them up, knowing they would be gorgeous on the chairs! I then sewed 4 together into a larger square, large enough to wrap the seat. I didn't even take off the old fabric. I stapled mine right on top. In a matter of minutes, with the help of my staple gun {WHICH I ADORE}, I had chairs that looked like I had paid A LOT of money for! So cute!

finished chairs!


 




 


 


My favorite part about this diy is that I used my nana's chairs. Her treasures, small and large, have decorated my entire home. I love having her spirit around me everyday!

xo, Lark