Newly Upholstered Swivel Glider

I already showed you the upholstered glider in the nursery space, but I didn't show you the before and after pics. See below...

 Before: You can see how worn out the fabric was. My parents got this chair when they were first married. Then my brother used it in college and then he gave it to us.

After: It looks better in person, than in the picture. I turned it from a chair to a swivel glider.

It's a BOY!

It's a BOY!

Graham Lewis Downs

      This was our 19 week ultrasound.  I know the ultrasound pictures are terrible! Graham was moving all around and not being very cooperative and they are just grainy and not clear.  He was 10 oz and his heart beat was 156 bpm. The ultrasound technician said everything looked good. She checked his brain, heart, limbs, blood flow, kidneys, etc. The doctor will look at the ultrasound pictures at some point. I can hardly wait till May to meet our sweet boy! 

Bedskirt Project

     I finished our bed skirt!!! I have been planning on working on this project for a long time and never made the time to work on it. With the baby coming, I will not have time for all of these projects, so it is time to get them completed! 

     My sister in-law is a bedding designer and gave me this whole bedding set, including duvet, quilt, and lots of pillow shams. I had 4 Euro shams and 3 regular shams, so I had 3 extra shams. However, I didn't have a bed skirt that matched the set. We had a cream striped bed skirt, which did not look that great with the monochromatic olive bedding. I never could find an olive bed skirt to purchase. First, I cut the 3 shams in half . Then, I cut the fabric off the back of the shams. I used the front of two Euro shams on either side of the bed and the regular sham on the front of the bed. I used the fabric from the back of the shams for the ends of the bed skirt and the box pleat in the middle. I bought some muslin for the middle of the skirt that lays on the box springs. I cut it all, pinned all the hems, and pinned all the pieces together. Then I sewed it up! I was afraid since it was such a large project that I would cut it skewed or it wouldn't turn out, but we put it on the bed and it looks like it is part of the set. It all worked out!

The Nursery: Part I

    We haven't finished the nursery, but we have the main pieces in place! This is a gender neutral nursery with a neutral earth tone color scheme. We still have a lot of work to do, but I feel good that the majority is ready!

      I had an old family chair and ottoman recovered and had a swivel/ glider mechanism installed for the chair. I think it turned out GREAT! Matthew's mom is making a green lumbar pillow to match our crib skirt for the glider. We will add artwork or a baby picture on the wall behind the glider. The peacock lamp shade is from Anthropologie and the lamp base from Ikea. The Twiggy side table is from CB2 (I don't see it for sale anymore). This is a four generation bassinet. My grandfather, mother, me, and many other family members have slept in this bassinet. I have a new custom mattress coming in and a new natural linen with double ruffle is being made and should be ready by the end of February. I will post the final product! Matthew and I found this wooden rocking horse at a consignment sale this year.

   The black bookcase is from Target (they carry similar bookcases now). The shelves have to be reorganized for the nursery. The alligator block print and water color is by Walter Inglis Anderson and was framed by the Framin Shoppe. It is hung too high. The cream daybed was my grandmothers. Matthew painted the brass knobs cream. The steel gray quilted Euro Shams are from West Elm (they carry a similar quilt now). The duvet is by Kate Spade and a gift from my sister-in-law, a textile designer. I made the brown linen pillow shams. This green pillow will go away and a green pillow that matches our crib skirt will go in the middle. The end table is by Anthropologie. I am working on selecting some storage to go underneath. I think I will have to make it, to get the size I want. I finally decided on a table lamp, so I will show you that when it is purchased.

  The little chair and the yard stick was my grandmother's. I plan on making a cushion for the chair. The dresser is an old dresser from my parent's house. I bought the changing topper used on Ebay, but it is from Land of Nod (I don't think they carry it anymore). It was a funny stain to match, and I think it is close enough. I am going to have a brown flannel cover made for the changing pad. The 2x3 rug is from West Elm. The print  above the changing table is by Walter Inglis Anderson. I will hang pictures of the baby above the changing table and maybe some kind of hook for an heirloom outfit. I am going to do two Simple Human step trash cans in brushed steel from Target. One for cloth diapers and one for disposables. They will go between the changing table and the wall.

   The steel gray curtains are from West Elm (they don't carry them anymore). The storage baskets are from West Elm. The black Jenny Lind crib is from Babies R' Us. At this point, we are leaving the wheels off, to keep the crib shorter, but if we add them, Matthew will spray paint the brass wheels a matte black. We are probably getting the crib mattress from Ikea by the end of the month. The crib skirt is going to be green and should be finished by the end of February. Matthew's mom is making a green blanket to match the crib skirt. The green fabric sample is hanging behind the rails in the picture. I will probably do baby pictures above the crib. I found some frames at CB2 that I like. The steel gray and cream wool rug is by CB2. We are renting the house or we would have painted the walls a toned down aqua. 

    I am thinking through the closet organization and the dresser drawer organization now.

    It is all coming together and I will post pics as we finish projects and get new pieces!

Daybed Pillow Shams

     I finished another project! I hope I can get them all completed before Christmas. I selected a chocolate brown linen fabric and pre-washed the fabric. I cut out the correct size fabric and pinned the hems and pieces together. I did the same edge detail as I did on the sofa pillows. I didn't iron the fabric, so the pillows would look casual. The long pillow inserts came with the bed when my grandmother purchased it. I sewed the all the pieces together and slipped the inserts in. They turned out well.

Plastic File Cabinet Cover

I finished another sewing project! We have an "office" in our living room with a plastic file cabinet next to the desk and the printer/scanner on top of the file cabinet. It is not a pretty site. I decided we need to cover this eyesore, but it still needed to be accessible. Wisteria, at one time carried, a burlap or linen cover that fit over a cart that housed a "liquor cabinet" underneath. The back and sides were sewn together, but the front was not sewn down and you could access the bar. This is the concept I needed to apply to my project. I used the same natural linen I used on the sofa pillows. I first washed the fabric and did not iron it. Then I cut my pattern and pinned the all hems and pieces together. I used one long piece for the sides and top and sewed the back panel on and then the front panel on. The front panel is only attached at the top and not the sides. I added a button to the front top of the cover and a loop on the front inside top of the cover. This technique is used on camping tent windows to keep the window cover rolled down. When we need to access the files, we can roll up the front panel and attach the loop to the button to keep it in place. I added these natural color ties to the top and bottom of each side of the front panel to keep the side gaps closed. I saved these ties when they bound the West Elm rug that we ordered last year. I knew I could use them for something eventually. I think the project turned out pretty well, nothing professional, but it definitely upgraded the living room office!

Sofa throw pillows

This past weekend I finally got around to one of my sewing projects I have had on the back burner for the past year. I sewed three natural linen throw pillows for our living room sofas. We have a two-seater sofa and a three-seater sofa. First, I washed and dried my grandparents old feather pillows in the washing machine and dryer.  Second, I washed and dried the cream and the natural linen fabrics to prevent shrinking if washed later. I didn't iron the fabrics, I wanted to keep it slightly wrinkled and casual looking. Then, I sewed three new pillow cases in a basic cream fabric. I cut open my grandparents old pillows and stuffed the feathers in the three new cases I made and hand sewed the stuffing opening closed to create three pillow inserts. Despite trying not to make a mess, feather were inevitably everywhere! Next, I made three natural linen pillow cases with an envelope opening in the back to slide the pillow inserts into. I think the natural linen pillows go nicely with the brown and aqua throw pillows I bought on Etsy last year.

My eggo is preggo...

We are so excited to be expecting our first baby on May 8th! I am 3 months along and the above pictures are our 12 week ultrasound pics. We have nicknamed our little bit, "Cubbie," because he/she will surely be a Cubs fan like their dad. We can't wait to find out if we are having a boy or a girl the beginning of December. So, much planning to do. I haven't posted in a long time after having some trouble with my posts, so I am making the blog more public to make it easier to access. I plan on posting some of my projects for the nursery, the progress of the nursery, and of course pictures of Cubbie.